00:00:00 Paula: Welcome to “TesseLeads” with your host Tesse Akpeki and co-host Paula Okonneh. “TesseLeads” is a safe, sensitive, and supportive place and space to share hear and have your stories and experiences. You will hear from top experts and thought leaders, who are creating opportunities while navigating a diverse range of challenges, confronting their dilemmas and shaping their futures. We’ve got one of those personalities here with us. Our guest today is Renee Reisch. Her personal story is honest and vulnerable. Her book is called “Finding Your Voice, Unlock Your Chains And Unleash Your Greatness, Personal Growth And Development”. And today our topic is “My Journey As I Found My Voice”. Welcome to “TesseLeads”, Renee, we are so thrilled to have you here.
00:01:12 Renee: It’s an honor to be here, with both of you to share our voices together.
00:01:17 Tesse: I am a fan of yours. I spoke to you, we just met. Our eyes crossed over the LinkedIn and we made it happen. Absolutely. And straight away I bought your book there and then. I mean, I just thought this woman is one special lady. And you know, what came across to me was your depth of love and compassion. Your way of connecting with humanity, with the hearts of people. So I’m kind of curious to hear more of your thoughts about care, compassion, and kindness. And how that actually can soak through by finding your voice.
00:02:06 Renee: Great question Tesse. Thank you again, both you and Paula for having me on your show. You know, care, kindness and compassion. I believe they all go together. Because when you care for somebody, you show kindness. When you show kindness, it’s within that concentrates, that you are also showing compassion and empathy for them. The thing I would really emphasize, is to first give it to yourself and show it for yourself. It’s not being selfish, it’s being selfless. Because being able to pour from an empty cup, you can’t do that. Being able to pour from a cup that’s overflowing, that is something you’re able to do. And you can do it until you fill your own. So to have the kindness, compassion and caring is to first and foremost do it for you, so you can pour from the overflow.
00:03:13 Paula: Do it for you so that you can pull from the overflow. That makes me think, building on that, what became possible when you found your voice then Renee?
00:03:28 Renee: What became possible is for me to help other people, to help others find and use their voice. You know, sometimes when we lose something it’s find something else in a bigger way. Or to find the thing we thought we lost. Like I thought I lost my voice. My voice was a metaphor for what I needed to find in my own life. And when I lost it to a very painful illness in 2013 and was told, I may never be able to speak again. I didn’t know what the life I would be leading would look like because I was so used to what I had been doing. I didn’t know what the new normal would be for me, with no voice interacting with people. What I have to learn a new way to communicate from all the years of just speaking my own voice but never speaking my true voice. And then losing it was to be able to find the true voice that was always within. It reminds me, I’m going to date myself here. Reminds me of the wizard of Oz. It was always one of my favorite shows. And I didn’t understand why as a little girl growing up why I was so enthralled with that show. And now as an adult, I’m going to tell you why. And that’s because if you think about the characters, and for those who have no clue what I’m talking about, Google it, you can find it. I’m sure it’s out there. It’s a story about a young girl who was thrust into this tornado, but it was really another metaphor for a life that she was looking for. And she landed in another place, as the story goes. Enter looking for this land of Oz, where she wanted to find her way back home. And she was told she needed to get these ruby slippers on her. A lot of metaphors in this show. And that if she clicked her heels three times, she would return back home to Kansas. So in searching for the land of Oz, she came across three characters and I’ll share them with you. The first was a “scarecrow” who was looking for a brain. He was the smartest one there. Then they came across a “tin man” who was looking for a heart. He had the biggest heart of all, so much so that he would cry and Dorothy had to take his oil, can and oil him all around so he wouldn’t rust. Then they came along “the cowardly lion” who was looking for courage. He stood up the wicked witch of the West when she went after Dorothy. He jumped right in there and protected and defended all of them. Even that little dog Toto. And he stood up to that wicked witch. The one who was looking for the courage had all the courage. And when they got to see the wizard of Oz, it was this little man behind the curtain with his big voice. And the dog pulled back the curtain and they saw this little man there, who is expressing his voice through this microphone that kept echoing so it would appear even larger than life. The thing is what we learned from this show. We each have the power within all of us within each of us, that voice to be able to find our way back home and home to ourselves. So in looking for her way back home, she didn’t need to click those ruby slippers three times at the wicked witch of the west had been wearing, and she finally got them for herself. It was to tell all of us that we all have the power within us. You’ll have that voice. Sometimes we just need someone to pull them out of us to find a way back home.
00:08:07 Tesse: I love that. A few years ago, just before lockdown. I actually went to watch a play called the red shoes.
00:08:14 Paula: I love how you wove that story into finding your voice.
00:08:20 Tesse: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it’s kind of so brilliantly woven, isn’t it Paula?
00:08:25 Paula: Yeah. That’s why you saw me moving over, cause I was like, wow.
00:08:34 Tesse: There’s so many things that were coming as Renee was saying that story. What was coming into my mind was the Japanese craft of using broken pottery and they weave gold through the broken pottery. They don’t throw it away. They weave the gold. And I think this very ancient tradition is so encouraging because it’s about how wholeness can come through. By using broken pieces and using that weaving of the gold right through. And that jar, the alabaster jar, whatever it is, becomes stronger and more together than it was before. That’s what Renee, as you’re talking to me about losing your voice and finding it, that’s what comes into my mind. So my question really is about your own story. I mean, beyond losing your voice, which was the big thing. And you never knew whether you’re going to get it back or not. What else pushed you in the direction of this empowerment? What’s your story there?
00:09:37 Renee: What pushed me to have to find my voice? It was really having my best friend in my life. She’s now with me in another way. She’s my angel in heaven with my dad. He passed in December of 2018. And my best friend transitioned in July of 2017. And the proposition that I was holding at that time was February of 2017. So a lot of loss in a short amount of time.It’s not about the losses, it’s what we find along the journey of our life. And finding that courage and that confidence from within ourselves, like the story of the wizard of Oz. That we have it all the whole time. And we just need to know that we still have people around us supporting us to find our own voice in whichever way that means in our own life. To go within, rather than searching outside of ourselves. I invite you to look inside yourself, and see the courage and the voice that you have within.
00:10:49 Tesse: That is so beautiful. You know, I’m thinking of Dorothy. You know, and when she sees the cat, you know, and they say, well, you know, what road should I take? Any road will do, if you don’t know the way you’re going to. And my question really is about, you know, this journey of finding one’s voice. You finding yours. What were you looking out for? What would people need to pay attention to, to help them along the way, along that path? I mean, for all of us, I’m sure it’s going to be different. So from your kind of experience from your vantage point, what do you think that people need to pay attention to along the way?
00:11:35 Renee: What I would say they should pay attention to is. First of all, it takes some time to, if you meditate or whatever you want to call it, quiet time. To just be with yourself, be with your own thoughts and your own feelings and to journal about them. Not just when things are wrong and you have frustration you want to get out. But on a regular basis to find gratitude in every day. And to keep a gratitude journal, because the more gratitude you write down, the more things you will see to be grateful for. The more times you complain about what’s not going right. The more things you will see about what’s going wrong. So what you’re focusing on, my point is we’ll expand. When you focus on the good and the things you do have, rather than the things you don’t, you will see more of the good. Whether it’s with the circumstance, a person, a friend, someone who was there for you when you needed them. Someone who, if you needed money, that loaned you money, that gave you a place to put your head down. Whatever it was, or shared a meal with you, or shared their table with you. Whatever that looks like. To be grateful for those things you would have, it brings joy into your heart. And you keep finding more joy to find the joy in the journey of life.
00:12:58 Tesse: Find the joy in the journey, Paula?
00:13:00 Paula: Yeah. Yeah. The journey of life. It’s something that we all experienced. That all of us have been here, have experience. I love what you keep saying. Don’t do it alone. You need people and those people can help you through sometimes. Cause they are going to come. It’s not, if it’s when.
00:13:21 Renee: And the thing is to embrace what’s going on and it’s not easy. Cause I’m as assuming as a next person and there are those days where like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what am I going to do? What, you know? And you guys say, okay, Renee, like be the observer. Someone told me a long time ago, “be Yoda, observe”. And not always be quick to jump in. You know, we listened to respond, not to react. You know, you want to be responsive rather than to be reactive. And we’re quick to react that knee-jerk reaction. But when you wait and listen to respond, we’ll come up with a better response.
00:14:08 Paula: That’s why we have like two ears and 1 mouth. Right?
00:14:14 Renee: Exactly. To listen more and to speak less. And is not speaking to be heard. You’re not speaking to hear the sound of your own voice. It’s speaking to inspire, empower, excite, information to people. Share your voice, not just to hear your own voice.
00:14:36 Paula: Renee this is just so speaking to my heart. And I wish we had more time, cause I know that you’ve got to go. But is there any question that you would have loved us to ask that we haven’t asked you? So as we wrap up and make sure that we get that question?
00:14:51 Renee: Yeah. I just think that it would be to have people reach out and to connect. There’s something about the power of connection and it’s really strong. And don’t think when you reach out for support that, oh, you’re weak, you need help. No, please change that thought in your head. That’s not what it is. If I didn’t reach out for support in my own journey, I wouldn’t be where I’ve gotten to today. To be able to be here with all of you and sharing a voice that I didn’t even have. So when you reach out and say, “I would love to connect with you”, I would love to speak. That is stepping into your own power and empowering yourself to go to the next place that you were looking to, you know, for in your life, and to be inspired. I wrote that book that I spoke about and it’s finding your voice. To find the voice within. And that’s the biggest piece of it. Finding your voice is to be able to find your voice within. To be able to share it with others and connect with your true inner voice.
00:16:01 Paula: Another Amen to that. Another big Amen. So where can your listeners find you or our listeners find you online if they want to connect with you?
00:16:11 Renee: Absolutely. I’m on LinkedIn. I’m on Instagram. Instagram. It’s “@ReischRenee”. That’ll be in the show notes. And then I have my links. You can go to my link tree, I’ll give you that as well. So you’ll be able to have the audience connect with me on the Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter. I’m on social media platforms, Clubhouse. So definitely reach out connect, let me know you heard this interview with the lovely Tesse and Paula. And also if able to pick up that copy of the book, the link will be in the notes as well. That will certainly help them in finding their own voice and their own path. I have a freebie as well there for them too.
00:16:53 Tesse: Amazing. Paula I don’t know about you, but I feel I’ve just had one wonderful cake with lots of icing on it. And I’m just loving this moment.
00:17:03 Paula: How about add ice cream to that too. Cake and ice cream.
00:17:08 Tesse: Some chocolates, some chocolates beside mine.
00:17:19 Paula: Thank you, Renee. All good things have to come to an end. Awesome and amazing listeners, we want you to know that your precious stories and your lives matter to us. And we’d love you to share them with us, just like Renee did sharing her life story with us. We encourage, and we nurture all our guests that come onto “TesseLeads”. And if you haven’t yet had a chance to follow us on Apple podcast, Google podcast, Spotify, or wherever else you listen to podcasts, please do so. Please also give us a five-star review. And we also ask that you click subscribe. And last but not least. If you’ve found “TesseLeads” helpful, please let us know in the reviews that you left. And if you have questions or topics you’d like us to cover, send us a note. And to do that head over to “www.tesseakpeki.com/tesseleads” to apply. You always have the most amazing guests. You’ve been fantastic.
00:18:27 Tesse: Renee you’re a star.
00:18:28 Renee: Thank you so much to both you.