How to Love Your Work, Pt. 2: Finding Your Genius with Gina Marotta
Gina Marotta is back! This time she guides us through the process of uncovering your genius - this is your innate talent that points you to your most aligned career path and your true purpose. In Part 1 of our 3-part series, Gina set the foundation for a career change towards work that you love by teaching us the significance of reconnecting to our creative power. In Part 2, she now empowers us to identify and honor our natural-born gifts, as well as the environments that best support the expression of those gifts. She shares the clues that she looks for in her clients and what to do with your genius once you begin to recognize it. Think you might be not be working in your genius? Listen in to clarify what that feels like and how to instead enjoy ease and flow in the work you do!
My Current Obsession: Ghost Story
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Transcript:
01:15:03:16 - 01:15:28:00
Steph
I'm Stephanie Hammond and this is the Fruition podcast. On this show, I sit down with passionate people who've brought their dreams to fruition. We'll explore different versions of success and fulfillment and dig in to what was on their mind along the way. With these conversations, I hope we can all expand our sense of possibility. And who knows? Maybe hearing their stories will inspire you to take action on yours.
01:15:28:01 - 01:16:02:07
Steph
Okay. We're back with part two of our three part series, All about how to love your work with career coach Gina Marotta. As a reminder from last episode, she was a highly successful attorney in Chicago that chose to pivot her career and her life, to live in her genius and guide others to do the same. So she helps people, particularly women, find what they were born to do so that they can give and work and live in a flow that feels natural and fun and useful.
01:16:02:09 - 01:16:21:16
Steph
In this episode, we're going to get in the weeds on how to begin identifying what your genius might actually be. And in case you didn't know, the episode is also on YouTube, so you can watch it on your TV, which is kind of neat sometimes. Gina really highlights where I'm still limited in my beliefs of what's possible, she says.
01:16:21:16 - 01:16:44:04
Steph
When you're in your genius, the work that you're doing is fun and it is easy. In my response to that. In this episode, you'll hear is that I still don't believe that it's possible. So she breaks down the logic and thank God she's here to be a direct example, proving that it is. So with that, my current obsession is the podcast series called Ghost Story.
01:16:44:06 - 01:17:04:21
Steph
Obviously all linked in the notes, but it's an eight episode really well-produced ghost story time that I got so into these past few months and had such a blast listening to. The only rules are that you have to listen at night while it's dark and bonus points. If it's raining outside, you have to make this as spooky as possible.
01:17:04:22 - 01:17:11:16
Steph
So I hope you enjoy it and have an amazing day. Eugene. Yes.
01:17:11:18 - 01:17:14:06
Steph
Hi, Gina. Welcome back.
01:17:14:06 - 01:17:15:05
Gina
Hello again.
01:17:15:07 - 01:17:43:03
Steph
In this session in part two, we're talking about finding your genius. So in part one, we talked about reconnecting back to your creative power so that you have that ability to understand your desires and your joys, and you can gently start moving away from what you have realized. Isn't working that well for you. And you can begin to find or understand what might work a little bit better.
01:17:43:05 - 01:18:04:02
Steph
And connecting to your creative power will help you with that transitional process and you kind of have to set the stage to allow yourself to find your genius. And I'm curious to hear from you. What do you even how would you define genius? Somebody individual genius. What does that mean to you?
01:18:04:04 - 01:18:37:17
Gina
The simplest way I define genius is it's your innate talent. So it's what you were born with and what you do naturally exceptionally well. We talked in the earlier episode about how at 11 years old, I was coaching my mother out of her spirituality and empowerment books. That's natural talent. That's not something somebody ever taught me. It truly is my genius to be a coach and to sit with people and to illuminate the wisdom that's inside them, to support them, to bring forth their best.
01:18:37:17 - 01:18:42:07
Gina
So that is, in essence, what geniuses is, is it's your natural, innate talent.
01:18:42:09 - 01:18:45:12
Steph
How would you describe strengths or skills that play into that?
01:18:45:15 - 01:19:28:09
Gina
At different times, I feel were called for to to call out different parts of ourselves. Different parts of us evolve over our lives. It's not this perfect. It's always this one thing, but the things that have always been with me have been coaching, spirituality and helping people connect to spirituality, cultivating community, bringing people together. And like in terms of specific skills, I would say what I hold is like I literally have an intuition to read people's genius.
01:19:28:09 - 01:19:53:16
Gina
I can see it very clearly. Sometimes it's very obvious right away and it takes a little time, a little understanding of someone. But I have a skill of reading people's genius. I also have a skill of of being able to read the patterns in people that are holding them back. I can make connections between like their childhood issues and why they're not moving forward in the way that they want to.
01:19:53:16 - 01:20:20:12
Gina
Now, I can piece those things together. In law, we call it issue spotting like you spot the issues and and then help people resolve them. So, you know, I also just have this ability like I am a I'm a reflector so people I'm kind of like what what you would say is a mirror for people we can't necessarily always see inside of ourselves what's going on.
01:20:20:13 - 01:20:33:18
Gina
But when you're talking to me about it, I'm like the mirror that I help you see it. I can hear it, I can see it, I can witness it, and then I show it back to you. You know, a lot of my job isn't to give you the answers, is to just tell you what I've heard you say.
01:20:33:18 - 01:20:55:06
Gina
But maybe I've organized for you in a way that it seems jumbled in your mind, but I'm like, filtering it and just just showing back to what you've said. And then people look at me and I was like, Wow, nobody's ever understood me like that before, and it's because I get to be this mirror. So those are some ways I would I would describe my genius in forms that I use that at this time.
01:20:55:08 - 01:21:17:06
Steph
Yeah, I love the way that you describe those. And they really it's more of a gift than it is tangible. And so that can be hard to define. And it takes a lot of self-reflection and self-awareness to learn that and observe that within yourself. Do you think that everybody has a genius?
01:21:17:08 - 01:21:43:12
Gina
I do. Every everyone has genius. I see it and I can read it very well. There's a famous Albert Einstein quote that goes something like this Everybody is a genius. But if you if you're a fish trying to climb a tree, but judging yourself like a monkey who can climb a tree, you will believe your whole life that you're stupid, right?
01:21:43:12 - 01:22:07:00
Gina
So I botched the quote a little bit. But the idea is, when you're a fish, you really have no business trying to climb a tree. That's not your thing to do. That's what monkeys do. Monkeys can, like, go right up there. Right? But so people think they don't have genius because they're operating not in their genius. And life feels hard and difficult because they're doing things that are difficult for them.
01:22:07:01 - 01:22:07:19
Steph
Yeah.
01:22:07:21 - 01:22:22:03
Gina
But when we when we do really tap into what's innate, it no longer feels difficult. Now, when you were describing how I talked about my gifts and my genius, they do sound different than what? Like a college is teaching courses.
01:22:22:08 - 01:22:25:00
Steph
Yeah, Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
01:22:25:02 - 01:22:49:05
Gina
But that's a bit of the problem of our time is that the world is trying to citizen two boxes of consumerism and the way the government wants to run. And in trying to plug us into this, this way that it has said society should be, and that's got us in this state of total disharmony and chaos right now.
01:22:49:07 - 01:22:59:19
Gina
Because when when we're in our genius as individuals and then come together as a collective, we create a harmony. We don't have harmony right now. That's pretty obvious.
01:22:59:21 - 01:23:02:12
Steph
01:23:02:14 - 01:23:13:21
Gina
So, yes, everyone has genius, but not everyone is connected to it. And that's where my work comes into play And helping people to find what? That geniuses.
01:23:13:23 - 01:23:14:11
Steph
01:23:14:13 - 01:23:39:17
Steph
I love that quote that you called out by Albert Einstein, because that is probably how a lot of people are feeling. That's how I felt before in we almost select the space in which we think we want to have a genius and we think that we can, you know, work hard enough or develop enough skills and experience to create a genius of ourselves.
01:23:39:17 - 01:24:05:17
Steph
And you might have chosen whatever space that is in because there was a natural ability there. But that's like you and law, you know, you were good at it. Yes. You excelled in your classes. You received a job opportunity before you even graduated for a job that didn't even exist because you were so good at it. And so it would be easy to say from the outside that that something within that was your genius.
01:24:05:23 - 01:24:13:06
Steph
But what is now that you've found your real genius, true genius? What's the difference in feeling between the two?
01:24:13:09 - 01:24:38:01
Gina
Who So you're correct in saying that there was something connected to my genius in the work that I did do as a lawyer? It wasn't totally disconnected because at its heart, being an attorney is being a counselor for somebody. They call you a counselor of law. Someone is in a situation that they have no understanding of how the legal system works and you're their counselor through that process.
01:24:38:03 - 01:24:58:08
Gina
And I very much felt a reverence to that part of the role. Like my clients, you know, they were in legal trouble and had no idea what was going to happen in the process. And, you know, they could feel a lot of pressure of prosecutors and police. And I was this person that was there on their side looking out for them, taking care of them.
01:24:58:10 - 01:25:18:18
Gina
So there was a lot of fit for me in that, which is a lot of what I do as a coach. A big skill set in being a lawyer is issue spotting. And you know, it's very common. People come to lawyers with all these problems that they don't know what to do with, and it's up to the lawyer to say, okay, let's start here and this is how we will resolve it.
01:25:18:18 - 01:25:36:09
Gina
And then we go here and this is how we will solve it. That's a lot of what I do with my clients is they come people say to me all the time, especially early on in sessions, they'll come and they'll just talk for like five, 10 minutes and just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. And then they'll be like, God, that must have been just I know I was just rambling on and on and on, and I'm like, No, you weren't at all.
01:25:36:10 - 01:26:13:06
Gina
Because while they were talking, I was processing it all and spotting the issues and realizing where they need to start, where I can guide them and direct them. So there is a lot of parallel. You know, I didn't go to medical school that probably wouldn't have benefit at all, but there was something about becoming a lawyer that was appropriate and I could could do well in that world, but where it really wasn't my genius and where it really fell out of alignment was that I spent so much of my time in my intellect in this, like fighting competing energy.
01:26:13:08 - 01:26:42:19
Gina
And it was inside of a system, the legal system that is about punishing people. And my job was to fight against a harsh, inappropriate punishment. And so for me, a lot of what didn't work was the environment and the ultra masculine setting in which I was operating. And so I do a lot of the same kinds of things.
01:26:42:19 - 01:27:03:16
Gina
I'm you know, I also do a lot of public speaking. You know, that was a big part of my legal career. I was a courtroom lawyer in the courtroom all the time. And, you know, that's very natural for me that a lot of people are very uncomfortable with it. For me, it's very natural. So I was I was in my genius zone in a lot of ways in my legal career, just not the right setting.
01:27:03:18 - 01:27:30:21
Steph
Interesting. Okay. Okay. When I think of my own experience, I also recognize that there are bits and pieces of my work that do feel natural. There's a reason why I chose the path that I chose, but for me, I feel that environmental misalignment as well. It's a very investments is a very masculine industry, so I totally connect with you on that.
01:27:30:23 - 01:28:05:19
Steph
And the other piece that was missing for me, and I'm curious if your clients experience this as well, it's like it's just not exciting, you know, like it takes a lot of effort to force myself to do certain things that I think I should do to keep up with this. Other people who are excited about the topic or the industry or the focus or whatever it might be like, maybe it's not so off and difficult, but it's just like not letting them up.
01:28:05:21 - 01:28:28:19
Gina
Yeah, there's a few things that need to match to be really truly operating in your genius. So there's, so there's the skills, right? Which we were talking about like I was using a lot of the genius skills that are innate to me in law. Yeah, but it wasn't the right set because the environment wasn't the right set. And also what you're starting to allude to, I didn't have a passion for that subject area.
01:28:29:00 - 01:28:54:09
Gina
Like I could get excited about liberation of a human being. Yes, constitutional arguments I could get into. I care about freedom, but what my truest passion is, is the empowerment of women. And so when my work shifted into that direction, which my second career was running, a women's nonprofit organization was about empowerment. My coaching today is a lot about women's empowerment.
01:28:54:11 - 01:29:12:21
Gina
It was like hitting that right passion area that then my genius could thrive even more because it's like the right skills, the right subject matter, the right environment, the right culture. Like all of those pieces will really be what will feel like your lit up alive and doing the work that you were born to do.
01:29:13:00 - 01:29:33:18
Steph
Yes. Wow, that sounds like magic. That's so wonderful. And you already said everybody has a genius. So hopefully many of the listeners have listened to part one of reconnecting to their creative power, so they might have a sense of what they're good at, what they're excited by. They might have a little bit of an idea, a little bit more clarity.
01:29:33:20 - 01:29:54:17
Steph
But when you start talking about what is your genius, I think of, you know, somebody like Kanye West, honestly, I actually remember I watched his documentary that was on Netflix, I don't know, two years ago or whenever that was it was a three part series. And whatever you think about Kanye, he has a talent. He's connected to his genius.
01:29:54:17 - 01:30:20:13
Steph
Yes, connected to his genius. And he talks about it a lot about how he receives messages. Yes. Words come through his throat. He's not forcing anything. It's a natural ability that he has. And he is extremely talented. When I watched that, yeah, I was fascinated and envious. You know, like, I want to feel that, yes, in the way that he feels and I want to find my Kanye talent.
01:30:20:13 - 01:30:31:06
Steph
That's right. So when I think of his level of talent and skill, is that is that what you mean by everyone has a genius? You like to that level?
01:30:31:12 - 01:30:41:15
Gina
Yes, yes, yes. So what he's talking about is he starts channeling the information like you are a channel for something specific in this.
01:30:41:15 - 01:30:42:11
Steph
World.
01:30:42:13 - 01:30:49:03
Gina
That is yours to give. And in our society, we really give it to like musical artists.
01:30:49:03 - 01:30:49:18
Steph
Or yes.
01:30:49:20 - 01:31:14:15
Gina
Athletes that we all these geniuses, but it exists in so many different forms. I really believe my biggest genius is I'm a channel for people understanding what they're geniuses. I really believe, and I could just talk endlessly and on and on about that. And I keep getting clearer on the tools and the way to discover it and how to find it in yourself.
01:31:14:17 - 01:31:39:13
Gina
But it's just something that I'm a I. It's how I work. I observe the world. This way and I just receive information and it comes out of me and I'm in sessions with clients and I'm channeling information for them. It's just it pours through me with ease because who I am and how I was built by God, the divine, the infinite, whatever created me, created me to be a channel for this thing.
01:31:39:15 - 01:32:00:23
Gina
So when you can find your genius, you become this like, endless untapped resource for that which is yours to share. Yes, I believe we all have that ability. And he's at a more advanced level, right? He's not somebody who's like, Who am I? And what's my purpose? No, he knows this is his gift. He's he's he's very clear.
01:32:00:23 - 01:32:22:15
Gina
So that's that's a part of the you know, there's levels of understanding your genius. So that's number one is like identifying what those gifts are. What are the right environments for you to be in? And then there is, you know, then moving that into your career path, not just having it be something you know about yourself, but making turning this and, you know, him becoming a musician.
01:32:22:17 - 01:32:38:11
Gina
Yeah. And, you know, making that his path, me becoming a coach and making that my path, that's that's another phase. And then there truly becomes this phase that you were just talking about. I would say that's level three with Kanye, which is like, No, you are just a channel for it. You know how to tap it, you know how to connect it.
01:32:38:11 - 01:32:54:03
Gina
And you just you flow with it. And I would say, you know, that's something that I can do now as well. But we all have that capacity given the time to get to know ourselves, to make this our how we spend our life's full time, give our hearts to and then, yeah, tap in as a channel.
01:32:54:05 - 01:33:02:19
Steph
So it's a gift that you develop like you have to identify it, become aware of it, and then you begin to develop it over your lifetime.
01:33:02:21 - 01:33:12:05
Gina
I would see it a little differently. You're born, you're born with it. It is a natural talent. So there's natural complicity in this area. But then you cultivate that gift.
01:33:12:05 - 01:33:33:22
Steph
Cultivate it. Okay. Okay. Perfect. I'm so glad that you made that distinction, because that makes so much more sense and feels so much more comforting that it's already within me. And then it's our it's right. It's already something that people are probably doing in their day to day life and just aren't aware of or haven't cultivated, like you said.
01:33:33:22 - 01:33:37:11
Steph
So how do people begin to identify their own genius?
01:33:37:14 - 01:33:45:18
Gina
Yeah, I'm inspired in this moment by there's this Michelangelo quote. So Michelangelo.
01:33:45:20 - 01:34:19:09
Gina
Yeah, Michelangelo who created the Statue of David, which is a very famous statue in Italy of a man who's, you know, very, very large and varied, like just beautiful figure. It's very stunning to see in person. I've seen it live. And so when Michelangelo was carving the statue of David, this his famous quote was, I had this block of stone and I was just being this channel to carve away all the pieces of that stone that were not.
01:34:19:14 - 01:34:23:02
Steph
David
01:34:23:04 - 01:34:42:20
Gina
And so he was being a channel for something that was meant to come through him, but it was by taking away what wasn't meant to be there. And so that right now is the work of us doing what am I being in this world that's not aligned for me, like me, okay, I'm a lawyer and I'm really good at it.
01:34:42:20 - 01:35:08:18
Gina
And my clients really like me and my firm's really happy with me. But I don't like walking into a police station and having to go toe to toe fight with a cop about my client. That's not that's not authentic, you know, Could I do it? Could I play that tough role? Sure. But that's not me. I'm more of someone who wants to create peace and harmony and love in the world.
01:35:08:18 - 01:35:37:05
Gina
Right. And so when I was when I knew law wasn't my forever path, all I could say, all I could say was I just know I want to be on the proactive side of creating a better world for people. And that's all I knew. So it's like you just recognize what's not a fit at the very beginning. You recognize what doesn't feel right, what feels out of alignment.
01:35:37:06 - 01:35:54:11
Gina
And then, you know, you're going to know what you're going to know piece by piece. So that always has been important to me. It's like I've always wanted to be a part of that's part of the environment, like the work that I'm doing has to be about creating a better world. I don't want did I create a better world for my clients by being their lawyer?
01:35:54:11 - 01:36:08:09
Gina
Sure. But ultimately being inside the criminal justice system, which has a lot of toxicity and poison inside of it and how it runs. I was not creating a better world. There.
01:36:08:11 - 01:36:09:03
Steph
Yeah.
01:36:09:05 - 01:36:26:12
Steph
And peeling away those layers opened up space in your mind? Yes. Your environment to then connect with a new way of doing things like how, how, what then in step two, I guess. Yes. Peeled away.
01:36:26:12 - 01:36:27:13
Gina
Yes. Yes.
01:36:27:13 - 01:36:29:00
Steph
And what comes next? A lot of.
01:36:29:00 - 01:36:31:15
Steph
Emptiness, openness.
01:36:31:17 - 01:36:37:22
Gina
So there are some clues to what your genius as well. Let's look we can talk about a few of them here.
01:36:37:22 - 01:36:38:17
Steph
Yeah.
01:36:38:18 - 01:36:47:09
Gina
Give people some insight of what to be looking for. And it's going to be so some of it's going to possibly be surprising.
01:36:47:11 - 01:36:48:11
Steph
But.
01:36:48:13 - 01:37:06:18
Gina
It is going to also feel Right. Right. It's going to like I like one of the words. I really like when something resin mates with you. It's like you're like, yes, that feels like truth. It resonates, right? So you're not in your head, you're not trying to figure it out. You're like, No, it vibes as truth right?
01:37:06:20 - 01:37:35:07
Gina
So what I these, these clues that I can share about what your genius is are going to sound opposite of everything we think, but are going to resonate as truth. So I'm going to give us potentially 3i3 that are at the forefront of my mind. Three clues of what your genius is. The first one is that which is your genius is fun and easy for you.
01:37:35:09 - 01:37:39:04
Gina
I want to hear your reaction to that.
01:37:39:06 - 01:37:43:22
Steph
Fun and easy are two words that I've been warming up.
01:37:43:22 - 01:37:45:22
Steph
To.
01:37:46:00 - 01:38:04:22
Steph
When it comes to. And again, I'm thinking about this in the context of work and career. Yes, those are not words that I have associated with work and career. And that's what a lot of people listening. That's right. Are somewhere on that spectrum. Yes. Closer to where I was. And I'm, like I said, warming up to it. Yes.
01:38:05:00 - 01:38:08:01
Steph
Desperately want to believe that that's accessible.
01:38:08:01 - 01:38:36:19
Gina
Yes. Yes. So I'm going to explain a little bit about why this is the case to maybe help bridge this intellectually. So you're innate. Talent is your genius. And so if it's innate, you can just do it with ease. It's not hard for you. Albert Einstein, the renowned genius, all of us. Physics was his genius, right? He could do that with ease.
01:38:36:19 - 01:39:11:04
Gina
It would not be easy for me, but for him it was right for me. Part of my genius is inspiring people getting up in front of audiences. Some people that's like their biggest nightmare, right? No, that's not their genius. It's mine, right? We. We so look outside of ourselves for what there is to do and what's good and what's meaningful that we just don't understand that what it is for us that's innate and natural and easy is actually what's our genius?
01:39:11:06 - 01:39:40:22
Gina
Is it seals hard? It's not your genius, and you may be good at it and you can do it, but then it's it's not your genius if it feels hard and stressful. So, for example, I studied accounting in college. I did the books at the law firms I worked at. I do the books for my business now. When I was a managing director to a nonprofit, I wasn't the bookkeeper, but I had to stay on top of the finances for my chapter.
01:39:41:00 - 01:40:10:00
Gina
But do you know how drained and tired I feel when I look at that stuff? It's hard, it's stressful and, you know, can I balance the numbers? Do I know a lot about accounting? Yes. But it is so stressful and painful and draining for me, as opposed to when I'm sitting with a client coaching them, you know, unappealing, these patterns for them, seeing their jeez, I'm become like it just flows out of me like you're saying with Canyon and these are just flows out of me.
01:40:10:01 - 01:40:18:20
Gina
I couldn't shut it off if I tried, whereas accounting, I'm like, pushing. Okay, keep going. You know, procrastinating.
01:40:18:22 - 01:40:19:09
Steph
01:40:19:13 - 01:40:39:19
Gina
Right. So your genius is fun and easy for you. That's the thing that's innate and is the thing you're going to do so well. But you're right. It's this conditioning that we have about work, that it's hard and it's stressful. That's because there are these outside forces that are wanting to harness people's labor, you know, to do a certain thing.
01:40:39:19 - 01:40:54:03
Gina
So we've all been indoctrinated in this thinking that, well, I'm smart enough, I can get an education to do it, so I'll do this work. But it doesn't feel easy and it doesn't feel fun. So it's not your genius.
01:40:54:05 - 01:40:56:04
Steph
Wow.
01:40:56:06 - 01:41:15:00
Gina
That's a big clue. That's a big clue is it's fun and easy. And to go a little further with that, okay? It's your genius, fun and easy. Here's some clues of fun and easy. Like you geek out over it. You read about this stuff on your own time. You play, you talk to your friends about it. You would do it here is like really fun and easy.
01:41:15:00 - 01:41:27:01
Gina
You would do it for free. I'm not saying you need to, but you would. And when somebody is telling me like, I think this is my genius, and I ask them that question, would you do it for free? They're like, Well, no, I'm not your genius. I'm sorry.
01:41:27:06 - 01:41:46:09
Steph
It's funny that you mention that, because the other thing that came to my mind when you said it's fun and easy is Wall who would pay me for that? Also, because of the programing, that work is supposed to be hard. It's like if it's not hard, why? Why would you get paid for something like that.
01:41:46:11 - 01:42:19:05
Gina
Right. That's a lot more of why we cannot believe our genius is fun and easy, because then it's not valuable. So I'll explain a little bit about that. When is our genius? It comes so easy to us. We assume it because it's that easy for other people. So we think it's not special. But that's not true. Just like Albert Einstein, physics, me speaking, coaching, like that's easy for me.
01:42:19:07 - 01:42:46:20
Gina
It's not for everyone else, right? So it's it's it's you you big it's this is a self-exploration so I don't expect someone to like boom you know I understand my genius immediately it's it's something that we begin to like allow ourselves to believe. But when you when you start to see this, it's so amazing. It's like, everybody doesn't just know what I know.
01:42:46:20 - 01:43:14:09
Gina
I actually know all this stuff. That's you being the channel for your genius, which this starts to point to the second clue I want to share with you that's really interesting and kind of mind blowing about genius. Like it blows your mind a little that this is a genius clue where you get really frustrated in life and in the world is actually a clue of your genius.
01:43:14:11 - 01:43:18:11
Gina
What's your reaction to that? Of course I'll explain it. I want to hear your reaction first.
01:43:18:12 - 01:43:40:04
Steph
That it's never, you know, resolved. And it's like the thing the thing that is frustrating requires kind of like a lifetime of discovery and work in me. And so how could you help others with it if it's the thing that's frustrating, you.
01:43:40:05 - 01:43:41:17
Steph
Know.
01:43:41:19 - 01:43:54:17
Gina
I love the take that you had on it and that you called it a lifetime of work, because I believe that is true. And we've tapped our genius. It's it's going to fill us for our whole lives. We're never going to tire of it. It may evolve, but it's what we're going to want to do over a lifetime.
01:43:54:17 - 01:44:20:09
Gina
And there's going to be so much work to do. I'm going to add a little different flavor to this piece about why it frustrates you, but it frustrates you because. Because you. So let, let me give an example. So something that frustrates me is if I heard somebody just complaining about their job and how much they hate what they do for a living, that's frustrating for me.
01:44:20:11 - 01:44:37:01
Gina
Why? Because I know there's another way. And it's always I mean, even when I was a lawyer, I never was like, I'm stuck here forever and, you know, bitch, bitch, bitch. Fresh fish. No, I was always like, okay, well, I'm going to figure out my way to find what I'm really supposed to do, right? Like, I've always had this genius about me.
01:44:37:03 - 01:44:55:17
Gina
Like, passion is our guide. You find mine, go after it. So it's very frustrating for me when people aren't living that way. kay. And so where you get frustrated is a clue that that's your genius, that, you know, a way that a lot of other people do not.
01:44:55:19 - 01:44:57:16
Steph
01:44:57:18 - 01:45:24:21
Steph
That's so interesting when you put it in that context. When I zoom out and I think what is my biggest frustration, it's when people tell me how to live like that. There's one way to live the best way to live, or that you have to do this to have to live like that. And it's funny when I think of it in that context, because all these conversations are trying to prove that wrong.
01:45:24:21 - 01:45:39:22
Gina
That's right. So there's a genius there for you. There's a there's a passion and a spark. And I know there's another way. And I want to know it, and I want to help other people know it. And I do know it. And you're like, discovery ing it as you go, right?
01:45:39:22 - 01:46:00:20
Steph
Yeah, right, right, right. Yeah. It's a long I think it'll be a long term discovery. And this is kind of my experimentation ground of it, of uncovering that and learning to believe it and live it and do it myself. Like I haven't mastered anything, but it's kind of an opening. That's right. And a place to talk about it.
01:46:00:22 - 01:46:20:08
Gina
That's right. So you're saying there's degrees, there's levels of understanding your genius and you're in the early phase of that. But there's going to be a time that you're going to be like me, and you're just out like a total thought leader on the subject matter because you have taken the time to understand it. But it often first shows up as a frustration and lies.
01:46:20:10 - 01:46:43:05
Gina
And what happens though, is the switch flips at some point where you realize, like, I'm so frustrated with them because they don't know what I know. So I just need to start to have compassion for them because I can start to teach them, I can start to guide them. I am this source to give them something they don't have yet awakened inside of them.
01:46:43:09 - 01:46:56:10
Gina
Right? So it becomes something that frustrates you until you realize like, this is the place I can help people, this is the way I can contribute. Yeah.
01:46:56:12 - 01:47:04:17
Steph
Yeah, I love that. That's such a clear clue when you lay it out in that way.
01:47:04:19 - 01:47:40:12
Gina
There's another clue that I think is fun and it's the there's so many of them, but I'm just really making sure I share the one that's most aligned for this audience. The one that came forward to share is the third one is it's lineage. So when I see lineage, you know, think about the tribal days. People received a role in the tribe, but there was a lot of basis in their natural proclivities, like you were the hunter, you were the medicine man, you were the child river, you were the firestarter, you were the ceremony holder, Right.
01:47:40:12 - 01:48:02:16
Gina
Like based on what was natural and innate. And and it was often passed down. You know, this is what the father dad has done. And so then this skill set is passed on to the son. Or maybe it skips a generation and it's the grandson and, you know, there is something to our genetics and our lineage that shapes our gifts.
01:48:02:16 - 01:48:24:02
Gina
And it's it's often a big moment with my clients when I start asking them about their families or their parents or grandparents and whether their parents did it for a living or not. It could be a parent's passion, it could be their job. You start to see the connection that you actually are a piece of them. And so it's another piece of proof of what your genius's like.
01:48:24:05 - 01:48:55:22
Gina
my gosh, there's all these teachers in my family. Of course, I'm a teacher. You know, my gift of prayer. That is something that I've really embraced in the last several years as part of my genius. I only learned recently that my great grandmother's on both sides, my mother and father. They were prayer healers, right? Yeah, I know I didn't know this, but that's kind of how the lineage thing goes is your like you start to see the connection of like, my goodness, like, this was a gift of my grandmother or my great grandmother, right?
01:48:55:22 - 01:49:08:06
Gina
And so gifts get passed on through lineage. So it becomes a confirmation of like, yeah, this is just something that we have in my family. So that's another big clue is looking back in your lineage.
01:49:08:08 - 01:49:12:17
Steph
That is so interesting. I can't believe the connection in your own family.
01:49:12:17 - 01:49:14:19
Gina
Yes, that one blew my mind. That was.
01:49:14:20 - 01:49:17:10
Steph
This. wow.
01:49:17:10 - 01:49:39:18
Steph
Wow, wow. And that makes me think two of those gifts that you were practicing when you were a child and then how that so connected to your parents and their spirituality and then what you just shared. How do we see that in kids before they start, you know, adopting all of these beliefs and pressures?
01:49:39:20 - 01:49:56:08
Gina
I love that question so much. And I love when parents are open to this because I see a lot of the opposite. I see a lot of parents wanting to tell their children what they should do or be, you know? And that happened in my family. And again, I don't make it wrong. It's all my perfect path.
01:49:56:08 - 01:50:18:08
Gina
But I mean, if you watch your child and see what they gravitate towards, the best thing you can do is encourage it. And you may not as their parent or, you know, aunt, uncle, whatever role you have in their lives, you may not see how it's going to be a career just like my my dad couldn't have been like, Gina, you're going to be a great coach someday.
01:50:18:08 - 01:50:27:07
Gina
No, it wasn't a thing. It wasn't right back then. So it's like, don't try to figure out how they're going to do it, but
01:50:27:07 - 01:50:40:07
Gina
trust that they were born with a gift that the world needs and that somehow if you give them access to their creative power and encourage them to be authentic to who they are, the path will open.
01:50:40:07 - 01:50:46:01
Gina
It will find they will find their way to make that their career or their contribution to the world.
01:50:46:03 - 01:51:15:18
Steph
Okay. So once somebody, you know, starts to answer these questions, digs into the clues that you gave, it sounds like you're encouraging them to just start experimenting with it and that you're not going to be cognac level cognac. Yes, exactly. Exactly. It's a lifelong practice. So how how do your clients kind of internalize that day to day when they start to recognize it or you even call their genius and they want to run with it?
01:51:15:18 - 01:51:22:05
Steph
Like, I'm sure that they're excited and they start to feel it within themselves. What does that process look like for them?
01:51:22:07 - 01:51:46:09
Gina
Yeah, so there's first identifying what it is. And then when I work with a client who's wants to say, Wow, I would like to turn this into my career path, I'd like to move this direction. What I encourage is first a testing period where you're not putting money pressure on and trying to immediately make it your source of revenue.
01:51:46:15 - 01:52:23:15
Gina
You go out into the world and you test it. And there's a really beautiful story about my own career path. So my first transition from law into nonprofit management was just me testing, and then it added up to a job I never would have even known was something available for me. So when I was when I was a lawyer, I started just taking on some passion projects and doing things that felt fun and that I was curious about.
01:52:23:17 - 01:52:53:19
Gina
And I began to explore. And they involved organizing a women's dinner once a month, organizing a women's gathering that was about self-empowerment. I organized a fundraiser for a Boys and Girls Club. These is really curious about, like charity and empowering others and doing that through raising money. And I don't know these things over the course of many months.
01:52:53:21 - 01:53:17:23
Gina
And then what happened was I was having dinner with a girlfriend one night and she said to me, she said, you know, there's this organization that I was involved in when I lived in California. It's called Step Up Women's Network, and they're going to be opening an office in Chicago. They sent out an announcement and you doing all these things with women and empowerment, I think you'd really be interested in getting involved.
01:53:18:01 - 01:53:42:21
Gina
And when she said that, I was like my eyes like bulge out of my head. I was like, That's what I want to do. I want to run an organization. Like, I didn't even know I could do that. But I all these things I had been doing in my spare time testing, playing, trying, suddenly added up to there's an organization that does all these things I was just doing for fun and, you know, at the moment they weren't even hiring.
01:53:42:21 - 01:54:14:18
Gina
I just heard about it and I was like, Well, I'm going to go talk to them and see when they're going to hire somebody. And, you know, six months later they hired me as their managing director. But it is about like going out and testing and playing not necessarily trying to get a result, but to prove to yourself that the world needs this gift that you've discounted that that that maybe people had you put away in favor of something that would earn more money or whatever the case was or be more stable.
01:54:14:20 - 01:54:33:11
Gina
So you have to give yourself the time and the space to go out and test your idea in the world, you know, or maybe some people might have a very specific sense of what they do want to do. Let's let's say you say, Gosh, I'd love to be a full time podcaster. That would be amazing. But it's not very smart to like day one.
01:54:33:11 - 01:54:46:22
Gina
Expect you're going to just start a podcast, make all your money and quit your job. No, no, no. You got to go out and test it and see if you're any good at it. Do I even like it? What kind of value can I add once you have established all of that now you could be like, Wow, I know my value.
01:54:46:22 - 01:55:04:10
Gina
I can go talk to sponsors and start to raise money and start, you know, Yeah. Or start to have a paid subscription for this podcast because I know that's going to give people. So you need that period of time to, to get to deepen in your genius and understand it so that you can turn it into a career path.
01:55:04:12 - 01:55:09:03
Steph
Okay? Okay. It sounds like there's a lot of patience involved with using it to.
01:55:09:05 - 01:55:10:10
Steph
Unfold when it's.
01:55:10:10 - 01:55:39:16
Steph
Ready, and that role found you. That's why it's right here as well, is when you opened yourself up to this new possibility and these new ideas, you know, people will see that and help you. Yes. And out for you. And that's right. However you want to believe it, whether it's through faith that found you or others around you, you start noticing it, found you, and it opportunities will show themselves as you begin to take action.
01:55:39:18 - 01:56:08:11
Steph
Yes. And as we close out this part two of I left this series that was so excited. This is just such useful information. I want to also call out along with the patients, peace is there is a lot wrapped up in this emotionally and mentally. I mean, I said myself in this conversation that, you know, I have an assumption that work should be hard and to be paid for something.
01:56:08:11 - 01:56:35:21
Steph
It should be challenging and difficult. And I think that once you start to discover even strengths within yourself that do feel like any geniuses, there's still doubt and limiting beliefs that come up with it. I just as a kind of like closing commentary, I'd love to hear your thoughts on how we continue to grapple with that. That's the lifelong piece too, I think.
01:56:35:21 - 01:56:45:00
Steph
Or it might not be, but I just love to hear your thoughts on some of those limiting beliefs that might come up even when you do begin to identify your genius.
01:56:45:02 - 01:57:06:00
Gina
Yes. So I have a coaching process that is about helping someone literally take their genius that they've discovered their vision of what they want to do and then turn it into their career, have a process for that. And so what I have recognized is there's the identification of the genius and what you want to do. And that's exciting and that's amazing.
01:57:06:00 - 01:57:28:15
Gina
Right? But then the next question is always this is anybody ever want to pay me for that? Does anybody does anybody else care about that? I don't know. I don't know if anybody else cares about that. I it comes up every time. Yeah. And so you're not done when you discover your genius. It is next about I call phase one vision.
01:57:28:15 - 01:57:58:18
Gina
It's like getting the vision of what your genius says and what you really want to do in the world. This two is called value. That's when you're going out and testing and you're seeing that what you have to offer truly offers value to other people when you're testing it. So you take your your gift, you share it with the world, and then you start to see back the way it changes people's lives, difference it makes you're not just like I'm doing this.
01:57:58:18 - 01:58:19:07
Gina
Pay me $400 an hour for it. No, you're doing it. And you're seeing how changing people's lives. And then when you're ready to make that transition, the third phase I call voice to start articulating and channeling out into the world. This is what I have to offer. This is what I can bring. You're sharing it and you can tell people your vision and your value.
01:58:19:09 - 01:58:44:03
Gina
And then it's like they want to pay you for it because you are now able to understand it at a depth. It's not it's not just like, I don't know, accounting, like pay me, you know, 1500 dollars to do my tax return. Well, that's like a that's like a market rate, let's say. Right. Well, when your genius is something that's still evolving in the world and maybe it's not exactly what's been done before, guess who sets the value?
01:58:44:03 - 01:59:06:01
Gina
You and the community of people that you're sharing it with? So it does require time and space to understand the value of what it is. And that's, again, this is part of the layering that goes into if you want to have a life that is about authenticity, you want a career path that is your truest gifts. This is what this is what it takes.
01:59:06:01 - 01:59:15:18
Gina
This is the the education program required, the deep programing required in order to work in genius own.
01:59:15:20 - 01:59:39:03
Steph
Yeah. Okay. Amazing to hear. And ah, part three is it flows perfectly because once you identify your genius, one of the thoughts that I would have that would pop into my mind is that I have thought before is like, where does this fit within our current structures? Thinking that it has to fit, you know, that I guess would be a limiting belief or an assumption.
01:59:39:05 - 02:00:07:04
Steph
And so I'm excited to talk to you in our next part three about masculine and feminine and approaches to work. Approaching work in a new way. Yes, bringing in more of the feminine and divine feminine because like you said, coaching didn't exist back when you pursued LA when you were in eighth grade and your dad announced that you were going to be a lawyer and a lot of careers that you were helping your clients develop don't exist.
02:00:07:04 - 02:00:35:14
Steph
And I would say that that is very feminine to allow yourself to see something that doesn't exist yet and and bring that into reality and into 3D tangible something that you can touch and offer and and charge and support yourself. Yes. And so I'm excited to talk about your thoughts on that and how other people can begin opening their mind to a new way to approach work.
02:00:35:19 - 02:00:40:10
Gina
It's great. Very, very well set up. That's exactly what we're going to do in the next episode.
02:00:40:12 - 02:00:43:14
Steph
Yeah, I think is Thank you so much, Gina.
02:00:43:16 - 02:00:45:15
Gina
It's my honor to be here.
02:00:45:17 - 02:01:05:19
Steph
Hi, me again. If you made it all the way through, I bet you're pretty serious about moving the needle to align with your dreams and feel good in your own life. Good for you. Before you leave, I would love to hear a takeaway that you got from this episode and the reviews that'll help me tailor conversations to be more useful to you in the future.
02:01:05:21 - 02:01:07:15
Steph
Och, you're the best. Thank you.