1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,440 Hello, this is Leslie Kane and I am the host of the Why Not Today podcast. 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:11,160 This is a podcast to celebrate people who have been courageous and said, why not today? 3 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:15,720 I started this podcast to honor my father Patrick Kane who often said, why not today? 4 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:19,840 I am based in Western Virginia, a Planned community right outside of Washington, DC. 5 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:21,680 Thanks for joining us today. 6 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:22,840 And I'm super excited. 7 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:24,880 My guest is Ms. Emma Gee. 8 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:30,600 She's a musician, an amazing person and we met through mutual friends and booking music 9 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,560 and I'm excited to hear her story. 10 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:38,600 But before we hear from her, I always like to talk about connections and how you meet 11 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:39,600 people. 12 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:45,400 So I think she, I booked music for a local restaurant, bar in Reston and somebody said, 13 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:47,720 oh, you got to have Emma Gee play. 14 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,600 And then of course she started playing eclipsos and then other people knew her. 15 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:58,120 And actually recently somebody said to me, they overheard you playing, she was on the 16 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:01,120 plaza and she's like, how did you find that person? 17 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:02,120 She's amazing. 18 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:03,840 And I'm like, well, it's word of mouth. 19 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,960 So you never know who you're going to know that's going to refer somebody. 20 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:10,560 So I'm super excited to hear from you today and hear your story. 21 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,360 And I love hearing your voice because you've got an amazing accent. 22 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:21,200 So dare a little about you before we start talking about courage and a fun fact about 23 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:22,680 you that people wouldn't know. 24 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:23,680 Oh goodness. 25 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:24,680 Okay. 26 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,360 So great to see you, Leslie. 27 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:29,960 Thank you for having me on this podcast. 28 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:31,960 And yeah, so who am I? 29 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:36,720 I depends on where who's asking me really. 30 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:41,040 If I was in New Zealand where I'm from, I would first start off by telling you that 31 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:42,520 Kareoia is my mountain. 32 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,200 The Pacific Ocean is my ocean. 33 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,880 The Waikato River is my river. 34 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:54,720 And my parents go back to Norway, Iran, United States, Fiji. 35 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:56,600 And I was born in New Zealand. 36 00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:01,080 Who I am today, however, so I'm a singer songwriter. 37 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:09,920 Yes, have been a professional musician for over 20 years now is wild to think of because 38 00:02:09,920 --> 00:02:11,680 I'm only 34. 39 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,400 But here we are. 40 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:20,520 And but in addition to that, you know, the last couple of years, I have not pivoted. 41 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:23,840 I don't I think pivot was the buzzword for most people. 42 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:31,440 For me, my I've expanded and more I've stepped into who I actually authentically am, which 43 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:32,640 is not just a musician. 44 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:39,880 I'm also a youth empowerment through songwriting coach, a speaker, an author, and a girlfriend. 45 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:46,600 And that's really kind of, you know, for me, it's really important that we look at the 46 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:50,960 whole person, not just, you know, not just the labels. 47 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:52,320 Yeah, for sure. 48 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:54,000 So tell me a fun fact about you. 49 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,000 Oh, the fun fact. 50 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,120 Well, I don't really have to. 51 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:06,840 I mean, a big fun fact that used to be about me was that I've had 10 brain surgeries, which 52 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:08,640 people was kind of bug out about. 53 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:10,240 I didn't know that. 54 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,360 OK, that's a fun fact. 55 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:19,880 But for for other people who know about that, who have seen my TED talk recently, a fun 56 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:29,280 fact about me is that I don't like blue cheese. 57 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:31,760 OK, is that a fun fact? 58 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:32,760 That's a fun fact. 59 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:36,280 I think I didn't like blue cheese for a long time until I got older. 60 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,200 So I'm a lot I'm older than you, so maybe it's coming. 61 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,840 Because when I was pretty poor, I didn't like it. 62 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:44,960 OK, OK, with not liking blue cheese. 63 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:45,960 That's OK. 64 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:51,440 So and yeah, I mean, I love that not only did you meet and I booked you, but there's 65 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:52,440 a lot of people I book. 66 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,840 I don't even know who they are, but I love that we became friends and connect. 67 00:03:55,840 --> 00:04:01,080 And I love everything you represent and your positive energy and your spirit. 68 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:02,600 And there's just so many things I love about you. 69 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:03,800 So I couldn't wait to talk to you. 70 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:09,120 So tell me, what do you how would you define courage? 71 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:11,080 What does it mean to you? 72 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:19,400 Courage is the ability to look at adversity and recognize that. 73 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,000 There is more. 74 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,240 Positives on the other side. 75 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:31,240 OK, so giving yourself permission to take a deep breath. 76 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:32,240 And leap. 77 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:33,960 I like that. 78 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,160 All right, take a deep breath and leap. 79 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:41,440 So eventually, I'm going to take all these courage, everybody's definitions and make 80 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:42,440 courage. 81 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:43,440 I like that. 82 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:44,440 I like that a lot. 83 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:45,440 All right. 84 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:53,480 So from brain surgeries, I didn't know that to you move to the US, which I think takes 85 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:54,480 a lot of courage. 86 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:58,600 This girl that grew up in the same town my entire life pretty much. 87 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:00,720 And although I've traveled, not very much. 88 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:02,400 I mean, in the United States, not out. 89 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:03,400 So that whole thing. 90 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:04,400 Right. 91 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:09,480 Well, to be fair, to travel within the United States is also a wild adventure. 92 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:15,480 I've been lucky to travel to 27 different states on tour most of the time. 93 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:22,040 And there's a huge difference between Iowa and Los Angeles and a huge difference between 94 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:29,680 Los Angeles and Austin and a huge difference between Austin and New York. 95 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:35,520 And some people would say it takes courage just to live or drive into DC. 96 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:39,520 I have friends that are from rural areas that won't even come to Northern Virginia because 97 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:40,520 they're afraid to drive. 98 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:41,520 I'm not going to lie. 99 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:46,280 Driving in Los Angeles is a lot scarier than driving in DC. 100 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:47,280 All right. 101 00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:50,280 So tell me what are things in your life that's taking courage? 102 00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:53,160 And when have you said why not today? 103 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:55,360 And how can you encourage people? 104 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:59,280 Like tell me all your why not today? 105 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:04,040 I think it was, gosh, what's her name? 106 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:08,880 There was who's the woman? 107 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:13,400 There is a very famous woman whose name I can't remember right now, which is terrible. 108 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:15,440 Think of it in the middle of the night. 109 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:16,440 Sorry. 110 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:17,440 Think of it in the middle of the night. 111 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:18,440 I totally will. 112 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:19,440 Two o'clock in the morning. 113 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:20,440 I'll text you. 114 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:26,160 So but there was a saying that basically the challenge of do something that scares you 115 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:27,160 every day. 116 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:28,160 Eleanor Roosevelt. 117 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:29,760 It was Eleanor Roosevelt? 118 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:32,760 I think it is. 119 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:33,760 Okay. 120 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:42,840 So that to me has kind of been my one of my philosophies since I was a child, because, 121 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:46,840 you know, I had my first brain surgery when I was four months old. 122 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:58,080 By the time I was 10, 12, I'd had 24 surgeries, 10 brain surgeries, 24 in, you know, all together. 123 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:05,840 And as a result, it was kind of like, you know, people attributed courage to me every 124 00:07:05,840 --> 00:07:09,240 day because they're like, oh, how do you survive? 125 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:12,760 And how do you survive having brain surgery? 126 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:13,760 You deal with it, right? 127 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:14,760 That's your reality. 128 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:15,760 That's what you do. 129 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:16,760 Right. 130 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:20,280 It's like that's like saying, how do you deal with washing your hands every time you go 131 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:21,280 to the bathroom? 132 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:22,280 You just kind of do it. 133 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:23,280 You know what I mean? 134 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:31,720 For me, you know, courage has always been like something that I kind of was a little 135 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:38,240 bit perplexed about because for me, it was just existing, merely existing. 136 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:46,200 And I think a lot of people who, you know, experience trauma or who experience adversity, 137 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:49,440 just existing is a kind of courage. 138 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:57,520 There's a saying, again, of in a world filled with, you know, the intent on making specifically 139 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:03,800 women and girls feel like they need to purchase this, that and the other thing in order to 140 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:10,040 feel pretty, loving yourself is the sincerest act of rebellion. 141 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:15,800 You know, I think every day we are presented with opportunities to be courageous. 142 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:23,320 For me, I kind of know, so if I'm waking up every day, choosing to scare myself a little 143 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:27,040 bit, if your comfort zone is here, this is where the awesome stuff happens. 144 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:34,680 I at the age of, I don't know, 22 decided, you know what, I'm going to really actively 145 00:08:34,680 --> 00:08:36,360 try to scare myself. 146 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:38,280 How can I do that? 147 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:39,280 Wow. 148 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:40,280 I love that. 149 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:44,800 And sometimes I would fail and sometimes I wouldn't. 150 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:49,280 You know, I tried bodybuilding for a while because that was totally out of my comfort 151 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:50,280 zone. 152 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:57,000 And the only reason I didn't actually go through the competition was because I was talked out 153 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:01,040 of it by a boyfriend I should not have been dating. 154 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:08,080 But nonetheless, you know, I tried CrossFit, I did the CrossFit games, I got into doing, 155 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:12,240 I was the ambassador for Tough Mudder, you know, all these things that were outside of 156 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:13,240 my comfort zone. 157 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:23,160 I, you know, took a leap and decided to become a youth empowerment worker at the YMCA. 158 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:27,440 You know, all these things, I studied to be a mechanic for three and a half years. 159 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:31,840 Things that were just like, kind of, okay, that's interesting. 160 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:33,000 Why would you do that? 161 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,320 Because it kind of scared me and let's embrace that a little bit. 162 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:42,640 I think the most notable growth opportunities for me though, have come directly as a result 163 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:45,320 of stepping out of that comfort zone. 164 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:54,600 So by your very example, I packed my bag, you know, back in 2015 and sold all of my 165 00:09:54,600 --> 00:10:01,400 belongings in New Zealand and boarded a plane, spent two weeks in Vietnam by myself, not 166 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:05,400 speaking the language, read Eat, Love, Pray, whatever it's called. 167 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:10,760 And I've laughed because I was like, oh, we all know that. 168 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:20,080 And then moved to the States, not knowing, not being quite prepared for the culture shock, 169 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:21,080 which was surprising to me. 170 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,280 So what are the things that are culture shock? 171 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:26,560 Oh my Lord. 172 00:10:26,560 --> 00:10:34,000 So my first ever job in America was working as an outdoor hiking instructor at a girls 173 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:35,000 camp. 174 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:36,000 Where did you move by the way? 175 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:37,000 Did you come here? 176 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:38,000 No, I went straight to Massachusetts. 177 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:39,000 Okay. 178 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:41,240 So I was working as an outdoor hiking instructor at a girls camp. 179 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:47,040 And the biggest culture shock there was how pippy everybody was. 180 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:49,120 And I'm incredibly pippy. 181 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:51,640 Like I'm a very positive person. 182 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:58,800 Yo, I was like the Scrooge compared to the camp. 183 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,000 So that was a thing. 184 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,040 The food here, definitely. 185 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:13,720 I wasn't prepared for the obsession with physique as much. 186 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:17,200 Everybody in America has this obsession with wearing shoes all the time. 187 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:20,280 In New Zealand, bare feet are fine. 188 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:23,280 In Fiji, bare feet are fine. 189 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:24,280 I hate you. 190 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:25,280 Sorry. 191 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:26,280 You hate me. 192 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:27,280 I hate you. 193 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:39,320 But I think on a cultural level and semi-political level, I think I was not prepared for the 194 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:41,320 cultural diversity of the states. 195 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:48,120 New Zealand is a very multicultural country, but very rooted in Southeast Asia and the 196 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:49,920 Pacifica. 197 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:53,840 Whereas here, you have everything under the sun. 198 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:54,840 Right? 199 00:11:54,840 --> 00:12:02,480 And I wasn't in my head prepared for that, nor was I prepared for being typecasted as 200 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:08,440 Ethiopian, Spanish, and Black, depending on the day, depending on who the person was. 201 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:17,400 And then all of the cultural perspectives that come with being interpreted as Latino, 202 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:19,720 Ethiopian, or Black. 203 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:20,720 So it's just- 204 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:21,720 Not a white man. 205 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:22,720 Well, yeah. 206 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:29,720 And then my accent totally shifts that energy as well. 207 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:32,240 So that I definitely wasn't prepared for. 208 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:40,960 I wasn't prepared for the depth of misunderstanding when it comes to multiculturalism. 209 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:45,280 I think America is very intent on tick one box, move on. 210 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,320 Whereas I'm like, I will tick seven. 211 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:48,720 I love that. 212 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:52,760 So how did you immerse yourself or get acclimated? 213 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:56,280 Did you say it'd be too long or did you come to DC quickly? 214 00:12:56,280 --> 00:13:02,120 So I was working as a hiking instructor in Massachusetts, and then I got a second contract 215 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:06,000 in Connecticut as an outdoor science education teacher. 216 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:11,120 Between those two jobs, I had 11 days off, road tripped with a girlfriend to Indiana, 217 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:17,000 broke down in New York State, ended up in Rockville, Maryland, had my guitar with me, 218 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,680 so decided to go busking and see what happens. 219 00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:24,160 And for anybody who's listening to your podcast who doesn't know what busking is, that's street 220 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:25,160 performance. 221 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:32,480 So I would wake up, go sing for people on their way to work, and then see how much money 222 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:33,480 I made. 223 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,880 And it got to the point where I was like, actually, I can make a living doing this. 224 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:43,520 And there's an energy about DC that I really fell in love with. 225 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:49,560 So I made the decision to move here November 2015. 226 00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:55,440 And as you could say, that was another act of courage. 227 00:13:55,440 --> 00:14:02,560 But keeping in mind that this is the nation's capital, and I come from a country that has 228 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:06,080 seven sheep per person and four cows per person. 229 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:16,120 To go from that to then living in arguably the most powerful city in the world was nerve 230 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:17,120 racking. 231 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:22,480 But I don't know, the universe, the source, God, whatever you want to call it, was just 232 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:24,880 telling me this is why I needed to be. 233 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:25,880 So were you always a musician? 234 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:26,880 Yeah, exactly. 235 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:32,520 Were you a musician for years before or just got better? 236 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:36,960 I was actually the lead singer for a hard rock band back in New Zealand called Static 237 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:37,960 Era. 238 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:40,680 And we were together for five and a half years. 239 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:47,000 I was also doing a gigging solo as well, touring with the band, touring solo. 240 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:48,760 And yeah, that was back in New Zealand. 241 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:55,140 But it's hard to make a living in New Zealand where you have seven sheep per person. 242 00:14:55,140 --> 00:15:02,040 So I always had other jobs here and there. 243 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:10,160 To then move here and make a full time income from street performance was wild to me. 244 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:12,160 Yeah, which is interesting. 245 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:15,560 Somebody I think it was Crush Funk Rass Band. 246 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:17,040 Crush Funk is amazing. 247 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:18,280 Yeah, and I love them. 248 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:22,680 And they said one time, and somebody recognized them from playing on the street. 249 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:23,680 Yeah. 250 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:28,100 But they said one time that they loved you and you were both respectful of the corners 251 00:15:28,100 --> 00:15:31,840 that you played, which is, I mean, that's such a cool thing. 252 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:36,960 Well, that was one of the things that I really wanted to bring from New Zealand to DC with 253 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:51,120 me, because I think from my conversations I've had with people, there is this very combative, 254 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:56,520 abrasive approach people in the music industry tend to have towards one another. 255 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:03,040 And I'm like, dude, we're all here, we all love what we do, we're all doing this for 256 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:05,920 a purpose beyond money. 257 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:12,320 Like for me, my very reason for doing this in DC in the beginning was if I'm going to 258 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:17,480 live in the world's most powerful city, I want to make sure that the people who go to 259 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:23,440 work and make decisions that impact the country and the world aren't grumpy. 260 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,480 So I want to make them smile. 261 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:32,240 I think of people, and this is my naive opinion, like that people are living on playing on 262 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:34,760 the street or almost living on the street. 263 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:39,760 And that's how they're surviving is by that not never would have thought you're doing 264 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:41,920 it to entertain the grumpy people. 265 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:46,600 You know, I just like I wouldn't even care if people gave me a dollar as long as they 266 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:47,840 were smiling. 267 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:48,840 That's all that matters. 268 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:56,320 In fact, one specific time I was singing at Metro Center, and this is when it kind of 269 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:57,520 like all fell into place for me. 270 00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:01,480 And I apologize if this triggers anybody who listens to this podcast. 271 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:07,600 But I was singing a song that I have written. 272 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:15,280 And suddenly all these police and ambulances turned up and parked across the street. 273 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:16,840 And I was like, what is going on? 274 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:21,520 Like, I'm just there singing and people are coming up the escalator and whatever. 275 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:33,600 And came to find out that somebody across the street had been struggling so much so 276 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:39,560 that they jumped off of the roof of the building and into their life. 277 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:44,760 And I was like, I don't know if I can carry on singing. 278 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:52,000 That feels really rude. 279 00:17:52,000 --> 00:18:00,520 And as soon as I said that out loud to another person who was selling newspapers beside me, 280 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:06,200 a stranger came up to me and said, no, Emma, we need you. 281 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:07,200 Exactly. 282 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:12,960 The reason, you know, I'm so sorry that that person did not feel like they could find a 283 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:17,040 glimmer of hope, but you have no idea. 284 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:18,320 This is what he said. 285 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:24,360 You have no idea how much what you do helps. 286 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:27,760 And that was a punch in my feelings if ever I had one. 287 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:28,760 Yeah. 288 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:29,760 Yeah. 289 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:33,400 Do you know the story of the starfish? 290 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:34,400 The starfish? 291 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:35,880 I usually wear a starfish necklace. 292 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:37,880 I don't have it on today. 293 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:39,160 And I share this story often. 294 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:44,640 The story of starfish is a man was walking down the beach picking up those thousands, 295 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:48,280 millions of starfish on the beach and he's picking them up and throw them in the ocean. 296 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:51,360 And somebody walks by and he's like, what the heck are you doing? 297 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:52,720 You will never make a difference. 298 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:54,600 And he picked up a starfish and threw it in the water. 299 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:57,440 He said, I made a difference in that one. 300 00:18:57,440 --> 00:18:58,920 And so I live by that motto. 301 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:03,760 Like, you never know what you do and people are watching that you can make a positive 302 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:05,640 influence on one person. 303 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:11,400 By you being courageous, by you keep playing, that you made a difference in somebody else's 304 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:12,400 life. 305 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:17,200 And you just never know who that one person where it could be today and you hear 20 years 306 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:21,200 from now, like that the next ready to jump. 307 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:22,880 But you encouraged them. 308 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:25,640 And so I really live by that. 309 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:30,280 This tattoo here is of a songbird made out of musical notes. 310 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:37,560 Back to tribute to a woman who, so I think it was 2017, I went back to Iowa where my 311 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,400 Norwegian family live and for Christmas. 312 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,640 So I was not in DC for about two weeks. 313 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:46,600 Came back. 314 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:51,960 Somebody had taken my regular Wednesday or Tuesday spot or wherever it was. 315 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:57,400 And so I went to a random other place to find, you know, to set up and sing. 316 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:04,960 And this woman came rushing up to me and stuffed an envelope into my hand and said, thank goodness 317 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:05,960 you're here. 318 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:07,760 I have been looking for you everywhere. 319 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:09,800 Oh my goodness. 320 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:10,800 Okay. 321 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:11,800 Random. 322 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:16,640 I wasn't thinking just open the envelope without thinking, oh, this could be a bad idea. 323 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:19,520 But nonetheless, it was fine. 324 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:21,960 There was a Starbucks gift card in there. 325 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:30,680 And then there was, she'd written this fully, like full computer typed page address to songbird. 326 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:36,360 And I have no idea who this woman is, like anything about her. 327 00:20:36,360 --> 00:20:44,120 But in this letter, she stated that she was a full time working mom, had two children, 328 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:51,880 worked two jobs to make ends meet, slept on average between three to five hours a night, 329 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:58,240 had every second weekend off, was feeling super overwhelmed, super stressed, never quite 330 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:03,680 knew how to make ends meet, never quite knew, you know, what the next day would bring or 331 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:04,680 whatever. 332 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:07,440 And she said that she had two lights in her life. 333 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:12,640 One was her faith in God, Lord, Jesus, whatever. 334 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:18,040 And the second was my performances on Wednesday mornings. 335 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:20,360 Two lights. 336 00:21:20,360 --> 00:21:24,320 And I was like, how is that even a thing? 337 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:25,320 You never know. 338 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:29,960 People notice and we're so worried about thinking what if they think bad of us? 339 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:30,960 Who cares? 340 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:31,960 Like if that one person... 341 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:32,960 They need more hugs. 342 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:33,960 What? 343 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:34,960 They need more hugs. 344 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:35,960 Yeah. 345 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:40,920 If one person can make a difference and just smile and people, I mean, in general, this 346 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:47,760 is a hard world and this area is hard and we're all busy and COVID was kind of a wake 347 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:54,720 up call, but we're back to the busyness and we're back to crazy life and people are still 348 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:55,720 suffering. 349 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:59,600 And one thing I want to be able to do with this podcast is give people hope, give people 350 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:04,200 the courage to say, it's just a young girl listening or somebody that wants to play, 351 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:09,520 be a musician, to think of it not as, okay, a way to make money, but to be a light in 352 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:10,520 somebody's life. 353 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:12,400 Like I'd never thought of it that way. 354 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:13,920 That you enjoy it. 355 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:17,760 You know, when I'm booking music, it's not the people, a lot of people that I booked 356 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,280 are not making huge bucks doing it. 357 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:23,400 And you can tell there's a passion. 358 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:26,360 I don't have that music ability, but I can give it other ways. 359 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:28,920 I can be passionate about other things. 360 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:30,880 Well, it's about leading with your why. 361 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:31,880 Yeah. 362 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:34,880 You know, whether it's music or something else, it's about leading with your why and 363 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:36,880 that goes back to your courage thing. 364 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:37,880 Yeah. 365 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:38,880 And having the courage to do it. 366 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:43,960 If your why outshines your fear, that's courage. 367 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:44,960 Yep. 368 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:45,960 I love that. 369 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,240 If your why outshines your fear. 370 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:56,960 And you know, for me, I quit my job 22 years ago, started 28 years ago. 371 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:01,800 And you know, it was scary, but it was like, I knew that it was for me. 372 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:06,560 And I knew a lot of people that are stuck in things and miserable in life because they 373 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:07,560 don't have the courage. 374 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:12,360 And so I'm hoping to get people courage to follow their dreams, follow their why, follow 375 00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:13,360 their passion. 376 00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:19,640 You just never know, one, where it can take you and two, whose life you can influence. 377 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:20,640 Exactly. 378 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:21,640 Yeah. 379 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:27,200 So fast forward, you're performing more professionally now or doing a lot more. 380 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:29,200 I have a lot of youth stuff. 381 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,840 I mean, you're doing so many things. 382 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:32,840 Thank you. 383 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:44,640 It's like I've expanded, yes, but I'm I'm actually coming back to the real me, the authentic 384 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:45,640 me. 385 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:49,080 And I say that because when I was five years old, my mom asked me what I wanted to be when 386 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:50,080 I grew up. 387 00:23:50,080 --> 00:24:02,760 I wanted to be a rock star, a mum, a counselor, a teacher and a fashion designer. 388 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:03,760 OK, right. 389 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:06,760 Got most of those down. 390 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:07,920 Right. 391 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:13,120 So what I'm doing now is yes, I'm still playing music and still recording and still writing. 392 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:19,100 And I'm in the middle of creating this new project, Soundtrack in Progress, which is 393 00:24:19,100 --> 00:24:26,440 two albums and a stage production meets rock opera meets TEDx talk. 394 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:37,240 But more importantly, I'm really marrying my music and my coaching together to or teaching 395 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:43,440 together to be a youth empowerment through sound writing coach and to deliver keynote 396 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:53,260 presentations that combine music and keynote speaking to just remind people of their empowerment, 397 00:24:53,260 --> 00:24:58,240 remind them of their resilience, remind them of their courage, remind them of their magic 398 00:24:58,240 --> 00:24:59,240 and their power. 399 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:04,280 You know, as Marianne Williamson says, our greatest fear is not that we're inadequate. 400 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:07,240 Our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. 401 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:11,320 Sometimes we just need a theme song that reminds us of their greatness. 402 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:12,320 Right. 403 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:13,320 I need a theme song. 404 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:16,320 Can you write me a theme song? 405 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:17,760 I need a song for Why Not Today. 406 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:22,080 My goal is for yourself and I'm here to help you write it. 407 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:23,080 OK. 408 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:24,080 Right. 409 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:27,800 And then because because it would be inauthentic for me to write it for you. 410 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:29,640 It needs to come from you. 411 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:36,080 And especially when it comes to young people, especially young people who are, you know, 412 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:37,920 still recovering from it. 413 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:40,240 Of course, we're all recovering from that. 414 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:44,800 Teenagers are taking, you know, it's a lot more complicated than so much anxiety with 415 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:51,560 teenagers, especially after being homeschooled for two years and the poor kids in college. 416 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:56,880 And I talk to parents and their kids are like having all these anxiety and stress. 417 00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:59,320 Like, I mean, what's one of my friends? 418 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:00,320 Yeah. 419 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:03,840 Son is 21 and afraid his hair is going to fall out. 420 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:04,840 Right. 421 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:05,840 Right. 422 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:06,840 Who thinks that? 423 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:07,840 Yeah. 424 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:08,840 Yeah, it's crazy. 425 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:16,360 So, so, you know, helping them to recognize that, you know, they've made it. 426 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:20,520 They've survived 100 percent of their bad days so far. 427 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:22,520 But they have the answers in them. 428 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:27,080 We just need to let them give them permission to step into their power, step into their 429 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:30,080 theme song and write their truth unapologetically. 430 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:31,080 Yeah. 431 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:32,080 Oh, I love that. 432 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:38,440 And I, you know, I've geared this more to an older age group because I am, but I'm thinking, 433 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:44,260 yeah, we need to give that young, the younger generation the courage to do the job they 434 00:26:44,260 --> 00:26:49,640 want to go to college or not go to college to do what they want to do. 435 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:50,640 And it's their life. 436 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:56,760 I mean, every parent, every older person, every generation, I believe, wants to make 437 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,640 sure that the next generation is better. 438 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:01,040 Right. 439 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:02,040 Not better. 440 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:03,040 Yeah, exactly. 441 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,040 And so that's what I'm here to help with. 442 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:07,040 Yeah. 443 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:10,160 And one of the things I'm passionate with my Mary Kay is teaching young girls how to 444 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:11,160 take care of their skin. 445 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:15,640 And they say a woman's self-esteem is highest at age 10. 446 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:16,640 Really? 447 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:17,640 Yeah. 448 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:18,640 Is that scary? 449 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:19,640 Yeah. 450 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:23,840 So we can give them courage to do the things to feel better, to be more confident. 451 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:28,480 And then, you know, you got the whole social media world bombarding people. 452 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:29,480 Wild. 453 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:30,480 Yeah. 454 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:31,480 Social media. 455 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:32,480 Such a fun thing. 456 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:34,480 We've talked about that for a while. 457 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:35,480 All right. 458 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:39,240 So encouragement for somebody to say why not today? 459 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:40,600 What would you encourage somebody? 460 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:45,160 How would you encourage somebody? 461 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:49,680 Why not today? 462 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:51,400 You have no idea. 463 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:55,800 A. You have no idea how powerful you are. 464 00:27:55,800 --> 00:28:05,000 B. You have no idea what could happen tomorrow. 465 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,200 We know that. 466 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:20,120 C. You have no idea the impact that your actions has on other people, events, and the world. 467 00:28:20,120 --> 00:28:21,120 So why not today? 468 00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:31,320 Because, I mean, it sounds cliched, but tomorrow is not a given. 469 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:39,000 And I'm a huge believer that when you hear that whisper in your ear, in your soul, in 470 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:47,120 your gut, that is the universe's way of telling you, get out of your own way. 471 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:48,120 Listen to that voice. 472 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:52,080 I always tell people, listen to the first voice, not the second. 473 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:57,480 Not social media voices, not your friends' voices, not your parents' voices. 474 00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:00,040 You have all of the answers in you. 475 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:02,360 You just need to be brave enough to let yourself listen. 476 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:07,760 And I'm actually, simultaneously reading, listening to two books, one's about long thinking 477 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:08,760 and the other's about busyness. 478 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:12,360 And this is, we don't carve out time in our life to think anymore. 479 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:14,160 Or just be. 480 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:15,640 Or be, yeah. 481 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:19,800 We're just running so fast in this world. 482 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:20,800 So much wisdom. 483 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:26,600 I'm going to have to pull lots of these nuggets and quotes out of here and share them. 484 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:29,720 So I always try to connect this back to my dad. 485 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,000 And when I share that question with people, it's like, I didn't know your dad. 486 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:37,160 And so I always listen to the interview and connect back. 487 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:42,560 And so as I listen to you and thinking you're into community and giving back and a light, 488 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:48,640 but the thing I think that finally hit me the last point is that you care about empowering 489 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:52,560 people, the younger people, and giving people a voice. 490 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:54,440 And I think my dad was a master of that. 491 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:55,920 He was always peace. 492 00:29:55,920 --> 00:30:00,400 I had friends come over to go out and do whatever. 493 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:04,560 And he'd see somebody coming to the house and he's like, oh, Emma, could you rake these 494 00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:06,560 leaves and do all, and they did. 495 00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:08,320 I'm like, you guys are crazy. 496 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:09,840 Like I don't want to do it. 497 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:12,320 But he asked people questions and he got to know people. 498 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:18,900 I have friends that said when my dad passed away that they had more deep conversations 499 00:30:18,900 --> 00:30:24,520 or talked to my father more than they ever did their own father, which is really sad. 500 00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:26,440 But he was hard on kids. 501 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:30,800 And especially we were the family that just invited anybody wherever they were. 502 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:35,240 And there were people that some young kids have gone through some hard stuff, but he 503 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:36,240 didn't let them off the hook. 504 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:39,000 And he made them think and he asked questions. 505 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:40,000 Yeah. 506 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,680 I imagine you are very good at that with your teaching. 507 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:53,180 One of the things I heard a saying years ago in Barcelona, of all places, you are loved, 508 00:30:53,180 --> 00:30:57,160 you are loved, and all the answers you have are within you. 509 00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:02,560 Sometimes we just need a little bit of guidance to help us recognize what those answers are. 510 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:03,560 Yeah. 511 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:08,160 So I knew when I met you and fell in love with you that you'd be my friend. 512 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:13,760 And I'm even more convinced that what you shared, we definitely have similar spirits 513 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:17,600 in life and we could talk forever and we definitely need to connect more. 514 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,080 I'm miss seeing you. 515 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:23,680 And so if somebody wants to find you, I'm going to get your info to share in the show 516 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:26,400 notes, but where's the best place to find Emma G? 517 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:29,520 If you Google Emma G, my face will show up. 518 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:38,000 But if you want more specifics, action points, yeah, Emma G Music on all social media, except 519 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:41,260 for TikTok, I'm Emma G Speaks. 520 00:31:41,260 --> 00:31:46,200 And then if you want to go to EmmaGMusic.com, that would be my website. 521 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:47,320 Okay, yay. 522 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:49,440 Well thank you so much. 523 00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:54,640 I'm so glad we can have this conversation and follow her, see what she's up to. 524 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:58,080 She's got a lot of great things going on. 525 00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:02,480 And we do release a new podcast every other Saturday. 526 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:05,400 This is like 18th or 19th episode. 527 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:08,240 We are, I keep saying we're working on a website, we're getting closer. 528 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:11,920 I do have Why Not Today cups, Why Not Today t-shirts, vinyls. 529 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:16,240 We are spreading the word to give people courage to say why not today. 530 00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:19,680 So thanks again, Emma G and the rest of you. 531 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:22,640 Thanks for listening and why not today? 532 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:23,640 Bye. 533 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:24,640 See ya. 534 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:47,040 Bye.