Getting Inclusive AF with Lia Valencia Key

Katee Van Horn [00:00:00]:

You're listening to inclusive AF with Jackie.

Lia Valencia Key [00:00:04]:

Clayton and Katie Van Horn.

Katee Van Horn [00:00:08]:

Welcome to the inclusive AF podcast. This is Katee Van Horn.

Jackye Clayton [00:00:12]:

And this is Jackye Clayton.

Katee Van Horn [00:00:16]:

It is a beautiful Monday in Arizona. Hottest hades out. But we're in that part of the year that I personally love because pool time every day. It's sunshine every day. Just had one of my friends in from San Diego and she's like, please just give me all the sun while I'm here overcast in San Diego. How's waco today, Jackye?

Jackye Clayton [00:00:37]:

Well, it is so like muggy and EW, but we're enjoying it. It's not raining today. We're grateful for the rain. My grass is growing. But look, I got a new bracelet for those.

Lia Valencia Key [00:00:50]:

Like.

Jackye Clayton [00:00:52]:

You ever get a piece of jewelry and you have to get your nails done for the piece of jewelry.

Lia Valencia Key [00:00:55]:

Because you're like, I did that because.

Jackye Clayton [00:00:58]:

I recently celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary. So from that standpoint, things are going pretty good.

Katee Van Horn [00:01:08]:

Well, that's a great lead in sharing your jewelry because our guest knows a thing or two about some jewelry. So without further ado, Leah, I would love for you to introduce yourself and share a little about who you are and all good stuff.

Lia Valencia Key [00:01:23]:

Hi, everyone. I'm honored to be with you. Excited. I'm Lia Valencia key. I'm creator of Valencia key. It's a love brand that has all things jewelry, all things lifestyle really created. Valencia means brave in a Spanish slang dialect. And key, as we know, unlock. So I created wearable tangible pieces. I call them wearable joy, wearable light. That unlock the reminders to when you have them on and around you. That unlock your bravery, unlock your light, remind you that all things are possible. The truth is, like, when you wear my pieces or have my pieces, it's tangible results that if I can, you can. Because I come from the most impoverished area and living situation. I was born in poverty in the inner city of Philadelphia, and I was homeless all the way up until homeless took me to housing project, which is almost still the same thing as homeless. It just now has a name to it. So I was homeless all the way up until I went to college, basically. We lived in homeless shelter for the first part of my early years and then housing project. For anyone that's not familiar with the housing project, it is government housing that's given to people who have nothing, basically. And I lived there until I was fortunate to find my way to college. I love to share that part of my journey because if you see me visually, I'm always wearing yellow and light and I'm smiling and you're like, she was born in goodness. And I'm like, oh, but wait, no, I was actually born in the textbook definition of darkness. But the beauty I love to tell two parts of the early parts of my journey when I consider us going from poverty to destitute, because we lived in this basement of someone's home in Riddled poverty area where it's trash everywhere, drug addictions on every corner. That's where we lived. And then my mother broke her leg in several places, so she couldn't even afford to pay for that rough area. And she's getting her three children home, myself, my brother and sister, home from school, and there's a padlock on the door. So that immediately took a single mother with three children standing at the door with no place to take her children, and that is destitute. And that moved us to the homeless shelter. And I call it the first light that was placed in my life, because in the middle of this homeless shelter, I don't know if anyone knows what a homeless shelter looks like. Now I'm giving you what my homeless shelter looked like. I'm 43, so this was only shelter 40 some OD years ago, but it was a big gym room, COTS, these small beds, 1ft apart, fill in the whole gym room. And each mother had one cot per family, so the whole entire family had to ball up on this one cot. And you're hearing crying and moaning and profanity and sorrow and hopelessness fill in this room. But what my mother shared in the midst of that darkness that I remember so vividly is that she said she looked down at her three children, me sitting there, and she said, your predicament does not determine your destiny. And I feel like that was it was a seed planet because I was young, about third grade, eight years old, so I didn't quite comprehend it. But I'm still living that at 43 and that seed had grown, and that light just has dispersed throughout my life. So I love sharing that first part of understanding the possibility of life.

Katee Van Horn [00:05:32]:

I love that. And that was one of the things that you shared when I met you or heard you speak the last time, was just that concept of your predicament does not determine your destiny. I just think that is such a cool, just way to explain, like, hey, this is something that we're in right now, but it's not going to be always this way. And how do we think about it? How do we move forward and push forward? And I think especially right now, in the time that we're in, it is hard to not just let that darkness take over, because there is a lot going on that is darkness. And how do we think about that? How do we keep pushing forward in this time and space? And so I love that saying. So I would love for you to tell our listeners a little bit about your story of how you determined your brand while you were on a trip. This part was very cool, I thought it was very cool, and so would love for you to share that with our listeners.

Lia Valencia Key [00:06:40]:

Yes, I love finding everything symbolic for me. So that's why I think Valencia Key is such a beautiful symbolic thing to have in your life. Because I look for symbols that keeps me moving forward. So I knew that I wanted to. I've been surrounded. The beauty is I do want to share a couple of things. Your predicament never determines your destiny. But that mindset and that understanding of the power that you have to choose is so important and magical because the only way you get to your destiny is to mentally decide that you're going there no matter whatever's around you. So I've been surrounded just by so many wonderful people just lifting me up and showing me what's possible. So when I was surrounded by wonderful entrepreneurs and I saw if you have real love and intention and you pour it into something tangible, it can be life changing to the receiver, really. And then I'm like, okay, but it really has to have truth to it. It can't just be a thing. So I went on a journey, a voyage, if you will. I like to call it a voyage. I knew that I couldn't find what that symbolic was. I didn't just want to use my name because it was a name. I wanted to all have intentions. So I took a trip to Egypt, Morocco in Spain. And when I was in Egypt, I had a tour gentleman who took me around and he took me to all these different temples. And at first I was looking at the temples like, pretty design, right? And then I get to one final temple and I believe in God. But it doesn't matter who you believe in, there's always a divine whisper that will come to you no matter what. And so I'm in this final temple and I literally hear a divine whisper inside of me like, but you came here for a reason. So now speak out the reason in this place of why you're here and make it plain. So I spoke in that temple out that by the end of that journey, I wanted to truly be sketching the symbolic part of what my logo represented and what it will represent to anyone who had it and received it and what that intention would be. So now I'm going to Morocco. And Morocco, I'm seeing all of these lights everywhere. And I finally get to one store and it's filled with brass keys, like unreal from ceiling to floor. And it's a little, small, little place. And I'm overwhelmed. And I'm like, what is this? This is amazing. My last name is Key. I've been fighting it the whole time, right? And so I go and I find the store owner and I ask, why do you have all these keys here? And he looks at me strange, like I should know, like offended. He's like, you don't know keys represent unlocking the light in your life. And that was so powerful to me because when I realized that had been my entire journey, like, everything that I am lived by is just finding another light to unlock, moving one more step toward the light, being one more piece of light. And that's how I was able to shatter glass ceilings and move out of my predicament. So by the end of that journey, we won't say I wound up in Spain. That was random. I wound up in Spain because some backpackers were going to Spain in that same Morocco town. I didn't know you could catch a ferry from Morocco to Spain. Did anybody know that? I didn't. So I'm like, I'm going with you. I just followed them to Spain. I just be open in life. It'll take you there. And in Spain, I'm hanging out with the locals, and they're talking about this Spanish dialect, and someone asked me my name, and for some reason, I love saying my whole name, leah Valencia key. Because I thought it was a moment. It's always a moment when I say it, and they say, oh, my God, valencia is bravery, and it's courage. And I'm like, what? So by the end of this journey, I'm on the plane, and I'm literally taking the V's that represent Valencia. That courage and that bravery. And the key that I was told is a symbolic thing of unlocking that light in your life. And I took the four V's and made a star symbol because I had been seeing all these stars and lights in my journey and placed the key in the middle. And to allow it to be that symbolic visual reminder to when you see it every time. Remember, you have the key within you first and foremost. And all you have to do is keep unlocking that bravery, unlocking that courage, unlocking that light. And then I knew, okay, now we can come to the world, because this is true intention, and this is what can really be helpful and transformative to anybody's life who receives it.

Jackye Clayton [00:12:10]:

That's an amazing story.

Lia Valencia Key [00:12:15]:

But what that.

Jackye Clayton [00:12:17]:

Doesn'T make any sense.

Lia Valencia Key [00:12:23]:

So many things in life are really if you literally dissect life and you look over all your experiences, they all mean something. Even the roughest part. My homelessness and my poverty is my power. It is how I am able to see the whole human, no matter what level in life, God takes me to be. It is how I'm able to be grateful for the smallest things to the biggest things. Right? And if we look at everything as meaning, then we really can have an intentional life.

Jackye Clayton [00:13:01]:

Wow. I want to go back because you said you were homeless up until the point where you went to college.

Lia Valencia Key [00:13:09]:

And so it's like, how did you.

Jackye Clayton [00:13:13]:

Make that decision to even go to college? I mean, there's other things with that. You have a single parent. You have siblings with you. And so many times along that journey, you're seeing various things. I have family that lived in the project in Baltimore, and we're knowing you had to make a decision, and there were lots of avenues and places where people were pulling your interest.

Lia Valencia Key [00:13:36]:

So how did you make that decision.

Jackye Clayton [00:13:38]:

And what was that like?

Lia Valencia Key [00:13:39]:

Yeah, I'm so glad you said that, because that was a second light that I didn't share that was turned on in my life. So we were in the homeless shelter for several years, and then they transferred us to these housing projects, which I still call homeless, but it's just a level up. But in that homeless shelter before we transferred, I just had become my environment. Exactly what you're saying. I was failing every class. I was speaking like an adult with the profanity. I was just doing things of everything that I saw. And I remember this vivid moment. I'm coming back from school, walking to the homeless shelter door, and my mother's standing there and I see her, and I get right to her and she said, I have one question to ask you. But this question had two parts. So I always say when a mother has a two part question, something about to get real serious, right? So I'm like, okay. And she asked me, do you want to be a follower or leader? And I was confused. So I'm about fifth grade now. And she said, because right now you're following and what you're going to do, you're going to follow right into everything that you see and that you are surrounded by or you get to choose to lead your life. I love that part. I always stop on it because when people think lead, they think lead others. But she told me to lead my life. I get to lead my life listening to the inner whisper and the inner light inside of me to my destiny. And she just told me one last thing. You choose. And literally walked away. It was no direction. It was no force. There was no beatings behind it. You choose. And as a young girl, I was left with the light of choice, understanding that you do have choice, because I didn't know that at that point. I thought everything that's around me is what I'm supposed to do. But I also knew there was a Godly western side of me that didn't feel good when I did all these bad things. So when she said these things and she unlocked to me the power of choice, I was like, what? Humans need permission. And it's very interesting. No matter what level you are a child to adult and a whole C suite something, there's a power when someone gives you permission, then you're just unleashed that permission. Gave me everything I needed to understand and choose my life and listen to not what's going on outside of me, but to listen to what's inside of me. And that very next day, I remember I went back to school and I asked my teachers, how do I get better grades? How do I see beyond where I'm at? And I just start asking for guidance every step of the way. And that has just been unlocking for me consistently in my life. I think that's one of the things.

Katee Van Horn [00:16:40]:

That as you share your story, first of all, your mother like saints, absolutely knowing just the right thing to say at just the right time. So I think that right there not many people have that, have that person in their life that is that voice of reason, whatever you want to call it, voice of inspiration. Person that's going to call you on your business and say, cut it out. So that's great that you had her, but I love the story there. And then you've had some amazing sponsors and mentors continuously, like starting with your mom and I think continuing through your career and kind of brought what brought you to today. So I think it's just great.

Lia Valencia Key [00:17:34]:

And I think why? I was like, why? And what is my purpose here? I'm realizing that my purpose through everything I do is to not define the what but define the how. Meaning everyone can decide what they want to do, what they want to be, but how are you going to be it? And the only difference, I'm not the best at many things. I do think my jewelry is great and my pieces are great, but other things I'm great. Can't really spell great basic C average in school. But the difference is my heart. You can YouTube and go to a lot of different trainings and programs, how you get to success, right? But I personally think if someone asks me how can I cut through? Everybody's working hard, everybody's doing the basic things. The difference is the human and the human being. A human is seeing everyone else as a human because not many people are doing that. Many people are seeing people for what they can do for them, how they can do it for them, how they can get to the top. But my life is like, well, how do I be loved and how do I receive love in all things I do? I just want to give love. I want to receive love and I want to smile. And then all the rest of the journey is going to be great for me. And that, I think, has cut me through paths that I've never got people in my life to say, oh, I want her to just come along with me because it's my energy that they want to come along with.

Jackye Clayton [00:19:29]:

Yes, I can see that. I like your energy. I want it too.

Lia Valencia Key [00:19:34]:

I love that.

Jackye Clayton [00:19:35]:

But in thinking it's like it's amazing of going on this journey and thinking, going to college and then what made you decide to design jewelry? Where did that come from?

Lia Valencia Key [00:19:46]:

You know, it's interesting. So I decided college because this is a good story. I always have stories in my life. So my wonderful mother, I love to say that she was physically paralyzed by generational curse, right? Physically, she couldn't physically break out. But she had this power to speak the life into her children that maybe it'll land and they will get a better chance, right? And that was her genius. But we all live in a bucket that we live in, right? So it comes to college time and I'm told to choose my life and I'm like, okay, college is it. Because college was a way to get out of here for me. College wasn't an academic thing for me. If I don't go to college, I stay in this housing project. So I got to go to college so I can see another environment because I knew exposure was power for me. And so I'm like, I'm applying for application. My grades are good now. And I go tell my mom like, oh, I'm going to go to college. And now my mother's living in her real bucket, her realism bucket. And she's like, oh, that's so nice, but you can't go to college because we can't afford we can't even afford when you get accepted to get you to college, we can't afford you to get you a book, a computer, whatever it is, none of that. We can't send you anything. So really you can't go. And it's beautiful when you tell your children something or someone something, and then they get to live it so much that when you step out of that truth, they get to align back into the truth you told them. That was powerful because I knew when I heard that, like, oh, that's my mother. But I'm like, oh, she's living in her predicament statement. That's a statement from her predicament. But I'm living in my destiny. And so I'm like, oh, I'm going to college. Thank you so much for that. But I'm going to college. And I don't know how, I really don't, but I'm going. And I didn't let that stop me. And I literally just shared to everybody that I wanted to go to college, never asking. So anyone who's listening, another key that's beautiful is sharing your dreams out in the world, but never sharing them in expectation for someone to do something for you. Just literally giving it wings to fly, getting it out of your body because there's some dynamic, I call it a spiritual dynamic that it gets out of your body. And then when you pray about it, then Earth Angel lined up to attach to take you to one step closer to your dream. And you never know who that Earth Angel is. So you just share it. And I would just share it. And then one aunt jumped in and said, I'll get you to college. And another aunt jumped in and said, I'll get you to a computer. And then a counselor said, I'll teach you, because my mother didn't know about college. So the counselor said, I'll teach you how to do financial aid to get student loans. And then all these angels just start jumping in to allow this next dream to fly. And that's how I got to college, to get out my predicament. But I finished all this college because my mother told me to always complete what I started. And I thought that was powerful because I would quit anything. Like, I'm over this. No, this doesn't work for me. And she would like, finish it. If you don't want to do it after you finish it, that's fine, but you finish it. I'm like, oh, God, I got to finish this college thing. But my heart was saying that I was an artist. Like, that inner whisper that she told me to follow literally was telling me that I was creative. It's what made me come alive. It's what makes me smile. And so I decided that I would complete this academic journey, but once I complete that, I was going to forsake all and sweep floors and do whatever I had to do to follow that inner whisper and follow my artist journey.

Katee Van Horn [00:23:54]:

I love what you share about kind of those earthly angels, and I think there are so many times in our life where we have those folks show.

Lia Valencia Key [00:24:04]:

Up and half the time we don't.

Katee Van Horn [00:24:06]:

Even realize it or we live it, we move with it, and we go, okay, great. And then you look back later and go, oh, my gosh, they helped me get here. They helped me in ways that maybe you didn't even think were possible. Would you have gone to your aunt and say, hey, I need a laptop or I need a computer for college. Can you get me a computer? No, of course not. But it just was the universe provides and it's going to happen, and it's going to show up for you when you need it. And I think it was the rooms that you were in. So you need to talk a little.

Lia Valencia Key [00:24:43]:

Bit about this is going to be.

Katee Van Horn [00:24:46]:

Like a four hour episode.

Lia Valencia Key [00:24:47]:

No.

Katee Van Horn [00:24:52]:

Can you share a little bit about kind of how you the journey to QVC? But I want you to talk about Jamie. I want you to talk about some of the other folks that, again, were those kind of the Earth angels who really helped?

Lia Valencia Key [00:25:07]:

Yes. So the journey to QVC was quite magical because I have this master's degree now in education, and I'm like, OOH, this is not me. It's not my destiny, it's not my inner whisper. So I'm like, all right, I'm a forsake all, and I'm going to go back to cosmetology school and follow what lights my heart up, and anything creative lights my heart up. So I chose cosmetology because I felt like, oh, so I can create and work at the same time. I can see income out of my creation. So I go back and I have to now sweep floors of a salon with a degree because no one cares if you have a master's degree. Can you do this hair? No. Sweep the floor so you can learn. So I'm sweeping floors and solano then I love to share. He was wonderful. I appreciate him because he was so particular, but he was a teacher. But if you are a floor sweeper, you would have to catch that hair before it hit the ground. You had to be on point with it. And so I would catch that hair with 1000% enthusiasm. And I love to share that part because it doesn't matter where you are in your journey. You do it with passion, you do it with joy, and you do it with care to all things. Because even with a master's degree, I wasn't above it. And I would do it as if it was my first job ever. And that just allowed me to learn so much. So now I'm sweeping floors, and I decided I'm sweeping floors in the salon and I'm working at Matt Cosmetic doing makeup. And I realized that a lady comes in and she works for QVC. And I'm like because I knew I didn't want to work in a salon. So what I like to share in my journey is like, what do I want you to pull out of this? Be targeted on where you're going in life? Like, have the dream clear. Like, my dream had to be clear. Like, I knew I was not going to be a salon stylist. I wanted to create somewhere 24/7 where it was just art happening. So I found out of this place called QVC by working at Matt Cosmetic. Oh, my God. Now I'm targeted on it. The lady connected me to someone in the salon, but I needed a license, so I was denied for the first time. It took me five years from that first denial to actually get into the QVC doors because I was deemed not qualified. I didn't have enough qualifications. My skills weren't good enough. And I did the share technique again. So I shared. To everyone that I want to work for QVC, I love to say if you were standing next to me in a grocery store and you smiled at me twice, the barometer is twice, that means you were nice, then I would tell you, I want to work for QVC. And that one day happened to be I was bartending to stay financially alive. And I'm standing in the bar serving this one gentleman. It was empty, and I pour the gentleman a drink. He smiled twice when I handed him his drink. And I'm like, I want to work for QVC. And he's like, really? Because I have a friend that works there. I work for Comcast. Give me your information. Here's the beauty. This is what I love to share he said, Give me your information and I'll see what's possible. The next day, I get a text message from this wonderful heart, Stephanie Humphrey. And she didn't meet me. I only met her friend Fred. But that heart thing that I was talking about is so powerful. She said in her text message, my friend said, you are so much light that here is the contact information of the QVC salon. Here's the person's name, number, and also you can use me as a reference.

Jackye Clayton [00:29:01]:

Wow.

Lia Valencia Key [00:29:02]:

Someone I never met in my life. But just by being that way, and her friend sharing that energy, she allowed me to use her as a reference. That opened the doors to me walking in the QVC doors as a stylist, and that exposed me to big dreamers. Like when you talk about dreamers, there were people making dreams happen. The QVC hosts and entrepreneur dreamers putting everything on the line to get what they have created in the hands of people. And there are many hearts that have been in my life prior to that that consistently lift me up. But I share, too, just for the business journey's sake. Vicky Psy, founder and creative touch of Skincare, and Jamie Kern Lima, co founder of It Cosmetics and New York Times bestseller. Believe it, but these two women were dreamers and they were making dreams happen. And I was in the salon styling, and they saw my heart. I don't even think they saw my talent. Truthfully. Let's be real. They saw my heart and they saw my energy. And they just said, Come along with me. And they took me around the world with them. And they allowed me to sit in meetings that a stylist would never sit in. They allowed me to sit in board meetings, they allowed me to sit in press meetings and all these different business meetings. They welcomed me in the rooms I didn't even know existed. And with that power of me seeing, wow, this is possible, I didn't even know this was happening. I don't know how I thought products came to life, but I didn't know. But this was a proof that it did. And then that's when I decided, oh, I do have a gift to give to the world. And they've showed me that it's possible. So I decided to try and set out on my journey. Oh, goodness gracious. Lots of keys.

Jackye Clayton [00:30:58]:

Lots of keys, Jackie.

Katee Van Horn [00:31:01]:

Now do you know why I wanted her on our podcast?

Jackye Clayton [00:31:03]:

I just don't know why she said yes. That's what I'm saying. You've got all these keys. I know she's busy. I know she's busy.

Katee Van Horn [00:31:12]:

Yes, she is.

Lia Valencia Key [00:31:16]:

There's no such thing.

Jackye Clayton [00:31:18]:

We have a friend named Sarah Morgan that's a really good friend with us. And she said something really funny one time, and I'm going to say it because it's like she is a whole ass founder of a company.

Lia Valencia Key [00:31:34]:

Why would she be able to come so quickly?

Jackye Clayton [00:31:37]:

A whole ass business owner. But you're brave, Katie. See why I hang around?

Lia Valencia Key [00:31:46]:

Katie? I know I like it. It's the same concept. You just share it out. Just go ahead and throw it out. Let it go to the wind. Eventually something's coming back.

Jackye Clayton [00:31:59]:

As a fact, we always say closed mouths don't get fed.

Lia Valencia Key [00:32:04]:

And it's amazing how what you're saying.

Jackye Clayton [00:32:09]:

Being vulnerable or being able to share those things and being able to share your success and pivoting as you grow. It sounded like you pivoted. I've got this degree, but I want to do this thing. And you just pivot where you keep working until you find that space and it seems like you found that space and keep finding spaces. And that's amazing that you were able to do that, to say, oh, I.

Lia Valencia Key [00:32:37]:

Want to work at QVC for five years.

Jackye Clayton [00:32:40]:

That's amazing.

Lia Valencia Key [00:32:41]:

And never giving up. Thank you. I think the message to share is don't give up. If there's anything to know, it's like, it will happen. It has to happen. If you don't give up, it actually has to happen. I don't care how many feel. I can't tell you how many times, literally, I probably can find the email where it told me you are not qualified, period, black and white. But when you believe that's why I love that book from Jamie. Believe it. I always say that believe is an action word and a lot of us don't correlate that. We're like, oh, I believe. But if you talk about a scientist and the litmus test to know if you're really believing is what actions are you doing? Because if you believe something and you're not doing actions toward it, you're dreaming. And I love a good dream, but the dream has to move into believing that it's possible. And then when you believe something's possible so much, you will not give up and you will do millimeter movements. Another thing is this may go counter dictating of what any other entrepreneur says. So forgive me, pick which one you believe. I don't put pressure. I do. My mother passed early, so I want to share that. She passed very young, I'm sure, from all the environmental things. And she did get to see me choosing my light, and that was a blessing. And right before she passed, what really put Stamp into this concept of bringing jewelry first was she gave me these little earrings and she said, oh, I see you leading your life and I see you finding the light. And there are going to be times where you can't find your light. So always wear your earrings and just touch them or see them and let them be symbolic. That all you have to do. The light is within you. All you have to do is choose it. It's just right there for you. And so that had me hand sketched these designs when she passed for my therapy. But what I love to be true is that just keep taking these millimeter movements. My mother passed, not truly living life. What I feel, I don't think she ever lived. And so everything I do, I'm going to live life abundantly. Like, I'm a laugh, I'm a joy. I'm to going do all that. So anything that I attach to a goal, I'm deciding to do it in millimeter movements. Like, I'm not killing myself. I'm not stressing too much about it. I'm taking small millimeter movements. I learn a millimeter from designing jewelry. A millimeter is the smallest measurement on the ruler, and that's very powerful because when you design a piece of jewelry, if you go a millimeter up, it's a different design. If you go a millimeter down, it's a different design. I mean, the millimeters will change your life drastically. So what I think we quit with is because we start looking at these big movements we have to do. And the truth is, if you do one small thing you want to know how I started this jewelry design? I had hand sketches in a notebook. And when I decided to say yes to that, I Googled the smallest millimeter. I Googled how to take a hand sketch design to a real piece of jewelry. And I kept googling in different ways until it told me you had to make a 3D design. Now, what's a 3D design? That's a millimeter movement. That's not drastic. And if we keep taking these little things, you will see how powerful you can go toward anything that God whispered in your heart. I love that.

Jackye Clayton [00:36:33]:

I was like, what? I can't do Robert De Niro that was like, in Any given Sunday, it's.

Lia Valencia Key [00:36:37]:

A game of inches. Is that good?

Jackye Clayton [00:36:40]:

I feel like that too, because it's just those little pieces. And I love that. It makes me think of the Olympics, how someone you win or lose a.

Lia Valencia Key [00:36:49]:

Race by five eight, their nose could be a little farther out.

Jackye Clayton [00:36:56]:

Like, literally, not even a nose, a.

Lia Valencia Key [00:36:57]:

Hair.

Jackye Clayton [00:37:00]:

Of doing those things, but as long as you keep going but you're such an inspiration. I know that there's people listening somewhere that feel like they can't do it for whatever circumstances. They're not always the same that feel like they can't do it. When someone says that to you, Leah, what would you respond to them?

Lia Valencia Key [00:37:27]:

I always say this, I quit every second. But then I believe that I can. So I do one action towards the truth, right? So give yourself permission to feel vulnerable. Life is real. Give yourself permission to feel that it's hard and that you don't want to do it anymore. But if you hold true to your truth that that's what God has put in your life to be, then do one more step. Ed. My let just released a book called The Power of One More. And I think it's magical because it's that same concept, like, oh, the pain is so real. I know. I don't care if you are the most wealthiest person or the most impoverished person. I don't care if you're the most confident person or the person that has the least confidence. We all have moments in our life where we're just like, I can't for whatever circumstances, or I don't want to anymore. I don't want to carry it anymore. But if that whisper comes back to you and says, but this is so, just do one more thing towards it.

Jackye Clayton [00:38:38]:

Yeah, I appreciate that. There are times I always laugh and I'm like, I don't want to go to work. And I literally just have to roll over. Like, I don't even have to put a bra on. I literally am like, this is me going to work.

Lia Valencia Key [00:38:53]:

And I'm like, oh, that laptop is so freaking heavy today. Just open the laptop. Going to get you to work. That's right. That's it. I love that.

Katee Van Horn [00:39:14]:

Jackie kind of hit on this question. I'm going to go a little one step further. When it gets too hard, what do you do?

Lia Valencia Key [00:39:25]:

Well, what I'm realizing is you got to know it's got to be a deep cause for you. Like, it's got to be bigger than money. It's got to be bigger than clout, it's got to be bigger than praise, because none of that's worth it. Like this struggle that I go through for being an entrepreneur, none of what I listed is worth all that. Right? It's easier just to go get a nine to five, know your role, do it decent and keep moving in life. Right. So if you're deciding to take this journey on and whatever journey it is, it could be, I want to be a mother. That's not an easy journey. I could be, I want to be a father, a parent. That's not an easy journey. Right? That deepness. Jamie says it when she speaks. It's the why beneath the why beneath the why that keeps you going. Meaning you've got a why. I want to start a business. That's a great why. Another why is, I want to make money. That's also a good why. But will those two get you going when everyone tells you no, when you get a batch of jewelry and it's all wrong? When you're working with wonderful women in Ghana. I'm telling my story now. Excuse me. When you're working wonderful women in Ghana and you're helping bring income, and the language barrier is challenging. So when you're putting specs out for the designs of the bag and the specs aren't translating and everything, when all these challenges keep coming to you, that money doesn't become worth it. But then what does become worth it is I want to help someone in need when I create these bags. So I'm going to keep working on my translation until we get it because I know I want to be a catalyst to help you and your entire family. And so I'm going to go through this struggle until we get it because that's worth it to me. I'm going to get a batch of jewelry that is literally worthless and a loss of finances and time and I'm going to then try it again because I do want to show people that if you keep going, it truly is possible that the biggest mistakes can happen in your life. And if you decide to get back up and try it again, I'm a living symbolic that it is possible. That's why I'll keep going. So if you can find something real deep, also getting real deep. I want to be an African American woman that has a billion dollar business to show that it's possible because it's very few. If you actually Google the research of it, the percentage is point point, I don't know, percent of less of African American women really having these dynamic infrastructures of business. I have to show my culture that it's possible and then any other culture that is not represented that it's possible. So I got to keep going. Like these things will get you to keep going when you don't believe that it's worth it because I could go do hair real quick. That's awesome.

Katee Van Horn [00:43:01]:

I love it. That was what was so inspiring to me is even like I said, we were in that environment where we were listening to these absolutely phenomenal women sharing what they had accomplished, what they were working on, all of these things, and you're sharing your story, and it was such an inspiration. And it was one of those you go home and you make a list of like, here are the five things I need to do, or Here what is my why? And unpacking those whys down below. Because I think that's such a great activity to do is ask yourself why seven times or whatever it is. And I think those are some of the things that you hear those whispers and they aren't going to be quiet unless you actually go do the thing. Whether you want them to be quiet or not, they're still going to be in your ear all the time. So thank you for sharing that. I think that was great.

Lia Valencia Key [00:43:55]:

So would love to know, leah, what.

Katee Van Horn [00:43:58]:

Is one thing you want to and I by the way, we play this game and I say one thing and Jackie usually ends up with ten. So don't feel badly. If it's not just one, it's totally fine.

Lia Valencia Key [00:44:10]:

But what is one thing you want.

Katee Van Horn [00:44:12]:

Our listeners to have heard from this episode?

Lia Valencia Key [00:44:15]:

Yes, so many things. Like you said, one thing is so hard. But I do feel that three things. I love the number three. I think it's a powerful number. So bump the three up three scale. The one thing is define who you are in the world and I would encourage it to be light and love. I have a collection that I titled rooted like, root into these human ways of being. Be love and find out what love truly is. It's not like this romantic situation. It's like patience, kindness, unwavering open, seeing a person fully. And then be light. And when I say be light, that means in true weight form, be light. Like, when you walk in a room, are you bringing heavy energy or are you just cutting a space with just this lightness where people just want to gravitate to you because you feel so light? And the first way to be light is have a true smile. If you want to know what's the first activity I could do to be light, cut all the heaviness with a true smile, like authentic smile, and that will just cut down all of the woes that have happened in your day and all the negative things you're thinking about. It'll cut all that out and it'll allow your true heart to shine. And then when your true heart shines, then all of this beautiful stuff starts to gravitate to you. So that's one thing. And then have unwavering belief in yourself and the whispers that God is putting into you. I think you said it already. I think we know what's our destiny because it keeps coming back to us. Like, if you can't shake it, if you duck in there and you moving and you trying to keep whispering and you have finally and you keep coming back, then that's your destiny. So just do a millimeter movement every day toward your destiny and believe it so much that nothing that anyone else can say or do will shake you from stopping it. And then lastly, give in a big way to the world. However it is, whatever that destiny is, find something to attach to it that can be a blessing to someone else. Because I'm sitting here because of people being a blessing to me. And the way I'm able to be light is because people believe in me. They bless me, and then I'm able to then bless others. And if we keep that cycle of blessings going, then we'll have a real beautiful world. Awesome. Jackie, what's your one thing?

Jackye Clayton [00:47:07]:

I really do have one thing. It's putting it out into the world of telling as many people as possible, like just sharing those things, because you.

Lia Valencia Key [00:47:16]:

Never know who's going to be in your path.

Jackye Clayton [00:47:18]:

And I think that is key. So you're proud of me? Get it.

Lia Valencia Key [00:47:21]:

And it's key.

Jackye Clayton [00:47:22]:

See what I did there?

Lia Valencia Key [00:47:23]:

You did.

Katee Van Horn [00:47:24]:

You did it. All right.

Lia Valencia Key [00:47:28]:

What's yours?

Katee Van Horn [00:47:30]:

Mine is I'm going to go back to your mom. Your predicament does not determine your destiny. I think that is something that every single human should write down, should tattoo on their arm, should put on a postit note on their mirror. Because I think it's one of those.

Lia Valencia Key [00:47:46]:

Things that we're dealing with some heavy.

Katee Van Horn [00:47:48]:

Stuff right now in the world, and we're all dealing with our own journey and hopefully making the world a better place and making that impact. And so, however, we can do that. My second thing, because I have two, is also the woman behind you pulling the woman behind you up as well, which I think your stories share over and over again, how that has happened to you and then how you have, in turn, done that for other folks. And I think that's something that we sometimes forget because we are, heads down, trying to just do the things, but remembering that there's always someone watching and there's always someone behind you that could use a phone call or a connection or, hey, they're making your drink for you. And who can you connect them with that, you know, which seems like such a simple act for that person, Fred, to have done for you. But look where it took you. Those little things. That how they actually impact someone. And we have had many guests on that have kind of showed the same thing about Jackie helping them with certain things or I'm helping them with certain things. And I think it's just that giving back and that pulling folks along behind you to bring them up as well. It's huge.

Lia Valencia Key [00:49:08]:

So, Lia, thank you.

Katee Van Horn [00:49:14]:

And for those of you who do not know Leah's jewelry go out to Leah Valenciacy.com and buy some of her beautiful, amazing jewelry. And thank you so much for joining us. This is Katee Van Horn.

Jackye Clayton [00:49:32]:

And this is Jackye Clayton. Bye.