#671 This may come as a surprise, but your story has nothing to do with you. You see, when people hear about your journey, they actually feel the possibilities in their own life. When you share vulnerably, your story becomes a vehicle of hope for the listener! That's why storytelling is one of the most powerful skills you can develop as an entrepreneur. But don't take my word for it—listen in on my conversation with Shelli Varela to experience it firsthand. Today, she shares her inspiring journey from a 108-pound manicurist to becoming the first female firefighter in her city. This incredible transformation is now at the core of Shelli's roles as a public speaker, author, and podcaster. Don't miss this unbelievably moving episode because, as you'll learn, everybody has a story. Shelli delivers the tools and examples you need to hone this skill and connect with your audience on a whole new level! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/session671.
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This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
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one lady says to me one day. Thank you so much for sharing your story because,
I see myself in your story and I thought there were things that I couldn't do it now.
She snaps her fingers and she says now: I'm gonna go do them and it was,
In that moment, I was like
oh my
story has nothing to do with me. Story is a vehicle of possibility for them
the sooner you hear the show. We talked quite a bit about the power of story, a story telling and
the thing that I always recommend we get better at and today we're going to do exactly that, because our special yesterday Shelly Valera, is a master at telling stories. But it didn't always start out that way in effect
story leads us to why story is so powerful, in fact restoring
the fact that she was in a very large city in canada, the first female firefox
and the ups and downs and struggles relates to that, but also what she's learned since make him happy,
and how she is now amplifying that story and teaching others to tell a story is just absolutely:
just motivating and inspiring, but in my opinion, for where we're out and content today and all the noise is out there, it's mandatory
they need to know how to tell stories. Just like Shelly does and so sit back and relax
great when want secession. Six hundred and seventy one of the smart passive
compiled cast. You can find shelly on instagram, as well as her website, which is story and potential dot com,
on that later, but relax in
these stories and learn as you go here, we go: shelly valera
your or listening to their smiled faster than come on guys are proud. Member of the entrepreneur podcast network, a show that all of our working hard now so you can sit back to reap the benefits later now, your old. He still needs to ask for help firm his family to remove any spiders easier in the house flynn.
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me, eastern, smart, passive income, dot com, slash course: webinar see their Shelly welcome to this more passive, incomplete. Yes, thank you so much for being here, too
Oh, my gosh pat, is my absolute privilege to share with your incredible audience. So thanks for having me meet, you know I'm grateful that you're here because I have to- and I wanted to thank you publicly for this
a long time ago. I don't know how, many years ago it could have been. Even almost a decade ago you had sent me a book, and this was in a book, for me was a book for my daughter in fact, and it was a very well written book- a story about a fire fighter. Who is a woman who was going through some struggles, then you know became who she was meant to become an n. I ve,
now that while you are actually the author of that book, which means you probably have that in your history and so let's, let's start there like, how did you know
if you want it, to become. First of all, thank you again for that book, but, second of all like how did you know you wanted to become a firefighter well, first of all, you're. So welcome. I'm glad I'm glad it's there
I actually didn't know that I wanted to be a firefighter. My childhood found me as an extremely I would say, deep thinking, nerdy
very isolated lonely and alone or take kid, and, as you can imagine the kid like that everywhere I went, I would get bullied.
And we moved weight. My parents moved a couple times, so we will go from school to school and every single time. I was a kid who got bullied.
We say not. All gifts come wrapped in a bow. I learned a number of things as that. Really shy introverted kid who was getting their butts handed to them on the regular I learned to develop an incredible imagination. That was not only how I cope.
tell it arrived it. I made it through the day and I went I would this really feel what it felt like to be. You know in the shoot out of that, can't you asshole
team or whatever it was, and I would viscerally feel that feels like. The second thing I learned, though, was that it was not safe to be
of attention, and so as a journey through life, the world started to label me an artist. I was a writer, I'm a third generation storyteller. I was in a special effects. Make up- and you know I was just kind of I was kind of that person, and so everybody you know, would sail showing the artist or Shelly you know whom,
you know, paints or droughts or whatever, and so as a german from from like middle school to the end of high school, and thinking like what am I gonna do with my life an end. I am anxious and I'm
trying to figure out like what what careers fit in the light of our history and
nothing really seem to fit and the more ice I tried to like fit sit square pagan. The round hole, the more anxious I got because it just didn't seem like. That was my thing. That was my thing. That isn't something I could see myself doing us
a full career- and I looked around and all of the people that I was surrounded with an all of my friends. Had everything figured out, they knew
universities they would go to the jobs, they would do a hobby kids. They would have- and I was just a mess.
And so
cause. I was just trying to avoid having to look at this. The situation I
a chance run in with with an old friend, and it was a guy named steve. Our months were good buddies and he was going through a particularly hard time in his life so
I would come to his house and I will try and keep on talking sort of as long as I could about whatever I could and the thing that he could speak about forever was his career as a firefighters
and he sharing these stories of lake.
Fires and rescues, and at the time I'm one hundred and eight pounds I'm working at a manicure salon. So I couldn't be more removed from this reality and I'm just trying to figure out like what am I
with my life, so you sharing these stories like do that's what you get to do like you, get a safe people
you get the shenanigans round the halls and you get to drive the big red truck, and I was just I was just like it was the first time I had felt like that. Oh that's, like really cool, like really interesting to me,
and the danger of labels. Pat, is this like? I was calling for an artist the world told me I was an artist. I definitely was artistic, but as long as I was Shelly the artist, I couldn't be anything else, so I'm sitting with stephen. He sharing these incredible stories with me and I couldn't get enough
it was the first time I felt that hope as like, showing up at his house again and again and again and eventually here
end of story, so he started teaching me stuff and never would I have known this otherwise that I had this natural mechanical
attitude because I've never looking outside the label of what the world told me I was, which was an artist
Teach me these things and I would pick them up. Really quick
and I remember the day he and I were driving in his pickup truck we're driving across dent ass. We came up to car road
and I could see myself sitting there and there was a tractor trailer beside us and on the rear of the tractor. Trailer was a dangerous goods label and I had paid attention to it.
Everything he said, and I'm thinking to myself. I know what that means, but in
I'd, I'm still that shy. Believe kid. So, instead of telling him what I meant, I I sent him a hasty like what is that, and I was fully expecting him to echo the answer that I knew to be true and he gave me the wrong answer, and so I corrected him and at this point we ve been hanging over
Wanna say like five or six months, then he turned to me and he says shelly. Why don't you just apply to be a fire fighter and I was like
Don't look at me. I'm a hundred this is thirty years ago. Also, I'm a hundred new pounds. I work in a manicure salon. I'm not being
a brave enough smart enough, strong enough and there's no girls in fire fighting. That was no girls at the time
and this man who I had grown to like I just had such reverence for looks.
the square nearby in the eye and without missing a beat, he goes well, there's going to be a girl one day. Why would it be you and it sucked the air out of my lungs it? The thought hadn't even crossed my mind
and I said well, that's ridiculous, like I dont have any knowledge or skills or
sperience. I work in a nail salon,
and I don't know if you had one of those days where your kind of driving around and you end up at the destination. You like, I literally don't remember getting here, and my
higher day was that, but that evening I was lying up in my bed and I remember looking up at my weight. Steeples,
lying in his words had been echoing in bouncing around in my brain all day long and the words that changed my life were. Why not me.
and when I heard myself say them something something different about myself saying them and it was like it was like the flip of.
Which- and at that moment I don't care what it costs me- blood, sweat money, timer tourism can become a firefighter. So I
Okay. Well, I have none of the skills and need hundreds of you know, pieces of knowledge or information physical strength. Again, I'm one hundred and eight pounds, I'm working in an l swan. So I thought. Okay, I need to learn about a first aid. Cpr driving a truck a building construction fight,
science all of the things, but if I had all of that, unless I can physically do the job, none of it matters, so I thought okay, I have my starting point, so I go to the local university that ran the firefighter physical tests and I was a ten kilometer day runner and I'm thinking. Well, it's can be hard, but it but it'll be fine. So ago I paid my money, and that is not what happened. I got my butt handed to me and I walked out of that physical feeling defeat like I'd. Never felt in my life.
It was the first time I'd ever felt or allowed myself to feel hope, and I realized there is absolutely no way that my one hundred and eight lb frame is ever going to be able to perform that job. So I went home and had a wicked pity party for a couple of days. I was crying and it was just. It was a hot mess that I didn't didn't get a bed
But on the third gag mad, and so I call the university back and I said, yeah
Maybe the entire stats for the physical heights waits distances of everything that needs to be pushed pulled all of it, and I built it in my back yard
and I failed at that physical over and over and over- and it was you know, bloodstained, hands, involvement in tears and it was awful, but I kept showing up again
and again and again and all the while now I'm starting to educate myself him- and you know I have now my truck driving license and I'm learning all of these hundreds of things, none of which I knew at the starting point, and I battled at that physical for one thousand one hundred and sixty two days and every single night. I would go to sleep and I would practice feeling just like that bully kid. I would practice feeling what it felt like to get that phone call and one thousand
one hundred and sixty three days later, my phone rings and the voice on the inside Shelly Varela, its deputy chief, Gary mornin. We would like to welcome your board as our cities. First, female firefighter wound and it's interesting because wild that phone call felt exactly like. I practice it time after time,
the time and in it made all the newspapers. You know the tv stations were there and there. The radio stations and print press everybody was there and I am I didn't like being the centre of attention because I remembered back to that.
The kid what I knew fisher was. It was not safe to be in the spotlight. It was always a very bad experience, but that leaves a visceral scar and reaction on on your person. So whenever I was in that situation is still had the same, like gasp that I have
when I was you know in the playground as a kid, but because I was in the media, everybody kept asking me about my story again and again, and so shy. But I'll never forget one lady says to me one day. Thank you! So much for sharing your story
Because I see myself in your story- and I thought there were things that I couldn't do and now and she stopped
your fingers and she says now, I'm a go. Do them and it was
in that moment, I was like
oh, my
story has nothing to do with me. Story is a vehicle of possibility for the listener and in fact my story isn't even like it's not about firefighting, it's about possible
and potential, and when I realized that
I mean I had always been a storyteller. My grandfather was a storyteller. My dad was a storyteller, so I wouldn't
still tell stories, but I'd never wanted to be the main character until that woman said that to me that day- and I thought manlike.
Sharing the challenges and the struggles that I've been through, make her feel like she can do her version of that.
And so I went down this radical and I started to learn about story and storytelling and how it affects your psychology,
and how it affects your relationship to possibility and what happens whenever you're sharing your story that moon, when you sheriff honourably you're, taking somebody from average
two astounding. So when somebody here is your story, there actually feeling there
It's almost like they, it activates the mirror neurons in their minds.
because everybody has that internal story. They have that dialogue that it's almost like a pre cognitive commitment from the time were little kids about what we believe is possible. What we believe is impossible for us and all of them
the micro commitments and these grains of sand, as as they say that we get exposed to throughout our lives. So you know four four little girls. It might be hey Sally
like give me five first names of a race car driver and Jim, she will say mike and steve and john and bill
He's not going to say Sally and it's just like all of these grains of sand inform who we are, who were not what's possible, what's not possible
for us and it happens in our unconscious minds. We actually stop paying attention to the fact that that's even occurring but where it gets dangerous and where story is literally the key in the lock for your freedom, free or potential. Isn't that right
meant when you feel your body say. Yes, it's like when you feel that excitement like like the time when I'm like all. Maybe I could be a fire fighter and you
feel it's like your body always knows the truth. You hear something that is true for you, you, like yes, but that nanosecond
all of those grains of sand. Come flooding down and you find yourself
they noticed tat. He should be saying yes to and find yourself saying yes to stuff. He should be saying no
two, and so what I teach people that I did I coach was now is the concept of believe belong and become. I don't know if you ve ever read robert e Lee in his book influence, but
sport influence. He talks about social proof and authority and like ability and reciprocity and story hits all of those. So if your somebody who wants to
u story to inspire people to instil hope
wow themselves to see the possibility for them,
serves that way. If you want to have yourself be seen,
heard and
stand out in a noisy and noisy environment story will create authority for you, but where
story has the magic power I believe, is in this day of social media. We are more connected, but also less connected than ever before, and we you know, will be scrolling through our phone and and and maybe having a bad day. Maybe having like I dunno human experience, where things are
We see in glowing- and you know you have your filter on in your on vacation and why or whatever that looks like you might be, having like just a regular day but waste our scrolling through social media realise that everybody else is doing so much better than you are.
and I remember when I was on stage at our mutual friends: do maclarens there.
And I was sharing a story and I and I'm going to share with you how reciprocity freed up about one hundred women in that audience. I was sharing the story of how I was bullied and if you're scrolling and you're feeling less than that or or you're putting your best,
face forward, whether it be on social media or in business or in your social group. We sometimes don't always feel safe to share how we're really doing you know we're programmed to say we're doing well, and that leads essentially to people suffering in silence,
in silos- and I shared that a bullying story. But I went into far more depth of how the impact that that that that had on me and
happened was when you share something: first, like the love reciprocity states that if I give you something you're wire to want to give me something back
but if the thing that I give you is my vulnerability and that's not gratuitous.
for sharing, but but you know a timely
something was really really tough for me. You will hear my story, but you will feel your.
and I watched people in that audience now.
I have to say the difficult hurdy thing, but instead put their hand up and say yeah that happened to me too, or a version of that happened to me too, because struggle is the connective tissue between human beings
but what happens is so many of our emotions. Move like story is the vehicle for the human connection. It's you know it's why we get lit up with movies and that's why we can show people a new way of thinking or being or provide hope
That day, I realize that
So many emotions move like anger, moves and grief moves, but but fear and shame, and
feeling unworthy, they don't move, they have to be moved and if you don't move and they start calcified but
You share your story. First, it literally breaks the chrysalis and lets the light in for those people who who maybe dont, have the bravery too
share or don't feel safe to share, but they hear you sharing volubly and there, like man me too, but here
where it gets really magical. If you share the point where you were struggling or had here, you know your
in the dirt or you were just having an average, not so amazing, but also-
glee, human life. They hear your story and they feel your own.
Happens, is they now are watching? What happened to you? Where did you go? How did you overcome that? Because, if that's possible for you that what is possible for me through the vehicle of hope through your story,
And so that's that's what I like to teach people, especially you know those people who have a message on their hearts, something they want to share a gift. They want to share with the world and for many people that that ends up being what they turn into a business or a calling, and in many cases it really is just the idea of
leave belong become after I started sharing the story and I started seeing how my bully kid and my little I wanted to be a fire fighters,
We started switching so many people on. I had a friend who had delivered a ted talk about.
Oh, I want to do a ted talk and then immediately, I think I'll get it. I'm gonna throw up, because what I've forgotten
is that I am literally terrified of public speaking like was next level terrified,
and then I saw myself again and I thought: okay hang on a second
This person do they know so. Well, did a ted talk, so I know it's possible. So what is it that I am actually afraid of, because you know you're your subconscious mind likes to keep you safe, so conveniently being Colin powell, afraid of public speaking as intangible, you can't touch
or tinker with it, and I decided to get under the hood of what am I actually afraid of, because I saw the differ
that my message, my little message, one little person made to so many other people in their journey and mine. My message wasn't actually about me
so I get under the hood and I thought, okay, what am I actually afraid of and what I read
lies is with most things. It breaks down into almost two categories, which I call routes and wings, and the routes is kind of like your practical
practical mechanical. I dont know how to do this part,
So for me that looked like, I had no speaker coaching. I've never done a ted talk before I didn't know about voice or physicality, so I hired coaches problem solved and on the wings side the wings is more of the emotional like. How do I feel about this.
What am I, what am I actually afraid of worthy of what are the feelings underneath the fear of public speaking and when I got to the root of that I realized I felt unworthy. No surprise the bully kid on
on the playground. I didn't feel safe in the spotlight against those arises there, and I was here
That's right,
gonna embarrass myself or or it wouldn't land, so I went to their best and I got some counselling, so I took something essentially that was intangible, I'm afraid of public speaking,
get down into actionable routes in wings kind of steps, and I was able to get myself on the stage all by hacking, my inner story, because your inner story, creature, outer reality and performing that ted talk was one of the good
his gifts of my life, because I have received so many messages. Echoing just the same thing, your story switched something on me that allowed me to do the thing that I thought was not possible.
But I dont think people realize, because it cannot be overstated. How important new story is for your possibility in your potential, but also the listeners or your?
audience, and this was driven home to me,
when I was sitting at home one day, my phone rings in it
One of the firewalls- and I thought, oh that's weird- I was off duty
So I pick up the phone and- and it was a guy- I know in another shift and he's like. Oh he shelly you got a minute in and I think something's wrong
because on
when he says: listen, there's this girl at the hall right now we were just at an accident and we were cleaning up the accident. She was, she was a bystander and she came over and she started asking us like all of these questions about firefighting, and so we said well, you know like why don't you come back to the hall and have a coffee and you can you can ask us whatever he wants?
There for about half an hour and in the course of the conversation she says to these guys
You know. I have this some this, these ten talk that I watch every day and in fact there is through the line in the ted talk that I've made my ring tone.
her phone rings and it's my voice. Now I live in canada, but I gave my talk in santa Barbara, so just by serendipitous reasons, these guys would have no
listen to you know to think that I was the santa barbara ted speaker, and this girl would have no reason to think that I live in canada in the literal area that she was talking to these firefighters in,
and the guys the guys who were with her and she's, like you, do not end there like Hell. We do hang on a second and they called me. This younger
always just like beside herself like. I was a celebrity or something, and she says you
understand like everything again get emotional. You don't understand because every morning I wake up connection.
I kicked, and I know at some point, my phone is gonna ring and I'm gonna hear you reminding, and that is that is the power of story, because if he traced the rude all the way back.
I was the bully kid who just thought it was a breakthrough, something always wrong with me. So we never really realise the power that our stories gonna have to affect other people, but also affect ourselves like rewiring inner story. It's like ok, what actually is possible and if we have that this role
sickening feeling when we, when our body says. Oh, you know if there's something that I so want to do, and then we immediately go into that's not possible for me. If we pause for a hot minute, we can realize that
things can be broken down, and when we share our stories we are literally unlocking what feels stock and what is calcified and other people
on the outside, it seems like we're sharing stories, but it really is the ability to to be seen and to be heard and to have your message and your gifts shared with the people who absolutely need it the most standing ovation. Oh my gosh, like thank you for sharing that, and I want to ask you questions about how you tell story cause you tell in such a brilliant way. Obviously before I get to that, though, and the strategies and tactics and stuff I just wanna, plus one everything you just said about the power of story, I didn't know that I myself had a story until I started telling it and started seeing the reactions from others to like ill oftentimes. We don't even realize how powerful our own stories are, and I want you to speak to those who listen to this and are obviously moved by
your story, but then immediately get into those grains of sand in their lives. That say: well, I don't have a good enough story to tell like my story is not going to make an impact on somebody. What would you say to that person? I would say that everybody has a story and the most powerful stories hinge around a very simple phrase, and that phrase is and then I realized
and then I realized I will share another quick, quick story.
how simple the story can be. I probably will get choked again because I have not been able to get through it yet, but back in the day I used to watch the over winfrey show, as we
all the other unsure and they have this segment, which I love called everybody's, got a story and
if they would, they would take out a dart and they would throw it at a map of the united states and they would go and look at it and see where atlanta they were drive their entire crew to that small town, and it was back in the day, so they go to a phone booth. They flip open that the phonebook and they would just randomly flip to a page drop their finger.
Go and tell that person's story, and this one particular day they show up at this this farm and it's a really meager farm and what they found was the person whose story they were going to tell was a twenty four ish year old girl and she lived on the farm with her mom and her dad, and they had nothing in terms of means. They were quite home.
all in terms of their socio economical position.
And so, as you can imagine, the door opens in its the up with free crew, and
and the girl says. Well, I don't have a story solely start, peeling back the layers and she
shares how she's there, with her mom and her dad- and she like just- has such reverence for her parents that she says you know they get up at the crack of dawn and they work all day.
and then she recounts this this this particular day where her mom was at the field, and you know her hands were bleeding and calloused and she had to get to the bank for whatever reason, because she had to deposit
Meagre check, and so this girl decides to go to the bank and
all the while she's. U no telling the crew the upper crew, how her parents are the hardest working people and there are the first people
how bout a bake, sale and you know to sit at the foot of the dying or to help a neighbour and socially,
as to the bank with her mom and her mum is going back in the fields later that day so she's in orbit dirty and
she standing in line and the person behind them is wearing this beautiful suit.
she watches her moms pasture shrink. And she
just for months dirty hands wrapped around this meagre check,
she watches her mom slump
and she sees the man behind her in a suit kind of look her up and down, and she just
watches the shame on hormones fits and she says, and then I realized that is actually what
looks like, and then she went on this this a tyrant about how beautiful her parents was and what they meant to her
But the pivotal moment in that story was just a woman. Standing in the bank would come off the field and she was just holding a check because story, my death.
In a story is it's that snapshot in time. It's your perspective in that stop shop in what you make it mean, and it is always the meaning the drives the story
If we were constructing that story, we could have made that story mean a number of things. But what landed on that girl's heart? That day is what that moment meant to her and how she could share that one moment about what is a hero and what
really matters in you know it's so easy to judge someone standing in the line at a bank, because their dirty
but what you don't realize is tat is the most vile devoted human being with the most incredible integrity, and it was just an example that she does.
Share something so powerful with a moment they sounded exactly like, and then I realized, and then I realized. That is a fantastic amazing tip, and I imagine that opens crew craft. That story in a beautiful way. With the you know, the the music in and other things to carve emphasise that
if the hero's journey for for her mom and aunt and whatnot, which just takes it to a whole new level and taps into other parts, versa. Our psychology, you know, we've been on my when my new, newer youtube channels, really diving into storytelling and and learning about it, and our recent video that was published actually goes into a story of me just collecting cards, I'm just I'm just collecting cards and I'm trying to collect a whole set of pokemon before the end of the event, but the meaning behind that was the community coming.
Whether to help make it happen in the end when they they saw me struggling to point where, in this video about pokemon, I'm crying at the end cause, I couldn't believe people would go out of their way. And then this video becomes the top three trending video in all of youtube
its people the truth is palpable and when people here it, they know it like people
when your crafting a message that you think is just going to sell something. It feels different, then, when you're giving your entire self
and it's it's almost like a wired as human beings to know when people are ongoing,
all the way there with you now
that you have really walked the walk when it comes to you learning about storytelling, I mean you had mentioned that you had gotten coaches and stuff because you knew how powerful this was. Yet you didn't know how to do it, exactly, which is a trait that I often find myself in as well. Just like want to do this. I know this will help lot,
but I dont know how let's go find somebody who does- and I remember meeting you had an event that p vargas put on called adventure reach and there he likes to host a like a little a little contest. If you will wear speakers come up and they give their three four minute. A story which is a very difficult thing to do, is in such a short period of time- and I remember you know Peter had it asks me to to judge than yours and a couple. Others were so beauty
we told that, like they're just hard to forget, and so the fact that you were there honing in on your skills, getting better by putting yourself on stage which we know is now not a natural thing for you, so that you can get better at this. Just you know shows how much you know. The story helps people and its again, not about you, but those who you make an impact, but also feels like it's also therapeutic for you to talk about, and maybe, if you can correct me if I'm wrong, but by telling your story again and again, it perhaps reminds you about where you came from
impact that you know you can have on others at the same time by just kept cause. Sometimes we live in our own bubble or or or we can't read the label when, when we're inside the bottle- and we get so busy, we forget where we came from or we forget the. Why but like as you getting on stage and being a professional speaker now, does that? Does that help remind you of all those things?
keep kind of accelerating you forward. Absolutely, I think, if anybody can speak, is a story tat.
And whether you're on an actual stage or you're, just sharing with your kids or with a cloth
room or,
you know what somebody you meet in line at the grocery store. I think we are all storytellers and I think when we share
when we share our story, and I don't want to keep saying vulnerably because you know something
stories are funny or sometimes stories. You don't have a different point, but his heels. The story, teller and when you are able to do that, you can coach people differently. You can respond to people differently because once you ve, you know lifted up some of these stones on your own story. You have and develop this in neat ability to get other people unstuck
to see you know that something might be showing up. His procrastination might be fear or unworthiness. It might have the you know, you'd that give
The ability to have the insight too to see what
The story beneath the story, because when you, when you do the work
Your own story. It really is like rocket fuel and helping people to reach their potential,
so many times we will hear a story and it's like all in it at all,
you almost feel that effervescent sense of hope, but not just hope, hope for yourself and you know I'll show that the southern millcote
story, I am, I do I work with with girls and women, and I ended up hosting and in founding this junior female firefighter book camp, and it was twenty girls aged fifteen nineteen and we're just exposing them to fire fighting and, from my perspective, also possibility and all of them
forget there was this one girl named Cassandra and she was tiny within me. I'm five two use like small girl
have a lot of the girls were there taking selfies and they were cutting up her cars and hanging off buildings and putting out fires and and all of the kind of that stuff, and
what are we stand at the back and she have her hands behind your back in and you come up at the energy with sanctions.
A person to solar, respectful- and I remember, on the last day, was weak on programme. We would have this open house and we would have the girls bring all of their parents and families and the they would get to watch these young girls run an actual fire call.
So exciting, like that use just to watch where they, where they are when they come the door in their nervous, and they don't know each other too. At the end of the week
just ballers in there just calling out, orders and and watched and grow in that way, and this wonder
Cassandra her mother came up to me at the end of it. She goes. You have. Thank you so much for putting this on like what an incredible opportunity for these girls are, particularly for my daughter to be able to be exposed
like this. You know it's just such a shame that she won't get it. You know she not could be able to be a fire fighter and my job dropped, and I said what are you talking about and she's as well? You know like she's in a really small in the end
In the end, it would have been powerful if it was any of the girls, but that particular girl- you would have picked her out in the crowd and said I'd have her on my crew tomorrow,
and I said have her call me, and so I gave the mob my phone number in this- this young girl, she's nineteen. At the time
she calls me and she says. Can I take you for coffee and I said what what I tell you or what? What would you say if I told you that your success is inevitable, that I can guarantee you, one thousand percent, that if you want to be a firefighter and if you're willing to get your teeth kicked in and if you're willing to do everything? I tell you that you absolutely
we will become a fire fighter and she says I'm in so I said
kind of like everson instructions and unlike here's, what I want you to do come back in a year. If you ve done all of the things I have asked you to do, you welcome to come back again to hear them
she got at all or schooling and she comes back in and she says okay now what many citizens
if you land an interview, your tiny and your woman and you're gonna walk
indoor and while unfair they're going to think you are not capable. Unless you prove you are so now. I need you to do the roughest gruff ist. You know most physically grueling trade. You can. You can come up with so she flew across the country and she began like a parachuting woodland volunteer firefighter. She comes back a year later and she says I landed an interview, so I coach her
interview, and she ends up getting the job two years later, and the point of that story is if you trace the route back, because her story also is not about fire fighting. If you trace the ruin, all
all the way back there is that moment where she didn't believe she could
and I assure her that if she wanted that, she could absolutely unequivocally have it and it was that switch. Was that belief and if you can take somebody through the process of believe belong become,
cause, I told her you and anybody else can become anything that you currently not if you believe you
well, it's kind of like if you were to say to somebody, hey, listen if I would
when to you that in three years you will have five thousand dollars or finally dollars rather, but you have to do these, you know
fifteen grueling ridiculously hard things, but I will guarantee you five million dollars at the end of it. You would act as if your success is inevitable, but it's because you're able to switch on that belief and when you can get underneath the story like she didn't believe it was
simple for her. But as soon as we were able to switch that on, it's almost like finding that first domino,
All of these are dominoes fall and she did get her teeth kicked in. She did, you know, work super hard in it and it wasn't easy
but having lemme, seeing her phone call and she left me a voice message and she was in tears
And she was like Shelley, we did it. We did like. I told you,
told you like, there's so much magic and potential in people and if we can just
were gasoline on that fire people would be shocked and what is possible for them.
the imagining her telling her story in the point at which she goes and then I realized, which was when she had that first phone call with you and laugh
That's what we do for our clients. You know like when we were able to share something that allows themselves to see an hour but themselves in our story in their like I'm with pat, where I'm with Shelly like. I will fall,
him anywhere, and that is a responsibility in its also such a huge gift, because
when you can build truth in somebody, you can allow them to trust themselves and that's actually what's creating the transformation for them. It's just that belief. Like I know like I know like I know it will. Thank you so much showing for this. This was a beauty like you. I was just sitting here listening and I'm sure the audience was as well so wherever you're at. I hope you enjoyed this and Shelley and her work is available in many different places. You can go check out her
TED talk obviously, and will link to all these things in the show notes as well. I know you have the children's book. Do you have have you written any other books since we've chatted and cause now you're a coach and you've have gained the superpower of storytelling, or are you an author and in that sense,
well, I'm actually working on my book right now
This is why not me perfect, and then you said you also coach. Where might people go to learn more
bout that from you yeah. So I coach people on delivering an unforgettable message, but also a coach, the human who has to be in the spotlight to deliver that message
people can dear me on instagram shelly Varela. I must
leave rather dot com, but for all these were passive income listeners. I have some really juicy. Did that training at story and potential dotcom story and potential that common usage instagram,
if the dm, if they want to reach out to you yup. Everybody is welcome to send me a dm if they do if they want to hop on a call or if they have any questions-
about their story or their potential and possibility and how to access the the underbelly of that. That is waiting to be discovered and get Shelly acid,
de l l, I ve a r l, a on instagram and I cant connect with their shelly. Thank you. So much for this was such a pleasure to catch up with you again. I know it's been awhile for for the two of us. We need to adjust, have a coffee together in and catch up on, both sides, but you have unlocked an incredible power to influence in such a positive way, the entire world, and especially little girls out there, and so my daughter and my family, and I were very struck by your book in your your writing there and am glad to say.
see that you're amplifying that message even more in different kinds of ways to different kinds of people. So thank you so much. Thank you, but I saw appreciate my sweet friend. Alright open
join this interview with Shelly. Isn't she just amazing?
and her storytelling is beautiful and, like I said
I've seen her progress over time. I
was once like, I said, judging speak off, if you will
and she was one of the contestants in one of the ones that really stood out to me and
see now, where she's gone several years later. As an end, just the impact she's making is just absolute.
credible some very grateful for her again.
Story and potential
com is where you can go to check out some of the goodies that she just promised for us as well as shelly
valera on instagram, and I highly recommend you check her out and learn from her cause. She's she's got it and will put all the links in the show notes and such the children's book in her ted, talkin and whatnot,
hope you enjoy this as much as I did. I just
there and listen- I don't even have to ask questions, cause she's, just a master. So shall I think
How much I appreciate you and looking for to see you and bigger and more stages, even though
it scares you out of it and I can definitely connect with you
level for shark. Is it something that I was deftly afraid of as well and still am
It'll continue to do, because I know that's how it's gonna impact the most people, and I hope- and I
one encourage all of you who are listening to do just the same,
we're story matters, no matter how big and small it might be, because our people in this world who want to hear from you. So, thank you
much appreciate you look for to serving you the next absurd, smart, passive, incomplete guess
I'll probably tell a story this friday, actually so make sure to
through and hit that subscribers, because on friday,
It's usually selo episode with me, and I tell a story in and some lessons based on, often the into
is that we had in the same week and so on
story share with you, I know already know which story I'm gonna to share with you and ass hit. Subscribes you to miss it
cheers they care and is always team for the one piece
Thank you so much for listening to this more passive, incomplete cast at smart, passive income, dot com, I'm your host, pat flynn, sound editing by duncan brown. Our senior producer is David provide and our executive producer is mad. Garland, there's more passive income. Podcast is a production of as few media at a proud member of the entrepreneur pontius network catch next week.
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Transcript generated on 2023-04-21.