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Unknown
Hi everyone. Welcome to the podcast. Today I have on my friend Leone, and she's here to share a story about her recent trip to Peru.

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Unknown
I'm a surfer and I went to Peru because I've heard that they have the longest.

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Unknown
surf waves in the world that goes left. So they're called the longest lift in the world.

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Unknown
And that's at a place called Chicana. And Shikamaru is just out of, sort of north of Lima, and you have to catch a plane to get there. So it's quite a journey, you know, it's coming all the way from San Francisco, so it's about 24 hours of travel. But when I got there, it was blowing a gale and we were staying in a hotel right at the beach.

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Unknown
And I was like, we can't be going out in this type of weather for sure. And so I arrived at night and didn't even see the beach.

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Unknown
And then we were told, okay, I was here with a bunch of other women like me, not for adventure with surfing, and we're all very excited to be there. But when I woke up in the morning and I heard the hailing and the howling guy was like, there's no way we're going out there.

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Unknown
And I peeked out and saw the waves and I was like, oh my God, those are huge waves. And the spray was pushing back against the waves and making them even larger and like, we can't be going in. And then and then I saw all my fellow surfers, like, making their way down to the meeting point

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Unknown
and I was like, oh, I guess I'm going.

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Unknown
And so I'm putting on my wetsuit, which I hadn't done in a very long time.

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Unknown
and it was a major wrestling match to get it on. I get down to the meeting point, and I was so excited and so nervous at the same time. I'd actually put my wits on backwards and someone gently told me that I had done that.

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Unknown
So anyway, I'm sitting there and looking at the waves. We're up on a hill, looking down to the beach, and so the waves and I was like, okay, they seem pretty big, but maybe not that big. Well, turns out they were 6 to 8ft waves, which look always small from the shore until you get out there. But I felt good because I had these really excellent, coaches that came with the organization that I went with.

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Unknown
So they were there with me, but it was still very challenging as we got down to the beach and then I saw how big the waves really were. They told us that we needed to paddle out to a channel, which is basically go through all the white water and make our way out to a channel where there would be a zodiac boat to take us out to the point, because it's about a mile out.

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Unknown
And so they were like, okay, you just got to get in the water, stop paddling. And I just met my board. Like usually boards are quite personal if you surf. And I named mine, biggie because it was a really big board. And I checked my Nagra, which you always have attached to you, because you want to make sure that you know, you don't lose it.

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Unknown
And I told my partner before and she said, well, aren't you are you going to drown in these big waves? And I said, no, because you've always got your surfboard with you, right? So I start paddling out. The waves are huge. They keep knocking me back. I can't seem to get my breath. And they knocked me off my board.

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Unknown
And I keep paddling and I can see the boat. It's like 50ft away, but I just can't get to it. I'm stuck.

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Unknown
In this water. And then I'm pan on this board and then I feel the tug, which, you know, I feel because it's near my ankle and then I feel nothing. And I'm like, oh my God, I've lost my board out in the middle of the ocean in these waves. So I try not to panic. I was just trying to calm myself because it's, you know, the last thing on the board.

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Unknown
So I finally I wave some people down to get my board and hopefully help me to get it back on it, because it had gone all the way to shore and I was sitting there. I'm a reasonably good swimmer, but you know, you start panicking in that type of situation. So they got me my board. Thankfully, and I managed to get to the boat and I slipped over the side like a landlocked sea lion because I was like, so tired.

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Unknown
And I there and I'm like, oh my God, I am so tired. And this is like day one first paddle out. I was like, I don't know if I can do this, but then I told myself, look, you've come this all this way, you've actually got to at least go out and catch a wave. So they gave me a leg rope

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Unknown
from one of the other coaches.

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Unknown
And so I went out, caught some waves, which was great. But then I got caught in the zone again.

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Unknown
And, it was almost to the point where I felt like giving up. I felt like giving up. I was like, I can't do this. And, you know, you're way out there in the ocean. And they're like, no, you got to keep going.

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Unknown
So but I paddled way out to the right, like, got finally got out and I went way, way like we would be nowhere near any waves. But then I was nowhere near a boat. And so I'm waving to the boats to come and take me out to the waves, but nobody's coming. And then this guy comes on this boat like flying up.

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Unknown
And he wasn't one of our boats. And he does this big circle. He comes back, he goes, I'll help you. Like he didn't. He was Peruvian guy. He had this big helmet on and a big vest on. Like, he looks like he's really for combat. And he had this big smile and he goes, and he pulled me into the boat.

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Unknown
And I think he must have known that I was,

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Unknown
not feeling so good about my situation because he said, let's have some fun.

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Unknown
So then he takes me out on the waves and we start surfing the waves like it's just him and I surfing the waves in the zodiac. Boats like these big waves. And he had this big smile and I'm in the front barely holding on.

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Unknown
And so, you know, it was like this amazing experience. So we did it twice. And all my surfing friends like, what is going on? What are you doing? And but it was an amazing time. And he, it was just this, this energy thing where he was like, he made me feel like, this is fun and you deserve to be here.

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Unknown
And then I learned later that he was actually a legendary Peruvian surfer from the area. And now he does it for his job. And so he was he saw that I needed something. And I just really remember that. And just how how it can change your energy, right? When you have somebody who gives you that type of experience.

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Unknown
So that was day one. And so I had a whole week of amazing experiences and putting myself in a vulnerable position. So you surf in the morning and then in the afternoons we had a lot of downtime, so I would walk the beach. It was a very long beach and it was two cameras, a very small sort of, surfing slash fishing village.

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Unknown
And so lots of Peruvian people around, very local. So the vibe really cool. So I got a lot of time and the afternoons to really reflect on things. And there was a shift for me being there. And I think it's a combination of it's a soulful place, just really raw. But also that got me to expand out of where I am.

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Unknown
I work in the corporate world and the corporate job, you know, there. So it was actually great to have that time to just expand. I actually had been, doing so the life coaching training, and I almost quit because I felt I just don't have the room for that. But when I was there, I realized like, this is something I really want to do.

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Unknown
I really, really want to expand, and I really want to gain more knowledge about how I can help people and be a life coach. So one of those walks on the beaches was when I made the decision, and it was an intuitive decision that I want to become more trained and be a life coach as well, and all the decisions about how I do it when I do it, you know, that's later.

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Unknown
But I focus on what was my intuition. And so coming out of that, I really have leaned into my life, life coaching training. I now have clients, you know, that has that I've been working with. So it's amazing how your energy can shift. The second thing was it's part of the,

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Unknown
the group of women I was with.

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Unknown
You had to introduce yourself and tell them something interesting about yourself. And normally I would say something around maybe my sporting career and things that I've done or met my children, but I chose.

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Unknown
I'm writing a book, I'm writing a book, and I named the book which is Take a Chance on You, which everybody asks me in later discussions.

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Unknown
What was the bad and and so then that led to more conversations with people who are so interested to learn around taking a chance for women, which is what the book's about. So I would say it was a fairly,

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Unknown
besides the surfing and the vulnerability, the people, the spirit, they're just, I don't know, all those things together had me come back feeling a lot more.

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Unknown
I don't know if it's cool. It's Zen or just really in touch with who I truly am. And, I because I, when I, before I left, I was super anxious. I had a lot of anxiety, a lot of stress. And those things are still here for me. And I've written back, but they're affecting me differently. They don't take me the same way.

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Unknown
And I feel like there's a combination of this decision to really lean into a life coaching, to really want to help people put yourself in a vulnerable situation really lends itself for you to have those expansions and open yourself up to other possibilities.

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Unknown
Awesome. Thank you for sharing that story, Leon.

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Unknown
So I'm kind of hearing I think that guy kind of just set the tone of your whole trip right?

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Unknown
Pretty much. Yeah, exactly. He was so free and it was so impromptu, like, just out of nowhere, right? Like I was like, oh, just take me back to. Sure. Like was always what I was trying to say to him. And he didn't really understand English very well. And he was like, no, let's have some fun. And you're right, I think that,

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Unknown
yeah, I agree with it.

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Unknown
Totally agree with that.

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Unknown
Yeah. And that's so cool. So is it that impact that he had on you that's kind of like, oh, I can have this impact on other people as well.

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Unknown
I don't know if I join the dots like that as much, then the sheer vulnerability that I allowed myself to be in, which then made myself to be more expansive, expansive around how to help others.

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Unknown
I think that was more the connection he just helped me along my way. With that, I feel is is part of that. Yeah. So what was

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Unknown
the rest of the week like? It was a lot more surfing if you kind of brushed over. I think the

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Unknown
surfing experience you had the rest of the week, how do you, impact you and your decision as well?

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Unknown
Every day was a new physical challenge, and actually you got more tired as the week went on. But my surfing was great. I mean, I had some really good rides, and because it's a really long ride. So I think that was really great. But I think

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Unknown
on top of that was the value of the other things we got to do.

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Unknown
So we went to a, a burial site where there had been history from thousands of years ago. And we learned a lot about what has happened in parts of Peru, especially within the area that we're in. We got to make surfboards from a traditional way that used to make them thousands of years ago using reeds. So we got to make it local.

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Unknown
Peruvian who was trying to keep it alive, and we tried to surf on those. What they were made us look like, made of straw, but they were like surfboards. And so there was just a lot of experiences like that. And we also did a cocktail ceremony, which is basically a woman who was from the mountainous areas of Peru, brought the cacao down, and we did a whole ceremony around that, which was very spiritual.

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Unknown
So there was definitely the surfing physical challenge, loving the ways, and I was getting to ride. It was amazing, but all the other experiences that went with it. And lastly was the connection with the other women. It's it's it's not as regular or common now for you to have that much dedicated time with a group of kickass women who, as there was, any other distractions you having, you know, breakfast, lunch and dinner, meaningful conversations and those connections over breakfast, lunch and dinner.

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Unknown
And then you're also together, being super vulnerable at the way some were better at surfing than others. But all that, you know, together brought a connection. So the women were there as well.

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Unknown
I think

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Unknown
a huge part of retreats is actually the physical discomfort. I think a lot of retreats tend to be too cushy, and it's like spa and relaxation and you're not.

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Unknown
Yeah, I think overcoming anything, you can be vulnerable, but it's like it's the overcoming of something physical that also helps lead you to these great, huge breakthroughs as well. Right?

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Unknown
I would agree with that. And actually, one of the women in our group got injured pretty badly. And it was interesting how everybody,

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Unknown
gathered around that and really made sure that she was okay.

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Unknown
But again, we all put ourselves we all could have been in that situation. I mean, she basically had a really bad contusion. It wasn't like she had to spend weeks in hospital, but it was really knowing that you were putting yourself to that point in a physical, physical danger, but also physical challenge. You know, and then having you go from this physical challenge to this amazing

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Unknown
feeling, like when you catch a wave and you're catching a really awesome way that you never thought you could catch, and just those combination of things really cracks you open.

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Unknown
Yeah, I totally agree. I so I, I think, you know, that I tried to do an ultra well, I completed my ultra, I did 50km. And it's just that even just setting the goal of something you really think you probably can't do and then actually doing it, it just pushes you to another level and just continues to teach you.

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Unknown
Like you continue to teach yourself that you're capable of all of these things and you it's such

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Unknown
a huge driving force to grow. So like the physical challenges as well.

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Unknown
Absolutely agree with that. And so that's why I've shied away. Like I've had opportunities to go to amazing retreats where they're just retreats and I'm like, no, that's not going to do it for me.

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Unknown
I kind of need the physical space to,

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Unknown
to make it work, I feel. I mean, I should give it a try, I guess, but any any corporate retreat I've done, I've not got anywhere near, you know, this level of reflection on myself. Because those corporate conferences or retreats are still supposed to be about connection. Right. But it's just not, you know, connect in the same way at all.

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Unknown
No way, no way. Yeah.

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Unknown
So you said earlier that you have started life coaching and you have a couple clients already.

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Unknown
I don't know the question. It's coming out of,

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Unknown
What is the impact that you feel like you want to embark on? These people?

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Unknown
Is saying that everybody I feel that the coaching I'm doing, they have the answers within themselves.

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Unknown
And all I see is myself is a guide for those answers come out and for them to find their own journey. And to me, that's what coaching is about. And to see that happen for people is super rewarding for me, knowing that they are the ones I've just helped it come out right. Like really, they have the answers within themselves and to see them make progress and things that maybe they've been stuck on really is awesome to say.

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Unknown
And I just love seeing especially women, which I've been focusing on especially these are of these are successful women in their own way. And they have

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Unknown
just this is some things that they are lacking. And, you know, my role I see is like, I'm like the personal trainer in the gym. You already decided to join the gym, and I'm there to make you stronger and better, but you already decided you wanted to do that as opposed to, like, a therapist, which is, you know, here's what you want to work on.

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Unknown
What happened to you in the past, right? Mine is more around, let's get you better at whatever it is that you might be stuck on.

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Unknown
Awesome. I think I agree with you like people have all of their answers within themselves, and they kind of already know which direction they want to go. And you just need the validation and the reminder that you you already know because when I look back at myself, like all of the things that I'm loving right now, I loved when I was 15, I just told myself I couldn't do it when I with them, but I'm just back in the same spot and I think it's so funny.

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Unknown
It's really interesting. I'd love to take that same reflection for myself, because I don't even know what that what it sustained them was like, even having thoughts about like, nowhere near where I am. I mean, I was surfing back then, but like, you know, life was very different. I was living in New Zealand, but that's really cool. That's really awesome.

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Unknown
But I do think everybody knows. Everybody knows what they want. Yeah. They just sometimes I need a little, help is all,

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Unknown
it is very hard when you've been in corporate America most of your life where you're like, you know, this is what you gonna do. And, you know, we're gonna work on this together. And there's times when you and corporate world where you need to be a coach.

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Unknown
Sometimes you need to be a mentor, and sometimes you just need to delegate and get it done.

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Unknown
And so you have to, you know, be mindful of which one you're in. And I think in coaching it, so can be a little bit like that. You know, some days you're coaching, sometimes you're mentoring, sometimes you're a consultant, depending on your background, your skill sets.

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Unknown
So but it's really hard not to jump in with the answers when you say it right and say, because you might be wrong, too. So you got to sort of allow people to,

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Unknown
you know, keep asking the questions and get them directed in the right way. They want to go. Yeah. You can't tell people what they want because he might be wrong.

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Unknown
Exactly. I mean, you can certainly get, you know, tell me if I'm wrong, you know, what have I said? That's what is not aligned with how you really thinking about it. But that's the part of my challenge is to not guess what. I'm still learning not to jump in.

00:18:03:09 - 00:18:06:06
Unknown
Okay. And you mentioned earlier that you're writing a book.

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Unknown
Tell us more about that.

00:18:07:10 - 00:18:16:13
Unknown
Yes. So I'm writing a book. Could take a chance on you. And the reason why I wanted to write this was because I feel that women

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Unknown
don't often and us

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Unknown
take chances on themselves.

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Unknown
And so what I wanted to do was do a little bit of some storytelling around how that has been for me, and then other women that I know.

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Unknown
And then what were the key conduits for the things that really got down to the point of actually making the decision and taking a chance on themselves? And I think a most people have doubted that I'm not good enough. I'll never do it. I can't do it. Right. And so having tools and ways to help women get through some of that,

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Unknown
where they actually take the chance on themselves and make sure I can do that through storytelling so they can see, I think just having real good examples is always the best way to do that.

00:19:02:23 - 00:19:06:10
Unknown
Yeah, I agree, so,

00:19:06:10 - 00:19:32:17
Unknown
you said women generally don't take chances on themselves because they just feel like they're not good enough. Is that the main reason? I think some of my research has really been telling that that those who are really good at making decisions tend to have made micro decisions along the way, up to that big decision that gave them the confidence that no matter what way it went, based on the decision, they were going to be fine.

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Unknown
But the women who haven't had that experience of making many decisions, good or bad, and looking at and not working at, they only see one way that it's it's going to be bad. And if it's bad, I'm not gonna be able to handle it. But so that's that's why I think that women in general tend to shy away from some things and not do them because they haven't had the experience of making micro decisions along the way.

00:19:56:23 - 00:20:07:02
Unknown
That makes up for making a big decision and seeing it as a learning opportunity. And oh, it didn't go that well. But I still survived, right? Like, if you don't practice it, then

00:20:07:02 - 00:20:19:04
Unknown
it'll be really hard for you and those big decisions to take the chance. Yeah, yeah. And do you have, a projected date that the book is going to come out or not yet?

00:20:19:06 - 00:20:36:00
Unknown
Not yet, not yet, but I do have. And my own goal to have the manuscript done by the end of this year. And then, I definitely want to keep working on I'm doing research as well. So I'm researching to the point I was making around storytelling and,

00:20:36:00 - 00:20:39:14
Unknown
thesis. Around this point, I was making around many decisions.

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Unknown
So I think there's a little bit more to go, but it'll be a combination of, for me, part of my storytelling with me growing up in New Zealand, which is a very different world, and growing up in North America, it's just it's just different. New Zealand has the highest, I think, per capita entrepreneur

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Unknown
in the world because they are not afraid to take chances.

00:21:02:02 - 00:21:14:19
Unknown
And why is that? Is because they have many opportunities when they're younger to sail. And who cares if you don't make it right? There's a lot more of that mentality. And so,

00:21:14:19 - 00:21:26:23
Unknown
just that's something I want to build into. The story is some of the how I was raised can really lean to lead to where some of the direction I've gone, and also for other Kiwis as well.

00:21:27:00 - 00:21:33:02
Unknown
Yeah. Do you have an example of that, how kids are taught to fail when they're younger in New Zealand?

00:21:33:02 - 00:21:46:10
Unknown
Well, you I guess I could use myself as an, as an example that, you know, when I was young, well, I had a very disciplined family father. I was left to my own devices. And what I mean by that was a safe environment to do that.

00:21:46:10 - 00:22:03:22
Unknown
This just be clear. So from the time I was 8 or 9, I ran to school five miles on my own. If I missed the bus, I had to run to school. And by the way, my father was the principal of that school, so he could have given me a ride. But no, you know, I if I missed the bus, I had to run to school.

00:22:03:22 - 00:22:31:02
Unknown
But then that led to me becoming a really good cross-country runner because I did all this running. But my point is, it was mostly around being, you know, I put it being allowed to fail and figure it out myself and create resilience around failure. And that was by giving me freedom to make decisions for myself. And New Zealand's a safe place for the most part.

00:22:31:02 - 00:22:50:16
Unknown
To do that in an environment where, you know, you've got a lot of relatives around and someone's always going to be there to help you out sort of situation. But generally you had to figure stuff out on your own. And, you know, I, I've seen a number of examples like that, you know, where I've had to just figure stuff out.

00:22:50:18 - 00:23:01:12
Unknown
And my parents were not around. Now, I was also in a different generation where race, where there was no cell phones growing up. And so trying to get hold of people, you got into trouble was like really hard.

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Unknown
So here's another example. My father let me go horseback riding with my friends out the back of the farm in the middle of nowhere.

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Unknown
When I got back just a horse and broke my arm and we were like miles away from the farmhouse, I had to walk back all that way with the broken arm, because there's no way to get hold of anybody. Call my father, who I don't even know if I knew, but he didn't come for two hours later. So I'm sitting there with a broken, clearly broken arm.

00:23:26:22 - 00:23:42:03
Unknown
Just things like that where you just kind of left your own devices to figure it out. Yeah. So that's awesome. That's really interesting to hear from my perspective as, a person that was extremely sheltered with helicopter parents,

00:23:42:03 - 00:23:50:19
Unknown
like a completely different childhood for me. So safer. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing your story, Leona.

00:23:50:21 - 00:24:12:16
Unknown
Or one of your many stories. Is there anything else that you want to share with the audience? Definitely also share where they can find you. And, more info, ways to contact you. Well, I, I don't really have many places to find me right now, but, what I am working on is it to generate that sort of opportunity to find me.

00:24:12:16 - 00:24:26:06
Unknown
But I think, you know, just over time, you see, my dad is the only person and you'll see that come up. Anybody who's listening this, you know that there will be a book coming in. You'll see that this is take a chance on you. It's going it's going to be cold and I'm going to be the author. So yeah.

00:24:26:11 - 00:24:34:19
Unknown
Come on it. Awesome. Okay. And whenever you do get the links, you can let me know. And then I'll edit this and I can spit in the podcast YouTube channel whatever.

00:24:34:19 - 00:24:38:03
Unknown
Cool. So good. Thank you so much. The you know this is fun.

00:24:38:03 - 00:24:43:02
Unknown
All right. Cool. Thank you. Bye bye. Upper gritty.