Episode 88: Grit and Growth with TEDx Speaker Sandy Joy Weston
In this episode of The Pursuit of Badasserie: The Podcast, we sit down with the inspirational Sandy Joy Weston. Sandy shares her incredible journey from a young dancer to a successful entrepreneur and TEDx speaker. She delves into the importance of grit, resilience, and authenticity in achieving success and personal fulfillment. Sandy provides practical advice on how to show up in life with intention and how to navigate the ups and downs of entrepreneurial ventures.
This is an absolutely incredible interview and you don’t want to miss this! Get after it!
In this episode, we discuss:
- Sandy Weston’s early career as a dancer and transition into the fitness industry
- The role of grit and resilience in personal and professional growth
- Challenges faced by children from affluent backgrounds and the importance of teaching them independence
- Sandy’s experience and lessons learned from starting her first health club
- The significance of showing up authentically and choosing how to present yourself daily
- Practical tips for maintaining intention and focus throughout the day
- Personal anecdotes from Lynn, Amanda, and Sandy on parenting, entrepreneurship, and life lessons
- The impact of community and mentorship in achieving entrepreneurial success
- How to connect with Sandy Weston and follow her work
Don’t Miss:
Find Sandy:
https://www.sandyjoyweston.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-joy-weston-m-ed-aba61728/
https://www.facebook.com/sandyjoyweston
https://www.instagram.com/sandyjoyweston/
Guest Bio:
Sandy Joy Weston M.Ed is a keynote speaker,TedX speaker, international podcaster, 3x published author, and entrepreneur, who has owned and operated health and wellness companies for over 30 years. Early in her career she became the first female trainer for the Philadelphia Flyers and spent many years as a media personality and as Philadelphia NBC10’s Fitness Expert. She created the nationally recognized Philly Street Line Dance to help combat Philly’s “fattest city” label. For the past five years, Sandy has been focusing on SJW Productions, an international company whose main mission is to highlight all the positive in the world. She does this through her books, Train Your Head & Your Body Will Follow, My 30-Day Reset Journal and her programs and workshops. Sandy’s mission is to spread pure joy and inspire others to see their true power.
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Read the full transcript of this episode below:
Lynn Howard
Hey, I’m Lynn.
Amanda Furgiuele
And I’m Amanda. Welcome to the Pursuit of Badasserie, the podcast. As always, we have another incredible guest with us today.
Today we have Sandy Joy Weston. Lynn, tell us all about
Lynn Howard
Yes, Sandy is a keynote speaker, TEDx speaker, can’t wait to talk a little bit about that. International Podcaster, three times published author and entrepreneur who has owned and operated health and wellness companies for over 30 years.
Early in her career, became the first female trainer for the Philadelphia Flyers and spent many years as a media personality.
You’ll soon see why. And as a Philadelphia NBC 10 fitness expert, she created the National Recognize Philly Street Line Dance to help combat Philly’s Fattest City label.
For the past five years, Sandy has been focusing on SJW Productions, an international company whose main mission is to highlight all the positive in the world.
She is incredible. She does this also through her books, train your head and your body will follow my 30-day reset journal and her programs and workshops.
Sandy’s mission is to spread. and enjoy and inspire others to see their true power. Welcome, Sandy, I’m so excited, we’re so excited to have you.
Sandy Weston
I’m so, so excited that we met. I was like, wait a minute, there’s two of you, there’s Amanda and Landon.
Amanda Furgiuele
How’s one?
Lynn Howard
Absolutely. tell us a little bit more about you that we already haven’t shared in the bio.
Sandy Weston
Well, what you didn’t say is that I went to school on a dance scholarship thinking I was going to be a dance instructor, which was awesome and own eventually dance studio.
But life’s journey took me in another direction. When I realized I sucked wide compared to the other girls on Broadway and I’m like, wait, I can’t do that.
I’m like, wait a minute. I’m not drinking, I’m not smoking, I’m not doing drugs and here are these people.
floor, you know, coming out, practicing to that where they were so much better. So I took a year off.
And in my journey, I realized I loved studying how the mind and body worked. And that took me on a direction of teaching aerobic and fitness classes for my internship.
And I met the who’s who affiliate. And it just led me down this whole other path of, hey, I’m going to start in home training business, which led to, hey, why don’t you open a gym?
I’m wait a minute. That’s a good idea. So here’s Sandy Weston, who was thinking she was going to dance on Broadway, ended up being an entrepreneur.
Who would think?
Lynn Howard
Who would think? Well, you made up for him personality, Sandy. Let’s be honest. Come on.
Sandy Weston
I didn’t have the highest kicks, but I would be like, shut up. They’re like, wait a minute. It’s a chorus line.
We don’t want to see your personnel.
Lynn Howard
And I’m like, well, that’s a bummer, you know? for real.
Amanda Furgiuele
That’s for sure. Whatever. We can’t all be professional dancers with high kicks and incredible hamstring flexibility. It’s fine. We shine in other ways.
Sandy Weston
That’s exactly right.
Lynn Howard
Yeah, you know, and actually have a lot in common because she was in the fitness world, a dancer. Yeah, so I’m so excited when you say that.
Amanda Furgiuele
No, I was a subpar dancer at best, but yes. So I do. I feel like we have similar beginnings in the fitness world and working on that fitness facility and starting a gym and just going for it full throttle.
But you know, I know that we’re supposed to work up to this, but I do what I want. So I really want to talk about your TED talk.
Lynn Howard
Tell me, tell everybody about your TED talk.
Sandy Weston
Okay, so during, can we go back just a little bit? Yeah. It’s a journey. So during COVID, you can’t travel right and speak around the world.
So I thought, what the heck am I going to do? So I decided to take this almost year-long course and, heroic, probably speaking, up my keynote gigs.
right. It was nominal. It was amazing. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. During that time, they said you should probably also work on a pet ex.
I was like, not right away. But I did. I thought, all right, because you take your 45 minute and you got to make it like a 10 minute.
And I thought, oh, you know what? It wasn’t on my bucket list, but I really, I have something to say.
I really want to get it out there. So I applied bunch of places. Got rejected a bunch of places.
And then the universe took over. And I do a show which I would love to have you ladies on called.
Hey, I got something to say. And I highlight women around world. a world that just might have something to say.
I don’t know, you two might just fit it perfectly. But I started meeting all these people around the world, these women, and they’re like, yes, I think we got something to say.
Well, I was interviewing this one woman that I found on LinkedIn for the show. And she was asking a lot of questions.
She’s like, question after question. And I’m like, Arraina, no one’s ever asked me this many questions to be on the show.
And she goes, what are you talking about? I thought you were interviewing for the TEDx.
Lynn Howard
I go, yeah, let’s go with that one. Let’s go.
Sandy Weston
And she’s like, well, wait a minute. I go, no, no, no, no, no. We’ll stick with that. You can still be on the show.
So then she kept saying, you know, what’s your big idea? And I just popped into my head. And she said, we’ll get back to it.
Well, it took almost another year because there were certain complications where there are applications in TEDx, she was going to move, but then right before Christmas.
like saying he were doing it, you have to reapply, and I got it. I was like, oh my God, that everyone says, how did you get the text?
I go, it’s not even the normal way, you know, because all the other applications I got rejected. But this topic was perfect for me, because it was called the Brave and the Brilliant.
And I just did it in April, the end of April, and it just came out when we’re recording this 10 days ago.
So it just went live, which is really exciting. And I talk about the shifts you can make in three minutes a day or less using movement words in laughter.
And of course I act out movement and laughter, and I get audience participation. But I think the thing that sold them on the most, by the way, I didn’t tell people the historian until the last few years, because I just wasn’t ready, they just assumed I was wealthy and came from, we talked about this amazing family, but
in it, there’s this little piece that like it wasn’t bad enough growing up in the projects, but my mom spent most of her life in mental institutions.
So during those visits, you know, it was really depressing. So I had to change the mood. So I’d bring my tap shoes, starting at nine, and I would entertain them.
And I would go around. Now, keep in mind, I’m nine. I probably should have been doing this. I’d go around and take their medicine.
Lynn Howard
means me to get away with back when we were younger before cell phone.
Sandy Weston
Oh my God, they just let you walk in. And I’d go in with my little kids scissors. It would never cut.
They had these little cups of and I’d go around. You don’t need that medicine. Just watch me. I’m enjoying it.
my God, I probably did. And then I pushed the boombox and throw my tap shoes in dance, waiting before they kicked me out, right?
And then I thought, like, when you look back, of them really didn’t need that medicine. They were poor, but some really didn’t need their medicine.
But in that moment, it was magical. I could see in few seconds how I could shift their energy. And I thought, oh my God, they have so much hope.
And I have so much hope. I’m going to do this for a living. So that’s what my TEDx is based on.
Lynn Howard
It’s so beautiful. And I know on our personal chat, we spoke a little bit more about that and how, first of all, we never know one’s journey.
And I was actually speaking about this today on a call with a group from Sweden. we never know. We project.
We assume we put up on this pedestal. And we really never know the journey that one has been on.
I was reflecting on this. And Amanda and I have written a few books as well. I just came out with the memoir, non-linear, autobiography, whatever.
even with that, it’s only a small smidgen of my journey. And to be able to. uh but to be able to share little nuggets and to knock ourselves off the pedestal and to be able to show others exactly what you used to do when you were nine years old you did on that stage at TEDx to just kind of like allow your truth to shine and to give glimmers of hope and um light to people who need it and that’s exactly what you’re doing as a nine-year-old tap dancing you’re a little hard out.
Do you think drinking meds? Dealing people’s meds.
Amanda Furgiuele
I’m surprised all of us are still alive so the things that we did and absolutely right ah that is a wonderful origin story of euthetics I mean obviously but you know one thing I really want to point out is how many times would you fail?
Sandy Weston
So many applications and then it came to me in a weirdest way to do and I think that’s a lesson.
Amanda Furgiuele
Yeah, because people give up way too soon and they take the note as the end thing and they just assume that oh I tried I tried once and I guess it didn’t work out and I guess I’m not meant to do that.
And if you really want something you go for it. And it’s not I was going to be handed to you just because you want it.
I think that people forget that they forget that a gumption and tenacity that you need sometimes to really get what you want.
Sandy Weston
Well, back when I first started writing one of my books. It took me a year and a half to get an agent.
And then. Another year and a half for the agent to get a publisher because she got 37 projections because no one was getting the mind body thing they thought I was cuckoo for coca puffs now they don’t.
Lynn Howard
Yeah.
Sandy Weston
I mean, it was just crazy. And at the time, the hybrid is really doing great and self-publishing, but it was like not the way to go back then.
And so finally, I go to New York, I take talk about, okay, she was like Sandy, all the big ones in New York, 37, I really don’t know what else to do.
Like, I go, I get it, you tried your best, maybe I’ll still publish. But then I thought, maybe, just maybe she’s not pitching it the right way.
So I go to New York City and take a writing course, a four-day writing course, for how to pitch to get an agent.
I thought, maybe I’ll meet people and they’ll help me pitch publishers, which I did. So I came back, and I said, hey, try this angle.
Maybe you want to do it this way. You know, about all it takes us one to three minutes a day to shift it.
And she did. And she said, I got five big ones left. And the last one, which was at the time, Sky Horse Publishing, which is now Simon & Schuster.
Okay. And even my husband is like, why do you go uphill both ways? See, they can’t take me getting injections.
I’m like, I think it bothers you more than me. Like, I’m like, all right, that didn’t work out. Okay.
And I think I trained myself at a very, very young age. That failure to me was not them saying they didn’t want me.
It was me not trying. And if I don’t even put myself out there, that to me is failure. If they don’t take me, I don’t get it.
I’m not looking like I suck wide. I’m sorry. I think you’re allowed to say that. But I think, okay, it’s not a match or it’s not meant to be right now.
And do I still want to do it? if I do, then balls to the walls, I’m going for it.
Or maybe I really don’t want it.
Amanda Furgiuele
Or maybe you really don’t want it. That whole, I want everybody to stop the podcast, rewind it by a minute.
And listen to that whole section again, because that is. the perfect example of how failure is misrepresented and how it can be seen in a different way.
I love that. I love it.
Lynn Howard
Well, part of the process. I mean, we speak about this all the time and there’s so many famous stories, Michael Jordan, KFC, all these other people that got Oprah, like all these famous people who who actually speak about failing more than they succeeded.
It was just out last time that that one time after so many like, no, was failures that they got that.
Yes. And it’s that, like Amanda said, like you were saying, the tenacity, the hustle. Amanda and I speak a lot about the hustle because we grew up in the same era.
for us, hustle was good. Like we look at it through different lenses from different different backgrounds, but I would say the same like in results, maybe, or the same kind of like energy.
towards it right so hustle hustle might have had a slightly different like fire different angle of a fire for each of us but we believed in the work and showing up rolling up our sleeves okay that didn’t work what what else can we do and it’s interesting because you put yourself in that room to meet other people you also put yourself into that room um for your book but you also put yourself into that room for um your TEDx right if you wouldn’t have done that course and all that like maybe this one you continue and even the way and i don’t remember the story exactly but even the way that you got into owning um fitness studios and different things i thought you put yourself in the room if you don’t show up you don’t know what’s going to happen if you don’t get if you are judging the the temperature of the water and the of the water from the store you don’t know you’re not you’re not in the water you don’t know you’re not gonna you’re not be able to start
I’m sure in the water, like get in the water. I think that that’s really important that you continue to put yourself in positions where you can actually make things happen.
Sandy Weston
You know, I’m so glad you said that because the other day I was on a podcast and they were talking about women are going for a job and they have four of the five qualifications.
like, yeah, don’t have everything. And if men go for it, I don’t know if this is true, they have one of the five and then like, yeah, I can do it.
And I never understood that, you know, women’s second guessing themselves. I was always, if the opportunity to the health club, I had not one business course, you know, was all health and size.
had a master’s in exercise physiology. But when the right people were there to help me and guide me and presented the opportunity, I thought, ooh, I really want to do that.
I can step up, I can learn, and that’s what I did. I took it on. I stepped up to the opportunity, not second guessing.
You mean, I’ve never owned a business. I don’t know anything about business. thought I can learn. I can learn because I really, really was passionate about it.
And there’s a difference though. If I wasn’t, then I wouldn’t have done it, but I was so excited. So when the opportunity presented itself, I was like, okay, that sounds great.
Same thing, almost with everything being on TV. They came over to film an episode because they were short 30 seconds.
I did it and they’re like, oh, how would you like to be on MPC 10? like, I have no camera experience, but I can learn and I stepped up to that.
And the same thing with the book. Like, how would you like book? Not a very good writer, but I could learn.
And everything in my life, once the opportunity presented itself, I really, really wanted to do it. I developed the skills that I needed to, and I’ve never, ever regretted it.
That’s why I don’t know if that other thing is true, that women do that. wait, I don’t have that one thing, something I thought after it.
But all I have to say is, pitch, pitch, pitch, don’t do it.
Amanda Furgiuele
You know, and I also like the story of you went and educated yourself and then put that education into action.
You took the course on speaking and then you really wanted to dive into your TEDx. You took the course on how to pitch and then you pitched.
So it’s educating investing in yourself and then putting that investment into action and then not letting the naysayers get you down and say that you can’t do anything just because you’re missing a certain qualification or you might not have as much experience.
And I don’t necessarily think it’s a woman thing, but there’s certain people. Only certain people can fill in those blanks because I mean, I’m not trying to make it about me.
But I did the same thing the first time I took a television production job. I didn’t have any experience that I had a degree, but I had no real world life experience and they were looking for the complete package and I just weasel my one in there with tenacity and the desire to learn it and then did it.
And I don’t think that everybody has that.
Sandy Weston
I think that that’s, I don’t think it’s mutually exclusive male or female, but. I think only certain people.
Amanda Furgiuele
Well, I’m glad to hear that.
Sandy Weston
Because I was like, I never heard that statistic, because I’ve been hearing it recently lot.
Amanda Furgiuele
I’m not surprised.
Lynn Howard
Yes, they do say statistically that because it slightly has to do with a little bit of emotional intelligence and kind of the angle, because both men and women can have high emotional intelligence.
Sandy Weston
It’s not gender specific.
Lynn Howard
However, the aspects of the emotional intelligence tend to be kind of segmented, generalizing here, segmented to the two masculine or the feminine or the male versus female.
And so men are bit more like, don’t care as much what people think about them. And again, generalizing. So where women are more nurturing, care a little bit more about the community and have a bit more men suffer from it too, imposter syndrome or whatnot.
naturally, statistically and generally, yes. And there are lots of studies around that. However, what I will say is a couple of things.
And I do want you to speak around this because Amanda and I have had this conversation many times. And those that are avid listeners know a little bit about mine and Amanda’s backgrounds and know that we have fire from very different places.
However, that is a fire that’s very prevalent in our lives. But you had a colorful upbringing as well, which I’m sure aided to, like, nobody’s going to do it for me.
I got to do it for myself. Like, I got to show up. I got to be present. I got to do what I got to do in order to be, you know, have something, right?
so I want you to speak a little bit around this because especially in, you know, we’ve had lots of conversations where people, I just
go back not too long ago from the Philippines and spoke about like resilience and that like agility, but a lot a lot of people nowadays and I’m not going to say generational.
I’m going to say in today’s time because of the ease of things, because of the accessibility of things. And I don’t mean life is easy.
That’s what I’m saying. But the ease of accessibility and different things like a lot of people aren’t developing that resilience muscle.
They’re not using that hustle. fact, people are calling hustle a bad word. No, hustle is not what you’re deeming it to be.
It doesn’t mean you have to be burning at both ends if you don’t want to unless you want to.
But it’s about putting in the work and actually doing like making that should happen. And so I want you to talk a little bit about that because I know we have some listeners and this is not throwing shade, but that maybe could step up their game a little bit in that particular because maybe they want different results, but they’re not.
They don’t have that maybe that that colorful past to push them. So what would you say to them?
Sandy Weston
You know, I can’t believe you’re bringing this up right now because one of my close friends just said to me.
She’s like, I think my kids are screwed. I go, what are you talking about? She’s like, they had such a great life.
They don’t, she said they don’t have grit. I go, they’re not screwed, calm down, calm down. You know, everyone has pluses and minuses.
Like, let’s just look at it. And in this case, yes, they had an amazing, loving childhood and everything they wanted, but here’s the difference.
She taught them never to take it for granted. These kids appreciate it. They have some jobs. They know the importance of going out there and, you know, making their own money and not just mom and dad supporting them.
So it doesn’t have to be the way I trained. clients who were wealthier than crap, who those kids understood making a dollar because they made it important to them to say, okay, this is my money and I’m willing to help you, but you got to make it on your own.
And then I had the complete opposite. And guess what? You’re not doing them in favors. You’re not doing them any favors.
But you don’t have to have a crappy yucky life to hack that. You know, you don’t. And okay, take for example, I have a client who sent me their two young kids.
And the reason they sent them to me is exactly what you’re talking about. If it’s not handed to them because mom and dad didn’t give them the job, they think mom and dad are not being good parents.
And so I’m sitting there with the young man and my parents could get me this job easily. I could be making $25 an hour for their good friend.
They want me to go out there in my field and do an internship and make peanuts. And I just started laughing because what’s so funny?
I go, I think I’m in love with your parents. I mean, they’re telling forget grid or hustle. They’re teaching you to be independent and what you’re capable of doing for me.
It’s more about how can you possibly know what you’re capable of doing? Unless you put yourself out there. You know, that is what develops for confidence, self-worths.
Like liking who you are is all about you seeing. I did that and you can’t develop it if it’s always handed to you.
But it’s not you don’t have to grow up in hardship to develop that. And what I really want is the parents out there to hear.
You don’t have to just keep giving your kids everything, even though they ask for it. And I think a thing that I’m not all parents, but what I’m saying.
a lot recently. Is there too much trying to be their kids friend? And there’s that fine line is you’re allowed to say no to the kid before because you do want them to feel good about who they are.
Okay, I’m done. I’ll break.
Lynn Howard
Yeah, I love that. My kids are mid to late 20s, if you could believe it. And I raised them as the mom, like I was their mom even when I was racing them by myself.
And now we have a very close relationship and I’ve always maintained, you know, if anything ever happened, we’ll call me, we’ll deal with it, ask questions later, but and I taught my kids the the the grit and the as much as I could, obviously from a very different point of view, but to like not be handed the fish, but learn how to fish, how to go out there and do it.
And you know, they we’ve had so many conversations, because again, they’re they’re 20. 26, 27 and 27 about how grateful they are for how because I would have them in my face.
Well, so and so has this. I don’t give a . They’re not my kid. Like, I don’t care. I’m raising you this way.
However, I will say that there were aspects of that for me coming from the childhood that I did that actually prevented me from being as successful as I could be because I played small because I actually didn’t want to make that much money and then feel guilty for not hand in to my kids.
But that’s a whole other can of arms. I know I’ve spoke about it before in different podcasts, but but it’s interesting because as parents, we we navigate this.
But even as you know, as people of the community, we’re navigating this and and yeah, I think it yeah, I love this dialogue.
Amanda Furgiuele
I mean, I wanted to add something sorry. No, for sure. I mean, I grew up my son is six and so I haven’t completely roomed in yet.
Still time for that. Still time, but it always makes to be laughed because he will just, oh, mom, you worked all day.
And I’m like, I worked for one hour today. And then we went to Hawaii for a month. what bougie little lifestyle do you have that you think that you have it so hard?
And he’s just, you know, I mean, he’s sick. So it’s not like he has a real concept yet. But it always cracks me up.
like, do you know, how other, how much struggle there is in the world and how, I mean, back in the day, was always like, kids in China aren’t eating.
Sandy Weston
So why are you eating? didn’t hear it. I don’t want to bring it up the way that was with me.
Amanda Furgiuele
But it just, it blows me away. kind of, this like sense of injustice of the world. Like, oh, life is so hard.
I’m like, is it all? I know, you have a pretty cush life, kid. And then, you know, growing up for me, I mean, I grew up much more fluent.
And I remember very distinctly the kind of resentment I had for my parents because they did not buy me a car.
They made me pay for college. And I was so bitter about it. I’m like, we have this. money and now I think it was the best thing that ever could have done for me because I learned that I have a dollar.
mean while other kids were skipping school I was like okay well that if I skip this class that’s actually $732 and I can’t make $732 this month with my four jobs while I’m going to school like I need to sit down and make a decision what’s my priority going to this stupid party or learning whatever I have to learn and I made those decisions as it were but I would never have been able to have that kind of distinction and prioritization and true understanding of wealth if everything had been handed to me and I was really bitter about it in my angsty teenage years and now looking back is the best gift my parents gave me to learn the value of money and how you actually make a dollar and I mean they from a very young age told me I was going to have to pay for things and before I was cognizant of money because I think when I started my babysitting gigs at like 11 and they’re like well just give up your money because you’re going to pay for everything.
And it just, and I didn’t know really what money was, but I stayed to everything and we, everything. that’s what I paid for school was babysitting and nanny jobs and waitressing and food eating competitions and like anything I could do to make a buck to get myself there.
So let’s just throw that in there, food eating cups. Oh, literally, I was like, yeah, was unrelenting. Just go for it.
I’ll go for it. And I think that’s something, again, if my parents had given me everything that they were capable of giving me, growing up and my father’s a physician, so growing up in a doctor’s household, would be a totally different person.
Sandy Weston
Yeah, you know, I just heard a woman the other day talking about that. She switched her son, who’s in middle school, took out of school.
And their rules are, you can’t bail your kid out, meaning if they forget their lunch. You’re not allowed to bring it to them.
They’ll live. If they forget the homework, don’t bring it. And that was totally different than the other school. And at first she’s like, what?
And she’s like, no. How are they going to learn that lesson? They’re not going to start. They let them figure it out.
And then next time they’ll be more aware not to forget.
Lynn Howard
And I’m like, Oh, my God. I love that school. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think there’s a lot of lessons.
Again, for those of you listening, it’s not just a gen or generational thing. It’s, you know, there are there are some coincidences of the connections, I should say, in the different generations, just because of the way life has evolved.
this is for all ages, those that don’t utilize grit and don’t hustle. And I mean, Amanda and I talk about it with our clients all the time.
And we have people. who are just starting their business who might be in their early mid 20s and we work with people in their 50s and we have the same you know or even maybe a little bit older but it doesn’t matter like what your age is what generation you are you’re not going to get the results unless you roll up your sleeves put in the work understand and build the resilience muscle and like learn how to fish even if you weren’t taught how to fish you like you were doing learn it then progress over perfection say yes figure it out later and i think that’s really serve demand and i as well in our career is we’re like yep okay and then we’ll figure it out now some of it’s intuition some of it’s just innate knowledge and then some of it has been like we’ve lots of money on education and self-development personal development our professional development but yeah it’s like yeah yeah and you know you’re talking about your journey and
Amanda Furgiuele
how you’re adapting your education and adapting all your knowledge and you know I think the underlining tone there is that there’s you’re actually putting in the action you are taking the steps and learning from them when they didn’t work and then pivoting and adapting and like okay well that method didn’t work it isn’t because I suck it isn’t because I can’t do it it’s because that wasn’t the right avenue let’s try something else let’s try something else let’s try that it takes that kind of of pivoting and embracing the change and for a lot of people that’s really difficult and you know you started your fitness career not you didn’t have a business degree at the time like you aren’t coming fresh out of your MBA to start and open a business and so many people will start a business and then go so hard on themselves I didn’t I don’t realize I had to have that permit I didn’t realize I had to have this and like well you know now like no you can’t no everything even people who have MBAs don’t know what it’s like to be an
entrepreneur until you’re in it. Just like Lynn said, you’re not in the water. How do you know what the temperature is?
How do you know what the ground underneath you feels like? Is it gritty and sandy? it mushy and swamp-like?
You don’t know. What’s crawling in there? You don’t know until you get in there. And so a lot of that entrepreneurial spirit is being willing to adapt because you’re going to have to and you can’t possibly know everything.
It is impossible. And if you think you know you’re just diluting yourself.
Sandy Weston
You know, I’m laughing because when I first put together my projections and I was going after getting investors for my first health club, because the guy said, my mentor said, we’ll help you, but crack open all your own money first, but we’ll give you something to give you credibility because I was having trouble getting a lease and as a girl in their 20s with, know, no reputation.
So I mean, it took me three years to get my at lease for my first health cup. And during that time, I mean, I worked myself talking every club owner there was and figuring out what work we did.
And so when I presented my projections, I’ll never forget my head-sneider who was the owner of the flyers, it and went, okay, that’s great.
I go, what are you talking about? He goes, yeah, most of that’s not gonna work out, but we just wanted to make sure you did your due diligence, you know, and I’ll give you the 8%.
I was like, what are you gonna say, Andy? Come on. Everything’s gonna work out, maybe 10% is. And that’s business.
But you haven’t in you to handle it and bob and weave. That was the most valuable lesson I ever had because I realized that I wasn’t a failure after the first year when I didn’t reach my projections.
And my costs were way higher. than I expected. And then I figured it out. Imagine after all those years, you’re like, wait a minute.
You’re not gonna just read them, please.
Lynn Howard
Just like, yeah. But I love that. There’s such value in that, in your story. We’re coming close in, so just a few more questions.
know you speak a lot about how to truly show up in this world, in your authenticity. And so I’d love for you to give our audience a couple of nuggets of, you know, how to show up in this world, how you get to choose how you show up.
Sandy Weston
So I have this saying, life doesn’t happen to you. You happen to life. And every day you, I don’t like getting emotional over this saying.
I don’t know why. say it all the time. doesn’t happen to you. You happen to life. And you get to choose every single day how you show up in the world.
And for me every day before my feet hit the floor, I pick one word, I just one word on how do I want to show up, it could be with peace, because that’s where I am calm, you know, depending on what you wake up, you’re not every day gonna be whoo hippie skippy.
You might want ease and flow other days, it’s powerful, joyful. And I just breathe in and out for a few seconds, I don’t want to cause anybody any extra time, I know you days busy.
And I think about that word and that’s what I’m gonna embody to serve in the best way I can and get a receipt that I come downstairs.
And I just write my word in my journal and I do journal for a few minutes, thinking about how I want to show up that day, my power statement and what I really want to get done.
And then throughout my day, every hour I have a few minute break and I reflect upon my word and I just ask myself.
Am I coming from power, ease and flow? And if not, what could I do to get back there? And then it could be just standing outside and breathing.
Hug a tree. love trees, petting my dog or my five cats. I do a lot of dance resets, so I’m constantly dancing around the house, driving my family nuts.
Little things that don’t take extra time, but just as you tuning in to wait a minute, I’m not feeling powerful.
What could I do to get back there? I’m not feeling ease and flow. So if I could give anything to your audience, is that little thing would be mind-blowing if they did it every such simplicity?
Lynn Howard
Amanda, what’s the word that came to your mind before I share the word that came to mind?
Amanda Furgiuele
Well, mine’s not appropriate.
Lynn Howard
don’t know how mine is. The word that came to mine was vicious.
Amanda Furgiuele
Mine was like demon energy. I’m like, let’s wake up the devil like, oh man, she’s awake.
Lynn Howard
Uh oh. Uh oh. We are like on a mission right now, Amanda and I, so we’re about to relaunch some things and we’re like in it deeply and like super determined.
So I’m not surprised both of our words were kind of along that line, but such simplicity. And what you, what you shared, Sandy, we, yeah, we love applicable things and so applicable to anyone in regards to being an entrepreneur, a 17 year old who’s still in high school listening to It’s over how you show up.
Yeah, in this time, we appreciate that.
Amanda Furgiuele
Absolutely. Absolutely. thank you so much for being on our show today.
Sandy Weston
Can you tell the audience a little bit about how they can reach out to you? Sure. I’m on every social media platform.
So whatever you have the most fun on Sandy Joy Weston, W-E-S-T-O-N, they can also reach me on my website.
Same thing, Sandy Joy Weston.
Amanda Furgiuele
And of course, all of that will be in the show notes. if this resonated with you at all, make sure you are following Sandy and connecting with her.
Drop us a like, a subscribe, give us a review and start or keep the conversation going because we would love to facilitate that conversation as well.
Lynn Howard
Absolutely. Sandy, thank you so much for being our guest today. It is, yeah, it’s such a pleasure to meet Amanda and I speak about this often.
We are so lucky, although it didn’t come by chance, we put in the work, but we are so lucky, of like you, saying with your own podcast, own show, to meet such wonderful, amazing people.
when we meet our people, we meet our people and it’s just been really incredible. So we’re so grateful.
Sandy Weston
Thank you so much. Thank you. I’m excited. I’m excited where it’s going to take us.
Lynn Howard
I know And make sure catch the TEDx. Make sure you’re checking out TEDx.
Amanda Furgiuele
I will put that in the show notes as well So that you guys can make sure you listen to that because I can’t wait.
Lynn Howard
I’m gonna get off this podcast Absolutely, absolutely And make sure that you’re actually messaging Sandy to you after you follow her Tell her what you like the most about this podcast and share with somebody who needs to hear this wisdom and share her TEDx let’s get her those cajillion views people come on Help us sister help help us just out All right, I guess until next time everybody but after it
