Be It Till You See It

Lesley Logan celebrates historic and personal wins in this week’s FYF episode. From Kelsie Whitmore making MLB history to a community win from Nancy Lawrence, and a pre-tour packing victory of her own, this episode is a reminder that progress doesn’t have to be flashy to be worth celebrating. Take this as your reminder to celebrate yourself.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How one woman landing an MLB spot flips the game forever.
• Why your wins spark a ripple effect that changes lives around you.
• How a packing hack turned into a total confidence booster on tour.
• Why believing in your magic is the ultimate mindset shift.

Episode References/Links:

• Submit your wins - https://beitpod.com/questions
• @sportysteady on Kelsie Whitmore - https://beitpod.com/kelsiewhitmore

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSI

DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipment

Check out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper’s Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipment

Be in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlist

Be It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-survey

Be a part of Lesley’s Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/

FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/

Resources:

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-g
• Lesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/
• Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQ
• Profitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/

Follow Us on Social Media:

• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/
• The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-g
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilates
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/
• The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses

Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan 0:00  

It's Fuck Yeah Friday. 

Brad Crowell 0:03  

Fuck yeah. 

Lesley Logan 0:04  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Lesley Logan 0:48  

Hello, Be It babe. Welcome to the quick inspirational episode where it's just kind of fun. We're going to talk about something that inspired me on the internet. Hopefully get you talking. I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'm going to share wins of yours. You can send yours into the beitpod.com/questions yes, I know it says questions, whether you can put questions that you want us to answer on the Be It Pod or your wins, and that way we can celebrate your wins too, and then you get to hear them on a future episode. It's so fun. I just joined a membership group from another podcast that's a local podcast to us. And then when they said my name on the shout out, even they just said Lesley. All they said was Lesley, I was like, that's me. That was me. And like, it's just kind of nice to feel so seen, right? So we want to make you sure you feel seen. So beitpod.com/questions, to put your questions and or your wins, okay? So a win of mine and then we have a little affirmation, and then you're off to your weekend. 

Lesley Logan 1:32  

Okay, so the thing that inspired me today, well, it actually inspired me obviously a little bit while ago, because it's happened already, but you're hearing it now. So get this. This is amazing. History made. The Oakland A's have officially called up pitcher/outfielder Kelsie Whitmore from the Oakland Ballers, making her the first woman everto join an MLB roster! From indie leagues to the big stage. This is a moment for the books. I don't even know. I didn't even look to see if she played. I'm gonna tell you this right now, because that's what society has told us. Like, okay, well, does she play? I don't give a I don't care she played. The fact that she is on a Oakland A's roster. To be like the first this is a May we have to celebrate this right? Like, I hope that they call her up. I hope she gets to play, and I hope people give her space and grace to make mistakes. Like these jerk offs who get to play all the time. Like, baseball kind of pisses me off, because you can have, like, the lowest batting average and still make millions of dollars. So like, you know, I don't care what her performance was, she's amazing. She's there. And like, may this mean that more women get pulled up onto the baseball field, because you know what, baseball, your games are really long. And even though I was raised on baseball, my grandfather was a professional baseball player. I just want to tell you, like, because defense can't score, we need to make things more interesting. I don't want you to gamify it. I want to see women and men being badasses on the field. That's what I want to see. All right. Anyways, from my lips to you know, MLBs here, right? I guess that's how it's going to go. 

Lesley Logan 2:57  

Okay, so now let's do a win of yours, a win of yours. Okay, Nancy Lawrence, oh, my God, one of my favorite humans in the whole world. You guys have heard from her before, because she's been on our OPC members, but she's an eLevate. She's most important like she's also been a retreater with us in Cambodia. We are going to see her again this October. So my win this week, moving with this baby. So this baby means her daughter, Miranda, having my daughter go through eLevate five and learn so much from Lesley Logan's amazing experience. She's learning the exercises, cueing, and so much more. She's becoming the woman she is destined to be, and no longer a tired and frustrated corporate employee working for someone else. She is working on herself so one day she can work for herself. I mean, I think we should just celebrate Nancy another win in this. Another win that we're having here is that you working on yourself and you doing things that light your fire and that you doing things that make you feel so amazing has inspired her that she has this opportunity. And I that's one of the reasons why I love wins and why I want other people to hear people's wins. It's because it inspires other people in your life, this bubble of influence that we can have. So Miranda is winning because you are winning, Nancy, so thank you so much for celebrating wins with us. 

Lesley Logan 4:13  

All right, a win of mine. Y'all this is my win. Okay, so here's the deal, Tami-Adrian, you guys know her from OPC, and she'll be on the Be It Pod, soon. She bought us this gift, which is like, a bunch of those, like packing kits. So it's like, the things that like space savers for packing, right? And it's like she gave us like, four or five of these things, and inside there's like four or five different types of bags that just like, help you save space. And I was like, oh, my God, I'm not an organized person. I have ADHD, so it means I make lists, but then don't use them, you know. But one of the things, we're about to go on tour, and one of the things that I struggle with on the tour, is that we, we quite have, it's cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build these fans out, the ones you see a van life, at the van life, and they're like, look like so Instagram on glamping, they spend a fuck ton of money, okay, we are doing this ourselves, and yes, we're spending money, but, like, I don't have an extra 100k just to throw into my van. So we are building things out. We have an AC. We want to have shelves, obviously, in drawers for the clothes, but we don't have that quite yet. But what we do have are these packing things. And so what I'm so proud of my win is this. I have already taken those packs and I've put them in the in like outfits of like, okay, this is my workout outfits for this many days. Okay? This is my teaching outfits like this, this is my other things and the way, because we haven't the walls in the van yet, I can put these pouches in the holes of the van so that I don't have to go under the van to pull my suitcase out, which means it's gonna be even easier for me to do my workout every morning. I'm not gonna waste time and lose time trying to pull that out. I'll have my teaching workouts. They're already hung up. You probably have seen how I do that, so that's ready to go. And then I'll have my daily clothes. So I actually get dressed while on tour to go to dinner, because sometimes I'm just, like, shuffling in my pajamas. So I am just, this is my win is where, like, less than a week from tour, and my outfits, not just the ones I'm teaching in, but the ones no one will see, are organized thanks to these packages. And if, and if I never use them again, I will still call it a win. But I've, this is a freaking win. If you have ever, like, organized a drawer, I hope that you see this as you've did a win, you slay. If you organize a closet, you slay. Like, these are the wins that are happening all the time, right? They're happening all the time, and we're just like, nope, didn't get that million dollar deal. So with like, my life's failure. No, no, no. Good things are happening to you all the time. 

Lesley Logan 6:25  

Okay, so let's go to your affirmation. It says you don't need to believe in magic. You are magic. You need to believe in yourself. That's your affirmation. So well, let's change how the words are. I don't need to believe in magic. I am magic. I need to believe in myself. I don't need to believe in magic. I am magic. I need to believe in myself. I hope that hits you in a good spot because it hits me in a good spot. I hope it hits you in a good spot because it hits me in a great spot, right. Like, I really, truly hope that this podcast doesn't just educate you and inform you what's going on. I hope it helps you see like you're doing a great job. I believe in you. I hope you do, too, after that and until next time, Be It Till You See It. 

Lesley Logan 7:11  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.

Brad Crowell 7:52  

It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan 7:58  

It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.

Brad Crowell 8:03  

Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.

Lesley Logan 8:09  

Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.

Brad Crowell 8:13  

Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.

In this recap of the conversation with Wendee Close, founder and CEO of Goals2Life, a personal development platform that helps people turn their dreams into achievable goals. Lesley Logan and Brad Crowell, dive into how burnout led Wendee to build a more values-aligned life and business, how planning can fuel purpose, and why taking bold, intentional action is the key to owning your next-level identity. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed or stuck, this episode will help you get back on track one meaningful step at a time.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Tips for safely storing your Reformer in a humid garage.
• What Wendee asks herself daily to stay aligned and focused.
• How asking for help can connect you to the right people.
• A powerful mindset shift to embody your future self now.
• Why sleep is your secret weapon for clarity and creativity.

Episode References/Links:

• Agency Mini - https://prfit.biz/mini
• OPC Summer Tour - https://opc.me/tour
• OPC Summer Tour Calgary - Opc.me/Calgary
• UK Mullet Tour - https://opc.me/uk
• Cambodia October 2025 Retreat Waitlist - https://crowsnestretreats.com
• Contrology Reformer - https://beitpod.com/reformer
• Submit your questions - https://beitpod.com/questions
• Goals2Llife Website - https://www.Goals2Life.com

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSI

DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipment

Check out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper’s Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipment

Be in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlist

Be It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-survey

Be a part of Lesley’s Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/

FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/

Resources:

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-g
• Lesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/
• Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQ
• Profitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/

Follow Us on Social Media:

• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/
• The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-g
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilates
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/
• The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses

Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan 0:00  

Don't beat yourself up. It's ask yourself very clearly, like, why haven't I done this? What has been in the way? Is this actually something I still want to do? Can I actually do it and then set new measurable goals, set new milestones and make it happen. 

Lesley Logan 0:14  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Lesley Logan 0:53  

Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co-host in life, Brad, and I are going to dig into the purposeful convo I had with Wendee Close in our last episode. If you haven't yet listened to that interview, feel free to listen to that one first, then come back and listen to this one, or listen to this one and see if you agree with what we liked about that one. It's your choice. That's what's really important about the Be It Till You See It podcast, you choose. You choose how you want to listen. Today is July 17th. 

Brad Crowell 1:22  

You choose very closely. 

Lesley Logan 1:23  

Yeah, I hope you like that, Wendee. I'm sure she hasn't heard that before. It's like, my mom's last name growing up was Friesen, and like, she was super tall, so they would always go, how is the weather up there? Is it Friesen? Right, like, wow. I know kids are clever and cruel. Anyways, that's, I don't know why that popped in my head. Welcome to ADHD. So today is July 17th 2025 and it's National Tattoo Day. It was also another day, but obviously I have to pick this one, tattooing, the art of inserting pigment under the dermis layer of the skin. 

Brad Crowell 2:00  

In case you didn't know. 

Lesley Logan 2:01  

To create a decorative, symbolic or pictorial design or just a sticker on your body, permanent sticker on your body. 

Brad Crowell 2:01  

Permanent sticker on your body. 

Lesley Logan 2:06  

How I like to think of it. And on National Tattoo Day, July 17th, we set time aside to learn more about the tattooing process. It's a societal importance and history. Okay, here we go.

Brad Crowell 2:17  

I didn't know that. I'm in on societal importance. 

Lesley Logan 2:20  

You guys, in case you don't understand the process of picking which day, it really is like what title speaks to us, and then we learn about the day as we read about it with you on air, and that someday could become problematic, but we'll edit it out then I guess you'll never know. So if you don't have a tattoo, you likely, or you're likely, to know someone who does. And if you've asked them how they knew at the time when they were getting inked whether they would still want that design on their skin years or decades later, you may have just gotten a peculiar look instead of an explanation. There is a certainly a fraternal connection between people who bear tattoos, a connection that those without ink can never really understand. We asked one correspondent to try address this phenomenon. He said, tattoos began as a ceremony, and they're still kind of like that. Once you're in an artist's needle, it's like a little it's a little like a religious experience. It's like the aha moment people talk about having in a business life. It illuminates something you didn't see before. I don't understand any of that. That doesn't resonate with me in any. 

Brad Crowell 3:15  

Yeah, me neither. 

Lesley Logan 3:16  

So first of all, I overthought my first tattoo, way too much. 

Brad Crowell 3:20  

I mean, took me 15 years to get my first tattoo, because of the same thing. 

Lesley Logan 3:25  

15 years from when you're 18 or like?

Brad Crowell 3:29  

Yeah, yeah, I didn't get one. So I guess that's not true. I wanted to get a tattoo in my teens. My parents said no, but I started designing it in my teens. 

Lesley Logan 3:38  

Okay, okay. 

Brad Crowell 3:39  

And then I didn't actually get one until 30 years old.

Lesley Logan 3:45  

Yeah, I got my first one on a blind date.

Brad Crowell 3:48  

You got one on a blind date? 

Lesley Logan 3:50  

Yeah, we wanted something to do. 

Brad Crowell 3:52  

Wow. 

Lesley Logan 3:53  

I know. 

Brad Crowell 3:53  

This is the first time I'm hearing this story, y'all. Do tell. 

Lesley Logan 3:57  

Anyways. 

Brad Crowell 3:58  

How'd that go? 

Lesley Logan 3:59  

I never saw that person again. And I covered up that tattoo after I left my ex with the cherry blossoms that we then added on to, and then I just got others. Because once you get the first one, you kind of start to just get other ones and.

Brad Crowell 4:21  

Well, the hurdle has been left, you know, like, you're, you're, there's this weird mental block of like, I don't know if I want to keep that thing on my body forever. And then after, after you get your first one, you realize no one actually gives a shit. And then also you're like yeah, you know.

Lesley Logan 4:38  

We speaking on podcast or proponents for tattoos? 

Brad Crowell 4:39  

Yeah, I'm not. I'm not that worried about it either. Because here's the other thing, you can also change the tattoo or you can cover the tattoo or you can remove the tattoo.

Lesley Logan 4:50  

Or you can remove it. Keith Davidson removed all of his tattoos. He is a complete blank slate. Google it right now. 

Brad Crowell 4:55  

No way. 

Lesley Logan 4:56  

Google it right now, because I thought for sure, it's AI and people were saying it's AI, and he has done actual interviews about it, and he there's no way it's makeup. He has, he spent $200,000 getting them all removed. And I thought that's all it costs to cover remove his entire body. 

Brad Crowell 5:12  

I mean, he had a he had. 

Lesley Logan 5:13  

His whole head to toe, like he was so covered. So anyways, our neighbor is shout out to Brieanna, Viva Vanish skincare, she actually removes tattoos. So like, to me, you could just remove it, right? Or you could cover it up, but you, you, you do overthink the first ones, and then you kind of just get them, and they just become part of you. Also, I've gotten, like, my dream catcher, my dream catcher tattoo. It is really funny. When I got it. Remember this, Brad, I got the dream catcher tattoo. It takes up my whole fucking arm. We came back from Cambodia.

Brad Crowell 5:48  

Upper arm, shoulder down to elbow. 

Lesley Logan 5:49  

Yeah, shoulder to my elbow. We come back from Cambodia and, like, literally, no one notices. Like, no one notices. And I'm starting to think that like it, people don't like it, you know, and all this stuff. And so I'm, like, starting to make this through my head, and then someone who I've never met in person, they only know me through social media. I was at an event, and they're like, oh my god, is that a new tattoo? And I said, it is. Thank you. I just got it, I just got it right. And other people are like, that's new. And I'm like, yeah, there are people who, like, have known me for years, and I'm like, they're like, well, you're just, like, a person with tattoos. You just have tattoos. So anyways, all I had to say is, you know, I saw a reel or a meme. It was just like, tattoos are just stickers for adults. And, like, we like pretty things.

Brad Crowell 6:32  

I'm in on that. And I was looking up the Pete Davidson thing still, and I found something really interesting. He did an interview with Variety, why he decided to remove all of his tattoos, and apparently he's not removed every single one, but he's removed the majority. He said, on deciding to remove his tattoos, I used to be a drug addict and I was a sad person, and I felt ugly and that I needed to be covered up, and I didn't. And I don't think there's anything wrong with tattoos, but mine, when I look at them, I remember a sad person that was very unsure, so just removing them and starting fresh, because that's what I think works best for me with my brain. When I look at them in the mirror, I don't want the reminder of, oh yeah, you were a fucking drug addict. Like, that's why you have a Sponge Bob smoking a joint on your back. So good for him. 

Lesley Logan 7:18  

Oh, I love that. But see, that's the thing. You can just remove it. So, you know.

Brad Crowell 7:22  

I mean, it's a process, but it can be removed. It's money and time, yeah. 

Lesley Logan 7:26  

You know what? There's a lot of things you could spend your money on. I, don't get something you don't want. But also like. You. 

Brad Crowell 7:33  

I like, I mean there's definitely sentimentality around the tattoos that that I have, have put thought into them. It hasn't been just like, on a whim, but also, too, the more like, as you get after you get your first one, the second one, the decision to get it was, like, much faster than the first one. 

Lesley Logan 7:52  

Well, I also just want to say, like, you don't have to get them, and it's also fine if you get them and don't over, like, don't overthink it so much because it, because you kind of make it perfect and, like, you're trying to get all perfect. And it's, it's, like, it's, there's no judgment either way, like, you're gonna, life will go on. 

Brad Crowell 8:10  

Well, we are very big proponents of ink and tattoos. We think they're really fun and cool. 

Lesley Logan 8:15  

If it's part of your personality, like, and also, like, I don't, I don't think I remember my parents saying, you like, oh, you're gonna be so judged. You'll never get a job, like, that has never happened to me one time, and I have tattoos all over my hands and like, no one notices. 

Brad Crowell 8:17  

Yeah, yeah. 

Lesley Logan 8:17  

You know. So most of them are for me anyways, because when I have to look at myself in the mirror all the time, and I have to, like, look at what I do, like, or on a camera live all the time, and I'm like, I just want something to look at that's not just my family. Just my face. Like, I'm so tired of looking at my own face, I would like to see something else. So that was really a lot of it for me. Anyways. 

Brad Crowell 8:50  

Anyways. 

Lesley Logan 8:52  

Back to this podcast (inaudible) coming up. So, today we actually kick off Agency Mini 11. That's happening right now. 

Brad Crowell 9:01  

Right now. Right now. If you'd have no idea what that means, and you were like, I need in on this, go to prfit.biz/mini. That's profit without the O dot biz slash mini. 

Lesley Logan 9:10  

It's for Pilates instructors and fitness instructors who want to improve their business and attract clients that actually want to teach and make the money they want to make. So that sounds like you. You do want to sign up for this because the next one with our calendar, if it's possible being Q1 of next year.

Brad Crowell 9:25  

Yeah, we're, we've been literally, like, tentatively looking at February. 

Lesley Logan 9:25  

Yeah and it could be the end of February. 

Brad Crowell 9:30  

So it's not, we're not doing another one, we're not doing another one this year. And, and honestly, it's a killer program. So, and it's also not expensive, you should definitely do it.

Lesley Logan 9:40  

62.50 sign up today. Three days. First couple days of replays. There you go. All right. Then we are now really in the countdown of our Summer Tour the van has.

Brad Crowell 9:52  

We leave next week. 

Lesley Logan 9:54  

I know the van has a new look. We have a huge tour going on. We have so many cities that are sold out. So many people are we're so excited to see in person for the first time, some we were seeing in person for the third or fourth time. We can't even wait. It's powered by Balanced Body, which means we actually bring some of the Contrology equipment with us. You can try it out. We have amazing prizes from them to give out, we're bringing Bayon. So it's opc.me/tour and then you can see all the different cities. And some of these cities, you are easily drivable. We have people who are coming to two cities, so you can do that too. Also, if you're having a little FOMO that we're not coming to a city anywhere in driving distance near you. And I just want to remind you, we are driving for several thousands of miles so you can drive a few hundred. 

Brad Crowell 10:38  

Yeah, you can, it's okay, come join us. 

Lesley Logan 10:38  

But it's like, if that's not an option, the Calgary event is a virtual event. And so it's in-person, of course, but there's virtual seats that are available, and they're limited. So you can get those at opc.me/tour, just pick the Calgary event. And then we come back.

Brad Crowell 10:48  

That's, I just want to call that again, if you weren't listening, we have virtual tickets for the summer tour for two workshops. 

Lesley Logan 10:51  

Yeah, we've never done that before. 

Brad Crowell 10:56  

Go to opc.me/calgary. To go directly to where you find them. Opc.me/calgary. Cool.

Lesley Logan 11:05  

Yeah. And then we come back rest up, unpack, repack, because we're going from summer to Scotland's fall, and we are going to be in the UK. We'll be in Leeds and in Essex. 

Brad Crowell 11:17  

Yeah, we're running out of seats over there, y'all. It's exciting.

Lesley Logan 11:19  

Yeah, oh yeah. It's, well, at the time we're recording every time someone buys, it's like, this is, this stock is low. It's like, low it is. So Leeds only has a couple spots. Essex, we are offering day passes there, but every time someone buys a two-day pass, we run out of two-day passes. That's how that goes. So because it's a week during the week, because it's not nice, like, you can go to a whole workshop day during the weeks, plus, like, a vacation during the week, so go to opc.me/uk, I've had a ton of people going come do a tour in the UK. I'm like, I am, you guys, I'm coming in September. And we have a ton of our workshops that are happening at these locations. You can even do both locations. There's only like one workshop that overlaps, so opc.me/uk and then we'll come back at a couple weeks later, we go to Chicago for P.O.T., and then we go to Cambodia on our retreat. And it's not too late for you to sign up for our retreat for Cambodia, because we just bought our plane tickets.

Brad Crowell 12:11  

We just bought our plane tickets, and also we just had another person sign up, you know, so there's still time, absolutely, it's not like, you know, the plane tickets aren't getting overly crazy right now, which is nice. So pop in, come join us. Go to crows nest retreats.com. It's going to be a pretty small group this time, so I'll tell you (inaudible). 

Lesley Logan 12:11  

If you don't like big crowds, it's the time to come, because I can't promise you it'll be a small group every time. In fact, I know 2026 has a ton of people, so you're gonna want to do this one because we'll have more time together. It's a lot of fun, and you can always come a day early or stay a day late.

Brad Crowell 12:47  

Well, we would encourage you to stay a day late, because we actually have two events that we can't include, quote-unquote, in the retreat. I mean, those events include going to see an elephant sanctuary, yeah. And then the second event is a waterfall excursion. And the reality is they're both just like, like, longer events that we couldn't fit into the flow of the actual retreat. 

Lesley Logan 13:08  

Full day events, and also, like, especially the waterfall, we have to have a smaller group weather permitting, you know, all that stuff. So that's why they're extra so and on the extra days, and we're going to do them before we leave, so you should come, crowsnestretreats.com. Okay, we have a ton to talk about with Wendee, but we have an audience question.

Brad Crowell 13:26  

We sure do. @BrendaHornung1990 on YouTube asks, can I put a reformer in our garage? I'm in the southeast. So does it, so it does get hot in the summer southeast, probably like Georgia or Florida? I think I'd be more worried about the humidity. 

Lesley Logan 13:46  

Good job, Brad, good job. 

Brad Crowell 13:48  

Unless you've got a Contrology Reformer, which won't, you don't have to worry about the humidity as much. Yeah, there's no wood that's going to warp, right? 

Lesley Logan 13:55  

Correct, because that's the thing. So, so the thing so one, I don't know which Reformer you're looking at that makes a difference. Two, so if you get a Balanced Body Reformer, that's wood, like a studio reformer, you have to worry about humidity for the wood. However, their springs have a coating on them, so you don't have to worry about the springs resting, whereas the Contrology, it's aluminum. And so you don't know. 

Lesley Logan 14:21  

Or an Allegro 2. 

Lesley Logan 14:22  

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you could do that. 

Brad Crowell 14:22  

Allegro 2 is also aluminum. 

Lesley Logan 14:22  

Yeah, so, uh, is it aluminum? I thought it's fiberglass. No, no, it's metal, I know, but is it alluminum, I don't think it's, it's white. 

Brad Crowell 14:34  

Yeah, it's, it's aluminum. It's definitely not, it's not fiberglass. 

Lesley Logan 14:37  

Really? We should (inaudible).

Brad Crowell 14:37  

It's definitely not fiberglass.

Lesley Logan 14:37  

Anyway.

Brad Crowell 14:37  

100% not fiberglass. 

Lesley Logan 14:37  

Well, Brad is gonna, Brad is gonna, it's a prefab. I know that it's like the way they make it, anyways, the Contrology. I have friends who have them in Hawaii.

Brad Crowell 14:50  

Powder-coated aluminum. 

Lesley Logan 14:51  

Okay, there you go. Brad was paying attention on the tour, not me. Anyways.

Brad Crowell 14:57  

I've also picked them up. I know what they freaking are. 

Lesley Logan 14:59  

Yeah. So the Contrology, my friend has in Hawaii, and the frame is great. Nothing goes on there. Doesn't even rust, but the springs, well, you have to clean the springs, right? So. 

Brad Crowell 15:12  

That's right. Yeah. I forgot about that. That's great. It's exactly the same, like, environment with humidity.

Lesley Logan 15:18  

I so I worry more about humidity anywhere. And then when it comes to, just, like, the hotness, I mean, obviously it's gonna pin like, are you gonna want to lay on a hot Reformer bed? Because it's gonna like, like, it's like, sitting on your car when the car's hot.

Brad Crowell 15:34  

Well, here's the thing, you can actually regulate the temperature inside your garage. 

Lesley Logan 15:37  

Yeah, if you can, yeah, then I would do that. 

Brad Crowell 15:39  

In Cambodia, we have these wall units for, like, air air conditioning. 

Lesley Logan 15:44  

Yeah, I love this idea. We're helping you out, Brenda, so get a wall unit, and then I probably. 

Brad Crowell 15:49  

Yeah, they're called a they're called, there's a specific term for them. What are they called? They're not a window unit. They're a wall unit. Oh, they call it a split, mini split. 

Lesley Logan 16:03  

A mini split. 

Brad Crowell 16:03  

Mini split. So that way, what it does is it actually takes the big air conditioning part of it that, like, you know, is loud and noisy, and it actually is outside, yeah, but then the inside is just a little wall.

Lesley Logan 16:15  

They're amazing. They're so quiet. The other thing I would just say is, like, I've never experienced this thing. I've never had to purchase one in my life. But a dehumidifier is something you can also purchase. I saw one in Brad's uncle's basement. I was like, what is this thing? He said, a dehumidifier. I'm like, I only know about humidifiers. Clearly, that's where I've lived in the world. So you can have a dehumidifier, and then that would make your equipment last a long time as well. 

Brad Crowell 16:39  

That's true. 

Lesley Logan 16:40  

Just something to note that, like Naugahyde and your leather straps, you know, those things can be affected by the weather. So if, again, if it's hot, cold, like, you're just gonna want to find a way to stabilize the environment a little bit so that it, you can have it for years, because that's all I want to make sure, like, we didn't leave my Reformer around the heat. I think my extra Reformers out in the in the garage for, like, in the shed for like, a year, but it was in a box protected. And then we're like, we got to get that in. That's probably not so great for it. So. 

Brad Crowell 17:07  

Yeah, just because the the Naugahyde will eventually become brittle. 

Lesley Logan 17:10  

I think the leather straps would also become, they would dry out as well because, like, they stay healthy because of the oils of the skin. So anyway.

Brad Crowell 17:18  

I just also found out that a mini split is, it's called a mini split because it's heating and cooling. 

Brad Crowell 17:24  

Oh, well, there you go. Brenda. Show us the pictures of your garage with your new Reformer in it. 

Brad Crowell 17:24  

You're amazing. 

Lesley Logan 17:24  

You guys. If you want to ask us any questions, they don't have to be about Pilates, they can be about anything. You'll, you just have to go to beitpod.com/questions. You can also send us your wins. We can celebrate you. And you can hear about your wins on a day that you need to because they always happen to land on the day. You're like, my life isn't working. And then you hear a win you had, and you're like, Oh my God, it was, I just forgot.

Brad Crowell 17:47  

Stick around. We'll be right back. 

Brad Crowell 17:49  

All right. Welcome back. Let's talk about Wendee Close. Wendee is the founder and CEO of Goals2Life, a personal development platform designed to help individuals create and achieve meaningful goals through detailed planning and execution. It's quite a comprehensive platform. It's actually kind of amazing. After 27 years in the B2C industry, she pivoted into the tech world to build a purpose driven SaaS platform aimed at transforming how people bring their aspirations to life. SaaS stands for software as a service. So the like a SaaS platform would be like Gmail or Google Calendar. That's a SaaS platform. In this case, she's making a tool that is software that'll help you bring your aspirations to life for real, known for her resourcefulness and her get it done attitude, Wendee now helps ground people break through burnout and overwhelm by aligning their goals with their values. And I think for her, that was, like, legit, because she was like, doing she and her husband had started a business that could she do it? Yes. Was she really good at it? Yes. Did it light her fire? No. Should she have been doing it? No, right. But she did it for decades, right? And after all that time, and they really did well, she still was like, I kind of don't like what I'm doing, yeah. And so that's what caused the shift to start this platform, you know, effectively starting a second career after her kids have flown the coop. She they're empty nesters now. So, you know, she's, she's definitely tackling a huge project. 

Lesley Logan 19:30  

Bird launcher. 

Brad Crowell 19:30  

She's a bird launcher. 

Lesley Logan 19:32  

Yeah, I like, I know I said on the podcast, if not, I said her face. I am, like, immensely impressed that she has taken on this project because, like, it's so, like, I had no idea what starting OPC like, how much effort it is to have a platform like OPC. Like it is the amount of work we have to do on a daily basis for OPC is the amount of people who work on that site to keep everything. So like, when she was, when she talks, she's like, oh my God, that is the biggest project in the world. Like, I was just like, sitting there, from the experience of it, and she doesn't even see it as difficult. I mean, like, of course there's difficult times, there's hard days, but she always is like, excited for the challenge. And like, she takes it in, and then she figures out who she has to talk to to make it happen. And so anyways, one thing she said that I love, and I think it is why she can do what she's doing and take on this mountain of an amazing business, is when the vision is clear, you become it. So she is like, even though the project is still being built out and it works. She has tons of clients and tons of customers and tons of companies that work with it, but it was something that she's continuing to build and perfect and do. She isn't waiting for it to be ready to go out there and talk about it. She's talking about it because she's it.

Brad Crowell 20:54  

She's been talking about it, I mean, you know, before it was even ready to go. She understood what she was building, who it was going to help, and was out there sharing it with the world.

Lesley Logan 21:04  

I mean, if you haven't listened the episode, you have to, because it's truly a Be It Till You See It like it is, she is not waiting for the project to be ready for someone to deem the project ready for anything like that. She's like, I'm going to go out there, I'm going to talk about it and the questions I get and the things people need are going to help me make it even better. And that's what we are always trying to tell people to do inside of Agency as well. She said, when you believe in what you're doing, it becomes, it becomes easy to show up and say, this is who I am and this is what I'm doing. The vision is so strong, you live it. And I think, like, a lot of us, are sitting in the place where she was before in that B2C thing. Maybe you're not B2C but, like, was she good at it? Yes. Can she do it? Yes. It didn't light her up. And so I think a lot of people are struggling with, like, preaching, preaching out loud and and boasting about the thing they're doing because it's not the thing they really want to be doing. So they're not as excited. She is so excited about this. Every time I talk to her, I'm like, excited about what I do. Like, somehow, like, it reminds me this is why I do what I do.

Brad Crowell 22:06  

She lights everybody on fire. You know, I bet you, too, that all the things that she learned with her first business on, she managed a team. She, you know, worked with clients. She, you know, understood how to do every aspect of that business. There's like a direct translation for what she's doing now, even though it's a different project and a different product and a different goal, the skills she learned from the first one are absolutely setting her up to excel at this in What? What? So much faster, so much faster.

Lesley Logan 22:42  

Well, and also, like, every single even if the thing you want to do is something you were never trained to do, every skill that you've acquired along your journey is transferable. It's all. 

Brad Crowell 22:51  

Story of my life. 

Lesley Logan 22:52  

Yeah, it's really all so transferable. And there, most of the jobs that I well, the job that I currently have, there's, like, not like a degree in it. So, yeah, like, I think, like, we're all like, where's the checklist to go check? There isn't one. So get your vision clear and then talk about it. Don't be afraid to talk about it, because, just because people question it or and they might not be as excited as you, their questions help you deliver what you do better. You know? When we first started about OPC versus how we talk about it now, very different based on the questions we got from the way we talk about it, you know, like, so.

Brad Crowell 23:28  

Class starts at six. I think we even said that. I'm sure it was, like, new class on Tuesday. I really loved when she was talking about clarity and resourcefulness and her reminder about it, specifically around asking for help, right? She has no qualms to reach out to people and ask for help. She is very excited about what it is that she's doing, and because she knows what she's building, it gives her enthusiasm, right, and courage. And then when she goes and she asks someone for help, even if they say no, it doesn't matter. It doesn't deflate her enthusiasm. But because she has that, she can ask for help in a way that is compelling people actually want to help her. She said, every single day, I'm like, I don't know how to do the thing that I'm gonna do today. But what do I want to do? I want to impact lives. So she has a bigger goal. Like, for example, the conversation you were having was about going live on Instagram. She's like, I'm not a techie, you know, social media user, but I'm willing to learn this thing, even if I fail at it, if I fall flat on my face. Because if I can go live with someone today, and it's got to further my actual goal, which is impacting people's lives. And she said she just, she encourages everyone to just be, learn to be as resourceful as you can. Right? And she said, if you're honest and transparent about where you are and what you're trying to do, others will help you do it.

Lesley Logan 25:03  

Yeah, they will. They because they get excited. Because you're excited. People want to be part of the party. People want to be part of, that is how, for better or worse, people get involved in organizations like you know, they want it. I read the book Careless, careless people about Facebook and, oh, guys, it's a book worth, and if I could get her on, I would, but she's not doing any touring right now, but it's she talks about why she got involved with Facebook and why she was pushing for it to be around the world, because she want, she want to be part of the vision of connecting people, yeah, and helping people have all these and I know that's like the worst example, but also like getting so excited about your thing that people get excited to be part of your life, because they'll want to connect with the right people too, whether or not they can help you, like, Oh, I know, so and so. And then they're so excited about what you're doing when they talk about this to their friend, there's a trust transference, and all of a sudden you have the connections you need, you know. So no one gets to get their goals all done by themselves. It just doesn't happen that way. You want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

Brad Crowell 26:10  

Well, yes, very enthusiastically delivered there. Oh, you mean that old thing. Okay, dad. That's hilarious. All right, well, if you are looking for some, Be It Action Items, stick around, because we're going to dig into those when we come back. 

Brad Crowell 26:33  

Okay, finally, let's dig into those Be It Action Items that we had with our conversation with Wendee Close. What bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted action items can we take away from your convo? I'm gonna go first, because she actually went down all four like, right away, which is pretty awesome.

Lesley Logan 26:53  

Whenever anyone does that, I'm like, oh, you took the assignment to the next level.

Brad Crowell 26:58  

She did. She did. She said, hey, here's what's bold, own your next level identity, right? She encourages you to ask, what would my future self do right now, today, in this instance, and then take that action from your future you, right? And she said, that's super bold, you know, like, know where you're going, know what you're trying to do, and then you know, if you're faced with a tough decision, would you, would you choose yourself make decision A or decision B, right? And then she said, executable, take small intentional steps every single day, small intentional steps, right? Breaking down big goals into micro movements. And then ask, what's one step that I can take today, right now, and then go do that step. In fact, that's like half of what Goals2Life is is literally the execution element of it, because what they help you do is map out your goals and then figure out how to do them, actually, how to bring them to life, right? 

Lesley Logan 27:56  

Yeah. You just, that's where the name came from. 

Brad Crowell 28:00  

Goals2Life. That's where the name came from. Intrinsic. Align your goals with your purpose. Align your goals with purpose. She said, What? Ask yourself, why does this even matter to me? Like, if you have a goal of, let's say, doing a 5k race, you know. Why does this matter to you? Why you know do the seven layers of why you know, what is it that you're actually trying to do here? And then, when your goals are tied to your values, your commitment will deepen. So you need to understand what your values are. And then we need to find goals that are going to tie it all together. So, intrinsic. Align your goals with your purpose, targeted, set clear, measurable milestones, replace vague hopes with tangible outcomes. Ask yourself, how will I measure the progress? We would suggest deadlines. Deadlines actually give yourself by this time I will do this thing, you know, or by this time I will, I will have this finished or this piece, piece of it accomplished. Because then it gives you targets. 

Lesley Logan 29:06  

I just talked to Agency members about this. I said, if with, like, you know, we're halfway through the year, right? And it's like, if you reflect on your goals, you wanted to have done this year, what you want to have done by now, and you're like, oh my God, I didn't hit the name. It's like, well, it's, don't beat yourself up, it's ask yourself very clearly, like, why haven't I done this? What has been in the way? Is this actually something I still want to do? Can I actually do it and then set new measurable goals, set new milestones and make it happen? You know? So I believe in those I love a deadline. 

Brad Crowell 29:35  

Love a deadline. Yeah. What about you?

Lesley Logan 29:37  

Okay, so she said, and this goes back to what I was just saying, so I'll just translate. If something's a priority, if it's a goal, it needs to be on your calendar. And that's where a lot of people make mistakes. They're like, Oh, I'm gonna do this thing, but they don't even set aside time, like in my calendar. If you look at my calendar, it'll say, write this thing, do this thing, call this person. It is in my calendar. So there's not like, Oh, here's my three things I wanna get done today. And. I have a wide open day. No, every single work day is like it's full because I have now, of course, I can move things, if something comes up or whatever, but then it gets moved because if it's in your calendar, you'll reschedule it. So that's what's really important. She said, if it's not in your calendar, it's not a priority. And she didn't mention time blocking. I'm big fan of time blocking. I actually talk a lot about how we teach Agency members how to time block so that they actually move the needle forward in their business. She also said this is really important. She said she was talking about her burnout. She said no amount of movement, water, nutrition or meditation can make up for the lack of sleep, so sleep should be right there at the very top. And I think that is the most important thing. It's something I always talk about. When you come on a retreat to Cambodia, we actually like put your dream schedule together, and the first thing you actually put in there is when do you go to bed, and when do you wake up? It's your dream schedule. It's not your current sleep schedule. It's like what you desire to have as a sleep schedule. And it's the most one of the most important things to do is work towards that, because you cannot, like, biohack your way out of sleep you didn't get. Maybe one day, maybe two days, but you can't do it 365 days. Not gonna happen.

Brad Crowell 31:16  

Wendee and I definitely connected on that, because both of us just didn't leave ourselves sleep time or permission to sleep. And so, you know, definitely impacted me through college for sure, you know. And even today, you know, it's still a decision to make sure that that is a priority, But yeah, I love it. I mean, you know, Wendee is one of the most magnetic people that you'll ever met. Like when she walks into a room, you know it, whether she meant you to know it or not, you know it. And her enthusiasm for and her vision for her business, for Goals2Life, is contagious. And, you know, I think the product is, it's really amazing, and helping people actually move forward, instead of feeling stuck. And, you know, I'm excited, so y'all should go check it out. Goals2Life. The number two, Goals2Life.com, we'll put that link in the show notes, for sure, yeah. But yeah, if you haven't gone back yet, go listen to Wendee. She's amazing. Yeah, go listen to why we love her so much. 

Lesley Logan 32:25  

Okay, I'm Lesley Logan. 

Brad Crowell 32:25  

And I'm Brad Crowell. 

Lesley Logan 32:25  

Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. How are you going to use these tips in your life? We want to what your favorite takeaways are. We want to also know your questions and your wins. So beitpod.com/questions, I know that's confusing, because if you have a win, you're going to the questions, but I promise you, both columns are there. It's very easy to figure out and share this episode or Wendee's episode with a friend who needs to hear it, because that is how this podcast not only continues to grow, but also helps people be it till they see it. The more people around you that are doing that, the easier it is for you to be till you see it. It's really hard to be around a bunch of Eeyores, guys. So send them. Send them Wendee's. Send them Wendee's episode. And you know what to do. 

Brad Crowell 33:04  

Time to be a Piglet, not not an Eeyore. 

Lesley Logan 33:06  

Be It Till You See It. 

Brad Crowell 33:08  

Bye for now.

Lesley Logan 33:10  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.

Brad Crowell 33:52  

It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan 33:57  

It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.

Brad Crowell 34:02  

Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.

Lesley Logan 34:09  

Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.

Brad Crowell 34:12  

Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.

Lesley Logan 34:26  

Oh my God. What if we got merch that like, Be It Till You See It is like being like, I don't know. 

Brad Crowell 34:32  

I don't know if Piglet's the right character, but. 

Lesley Logan 34:33  

I don't know. I don't know if it is either. But I feel like we need to figure that out. Like we need we need visual. We need visuals of what a be it till you see it and a versus a, not be it till you see it is. We need visuals.

What happens when entrepreneur burnout leads to a complete shift in how you work and who you serve? In this episode, Lesley Logan talks with personal development expert and Goals2Life founder Wendee Close about her startup journey, building a purpose-driven platform, and why slowing down can actually speed up your success. If you’re feeling stretched thin or stuck in your business, this conversation will help you reset your goals, reclaim your time through time blocking, and prioritize well-being — starting with sleep.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.

In this episode you will learn about:

• What led Wendee to build a purpose-driven platform from scratch.
• Goals2Life's impact in helping people avoid burnout and regret.
• How Wendee’s leverages AI in helping students build habits that stick.
• How time blocking can help protect your energy and prevent burnout.
• How asking what your future self would do can guide your daily decisions.

Episode References/Links:

• Goals2Life Website - https://www.goals2life.com
• Goals2Life on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/goals.2.life/
• Goals2Life on Facebook - https://beitpod.com/goals2lifefb
• Wendee on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@WendeeClose
• Book: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert - https://a.co/d/8xm2XNR

Guest Bio:

Wendee Close is dedicated to empowering students with the life skills they need to set and achieve meaningful goals. Through her Goals2Life framework, she helps young people break down big ambitions into small, actionable steps that lead to success. With a personal development and goal planning background, Wendee provides tools and guidance to help students stay motivated, build confidence, and turn their dreams into reality. 

Wendee Close is a recognized leader in personal development and goal planning, specializing in helping students build habits that drive success. As the founder of Goals2Life, she teaches young people how to transform overwhelming aspirations into structured, achievable steps. With years of experience in coaching and mentorship, Wendee understands the challenges students face—procrastination, uncertainty, and lack of motivation—and provides clear, actionable strategies to help them thrive in school and beyond. Whether preparing for college, a future career, or personal milestones, Wendee equips students with the mindset and tools to take control of their future.

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Resources:

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-g
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Episode Transcript:

Wendee Close 0:00  

You have to do that self-care. You have to take care of yourself. Because if you just focused on, oh my gosh, I love what I do, I'm going to work, work, work. That's great. But guess what? You're not going to show up as the best version of you.

Lesley Logan 0:12  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started. 

Lesley Logan 0:51  

All right, Be It babe. I'm gonna get into this interview as quickly as possible, because our guest today is one of my favorite humans in the world. Everytime I get off a call with her, I am more motivated to do the thing I already was motivated to do. So this podcast is honest, it's authentic. It's got great tips and it's gonna help you be it till you see it. So here is Wendee Close from Goals2Life. 

Lesley Logan 1:13  

Be It babe, get ready. This conversation is gonna be the caffeine you forgot to get yourself this morning. I promise you. Wendee Close is our guest today, and the two of us, we get together, it's like, so you are, you can slow the speed down if you're someone who speeds up the podcast. Wendee Close, girl, I love you. Can you tell everyone who you are and what you rock at? 

Wendee Close 1:35  

Oh my gosh. Okay. Well, first off, my name is Wendee Close. Like she said, I am the CEO and founder of Goals2Life, and I rock at execution and getting shit done. I am the GSD girl. Definitely want to bring it to people where they could actually say, I want this, and they just don't know how to actually implement it. And I'm your girl for that.

Lesley Logan 1:53  

You so are. Here's the thing, like I was looking through, you know, Be It babe, we have, like, a form that people fill out. And it's really funny, because I, whenever it's a friend of mine, I'm like, just fill out the logistics, like email address, I know you, but like, my team's like, we do need the bio, Lesley, we do need these things. I'm like, ah (inaudible). But one of the things that I love that you wrote in this form, you actually talked about being it till you see it as a CEO of Goals2Life. And I, I would love for you to share that with people, because I couldn't agree more when I met you, when I met you, Goals2Life was an idea. You were busy doing the things, but it wasn't a thing yet. But to me, I was like, I felt like, oh my god, this woman is the CEO of the biggest, coolest, most amazing, successful company, and then I find out, like, the next day, when I'm talking with you, you are in the process of it. So you are a Be It babe, example, tell everyone what you did. 

Wendee Close 2:51  

Oh, I, 100% okay. So for me, I lived 27 years in a B2C world, and that's like, you know, working directly with the consumer I decided, you know, here I was not in alignment with my calling. So I'm like, okay, I have now been put into a direction that now is in alignment with my purpose. So it's very clear when you have vision and you're like, okay, this is the vision of what I'm supposed to do, the gifts that I have, I'm perfectly in alignment, it, and when the vision is so clear, you you become it. So I knew I had to create a SaaS platform, which is a software service, a huge platform to solve a world problem. It's like, it's not, it's so much bigger than me. And so I have to believe so much in the calling and the purpose and my gifts and my capacity to know when I walk into the room, it's already happened. It's already happening like I already know it's not if, it's just when, and it's going in because the conviction is so strong, because you're filling a need and a void that is so needed, and you know you have the right solution, and you know you're the right person. You just show up because that's who you are, and that is what you are doing and what will be done in the perfect time. So you know, when you believe in what you're doing and when you're in alignment, it's just so easy to show up and say this is who I am, this is what I'm doing. These are the lives I am changing. This is what I'm going to do. And I'm not just doing it here and now I'm going to do it across the world. So it's just taking it in and sometimes living it way bigger than you are, because the vision is so strong and you believe it, so you live it. 

Lesley Logan 4:28  

Yeah, I, I agree with that. Like I and loves, you don't need to know what a SaaS or a B2C is, to know that, like, all this stuff, like, to take everything she just said because I think what I, what I want to highlight is, like, you are very successful for 25 years in doing what you're doing. Like, honestly, you could have just like retired. You could have just like part time. 

Wendee Close 4:49  

Yeah, my husband reminds me that all the time, let's just take a risk and let's just go live decide when he wants to leave a legacy in a whole different direction. You know it is, it can make you sick if you are out of alignment with who you are. And until you could really find your purpose and use your God given gifts, it can be a struggle, and you may have this emptiness or feeling of unfulfillment. And so until you can actually get clarity on what that is, and then start crafting a plan and start moving into action and when you start acting on the things that you know and you're in alignment, you start having this overwhelming sense of joy and there's not a day of working, you know, when people say, you know, what's the saying of when you, when you love, what you do, you're never, never work or whatever, truly like, I get up and straight, straight up, you guys, I'm in a startup, and this is launching a software startup. This is not easy. This story to be tell. I cannot wait. 

Lesley Logan 5:44  

It's like obstacle after obstacle, like green light, yellow light, red.

Wendee Close 5:50  

I will tell you I wake up every day with so much joy of the opportunity to be called to do something so great, and to actually be able to impact lives and make a difference. I do not, no matter how many hours, no matter what the struggle, no matter what the difficulty is. When you are in alignment and you have vision and you know you can help other people, there's not, it doesn't feel like work, like it really doesn't even, no matter how hard it is, unless you know it's hard.

Lesley Logan 6:17  

Yeah, oh, it's, I agree with you, like, you know, before we hit record, I was like, I refuse to work more than eight hours a day. 

Wendee Close 6:23  

Yeah. You just told me that. 

Lesley Logan 6:24  

My work day is technically scheduled to be around seven, sometimes six. And the reason is, is, like, it's gonna go an extra hour. I'm gonna, like, I'm gonna wrap things up before I, like, sit down and I'm like, okay, what's going on for tomorrow? That doesn't mean I don't love what I do. It just means that, like, I also know that I have to live a full life, to show up every day to be the thing for you, for everyone that I'm helping. But I wake up every day like so excited. I do not hit snooze, I get in a cold punch, I get my walk in. I cannot wait to do the things that I'm doing, and I agree with you. Like, if you are out of alignment, you do almost get sick, you get frustrated, you start lashing out. You know, I guess, like, the question I have because, like, I we, I am in a tech business, which I would never have thought, like, I didn't. I was like, I'm a Pilates instructor and I hear my husband go, oh, we have a tech platform. And I was like, I'm like, we do? It's beautiful. It's so good. 

Lesley Logan 7:17  

Hold on, does anyone notice what colors I'm wearing? 

Lesley Logan 7:20  

Oh, my God, she is wearing OPC color. She's got the OPC hot coral. She's got the OPC turk- she is OPC. So I, I think, like, I think some people get caught up in the part that we're in right now, which is, like, we're in it. We're building something we didn't know. And you're kind of learning as you build a plane. How did you get yourself to trust that you'd figure it out? Because, like, you go from having the goal of a Goals2Life is, and by the way, her B2C was not like, also in tech guys, so this is, like, a whole, I just want to say, like, like it was, this is a 180 from what she was doing. How did you go from like, it's okay that I don't know what I don't know, I'm gonna do it anyways. Like, how did you wrap your head that you'd figure it out?

Wendee Close 8:09  

I, well, I would just tell everyone, just learn to be as resourceful as you can. And I was not afraid of asking a lot of questions and being vulnerable to the people that I know had the answers, because people really do want to help you, and there's a lot of people out there that if you come and you just being honest and very transparent about where you are and what you're trying to do and that you don't know, they will help you. And so I have made some incredible relationships and found some phenomenal mentors on this journey asking. And then I am just extremely resourceful, and I have confidence to say, you know, there's a lot every day I wake up every single day I'm like, I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to do that. Like today, I'm doing a live with Brooke Riley, and we are going in because I don't know how to go live. You guys. I don't. And guess what? What do I want to do? I wake every day, up every day figuring out how I can reach more people, to impact more people's lives. So guess what Wendee needs to do? I need to get out of my comfort zone. I need to learn how to go live, how I can get in front of more people. Do I want to do it? Not really. But guess what? I do want to impact lives. So guess what Wendee's going to learn? We're going to go live and we're going to learn how I'm going to go live through Goals2Life. I built a plan. She's going to teach me, and we're going to teach other people, but that's like everyday, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm going to get online and say, I don't know what I'm doing. So you all can watch me not know what I'm doing, but we will learn together, and people will be more vested in what you're doing when you show up that way.

Lesley Logan 9:37  

I agree. I, thank you for, and also thank you for being vulnerable and you, you and Brad are like people in my life who like you're not afraid to ask people for help or ask people for connection or ask and I didn't grow up like with that. And so I'm always so surprised when I see people do it. But then what it does is it gives me permission to do it too. And so I find myself doing it more, and I'm like, okay, and I don't even have to feel guilty for asking for that, because they are doing it. If they didn't want to do it, they wouldn't do it. And if they don't do it, it's not that they don't want to do it. They might have forgotten. So let's just, hey, are you still going to do that thing? No problem if you're not. Like, you guys have, the two of you, thank God for you. Like, it's a contagious behavior that you have that I needed. So let's talk a bit about Goals2Life. Because, like, you are creating this platform. It is huge. It is robust. It is for the biggest impact of all these people. Why and what do you want people to do with it? 

Wendee Close 10:36  

Oh my gosh. Well, the big why is I want people to live a life of wholeness. We want to help people trade that burnout, that fatigue, for fulfillment and the overwhelm for outcome, by helping them bring their goals to life, but the biggest thing is, in every area of their life. We don't want one person focused on one area and looking back and regretting and understanding that they compromised other areas, just like, Lesley, how you're saying you're going to do an eight hour a day. You have to do that self-care. You have to take care of yourself. Because if you just focused on, oh my gosh, I love what I do, I'm going to work, work, work. That's great. But guess what? You're not going to show up as the best version of you. Something's going to give, and you will get the burnout if you don't take care of yourself. So it's really bringing awareness to people, understanding that we are so multifaceted, and we have to take care of each area, like if you neglect your finances, your relationships, your spiritual connections, your anything like I, mental health, like, you could literally, okay, let's just talk right here. We could be the best Pilates person ever, and have your body so strong, and here you are, but mentally, you're a hot mess. So health is not health, like, that's great. But guess what? If you're not taking care of your mind and having peace in your mind and reducing that stress or anxiety that you might be feeling, then you're really not feeling as if you are truly at peace and in harmony with what you're supposed to. So, yes, first thing first, Goals2Life is to help people, because they, they, everybody, I don't care if you're 10 years old or 90, everybody wants something. They desire something. They need to do something, or they dream of doing something, right? So now it's like, okay, what do they do with that? Most people just spiral it in their head. We empower people to allow them to understand the next step is to actually get it written down. And how do we help them create a plan? Because without a plan, they're just wandering around with a no direction. Have no clarity. They're stressed because they don't know what direction they're going. And then once they write the plan, we have an easy tool and a resource through our system to help them implement and execute the plan so what they can actually achieve the life they want. And that's what we want. People deserve to live the life they want. They just need to know how to do it. And we want to empower them through Goals2Life, to live the life that they really deeply desire. And people just don't know how.

Lesley Logan 12:59  

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's true. I mean, like, I think people get so caught up in the how. And there's all these coaches out there, very brilliant people who are like, oh, don't get, don't get stuck on the how, just figure out the why and the what. And it's like, yes. And also, like, people do need to help with that first next step, because if they don't know the first next step, they will just get stuck in this house. So I really love that you've like, created this platform that really helps people, like, create a plan.

Wendee Close 13:27  

A detailed plan. Sadly, I know people don't want to live in the details. And right now, we're working with a university here in Southern California, University of Irvine UCI.

Lesley Logan 13:35  

Cool.

Wendee Close 13:36  

And I have their I have their computer science department, their graduate students working on our platform right now, and you know, we're talking about AI. So AI is built into the system to guide you. We do have over 60,000 data points, so we have recipes for success. You want to feel this way? We'll tell you the strategies and actions. You don't even have to think, but we want people to think. So, we're like, how much do you want AI influencing a life plan for people? And it's interesting, because AI is such a big topic right now, where you know to commit to something, to really commit to change, you do need to know your why, but you have to be vested into the work of creating and thinking about what, what you are willing to do, what you're willing to sacrifice. And you can't let AI do that, and AI can't do the actions for you either. You have to do the work and yeah, so it was interesting a fine line of how much you bring AI into this process, because if you make it too easy, they're not going to end up executing. Sometimes you have to do the work to be more committed.

Lesley Logan 14:34  

Yeah, I think you have to have some skin in the game, like, there has to be some investment. It's the same reason, like, you know, I got I did a lot for my business, listening to podcasts for free when I didn't have money to invest in coaching, but at some point, I was not willing to take the risk money-wise in my business with these ideas I was hearing on podcasts, until I invested in a like, you have to have some skin in the game so that you actually can do the work. I agree. My girlfriend, Monica, does my photos. She's been on the podcast before. She is like, are you using chatGPT to give you a pep talk in the morning? I was like, no, what are you talking about? 

Wendee Close 15:10  

I haven't heard of that. Okay. That's a new, that's a new, thank you for sharing. 

Lesley Logan 15:13  

She sent me screenshots. And it is like, Monica, you are the best. I mean, like, it is so great. I was like, okay, I clearly need to get up in the morning and say, good morning. Here's what I got going on today. Give me my pep talk. Like, not because I need it, but like, there is something nice about someone else going, you got this. Like, I think that that's really cool. I want to go.

Wendee Close 15:33  

I love that, by the way, thank you (inaudible) We could all use some motivation, right? 

Lesley Logan 15:40  

Yeah, yeah. I mean, like, I don't know, some of us listen to music, like, we've had, like podcast guests on before. Like, their Be It Action Item was like, pick up your fave what's your song that's gonna be your Be It song and play it every morning. And that one resonated for me a little bit. But there's something about like, I don't know someone like, like, cheering me on as I get ready in the day, like, I kind of need it, but I, I want to go to like you are so good, and like one of the most generous humans I've ever met is you okay? So you are, like the picture next to the definition of the word generosity with love, all of that. So how do you make sure you don't get lost in the impact you're trying to make in the and being the owner of this business, EE CEO, the wife, the mom, all the things that you do, like, how do you prioritize Wendee? How does that happen? 

Wendee Close 16:25  

Oh, wow, that's, that's great. You know, I was thinking about that because I love human connection, and I love people so much. And sometimes, you know, I know that I give at a 10. Like, you know, some people are like, are you a bucket? Like, where do you go? Because not everybody's at a 10. Some people are at a two, and you can't have those expectations that they want to love on you the same way, but they do love you. They just don't have the capacity to love it that way. So I have to say when I'm doing it, it has to make me feel good like when I'm giving and loving I have to be filling my bucket. The minute I'm start doing things that are not serving me well. I need to set my boundaries and realize, am I doing this because, why am I doing this? Is it because it's actually filling me up, and if it is filling me up, then I will continue to do it, but if it's starting to I'm starting to question if it's taking away and not serving me well, I need to step away. And I think having those evaluations just because it's a behavior or something that I'm used to doing, I have to check myself, time, because time is so valuable, right? But I do know that for me, having I'm not a surface person in any way, shape or form, having meaningful conversations with people where we actually are challenging and supporting each other is really what fills me up. A lot of time with my husband, where we have time to pray and be together and connect and start our day off that way. I do start my day off with a playlist. We have Goals2Life playlists for every goal, type two on Spotify. So I am a music girl, but I do listen to podcasts. So Lesley, keep them coming if you're listening to them, you know, share them with me, because I do. But I think, believe it or not, as much as people think I'm such an extrovert. I'm actually really much of a needing to be quiet and still, so I do a lot of time in the sauna, reflecting and journaling. Also, that's how I take care of myself. I love my infrared sauna. I love to start my morning in there and just secluding myself with myself, and just having peace in the morning and taking care of my thoughts and my body.

Lesley Logan 18:19  

Yeah, I agree. Like, I know, I know there's a lot of people like, have, like, I have a lot in the morning. I have all this going on. I'm not a morning person. I'm gonna tell you, like, if you that's fine if you could prioritize another time of your day to give to you and your body. But if you're still not, then you gotta figure out how to do it in the morning, because there's something really amazing about, you talk about your cup being, your buckets, like, at a 10. I can tell the difference when I have, like, not done, not have to do my whole routine, because I travel a lot. You travel a lot. Like, I'm not gonna I don't have my sauna with me, my sauna blanket, or my cold plunge in my hotel. 

Wendee Close 18:53  

I know, you're like, dang, when you come home and you're like, whoo. 

Lesley Logan 18:56  

I know, but, but I still like, I'm like, okay, well, I can still do a morning walk, or I can still do a morning meditation. There's there has to be something that is selfishly for me to fill up so that I can show up and be the gregarious introvert you all know me as. That's what Brad calls me, I say high-functioning.

Wendee Close 19:16  

I agree. And I mean, it's and it's in disguise. People probably are always so shocked when you or I may say that I mean as much as I love and I get that sometime it just drains me too. So I just need to get that quiet time and just be alone and still so I can go and be there for people when I'm out next. 

Lesley Logan 19:34  

Yeah. What are you, like, okay, your particular goal, Goals2Life, building this whole thing out, like, it has different stages, has different processes. It's like ongoing, it's years long, you know, like, I think a lot of people, when they set a goal, it's like something that can often be done in a year, but like, this project that you've taken on, like, I've known you for a few years now, and, you know, like, how what do you say to yourself? What do you like? How do you set yourself? I know it's we know we talked about alignment, and this is thing is in you, but it is hard, like I have for okay, I'm going to talk about myself for a second. OPC is turning eight this year, seven or eight this year, and, and if you had told me in, you know, 2017 when I started everything, that it was going to take me until 2025 for things to, like, fall into place. I don't know that I would have started like. I don't think I would have been like. I think I've been like. That is a long time. I don't know that I have the energy and stamina and money.

Wendee Close 20:38  

Yeah it's definitely (inaudible).

Lesley Logan 20:41  

And like money to continue to pour into a business to make it fulfill its dreams. So how do you do that? Because, I mean, like this, it's not like, this thing is free, and you're just like, you know.

Wendee Close 20:53  

Yeah, building a tech company is probably one of the most expensive front end. Like our first business, we had a really low overhead, and were able to bring profit in really quick to, like, grow it, you know. But this is a whole different thing, because you build before you get and what you're building is not something that is low cost. So, you know, especially when you're building it as robust as we are, and it's so layered. Yes, I mean, it is a complete faith project for me, I will have to, and it's not faith, of like, oh yeah, it's not a business, it's a massive business. But it's like, I am 1,000% clear that I am, I am the person, and I have been given the gifts and capacity to bring this out to the world, and I am. There's no turning back for me. So like, when I make a decision, I am going to give it my all, and I trust that God's gonna, like, open the doors and in His perfect time, I know it's not, it's not if this is going to impact lives worldwide. I am 1,000% confident, and let's just, quote me on this, I just don't know when, but it will happen. And it's like, really giving me constantly being around people like you, Lesley, that we just keep cheering each other on, or maybe our chatGPT also cheering us on, and our friends just giving words of encouragement, saying, girl, I get you, like I'm there, like we got this, like, just having each other's back and having people on your journey that are there to just truly support you. But yes, this is hard. Like, this is the story. I mean, I had yesterday and the day before, two really, really amazing, inspiring humans that are almost like mentors to me. They're like, Wendee, this is your story. This story that is, it's not going to break you, like, it's going to refine you to the person that you need to be so you can do what you're being called to do, like, this is hard, really freaking you want to cry sometimes, but you're still joyful, and your heart was like, this is so hard.

Lesley Logan 22:42  

Yeah, yeah, it I feel you like it is, it's, it's so hard. But also, everything is hard. You know, I once heard like I read, I've quoted this book before, because it's that good. Y'all have to read, it's called Big Magic, and she quotes a guy whose name I'm not remembering, but she quotes a guy, and it's Elizabeth Gilbert's book, and it's from years ago, like probably 2017, 2016, from years ago. And she quotes a guy who says life is a shit sandwich, and you just got to choose a shit that you can chew. Like it's got bread, some great stuff, some shit in the middle, some other great dressing and some bread. Like, just know that everything, every idea you have, every broad project you have, every goal you have, there's gonna be some shit in the middle that you're gonna have to chew up and tolerate and do, and it's hard. And so when I read that, I was like, oh, so it's not, this isn't just hard for me. Like, everyone has a hard everyone's going through it, and so I guess that should make you even feel good, because you're like, okay, I'm on the right path. I'm in the muck.

Wendee Close 23:52  

Well, no, truly, I mean, and it's just also being really intentional what you feed your brain. Like, I know that what we listen to, who we put around our lives, like even from the music to the if I don't really watch much TV, I don't have time, but like everything, I have to be very careful with what I'm listening to and who's around me, because it impacts and so I have to have things that are moving me in a forward direction and not spiraling me back. So because every you need to show up in a way like right now, I just went on a 40 day reset of resetting my hormones, resetting my metabolism and just getting my brain and everything in perfect alignment to have clarity so I could show up as a best version of me to do the work that I'm being you know, you can't be out drinking every night and eating whatever you want and feeling like crap and trying to show up as you gotta walk the walk, and you gotta yep and say, like, if I'm the one being called to do this, I need to take care of myself so I could show up this way and have the have what you need, because it's a lot of grit. It's a lot of grit. And it's like, I remember, okay, so there was a guy I helped his startup he ended up actually selling for, like, I think, two or $3 billion I mean, there's a big difference between two and three, but hey, in the billions, anyway. So I, when I talked to him, and I still talked to him, he said, are you sure you want to do this? You cannot do this for someone else. This will be the hardest thing you're going to do. And I'm warning you that if you think that you're being inspired by someone else to do it. It has to be so deeply in you, and you have to be so passionate about it, because this will probably be the one of the hardest things, and you have to have so much grit and so much hustle to make this happen. And I'm like, nope, it's in me. And I remember seeing him. I went to Utah to see my daughter, and I went and I went and met him at his office. I'm like, okay, I'm feeling it. This is hard, but I'm still happy. I'm still like, yeah, I'll take the challenge. This is going to be so much fun to do. Yeah. 

Lesley Logan 25:54  

Thank you for sharing that. I think, I thank him for, like, telling you that. I think, like, you know, some people can hear that and think, why would this person try to talk you out of it? But I think, like, it's almost like you gotta talk yourself, like it's, it's you, it's important to know what you're up against so that you can make the best decision for not just you, but your family, those you love, all the things, because they're part of it too, even if they're not on the payroll, like they're in the journey, you know they're sharing you with, with this goal. 

Wendee Close 26:25  

Oh, I, just sharing like I'm empty nester right now, no, kids. I'm some bird launcher. Let's think positive, right? I launched my babies out into the world, and so it's me and my hubby. 

Lesley Logan 26:33  

I, okay, hold on, you're a bird launcher. Yes, we should start changing that, because empty nester sounds like, oh my God, are you okay? But a bird launcher.

Wendee Close 26:41  

I'm like, hell. I did a great job with these babes. 

Lesley Logan 26:45  

Also, don't we want them to go off and fly? All these kids are coming back to the nest, and I think that that's not so good.

Wendee Close 26:51  

No, thank you. No, thank you. But yeah, so, you know, it's just all perspective, but it's interesting, because, you know, time blocking is important, setting boundaries is important because I don't want my husband to feel you know, I need to prioritize, because it's now the two of us. It's our time to be together and prioritize and enjoy one another, create experiences, and then also, here I am doing a startup. So bless his heart, but yes, no making sure that I am prior, he's feeling like a priority as we have launched our babes, and it's the two of us at home. He's not feeling second fiddle. So, you know, time blocking those things, it was interesting. Okay, so I, one thing you didn't ask, well, you kind of did, but I didn't say it, um, how I do things is, if it's not on your calendar, it's not going to happen. And you guys know, like with Lesley, she's really good about making sure things are on our calendar, and she has people helping. And same here. If something is a priority to you, if it's a goal, it needs to be on your calendar. If it's not on your calendar, it's not a priority to you. So you've got to look at your calendar and make sure that you see not heavily weighted in one area, that you see that there's different things on there that you are actually prioritizing beside one thing, because something will get. So I will tell you this morning, before I came in, I made sure I'm having a date night with my son on April 1st with my mom. I have a date night to celebrate my reset with my husband this I'm going to an amazing restaurant with him on Thursday and Saturday, so you know, and I'm just booking like, what's important? I need to, if it's important that I do a date night with my husband, that we celebrate our progress, that we I gotta get it on the calendar, that I see my son, that I see my mom, like the people that matter, that, you know, you make time for it. Even time blocking I want to move this project along, time blocking time to work on it. So time blocking is huge for me, and setting aside evening like sleep routines and morning routines and all sorts of things. 

Lesley Logan 28:41  

Yeah, it's, I mean, and that's, we have a fun way that we, like teach you how to put their, like, work schedule together. Because a lot of people we work with, they go, they kind of only get paid if they're working. Now, if you do the math the way we teach you, then you're getting paid for your time off too, and the time that you're working on your business, all that stuff. But all that being said, the way we do it there's like, your priorities have to go in first, and your sleep is the first one. Like, it has to be in there. You have to put that in because if you are fitting sleep in between everything else, you can only go so long doing that. And once you hit 40, good luck, ladies, good luck. Your body will literally hate you back. Like, you'll be like, okay, you didn't treat me well. So here we go. This is what we get. So I couldn't agree more. I think, like, you know it's been said, like, show me your calendar. I can show you what your, what your priorities are. And also, like, it's okay. Like, I had a coach whose coach told her, if you get three things done in a day every day, let's just do it, like, five days a week. That's 15 things that you got done times four. I can't do that math in my 60 things, 60 things in a month. That's a lot of things, you know, but we're all trying to, like, you know, do all 60 things in a day, and then we wonder why we're exhausted and tired, and it's not that we're not moving the needle forward because. Can't have that many plates going this doesn't work like that. So I love that you talked about time blocking and priorities, and also appreciate you sharing, like, what that looks like. Because I think sometimes we think like, oh, it must be like during the day seven hours. It's like, no, you can have dedicated quality time at dinner at a really amazing place you've never been to have a shared experience. Bones flipped off like, you know, enjoy each other and that can't that actually can be enough, you know, so that you guys have something to look forward to, but also something to talk about other people.

Wendee Close 30:29  

Yes. I mean, it's so important, whether it be a relational setting aside time to work on the things that will, you know, help, help you in each area. Can I just say something really, Lesley brought up a really important thing when I mentioned sleep. So one of the big reasons why I shifted is I had a major burnout. And believe it or not, there was out of alignment, was one part of it, but the other one was me lack of sleep. I thought that I was Wonder Woman. I had the capacity to do all things. I'm Mmiss Energizer Bunny. I didn't need sleep. I thought it was a weird human that didn't need sleep, but I did all the perfect things, like, if you were to name like, what is all the things in every area of their life that you do and I was doing it all, but what wasn't I doing? I wasn't sleeping enough. And so what happened? I got massive burnout, and that had to do because I wasn't sleeping. So now, like, sleep is one of the biggest priorities for me. So I will just let you know. Like, yes, when you say that and it sounds weird, like, oh, but you think this is better, and you're doing all these other things if sleep should be right up there at the very top.

Lesley Logan 31:25  

Yeah, it's thank you for I mean, like, Brad is also Brad thought he could, like, go without sleep. He's like, I'll sleep when I'm dead. You know. 

Wendee Close 31:33  

Oh yes, that's what my husband said. 

Lesley Logan 31:34  

Yeah and no, no, as a very young kid, he ended up like, you know, at the doctors with them going, you gotta sleep, dude. Like, you have to, you have to sleep, you know, so, so it's, I know, it feels like a waste. It's like, literally, when your body repairs, so no amount of Pilates, water, protein, nutrition, no, you cannot.

Wendee Close 31:34  

Meditation, any of it. Yeah.

Lesley Logan 31:55  

No, you cannot out nutrition. Like, and you don't, I don't know, and I will say, like, I'm not someone who says you have to have eight hours. Like, eight hours. Like, there's actual studies that show some people can do six. Some people need nine. Women tend to need more than men. But also, like, I have found that seven hours is really good for me. I can run off six and a half, but I'm gonna have to get some a little over seven in there. Seven and a half not a problem. More than that, unless I'm sleep deprived. It's too much for me. I actually wake up groggy. So, you have to test that for yourself. And by the way, there are like you can use Goals2Life to figure that out. You can make a plan and go, okay, how am I going to figure out how much sleep I need? I know my friend Kareen thought like she needed to sleep until 10, and when she actually work with a sleep person, they're like, no. If you fall asleep when you're tired and you wake up, you technically go to bed around 10, and you wake up at five, naturally, like you at 5 a.m. she's like, I'm a morning person. I had no idea.

Wendee Close 32:48  

I know I'm building your whole circadian rhythm. It's amazing, you guys. But when in the time blocking of setting your nighttime routines and adding like your bedtime to your calendars is and even your eating times and all this anyways, so Goals2Life does have calendar integration with, like, Outlook and Gmail or Google Calendar, so it really helps. So your goal plan is in complete alignment. But yeah, when people are like, oh, it's a priority, but they're not putting it on their calendar, I'm like, no, it's really not. It's not really your goal. How bad do you want it? You're not making time for it. You're filling it with, like, unproductive things that aren't moving the needle forward.

Lesley Logan 33:20  

Yeah, yeah, I agree. Wendee, I lit, I literally could talk to you forever. We'll have to, we'll have do this again when we'll do another check in, see how all this is going. We're gonna take a brief break and then find out how people can find you, follow you and Goals2Life with you. 

Wendee Close 33:33  

Sounds good. 

Lesley Logan 33:34  

All right, Wendee, where? Where do they need to go? Where do you hang out? Where are the links? Where are we going?

Wendee Close 33:40  

Okay, all right. So you can go to Goals2Life.com and that's with the 2 so like, we're bringing your goals to life. So, goals2life.com and there is a sign up page right there where you could sign up for Goals2Life. Right now, we have a 30-day free trial to check into the system. We have community. We have a lot of amazing things. You can also follow us on Instagram or Facebook and our YouTube channel. Very inspired. Lesley has inspired me, okay, another person who is helping me, inspire me to have a YouTube channel, and it's under Wendee Close. So follow the journey of me actually bringing my goals to life, live. And you know, hey on the go. So that's what we'll be doing. And I hope that you guys can all join the Goals2Life movement of actually implementing and executing and achieving your goals. 

Lesley Logan 34:25  

I hope you all do. I think it's really cool. It's nice to have a tool to help you, like you can have all the ideas and all the advice, but like, sometimes we do need a tool, just like my friend Monica is using chatGPT as a tool to pep talk her in the morning, like we it's you don't have to be a superhuman who, like, somehow remembers all these things. You've given us so much already, to be completely honest. But I really want to hear your bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted steps people can take to be it till they see it. What do you have for us, babe?

Wendee Close 34:52  

Okay, all right. So for bold, I want people to own their next level identity, so within Goals2Life they can create that identity through our goal pathways and align it to who they want to become. So I want people to ask themselves, what would my future self do today and actually do it in action. Because we're all about action. Make it executable. The E is executable. We're all about execution. So take small, intentional steps daily. So we'll, in Goals2Life we'll help you break the big goals into micro movements. And so I'm going to ask you to ask yourself, what is one step that I can take today and actually take it? Take the action, and then the I is intrinsic? So align your goals with purpose, as I've talked about a lot, like aligning what you want with a purpose, and make sure it's in alignment with your values and principles. So in Goals2Life, we want you to set goals that will actually matter. So we're going to ask you to ask yourself, why does this matter to me what I want to do? You need to know why it matters to you so you're deeply rooted into the commitment of actually fulfilling what you committed to through your goal. And then the T is target. So set clear, measurable milestones that you can have a target on and in Goals2Life we will turn, , your vague hopes or your ideas into actual, tangible outcomes. And we want you to ask yourself, how will I measure the progress? And in Goals2Life we can help you measure your progress so you can celebrate and actually achieve. 

Lesley Logan 36:18  

I love, at the Be It Pod we celebrate every Friday, and we should be celebrating all the time. We celebrate on Fridays, just in case you didn't take time. I truly love those. I think that, like, I feel like you almost defined the Be It Action Items in a way, it's like, perfect that you know, in a way that, like, I always hope people understand, like, why this podcast exists is just to help you take the next step to be the person you want to be, as if you're already that person, and that's you, literally, Wendee, are a shining example of that, but also what you're creating is like literally the tools people need to do it. So thank you for being you. Thank you for Goals2Life. My Be It Pod listener, what are you gonna do? Be It babe, what are you gonna do? How are you using these tips in your life? What was your favorite takeaway? Make sure you tag Goals2Life. Tag Wendee Close. Tag the Be It Pod. We want to celebrate with you. We want to be part of your journey. We want to know how this is going and send this to a friend who needs to hear it. Because sometimes it's like your friends need to hear it from a different, a different setting, a different, the same words from a different set of voices to help them get out of the rut, take the next step, get into alignment. So thank you, Wendee, for being you and a dear friend. 

Wendee Close 37:23  

One other thing, you are a Goal Expert in Goal Select. So, you guys, we promote people as fabulous as Lesley, and we have experts across the nation. She is our Pilates expert. And she is amazing, as you guys all know, and so she is a huge part of the movement in the physical goal set. So thank you, Lesley, for for believing in Goals2Life and being part of our community and being an expert, also.

Lesley Logan 37:47  

I'm, it's an honor. I'm so excited. I can't wait to see where we go with this together, like, and that's the coolest thing about like, people like you and myself and Brad and all these other people who we all get to we all get to do this together. You know, even though we're apart, we're like our but our ships can, like, you know, tag on and tug through and like, we can do this together. And that's, that's you, too, as you listen, Be It babe, like you have your friends, if they are growing then you all get to grow together. And that's where things get to be really, really fun. So, everyone, you know what to do. Until next time, Be It Till You See It. 

Lesley Logan 38:12  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod. 

Brad Crowell 39:03  

It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan 39:09  

It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.

Brad Crowell 39:13  

Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.

Lesley Logan 39:20  

Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals. 

Brad Crowell 39:23  

Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.

In this Fuck Yeah Friday episode, Lesley Logan reminds us to pause and acknowledge our growth. She shares the story of record-breaking astronaut Sunita Williams, celebrates a huge community win from Heather Ingram, and talks about intentionally taking time to rest before a busy tour. It’s your reminder that wins, big or small, deserve to be honored.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.

In this episode you will learn about:

• The inspiring space journey and career of astronaut Sunita Williams.
• Heather Ingram’s confidence breakthrough after years of dedication.
• The importance of recognizing your growth and trusting your gut.
• The benefits of taking time off before the start of a big tour.

Episode References/Links:

• Sunita Williams - https://www.instagram.com/p/DHrAX5tJajs

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSI

DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipment

Check out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper’s Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipment

Be in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlist

Be It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-survey

Be a part of Lesley’s Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/

FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/

Resources:

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-g
• Lesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/
• Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQ
• Profitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/

Follow Us on Social Media:

• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/
• The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-g
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilates
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/
• The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses

Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan 0:00  

It's Fuck Yeah Friday. 

Brad Crowell 0:01  

Fuck yeah. 

Lesley Logan 0:02  

Get ready for some wins. Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Lesley Logan 0:47  

Hello, you guys. Happy Fuck Yeah Friday. Welcome. How are you? This is where we do a quick, quick episode celebrating your wins. You might, you might hear your win, and it's going to be later than you sent it, so it'll be a reminder of a win you had, and you get to hear a win of mine, and hopefully that helps you see that there's like, wins happening all the time, and then some inspiration and affirmation. 

Lesley Logan 1:06  

So okay, so I saved this back when everyone was, like, up in a tizzy about the all those rich women who went to space, and of course, there were some people who went on there who are actual scientists and have done some amazing things in this world to, like, change things. So we don't discount that there were some epic things going on there, but I remember it happening around the same time that Sunita Williams came back from she was there for 286 days. Okay, so we're gonna talk about her. I'm just gonna read the actual thing. The actual post. This is from Female Quotient, and I'll put the link in the show notes. But she was supposed to go to space for like, eight days, and ended up there for nine months. And so I remember this happened. I'm like, what if she, like, parked and just like, long term parking. Like, you went away for eight days, so you have, like, what a dog set up for eight days, but now you're gone for nine months. Like, just, can you imagine all the things? Like, do you have? All the things you need? I'm just hopefully, I don't know if she has a cycle. I'm just, like, a little worried about that. Anyways. So meet and welcome home, obviously, she's been home for a bit, but let's just talk about her, because we need to, she did not get enough press, and we have to, let's do that, Be It babes together. Sunita Williams, record-breaking astronaut, pilot and trailblazer, who returned to Earth after 286 in space with fellow astronaut, Butch Wilmore. One of the most experienced spacewalkers in the world, she holds the record for the most spacewalks by a woman. Williams, originally from Ohio, was a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot who logged 3000 flight hours and 30 different aircrafts before becoming a NASA astronaut. Fast forward eight years, and she took her first space flight aboard the ISS. Her career accomplishments are out of this world and growing. Spent 608 plus days in space, ran the Boston Marathon in space on a treadmill, oh, my God, completed nine spacewalks totaling over 60 hours, was the first person to pilot a spacecraft using only touch screen controls., was the first woman to command the International Space Station twice, among the first astronauts chosen for NASA's Artemis missions, aiming to bring humans to the moon. More Fun Facts, during her most recent mission, because of her high speed, 28,000 kilometer per hour and low gravity, Sunita technically experienced time slower than us on Earth. She grew space lettuce, helping NASA study space food production, because the ISS orbits Earth every 90 minutes, she witnessed 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets per day. Oh, my God, so Sunita Williams shows us that strength, curiousity and resilience can really take you places. Sunita, thanks for being a badass. Thank you for your 286 days on, you know, up there and like, what an inconvenience. And also, like, for just like, I mean, not being scared to do, like, some crazy stuff, like, you're just, we need more. Like, that's the news I want to hear. Why didn't I hear that? Why do I have to hear about like, Katy Perry going to space like, I don't really care. Anyways, that's just me. 

Lesley Logan 3:48  

Okay, now it's time for one of your wins. Heather Ingram. I had an opportunity to sub a bunch of hours at a studio this week, and had two new clients in my studio as well. I had some moments of awe at how more comfortable, confident and knowledgeable I am as an instructor, and I said to myself, self, you're a great instructor. Will there always be more to learn and apply? Absolutely. But after pursuing this passion the past seven years of teaching, I'm so much more confident, and I'm attracting a great client tribe, and I'm more in tune with listening to my gut and being in practice versus perfection with clients my self practice and my business. Thanks to all the communities in Agency, eLevate, OPC, I feel grateful to know what it feels like to be firing a little bit more on all cylinders, and some days will always just be hard, but everything feels a bit better. Plus, the sun has been out in Seattle for eight days straight, so maybe that's it, too. Heather Ingram, yes, girl, yes. Oh my God. I love it so much. I love it so much. I think that's like, a huge that's such a big win. I'm just going to leave it with one win from you all just because I just want to let that all sink in. Like, how many times have you been like, investing in learning, investing in growing, investing in time and energy and understanding something? And how many of those times you sit back and go, whoa. Look what I, look how far I've come. Like, how often have you looked in the rear view mirror, like, what a badass am I? I'm like, celebrate before you hit that next peak. Like, Heather, your win, I think truly is one of the biggest wins we could have. Like, I think sometimes we think, oh, I don't have a big win because I haven't been to space yet. But like, understanding, acknowledging and celebrating like that you're doing a badass job. That is, like, probably one of the biggest wins ever. And I'm so, so stoked for you. So thank you for sharing that. 

Lesley Logan 5:23  

All right, now it's time for one of my wins. So, you guys, I'm currently in Los Angeles visiting friends, and that's my win. I'm about to go on a big tour, our summer tour, and you'll hear more about that in the future episodes. But I have had, like, I've tried many different things on, like, oh, let's do a vacation at the end of the tour. Let's try to do some days off in the tour. And we are doing that. But most of the people are like, oh, I couldn't go on vacation before something, because, like, I have that thing on my mind. Let me just tell you, yes, the tour is on my mind, and yes, there is promo happening about it. But also I like, gotta be honest, I'm so excited to take some well-rested spa time before I go on tour. So I'm going on a spa day with some girlfriends. I'm seeing some friends I haven't seen in a long time, because we don't go to go to L.A. as often as possible, as we used to, like, just seemed like things were easier when you couldn't travel anywhere else, but where you could drive. Like, we went to L.A. almost monthly. And so here we are, like, like, I don't know when the last time we were there, so I'm just super, super excited, and that's my win. So if you plan some time off for yourself, you need to pat yourself on the back. Give yourself a high five. You just had a win. 

Lesley Logan 6:28  

All right. Affirmation, affirmation. Be good to yourself. Be good to yourself. Be good to yourself. Are you being good to yourself? Like, what? Yes, be good to yourself. You're a badass, you're amazing. And until next time, Be It Till You See It. 

Lesley Logan 6:46  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.

Brad Crowell 7:27  

It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan 7:33  

It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.

Brad Crowell 7:38  

Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.

Lesley Logan 7:43  

Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.

Brad Crowell 7:47  

Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.

In this recap episode, Lesley and Brad explore the foundational role of our feet in overall body health. Reflecting on Lesley's conversation with board-certified chiropractor and co-founder of Gait Happens, Dr. Jenifer Perez, they unpack the surprising impact foot function has on posture, mobility, and even mental health. You’ll learn why toe strength matters, how modern shoes may be hurting you, and simple, effective steps to reclaim your foot health from the ground up.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.

In this episode you will learn about:

• The connection between foot function and whole-body movement.
• How toe strength directly affects your risk of falling.
• The hidden impact of modern footwear on foot dysfunction.
• How foot pain can lead to emotional and cognitive decline.
• How to shop more intentionally for shoes that actually support you.

Episode References/Links:

• eLevate Workout and Q&A - https://lesleylogan.co/elevatewaitlist
• Agency Mini - https://prfit.biz/mini
• OPC Summer Tour - https://opc.me/tour
• UK Mullet Tour - https://opc.me/uk
• Cambodia October 2025 Retreat Waitlist - https://crowsnestretreats.com
• Submit your questions - https://beitpod.com/questions
• Gait Happens Affiliate Link - https://gaithappens.com?ref=mwe4ndk (Code: "LESLEY")

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSI

DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipment

Check out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper’s Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipment

Be in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlist

Be It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-survey

Be a part of Lesley’s Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/

FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/

Resources:

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-g
• Lesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/
• Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQ
• Profitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/

Follow Us on Social Media:

• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/
• The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-g
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilates
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/
• The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses

Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan 0:00  

I would say it is the influence on the rest of our body right, like how your feet hit the ground, how you roll through your whole foot or don't, right, if you roll at the side of your foot, or if you're avoiding your big toe because it hurts or it aches, or, you know, anything like that, like that kind of stuff, affects how your body is moving through the world. 

Lesley Logan 0:20  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Lesley Logan 0:59  

Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co-host in life, Brad, and I are going to dig into the grounding convo I had with Dr. Jenifer Perez in our last episode. If you haven't yet watched that episode, listen to that episode. You, your feet are missing out, and that means your whole body is missing out. 

Brad Crowell 0:59  

Gait Happens. 

Lesley Logan 1:10  

I am so excited that this is finally in your ears, you guys. I can't even, I've been waiting for this to come out. Anyways, they're really, really amazing. But before you get into your feet, today is July 10th 2025 and it's Global Energy Independence Day. We observe Global Energy Independence Day on July 10th yearly. It aims to raise awareness about the importance of alternative fuels. We are currently using fossil fuels as our sources, and they need replacing. Fossil fuels are non renewable and require a very long time, millions of years to form. They also are a source of pollution. On this day, on this day, we raise awareness against fossil fuels and focus on finding alternative sources that are renewable and relatively non-polluting source of energy. Michael D. Antonovich, a member of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. 

Brad Crowell 2:16  

Antonovich. 

Lesley Logan 2:17  

Antonovich. 

Brad Crowell 2:18  

Antonovich. 

Lesley Logan 2:18  

Well, I think you could have done either way. Yeah. L.A. County Board of Supervisors started this day in 2006. 

Brad Crowell 2:25  

Good for him. 

Lesley Logan 2:25  

I know. And so we should all so do you know? Just like, just look at what you can, you know, obviously, some don't come at me. I know some of you live in places where you can't have electric car because it's going to be negative 30 and, you know, whatever, and that's hard. But like, what can't what what renewable resources can you use? You know, like, what can you switch out? Or how, like, what can you reduce or what can you be more thoughtful of? Maybe, instead of driving to work every day, you carpool with people, you know, just like things like that, because, like our friends, we've talked about them before, they take each other's kids to school. So instead of two cars going to the same school from the same neighborhood every day, they have one. 

Brad Crowell 3:05  

Yeah, I love that. I mean, also too, you know what the grid taking more abuse because things are getting hotter and colder, it's important to have energy independence, even for your house. Yeah. How do we do that? You know how my parents used to do it? Firewood, you know? I mean, that's creating smoke when they're burning it. But I don't think there's that. I don't think there's a a full way out of non-pollution, because batteries take, you know, an effort to mine and make, but, but like, you know, fossil fuels also take energy to mine and make, mine and form and stuff like that. to 

Lesley Logan 3:34  

People had to come out but, like, oh, well, what about the bat the electric car battery, and how long it takes. And it's like, okay, but the ozone layer, like the ozone layer, guys? 

Brad Crowell 3:46  

Yeah. I mean, there's still a lot of issue with getting the materials to make the batteries themselves. But, you know, I think that there's, it's inevitable we need to transition away from what we've been doing for the past 100 years that has actually damaged our planet. 

Lesley Logan 4:00  

And also, fight with the cities to make sure they have public transportation that is easier to use, because, like, if you could take a train or a bus rather than co-drive your car. Yeah, yeah. I'm not saying that you don't, like, we don't have electric cars, but what I am saying is, like, we also don't drive every day. You know, like we there's a certain thing that we what can we be thoughtful about? You know, like, how can we be thoughtful? We talked about this other day, about, like, the plants that you plant, like, are they native plants so that they don't need as much water, like, all these different things, so that, you know, you could just, we can keep this fucking world somewhat livable. 

Brad Crowell 4:36  

Keep this world. Global Energy Independence Day is today, July 10th.

Lesley Logan 4:41  

All right. 

Brad Crowell 4:42  

Yesterday, we hosted the eLevate workout. So if you missed it, the replay is available on the website. It's a workout that you could take for free. The reason that we hosted that workout is so that we could also answer questions that you actually might have about Lesley's mentorship program. It's a nine month program. It's called eLevate. It's specifically for Pilates teachers to help them tie everything together when it comes to this Pilates method that we have inherited here from from our dear Joe Pilates guy. 

Lesley Logan 5:10  

Our dear Joe. 

Brad Crowell 5:11  

Our dear Joe. The reality is that the way that marketing has taken the world by storm when it comes to Pilates is that most people just think Pilates is one of the many pieces of equipment that are involved in the system of Pilates, and they just don't know all of the other pieces. And often what happens in our training is that there's a major focus on one or two pieces of equipment, and people don't see the bigger picture. And so during eLevate, it allows you the opportunity to dive in on the Cadillac, the chairs, the barrels, and then, of course, also the Reformer and the mat. But you know, it brings it all together. 

Lesley Logan 5:47  

It and it's even if you've like, I want to highlight it brings it all together. Even if you've learned all these things, are you using them as a system? 

Brad Crowell 5:54  

Sure. 

Lesley Logan 5:54  

Because that's something that, like, I think, is the most mind-blowing part of it all for the eLevators is to, like, see how all these exercises work together. And it's not like I'm doing Reformer Pilates, I'm doing Tower Pilates, I'm doing Wunda Chair Pilates. You're doing Pilates. 

Brad Crowell 6:09  

I only do Toe Corrector Pilates, people, okay.

Lesley Logan 6:11  

Well, on this episode, I think we can be okay with that. All right. Next week, July 17th, Agency Mini is back. This is for Pilates instructors and studio owners who run their own business or want to run their own business, not for the Pilates employees, love you, but you there's not. 

Brad Crowell 6:29  

Well, you can come in and join us. There's no reason you can't do that, but you're going to feel frustrated because you don't have control to adjust the things that we're going to be discussing.

Lesley Logan 6:39  

Yeah, or you can come because, you know you want to be doing that. 

Brad Crowell 6:42  

That's right. I was gonna I was gonna argue it's still valuable, because maybe that's what you want to do in the future, is open up your own space, or have a home studio, or take some clients on the side, where you are in control of what you're charging. 

Lesley Logan 6:53  

It's also okay to love being an employee like we love (inaudible). 

Brad Crowell 6:55  

Totally is, 100%. 

Lesley Logan 6:57  

So in Agency Mini, it's three days. We'll have a live webinar. We'll have a day where you do your homework, you can choose to use the Lesley on Demand tool. And then we'll have an office hours day complete with breath work. And there is two days of replay. So even if you are busy the 17th and 19th of 17th through 19th of July, you'll have two extra days for those replays. 

Brad Crowell 6:57  

Three. 21st and 22nd of replays. 

Lesley Logan 7:17  

Look how generous you are. That clearly was not something I said. So anyways, you guys, look at that. And if you go to prfit.biz/mini you can sign up. It's 62.50 right now. But there's ways to get coaching call with us. Even though you're not an Agency member, there's a lot of different little extra goodies in there.

Brad Crowell 7:29  

Yeah, I mean, 62.50 the value of the overall value is 980 bucks, y'all, we're set we're offering it to you for 62.50, so go to prfit.biz that's profit without the O dot biz slash mini.

Lesley Logan 7:48  

And then in a couple weeks, we leave for summer tour.

Brad Crowell 7:51  

I'm so excited this, y'all, Lesley and I have had a mission to make the van hospitable in more extreme weather, and we've been able to pull it off. We finally got an air conditioner heater inside of the van. So that. 

Lesley Logan 8:05  

Yeah, because we had a fan before for last summer tour. And let me just tell you, if it's 100 degrees out and the fan is just sucking out hot air, it's not really cold.

Brad Crowell 8:15  

It's not bringing in any cold air. It's bringing in what's outside. So, in this case, we actually now have an AC unit and heater, so when we're in the cold, we can kick it on. When we're in the heat, we can kick it on. And so that's been really, really exciting. And we're gonna kick those tires, as it were, on this tour. It's 4500 miles. We're gonna be gone for 25 days, and we're gonna be doing our very first international tour, y'all, we're going up into Canada. We're going to hit three cities up in Canada. We're going to hit another 13 cities in the United States, and we can't wait to meet you in person. We're going to take Bayon with us. You get to hang with him, and he's just so fun. So go to opc.me/tour that's opc.me/tour.

Lesley Logan 8:58  

And there's a virtual option on this tour as well. So if you can't go to this in person, there are two workshops that are virtually we will be doing hybrid. And so we invite you, if you're filling the FOMO, to sign up for those. 

Brad Crowell 9:09  

And if you're trying to figure out where they are, they're in Calgary. Okay, so when you go to opc.me/tour, click on the Calgary stop in there, you'll see there's two workshops. They're going to be those virtual workshops. Good point. Love that. It is the first time we've ever offered that available to everybody. So that's, that's a big deal. So check that out. All right. Next up, we are going to be in the U.K.

Lesley Logan 9:10  

We're still touring. It's just a different tour, instead of the OPC Summer Tour, it's the U.K. Mullet Tour, and it's business in the front and Pilates in the back. So there's business, like life-type workshop in the morning and then Pilate workshops in the daytime, plus a class if you are there's two locations. You can go to Leeds or Essex or both. There's only one workshop that crosses over and you want to go to opc.me/uk there are day passes for the Essex stop, because that is during the week. Yep, we're doing a workshop on a Tuesday and a Wednesday, because sometimes that's the best day. And then we have the weekend, the Saturday, Sunday options are at the Leeds location and that that only has a couple spots left. So opc.me/uk to get your spots for that.

Brad Crowell 10:10  

And then finally, come join us in Cambodia. We'll be there in October. It's going to be just an amazing trip. We're really, really looking forward to it. It's going to be one of those, like, markers in your life, where you get to look back on and go, remember when it's going to be one of those, like, literally, we have people who have gone on this trip, and then they've talked about it so much when they got home that they came back with their friends the next year. It's happened three times now over the years. 

Lesley Logan 10:38  

Three times. 

Brad Crowell 10:38  

Three different times we've had repeat visitors, because it's just one of those trips that is mind-blowing. So, crowsnestretreats.com. Come do Pilates. Come eat amazing food. Meet awesome people and actually take a break from life. Take a retreat. Take a retreat. Come join us. All right, before we get into this great gait conversation that we have with Jenifer Perez, trying to be cute there, we had a question, and it was from @MailSandyMurali from YouTube asks, "Can you talk about flat cervical neck or herniation in cervical areas and the effect of exercises such as jackknife?

Lesley Logan 11:16  

Okay, so the Jackknife exercise is one of many exercises and Pilates that you go overhead. And so if you have stuff going on with your neck, like herniation, you don't, it's not for you. 

Brad Crowell 11:27  

Not allowed. Don't do it. 

Lesley Logan 11:28  

No. So if you have a flat neck, and there's no pain or contraindications, like you just have, like a military spine, yeah, it's just like Brad. 

Brad Crowell 11:37  

Brad has this. 

Lesley Logan 11:38  

You, you can do overhead exercises, that being said, they're going to be much harder, because we've got to be able to flex your thoracic spine and stand on those shoulders so you, so Jackknife does not it no overhead exercise should be weight on your neck at all. It's not like a shoulder stand in yoga, like there's no and actually there's no weight on your neck there you're using blankets, if you do it correctly, to be up on your shoulders, but there's no weight on your neck. You are on your shoulders. But typically, if you have a herniation of the neck, have to be mindful of the things you're doing with your shoulders, and especially the weight you're putting there, because it's very easy for you to strain that, right? So, so if you have a flat cervical neck, and there's no issues, no conjugations, we just have to really build up your shoulder stability. You can stand on that. But if you have anything going on, fusions, herniation, stenosis, things like that, with your neck, guess what you get to do, so many other exercises, so many. 

Brad Crowell 12:33  

499 other exercises.

Lesley Logan 12:35  

Yeah, yeah, double. 

Brad Crowell 12:36  

Well, any of them that are not going upside down in the back. 

Lesley Logan 12:39  

Well, and also, Jackknife is a flex like a dynamic exercise, where you flex your spine, and then you stand on your shoulders, and then you guide everything down with your core, and then you work the legs away. So double straight leg stretch is great for you. Elephant is great for you. Up stretch up stretch combo is going to be good for you if you can get to extension. But up stretch for sure. So, like, there's just so many so don't ever, ever let overhead exercises like being outside of your practice make you go, oh, I'll never be advanced. No, an advanced practitioner means that even beginner exercises are hard for you, so just omit those things that are overhead and replace them. Like if you're doing OPC classes, you'd replace Jackknife with an exercise that was challenging for you. Boom, there you go.

Brad Crowell 13:19  

I dig it. Well, that's a that's a really helpful explanation, and thanks for writing in your question. If you have a question, please join us by going to beitpod.com/questions, beitpod.com/questions and you can submit a question there, or you can submit a win. If you listen to the pod, you're very familiar with our Friday episodes, where we get to celebrate you. This is the easiest way for you to send that in. Send in your questions beitpod.com/questions. Yeah, let's do it, people, let's get to it. 

Brad Crowell 13:49  

Stick around. We'll be right back. We're going to dig into this really helpful conversation that Lesley had with Dr. Jenifer Perez. All about the feet. 

Brad Crowell 13:57  

Okay, now let's talk about Dr. Jenifer Perez. Dr. Perez is a is a doctor of chiropractics and a lower extremity specialist, as well as the co-founder and vice president of Gait Happens G-A-I-T gait as in, how you walk. A platform dedicated to helping people understand, strengthen and reclaim their foot health. Though initially uninterested in feet, her perspective shifted after discovering the critical role they play in overall biomechanics. Today, she empowers people through evidence-based tools and exercises that address common issues like foot pain, plantar fasciitis and bunions. Her mission is to help people move better, starting from the ground up.

Lesley Logan 14:39  

Yeah, I mean so many things I like that she said, I actually still follow them and like, do their tips, and I am a big fan of their toe spacers. And we do have an affiliate link, and we do have discounts for you. So make sure you go into the show notes. I think the code is Lesley, if I'm not mistaken, just L-E-S-L-E-Y but you'll have our links in there. Get the tools you need. I like the little to spreaders, I like, like little TheraBands for my toes, which is really, really fun. So anyways, one of the things that I love that she said is our feet are our foundation, and how they interact with the ground has a huge influence on the rest of our body. I would say it is the influence on the rest of our body, right, like how your feet hit the ground, how your how you roll through your whole foot, or don't right, if you roll at the side of your foot, or if you're avoiding your big toe because it hurts or it aches, or, you know, anything like that, like that kind of stuff affects how your body is moving through the world. And she said modern footwear is a major contributor to foot dysfunction. And we talked a lot about modern footwear, and like, Brad, save its handles and, and just like, you know, I've been really interested in this. I was buying some new weight training shoes, and I was quite specific. And, like, look at the weight training she was like, okay, how do I get ones that have a wide toe box for my foot? How do I get ones that don't that I can, like, really feel my feet on the ground that, you know, like, I, I really happen to, like, the ones I'm using. It's almost like I'm not wearing shoes, which is really nice, but they're not, they're not like Vibrams or whatever, but they're really, really great. So I just think that, like, we need to be more conscientious of the shoes that we're buying and how we're doing this is affecting our whole body. And she said, because your body can only move in the range of motion that's allowed if you're working with shoes that don't let you roll through your feet because they're really stiff, or you're working, you know, you're walking around in heels, they have a time and a place my loves, but like, it affects how your whole body moves, and that's why your back can hurt, or your hips can hurt, or things like that. And she said there's a ton of small things you can do to add to your foot health each day. So you guys, like, right here, while you're listening to this pod like you can actually massage your foot, like you could have, we have a noboso ball that is in Brad's office, and we just both toss it on the floor. We're watching TV, and we, like, roll our feet on this ball, because it's so good for spreading the bone, spreading the toes, things like that. So you gotta give your feet a little love. That's what she said. 

Brad Crowell 16:56  

Yeah, I was listening, when I was listening to the interview, what struck me was the progression that we make inadvertently a negative progression, so I guess it's a regression in our foot health when we try to solve the problem by putting them into comfy shoes, right? So we put it into a shoe that we're like, oh, feels so much better, and then that only lasts for so long, and then we need to find a better solution, or another solution. And then now we have a softer shoe, or we have, you know, whatever, and it just keeps getting worse and worse and worse. And she said, at one point, we have to break that cycle. And how do we break the cycle? You can do it with Pilates, y'all. You can also work with them if it's really a bad thing, like if you got a lot going on there, and they'll, they'll be able to help you start to figure that out. But you know, she said, I love my Birkenstocks. I'm a big fan. And she said, there's a couple of really amazing things. They let you spread your toes wide and all that kind of stuff, she said, but they're also a very stiff shoe, and so you're not bending your foot, you know, during your walk, as you're walking the way that you ultimately want to be doing. And so while it certainly, it's not like a it's not a bad shoe. It's also, if you're only wearing Berks all day, everyday, you're not actually helping yourself either, right? So, you know it's, it was just interesting to hear her say that. 

Lesley Logan 18:10  

So, just so you know, Dr. Jenifer Perez, Brad, walks on the treadmill at the gym without shoes on which I don't know is any better for his foot health, but.

Brad Crowell 18:20  

I do not walk on the treadmill with no shoes on. No.

Lesley Logan 18:23  

I caught you, yes, oh, yes you did. 

Brad Crowell 18:27  

Yeah, maybe, maybe I had socks. Okay, if you're, so, so, one thing she also talked about, which I thought was really helpful, is she said, if you're in pain and you're not active, other things are going to shut down, right? And she said being unable to walk or participate in activities you enjoy due to foot pain can also lead to mental and emotional decline. She said at the end of the day, foot pain, it affects every part of you, and it does hold us back. She highlighted research that indicated that where there's a connection between cognitive ability and mobility, your brain actually, like is affected by this, right? She also talked about toe strength is one of the biggest indicators of a fall risk, which this was, I mean, now that she said it, it's, it's so freaking logical, right? Because the toes of these tiny, little itty bitty thingies, the ankle and the knees and the hips are way stronger muscles around it, but those tiny, little bitty toes, why do we have them propulsion for movement and balance, right? And if the toes are weak, then you're not going to be able to stay balanced. It's much easier to fall like, soon as she said it, I was like, oh, duh, that makes total sense, right? So keeping your toes, your foot, healthy and strong, is going to help you as you age, because maybe you don't have that slip and fall, right? Because maybe it wasn't a slip and fall. Maybe you just don't have any foot strength, toe strength. Right? She also noted that research has looked at strength of how your toes are strong and what they're actually, like, doing. The big toe, obviously, is stronger than the pinky toe, right? 

Lesley Logan 20:07  

The goal of it. 

Brad Crowell 20:07  

Correct. It should be stronger than the pinky toe. She said, when it comes to strength, the big toe should be able to press with about 10% of your body weight and about 7% for the other toes, right? Also, she said our bodies, like, are amazing, and that they can compensate, which is, it's when we start compensating, when we're not evenly using the strength of our toes, when we start to compensate, that's when things start to get jacked up, right? Like, think about it, if you're always walking on the one side of your foot, and you're not using your feet, your toes equally when you're walking forward, eventually there, you know, those that the outside of your foot, or the inside of your foot is going to be, you know, off balance from the rest of it, and it's going to start to affect where, where it gets picked up by other things. I've experienced, plantar fasciitis. I also know I literally walk on the outside of my feet. I literally used to stand on the outside of my feet when I was working in restaurants, because my feet were in pain, and it was like less painful to stand on the outside of my feet. 

Lesley Logan 21:10  

You can, you can, maybe you should walk on the inside of your feet to balance that out. 

Brad Crowell 21:14  

Well, actually, because I have a high arch, that's exactly what I need to do. It's very typical to see people with high arches walk more towards the outside of their feet. I didn't know that. I didn't realize. I didn't learn that until recently, until I started watching some videos from Gait Happens, actually.

Lesley Logan 21:31  

I know they have abundance of videos. They're very helpful. Very, very helpful. 

Brad Crowell 21:36  

Yeah. So you know, now it's been fascinating. It's been something I've been really thinking about consciously, and she she actually talked about that, too. I'm sure that's actually one of our Be It Action Items, it is, literally. So stick around. We're gonna dig into that. We'll be right back. 

Brad Crowell 21:50  

All right. So finally, let's get into these Be It Action Items that you covered with Dr. Jenifer Perez from Gait Happens. What bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted action items can we take away from your convo with her? As I just mentioned, we did dig into this in the Be It items here, she said, go barefoot, just for five minutes. Okay? And while you're barefoot, obviously you're taking your shoes off. She said, start to feel, you know, your toes, and try to do it on a different texture, maybe, if it's always on a rug, try walking on a tile floor or concrete or linoleum or something like that, right? Go outside. Walk on the grass. Let your feet move and feel. 

Lesley Logan 22:31  

Because when you walk on grass, grasses, even though they cut it level, like currently, while we're recording this, they're mowing our lawn, and it will look level. And then you walk out there, and it's like, oh, very uneven. Actually, very uneven. 

Brad Crowell 22:43  

But she talked about how when you're walking, just feel each toe, feel what you're doing with your foot. We don't consciously think about it. When we're using our feet, we just flop them down, because I don't know we've been walking for our entire life, so you know, but we're not consciously aware of how we're doing it. So think about it for five minutes. Actually, focus on it for five minutes. That's free, easy and, and like, I mean, it's actually very enlightening, because I started to notice, oh, wow, I, I almost, I'm actually hardly using my big toe, which is where, which should be used more, right? Crazy stuff. What about you?

Lesley Logan 23:21  

Well, I already slayed this one. And she, actually a couple of times. She also challenged the next time you buy a pair of shoes, buy a pair that may look a little different than you're used to. So for example, your it should the shape of the shoe should look like your foot. Okay, so, like, ideally, what people are, if you look on Instagram, what people are trying to do is, like, put your foot on the shoe, like on a running shoe, your big toe should be able to be straight ahead, because if your shoe is pulling this big toe or pinching your toes into, I'm covering the mic, sorry, guys, pinching your toes into a little triangle, duh, your foot hurts. Duh, you have back pain, all that stuff. It's not good for your feet. 

Brad Crowell 23:58  

Yeah, dress shoes definitely don't give you much room in there, right? 

Lesley Logan 24:02  

I've never I'm only wearing really beautiful tennis shoes now, but, um, I, we got hiking boots recently. I also was looking I was like, oh, I like this. I'm like, oh, that's gonna be too narrow. Oh, I don't, that's gonna be, that's not the shape of my toe box. I got these ones. They're wide, they're a little. They're like the all they could be, like, freaking Uggs how wide they are. But my whole toe box fits, and my toes aren't scrunched. And I really like it. And I like those toe spacers I was talking about that they had. I love I know it's a good running shoe and weight training shoe, if I can wear my toe spacers in them, because there's room for my toes to be spread out in that spacer and there's room for my foot. And I love it.

Brad Crowell 24:38  

You know, another tip she talked about when it comes to shoes. First off, they have, like, a list of shoes on their website, so go check that out and be like, I'm shopping for this type of shoes. See what they recommend. But also, she said, if you're never like, like, like, look what is the Vibrams, Vibrams that are the toe shoes? Right? 

Lesley Logan 24:57  

Yeah, yeah, they're so not sexy. 

Brad Crowell 24:59  

Yeah, whatever, not the point. The point is that they are clearly giving you your foot shape, you know, the room to be its own shape, instead of jamming it into something small. But imagine if you've never worn something like that before, you know, it's going to take time for your body to adjust and accept that. So you might get those thinking this is going to be the thing that's going to help me, and it might help you eventually, but start small. She's like, wear them for a few minutes. Then, you know, wear something else. Wear them again. Wear them again, and get used to it. Because I remember when we bought our initial hiking shoes years ago, and it was the first time I ever had like, they weren't trail running shoes. Were they? Yeah, they were trail running shoes, and they were basically, like, huge, open inside shoe. There was very little support, and as wide. And I never worn a shoe like that, and it took me weeks to, like, be able to wear them all day. 

Lesley Logan 25:51  

Oh, yeah, the ones we got for our honeymoon. Yeah, I think, yeah, you definitely want to start small. Start for a few minutes. Get used to it. I mean, like, same goes if you're actually working on your gait, like they're doing like, I switched my running pattern for a long time. I went from being a heel striker to, I forget what they call it, but anyways, a four-foot runner, and it just takes time. You can't, I can't, I couldn't go run six miles, even though I'm used to running six miles because new muscles had to be used, there's a new pattern, so be nice to yourself, and all or nothing mentality gets you nowhere. 

Brad Crowell 26:26  

Well, all and you're not wrong on that, and good for you. I mean, learning how to run, it seems so, it seems so weird to say that, but like it's important. It is so important, just like learning how to walk and actually use our feet properly. So anyway, y'all, we actually have a link for you if you're interested in having Gait Happens work with you on your walk, your feet like any issues. If you have a bunion or you have plantar fasciitis and you're feeling stuck in life, check out the link in the show notes. We also have a coupon code there for you. And so make sure you're dropping that in. It'll allow them to know A. that we sent you, and B. it should hook you up. Yeah, it should hook you up. 

Lesley Logan 27:07  

And when you let them know we sent you, it helps. 

Brad Crowell 27:10  

10% off your purchase. 

Lesley Logan 27:11  

Yeah, it supports the pod. It lets them know that they, you know, they you came from here. And so they go, oh, wow, I should go back and tell more things about the feet. You guys. I'm Lesley Logan. 

Brad Crowell 27:21  

And I'm Brad Crowell. 

Lesley Logan 27:23  

Thank you so much for joining us today. How are you going to walk these tips into your life? 

Brad Crowell 27:28  

Ooh.

Lesley Logan 27:28  

Ooh, I want to know. Gait Happens wants to know. So make sure you tag us when you share this episode with a friend. And until next time, Be It Till You See It. 

Brad Crowell 27:37  

Bye for now.

Lesley Logan 27:39  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.

Brad Crowell 28:22  

It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell. 

Lesley Logan 28:26  

It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.

Brad Crowell 28:31  

Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.

Lesley Logan 28:38  

Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals. 

Brad Crowell 28:41  

Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.

Foot health expert and co-founder of Gait Happens, Dr. Jennifer Perez unpack the misunderstood world of feet. From bunions and plantar fasciitis to toe strength and footwear myths, Dr. Jen breaks down how your feet impact your entire body and what you can do—starting today—to reconnect and restore their natural strength. Expect actionable advice, surprising insights, and some myth-busting around the shoes you might be wearing right now.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Why Dr. Jen shifted her focus to feet after her own injuries.
• How foot pain can derail confidence and daily life.
• Exercises to activate toe strength and rebuild foot control.
• What plantar fasciitis and bunions actually are—and how to treat them.
• Why most shoes are harming your feet and how to choose better ones.
• The role of toe spacers, barefoot training, and natural gait.
• What “less shoe” really means and how it helps prevent injury.

Episode References/Links:

• Gait Happens Website - https://gaithappens.com/
• Gait Happens Referral Link - https://gaithappens.com?ref=mwe4ndk (use code: LESLEY)
• Jen Perez's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/gaithappens
• Gait Happens YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@gait_happens

Guest Bio:

Dr. Jennifer Perez is a board-certified chiropractor and co-founder of Gait Happens, an education-focused platform helping people rethink foot health from the ground up. With advanced training in biomechanics and years of hands-on experience, she focuses on improving foot strength, mobility, and overall movement to keep people doing what they love—without pain or limitations. 

In her Lafayette, Colorado practice, Dr. Perez works with everyone from high-level athletes to everyday movers. Through Gait Happens, she also supports clients around the world with virtual consults and programs designed to get to the root of common foot issues like plantar fasciitis and bunions—without jumping straight to orthotics or surgery. Known for her real-world, movement-first approach, Dr. Perez is also a trusted voice in the health and fitness space. Whether she’s working with patients, teaching professionals, or speaking on stage, she’s passionate about helping people build a stronger foundation—literally—and showing that taking care of your feet doesn’t have to be complicated.

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Resources:

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Episode Transcript:

Dr. Jenifer Perez 0:00  

She kind of pulled the curtain back on how important our feet are. And not just, you know, when you think about like your skin health and things like that, but truly, from a biomechanics perspective, our feet are our foundation, and how they interact with the ground is really important and has a huge influence on the rest of our body.

Lesley Logan 0:19  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Lesley Logan 1:02  

All right, Be It babe. This conversation, this is about your feet. We got to talk about them. We got to talk about them because I don't want your dreams in this life, the things you want to do to ever be held back by pain. And a lot of pain that we have in our bodies is actually coming from what's going on in our feet. And the guest we have today is one of the most amazing experts on feet, like just truly, truly amazing Dr. Jenifer Perez from Gait Happens. She is going to nerd out with us. And if you're not watching this, I do recommend that, after the end of listening to it, that if you are interested in seeing what she's showing, you want to go to our Be It Pod YouTube channel and see the video, because she's showing the muscles of the feet. We talk about bunions, we talk about plantar fasciitis. We talk about even this, like, how to choose shoes. And I know this can be a little off the beaten path, because you're like, what about the journals? You guys, you got to take care of your feet. You have to, if it's between journaling and doing a foot exercise, maybe do a minute of foot exercise and a minute of journaling, because it's important that you know yourself inside and out, but that you're taking care of your feet, because they are going to take you everywhere you want to go, every place you want to be it until you see it. So here is Dr. Jen Perez from Gait Happens. 

Lesley Logan 2:11  

All right, Be It babe. So this, today's guest is someone I've been kind of hunting down, kind of stalking in the best way, exploring all their things, nerding out, and I'm really excited, mostly personally, because I've been so interested in my own feet and and just like trying to not have the bunions that I feel like are inevitable happening to my feet. But, at any rate, Dr. Jen Perez from Gait Happens is our guest today. And Dr. Jen Perez, can you tell everyone who you are and why you rock at feet so much?

Dr. Jenifer Perez 2:42  

Absolutely, I love that you're so excited. I mean, this is, this is what I do. It is foot education, essentially, what it all boils down. And it's kind of funny, you know, not to dive too deep into my story, but I didn't like, I hated feet growing up.

Lesley Logan 2:54  

I'm so glad you're telling us, because I'm like, are you really into feet? 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 2:57  

I know I like, I was like, feet are gross. I want nothing to do with feet like and then halfway through chiro school, I attended a seminar, we're trying to learn how to tape shoulders, and the instructor kept talking about feet. And essentially, what ended up happening is she kind of pulled the curtain back on how important our feet are. And not just, you know, when you think about like your skin health and things like that, but truly from a biomechanics perspective, our feet are our foundation, and how they interact with the ground is really important and has a huge influence on the rest of our body. And as soon as I kind of really started to think about feet from this perspective, I got really excited, because it's something that is not talked about enough, which is why I love having conversations like this, so kind of how I ended up in the foot world, I guess. 

Lesley Logan 3:46  

I think that's really great, because I was gonna, like I, part of me was thinking, like, you must have seen some weird looking feet. I'm a Pilates instructor. I've seen some weird feet, and when I see them, I kind of inquired, like, what's your life been? How long have you had this? Because I don't, you know, like in Pilates, they don't go deep on any one thing. You can, you can niche out and everything. But like, you know, I'm really obsessed with Joseph Pilates had a ton of foot stuff. He had the toe corrector and the foot corrector. And, like, it's really kind of cool to see people like yourself and other people doing stuff that, like the toe corrector does, and so it's like, it's nice to know that, like, you know, in the 40s, he was doing these things. But we don't go into nuances. When I'm like, seeing arches have fallen, then I see like, you know, 70 year old people who had arches fall now their ankle bones are, like, humongous. And I'm like, oh my God, we have to know more about our feet. And I, like, one of the things I hear people, hold people back from, like, things they want to do is pain. You know, as a Pilates instructor, I work with a lot of people, when they're in pain, they don't go on trips, you know, and that's like a luxury, anyways, but it also holds people back from just even attempting taking on jobs or moving or trying new things. And so kind of wanted to dig into like, you know, What? What? How important are feet? And do they really hold us back or is that like a story we're telling ourselves?

Dr. Jenifer Perez 5:01  

No, you're, you're absolutely right. And of course, my population is biased, because they're coming to me with pain, typically. But those stories that you all mentioned are stories I hear every single day. Someone saying, you know, I had this trip to Europe planned, and I canceled it because I can't walk, you know, more than 100 steps a day, and that's going to require me to walk thousands of steps a day. Or someone who is they have they can't walk to the mailbox at the end of their driveway, and or they're terrified to even shower barefoot because their feet hurt so bad. I mean truly, foot pain, like we said, you're on your feet all day long, and so when your feet hurt, it really does hold you back. And that kind of comes in a spectrum of different severities and different kinds of pain and different pathologies, but at the end of the day, it does hold us back. And that's what I'm trying to help people do, is kind of retake their foot health and really strengthen their feet so that they're not holding them back anymore.

Lesley Logan 5:59  

Yeah. I mean, like, my, my dad's 72 and like, I yesterday, were at the gym together, and I watched him, like, navigate his leg over a bench. And I, part of me, was like, oh, I don't want to do that. And part was like, no, get that leg over that bench. Like, as long as he can lift his leg high enough to go over a bench sideways, he's holding the barbell. Like, we're good. But like, I think, you know, I, he lives in a senior living center, and I watch people like, their life declined so fast because they're not as active. But if you are in pain and you're not active, like other things, shut down, you know, like, and we can talk about, like the calves are like the second heart, right? So if you're not taking steps, you're not pumping the blood back up, and you're not taking steps because your feet hurt, like other things just go wrong.

Dr. Jenifer Perez 6:42  

Well, and it's and to your point, it's also, it's not just the physical right, it's our mental and emotional health as well. Because if you can't walk, if you can't do the activities that you love, then we start to see mental decline with that as well. And it's really fascinating. There's more and more research coming out around cognitive ability, which is also fascinating in itself but, fall risk alone, fall risk, one of the biggest indicators of fall risk is toe strength. They used to think it was, you know, the bigger muscles, like the glutes and the hamstrings and things like that. And when they did a comparative analysis, the two biggest indicators of fall risk were blood pressure and toe strength. 

Lesley Logan 7:18  

This is insane to me. I love because I always like, say, like, say, like, like, Pilates helps you fall better. And there is some truth to that. Like, we help with, like, you know, hip muscles and core strength. And you're like, you understand, move your legs with your center, but it is your, the toe strength is something that's so interesting and like, so let's talk about, like, maybe we should just get into it. Like, I kind of, is it like our big toe only? Is it all 10 toes? What if you lose a toe? What? How do we strengthen our toes? 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 7:48  

Yeah, let's jump in. So that research in particular looked at all 10 toes. So it looked at big toes and outer toes, and it found a significant difference in fall risk based on both. So the good news about that is, we have 10 toes. So let's say there is a toe amputation or, you know, some kind of accident or injury, you know, we have 10 so we can (inaudible) strength, right? Our bodies are amazing adapters. But in the average person, we are looking for strong toes. We actually have kind of a reference range around that we even measure toe strength in our office. 

Lesley Logan 8:24  

Oh, my God, I have to come visit you. I just want to know if they're good. 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 8:28  

Right? Everyone's favorite part of their appointment, because everyone starts like clenching their fists and sweating in the chair, trying so hard. But we're looking for about 10% of our body weight out of the big toe and about 7% of our body weight out of the outer four toes. So the big toes, (inaudible) is supposed to be stronger. It also has, for those watching, you can see my fancy foot model. So it also has a thicker bone. It has reinforcements. It even has two sesamoid bones which increase the lever arm, which basically makes it better for propulsion, similar to what our kneecap does. And so all of this is designed to make us really, really strong. But we have four layers of built-in muscles inside our feet. And I love using this foot model with my patients because.

Lesley Logan 9:18  

Oh my gosh. You guys. This is the most. I've never seen a foot model like this. This is insane. I've never seen one like this. I know that the feet have, like, all the the feet have the most amount of joints and muscles, correct, like, that's, it's in your feet, yes.

Dr. Jenifer Perez 9:31  

So lots of joints and muscles, (inaudible) both the most. But a quarter of our bones are in our, a quarter of our bones in our entire body are in our feet. And we have 33 joints in our feet. They're designed to move and be flexible. And it's, it's really, really incredible and intricate, but I use this foot model to show and for those that are listening, it's a model that shows the four layers of muscles to really give you a visual of how much muscle is in our feet. And how much we truly can strengthen that?

Lesley Logan 10:03  

Yeah, I, okay. So the reason you came up is because I was doing a lot of research on Joseph Pilates' accessories, because I'm doing his big accessory deck of flash cards. And my listeners know we've been talking about this a long time. I've been doing this. And so, like, there's all these, like, little toys and tools that he used to use, and one was marbles, and one was towels. And the marbles he would have you pick up a marble with your big toe, and then your second toe, and then your third, and your fourth and your fifth. And when I was doing the research, I could not pick up a marble with five different toes. I could do it with like two toes at a time, or these three toes over here. And I am proud to say when I was when I was actually having to film it, I was like, oh, one, and I did all five. I'm so proud of my feet. Like, over six months, I've, like, improved the dexterity of that. The towels is so hard, because I can scrunch it, but I couldn't flick it out. And, yes, I couldn't, I couldn't unravel the towel. And I'm like, what is going on? But so it's like, like, part like, the bottom part of my foot was strong, but maybe the top part of my foot wasn't so strong. So I have, like, so do you strengthen your toes? I don't think it's just by squeezing them, because I'm afraid, am I wrong about giving people hammer toes? Like, I don't want to do.

Dr. Jenifer Perez 11:11  

Such a good question. It's such a good question. Let's dive in a little bit, because this is one, one area where Joseph Pilates was so far ahead of the curve. But we have also learned a lot since his work, right? Yeah. 

Lesley Logan 11:28  

Thank God. Thank God, we've learned more. It's been a while. 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 11:31  

I love like using towel scrunches or marble pickups if we need to start somewhere, and that's what's going to do it for you, then do it. It's better than not doing anything, but in general, I tend to avoid those exercises. And the reason is because of hammertoes, you were totally right on the right track. So essentially, we have four sets of muscles that flex and extend our toes. So hammertoes is when the toes start to lift and curl over time. And if they stay in that position, they can become rigid and arthritic and really, really painful. They also were associated in that same study with an increase in fall risk as well, as well as bunions. And so what we want to do is activate the muscles, but with the toes in a long and flat and wide position. So, an alternative, something that you can do right now, if you're barefoot, is if you just lift up all 10 toes and then spread them out as wide as you can. And even if it feels like they're not listening to you, just keep telling them to spread and then reach them out long and wide and try to bring them back down to the ground. Hold that engagement, hold that press, and you should start to feel the arch underneath your foot start to activate. That's the muscle that's right here that I already took off my model.

Lesley Logan 12:51  

And it can activate even if you like, have flat feet, because I have people always who like to fight me on this, like, I have flat feet, it won't lift. And I'm like, I think the muscle still activates, guys.

Dr. Jenifer Perez 13:03  

Yes, yes, exactly. We can dive in to foot shape in a second, too. But the last piece of that exercise is, if you want to add a little bit more, just barely lift your heels like enough for a credit card. 

Lesley Logan 13:09  

Oh, that I haven't done. The spreading of the flick the lifting the toes, I love to teach. The spreading them out. I even try to get people to do one toe at a time, which, by the way, I can do it reverse pinky toe to big toe, but not big, for whatever reason, it's like big toe and then all four. But, so, okay, that's, I've not done the heel lift, okay.

Dr. Jenifer Perez 13:32  

Yeah, I think you can do to improve dexterity, improve activation of the muscles, rebuild the connection between our brain and our feet, because that's a big piece of it is because we don't use our feet. Many people, our feet are stuffed into cushy socks and cushy shoes and ignored all day long. They even have indoor shoes that they're wearing. 

Lesley Logan 13:52  

Yes, yes.

Dr. Jenifer Perez 13:52  

Our feet are ignored. Just even rebuilding that connection can be really important. But when I'm dealing with patients in pain, one of my big things, especially when it comes to trying to encourage them to walk and move past their barriers, is engaging the muscles in a way that we actually use in locomotion. And in the gait cycle, we activate the muscles of our feet in order to push off and move forward. That's why I really like that long press lift the heels, because that's exactly how we use those muscles in the walking gait cycle.

Lesley Logan 14:26  

Yeah, okay, love, love, I'm gonna send you, my friend has a, I take a Pilates session with a friend. He's an amazing teacher, and he's got a client he's been with for 10 years. The guy will not take his shoes off. He does yoga in shoes. His Pilates in shoes. He's like, if I take my shoes off, my feet hurt. I have plantar fasciitis and I, if I take them off, my feet hurt. And I was just like, you know, I think, I think they hurt because you don't take them off. I'm just, just something that, like, maybe you should.

Dr. Jenifer Perez 14:55  

Yeah, I mean that really like the first kind of knock on the door, but you're totally right. It is typical. Because people have felt pain. So then they get into orthotics or cushier shoes, shoes that really are designed to do the work for you, because it alleviates the pain. But then the golden rule of the musculoskeletal system is use it or lose it. So the longer that we're now in these shoes and these orthotics that are doing the work for us that may have been good in the short term, but in the long term, our feet start to atrophy more, and we become reliant on them, and then we need a more aggressive orthotic and a cushier shoe, and it just becomes this cycle that we have to eventually break. 

Lesley Logan 15:34  

Yeah, yeah. Thank you. Everyone, please re-listen to that. So a yoga teacher, he's like, the two worst inventions were shoes and chairs and, like, you know, they and I'm excited for Brad to listen to this, because he, he, he's been wearing Birkenstocks in the house because he was having, like, plantar fasciitis pain. But if he wear these Birkenstocks, he won't have it and I think that's fine. He's really good at spreading his toes. Like, this is not a knock on him. But I do get concerned, like, are we just like, not forcing the feet to do the job that they're supposed to do, even if they are Birkenstocks. And, you know, there's lots of information about they can be amazing, but I just sometimes worry, like, are we not giving his feet the opportunity to be strong on their own? 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 16:15  

Yeah, yeah, I would give Birkenstocks a B minus, for me, like, they're great because they're, they're a decently low stack height, so not, they're not really cushiony. They have a beautiful wide toe box so it allows your toes to spread, but they're very rigid, and they do have that arch support. So it kind of depends on what our goals are. If we do have an active diagnosis, active diagnosis, like plantar fasciitis, they can be helpful in alleviating that pain. But, again, on the flip side of that, we want to start strengthening our feet, because plantar fasciitis, you okay if I dive into plantar fasciitis? 

Lesley Logan 16:55  

I want you to do that because and then we're gonna get to bunions because of my own personal interest. 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 16:59  

Those are kind of the two that like, everybody (inaudible). 

Lesley Logan 16:54  

I think everyone's heard of. I think we can definitely, yeah, we don't have to go into, like Morton's neuroma, unless we have time. 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 17:01  

Plantar Fasciitis is and fasciitis means more of an inflammatory response. So we're talking about like short term acute pain. The kind of umbrella term is plantar fasciopathy, something going wrong with the plantar fascia. But essentially, the plantar fascia is best friends with this muscle right here, called our flexor digitorum brevis. 

Lesley Logan 17:20  

Okay. 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 17:21  

That muscle is one of the two muscles that presses our toes down, flexor digitorum brevis is the one that presses our toes down flat. Flexor digitorum longus is the one that curls our toes. 

Lesley Logan 17:32  

Got it. 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 17:32  

Right. Going back to our conversation before, when we lengthen the toes and press them, FDB is the one we're activating. The reason this matters with the plantar fascia is because when we go to push off, when we go to take a step and we push off of our foot, FDB is actually what gives us the elasticity to push off of. It's like the trampoline that we're pushing off of. But it has to be strong in order to do that. It has to be able to be, have tension. If it doesn't, we have to get tension from somewhere else. We get it from our next door neighbor, the plantar fascia. Every step we take, rather than using a strong FDB to push off of we're using the plantar fascia, and it becomes more and more irritated while we're on our feet, and then it kind of does this, like stiffening and recoil when we're off our feet, and the second we go to stand up again, that's when it's like, there's the pain again. So when it comes to plantar fascio, when it comes to plantar fasciopathy, the number one thing I'm looking at is strength, and how do we create a stable foot at push off.

Lesley Logan 18:37  

Yeah, okay. Thank you for that. I think that is really key, and it makes me that like one, because you start to watch people like, I don't watch people in the airports anymore because it's just too much. The posture, the head, head to the side, the heads hanging off of the bodies, like the hip over I'm like, I can't I cannot. They're not paying me. I can't do it. And my husband's just like, look at how that person's walking. Like, look at how that one foot, I'm like, babe, they're not asking for our help, yeah, put some blinders on. But he's like, what's (inaudible) I'm like, they don't, they can't, they no longer can roll through their foot. They're no longer, they're now they're kind of like, and that is going to limit you. That's going to affect falling, first of all, because it's not how you're supposed to walk. It's also going to affect knees, hips, back, like, it just a whole chain, right? I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but I always think of the feet is like, the shocks of the car and also the tires of the car, because, like, if they're off, then the whole body is off, right? 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 19:25  

That's actually an analogy we use all the time, is even with, like, performance athletes, right? Like, if you compare an athlete to a car, you can have the best performance car, sports car in the world, but if the tires don't work, it's not going anywhere, you know. Yeah. 

Lesley Logan 19:40  

Yeah, yeah, okay, let's talk bunions. You know, I obviously things have gotten wildly different, you know, like it used to be, don't get a bunion surgery, you'll never walk again. And now, like, people are getting bunion surgery and they are successful. But like, do we is everyone who gets a bunion, like, destined for surgery? Can you change that? Can you fix it? What do we got? 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 20:00  

Yeah, great questions. So first of all, for those that don't know what a bunion is, bunion is when we have a deviation of the first metatarsal, so the long bone that's behind the big toe starts to deviate outwards, and then the toe starts to deviate towards the other toes, and it creates this angle of what we call the first ray, which is the big toe and the first metatarsal, and then as this drifts outwards, we start to see a bump develop on the inside of that joint. Now that bump is not it's not arthritis, it's not a growth of the bone. It's actually the head of the metatarsal sticking out sideways. And so it's truly a joint dislocation that then we are walking on all day long. So when it comes to bunions, they come in different grades. So we have a mild, a moderate or a severe bunion. Mild to moderate bunions can absolutely be helped with conservative care. Conservative care being things like toe spacers, things like strengthening exercises, adjusting your shoes, working on building strength and stability. When we get past that moderate mark, that's when we start to have that discussion of, is surgery going to help? And there's also lots of different kinds of surgery out there. I'm in favor of never get a fusion unless you have to, because especially at the big toe, we have to be able to bend the big toe in order to walk, run, move, and if we can't, we're going to go somewhere else. And then, like you said, that is going to affect that whole chain. So that's kind of the brief thing of bunions. What else do you want to dive in? 

Lesley Logan 21:28  

Okay, so this is fascinating. So okay, I have a wide toe box, right? Like, we'll just get personal. I'm just, I think it's better to have an example. So a wide toe box always have, I have my father's feet, like, really, really narrow heels, super high arches, wide toe box, and I had a big space between my big toe, my four, my other four toes that no longer exists. My toe is now over, right? I use those amazing toe spacers. I do want to know if I'm supposed to put something in those little slits. So I use those. I'm like, kind of obsessed with them, because with them on, I can actually point my big toe when I don't have them on my big toe doesn't really point, like it go, it's straight, but it doesn't really like point with the foot. It's very fascinating to me when it's when it's in alignment, it's like doing a great job, which is probably what's, what has, what's happened. But because of all the footwork that I do, I mean, like I have, I do footwork on my Reformer with no padding, I have no pain. I do a lot of foot corrector, toe corrector, tons of stuff to really, like, keep my feet strong. But I am not like, I don't know. Maybe I'm like, expecting something that shouldn't happen. I'm not seeing a reduction of my bunion, nor is my big toe staying where it needs to be without the spacers. So is it just time? Is it daily homework? Like, what? What are people with bunions who have a minor to moderate supposed to do?

Dr. Jenifer Perez 22:43  

Yes, I love it. So couple of things there. So let's talk about you first, and then I'll talk about a different presentation, because there's kind of two different presentations of bunions and one would be kind of more the like, like you said, the high arch, more rigid foot type. There's another kind of bunion that happens in a more flexible low arch, flat foot, foot type. And so number one, when we're talking about bunions, it starts to be an instability in that joint. So although we can strengthen, although we can improve function and decrease pain, it's not always going to stay there. So even Dr. Conley, my business partner, she has a pretty significant bunion on her right foot. She wears her toe spacers all day long, every day, and if she doesn't, she doesn't get pain, not right away. If she didn't consistently, she probably would over the course of few weeks or a month. But if she doesn't, you can definitely see that bunion popping out more. So she uses them as a guide, because of that laxity that's developed in that joint. So it kind of depends on how far along that spectrum we are as to whether the big toe will stay there or not, because it can in definitely the more mild cases, but it just depends. Now talking about, kind of one piece of the puzzle that might be missing with everything that you mentioned, is with the more stiff foot presentation. So you're more high arch foot type. One of the really important jobs of our foot, like we said, there's 33 joints, it has to be able to move and dissociate and unlock. And sometimes what people with high arches have a hard time with, is pronation. We live in this more supinated position. The arch is higher up. And now when the foot comes down to the ground, since we can't move through the mid foot, which has all of these that are designed to twist, if I can't move through there because it's locked down, I'm going to move excessively through my forefoot, so we're basically making up for that motion in the forefoot, which can lead to that instability and that bunion. This is the same presentation as Dr. Conley, by the way.

Lesley Logan 24:51  

Oh, well, I mean, I'm in good company. But that makes a lot of sense, because, you know, I like, I've had to work really hard when I point my feet to not, is it like, like, supinate? Is it like? What do you mean? You, like, I like, I want to make sure that my don't have like, flippers. I have like, two feet. So I'm like, I'm pointing my feet, but the pinky toes are not coming towards each other. It's a really, it's a really big thing that I have to work on, because my ankles are so hyper mobile, so that, that makes a lot of sense, and got it. So I need to stretch. I need to actually let my arch stretch out.  

Dr. Jenifer Perez 25:23  

Let your feet relax. And it's also, it's kind of a learned response too. Like you said, if you have hypermobile ankles, sometimes what we'll do is we'll try to make up for finding stability with our feet, and then we just never let them relax. So the conversation used to always be like around pronation and like, pronation is the devil, but really, I see a pretty good 50-50, split of people who need strength and control of pronation versus people who need to learn how to relax their feet again and start to pronate. 

Lesley Logan 25:24  

Yeah. Okay, super fun. So you mentioned there's another, there's another type of bunion, though. 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 25:34  

So, basically, exactly the opposite. Okay, so now think about your more flat foot, foot type, more flexible foot type. What happens here is, because we don't have good control of the mid foot, we start to spill over into uncontrolled pronation. Again, pronation isn't the devil we just need to be able to control it. So now, when I spill over into uncontrolled pronation, you see how my forefoot starts to deviate, this way? 

Lesley Logan 26:21  

Yes, yes. I had a client who that's how his foot, he had callus. It was so bad. It was like. 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 26:26  

Like a callous on the inside of the big toe. Sometimes they'll even have it on the inside of the joint where it is, too. Those are called pinch calluses. And the reason they get them is because when the forefoot starts to deviate with that uncontrolled pronation. Now, when they go to push off, they're pushing off across the big toe, so they get a callus on the side of the toe, and that pushes their toe over towards the other toes, which can contribute to a bunion. The one thing we haven't mentioned across the board is absolutely footwear. Footwear 100% contributing to this as well, because your body can only move in the range of motion that's allowed. And if we are in footwear that has a triangular shaped toe, then it is bringing your toe towards the other toes. There's no way your toe can sit in alignment if it's in a shoe with a pointed toe box. 

Lesley Logan 27:16  

Yeah, I know I've had to, like, change all of my shoes. I keep my my high heels for my wedding that I'll never put on ever again. I don't think my feet would even fit in them at this point, but I like, keep them for just like the look of it. But like, I am a tennis shoe. Like, if I if I can't wear tennis shoes, we are really in trouble. I have one pair of, like, really wide toe box clogs, and I'm like, okay, if I have to wear dressy shoes, we will put these on and. 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 27:39  

Well, I mean, there's also, like, more and more and more options coming out. So like at our website, Gait Happens, we have a whole list of footwear that has a wide toe box, but for example, so for those again, watching so, I mean, you look at more of like a traditional flat even, and you have this absolutely pointed toe box. Imagine your big toe in this position. Your big toe is supposed to be here.

Lesley Logan 28:02  

Because it's straight up, and it's going literally across the middle of your foot.

Dr. Jenifer Perez 28:04  

Right? And now we're going to bend on that joint, yes, imagine a door that's hung crooked, and then we just decide to open it 10,000 times a day. 

Lesley Logan 28:05  

Right. 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 28:13  

So it just is basically, really harming that joint. But there's options out there that you can have a shoe that's similar, but with a wide toe box. I mean, same thing with looking at, like, more of your daily tennis shoes or your running shoes, right? Like, there's options that have a wide toe box out there. I also have, like, I got these (inaudible) loafers that I am loving, and I could not find them this morning, I'm so upset. 

Lesley Logan 28:41  

Someone stole them from you. They're so good. Okay. We all have to go, like, scour your website before you buy new shoes, because that is, that is the thing. Like, my feet do not have pain. You don't have any issues. But if I put on a pair of shoes where it's going to put my toe in the wrong spot, then I am going to have pain. Like, that's when I have it. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, you know? I mean, like footwear. So basically, we're outsourcing the natural gait of our body to a footwear, which is then affecting how our rest of our day goes, but then also how our bodies feel in the future.

Dr. Jenifer Perez 29:15  

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, our bodies conform to shapes. We've seen that with foot binding in history, we've seen that with the whale bone corsets. We've seen that with the neck elongation, our body will conform to a shape if you put it in that shape, and it is not any different when it comes to the foot. 

Lesley Logan 29:33  

Yeah, yeah. Okay. So, so how often should we be paying attention to our feet? Like, is this something we're supposed to do? Because, you know, people, everyone has, I don't have enough time. They barely have enough time to work out, like, how how often should they do foot exercises? How should they be thinking about their feet? What do we got?

Dr. Jenifer Perez 29:49  

So as much as you can give me, I mean, I'm very realistic, right? If you're having pain, then spend more time on this, because it really does impact your life. But if we're just talking about the average person looking for prevention and longevity, then how about we just start with going barefoot a little bit like let your feet be feet. Go barefoot around the house. Let's get rid of the house shoes. Let's maybe go walk on a few different surfaces outside when it's warm enough and not snowing, like it is here, you know. So just let your feet be feet, and then you can do stuff like adding toe spacers. If you're concerned about the spacing between your toes. We like the toe spacers that we have because you can wear them while you're moving around.

Lesley Logan 30:31  

They're, they're amazing. I actually will just say, like, I wear them just to walk around my house. And I thought maybe they won't stay in because like, of how they are. No, they stay. I also wear them doing yoga. I wear them doing Pilates. I don't have to have socks with them on. Like, you know, sometimes I have to adjust it a little bit. But, like, it's actually, they're really amazing, and they fit in almost all my shoes. And when they don't fit, I'm like, hmm, maybe these shoes, maybe these shoes need to go get donated.

Dr. Jenifer Perez 30:56  

Yeah. So, I mean, just simple tips to honestly, like, if you're going to be doing a ton of walking, maybe you just roll your foot out on a ball afterwards, give it a little bit of love. Maybe add a little bit of foot activation before a workout. If you know you're going to be doing, like single leg workout or things like that, there's, there's a ton of small things that you could do to add foot health into your day, and part of it is just the awareness. Go walk around your hallway after listening to this or wherever you are, and actually think about reaching your toes long and engaging your toes with each step, and see how different that is from how you've been walking for the last 10 years.

Lesley Logan 31:32  

Yeah, you know, this fascinates me, because I will sometimes see, okay, like, you know, people wear flip flops at the airport and they're like, pinky toe doesn't touch the ground. And I was like, isn't it supposed to touch the ground? Like, were they born like that? Did they like change their body like, what happened? Why is their pinky toe not on the ground? 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 31:50  

To your point, I can't look at a lot of people in the airport anymore, but I do celebrate with people when I see them in shoes that I do approve of, because it's so far and few between. So I'm like, hey, nice Altras. And they're like, that was weird.

Lesley Logan 32:04  

I, you know what? I love that we just had an amazing guest on who was talking about, like, your bubble of influence. And like, like, just giving a stranger a compliment is, like, affecting your bubble of influence. And like, you are doing that within what your influence wants to be. So I, I'm, I'm all in on that. This is so fascinating. I think, you know, I just, I think a lot of times people think about the way our media has trained us is like, think about your abs, or the abs that will like, the muscles that will tone your, the exercise will tone your core, these will tone your arms. And I'm always just like, because I get asked these all the time, and I tell my publicist, I'm like, I gotta talk about, like, their, are their feet aligning like it does, like their hips, we have so many things to talk about before they even do the sit up like, there's just like, and it's not that I'm a nitpicky person. I'm not. I'm kind of like, safe, ugly movement is fine, you know, as long as it's not dangerous. But we're so obsessed with like, from the waist up that we're not really focusing on like, really where some of the root problems are and where we have a lot of control, which is like our foot choices, our shoe choices, like walking around our house barefoot, giving our feet some love.

Dr. Jenifer Perez 33:07  

Yeah, I think it all comes down to what are your goals? Right? Are your goals to live fast, die hard, whatever, right? If you if your goal is, I want a six pack and I want to enjoy my life for whatever that looks like. Great. If your goal is I want to go climb Machu Picchu, or I want to be able to run into my 70s and 80s, then we need to have a conversation that looks very different around supporting that longevity and that movement potential. 

Lesley Logan 33:35  

Yeah, yeah, you're amazing. Okay. I mean, I could talk to you for hours, but we're gonna take a brief break and find out how people can find you, follow you, work with you and your Be It Action Items. 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 33:51  

Perfect. 

Lesley Logan 33:45  

All right. Dr. Jen Perez, where do you hang out? Where can people like, if people, I know you're in a place that snows, but like, can people work with you who don't live near you? Like, what? What do you have? 

Dr. Jenifer Perez 33:54  

So, great question. So first of all, we have lots of free resources. So our Instagram account is Gait Happens, G-A-I-T Happens. And we have thousands of videos on there. We also are expanding our YouTube as well. So Gait Happens on YouTube, lots of free videos, lots of things to check out there. If you're wanting a more personalized approach. So for those that are worldwide, we, our team does virtual consultations. I don't personally do virtual consultations anymore, but we have a whole team of practitioners that do. We also have DIY programs, like a 12-week Fit Feet program. If you'd rather just get a program that you do on your own, but if you do want to come work with me, I am in Colorado. I'm in Kinetic Chiropractic is my clinic in Lafayette, Colorado, and I have people fly in all the time, and then we can do follow up appointments virtually, but we do that first appointment together. 

Lesley Logan 34:46  

That's so cool. I have to see if that's on the way to Aurora, because that's where, that's my next trip into Colorado. So okay, I mean, I feel like you've given us a lot, but I just want to like for our people who are like, okay, what's my first next step? No pun intended. Bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted steps people can take to be it it till they see it, what do you have for us?

Dr. Jenifer Perez 35:08  

I love it. I have two kind of challenges, I would say. One that can be immediate and one that's for the next time you buy shoes. So, the immediate challenge is go barefoot for five minutes. That's it doesn't require any equipment. Just take your shoes off. And if you're not already going barefoot, and if you're already going barefoot, then I challenge you to go barefoot for five minutes on new textures. So if you're already going barefoot at home, go outside, go walk in the grass, go walk over some stones, let your feet start to discover texture and movement over surfaces again. And if you're not going barefoot, then start by going on those soft surfaces for five minutes, let your feet move and feel. So that's my, my number one. You can do this right after this. And then my number two is the next time that you buy a pair of shoes, I challenge you to not only buy a pair of shoes that may look a little different than you're used to because they have a nice, beautiful, wide toe box that lets your foot move, but I challenge you to buy something that's a little less shoe, and what I mean by that is less aggressive, so less stiff, less arch support, less cushion, less shoe than you think that you need just step it down a little bit, because that's going to challenge your feet to do a little bit more of the work.

Lesley Logan 36:33  

Yes, I'm in on all of this. I love this so much. Dr. Jen Perez from Gait Happens, thank you. This was a dream interview I wanted to do since I've stumbled upon you and all that you're doing. And I just think it's really amazing. And I know for a fact, if you're an OPC member, you guys, come on. You have to, you have to go check this out. It's gonna be part of your like, we always, I always say, like, your feet are connected to your seat. Like, that's, you know, and it's you know, that's really is. And people challenge. I've had people literally tell me I was doing the Toe Corrector with rubber bands. I was just showing people like, you don't have to buy fancy things. You can just use rubber bands. Here's what I'm doing, and it connects to the seat. And I had trainers of the wazoo going, that's not how your like, glutes work. And I was like, okay, I don't know how you study for anatomy, and that's fine, but I'm gonna tell you right now you obviously haven't done it, because if you do the exercises correctly, you can't help but feel your butt work like the outer hips work, the hand, everything is like turning on so they are connected, maybe not directly, because your feet are not touching your seat.

Dr. Jenifer Perez 37:29  

Absolutely. I actually have a fun party trick that I will do with trainers when I'm working with trainers, and I have them lay on their stomach and extend their leg behind them with their their knee bent, and then you down on their thigh. And what this is doing is it's a muscle test for your hips. So it's like, if you're, you've got strong hips that should be nice and strong. So I have them do that barefoot. And it's usually like, okay, great. That was awesome. You were able to not let me press down. And then I take my other hand and I squish their toes together, and I press down, and it goes because you you can't when your toes are squished together, it affects the whole chain. Now, can I explain that neurologically? No, I cannot, but I can tell you that it works every time I do it.

Lesley Logan 38:13  

Yeah, I think, you know, I think we'll get the neuro I mean, it's just going to take time for us, especially in this western society where everything's kind of siloed to like, see how it all connects, you know, but it is connected. And if you can feel it, then, like, we don't actually need the science right now to prove that what you're feeling is true. So someday, someday, well, you are doing the Lord's work. I really think so. And thank you so much for being here with us today. Everyone, how are you going to use these tips in your life? Are you gonna go buy a new pair of shoes with this in mind? Are you going to go walk around barefoot? Please tag Gait Happens. Tag the Be It Pod and share this with a friend, especially your friends who are complaining about your feet. You know who those people are? They tell you all the time. So make sure the ones that take their shoes off at the club, which is a little not okay, please don't do that. I live in Las Vegas, and I'll see people walking barefoot. I'm like, I don't think you want to do that here. That's, don't do it there. Anyways, until next time, Be It Till You See It. 

Lesley Logan 39:10  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.

Brad Crowell 39:54  

It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan 39:59  

It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.

Brad Crowell 40:03  

Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.

Lesley Logan 40:10  

Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.

Brad Crowell 40:14  

Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.

Lesley Logan celebrates a new Fuck Yeah Friday with a roundup of inspiring wins and a dose of powerful truth bombs. From a viral mindset list to community shout-outs and a major personal milestone, this episode is a celebration of growth, grit, and gratitude. Lesley reflects on building her signature mentorship program and embracing the joy of summer prep.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.

In this episode you will learn about:

• 18 bold mindset shifts to shake off excuses and reset your perspective.
• Spring Training and how replaying workouts still counts as success.
• Melissa Capitano’s reminder that one rep is better than none.
• Celebrating eLevate program is halfway filled before applications even opened.
• Why it’s okay to celebrate the in-progress wins, not just the finish

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Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan 0:00  

It's Fuck Yeah Friday.  

Brad Crowell 0:01  

Fuck yeah.  

Lesley Logan 0:04  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started. 

Lesley Logan 0:48  

Hi, Be It babe, happy Fuck Yeah Friday. We made it. We're here. We did it, and today's a holiday. And so I am super excited, because I told my team I want to take every bank holiday off, and so I'm off. And probably sticking around where I live, to be honest, because we're traveling later, and I'll have more FYFs on that. But at any rate, if you celebrate this holiday, Happy Holiday. You guys, we do this is a short, quick, inspirational episode to, like, just help you, like, kick the weekend off on a high note, because, oh my God, if you're like, waiting for Friday and go, okay, the weekend is here, and that's the win because I don't have to work. That's not what we want. We want to actually, like, celebrate the things in between. So I also share something that inspired me on the internet, because we need something inspirational then I give your wins and I give my wins. 

Lesley Logan 1:34  

So here we go. This is 18 brutal sentences that could change your life. Some of these will sting. This is from Alpha Woman Mindset on Instagram. Some of these will sting. All of them will wake you up. So I'm ready for this. 18 of them. One, you are what you do, not what you say you'll do. So discipline doesn't speak it shows Ooh. Number two, the longer you stay on the wrong train, the more expensive it is to get home. I love that one. Number three, every excuse you make is robbing your future blind. Number four, ambition without action doesn't make you powerful, it makes you anxious. Number five, keep every stone they threw at you. You got, you got an empire to build. Number six, the darkness in your mind doesn't erase the light in your heart. Number seven, becoming the best version of yourself comes with a lot of goodbyes. That is true. Number eight, your comfort zone is a pretty prison, and you've been decorating it for too long. Number nine, if you don't build your dream, someone else will hire you to build theirs. Number 10, one day you'll wish you started today and tomorrow won't be another option anymore. Number 11, regret will always hurt more than discipline ever will. Number 12, we suffer more in our imagination than we ever will in reality. Stop writing tragedies that haven't happened yet. Oh, that's good. Number 13, at some point, the pain of staying stuck will outweigh the fear of moving forward. Number 14, your best moments will come from the risk you were too scared to take. Good. Okay, number 15, your future self is watching make her proud, not disappointed. Number 16, any lesson you avoid will come back louder next time. That's fucking true. Number 17, nothing is scarier than living your whole life knowing you had more in you. That is scary. 18, in the end, your only competition was a woman you could have become. Make sure she wouldn't pity you. These are amazing. She said, these are just weren't just sentences. They are mirrors. Don't just save this. Let it change you. So, you guys, I'll make sure the link is below if you want to read this and comment and share with a friend, it's so, so good. I think we all need something like that in our lives. So, so I'm super, super grateful that came across my feed, because I absolutely, absolutely needed to hear that I needed that in my life for sure. 

Lesley Logan 4:00  

Okay, time for one of your wins. Lori Watson, a longtime Agency member OG, OG of the OPC members and OG eLevate member, one of our favorite humans in the world, said a shout out to Mindi and LL. This morning, Friday, I was able to do Tuesday's reform with Mindi and then the tower with Lesley. I did them both prior to seeing my 11 a.m. client, and incorporated both classes into our session. She loved it. So far, I've only made one class live, thank you, Yasmin, due to my schedule, so I'm glad I'll be able to get back and watch the replays. So that was during our Spring Training and Lori Watson got to have that amazing win. I think it's really fun, right? Like, you can't do something live, but you can access the replay, like, way to go, Lori, for celebrating that you did that. How many people sign up for things and then don't do it because they couldn't go live, or they don't sign up for things because they couldn't do it in the live? But there's a replay. You guys, there's a lot of things in life that have replays, and if you watch the replay, that's a double win, because not only do you sign up for the thing, but then you took time out of the day without accountability to do it. So way to go, Lori Watson. 

Lesley Logan 5:03  

Melissa Capitano, also been an eLevate an Agency member, one of our favorite studio owners. She's kicking ass and doing a great job. She said, it's been a rough few weeks. Today, I knew I needed some Pilates, but couldn't get myself motivated, so I decided to do a one rep drill, and it felt so great to move. Yeah, the one rep drill for the win. You guys. If you don't know what that is, I am filming it for Pilates Anytime. It's going to be in an upcoming class that will come out so that you can literally log in, hit play and just do one rep of the mat. It's really, really amazing. It's really great. It's going to be in the next couple months. So hit us up if you're interested in it. But I think a lot of times we are like, oh my God, I don't have time for a full workout, so I'm just not going to do it. You'll never, have you ever felt better not doing the workout that you thought you could do? Like, no, you will always feel better if you do some movement. So there's that. So way to go,, Melissa Capitano, for teaching us that, reminding us of that. 

Lesley Logan 6:02  

Okay, so here's what my win is. My win is eLevate, my mentorship program is just so great. It I learned so much. I learn, every time I teach eLevate, even though it's the same content, the stuff that I love, it's something I know, each group teaches me even more and I get to grow, and I get to watch them grow. So like, it's really, really awesome. And what I'm celebrating is that we are coming upon the Q&A part of where we do a live class and a live Q&A for people who are interested in eLevate who haven't applied yet. We're going into this. It'll be on July 9th, and so you can come if you want to come, just, just let us know, and we'll get you the link and everything. But we, were going into this with the program, all, more than half-filled, so I'm excited to see the face of people who are interested. I'm also a little nervous for them, because there's not a lot of spaces, and I cannot do more than two. I can only do the two that I'm doing next year. And so between those two rounds, we're more than half filled. And I'm just so proud of the team for all that they've done to make sure it's really easy for people, but also really proud of the work that I've done over the last several years putting together this program. Like, I know that can sound like a brag, but like, also we should brag a bit I've been working really hard on this program, and also the all the people who've done it after year after year, who tell people about it like, it's just a sign that, like this program, it really does what it says it's gonna do, and everyone wins. Then, like, my win is that everyone wins because in the future, clients are winning. It's just really cool. So I'm so proud. I can't even wait to see who comes live on Tuesday to that workout and that Q&A. But even if you're not a Pilates instructor, here's the deal, like, I hope my win shows you that you can be proud of things being half-filled, you can be proud of things you continue to do because they fill your cup and that they impact people. And doesn't have to be finished, right? Doesn't have to be finished. Make it a win. So there's that. 

Lesley Logan 7:49  

Okay, I always leave you with a little mantra affirmation. So this one is there's always a way. I feel like that one might have come up before this year. So you know, because maybe we need to hear it. That's why it keeps coming up. There's always a way. And let's just do this one in case you're like, I don't need that one. I believe it already. Life is meant to be shared. Life is meant to be shared. So good, so amazing. All right. Loves Happy Friday. Want you to send your wins in you can actually send your wins and questions to the same place. We actually just made this link work. So I'm super excited. It's beitpod.com/questions so I know it says questions and you're like, but this is a win. You, there's a place to put either a question or a win, beitpod.com/questions we just made it all in one place. It's easy for us to either answer your questions on a recap or celebrate your wins on an FYF. Have an amazing day.

Lesley Logan 8:42  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod. 

Brad Crowell 9:23  

It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell. 

Lesley Logan 9:29  

It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.

Brad Crowell 9:34  

Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.

Lesley Logan 9:41  

Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals. 

Brad Crowell 9:44  

Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.

Lesley and Brad recap Lesley's informative conversation with Matthew Lesko, the iconic question-mark-suit-wearing advocate for free government resources. Learn how to get support for your business or personal goals, shift your mindset around asking for help, and tap into programs that already exist to empower you. This episode breaks down key takeaways, including how Lesko’s mission began and the tools you can use to take action today.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How to modify a Reformer with a stationary headrest for safer workouts.
• How Matthew Lesko redefines success by staying true to his heart.
• Why injecting fun into your work creates motivation and momentum.
• The types of government resources most people overlook—and how to find them.
• Why booking a real appointment beats filling out forms online.

Episode References/Links:

• eLevate Workout and Q&A - https://lesleylogan.co/elevatewaitlist
• Agency Mini - https://prfit.biz/mini
• OPC Summer Tour - https://opc.me/tour
• UK Mullet Tour - https://opc.me/uk
• Cambodia October 2025 Waitlist - https://crowsnestretreats.com
• Submit your questions - https://beitpod.com/questions
• YouTube: How to Choose a Reformer - https://beitpod.com/choosingareformer
• Book: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert - https://a.co/d/9qFidcW
• Matthew Lesko's - https://beitpod.com/leskohelp
• Ep. 400: Gay Hendricks - https://beitpod.com/gayhendricks
• Ep. 196: Beate Chelette - https://beitpod.com/beatechelette
• Find Local Help for Basic Needs – https://www.findhelp.org
• Government Contracting Support (Apex Accelerators) – www.apexaccelerators.us
• Small Business Support (SBA Local Assistance) – www.sba.gov/local-assistance

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSI

DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipment

Check out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper’s Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipment

Be in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlist

Be It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-survey

Be a part of Lesley’s Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/

FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/

Resources:

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-g
• Lesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/
• Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQ
• Profitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/

Follow Us on Social Media:

• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/
• The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-g
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilates
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/
• The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses

Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan 0:00  

Whatever you are setting yourself up to do, to go through the struggles, to go through the obstacles, to go through the failures, you have to actually want to do it. You're gonna have to care about the problem that you're solving. 

Lesley Logan 0:12  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Lesley Logan 0:51  

Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co-host in life, Brad, and I

 are going to dig into the endearingly fun convo I had with Matthew Lesko in our last episode. If you haven't yet listened to that interview, feel free to pause us now, go back and listen to that one, because you've missed out. 

Brad Crowell 1:09  

So you could also have said the wise, happy old man convo I had, who drops a lot of F bombs. 

Lesley Logan 1:14  

And also, when we say old, I just want to say, like, there's nothing. He is not like slow.

Brad Crowell 1:20  

No, he does not come across that old. And he said PSM 81. I was like, what? Really?

Lesley Logan 1:26  

Yeah, yeah, he's feisty and fun, and. 

Brad Crowell 1:29  

Heck yeah. 

Lesley Logan 1:29  

And like, working so hard for everyone. And I was just so excited. And then when we I was like, I had just interviewed him that day, and our friend Michael and Brogan was here at the house, and I was like, oh my God, I just interviewed someone. You should have him on your show. And I just started describing him and our friend Michael was like, Matthew Lesko? And he was like, he's like, the guy with a question mark suit. And I'm like, yeah, that's him. And he's like, stop right now. I want him on my show. So anyways, super, super fun. We'll get into that episode in just a second. But today is July 3rd 2025 and it's National Compliment Your Mirror Day. National Compliment Your Mirror Day is on July 3rd. We live in an image-driven world. Sometimes this can cause us to not notice and compliment a very important person in our lives, ourselves. This day motivates us to look in the mirror and recognize all those things that make us exceptional, inside and out. So go look yourself in the mirror and give yourself a compliment. 

Brad Crowell 2:25  

Go do it. 

Lesley Logan 2:25  

Do it now. You can use your phone as a camera if , as a mirror, if you want. But sometimes I do that. Okay, literally, next week. Is it next week? I guess it's July 3rd, so maybe a little after a week. 

Brad Crowell 2:38  

Well, Happy July 4th for those in the United States. 

Lesley Logan 2:41  

Those who celebrate. 

Brad Crowell 2:42  

The independence that we are on the brink of not having. 

Lesley Logan 2:47  

You guys, I'm just going to be really honest, we're recording this while L.A. is being taken over by people. A lot of misleading information, a lot of bad stuff. Make sure always, always, always, always get news from the people who are on the ground, because people like to spend things. And so anyways, if you're celebrating the Fourth of July, Happy Fourth of July. But, in exciting news, on July 9th, I'm hosting a free workout for those people who are interested in eLevate, my mentorship program. And we'll have a Q&A, we'll have eLevate grads on there who will tell you why they love it so much. And you just want to go to lesleylogan.co/elevatewaitlist to get on, get the invitation, and come to that. We have, like, I don't know, at the time we're recording this, like, eight spots left, I think, which is not a lot of spots at all. 

Brad Crowell 2:47  

It's not a lot of spots, y'all. 

Lesley Logan 3:27  

No, and we're actually, like, gonna be, you know, pretty soon, starting to work out who has what time slot. 

Brad Crowell 3:40  

I mean, there are hundreds of people on the waitlist. 

Lesley Logan 3:43  

Yeah, like, like, several hundreds. Like, for eight people. 

Brad Crowell 3:47  

Eight spots, right? Because we started.

Lesley Logan 3:49  

But don't let that deter you. That means you should go be one of those eight people. 

Brad Crowell 3:53  

100%

Lesley Logan 3:54  

Yeah. 

Brad Crowell 3:54  

Yeah. And you're welcome to reach out, you know now, so, but yeah, July 9th, it's gonna be a super good time. We're going to have a free class, answer questions, have some alumni on there, but guess what I'm really excited about, too.

Lesley Logan 4:07  

Yeah, we're doing Agency Mini, our coaching program that we do, where we. 

Brad Crowell 4:12  

Bringing it back. 

Lesley Logan 4:12  

We help as many people as possible. 

Brad Crowell 4:12  

Bring it back to me. 

Lesley Logan 4:13  

Yeah, and we're doing it in three days, so you don't have to be overwhelmed by a week-long situation with like, the Facebook, none of that stuff. So if you've heard of Mini before, this is a new Mini. 

Brad Crowell 4:28  

If you've done Mini before, you should come back and do that. 

Lesley Logan 4:31  

Yeah, we used to have a rule that you couldn't and now you can. 

Brad Crowell 4:34  

Yeah, we're, this is a special invite. Special invite because it's different. You know. We're, we're taking the concept and we made it better, we made it shorter, we made it easier, we made it faster, all the things. And so, you know, you really can learn a lot in just three days with us. And then, you know, there's also opportunities for coaching calls, which we never offer outside of our coaching group. Or you can book a coaching call with either Lesley or with me. It's a Round Robin. So you'll be surprised at who you get, because it's just based on our availability. But basically.

Lesley Logan 4:58  

Oh, that's cool. So they're just booking it and, like. 

Brad Crowell 5:07  

They're just booking a call and getting aside. 

Lesley Logan 5:08  

Cool. It's like speed dating.

Brad Crowell 5:10  

Kind of, but it's gonna be great because, you know, we, we don't have, we don't set aside the time to coach people who are not in our coaching group, because it's already a lot, right? And so what we've done differently this time is we're creating that space that time we actually are leaving, you know, time during six days where you can book a call with us. And you do that when you register for Agency Mini, so when you're going through and it says, like, oh, do you want to join Agency? Say yes. And then during the checkout, you'll say, oh yeah, and yes, I would like to add a coaching call and so, you know, we'll, we'll be able to chat. It's gonna be awesome. I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to meeting everybody. I love hearing all the different things that are going on. I just had a coaching call with a new Agency member, and she's opening up a bigger space, like a much bigger space than her current space. 

Lesley Logan 5:56  

Oh, is it, who I think it is? 

Brad Crowell 6:03  

No, not at all. So, you know, and they, they were, they're trying to figure out, like, you know, all the mechanics behind that. And what's so fun is that Lesley and I've been able to be there for this conversation many, many, many, many times over the years, plus we've done it ourselves, right? So anyway, come join us. Go to Agency Mini, prfit.biz/mini P-R-F-I-T dot biz, that's profit without the O dot biz slash mini. Then, we're hitting the road.

Lesley Logan 6:33  

Yeah, after Mini, we literally pack up the van and we're gonna go on tour, you guys, 15 cities and like, 20-something days. Our tour is powered by Balanced Body, and many of the events are sold out, like a lot of them are sold out and so but also on this one, there is an opportunity to join a virtual so if I've never come to a city near you, you've never had the time to drive a half hour across town, all that stuff, you can actually get tickets to the virtual events we're doing in Calgary. So go to opc.me/tour to see the lineup, the cities. I can name them for you. We're doing Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Sacramento, Eureka, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Kamloops, Calgary, McCall, Idaho, Salt Lake in Las Vegas.

Brad Crowell 7:18  

That's right, I'm impressed you just rattled that off I think that's 16, right? Something like that. 15?

Lesley Logan 7:22  

Some people keep saying 15, whenever I counted. It feels like 16, so I don't know. 

Brad Crowell 7:28  

Yeah. Well, anyway, it's a bunch. It's exciting. We've got a lot going on, and we can't wait to meet you in person. So come join us. Go to opc dot me slash T-O-U-R that's opc.me/tour. And then.

Lesley Logan 7:41  

We had a lot of people in the U.K. jealous of this tour. And I'm like, hold on, we're coming your way in September. So we come home, we acclimate, then we go into the U.K. We have two city locations in the U.K. for our Mullet Tour, which means business in the front Pilates in the back. Don't worry, the business is also like life skills. So.

Brad Crowell 7:59  

It's not like super deep business in a studio. So you can.

Lesley Logan 8:02  

No, you can be a non-teacher. 

Brad Crowell 8:04  

One of them is about scheduling, and you can apply that to any element of life, like. 

Lesley Logan 8:14  

One of them is about habits. 

Brad Crowell 8:14  

And the other's about habits. That's right. So. So anyway, it's gonna be awesome. Go to opc.me/uk.

Lesley Logan 8:15  

We'll do Leeds and we'll do Essex. And right now we have three spots left in Leeds. No, they're not days passes yet available for Leeds. There's only three weekend passes left, so we're not breaking those up. In Essex, we have day passes because it's during the week. Or you can save money by getting two day pass. So go to opc.me/uk you can come to both. There's only, like, two workshops that cross over. So.

Brad Crowell 8:37  

You could come to Leeds and then to Essex, yeah, you totally could do that, and then you can continue the conversation. Because often, when you do a workshop and you leave, how often do you immediately revisit that content? Imagine being able to revisit it right away and just take it even deeper, hear it again and, like, really dial it in. So that's also an option. Then, in October, guess where we're going? 

Lesley Logan 9:01  

Back to Cambodia. 

Brad Crowell 9:02  

That's what we're doing. We can't wait. Obviously, we love Cambodia. We love going there. We love helping people experience another world altogether. It is just the coolest place.

Lesley Logan 9:13  

I love just like getting some time away from the life and chaos that's going on that you like, absorb all the time, and you're dealing with all the time to just like, to just fill your cup up and be amazed about what community can look like in a village, and what it can look like to see temples that took hundreds, if not thousands of people over, you know, several years working together. And sometimes when I just feel like there's just no way we're going to solve this problem, that I go there and I'm like, well, they did this, and if they did this, I can solve a problem. So, like, I just it's always very, It's humbling, but also grounding, and then it really allows you to step away from what's going on and get a bigger, get a better understanding and come back into it.

Brad Crowell 9:57  

I love it. Well, you're not wrong. It is mind-blowing it is one of those trips that will change your perspective of life in general. It's amazing. So you should join us. Go to crowsnestretreats.com crowsnestretreats.com. Come join us. There are still spots for this October, and it's not too late to get the plane tickets. I think Lesley and I just basically bought ours recently. 

Lesley Logan 10:18  

We have haven't bought them yet. No. 

Brad Crowell 10:19  

We've been looking at them. 

Lesley Logan 10:19  

We're looking at them. 

Brad Crowell 10:19  

So we haven't bought them yet, right? So don't worry, there's room, okay, there's time. So come join us. But, before we get into the Matthew Lesko question mark jacket, he didn't wear it in the interview. But he. 

Lesley Logan 10:33  

Yes, he did. 

Brad Crowell 10:34  

He wore his question mark jacket? 

Lesley Logan 10:36  

Oh, yeah, you didn't watch? 

Brad Crowell 10:37  

No, I did watch, but I kept looking at his epic blue glasses.

Lesley Logan 10:41  

No, there was question marks on that suit that clearly-fitted-to-him suit. 

Brad Crowell 10:46  

He's a badass. 

Lesley Logan 10:47  

Wonderfully fitted to him. 

Brad Crowell 10:48  

Well. Anyway, before we get into that, we have an audience question @MarleneBroek on YouTube says, I wish I could do a Scottish accent, because I think her last name is Scottish, but I'm not going to try. She said hello, I already have a Reformer, but my head rest is stationary. Any recommendation for a separate headrest, such as the kind that forms to one's neck, interesting, or one that is flat to go on top of it. Thank you so much for your time. All right, Marlene, get ready, because I already know what's coming.

Lesley Logan 11:22  

So unfortunately, you all, many, many people are now making Reformers who've never done Pilates before, and they don't know that these things make a difference. So I'm super, super glad you're curious, because your headrest is not supposed to be stationary. So what I don't know from this is, if your headrest is stationary up or stationary down. My hope is that it's stationary down, because then we can get like a wedge pillow of some kind that will mimic a head rest being up. But then you could take that, that insert away, and then you could actually still do overhead exercises. If it is stationary up, you cannot do any overhead exercises. No, there's nothing we can do. I don't even know that what you can do, because I don't have a picture of your Reformer, don't know if it has hinges, if you could add anything. Unclear. So what I will say is, I'm just going to assume your headrest is stationary down for the rest of this conversation. You don't want a pillow or headrest that forms to your neck, because we're not actually trying to support the neck in that way we're, actually, when we have the headrest up, it's meant to tilt your head in just a way, so your neck can relax, but your upper abs can engage without us even telling you. That's why the headrest is up for footwork, for frogs and circles, for running, for pelvic lift, that your headrest is up so that your you just have this nice little support to help you engage your upper abs without you using your neck. It's really quite cool. He's very fast. So anyways, and it's down when you're not using that. So you can do overhead exercises. You get your box on top, things like that. So I would look into, Marlene, some sort of like foam wedge that you can cut to the size of your headrest. 

Brad Crowell 13:00  

And firm foam. 

Lesley Logan 13:01  

I would definitely say something firm. You don't want to be like a pillow.

Brad Crowell 13:05  

Right. So, so, like, I'm thinking about your baby chair and that little funny wedge that you have for the baby chair. Kind of would be like that. So, like, and that wedge, you're sitting on it, and it doesn't move, like, it doesn't give, it, literally, is intended to level out the baby chair. So in this case, you would want something that's firm like that as well. 

Lesley Logan 13:23  

Yeah, very firm, like, you can even.

Brad Crowell 13:26  

Like, you basically just taking it on and off.

Lesley Logan 13:27  

I mean, I would imagine, like, if you have someone handy in your life with, like, a really cool saw that could, like, take a yoga block and, like, slice it from. 

Brad Crowell 13:37  

That's a good texture, yoga block. I bet you could modify a yoga block to make your own wedge. 

Lesley Logan 13:42  

Yeah. And I think that some yoga blocks even come like that. So, like you, I mean, like, there's a lot of things out there, but that's what I would do. 

Brad Crowell 13:50  

What kind of angle are we talking about here?

Lesley Logan 13:52  

Let me just get my protractor out. It's, it's not as.

Brad Crowell 13:59  

If there's a right angle, is it halfway? 

Lesley Logan 14:01  

No. 

Brad Crowell 14:02  

No. It's 1/3 of the way? 

Lesley Logan 14:03  

One-third, maybe. Your eyes are still able to look at the ceiling. You're not looking at your toes. 

Brad Crowell 14:09  

Got it. 

Lesley Logan 14:10  

Yeah. 

Brad Crowell 14:10  

Cool. 

Lesley Logan 14:11  

Yeah. So Marlene, I hope this helps you. This is why I did the Reformer, you know, how to choose a reformer video. And this is why these are things we have to think about when it comes to what, what changes did an engineer make when making your rReformer, you know, like, did they change the springs for bungee cords? Did they change the foot bar that moves to a fixed vertical foot bar? Did they change that there's no head the headrest doesn't go down or doesn't go up? Did they change the shoulder rest so that they're round and not actually something that like allows your shoulders to be wide, or your foot to be against something that like fills their foot out like the Contrology shoulder blocks actually fit the shape of your foot. That's why they're (inaudible). That's why they're made the way they're made. So.

Brad Crowell 14:53  

I was like, what?

Lesley Logan 14:55  

So anyways, I don't think you have to go buy a whole other Reformer, Marlene, but I would do this, and then I would have a little savings account for the another, the next Reformer. And trust me, someone will buy this off you for the same thing you paid for it, because everything goes up in price and they're not paying tax on shipping.

Brad Crowell 15:10  

No doubt. Well, and then when you're ready to go shopping, reach back out to us and we'll connect you with Balanced Body, where we've got a discount code for you there. So yeah, all right. If you have a question.

Lesley Logan 15:21  

Send it to the beitpod.com/questions. 

Brad Crowell 15:24  

That's right. Send it to beitpod.com/questions beitpod.com/questions. If you have a win, and you want us to cover that win on the FYFs on Friday, you can also submit it right there as well. So thanks for asking that. Stick around. We'll be right back. We're going to dig into the question mark-filled convo with Matthew Lesko. Actually, it's more like mind-blowing convo. He has said wealth of information and exuberance for life. I really enjoyed it. So we'll be right back. 

Brad Crowell 15:50  

Okay, welcome back. Let's talk about Mr. Matthew Lesko. At the age of 81, Matthew is still rocking those question mark suits and has spent four decades helping people find free resources that they did not know existed, which I kind of think is amazing. He has written over 100 books, y'all, he's written 100 books. He has appeared on shows like Oprah, Larry King, The Good Morning America, and built a thriving online community that connects people to grants, businesses and funding and overlooked financial support. PS, I did math while I was listening, his, his community is like 5000 plus people. Yeah, that's crazy. From a string of failed businesses to becoming a recognizable voice for everyday people, Matthew has made it his mission to make support accessible. And it proves it's not about luck. It's about knowing where to look. So we're fired up about that. That was amazing. Tell me one of your favorite things about this convo. 

Lesley Logan 16:47  

Okay. How many things can I talk about? But first I want to just like he emphasized, there's no single formula for success. He talks about how life and starting anything new, this is important, means dealing with failure, struggle and a lot of guesswork. My perfectionist, here it is from someone who's written 100 books and is 81 years old and seen it all. You know, it come like success actually comes from dealing with failure, struggling, a lot of guesswork. And he believes success doesn't come from knowing everything, but from possessing the energy and willingness to keep trying and learn from failures. Hold on. I have to, I have to say this. He strongly advocates that you follow your heart. Stated, he says the way to get anything done is your heart has to be in it. He also said your heart is smarter than your brain, and to trust that more than anything. And I love this, because I think, like a lot of people, like, well, what's specifically when we coach people on their Pilates business, I'm like, oh, you know, who do you want to help? Well, that's, I want to help everyone. 

Brad Crowell 17:45  

Me, too. 

Lesley Logan 17:45  

Right. But like, who do you want to help? Because if your heart's not in it, you're gonna really be annoyed helping the person that you don't want to help. And then you're if your heart's not in it, you're gonna start resenting them and, like, start going, oh, this becomes another job, right? Like, your heart has to be in what you're doing.

Brad Crowell 18:01  

Yeah, definitely. You know, it's so funny. We were just talking about this recently, where I feel like there's the two extremes, like I'll do anything for money. I'll only do it if I love it. And, you know, I know I kind of flip flopped over this, you know, during my life. And he has a very compelling argument to follow your heart, and I think also too, you know, he's very savvy. He's very business savvy. So he's been able to figure out how, by following his heart, can he also make money. And he's turned it into like a mission, and that mission has attracted other people who are like-minded. And, I mean, that is like the ideal scenario. 

Lesley Logan 18:45  

Well, and also, if you realize, like, you know, first of all, you know, Big Magic is a great book for everyone to read. And some of your things that you love to do, that you're like, are creative, aren't meant for making money on. So that's, we're not. I don't think that Matthew or us are advocating that you like if you love pottery, that you go or you only make pots, and that's how you make money. That whatever you are setting yourself up to do, to go through the struggles, to go through the obstacles, to go through the failures, you'll, you have to actually want to do it. You can have to care about the problem that you're solving. If you don't care, you're not gonna be able to handle those obstacles. You're not gonna be able to go through it. You're gonna, you'll get, you'll get a door slam on your face and just go, okay, well, I'm not into it, right? So I think that's what he means, that your heart has to be in it. Like not everything you love doing will be a thing you make money on, but you gotta care about what you're doing. Gotta have care for it to be successful.

Brad Crowell 19:40  

Yeah, and I think there was something he said that just went right out of my mind. But he, he, he was talking about the when his, when he first, he actually, first off, I had no idea, he was in the military, but apparently he was in the military after he got out, he started.

Lesley Logan 20:02  

81 (inaudible). I don't think you get to be 81 and you weren't, unless you're an asshole, draft dodger dickhead. Anyway.

Brad Crowell 20:02  

That's fair. So he, he said he started a bunch of businesses and they failed. He started another business and they failed, and then he became a consultant, and that somehow, you know, was working, but then he was making millionaires billionaires. And he was like, that sucks. You know, he's like, these people don't care about anybody except for themselves. And he was not and he was not really enjoying it. And you know, he said he had this moment though, where he's showing up for the job, and he's like, uh, someday it's gonna be better and more fun, and then hopefully when I'm retired, I'll be able to go enjoy life. And he said, wait a minute. Why? Why should I keep doing something that I hate just hoping that someday it'll make it'll be better, it'll I will enjoy it more, or it's gonna pay me what I want to pay. He's like, I only have one life to live, and I'm better. I should start enjoying what I'm doing now. How do I do that? How do I do that? You know? So he said he flipped the script and decided to prioritize having fun. And he said having fun is contagious. He said it's a little contagious. In fact, you know, just his approach to the podcast was contagious and fun and joyful, you know. And he said it's also when you're doing something that feels fun, you are naturally motivated to work harder, right? So, you know, instead of like, kicking yourself to go get the thing done, that you have to do, what if you could do something that is fun, you know, you're gonna do it well, because you love doing it?

Lesley Logan 21:37  

Yeah. Yeah. It made me think a little bit about Gay Hendricks is, like, zone of genius kind of a thing. Like, I feel like. 

Brad Crowell 21:44  

Sure.

Lesley Logan 21:44  

I feel like they're very similar, except for this one is, like, except for Matthew is teaching us how to get the money we need to go do the thing we love.

Brad Crowell 21:54  

Yeah, it's, it's very true, and he's encyclopedic with that, as well. He was very impressive. 

Lesley Logan 21:58  

I will say. Like, if you listen to episode 400, Gay Hendricks will help you figure out what your zone of genius is. And then Matthew Lesko will give you all the websites for where you can get paid to do your zone of genius. I think that these are two must listen tos.

Brad Crowell 22:12  

Who knew that kind of a thing, just, mind-blowing. 

Lesley Logan 22:12  

And I think that each state has that. You have to figure out, like, how does your state, how does your state make money? Right? Because every state's a little different. How they tax, what they tax. So like, obviously Nevada is not excited to help us unless we are a casino. So since we are not one of those things, we're not getting that. But at the same time, there's still going to be things we can reach out to figure like, find ways, because this, they do have local people who need.

Brad Crowell 22:40  

Yeah, gambling and tourism, that's how Nevada makes money.

Lesley Logan 22:43  

Yeah. So that's how that makes money. So, like, but we can figure out, like, okay, well, how, what does the city need, right? Because we actually don't live for, the strip is not part of Las Vegas, surprising. It's technically paradise, but, but, but you can figure out what your city needs to get, what your county needs to get, what state needs, and then go, oh, well, what are they? They're paying for that, they're giving out grants for that. Like, yeah, you do the paperwork. But like, not many people are. 

Brad Crowell 23:06  

Not many people are. 

Lesley Logan 23:07  

Remember, I forget her name, B-D B-D. 

Brad Crowell 23:12  

B-E-A-T-Y? 

Lesley Logan 23:14  

Yeah. No, no, B-E-A-T-T-E. She was on our on an episode of The Be It Pod, and she got a, she got an SBA grant because she filled out the fucking paperwork.

Brad Crowell 23:26  

Yeah, I. 

Lesley Logan 23:27  

B-D 

Brad Crowell 23:28  

Don't have her name there.

Lesley Logan 23:30  

Well, she's in the two hundreds. Let's see how.

Brad Crowell 23:35  

Oh, B-E-A-T-E Chalet, Chalet. She was, she,her interview was 196. I'm very proud.

Lesley Logan 23:43  

Ah, I was so close. And I was thinking, Beate Chelette, but I was like, no, I was confusing her with Aletta Rochat. And I was like, no, but actually, I should have said it out loud, because I was right. Anyway, so close, so close. Yeah, but she, if you guys listen to her episode 196 she actually got an SBA grant for her business idea. You know? 

Brad Crowell 24:05  

I love that. 

Lesley Logan 24:05  

Because she did the thing that Matthew said to do, make the appointment, sit down with the people like, fill out the thing. Anyways.

Brad Crowell 24:13  

Impressive. All right. Well, anyway, stick around. We'll be right back. We're going to dig into that amazing convo you had with him about the Be It Action Items, which y'all literally, you have to take notes like, it is, it's 100% you have to go back. You slow it down, listen to it twice, write down all the things he said. But we're gonna talk about it so. 

Lesley Logan 24:31  

And it's also in the transcripts. 

Brad Crowell 24:33  

Oh yeah, we'll put the links in the transcripts, but stick around. We'll be right back. 

Brad Crowell 24:37  

Okay. Finally, let's talk about those Be It Action Items. Say it with me Mindi. What bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted action items can we take away from your convo with Matthew Lesko. He shared an abundance of untapped government resources, both state and federal. By the way, it's not just the federal.

Lesley Logan 25:00  

And I guess for the people who live internationally, I imagine these things probably exist in a lot of places you live. 

Brad Crowell 25:05  

I'm 100% sure about Canada. In fact, I have a lot of musician friends who would get grants in Canada where the Canadian government was willing to sponsor. 

Lesley Logan 25:14  

Yes. We have had guests who do that. That is amazing. 

Brad Crowell 25:16  

Yeah. And that that like, I don't even maybe that's available here too. I have no idea, but I'll tell you. You know, that was seemed to me like, like my college friends were like, I want to make an album. And they literally applied to the Canadian federal government, and they got like, 10 grand to make an album. And I was in college going, how the hell, why can't I get 10 grand? 

Lesley Logan 25:36  

I mean, they were Canadian, obviously. 

Brad Crowell 25:38  

Yeah, they were, they were obviously Canadian. So anyway, he shared a bunch of untapped resources. He said that 40% of everything in our economy are organizations that give you free money to solve a problem. I don't really understand that statistic, and I can't actually validate that, but he's been doing this for four decades, y'all, so he knows all these things. He emphasized that these programs are already paid for with our tax dollars. So it's on us to take advantage of them, or the money just sits there, it doesn't get used, right? And also, it might not be the kind of thing that they get to they don't just hoard it and pile it. It might be like, hey, you can give up to $2 million away, but if they don't, they don't get to keep it, right? So basically, it's on us to go take advantage of what is available to us. And it was fascinating to listen to him talk about the different reasons that someone might want to go get a talk to these organizations and go through the process. He emphasized that, well, yeah, there, and this stuff is already funded. It's already paid for. He advised the to seek out free government and nonprofit resources directly, rather than relying on standard search engines like Google, specifically, because they don't actually do SEO, or they're gated searches, you can't actually search them with outside search engines like Google. Right? And so basically, he gave us examples like findhelp.org which is amazing. It's about local finding local help for things like food, housing, health, money.

Lesley Logan 27:04  

That, right there is so amazing how many people are struggling to afford groceries right now. Like, maybe, maybe you're not someone who is it, but maybe someone you know is. You can send them that information. 

Brad Crowell 27:15  

findhelp.org you know, and there will be links in the show notes. So there's more links in the show notes. 

Lesley Logan 27:22  

So many. 

Brad Crowell 27:22  

Yeah. He talked about the SBA. He talked about Apex Accelerators, which I've never heard of before. He talked about career and job training. 

Lesley Logan 27:30  

Oh, and turn your VPNs off, y'all. 

Brad Crowell 27:31  

Yeah, yeah. They're, you know, if they're a government side, it might have trouble if you have a VPN on. He talked about HUD, which is like another United States government, housing urban development, and he said, there's free financial and debt counseling, right? And they can help you get out of debt.

Lesley Logan 27:48  

I mean, I had no idea, because, like so many of my friends and everyone had, like, use those companies that can, like, you know, supposedly help, but it could affect your credit at the same time. Like, who? Who knew if you use the government agency, maybe it would have been different.

Brad Crowell 28:02  

I wish I had known when I when I had a failed business. It would have been really helpful. Wish I had known. So anyway, what about you? I mean, all those things and there's still more. 

Lesley Logan 28:11  

Okay, so we said it already. We're gonna say it again, because it's a Be It Action Item. Once you find a resource, book an appointment, okay? Matthew said, everybody just wants to fill out on application online, and wait for the money. You can't do that, he said, because you don't know. 

Brad Crowell 28:23  

What did everybody wants to say what? 

Lesley Logan 28:23  

Everybody wants to just fill out the applications online. Like, you know, like, oh, let me just do it online. It's just copy paste, copy paste. And he's saying, don't do that, because you don't know how the application should be filled out. And, like, there's always the little nuances, right? Like, we're currently working with lawyers who are filling out legal forms for us to go to Canada. So if we had done it ourselves, we wouldn't know the insight and the nuances to like, oh, actually, put this instead of that, because this will get you across. And that is actually going to be like, we have enough of those. So like, you want to make sure that you're working with someone who's like, fighting for you to fill it out correctly will tell you what certain things mean. I mean, sometimes I don't even know. It's like, you're like, oh, I think that's where I put my business name, and it's not, it's where you put your account number or something like that. So, you know, just work with the people. They're in the office I'm talking, I'm sure it'll brighten their day to hear what you're working on, right, what you need help with. Also, they often know the other people in the area, the community, the other resources to help you, right, like, oh, if I'm not the right resource, this person is, if you're starting a business or a nonprofit or side hustle, the smartest move is to call your local SBA office and speak with a counselor. Again, not something online, not a chatGPT. You gotta go and talk to someone. And then he also said, talk to experts who.

Brad Crowell 29:42  

SBA stands for Small Business Administration, right? So that's a federal government thing, but they have local offices around the country, so you can actually go in and make an appointment to to their office. In fact, also too, not that I'm like, a huge fan of the big banks, but big banks actually often have training programs for business owners, too.

Lesley Logan 30:02  

Yes, but we're not fans of big banks because they won't help you get an SBA.

Brad Crowell 30:05  

Almost never will they help you get a loan. But, you know, there are resources available there too, but the SBA is actually, like, trying to help you get the money. 

Lesley Logan 30:13  

Yeah, I would fuck the big banks.

Brad Crowell 30:17  

If the big banks, like, honestly, the SBA doesn't let you apply for SBA funding directly through the SBA. You have to apply through a bank. You don't necessarily need to apply through a big bank, though. So that's the difference there.

Lesley Logan 30:30  

Right. So, and then also make sure you have the experts who can help you, help people like you, guide you to the right programs and the paperwork, and they usually do this for free. And you know, he's someone who loves to help people. So, like, there's, there's things out there. You're not on your own. Your friends and family might not be the best people to ask, but, you know what? Go to these offices and go, oh, they can't help you. Do you know who? Do you know who will, who can? Like, what else should I search? What should I be searching? Because I get the right thing. Like, they'll, they'll even, even at the DMV people help me, if you just ask the right questions and you're really nice. So trust me, people want to help people. 

Brad Crowell 30:34  

Yeah, it's true. It's true. Well, what a wealth of information. Also, he has like, here's like, books that are like, $20 so, like, even if you're, you know, look, if you're looking for more and you, you know, want to check out his resources. He has that community. The community he built is like people trying to help people find the right stuff. So, I mean, it's just curious. It's just fascinating.

Lesley Logan 31:29  

Sounds super positive. 

Brad Crowell 31:30  

It sounds really positive, yeah. 

Lesley Logan 31:31  

Yeah. Who doesn't need that in their life? Anyways, share this with a friend who needs to hear it. 

Brad Crowell 31:36  

Share it. Send it.

Lesley Logan 31:37  

This is the episode to share. There's so much in there for people, everybody.

Brad Crowell 31:41  

Episode 545, y'all, share it. 

Lesley Logan 31:43  

545

Brad Crowell 31:44  

545

Lesley Logan 31:44  

I'm Lesley Logan. 

Brad Crowell 31:45  

And I'm Brad Crowell. Thanks so much for being here. 

Lesley Logan 31:48  

Oh, okay, you totally did. Show. We already said to share this. So now, go Be It Till You See It. 

Brad Crowell 31:55  

Bye for now.

Lesley Logan 31:57  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.

Brad Crowell 32:39  

It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan 32:44  

It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.

Brad Crowell 32:49  

Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.

Lesley Logan 32:55  

Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.

Brad Crowell 32:59  

Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.

There’s a world of free resources and government support waiting to be claimed and Matthew Lesko is on a mission to help you find it. In this episode, Lesley Logan chats with the iconic author and endearing personality to explore how anyone can access funding, assistance, and programs already available to them. Lesko’s unfiltered advice, contagious energy,

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How Matthew Lesko followed his heart to create a mission-driven career.
• Why helping others became more meaningful than making millions.
• The mindset shifts from chasing success to creating an impact.
• Where to find real programs offering free financial aid and support.
• How to access small business and government contracting support.

Episode References/Links:

• Matthew Lesko Help Free Membership - www.beitpod.com/leskohelp
• Find Local Help for Basic Needs – www.findhelp.org
• Small Business Support (SBA Local Assistance) – www.sba.gov/local-assistance
• Government Contracting Support (Apex Accelerators) – www.apexaccelerators.us
• Career & Job Training Help – www.careeronestop.org
• Free Financial & Debt Counseling (HUD) – www.hud.gov/housingcounseling

Guest Bio:

Matthew Lesko is a nationally recognized author, researcher, and consumer advocate known for helping people access free government money and resources. For over 40 years, he’s made it his mission to show everyday Americans how to find funding for education, business, debt relief, housing, and more. With over 100 books published, Lesko has turned complex government programs into easy-to-use guides that empower individuals to take control of their financial future. His work has been featured on major platforms like Oprah, Larry King Live, and Good Morning America, where he’s become known for his energetic style and signature question-mark suit.

Lesko’s passion goes beyond publishing. He leads a community of over 15,000 members who support each other in navigating hidden funding opportunities. Through this platform, he also gives back—distributing monthly grants to help others get started. At the core of his work is a simple belief: you don’t need to be wealthy to get support—you just need to know where to look. Lesko’s tools, research, and heart-centered approach have helped thousands unlock resources they didn’t even know existed

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Resources:

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Episode Transcript:

Matthew Lesko 0:00  

My rule of thumb is your heart is smarter than your brain. You got to trust that more than anything. And sometimes you can't get there until you fail your ass

Lesley Logan 0:13  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Lesley Logan 0:56  

Be It babe, this is for you. This episode is for you. I mean, they're all for you, but this one I've been waiting for since the day I met this man. I was like, no way, no freaking way. This is real. And it is real because, and the reason I know is because I, before I met this guy, have been trying to do this with my business and going through some of the hoops that do it. And I think he just made it even easier. So Matthew Lesko is our guest. He is a wonderful, brilliant, hilariously honest man with so much love, and he is all the websites, all the keys, all the kingdom to helping you get the money assistance you need, like free money. But then He even tells you how you can get better money. So I know that that can sound like an infomercial. I know that they can sound like it's too good to be true. I promise you that, like, you do have some hoops to jump through, but I want you to get I want you to have everything you need. And I know some of you have debt that's holding you back, or you need money to make this idea happen, or you need the job training to make this idea happen. And literally, in this episode, he's gonna give you URLs that could help you do that. And if you want accountability community, he has that for you as well. So Matthew Lesko is our guest. You're gonna, you're gonna want to have a pen and paper for when he starts doing these, but we'll have the links in the show notes, so just check the show notes. All right, thank you, Matthew Lesko, you're amazing. Y'all, here he is. 

Lesley Logan 2:14  

All right, Be It, babe. I am super excited. First of all, if you're not watching this on YouTube, you're gonna want to see the man that's in front of me, because he has never let me down the two times I've seen him. He has the best suits on, the best glasses on, the most gorgeous hair. Matthew Lesko, can you tell everyone who you are and what you rock at?

Matthew Lesko 2:36  

Matthew Lesko, what I rock at? Boy, I just struggle. That's what rocking is. Man, it takes work to get through this shit, you know, everybody thinks there's some formula. No, there's no formula. You're guessing your ass off every day and hoping something works. The only thing you need is energy to do stuff, because the more stuff you do, because any, any that you get some plan about what to do in life, and that's not going to work, don't worry about it. But you could try maybe a little bit there you could do, but you got to figure your own shit out. And, but help could help you, just at least get you a little bit on the way. But, yeah, that's what it is. We all struggle and the experts want to make a lot of money to try to convince you they know the secret to life. Now they don't know what the fuck to do with their own life, you know. And so maybe you can claim little items to open your mind a little bit more. But really, life is trying something and failing. It's, it's like, if you're going to do something new in life, that's like learning to walk, you know, or learning to ride a bike, you're going to fall on your ass a lot. That's, what I think here is your loved ones are your worst enemy, because they say, don't do that. You're going to fail. Yes, you are. You're going to run into big bumps in the road. You're going to fail at something, and you just keep fucking going because you want to do that. So that's why key in life is not knowing exactly what to do, because nobody really knows, and you have to figure that out. That's a trial and error. And what you have to do is you use your brain as little as possible. Follow your heart as much as you can. I mean, you got to have the brain part, you know, so you don't fall off a cliff and do something really fucking stupid. But the way to get anything done is your heart has to be in it. I mean, whether it's professional life or personal life, man, if your heart and soul is not there, you're not going to make it happen, because it's going to be a pain in the ass, and you're going to leave on the second time it's a pain in the ass, or maybe the third.

Lesley Logan 4:45  

Yeah or some people the first time because they think it should be easier. Or, like, I've heard people say, oh, this is a sign I'm not supposed to do it. It's like, no.

Matthew Lesko 4:55  

That's a sign you're human. 

Lesley Logan 4:56  

Yeah. I mean, like, like, everyone has obstacles. I really appreciate this honesty. Thank you so much, because it's true. Like, you know, while we're doing this, my husband's actually talking to some business owners that we're hoping to coach, and we tell them, they're like, okay, well, what's the template like? In six weeks how much money am I going to make? And then we're like, anyone who's telling you that there's a template (inaudible) yeah, like this, because they've had so many good business coaches tell them, oh, follow this plan, you'll have 100k launch. You'll have this da-da-da but like that doesn't that's not how it works, because the amount of time you can put into this brilliant idea that you're passionate about is very different than the person next to you. The amount of money you're coming into this brilliant idea with is very different, and then also the life that's around you, or if you have an audience for this idea already, or you have to build it first, like, you can't, don't, I was, like, the quickest thing to know that someone's lying to you is if they have a plan. Because, like, like, I what's the thing? Like, you have a plan and God laughs, or something like that. Like, like, you know, it's just, but it doesn't mean that there's not options or ideas or good things that are out there. It's just that, I think people think, if I buy the plan, and that's going to be the thing, that's going to get me there, as opposed to starting with what you said, which is, like, do you really want to do it? Are you that passionate about it that you'll do it even if you fail? 

Matthew Lesko 6:18  

Right, because you are going to fail. I mean, there are going to be bumps in the road, reasons to not go forward, and that's when people quit, and then they try something else and they try something else, and that's why, even on a, personally, for your heart, I mean, my rule of thumb is your heart is smarter than your brain. You got to trust that more than anything. And, and sometimes you can't get there until you fail your ass off, then there's nothing left. And, and you know that you're special, but you have to find out what you're special in. That's the problem. We go to classes and experts and, and tell us, they're just giving you a clue they don't know, because we're all so different. I mean, you're a rose and I'm a petunia, you know? And how are you going to make a petunia into a rose? 

Lesley Logan 7:13  

And then everyone tries to treat each other like they're a tulip, and no one wants to be taller than the other, right? But you're really a rose and a petunia in a tulip field. Okay, so you Matthew, I feel like you are like coming into our ears today and like giving us true honesty, but also like you clearly lived a life. You've got this gorgeous white hair, you lived this life and also, I don't think anyone like knows how to say this, the way that you're saying it, with so much honesty and love, unless you've, like, lived through lives like you've lived through. Because, you know, it takes time, it takes time to (inaudible) so tell, can you tell us all about how you got, like, what you did before you became a petunia who's bestowing us in all this honesty?

Matthew Lesko 8:00  

I, god, I'm 81 years old. Can't remember that far, but I do it, really struggled, I mean, I was never good at anything. You know, that's why I just adore artists, because they know what the fuck they have to do, you know, but if you can't sing, dance or whatever, and you don't know what you're really supposed to do every day, and the rest of us have to figure that out. But the longer I do that, the more I see, yes, we all are artists like that is something we have to get up the morning, and there's something inside of us that possesses us to do something because you feel it's important, because you feel it's helping somebody, like now, at 81, I work harder now than ever before. It's not work. I haven't worked in 50 years, and part of, it's having fun in the process. So what I was doing, I was getting I am failing through college and all that kind of thing. When in Navy, I was a naval officer, ship driver, came back, that was Vietnam, and I got an MBA, started businesses that were failing. I had a software company in the 70s that was failing. I was, like, computer science professor, starting another business that failed, a bunch of failures. And I started looking, wow, I'm failing, not having fun, and I'm doing all this shit that maybe in 30, 40, years from now, I'll have fun, and that's crazy. I'm not having any fun, and I'm not successful at it. And so what I did is sort of finally flipped it around. Have fun today, because when you start having fun, you know that's a little contagious. Then also, if you're doing something that you feel you're having fun at, you'll work harder at. You hate playing basketball, but you love golf. You'll be on the golf course still, they have to drag you off, you know. And that's, so, that's what happened. That's how you really learn, that's how you really grow. You're into something you want to be there no matter what and then when I start doing that, then, and I think the other thing is, I find I had to, you have to look inside, you know, help may or may not be have outside, but you really have to be aware of what's inside you listen to that inside you, because that's really the important stuff that's going to come out, and it's hard to listen to it, because we don't, none of us know what the hell to do in life. We're all guessing you know and there's no empathy for that, because the people, coaches, you have to pretend, you know so you could charge a lot of money for what you're guessing about, you know, because that's what people want to hear. You know, unfortunately. 

Lesley Logan 10:58  

Yeah, I think, well, if people are afraid to take risks, because, I mean, you know, you know, you've lived a whole life. Like, if you take, if you are putting your own money into something as an idea and it fails, the the bills don't care, right? Like, they don't care. So, like, you know, like, something that I had someone say, like, there's like, six needs that we all have as humans, certainty and uncertainty. 

Matthew Lesko 11:30  

I thought you said sex needs. 

Lesley Logan 11:31  

Sex needs yes, yes, yes, yes. Six needs. Certainty, uncertainty, love and connection, I think one of them has to do with like, uh, significance, excuse me, it's like power, that you mean something, then we also need growth and contribution. The growth and contribution are more like choices. The other four you like, are like, really needs. And I think, like, a lot of us don't want to take a risk on the thing that's on our heart that we know we're supposed to do unless we have certainty that it won't fail, because this job over here that we hate is paying the bills.

Matthew Lesko 12:12  

Well, to me, you have to do both. You have to be responsible to yourself and the bills and everything and then any waking hour extra you have is to concentrate on finding out what that is inside you. Because if you don't do that, you know it's just life is so much harder. And boy, 81, I am so fucking happy now. I can't believe it. And for I never do, like, live so long, and I didn't know maybe this time I'll have this much fun. I mean, I say, god, if I knew being 81 was this much fun, I would have gotten here a lot fucking earlier, man, why did I wait so long? 

Lesley Logan 12:59  

You are amazing. Because my dad is 72 and I'm like, oh, and he's like, now, like, older than any of the men in his family, right, that have ever lived. And so, like, where it was like, let's get him to 70 like, the whole like, let's get a 72 no one's ever made it to 72 like, let's see. And I was like, you're gonna live to 100 you better watch out. He goes, I don't want to live to 100 but, like, I think clearly the difference is attitude, like you were like, you had that idea, like, have fun today, and now, clearly, and being it till you see it of have fun today, you're having so much fun at 81 you're like, I should have gotten here faster. 

Matthew Lesko 13:33  

Well, another thing that's really happened just last few a years too, is that most of men and your dad's 10 years younger than me or whatever. At least my life, most of it was trying to get stronger, faster, smarter. Well, at 80, none of that shit is going to get better. All that's going downhill. But what I figured out just a couple years ago, more so, is that I could love harder. Now there's one thing I get harder at any age. I could just love harder. And in my generation, I don't know if your dad's the same way. I couldn't even say that word unless they married you.

Lesley Logan 14:14  

Right, right. No, I think, literally, I don't think he says he loves anyone except for his kids right now.

Matthew Lesko 14:20  

Never heard it from my family even. And you know what changed me a lot were lesbians. I live in an apartment building here, 70, a lot of cool people, younger people, usually. And there was a woman next to us (inaudible) we really got close and that she she's my gateway drug to saying I love you to a woman, it was safe. 

Lesley Logan 14:44  

Yeah, because it didn't mean anything, she didn't care, like she loved being loved, but didn't take it the wrong way. That's so funny. I know it's really true. Like I like one of my girlfriends, I just rung on the phone the other day, and she had, like, her father passed, and, you know, we end every phone call I love you. And like, you know, I think, yeah, yeah, well, we, you know, we can change it. I, okay. So you are full of so much information. So as far as like, I mean, you are giving us so many good gems, and we can all love harder, but you actually are, I think maybe, like, you actually are, like, the person who helps people. You are an expert in helping people get, get money. So how did, how did you get here? And what are we talking about? Because, like, I when I met you and you told me this, I was like, no freaking way. But then I said that about Pilates, and now I'm a Pilates instructor, so I it's my it's like my sign when I go, no fuck no way, no fucking way. That's like some be it. No way. No one can do that. So can you tell us a little about, like, what you do when you're not just loving on people?

Matthew Lesko 15:54  

It is, by accident, again, my business has failed, and so what you do is become a consultant. So I have a consultant, like a researcher at the time, back in 70s, for Fortune 500 companies that wanted to do stuff, and I was in Washington, so they wanted to get money to start businesses and buy companies and find out the market for stuff. So I was in Washington, and I'd get I'd go around Washington and find help for them, and offices that give you money, offices that give you free reports on the markets for anything like I did one for Procter & Gamble on pasta, and I found a pasta expert in Washington who just spent a million dollars on some study on what's the good and bad about pasta business, and who makes money and where to get money. And so I take that stuff, and I take the government's name off of it, put my name on it, because nothing in the government is copyrighted, and I thank the department or whatever, and sell it to them for thousands of dollars. They loved it, millionaires, and that's why I saw I was making billionaires out of millionaires. I said, why does the average person know about it? Well I said I want to people. And that was my first successful business. So I was, you know, very happy with that. And but then to reach people on the street had to do with books. I couldn't charge $20,000 to do that. And so then to sell books and through publicity and doing talk shows and stuff like that. And I've been doing that for a long time, but what I see, see anybody can use it, the government, see, 40% of everything in our economy is our organizations that give you free money to solve a problem, whether it's you know, you need money to get out of debt. You need money to get rid of your your bills as an expense. You need money to start a business. You need money to get an education or get a better job. You need money to buy a house or fix up your house. You need money for I was anything you want. Is there health care, free, legal help? It's all in the government we I was finding government grant the other day for you want to buy out your boss. You know, $250,000 they'll give you in this is Colorado. To do that. Wisconsin will give you $250,000 just start a business as long as you stay there 15 years.

Lesley Logan 18:25  

What? I didn't know about Oklahoma. I think there was like a thing where Oklahoma City was trying to get people to move there. So you would get, (inaudible) you got like, $20,000 put down on a place to live in Oaklahoma City and then they would give you $10,000 a year. And I was like, and you had to, and all you had to do was stay for two years, so and then you could rent the house out, or whatever. And I was like, two years, and I could own a property in Oklahoma City, then I could rent it out, like I work for myself. Am I interested? And like, going back to your heart, like my heart wasn't in it. So I was like, that sounds like it's not enough money for me. But like that, I did know about that, so I didn't realize, like, Okay, this is so cool. So, like, all these states have different stuff. You just have to know it exists. The government has this. I think we all just have to, like, can we just, like, take a brief moment we are recording this two months into a shit show. Is there still gonna be money for all of us. 

Matthew Lesko 19:21  

Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, this is more show business that's going on for the average person. It's all still there. The downside, if all that still works, none of his stuff is legal yet. He just does it and wait till somebody stops him and but what's important is that, can you go online now? Let me show you something. Okay, okay, go on to findhelp.org.

Lesley Logan 19:52  

findhelp.org okay. 

Matthew Lesko 19:55  

Right. Okay findhelp.org. Put in your zip code. I don't know what Vegas is, what's the OE on your hand? 

Lesley Logan 20:04  

Oh, it's part of my hand my other hand tattoo. The other half is my husband and and it, and it, he has the LV, so it's the love tatoo. He's from Philly. There we go. We're in. We're in. You're so smart Matthew. You're like, okay, it didn't like, it doesn't like a VPN. So everyone, when you go to this, turn off your VPN, which is kind of like Hulu, doesn't like your VPN either. Okay, so I put in my zip code. Okay, there are 2738 programs in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Matthew Lesko 20:38  

So anyways, 2700 programs, those programs are all from nonprofit agencies or government offices. That means they all give you money or free help. None of them will never charge you a nickel for what they have. The government gives an average of $18,000 to every adult through programs like this every year, and that's me. And so you have, what, 1800 of them. And so, like, if you. 

Lesley Logan 21:02  

2700 of them, yes, yes.

Matthew Lesko 21:04  

2700 yeah, incredible. I mean, and that's for anything. Look at the tabs on top. 

Lesley Logan 21:13  

Yeah, there's tabs for food. There's, uh, which, like, which, when you tab on that, it has, like, community gardens, emergency food, food pantries, meals, housing, there's 22 things in housing, goods, there's a ton of stuff in goods, transit, they'll help you buy bus passes, health, money.

Matthew Lesko 21:36  

Oh, up in the there's the little search bar on the left hand side, on top, put in financial assistance.

Lesley Logan 21:44  

Okay, here we go. 

Matthew Lesko 21:45  

How many you have there? 

Lesley Logan 21:50  

This? It's showing me 791 pages, and there's 10 listings on each page. That's 7000.

Matthew Lesko 22:02  

Those people are there to give you free financial assistance. Most of us, well, we got to go to the bank, or we got to rob a 7/11 yeah and that's the options people don't know. That's why I think Google is ruining our country, because everyone's going to Google, and you can't find these in Google because they don't advertise.

Lesley Logan 22:24  

Right and they're not doing the SEO game. They're not, they don't have time for that. So yeah. Thank you for explaining that because I was just thinking, like, oh, I just like, you know, a couple years ago, my husband and I were trying to get a business loan for our business to help grow it. And we, of course, went to our bank, and we banked with since the dawn of my business, and I've always made more money every year. And they're like, no, you don't get any money from us because you're so small we don't care about you. So then I Googled, like, small business and like, like, nothing, except for all these banks and credit you like, these people don't want me. I'm not banking with them. We had to, like, we actually went to a wee bank event, and that's how my husband found someone who wanted to, like, invest in our business. But, like, this is really cool. So this, like, okay, but like, really, Matthew, so, like, a lot of this, there's stuff for people, like, for housing, so well, I can, there's one I'm saying, like, for people who have babies in NICU, this is amazing. So like, can I find financial assistance for my idea, for my business idea, or is it like?

Matthew Lesko 23:26  

No, not there, though, let me show you another website. Okay, okay, sba.gov/local-assistance. 

Lesley Logan 23:38  

I see it. Okay.

Matthew Lesko 23:41  

Local hyphen assistance. You get there, after (inaudible) and there's a place (inaudible) your zip code.

Lesley Logan 23:49  

Yes, there is. And you can put a distance. And I'm just going to keep it small. Let's see. (inaudible)

Matthew Lesko 23:54  

Most of this stuff is remote anyway, so it doesn't matter where they are. 

Lesley Logan 23:57  

Yeah, there's, like, it's telling me about the main off, the Las Vegas this, like, the SBA of Las Vegas is, like, down the street from my house.

Matthew Lesko 23:59  

Many other places that usually the non-SBA are better.

Lesley Logan 24:10  

Okay, there's, yeah, there's a just in, in, in 25 miles. Looks like I have about 15 options to go through. So, and that's like, that's just like in the like, that's just like the county, yeah. 

Matthew Lesko 24:25  

Every one of them are people that are there to help you find money and help you need to start or expand anything. So the best way to do it, and the way you do this, to me, my advice is to call and make appointments with as many as you can. Everybody has different ideas about how to do things and whatever, and different sources and all that kind of stuff, but they're all there to help anybody who calls to start their business help you find money. Help you find technical help, legal help. Help you do your taxes, all for free, and it's or strategize for strategy. And one of the things I think is best, too, for someone like you, you're you're providing help to people as a service that see if the the government buys that service, what's better from the government is not a grant, is really a contract that you get a government contract, you know, to sell your services to the government, or from a what they do, they spend a lot of money teaching people how to start a business. So like at your what's called the career one-stop center. You go, that's another thing for getting a job or things like that, or even starting a business. And they, they, they pay people to train people to help start a business, so you could be a contractor for somebody like that. Contracting is better than any kind of grant, because you get that forever (inaudible).

Lesley Logan 26:01  

Yeah, yeah. I am. We actually, in the last year, been working on certifying our business, because, like, there's some contracts that you're more likely to get if you're certified women-owned business or things like that. But like, I got to, like, look for some of these contracts, like websites for that, and it is insane how many, like, how many government contracts are wanting to use, like, they're like, we need like, like, the military is like, hey, we have a ton of people who want to do the military, and they are not in shape. So the military is looking for Pilates instructors or trainers or nutritionists to just help them with this problem they have. And like the truth is, is that most of us don't know these things exist, and we're the ones who's got the passion.

Matthew Lesko 26:47  

Let me show you the best place for that. Now you could use what I just gave you, and they would help you. There's a better place. It's called Apex Accelerators A-P-E-X and then I, I will screw it up if I try to spell accelerator.

Lesley Logan 27:04  

It's okay Apex Accelerators I know, it's one of those words.

Matthew Lesko 27:06  

Yeah, and then, but dot U-S. 

Lesley Logan 27:09  

Okay. 

Matthew Lesko 27:10  

Now that's, that's a free service that just specializes in helping people get contracts.

Lesley Logan 27:16  

Wow. Well, that's even more fun because then I don't have to learn how to do it. 

Matthew Lesko 27:21  

Exactly, right. 

Lesley Logan 27:23  

Because it can be a lot, oh my gosh, this is insane. You guys, you could put your zip code in, okay, and it says, find an apex accelerator near you. And guess what? There is, there's, there's one like, it looks like it's right, oh my gosh. It's like down the street from my it's like down the street from my house. (inaudible) Yeah, make an appointment. Okay, so, okay, Matthew, this is amazing. First of all, you gave us more than I expected. Uh, how do you do this? What do you, why? But why, why help all of us? 

Matthew Lesko 28:03  

You just showed me why? Look at your excitement. Boy, if I could do that to somebody that is just the nicest feeling in the world, yeah, I mean, like, wow. I mean, to a human that could react to something I know, and that's like, you know, my pair of socks or something, I don't even think I know it, but when I see you and you see us, that joy and that smile, that that I could do that to human at 81 that's pretty special. 

Lesley Logan 28:41  

Wow. Well, then you're welcome. I promise you. Right now, Matthew, my husband, is listening to me, listening to this for the replay. So when he listens to that part, he's gonna he, that's what he's gonna say. He's gonna go my wife, and he's gonna shake his head, she's so humble. Okay, we're gonna take a brief break, and then we're gonna find out how people can work with you on this, because I have a feeling that, like there's ways like that they could work more with you on this. 

Lesley Logan 29:09  

All right, Matthew, because you just gave us, and this is really great, but I actually do think that, like, do you have a group or a place that people can get ongoing help? Because obviously you're not a recurring guest here, so they can re-listen to this episode for those, like, really amazing mantras you've given us. But like, how else can they get, can they work with you?

Matthew Lesko 29:40  

A survey that, it took me many years to figure out how I could create income. I like paying for my own way, and after people start buying reference books with the computers and website, it took me a while, but and so I started a newsletter, and then what it turned into is a community. So I have a community now of 15,000 people that help each other get these programs. See, and I only charge $20 I didn't want to charge thousands like I did. I want to get the information to people who really need this. Otherwise, helping millionaires become billionaires was really boring. The millionaires aren't much fun. All they care about is money and not much of the heart is there, but people who really need it is more satisfying. So this is only $20 I charge for everything. Unlimited help for $20 because members help. Like today, we'll have four or five Zoom calls with members asking question as taking questions on how they got the money. So you have actually members how they got it, and they share it with you, and it became so profitable I can't really fathom too much is that we give out our own grants. We give out about 40% of all our money goes back to members and grants. So we give out like, $40,000, $70,000 every month back to members. Yeah, and four different kind of grants and, and that's, I mean, I really feel cool. 

Lesley Logan 31:17  

I mean, you're a badass, you're really cool, but you're like, a bad ass. You're like, you're like, it's like, not even Robin Hood, because you're not taking from bad people. You're like, actually, like, good people are paying in to help good people.

Matthew Lesko 31:30  

Whatever it is. It seems like I thought you had to be Jeff Bezos or his ex-wife or something like that, to be able to do this, to give up, but it is and that's, I never thought I'd be able to do that. And that's really satisfying.

Lesley Logan 31:46  

Well, this is, I mean, thank you. We're gonna put the links to your group and everything below, because the thing that I think keeps people from being it till they see it is oftentimes the affordability of it. Like they get stuck in that. As a business owner, I have always reinvested in my business, but like the ability to grow it required some capital, because you can't risk the savings account. And the IRS might not go after Jeff Bezos, but he certainly comes after me, so I have to pay my bill, you know, I can't go, oh, it's coming. I just, I'm doing a thing. I tried something new. So it when I had a bank go, hey, here is this with this really, really, mine's not even free money. But you, you're talking about free money. Like, I actually have been able to grow my business, and we haven't touched the money. Just like having it there meant that we could, like, be a little riskier, and it's paying off, you know, so, like, I just so I just know how impactful it's been for me. And, my goodness, if I knew this 10 years ago, like, I think we'd be in a different place. But I'm so grateful I got to meet you today. You have given us so much, some are great talks. But I love to end every episode with bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted steps people can take to be it till they see it. What do you have for us? 

Matthew Lesko 33:00  

Well, I mean is, if you want to do an idea, say, if you want to start a nonprofit, you want to start a business, you want to start a business at your home. You want to be a freelancer. You have an invention to work on, you go to that sba.gov/ and then local if an assistance, and you make an appointment. You make an appointment 1, 2, 3 or whatever, and you have to do that. Everybody wants to fill out an application and wait for the money. You can't do that because you don't know the application to fill out. You got to get experts and talk to experts who help people like you every day. And they're available for free, but they're not in Google. You can't use that. So you go, if it's for professional you go to sba.gov/localassistance. If it's for education or job training, you go to careeronestop.org that's another clearing house, and you put in your zip code to find a counselor to tell you about government money programs to help you train for a better job, so you want to get a skill to make better money, and things like that. They'll help you with that. Okay? And then if you have financial problems, you go to hud, hud.gov/counseling H-U-D for hud.gov/counseling and you put in your zip code there, and you get a free financial counselor sit down and work out your debts, your bills and all that stuff, so you don't carry that burden in the back of your head forever and get that, get that monkey off your back, And they'll do all that for free.

Lesley Logan 34:42  

Oh, my God. Matthew Lesko, thank you. Thank you. I, like, I love, like, seven different people for each one of those email addresses. Like, it's in my, just in my, like, phone, my contacts, and so, um, you guys, I know you're gonna share this with a friend. I know you are because, like, I think what I do hear people going, it can't be that easy. It's not going to be easy. I'm sure you're going to have to fill out paperwork, you have to make these appointments, you have to get the steps. But it's there, it's there, and because so few people will take the steps and do the thing like you're you're not in a huge competition. So you know what, babe, share this with a friend who needs to hear it. Thank you, Matthew Lesko. Go check out his group. Go check out what he's doing, and then report back. Let us know what you were able to do with it. Let us know what, what, what grant you did or what website you did, or how it helped your friend. Because I think it'll make Matthew Lesko's day.

Matthew Lesko 35:37  

Let me see a smile. 

Lesley Logan 35:37  

Yeah, y'all, you know what to do. Until next time, Be It Till You See It. 

Lesley Logan 35:43  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.

Brad Crowell 36:26  

It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan 36:30  

It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.

Brad Crowell 36:35  

Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.

Lesley Logan 36:42  

Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.

Brad Crowell 36:45  

Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.

It's the halfway point of the year and Lesley Logan is bringing big energy to this FYF episode. She shares a powerful story of social impact, celebrates community wins, and reveals two major personal victories including a successful pivot for OPC’s Spring Training and a game-changing summer setup at home. Let this episode remind you that ease and effort can absolutely coexist.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How Flau’jae Johnson is changing lives through debt relief and financial literacy.
• Sonia Ahmed’s branding shoots as a powerful act of visibility.
• Ainsley Walker’s multi-faceted wins in community, self-care, and action.
• The importance of community in offering perspective and inspiration.
• A behind-the-scenes look at the OPC team’s pivot for Spring Training.
• Smart ways Lesley and Brad beat the Vegas heat and improved sleep quality.

Episode References/Links:

• @femalequotient - https://www.instagram.com/p/DHWTzvLvwx9

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSI

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Be in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlist

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FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/

Resources:

Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-g

Lesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/

Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/

Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/

Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQ

Profitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/

Follow Us on Social Media:

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LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/

The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses

Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan 0:00  

It's Fuck Yeah Friday. 

Brad Crowell 0:01  

Fuck yeah. 

Lesley Logan 0:02  

Get ready for some wins. Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Lesley Logan 0:44  

Hi, Be It babe. How are you? We made it to the end of June. Holy freaking moly. Halfway through the year. We did it. You did it. Have you out of all the Fridays halfway through the year, have you celebrated wins on each Friday? Maybe you celebrate them all week long. Maybe you celebrate them every single day. I don't know. I want to know. Send your wins in. Send how you, how you celebrate that. Send how you reflect, reflect, reflect, correct and continue. Because we would love to share those out on these episodes to help other be it till you see it. Listeners rock what they got. You know, like, we're in this together, right? A couple episodes of FYFs ago, like, talked about, like, how, when you stand up for yourself, it's Maya Angelou, is like, without knowing that you are actually standing up for all women, right? And I think that's really cool. Think it's really cool. So on these episodes, I share something that inspired me, something that's a win from you, a win of mine, and then a mantra. 

Lesley Logan 1:32  

So on Instagram, I saw this, Flau'jae Johnson is eliminating 5 million of dollars of debt for Louisiana families, that's right, you guys, the LSU basketball star and business major is teaming up with Experian to erase $5 million in medical debt for 5000 families in Louisiana, while also championing financial education. Women are at the heart of the global economy making the majority of a household purchases, purchasing decisions. Yet only 30% of women worldwide are considered financially literate. The gap isn't just about money, it's about power, independence and opportunity. You know what's bigger than basketball? Financial empowerment, Johnson says, and she's leading by example. Flau'jae, you're fucking a badass. So y'all can follow her. She's got 2 million followers. She's amazing. She's kicking ass in basketball. And, like, I just love that she's able to use, use this to do change. You know, I just think, wow, it's amazing. Can you imagine being in those families, maybe we shouldn't have to have those families. They shouldn't have to have this medical debt. But like, I love that she's doing this, and I love that she teamed up with companies who can make this happen, so that that not only are they out of that debt, but then women are learning how to be financially literate from a young age. I'm just obsessed. So thank you for inspiring me, babe, that is what I needed this week. 

Lesley Logan 2:44  

All right, let's get to a win of yours. All right. This one is from Sonia Ahmed. Had my first professional branding shoot. Photo shoot yesterday, got pics with my clients in my studio, some of me in the studio, and then some of me out and about on my laptop for my consulting work. I'm so excited. It's so nice to have photos like, it is a win when you're like, okay, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna plan this. I'm gonna do this thing. Because, like, it's just we need them. We need them. I, like, how, I hate prepping for a photo shoot, and I'm so glad when I do, because, like, oh my God, then you have the things to show off, the thing that you want to do. You know, we need those things. People need visuals of like, the badass that you are. So way to go, Sonia, way to also bring people in along on that journey. 

Lesley Logan 3:25  

And then Ainsley Walker wrote, this week's mat practice went great. I caught up with Jen L., Jen M. and Kim. We moved, explored, had fun and geeked out all those. Kim's detail for thinking blew my mind and raised questions that really got me thinking. Thank you. I learned from all of them. I booked in with Gen M to get my nutrition looked at. I'm going. I'm excited and so happy that this is happening. I thought about it for ages, and here she appeared. Head colds suck, but the second one, I've decided to take the day off knowing that I don't have clients coming to my home for three days. Feels like a good break. And I'm still doing mat classes tomorrow, but it takes the pressure off for rest. I'm so happy to be in this group and excited for the next weekend. You know, I actually really love all these wins. Ainsley has like several different ones in there, like different categories. And I love that you're first of all celebrating all of them, like all these different things. But it is a win when we go, you know what, I, I can do this much, but I can't do that much with this head cold. So I'm going to do this much, and I'm gonna take a break off of that much. I love that you found someone you trust to actually do the thing you've been wanting to do with that nutrition plan. I love that you find time to work out with other women, and then you are inspired by the way that they think where that's the cool thing about community. We're all not going to have the same strengths, so we can utilize other people's strengths where we might not see things and then see things from a different perspective. That's the point of this episode, right? You, you guys all sharing your wins allows people to see what are wins in their life. And like, we can like, learn different things. So I just thank you all so much for sending them in. These, really, were wonderful and lovely, and I love reliving them with you. 

Lesley Logan 5:04  

So my loves, my win. Let's get into it. Okay, so I actually have two wins for you, because I didn't celebrate one with you back at the beginning of June, and I want to celebrate it. And then I have another win that, like I hope, is like practical. So big win-wise, the team and I planned a year in advance spring training. We do this annual way for people to experience OPC, and we're constantly trying to find what's a different way. Tell people trust that if they sign up for an online platform, they will actually use it, and that it can get them the results that they want. When all the marketing is telling them they should do Reformer Pilates and they're not realizing that they can do mat work at home and have great results, and yet, maybe they still go do Reformer Pilates, but then, if they only can go once a week, they're actually gonna get the results that they're trying to get from the Reformer right? So every year we try to do this, and I'm not gonna lie, like we had this brilliant idea, we, like, went to bat for it. In January, had a big call about how the marketing plan was gonna go, all these things, and in it actually wasn't really working the way we wanted. And one of the wins is that we actually took the time to do a massive pivot, which is not easy to do, because it means a lot of people having to work again on something, but like, if something's not working, change it right? So we did that, and we had it made us, forced us to, like, reflect, like, what? How do we help people understand that this week of Pilates is actually exactly what they've been asking for, right? Because you have to make sure that it's understandable in their words. And we had the best time. It was so fun. We had so many people sign up. OPC members got to sign up for free. They showed up in the hundreds. We had tons of people from all over the world joining us live for these classes, and we had these Q&A's. And that was also a really amazing time. And that was just great and grand. And we wrapped it up on Pilates Day. And I don't always do something on Pilates Day because, to be honest, like, we provide so much free Pilates content all the time. I don't usually have the have it in me to do something on that day, but we actually got to have a really massive Pilates Day with our OPC members, with these spring training people and just celebrate, like, how amazing Pilates is when a bunch of people join the OPC membership after it and like, whether or not, like, we hit our number goals doesn't really matter, because the win is in that as a team, we acted as a team that could, you know, when we look back at like, what we did, like, we made changes where we needed to to make things happen. And so I don't have the numbers in front of me to share them with you, but like, I'm so proud of our team, I'm so proud of what we did. I'm so proud of the teachers. I'm so proud of the people who signed themselves up for something. It's not easy to do that, and so that's awesome win. The other win, a little more practical, a little smaller, is that, you know, it gets hot in Vegas. It sneaks up on you. It's really only, like, not tolerable, you know, like 90 days of the year. The rest of the time, it's either just nice and warm or it's perfect. So at any rate, we're usually caught off a little, on off guard, and we're traveling and we're busy, and we like, oh, I gotta put that on. We set our EVAC cooler up in the beginning of April, and so even though it's freaking hot on most days when it's under 106 degrees, we can run this EVAC cooler, so we're not paying a fuckton in energy bills. And the house is actually cooler, and it's really awesome, and I'm super obsessed with it. So I'm just so proud of Brad and I after it's our fifth summer in this town, and we, like, nailed it. We worked ahead, we thought about it, and we are not dying at night. And also, I don't know if you remember a win that we had back in the beginning of the year, we got I told Brad, I was like, I cannot do another summer hot. Like, I'm not even having hot flashes, but I'm like, freaking too hot at night, and it's not gonna get better. Like, we all know what's coming. So like, how can we prepare for this? And he got this bed jet thing, and I can actually have cool air on me in the bed. So, like, you still have to have the air on it won't it's not an air conditioner. It's pulling from the air that's outside, but it's actually making it so, like, I'm, like, the perfect temperature as I sleep. I'm getting the best sleep because of it. So you guys, if summer suck for you, like, first of all, make changes to your life so that you can, it can be better. So you get your sleep that you need, and you can stay hydrated, but also mark your calendar for months in advance of the heat where you are, so you can make the changes you need to make before it sneaks up on you. And then it's like, oh my God. Then you're in it, and you're tired. When you're hot and tired, you're bitchy, and it's just not fun. It's not fun. So anyways, those are our big wins. June was, oh my God, the year has been so great. There's a lot going on that's not great, but there's also stuff that's going on that's great. That's why this episode exists. 

Lesley Logan 9:29  

All right, your mantra, I'm capable of balancing ease and effort in my life. I am capable of balancing ease and effort in my life. I am capable of balancing ease and effort in my life. Yes, you are, babe. Yes you are until next time, Be It Till You See It. 

Lesley Logan 9:45  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.

Brad Crowell 10:27  

It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan 10:33  

It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.

Brad Crowell 10:37  

Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.

Lesley Logan 10:43  

Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.

Brad Crowell 10:48  

Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai