It's The Human Experience: Overcoming Self-Doubt, Embracing Emotional Intelligence, Self-Worth, Self Awareness, Confidence & Self Love | Living on Purpose

85. She Turned Burnout into Boundaries: How La Nihya ReBuilt Her Restaurant & Reclaimed Her Peace

• Hazel Atkinson-Brown

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What if the only thing standing between you and your breakthrough… is you?

In this vulnerable and energizing episode, restaurant owner La Nihya Odom-Frank shares how breaking through self-doubt, burnout, and past “failures” led her to build one of the most talked-about loaded baked potato restaurants in Georgia. But this is not just a business story—it’s about reclaiming your energy, trusting your intuition, and setting boundaries that protect your peace.

La Nihya opens up about how her past businesses—photography, lip gloss, clothing—were practice, not failure. She reminds us that everything you’ve done is preparing you for your next level. From learning when to pivot, to embracing the soft life without guilt, this episode is packed with gems for anyone navigating their growth era.

✨ Whether you’re feeling stuck, burnt out, or ready to stop shrinking, La Nihya‘s story will help you:

  • Turn your "failed" ideas into fuel
  • Stop over-explaining your boundaries
  • Honor when you need to pause, reset, and protect your energy
  • Choose faith and alignment over pressure and burnout

🧠 Topics We Cover:

  • How to turn practice into purpose
  • Creating boundaries without guilt
  • Intuition over opinions: knowing when to block the noise
  • Entrepreneurship without burnout
  • Soft life, self-trust, and redefining success on your terms

💡 Quote to remember:
 "You’re allowed to step away and come back to yourself. That’s not quitting—it’s self-leadership."

🔗 Follow La Nihya:
 Instagram: @niha.ya
TikTok: @lanihyaodom

👉 Subscribe now on YouTube for more transparent stories and growth conversations that help you heal, build, and glow.

https://youtube.com/@redefiningthefutureyou

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Speaker 1:

Sometimes we don't want to hear certain things from certain people, so my best friend may not want to hear that from me, or my sister or brothers may not want to hear that from me, and I just have to respect that and understand that.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to. It's the Human Experience Podcast Hosted by Hazel Brown, a health care leader, wife, mom and career coach. If you're big on authenticity, personal development, perseverance and transparency, you're in the right place. Get ready to be uplifted, inspired and empowered as you become fearless in pursuit of the life you desire and deserve. Go ahead and subscribe. You don't want to miss out on these transparent stories and discussions that reveal highs, lows, aha moments and nuggets that'll help you to grow and glow.

Speaker 3:

Hey, hey, hey, you are now tuned into the it's the Human Experience podcast. I'm your host, hazel Brown. Today I have Lanai on the podcast. We are going to dive into all the things to help you get unstuck, to help you realize that you too can go after your goals and make it happen. The only thing that ever holds you back is you, and we're going to prove that to you here on this episode. Hey, linaya, thanks for joining us. Hey, thanks for having me Absolutely Listen. We jump right into the episode, okay.

Speaker 1:

I'm ready. So the first thing I want to know is who is Linaya? Linaya is a child of God first, first and foremost. I'm a wife to an amazing husband for three years and, of course, I'm a business owner, a restaurant owner here in McDonough.

Speaker 3:

Awesome, listen, tell us about your business.

Speaker 1:

So I own a loaded baked potato restaurant in McDonough, georgia, in the heart of near where the square is, and we do a whole bunch of different combinations of loaded baked potatoes. We have chicken, shrimp steak, we have over 15 toppings, we have five cheeses and it's just really fun just watching people what they create out of a potato. But we also have some that we put together for you just to make things easier.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I've actually tried your baked potato, not only by coming to your open house, but sometimes I go on Instacart. It's like Uber Eats thingy.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and I'll order it that way. It's definitely good, I tried the sweet potato one.

Speaker 3:

That was good. I love the sweet potato. Your desserts are really good. I'm like run me that sweet potato pie.

Speaker 2:

It's good.

Speaker 3:

The pound cake is really good, all the things that I secretly shouldn't be getting. I'm like, let's run it through Uber Eats real quick.

Speaker 1:

This is good. I always say it's the perfect comfort food, from our food to the desserts, because it's just so comforting it just makes you want to curl up in the bed, watch your favorite show and just dive into the food. So that's my favorite part about it.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely Listen. All right, so let's talk about your journey, your journey to becoming an entrepreneur. You said you were faith centered.

Speaker 1:

Yes, Like, what has the journey been like? What were the moments where you recognized that the only person that was stopping you was you, I think. For me, I kind of always had the entrepreneur spirit. Since a young girl, I knew I was going to have some type of business or be some type of high ranking in some type of company. I just didn't know what. So I was never attached to like a particular thing. I was just kind of attached to the idea of business, the idea of sales, the idea of marketing. I just love that aspect of business.

Speaker 1:

As far as my journey, it just started off like always searching for my next business. So I've had all of them a photographer, lip gloss, everything that you can think of. It was like, crossed my mind, I had pajamas at one point, um. So I just was always searching for that next thing and then it landed me here. My husband and I started in 2022 that's when we first started the restaurant um January 1st and we've just kind of been going there. He's definitely been a backbone as far as that journey and pushing me Like I've always had that confidence, but he's like no, we're execution, point now.

Speaker 1:

Like you had the confidence, but now we're going to execute together. It's go time. So I think at that point, that's when I was like, okay, this is my turning point as far as full-time entrepreneurship and this is what it's going to provide for us for the rest of our lives.

Speaker 3:

I love it. I love it. I think that when you talk about, like, the different things you've done, I want to go back there because I think sometimes people look at people and they're like man, like I wish I just knew what I wanted to do when I grew up.

Speaker 2:

I wish I just had it all figured out.

Speaker 3:

And I think that within the trying of things, you start to learn what you're good at, what you enjoy, what you don't Like. How was that part of the journey for?

Speaker 1:

you. Now, when I look back, I always say it was practice. So it was practice. You know, building those websites helped me build my website today. Just figuring out what sells, what people like, what people need to sell something because it's all the same, yeah, whether it's in food, whether it's online, like marketing is marketing. You can market a little bit differently depending on your industry, but for the main part, you're just trying to sell something. So I think for me it was just like practice and I knew that it was practice. I knew that this lip gloss brand that I named off of my amazing niece and we joke about it today was practice. Like labeling, building a brand was all practice for my brand today.

Speaker 1:

Just maneuvering orders that's something that people get caught up a lot and even with the restaurant industry, a lot of people. You can make something good. You can make a good dish at home, but can you make it 100 times a day? Can you bulk make it? Can you teach someone else to make it 100 times a day? Can you bulk make it? Can you teach someone else to make it? And sometimes people don't think of those steps. So those small businesses that you start in the beginning helps you practice and helps you understand the steps that you don't think of when you're starting out. So know, nine times out of 10, a lot of business owners will tell you your first thing's not going to work or it's not going to work within the X amount of time period. It takes a long, a long time to realize what works, what works for you and where you're going.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I love that. I love that speaking really about building that muscle and realizing that that muscle needs to be strong no matter where you go, and if you learn to perfect it where you're at, then your next day and where he takes you, you'll be prepared for it. I think it's funny because I just had a conversation recently with one of my family members around school and the importance of school, or lack thereof, and so the conversation was about, like, a lot of the things we learn in school and as far as high school, elementary school, middle school are not necessarily things that we take with us today, and I'm an advocate for school, so I'm like.

Speaker 3:

actually, I feel like you learn a lot in school, and what you learn in school is that, even if it's boring, you keep going. Even if it's hard, you figure out how to master it so that you could actually become a finisher. You realize that, even if you feel like it's not applicable to anything you're going to do in everyday world, you try to figure out what you can take from it, learn from it and apply it to what you need to. And I think it's just the muscle of believing in yourself, not giving up on yourself and learning how to master things even when it seems difficult at the beginning.

Speaker 1:

Right. I feel like school for me was to exercise my brain, not necessarily that particular topic or that particular course, but it was just kind of like how far are you going to push your brain to figure it out? Or to kind of listen and fight through the pain sometimes, especially in college and all those hard courses. And I just remember taking a rock classes. I'm like what am I going to need rocks in life when? But it was just kind of staying still in something that you're uncomfortable in and still pushing through and finishing. And I even took that class twice and my whole family used to laugh. I had like a rock, like case of like a whole bunch of rocks and they're like Naya, come get your rocks. So but looking back, it was just like being uncomfortable and doing something that you don't want to do. You know you may not need, but it exercised my brain to be in a place where I don't want to be in and I have to sit in and stay in.

Speaker 1:

And I think for me, even in high school, one of my favorite courses was like debate and stuff like that and I had to fight against something that I didn't believe in, but I had to fight as if I believed in it, and that changed my brain like for the rest of my life.

Speaker 1:

It made me be like always that devil's advocate, like you know, to see where other people are coming from, because you never know, or you never know why they believe, or you know what they've been through. So it just changed my whole way of thinking ever since that class in junior year and I'm sure that teacher, mr Martinez, don't even know, don't even know the impact it had on my life. But it's like I can fight for people even if I don't believe in them, and that's something very hard for some people to do. So it just definitely structures your brain a little bit differently in school, especially when you don't think you need it. Like you said, school advocate you know I am one, even though I didn't finish, but it definitely made me think about things or put me in places and spaces that I didn't know I needed today.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and I think what you did was take from it what you need and then you're able to use that to build. I think, in terms of pivoting, people don't recognize that sometimes you start something and you're supposed to take a certain set of skill set from it. Sometimes you need to finish it and sometimes you need a pivot because you got what you need and it sounds like everything that you needed to become a restaurant owner, to become a business owner or whatever else is in your future right. You have those skills in terms of being able to understand how to look at different perspectives. Being a business owner, you meet all sorts of energies and people and you really have to be able to put yourself in their shoes, have empathy, and without those skills that you develop, it'd be like what is wrong with?

Speaker 3:

this person Like I cannot. And in those situations you're like OK, I got this.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Speaker 3:

That's how you feel Maybe they're going through something, situations you're like, okay, I got this right, figure this out that's how you feel.

Speaker 1:

Maybe they're going through something. It's beyond me, it's bigger than me, but, yes, it definitely shapes you because entrepreneurship or any type of business, I think on behalf of all of us, it's more than just that idea of what you're selling like. It's way beyond that, like the behind the scenes you sign up for jobs. This is not what I sign up for. Like I did not sign up for this part. This is not what I signed up for. Like I did not sign up for this part.

Speaker 1:

Even with my restaurant I did not know how to cook and I always tell that story Like I was not in the kitchen shuffling it up. I did not think I would own a restaurant growing up but of course that was in God's plan for me. But it pushed me, it forced me. But I knew all the other side of business and that's the part that I fell in love with. So luckily, my husband loves the kitchen part, so we were able to combine and conquer on that end. But as far as outside, looking in the restaurant, that was not in my plan at all.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I love that, like trusting God to help him guide you and use the skills that you're strong in, yes, and then making sure that the areas that other people that you trust when they're strong in those areas, y'all combine and make it happen. I think that that's a word because I think many times we are taught to be independent, especially as women and everything we have to do.

Speaker 3:

But the reality is, if you trust people and they have strong skills, yeah, let them do that Emphasis on trust people and they have strong skills yeah, let them do emphasis on trust people and you and they have strong skills, you know, use their skills, they use your skills and y'all collaborate and y'all can make magic happen, right?

Speaker 1:

so I love that you're like uh-uh, like that's not my area but I got you in these other areas and he's the same way. He's like yeah, I don't need to know any of that, she got, got it. I trust her. You know she's speaking Spanish and in the kitchen I'm like, babe, you're speaking Spanish. So we just let each other kind of thrive in our areas and I think that's what works for us. But of course everybody. You have to find what works for you.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely Like what were some of your aha moments on the journey as it relates to not as it realized, but what were some of your aha moments on the journey? As it relates to thinking that business and life is supposed to be people in a business and the different personalities and just how hard it is to find good people and to keep good people.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think that's been my biggest like OK, I'm going to try this with the next person. Ok, or I'm going to do this better for my employees or my staff or this is what I need to do. So I think my biggest aha moments have been like with staff and hiring and employees and just that side of things as far as even my personal growth. Like you know, pulling back on maybe what I feel is best or what I feel is best for the business, what I feel is best for the business. If my employees speak up and they want something, then I have to let them have it, Because without them, you know, I can't take the vacations and, you know, go to bed and sleep in and do all the things. So it's just like I need them just as much as they may need me. If not, I need them more. So I think that's my biggest aha in the journey and just kind of like new findings and new realizations along the way. It's just the biggest kind of search in my journey I've come across.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that makes sense and I'm sure that's something that even in your personal journey, as it relates to boundaries is what it sounds like you're talking about is learning that you know you have certain boundaries in terms of the values and the skill set that you need in your business. You know you have certain boundaries in terms of the values and the skill set that you need in your business, while at the same time, you have to be a little bit flexible in terms of meeting them where they're. At Once you realize that you can trust them and they have the skills and the values that are aligned, it's like okay, these are my people.

Speaker 3:

Let me try to back up and see what I can do to keep these people and I feel like that's such a parallel, like in friendships and in relationships and in life, because everyone's different, right, yes, and if they meet your value system as it relates to trust, skill set and just the way that they love and you love them, it's like you have to meet them in the middle sometimes. What kind of boundaries have you had to create in your life really to focus on peace while you're building boundaries um not being so accessible.

Speaker 1:

I think for me I'm definitely that person that's, while you're building Boundaries, not being so accessible. I think for me I'm definitely that person that's like I'm just one phone call away Whatever you need, no questions asked, no judgment. I think I serve that place in a lot of people in my life's life and I love it. But it's just, sometimes it's like, especially getting married, I had to learn to not be so accessible. I had to learn to not be so accessible. I had to learn to listen more. You know, that's been a big boundary for me Just kind of listen, not offering my feedback so much.

Speaker 1:

You know not really always having a response, because it's not always needed and necessary. So I think, and then doing what makes me happy and what fills my cup up may not look the same for the next person, so you may not understand it. So you know, if I say, for an example, I need a massage every month, you know you might feel like that's not needed to fill a cup. You need to go to church or you need to go you know everybody has their different things or you need to go get your hair done, whatever it is. But I had to focus on like, ok, now, what serves you, what fills your cup? You know everybody has something different and it doesn't have to be justifiable to other people. And I think that leads into my other. One is like explaining myself and justifying things I don't partake in any more. I always say now, like the only person I owe an explanation to is my husband. So other than that, you can tell me the sky is red and I'm just going to be like yeah, I love that.

Speaker 3:

I love that people don't have access to your opinion. I don't know if that is like how, like that's how I took it, because I feel like that is so important.

Speaker 1:

Yes, it's undeserving.

Speaker 3:

Yes, yeah, because I feel like when you're becoming and you're on your personal journey and you're naturally the kind of person that just wants to pour. Someone comes to you and they're just venting and you're like, oh, I think you should do this. And then they don't do it. And now you're like, why didn't they do that? They should have listened. It's upside down. It's like wait, hold up, we just going to draw the boundary here.

Speaker 3:

You don't even have access to my opinion, because with that, I'm able to just let you do whatever you want to do and I'm able to hold onto my peace. I love that. I love that. That's like a different level of access and I think it's really important. And I feel like it's a trend, like we've had a lot of conversations on the podcast really about that learning how, when people are coming to you really saying, are you coming to me to vent or do you want my feedback? Because people are receptive to it better when they actually want your feedback Exactly, and then recognizing we all want different things in our lives. So our opinion is not something that needs to be projected half the time, because the reality is it's our opinion and we deserve to live the life we want to live.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I love that and I think for me, a lot of my opinions are justified by experience. So I'm not one of those people to tell you something that is like I haven't been through or like secondhandly been through, like I'm not going to. Just, yeah, one time I heard that's not really how I, you know, offer my opinion, but I am a great ear, I'm always a shoulder to cry on. But I think I've come into this space where some people aren't ready to hear this level of advice or level of experience.

Speaker 1:

You know you have to get there. Like you said, sometimes we don't want to hear certain things from certain people, so my best friend may not want to hear that from me, or my sister or brothers may not want to hear that from me, and I just have to respect that and understand that. But to better my peace, it's like I knew you shouldn't have did that. I told you you needed to go this way.

Speaker 3:

Like we're just going to X all this out. Yeah, exactly, Because now you're wrapped up in it.

Speaker 1:

You're like I'm just going to let it happen, yeah, and you'll get there one day or that. You know, when you want that advice, how to ask it from me, so I'm just going to wait for that for you.

Speaker 3:

Something I want to dive in that's kind of along the lines of what we're talking about is when you're face centered and your heart centered. What you just talked about is like learning not to intercede in God's work. Right, Because that's something that I had to develop a muscle in, Like I want to jump in and be saving grace. And it's like girl, you are not God Like. How dare you let that person learn that lesson? I've been doing that for years. Like how dare you let that?

Speaker 1:

person learn that lesson. I've been doing that for years, like I think for me, like I was just always that angel, like in life, growing up, or I was just always that younger, wise girl and all the things, and I just like I was just so. Like you know, god put this person in my life for me to save.

Speaker 3:

Or.

Speaker 2:

God wants me to help this person.

Speaker 1:

Like I was just so quick to help save, want to be that person that's different from everybody in your life. Like I was always wanting to be that person, so I had to learn that, like guys, like you know, sometimes you just need to plant a seed, naya, put a little water on it, naya, and that's it, walk away. Like I didn't put you there to go with the mile-long journey. Like I literally just put you there to just say okay, or just water it or just, and that's it.

Speaker 3:

A lot of weed and keep it moving.

Speaker 1:

Keep it moving. So I had to kind of learn discernment a little bit and kind of learn, just, you know, when it's necessary, when it's not, and I think I'm slowly stepping into that mastering of it, because I just find myself just pulling back so much and I'm just kind of like huh.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and it feels good, yeah. I think that one thing that I've recognized on the journey is sometimes we tell ourselves we're needed, right, right. We feel like, oh my goodness, like it's not going to happen if we're not the ones to make it happen Exactly. And then, when you pull yourself back, you recognize like I didn't need to put all that pressure on myself, like it wasn't even something that I had to do. And to your point of when you create those boundaries, people will come to you when you need them, as opposed to you being so accessible for whatever anyone needs. And then you're not able to do you.

Speaker 3:

You're not able to pour into you, you're not able to create the life that makes sense to you. So I love that awareness. From that, what would you say your superpower is?

Speaker 1:

now I think it's allowing my, it allowed me to grow and for others to see my growth, and I think my superpower is just kind of just also being aware. I think for the most part it's just definitely the power of awareness of what's going on, the power of my heart, you know kind of. You know, when you let your heart out so much, you just lose it.

Speaker 1:

Like you know it's kind of hard to keep it secure, keep it locked up in that box, because you know I'm so invested to where, if you break my heart now, I'm all over the place. Like my whole life is just in shambles. So I had to learn that I have to protect it, especially with the type of person and character I am. So I think my superpower definitely came from those boundaries, because it's needed.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, I love that. I love that. I'm going to go into one of the questions. Can you share a time where you felt completely stuck? What changed for you to move forward, and how did that moment shape the way you approach challenges?

Speaker 1:

A particular example just pops up in my brain so I guess I have to share it. I think for my business I think any business you are going to fall in and out of love with it. So I think for me, I just went through a period of falling out of love with with my business and I was just stuck, confused, didn't know what to do. So I had to pivot and I had to make some hard changes and I didn't know what the outcome was going to be at the end. But I went through it and the outcome made me fall back in love with it like the first day and even probably more. So I was able to fall back in love with the business first day and even probably more. So I was able to fall back in love with the business. But I think for me, like that particular experience that I can't really dive into today, definitely changed how I am as a businesswoman, how I view business, how I handle business and all the things. So I think that I I love that example.

Speaker 2:

I love that example so much because it applies to everything yeah it's your relationship with your business, with your career your mate, your friendships, all of it.

Speaker 3:

Like you are going to fall out of love.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you're gonna fall in and out of love with most things, especially extended period of things. So like you said a job for 10 years. You know a relationship for 10 years. You know a relationship for 10 years, many long marriage people.

Speaker 1:

You know advices you're going to fall in and out of love and just make sure you remember why you started and that's what gets you through it. And I think that's one of my favorite things and I never thought I would go through it with my business, because it's kind of like it's a relationship, it gets kind of dry.

Speaker 3:

Sometimes you got to reinvent the wheel.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I didn't think I was going to do it, but now I'm just like so happy I went through that because I think that experience is just going to carry me for the next five years in my business. It's like I know what to do now. This has happened before.

Speaker 3:

I love it and I think that for me, the reason why I mentioned how it applies to everything because in career, that's happened in my relationship, that's happened in friendships, that happened Even with my husband recently, like earlier this year, I was like, yeah, I don't know. We've been together for 22 years and I was like, yeah, I don't know, I just don't think he gets me anymore. And then my first reaction was just like, yeah, it's very clear, he doesn't get me anymore. I don't think I could do this. And then I started saying, hazel, look, you actually like him. You want to get old with him? Yeah, you don't like many people. Yeah, so why is that your response to it? Huh, girl, like, build a muscle, learn how to communicate, you can do hard things. And like we started talking and yeah, and I'm like I love this man and I think I'm, like you, a fool like you are not as personally developed as you thought you were, because why was your answer to out?

Speaker 3:

So I love the answer you gave Because it's like just going back, seeing what you love, what you don't love, pulling the things you love through, the things that are necessary, taking that too, but just changing it up a little bit, because maybe you don't have to throw the whole thing out, maybe you can just change it up a little bit.

Speaker 1:

Because we change. We change so fast as people in your marriage and friendships and business, like I've changed just so much from that first day I've started and it's just so crazy for me Like I think I surprised myself and I think even sometimes I'm just even overwhelmed with myself. Like so how can I not expect other people to you know, to experience that or to see that? You know we have childhood, I have childhood friendships and I'm just like, well, you know we was just playing at the park together. How can you see me as this? You know big business woman, you know type of environment or cousins or just aunts that's been around?

Speaker 1:

And it's just like hard to watch that change from some people, especially if you're a rapid changer. And I'm like that's who I am. Like my life changes complete 360 in a matter of a year, most of the time every year since I've been out the house. So I think it's hard for people to swallow that change. And even in a relationship you changing. So it's like do you understand me as this business woman versus this girl who's at a nine to five?

Speaker 1:

like that's two different people like the, and even for my husband he's grown so much as a businessman. He he like. When we first started, he would always say I'm not an entrepreneur. And I'm like, yes, you are. He's like, no, I'm not an entrepreneur, I'm like that's what this role is. Yeah, we own our own business and that's how we live.

Speaker 1:

He's like no, I just so happen to own it. But now he'll say it Like you know, I'm a restaurant owner, I'm an entrepreneur, I'm a business owner and he carries that so well and I'm just like love that for you.

Speaker 3:

I love that for you, but it's like I had to watch him change and it's like I had to watch him change and it's like accepting that change.

Speaker 1:

You know, sometimes, even with business, a lot of people I hear talk about their partners not being super invested in the entrepreneur life and it is something different and just uncomfortable sometimes because it's just a different lifestyle.

Speaker 3:

Completely different lifestyle.

Speaker 1:

I'm happy that we do it together, but I just couldn't imagine, like as far as like being on different pages and watching someone change in an entrepreneur spirit and you have one person working a job like how those lives mesh. Yeah, and it's just like. That's the part that I'm like OK.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And it's funny you share that because that's the muscle I had to build in my relationship, because my husband's a nine to fiver and at one point I was a nine to fiver and an entrepreneur. And then I was a 9 to 5 and an entrepreneur, and then I made a shift to where, like, no, I'm just an entrepreneur and it's like wait, but you got all them degrees, you got all that experience, what do you mean? And then trying to help him understand this entrepreneurial world, like it's different, it's like embracing your visionary, it's really embracing the gifts God gave you and, seeing it, it's all faith right and everything comes to fruition once you trust it.

Speaker 3:

You work the muscle, you do what he tells you to do and it's like are you over there a fantasy lamb? Because, like, what's going on? But to your point of like values and trust that we talked about through the conversation, like he knows his wife, he knows that I wouldn't be doing anything that I didn't believe in and he believes in me. So once I started opening up and kind of telling him some of the things, that were in my brain. He can see it Right.

Speaker 1:

But before, I was kind of like you're not going to understand, Like I'm not explaining it to you Like we just don't get each other.

Speaker 3:

It's like well, help him get you. And once I did like should go to this podcast event Like bae, you should go to this and I'm like girl, like what in the world. So I love that you mentioned that, because it really takes conversation. Even in the feeling stuck in whatever situation it is, just open your mouth and talk, whether it's your employer, within your business, your relationship, your friendship. Communication really is the key to many things.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and you sometimes have to change your surroundings. Yeah for sure, Become an entrepreneur.

Speaker 3:

You might have to get those entrepreneur friends yes, absolutely, they get you so that you don't feel stuck and alone.

Speaker 1:

You might have to change. You know, just like I'm not a mommy yet, but you have the moms saying they need mom, friends and all those things. So it's definitely people don't understand. A lot of your experiences are relatable, all those things. So it's definitely people don't understand a lot of your experiences are relatable.

Speaker 3:

It's just different, yeah yeah, and I love that you talk about like creating a circle right, Getting those mom friends, getting those entrepreneur friends, and then back to values and trust getting the ones that you know have the same values as you, that you can trust, because that definitely changes things. I know for me, not only just creating events myself, but also recognizing that when you're creating circles, as it relates to the personal people around you, the values have to exist and you have to make sure that people don't love you because everybody else loves you. And that's a whole new thing being an entrepreneur that you didn't realize you had to navigate. It's like wait, do they like me? Because of me.

Speaker 3:

Or do they like me because of me, or do they like because, yeah, what I'm doing and I think it's just so important that, like people like recognize that that becomes a thing.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's just a lot of confusion. Yeah, you just don't know what to believe anymore. Yeah, you don't know what to take, you don't know what to leave. You don't know yeah, it is.

Speaker 3:

It is that it's funny. We talked about. It's like, what am I supposed to do with this? Like, why did you put this person in my circle? Like am I supposed to? Is this a divine connection? Or, to your point, do I just need to throw a little bit of water on it and keep moving and that part does become confusing.

Speaker 2:

It's just like God what do you want me to do with?

Speaker 3:

this Because.

Speaker 1:

I want to do it, I really do, but I just don't know. Yeah, like this can't be that Like.

Speaker 3:

I completely get that sentiment and that feeling. I'm going to go into another question. When you felt overwhelmed by your goals and the weight of the expectation, for kind of knowing that God chose you for what it is that you're doing, how have you recalibrated your approach so that you could stay aligned and true to your purpose, that you can?

Speaker 1:

stay aligned and true to your purpose. I always say for me, I have to recenter Because it's like I know what I'm here to do, I know my calling, I'm very aware of who I am as a person, who I love to be. So when I find myself not being that, I recenter, I do all the things that makes me recenter, I step away, I pull back, I go in my dungeons.

Speaker 3:

You look like a hideout.

Speaker 1:

And just make a regrant entrance. But it's just so instant when I realize go on vacation or something I love tropical vacations to where it's just like me, in the skies and the water, and it just helps me recenter with God. Like I want to read, I want to like pray, I want to sing gospel songs for hours, like those are the things that recenter me. So when I feel overwhelmed, I know that that's what I need to do to get it back right. So I don't run from it. So you know, the moment I feel that that next week or then two weeks, because it affects everybody around me and I've watched it, so now I don't even play with it.

Speaker 1:

I'm like if I'm not feeling that person, they know, yeah, I'll be right back and you'll get hurt, but it can't be gone for too long, because then people think you're changing or they think that's not who you are anymore. So I also learned the value in that to you know, protect other people's image of me. I'm still a human, but I have to know that it's my job to step away to recenter and to refill my cup, and not theirs, you know, to baby me or pull me through. It's not their responsibility.

Speaker 3:

It's no one's but yourselves.

Speaker 1:

So I think now my husband supports that as well too, because, again, it affects everybody. It affects the business, for sure. It affects the staff, it affects everything the customers, it affects everything around me, and it's too much for me to not be whole. So if that's what it takes for me to be whole and be under control, then it's worth every penny.

Speaker 3:

Oh my God, I love that so much. It's like BRB yeah, literally, and it's so needed.

Speaker 3:

And I think that that's like a muscle that a lot of people don't realize. We play a little bit of trivia at the end you'll see but one of the things is people don't realize that emotional intelligence is a big indicator in someone's success. So if you feel within you that you're not yourself, that shows your emotional intelligence and self-awareness, that hey, I'm not showing up as Linaya. I need to do something different recenter, recalibrate, get with God and make sure that the person that I'm showing up as is 100% me, so that I can make the right decisions and so that BRB is needed, where some people will look at that as like well why are you?

Speaker 1:

separating yourself, and it's usually a quick couple of days, nothing, ever more than a week, because, again, I don't let it get that far. You know, and it looks different for everybody, so I also don't want to make it seem like you know you need some type of, but I'm also blessed to have the funds and the resources that I have, to know that that's what works for me, like God provided that part too, because obviously he knows what works. You know he put that in me, so he knows, like you know, what it is that I need and I know that I have the resources to do that, so I'm not running from it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah is to do that, so I'm not running from it so it looks different for everybody. Like I've seen, you know, on TikTok, people taking walks, you know, in a park, in a random park, or just kind of being with yourself and changing your scenery is usually all it takes. So it can be very small or very big, but everybody is different.

Speaker 1:

And that's the part that you have to learn yourself. So these are my experiences and what works for me today, and it could change. It wasn't always like that, but you know in this season that I am. That's what it is, yeah.

Speaker 3:

I love that. I feel like when I was a nine to fiver, I used to intentionally put in. Pto on a regular basis, like I knew when I was going to need to tap out A burnout.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's burnout, that's what it is.

Speaker 3:

It's like a, a burnout, like I feel like we all get burnout yeah exactly so it'd be like 10 weeks and I'm like, okay, let's go ahead and plug in a little friday and monday here. And then it's like, okay, let's see, like okay, april, that really gets real hectic. So let me go ahead and just like plug in a couple, three days.

Speaker 1:

Here you're looking out for your future.

Speaker 3:

so, for real, you because you there. Yeah, we all go through things where we know like, yeah, this time it typically gets a little too much.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to need a break. If I know I have a lot of work coming up or a big busy schedule that following weekend, I already know we're doing something. Let me pencil in myself.

Speaker 3:

Exactly, I need time with me and and I feel like same thing, like midweek you know you have a. Ceo day where you're like, okay, wednesday afternoons is nothing, because I need to be able to reset for Thursday and Friday.

Speaker 1:

I don't want to go into Thursday and Friday like, oh, I can't do it. And that's why I think people look at me and they're like, oh, you know, how do you do it? Like, how do you do it all? Like you're always working, you're always doing this and I, like you don't see that part. So just also understand that those parts are definitely there and I know that it's needed to keep me going.

Speaker 3:

yeah, and I think that really leads into when you're working in your purpose. I think to other people it looks like, oh my god, you're always working, but when you're working within your purpose, it does not feel like you're working. It feels like, yes, guy, you trust me with this ball. This is my thing're going to make it. We're going to the Super Bowl with this and it's like other people are like how you do it and it's like it's not hard. These are my gifts I'm using and I feel for me.

Speaker 1:

I think I look at a lot of my life as honored, like I am so honored to be in the position that I am Like. I am so like humble and grateful like that. It's me like I was chosen for this, versus it's a job or that. You know, it's just so dreading. So I'm just like, I'm just so humbly honored that and I still, to this day, just be like I do this, I did this or I built this.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, he trusts me with this.

Speaker 1:

This is what's going on. Like. Am I crazy? Like?

Speaker 3:

I love that, that level of gratitude and I think we talk about that in the podcast a lot too like how important gratitude is, because if you're not happy where you are now, when you get to that goal or that next thing, you're not going to be happy either, because you got to learn how to love the life you already have in order for you to love whatever it is that you think is next, because next is not the answer At all. Yeah, I love that. What is one thing that you would share with your younger self, maybe your 17-year-old self, if you could tell her anything You're like, what are we going to tell her?

Speaker 1:

Right, you know it's best for you. And it's like a lot of times I think I second guess myself, but I still went with my gut and it worked out. So I think I would tell myself, like just building on that confidence, like you know what's best for you, like you know what is needed, especially even at that age, like I know it sounds young, but it's like, yeah, you know what's best for you.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we all.

Speaker 1:

Our compass is inside, yeah, so I think that's what I would tell my doubtly self.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I love that. I love that Allowing yourself to recognize that what you are thinking needs to happen is really what should happen from like a young age.

Speaker 1:

That's beautiful.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so before we end the episode, I definitely want to make sure we spend some time allowing the listeners to follow you online and all things. So where can the listeners find you?

Speaker 1:

On Instagram it is Naya N-I-H, period Y-A. On TikTok it's my full name, so L-A-N-I-H-Y-A-O-D-O-M. It's mainly where Instagram and TikTok.

Speaker 3:

Listen, y'all go follow Linaya. Make sure that you are following her, plugged into what's next, because we know that you're forever evolving and Linaya next year is going to be an elevated version of Linaya this year, and it's important that you go on the journey together, like that's what the podcast is all about Big things coming.

Speaker 1:

I'm so excited. So, yes, definitely a lot to come.

Speaker 3:

I'm so here for, and you haven't come to a workplace therapy events, but you came to my power table event that I did, and so, shameless plug, I would love for you to tell the people like what that, even that small experience, is like it was my first stepping out experience.

Speaker 1:

It was great. I loved it. I love every part of it. I love um. I even went to to one of the girls I met, pilates class, and that was a first experience. So it's just a lot of firsts. I'm in a season of just trying new things, so I was able to meet people and try new things over there as well too.

Speaker 3:

Nice, awesome. I think that's what I love about my events, though, when I kind of look at other people in terms of like case studies and kind of thinking. The other day, I was thinking to myself like what do people get like after they come to your events, and I'm like, big or small, I always connect people to who they need, yeah. And then I recognize, like when I see like what people are doing with other people, yeah, it's like everybody gets introduced to somebody that plays a role in their life and I'm like, oh, like, maybe I'm the connector that's just I look her next one.

Speaker 1:

I've been traveling for the last couple of weeks, so I'm definitely going to make it to her next one next weekend.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, absolutely. I'm so excited so we're going to go ahead and go into trivia. Listen, if this is your first time listening to the podcast, make sure that you're subscribed, make sure you're following us, make sure that you don't miss out on future episodes.