Interviewing Dr. Michelle St Jane, the founder and content creator of the Life & Leadership Podcast in response to her audience requests since the podcast started. Her friend of 30 years, Thad Hollis, gratefully accepted the challenge to ask about her life story, learnings, and future hopes.
Knowledge Bomb
Sleep 🥱is your 🦸🏾Super Power🦸♀️ 💤💤 Ōura Ring provides deep insights about your health statistics.
About the Guest:
Dr. Michelle St Jane
🎙️TEDxWoman2021 Speaker 🎥 | 📚 Author 📚 |
💎 Living Legend | 🌎 Global Impact Connector
About the Show
Podcast Host: Life & Leadership: A Conscious Journey with Dr. Michelle St Jane
A podcast for Global and Re-Emerging Leadership creating community/tribe, a circle of influence, transcendency of compassionate leadership in the world and wider universe. A unique destination for learning about Leadership + Conscious Stewardship + Legacy.
⬇️ Listen, Follow, Subscribe and Share ⬇️
Social Media Accounts
Interviewing Dr. Michelle St Jane, the founder and content creator of the Life & Leadership Podcast in response to her audience requests since the podcast started. Her friend of 30 years, Thad Hollis, gratefully accepted the challenge to ask about her life story, learnings, and future hopes.
Knowledge Bomb
Sleep 🥱is your 🦸🏾Super Power🦸♀️ 💤💤 Ōura Ring provides deep insights about your health statistics.
About the Guest:
Dr. Michelle St Jane
🎙️TEDxWoman2021 Speaker 🎥 | 📚 Author 📚 |
💎 Living Legend | 🌎 Global Impact Connector
About the Show
Podcast Host: Life & Leadership: A Conscious Journey with Dr. Michelle St Jane
A podcast for Global and Re-Emerging Leadership creating community/tribe, a circle of influence, transcendency of compassionate leadership in the world and wider universe. A unique destination for learning about Leadership + Conscious Stewardship + Legacy.
⬇️ Listen, Follow, Subscribe and Share ⬇️
Social Media Accounts
Intro: You're listening to Life and Leadership: A Conscious Journey. The
podcast that shares wisdom and strength. Join your host, Dr. Michelle St Jane's
conversation on how to have a positive impact for people, planet, and the wider
world. If you want to live a life of intention, to be proactive with your time, and bring your vision for the future to life one today at a time, you’re in the
right place at the right time. Let's get started.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:00:35] You, my treasured listeners have been asking me to speak my
truth, experience, strength, wisdom, and hope out loud.
You have asked me to open up
about my life journey, the unvoiced pain, super-geniuses as I've transmuted
them into Imagineering, my future life and leadership, the intended outcomes or
purpose of offering my experiences on how I crafted my journey, voiced my
doubts, fears, reservations, and observations.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:01:14] I offered these in the hope that they may have value for you. I
shared so that you, the people listening, may find it interesting guiding and
informing. In essence, you can pick, choose, or refuse to use. 🤷 My why? There have been times in my life when it's felt like the 💦 Poseidon Adventure. 💦 I have had to learn to pivot when the entire world was upside down. In fact, at times life has felt like it is underwater.
I'm inspired and I give thanks for courageous people like the TEDx speaker Sherwin Nuland (1930-2014), an author and American surgeon who taught bioethics at Yale. Nuland’s book How We Die: Reflections of Life's Final Chapter (1995) and his meditations on the idea of hope are influential in reminding us of our deep the desire to become better.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:02:07] In Nulands TED talk Tour-de-force of electroshock therapy (Link: https://bit.ly/34U9Izb) Nuland surprised the audience with his vulnerability by saying he wanted to share something he had never spoken or written about before. He made himself so deeply vulnerable to his audience. His talk was ended with his wisdom and inspiring words, leaving us with the feeling of his extraordinary power
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:02:35] Like Newland my early life's history is of someone who's had
overcome adversity. Nuland described his childhood; the drunk drank drunk of
the bitter dregs of a near-disastrous childhood. The hope that you can emerge and be strengthened. Yet your childhood can throw you off the track.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:02:58] For those of us who haven't faced those adversities, believe you me, you may and will. There is a way back. Adversity exists in all our lives
and some of us have lost everything and had to start all over again. Some of us have this familiar feeling. There is discovery and recovery. As a woman, I can choose to be in
the business of wisdom transference across time. I can share my reinventions,
my ‘never give up attitude. Let's face it we're all on a conscious journey
that is as unique as our footprint and our unique expression. I choose to lead
by example, share my wins. In the hope that they offer a compass to make visible
the path, by walking it and talking about it.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:03:50] When you look back on your life, what story do you want to share? What adventures did you go on? What obstacles did you overcome? There’s this magical truth when you are on your personal, authentic, conscious journey. Especially when you balance it with an open mind and structure permission. Granted, you can change
your message and give voice to your unique contribution.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:04:10] When is it time for you to look into a robust future? Join me in creating and connecting, living legends who lean into living their life and
legacy.
Thad Hollis: [00:04:21] Hello, this is Thad Hollis and I have the honor of continuing an
interview with Doctor Michelle St Jane. We've known each other for 30
years, at least probably more. It's truly a privilege to be able to have a
discussion.
Thad Hollis: [00:04:34] We're going to have a conversation with Michelle. Peeled back all
of the things that you've manifested. What was behind that to help you create
it because we all have a vulnerability of point of change. That changes our
perception and moves us into what Michelle calls the Godwink moment.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:05:15] Thad, I appreciate you. Thank you for your kind introduction. God winks feature in my life from a very young child. I didn't really connect with a higher power in . When I look back over my life, My life has been richer because I've surrendered and
accepted different circumstances.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:05:35] That's not to downplay having to endure and eventually enjoys
circumstances, but if you're open to them and willing God, when's Colleen's you
into the most amazing places. Absolutely.
Thad Hollis: [00:05:50] There are amazing places you've experienced. There were points of
darkness. You went into the underbelly of the underworld. You went into the dark night of
the soul because it was in that crucible that created that God wink moment. It
was there. Those points of vulnerability. Just want to touch on that briefly,
highlight maybe one or two early moments in your life in which you can now look
back with that benefit of wisdom and hindsight and say that was a point that
was the change occurred. Correct?
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:06:26] Absolutely. Well, being widowed was one of those points. I grew up in a single-parent household in the seventies. That was a very difficult place to be when you were a woman with dreams, desires, and actions. There were no paths open to you. I got about taking care of family and community that way, but that was pretty soon exhausting.
I was very blessed to meet, a man who, I think for him, it was love at first sight for him. For me, I'm like “go away” and he's like, “why?” I'm like, “I do not want to get married. I do not want to have children.” He asked me, “what do you want to do?”
I responded, “I want to have my own business, travel the world. I think I might like to go to university.” He replied, “okay, we can do that”. And we did.
I was so blessed because in that relationship, my first husband gifted me, beautiful children, beautiful experiences, a high-quality relationship, and an opportunity to be in the family
and, flourish.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:07:34] Secret Confession:
I was no domestic. I was the mother who made the birthday cake and forgot the sugar.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:07:42] I am the mother whose children respond when I say, “oh, come over for a meal, come join us.” They were like, “no don't.” Or they'd be saying these ditties “If it looks good, be suspicious. If it's a mess, it's likely to be delicious.” I mean, my kids were growing up with lots of yellow flags about my ability to be a domestic goddess, yet I was very blessed with my first husband.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:08:09] Sadly, he died before we were married 10 years and I became a widow and I had three beautiful children and life had turned on a dime to very
dark unexpectedly out of the blue decisions had to be made like turning off
life support. How do I go forward? How do I go forward? And my kids were so
worried.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:08:31] Sadly, he died before we were married 10
years. I became a widow. I had three beautiful children and a life had turned
on a dime very dark unexpectedly out of the blue. Decisions had to be made like
turning off life support. How do I go forward?
My kids were so worried were they sat out on the main road, flagging
down people to ask if they would like if they would like to be my husband. In
fact, a Hell's Angels biker stop. They brought him around the back only to
discover that I had figured out how to use the chain saw.
I was taking down dead fruit trees in the backyard to kind of work
out my rage. That very brave man said, “excuse me, do you know your children are flagging down people to see
if they might like to marry you?”
I turned around and there this a six-foot, six+ leather-clad chain
wearing scruffy-bearded massive man.
“I go, “Ooh!” He's like, “do you want to turn the chain saw off?” I'm like, “not sure about that.”
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:09:17] Anyway, that was a real moment when I realized, “okay, I might be angry, but my children are trying
to fix this. So, what do I need to do?”
That took a few years to work through that.
In the mid-eighties, women didn't get widowed in their twenties. I
was a bit unusual. I remember going to one widow's group and they're like “go away.”
I'm like, “what?” Anyway, just to finish that funny story off. I
had a piano. I played really badly as much as I would love to be able to play
musical instruments.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:09:37] He had died in October. I found I couldn't sleep
at night. I started practicing all my Christmas carols in the middle of the
night. I couldn't sleep.
[00:10:02] Dr. Michelle St Jane: The next day, these two older ladies in
the neighborhood came by and they said, “dear put the kettle on? And I thought,
“well, I don't know who you are,” but I get to meet some people in the
neighborhood.
And they said, are you okay? And I said, why? They said, “because you play the piano really badly and you're playing all night.
[00:10:19] Dr. Michelle St Jane: We can hear you. I said, oh, so this is what's happened. And I
said, oh, my husband died, and I can't sleep. We can hear you.” I said, “oh, my husband died, and I can't sleep.” Both of them were widows. So that divine wink introduced to me to what do you need to know when you're a widow that most people can't tell you. They were both very wise women in my life. They were like, “okay, here's some tips that you need to think about.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:10:41] No, you won't sleep at night. Keep playing we'll
we, we actually think it's rather funny.” I got quite good at those Christmas songs. Yeah, so widowhood was definitely one of those dark nights of the soul. The other one was when I was in my early thirties. Again, life had turned on a dime. I was just in a fog. And the other one was when I was in my early thirties. And again, life had turned on a dime and I was just in a fog.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:11:01] I had a relationship that had to be dissolved. I
had to figure out how to co-parent I needed to. Then I lost my job.
I made the discovery, which I can say now that I didn't see then
that redundancy is a redirection. That I had opportunities. Fears were
consuming, like “what, if I can't get a job?” There was a recession at the time
in the early nineties.
[00:11:22] Dr. Michelle St Jane: I then focused on “what did I want to do.” So, I
argued my way into law school. Again, it was a divine wink, it was a very dark
moment in time.
Secret Confession: I can tell you; I wasn't even sure I wanted to continue life at all. It was very
dark. Then, this fun thing happened. I had a devil on one shoulder and an angel
on the other shoulder.
The angel said: “What do you want to do? Remember you wanted to go to law school when you were about eight or nine. Why don't you do that?” And I'm like, “why not?” It happened! I got in four hours and had three weeks to leave.
Thad Hollis: [00:11:53] Amazing. You touched on something in there that I
think is that a lot of your listeners would probably identify with. We tie
ourselves up into roles of mother, daughter, wife, employee. When those things
go from us, we lose our identity. I think you just described ably what happened
for you?
You transformed grief:
💧Grief of losing a husband
💧Grief of losing a job
Into opportunity that became a foundation for a lot of the other
things you've done.
Thad Hollis: I'm going to jump a little bit and I'm going to
ask you what has been your favorite journey that you've taken in life so far?
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:12:39] James Taylor answered this question by saying “falling asleep.”
My favorite journey is actually when I'm meditating,
contemplating, or praying. It's almost like I end up on another plane in a
multi-verse. So, my favorite journey and favorite discoveries and favorite
directions have happened when I've gone into that theta space and just stop
that doing in state and being.
That is how I ended up starting a podcast in eight weeks in 2020.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:13:14] It was because I had found myself with lots of
time and nothing to do or not, not all together, nothing because you know,
children were off school, and parents needed help.
I didn't have a purpose. Again, the traditional roles, of just
grandmothering and things like that were not going to be enough for me. I could
be a quality grandmother, yet also be a grandmother who leads by example like
by podcasting.
Thad Hollis: [00:13:40] Talk a little bit more about what being a
grandmother, because I think that has been perhaps one of your greatest
inspirations has been your grandson.
You've talked about him a lot of times to me. I know that he has
inspired you. So, being a grandmother, what has that meant?
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:14:01] Being a grandmother is an important and valued
part of my identity. As the 21st century grandmother, I absolutely thrive on
busting myth perceptions, meta stereotypes. I became a grandmother in my early
forties as did my mother.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:14:18] In contrast, to feeling old and dated, I actually
decided to have fun. My first husband always said, “do what you love with your children, and you'll
always have fun things in common.”
That's what I did with my grandson. We did snorkel, birdwatching, beach
walking, movies. We've written a song together for his mom's birthday.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:14:43] We've had a lot of fun. He was a huge support
person when I was doing my doctorate at 50.
As a twenty-first century grandmother, I'm going to touch on the
corporate space. I was invisible as a mother and a grandmother. I did not want.
To be visible. I share that with a sense of shame because I validate, I value
doing those things.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:15:06] In the corporate world, I did not have the courage
to turn up as that. Now part of that could have been strategically minding my
career. But there was a huge personal loss in doing that.
I’m know all about myth perceptions, myth-busting meta
stereotypes, and things like that, and also celebrating and validating the
power of presence of women throughout the generations.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:15:25] I had the opportunity to be part of a book
collaboration, which publishes February 22nd, 2022.
I actually felt guided again through contemplations write about my grandmother.
By doing that, I discovered that speaking truth to power, like a lady actually
comes from my paternal Welsh grandmother who came out to New Zealand in the
1920s.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:15:48] She was outspoken and lobbying on the local
level around coal mining, because my grandfather and my uncles were coal
miners.
The power and the presence of women throughout the generations
really is an incalculable gift in terms of the value they add to your lives.
When you see through the lens of what strengths and skills you bring to the
fore.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:16:10] For example, I quite outspoken about
discrimination, diversity, inclusion, and equality. When I look through the
generations, um, from great-grandmothers to great-granddaughters today, they're
facing gender and age discrimination both in their life and their leadership.
They serve an essential purpose that involves their knowledge and
experience being transferred into generational wisdom.
Thad Hollis: [00:16:37] What are some of the metal stereotypes that you
think as a 21st century grandmother, that legacy that you've inherited, that
you're transforming and transferring on to the next generations down to two or
three generations?
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:16:54] Great question. I decided to do the book chapter
because it was a divine wink.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:16:59] It was not going to further my ambitions or me
personally. Although the wisdom transfer was a huge piece of knowledge gained.
After I did the book chapter, I thought, let me go do some
research. What I discovered was that we know more about Orca whales. These are
three or four generational pods led by Orca grand matriarchs up to and over a
hundred years old.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:17:28] We know more about the Orca Whale grand matriarchs
than we do about human grandmothers. In fact, the academic and literature that
sells in the public realm is more about grandparenting. The research focuses on
grandfathers as opposed to grandmothers. So, we're not visible.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:17:50] Then I remembered this great story called “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.” When I went and looked for the book, I thought
she does not look like any grandmother I know, or I want to be.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:18:08] I started looking at the children’s stories about
grandmothers. I started looking at definitions and images of grandmothers:
👵They were frumpy.
👵They were fat.
👵They were tired.
👵They were sick.
👵They were frail.
🍪They gave out sugary cookies. 🍪 I
mean, let's face it sugar is the cocaine of the 21st century. 🍪No
grandmother today willingly sugars up their grandchildren.
I thought, “holy heck” the grandmothers I know are:
ReWilding their Health 🥗
Re-harnessing their energy.⚡
They're exploring, they're involved, they're working and making sure their children get to the best
schools and universities they're providing
childcare and they're supporting the generations above and below.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:18:46] This myth
perception needs busting quite
frankly. I have a whole series of podcasts about the intergenerational transfer
of wisdom. I'm interviewing women about their 19th and 20th century
grandmothers.
Thad Hollis: [00:19:02] I have fond memories of my two grandmothers, very
different women.
Thad Hollis: [00:19:08 I
agree with you. I think we know a lot about our grandfathers and the
patriarchal lineage, it is certainly laid out. That's how our stories are told,
particularly in the Western and British heritage. Although cultures that the
stories are passed on through the matriarchal line. You'll see that in Europe
more often than you will in say the United Kingdom.
[00:19:32] Dr. Michelle St Jane: It is interesting to note that the name is passed
down through the patriarchal line, and the genes are passed down through the
unbroken matriarchal.
Thad Hollis: [00:19:43] You’ve got work to do. You're going to educate us
on this, I can't wait to hear more about it from you and thank you for doing
that research.
What's your greatest extravagance Michelle?
[00:19:56] Dr. Michelle St Jane: Well, health is my first wealth and I'm also a very curious
techy. So, I have discovered our, this is my hour. And I use that to bio hack
my health because sleep is my superpower.
[00:20:13] Dr. Michelle St Jane: Health is my first wealth. I'm a very curious
techie. I discovered the Ōura Ring. I use it to bio hack my health.
💤💤 Ōura Ring 🥱 Sleep is my superpower🦸♀️. I
can tell when I've had enough sleep. The quality of the sleep. In particular,
the type of the sleep. Deep sleep for physical healing. REM sleep for re
defragging the brain.
I can see how many steps, breaths taken. I can just everything.
Why would I do that? Well, like myth perceptions of grandmothers,
women are analyzed based on their age and very outdated the research.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:20:39] That's often research conducted on men. Yet men
and women are very different. Having my, Ōura Ring means
I can bio hack myself.
When I have a reason to be talking with a medical professional, I
have my own stats. I know what is normal for me and it can be considered
against what the latest greatest research might say. But it's not going to be
the be all and end all. I know what's good for me and where I need to be.
The second device that I'm using
at the moment is called a Lumen. I've actually improved my metabolism 💪🏻
flexibility up about five points just by focusing on when to eat, what to eat.
Balancing carbs and things like that.
For me, my greatest extravagance tends to be tech and that’s
examples of how I use it to bio hack my health. I'll put some links to those
devices in the show notes.
Thad Hollis: [00:21:40] That would be great because I think owning your
own health and not relying on the physician to tell you what your health is, is
important.
We're in the legendary times. Why aren't we doing our own legends
and taking
Thad Hollis: [00:21:52] What is your personal motto?
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:21:55]
🌟 Faith it until you make it.
That drives me, inspires me, and guides me.
There were times I've had to pivot, particularly in times where
I'm enduring. It has been my faith and listening to that quiet voice within, be
it, my soul, my higher power, my intuition. Often the voice I need to quiet
myself to listen to.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:22:16] I've been very blessed with having been a user of
contemplation prayer and meditation.
I'm building on the fake it to you make it doesn't sit well with me, frankly. If I do a
review of my life, it's been those times I've had to 🌟 Faith it until I make it.
Too walk out in the world. Go to law school. Do a PhD. Talk to
global leaders. Set up and do a video podcast because I want to get the
information out there.
It's about getting over the ego. Getting into what is my soul's
purpose.
What do I need to be out there doing?
How can I show up?
Believe that podcast almost, almost broke me. I
did it in eight weeks. I think on week six or week seven, I was in give up
mode. I was like, I can't do this. And then along came an introduction to a
team who got me off the ground and going. Now, 15 months in rating in the top
10% of podcasts globally and on apple podcasts for business. I mean, who would
have thought right.
Just hit another mile stone with over 3000 downloads.
Thad Hollis: [00:23:19] What milestone?
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:23:20] 3000 downloads,
Thad Hollis: [00:23:23] 3000 downloads! I remember you discussing
it and you interviewed me right back in the early days.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:23:30] Thad, you're one of the top episodes because of
your quality life experiences and you’re willing to share your wisdom, strength,
and hope.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:23:40] Thad, you're one of the top episodes because of
your quality life experiences and you’re willing to share your wisdom,
strength, and hope.
Thad Hollis: [00:23:45] I’m just going to comment that, “you dare to ask,” so you said “Thad,
would you be on my podcast?”
I know you well enough that you can't take no for
an answer. I have to say yes. I know you well enough that when you sent me a
message and said, “would you
interview me?” The answer is yes.
Thad Hollis: [00:24:03] You see Michelle that, I think we were going to
sum up what your motto is. It's not fake it till you make it.
It is:
“Dare to ask.
Be bold to do it.
Make sure that you are the change we see in the world.”
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:24:11] Wow.
Thad Hollis: [00:24:13] We were just discussing what you were like in your
twenties, in your thirties. Being bold enough.
Then moving into the podcast, starting a raising of family as a
single mother, going out and into the world, doing law school while still
raising children. Reinventing yourself, every opportunity, because this is the
next evolution. That's the challenge.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:24:39] That would have to be the PhD. That took a
lot of courage to do. There was no way not to do it. I needed to step into
being courageous and bold on behalf of people and planet to challenge the
sacred money market.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:24:46] There was so much profit being made, but it
marginalized very vulnerable populations and echo communities. I was inspired
by an author; Cynthia Shapiro wrote a book called Corporate Confidential in 2005. (link: https://amzn.to/3IcGSbJ ). She
wrote on the, on unmasking the corporate
code of silence. She shared some
really startling truths about around the corporate world.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:25:09] She wrote on the, on unmasking, the corporate code of silence,
and she had some really startling truths. Around the corporate world. Now for
me, I just felt that I was in a position to say it. I had access to global
leaders [00:25:25] and I was willing to ask is so, so lovely that you said that
because my chief supervisor said this is going to be a thesis of no go, oh well.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:25:35]
The field work literally doubled. I'd asked for 30 minutes once a
month for six months. These people talked with me for up to an hour and a half
to two hours for 10 months.
👍It was the right time.
👍It needed to be said.
It's only published as an academic thesis at this point, yet I
tend to be three to five years ahead as a futurist. This decade it does need to
come out as a book.
It was an opportunity to explore and share my journey in the
corporate world. Also, to access the ability to have a conversation. Having
been in the C-suite, I was used to having conversations with people on that
level. I was willing to build on those skills on creating a conversation.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:26:26] And it was very interesting because the global executives that I
talked to were actually very grateful and they were sheaved and confidentiality
because of the exposure. And, but they were very honest and courageous, and I
think there was needed to be out in the world because they're very isolated.
Thad Hollis: [00:26:47] You talked about being inspired and authors gave you insights to
change.
Thad Hollis: [00:26:54] What authors inspire you to continue to challenge?
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:27:00] I love to read. I read everything from Si-Fi to historical. I
just love to read textbooks. I used to, before I was 50, read about five to
seven books at once. Now I tend to read only probably three to five. Ranging
from self-development book to who knows what!
The latest
fabulous book I’ve read was on finding a new galaxy outlet out there and about
the 2009 Kepler satellite. 📚Exoplanets: Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar
Planets, and the New Search for Life Beyond Our Solar System by Michael
Summers, Jon Bennett, et al.
Just amazing stuff. We've got so much at our fingertips
Across the years, books that have
really inspired me have been:
📚 Fingerprints of the Gods: The Quest Continues by Graham Hancock
📚Sci-Fi writers like:
📚Dani
Kollin, Todd McLaren, et al. “The Unincorporated Man”
Looking at the 23rd century was one of those aha moments. I could see what they were writing
and how the world could evolve that way. Definitely I love Sci-fi,
futuristic, historical fiction and nonfiction.
There's a reason behind that because I'm a workaholic and in
recovery.
To lean into my wellbeing, nothing will slow my brain down faster
than just enjoying a really good novel or a science as a book about science or
satellites, so rockets or things like that. So, it is one of my strategies to
move myself out of work, work, work, and to being and relaxing.
Thad Hollis: [00:28:40] So that's your downtime? That's amazing. How would
you describe your current state of mind right now?
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:28:47] Grateful an attitude of gratitude puts a lot of
miles in the right direction. I'm so blessed. My problems are really first
world problems in the great scheme of things. My opportunities are rich and
robust. I'm extremely grateful.
For my family, my health, my ability to lean into being a living
legend.
Thad Hollis: [00:29:12] Absolutely. What's next for Michelle?
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:29:15] One of my favorite challenges is reinventing
myself. I think the time has come really to let us ourselves, and I'm a woman,
be seen as we grow into living legends, vivid visionaries that invest our time,
talent, and treasure into will what holds promise for current and future
generations of all species.
I am a big believer, it's just not about us humans. There are
these amazing inter-species collaborations, amazing things that are going on
out there.
I'm also really passionate about creating multi-generational
networks and opportunities to collaborate. I think the time has come for into
generational harmonization’s.
We're living in a time where in the workplace in our communities. We
have five generations that are now adults. From Gen Z up. Gem Z joined the
workplace in 2018.
Can you imagine, and I often experienced this with my grandson
who's a Gen Z When I put my own experience, I'm curious, often placing my
adventurous self next to my techie, inquiring a curious and adventurous
grandson. We get to do some amazing things.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:30:20] I really have a goal around an age and
generational agnostic world, and creating more diverse organizations, bringing
all brains to the fore.
Thad Hollis: [00:30:36] I agree about these young generations. I have a
grandson is about to be eight years old, his thirst for inquiry. He'll say to
me, “Papa, did you know…,” and he'll go into this
Thad Hollis: [00:30:47] I agree. I think that because there is so much
information at our fingertips and I'm not quite as nimble as his mind is, but
he's able to absorb it to send it back in his own words. It's a fascinating
process to see how this generation is transforming information into its own
knowledge and making it or manifesting is really the best way to put it. There
is change that is coming and we can either go with it or be left behind.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:31:20] Absolutely. And is there a reason to be left behind?
There are many, many generations below us that need examples that we provide in
the world.
This is why I'm now 🤷 What
next?
I'm leaning into make visible my living legend status now. By
living legend, I mean those who've had successful careers and continue to
evolve. Who bring important innovations, insights, creativity challenge the
status quo like me.
Those who’ve learnt that redundancy means it a matter of changing
direction. It's a redirection.
Also having, having the willingness to clarify and ask the
question, “what is my purpose?”
You and I are conscious stewards, we're willing to flourish. To
share wisdom and new and more authentic way.
You can be a living legend at any age. I really am quite keen to
create a faculty of living legions so that they can share their wisdom
strength.
Most importantly, with this God-like technology, we can purposely
leave footprints and the digital sense of time. You know, signposting, wisdom,
strength, and hope, and. And inviting others to be living legends.
Now, living legends is not age defined. We have young people,
who've done startups, created amazing technology opportunities and solutions,
then go on and continue in their lives to evolve into different and more
authentic ways of showing up in the world.
Thad Hollis: [00:32:45] I agree. I've got a young friend in New York.
She's 27 and inspires me every day by her creativity and constant evolution and
re-invention. Even in the pandemic, she was still creating new business
opportunities for herself. Very entrepreneurial and very successful. It started
with a business card and it went well, this isn't going to work in fluid
forward.
Thad Hollis: [00:33:07] I think Michelle, you've summed up the 🤷 What’s
next? is whatever our imagination is limited by.
Dr. Michelle St Jane: [00:33:15] Absolutely. Our willingness to practice into
generational harmonization. We've got some myth perceptions to bust out there
for the different ages and stages.
Thad Hollis: [00:33:33] Become 21st century.
Outro: Dr. Michelle St Jane is a conscious steward as meaningful
leadership in the world and the wider cosmos. Tune in for real talk around
life, leadership, and your conscious journey. Be ready to create and cultivate
your dreams and wholehearted desires. Your support is valued. Please follow,
subscribe, leave a review and a rating. More importantly, share with your
connections.
Outro: Dr. Michelle St Jane is a conscious steward as meaningful leadership in the world and the wider cosmos. Tune in for real talk around life, leadership, and your conscious journey. Be ready to create and cultivate your dreams and wholehearted desires. Your support is valued. Please follow, subscribe, leave a review and a rating. More importantly, share with your connections.
Reach out. I am interested to hear from you. Do you have a topic you'd like to explore? It would be great to have your feedback.
Dr. Michelle St Jane
TEDxWoman Speaker | Author | Video, Podcast Host: Life & Leadership: A Conscious Journey
Listen Online
Let’s Get Social