032: Lisa Foster - Using personality tests to be your best self
Coach explains the benefits of CliftonStrengths, Myers-Briggs, and Enneagram
Lisa Foster, owner of Parillume, is a leadership and team development speaker, consultant and coach. She empowers dynamic leaders and teams who want to leverage strengths and personalities to improve engagement, communication and their bottom line. Her Shine From Your Original Design℠ program – which applies results from CliftonStrengths, Myers-Briggs and the Enneagram - has benefited individuals, families, professional teams and community groups throughout the US.
NOTES
Lisa shares a gut-wrenching story about a childhood trauma that inevitably led her to become the hero of her story rather than a victim
she talks about the work she does with clients and how the insights that assessments provide us can be used in our lives and businesses
we do a live coaching session where she takes me through my own assessments as they related to CliftonStrengths, Myers-Briggs and the Enneagram so you can hear first hand how informative they are to how we show up in the world
the power of setting boundaries and setting them often as well as self-nurturing
and she invites you to join her “60-Second Shift” movement
LINKS
Sexual Violation and The Invisible Hero at TEDxCrestmoorParkWomen
Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find and Keep Love by Amir Levine
The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks
TRANSCRIPT
Lisa Foster: 00:00:00 And that was what was so game-changing personally from me back in 2007 2008 because I had been a stay at home mom, I had lost a lot of confidence. I mean, you know, going through all my healing journey and again, being in the relationship I was in, I didn't have a ton of confidence. I had boldness because I felt so compelled to help these kids. But having an understanding of my strengths, the ones that of course I, I got like, Oh yeah, empathy. My number one strength. Positivity. Okay, that makes sense. That's why I have this crazy hope that we can do something for these kids. But when I saw the strength and I know we share that one, I saw the strength of WOO. That was a surprise and I actually, I always ask my clients were there any surprises? Because the surprises are what can be the greatest growth edge for us because I had to at the time, because of the dynamic I was in, I thought I was introverted and I had this perception of myself that I don't like parties. I don't like networking. I'm not good at it. You know, all of this stuff. And then when I read this definition of winning others over and the ability to meet someone right away and find those places of connection and rapport and make friends easily, I was like, Oh, okay. I think I actually do have that, and now I'm going to really practice that.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:01:22 You're listening to The Artful Entrepreneur podcast, a show about living an inspired life filled with vitality, creativity, and fulfillment. My name is Gabe Ratliff, and I'll be your host as I interview fellow creative entrepreneurs from around the globe to hear their stories and learn more about their work so that you can tap into your creative purpose and live a life that's drawn, not traced on the show. We talk about things like the creative process, personal development, community equity and contribution, as well as the lessons learned along the way. All right, let's get to it.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:02:05 Hey, Artfuls! How's it going out there today? I hope you're kicking ass and taking names up. You're creating with purpose and making some good art. So I want to ask, have you heard of Clifton strengths or Meyers-Briggs or Enneagram? Generally throughout your career you can potentially have to do this or I've even had to do it when I was in the hiring process for some companies. So it's really fascinating to me diving into these assessments and learning more about yourself and I'm a lifelong learner so I'm really into diving in and learning more about who I am and what makes me me so that I can take that information and be able to show up even better and stronger and more confident in who I am when I'm engaging with clients and friends and family members and and whoever. So I want to talk about what these assessments are just so you have a little bit of a background around them.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:02:56 So with Clifton strengths in case you don't know, it explains how you are uniquely powerful. It uncovers your unique rank order of 34 Clifton strengths, themes that they've developed, which are essentially your talent DNA. They explained the ways you most naturally think, feel and behave. Now with Myers Briggs, they have a type indicator which is an introspective self-report questionnaire indicating different psychological preferences and how people perceive the world and make decisions, and then Enneagram or Enneagram of personality is a model of the human psyche, which is principally understood and taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types. Now hold on. Hopefully your brain didn't explode. Our guest today, Lisa Foster, is going to explain these to us and you're actually going to get to hear me go through this process with Lisa for myself. She's actually going to do an assessment of each of these tests and share what comes up for me and what my types are.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:03:54 It's fascinating. I'm really excited and it's really interactive episodes, so I hope you stay tuned. Now let me tell you a little bit about Lisa. She's owner of [inaudible] and is a leadership and team development speaker, consultant, and coach. She empowers dynamic leaders and teams who want to leverage strengths and personalities to improve engagement, communication, and their bottom line. Her shine from your original design program which applies results from Clifton strengths, Myers Briggs and Enneagram has benefited individuals, families and professional teams throughout the U S during our conversation, Lisa shares a gut wrenching story about a childhood trauma that inevitably led her to become the hero of her story rather than a victim. There's a really great Ted talk where she actually shares this story more in depth and with that audience and that's available online. I'm going to have that link in the show notes so I highly recommend you watching that as well.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:04:48 So she also talks about the work that she does with clients and how the insights that assessments like this can provide us with so much information and how we show up in our lives and in business. We do a live coaching session as I said, where she takes me through my own assessments and how they relate to the Clifton strengths, Myers-Briggs and the Enneagram. So you can hear firsthand how informative they are and how we show up in the world. She talks about the power of setting boundaries and setting them often as well as self nurturing. And she invites you to join her 62nd shift movement, which I'm going to have a link to that in the show notes as well. So very, very excited about this. We had such a, we just had a riot. I mean it was just so much fun interacting with Lisa. Every time I've spoken with her and interacted with her, it's just been a blast. We are just a force to be reckoned with when we get together as we talk about, we just, we share a lot of the types in these different assessments and we just had such a good time. So let's get to it,
Gabe Ratliff: 00:05:58 Lisa. Oh my gosh. I am so excited to have you on this show. Thank you so much for being here. You are amazing. And you're also such a kindred. Oh my gosh.
Lisa Foster: 00:06:12 I know. I have loved our conversation so far and I'm so grateful to be here and to have met you.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:06:18 Oh man. So, so Lauren Sims, who was recently on the show shared your information. And so dear listeners Lisa and I had a wonderful sort of a pre pre-interview discovery call and we're just in stitches and having such a blast talking to each other and then found out based on her work that we are, which we're going to get to soon, that we share a lot in common with some of our different little tests that she actually uses in her work and where we fall in those. So, so Lisa, yeah. Thank you so much for being here. I'm so excited to share you and your story and your work with my audience and I thought we would start off with where is the best place to begin your story?
Lisa Foster: 00:07:10 Oh, that's a great question. I like great questions. Thank you. You know, the best place to begin my story probably is just a brief foray back to the beginning, the origins, the origin story, just because it has shaped so much of my pursuit of knowing who I am and being authentic and understanding strengths and personality. So I grew up outside of Seattle in a Christian home and evangelical Christian home that also happened to be abusive in ways that other people couldn't see, if you know what I mean by that. So what I mean by that is spiritually abusive emotionally and then also sexually abuse abusive. I was abused by my father. And so growing up the way that I survived that is a lot of disassociation and a lot of getting up and going to school and being perfect and performing and acting and being, you know, being in front of people and really taking on this persona of someone that adapted to whatever environment she was in.
Lisa Foster: 00:08:22 And so I feel like I have to start there because it, you know, from the time I was then a senior in college, so 20, 21 years old, I not only had confronted my father by that point, but I had begun my first little journey into reading the book personality plus by Florence Littauer, I think her name was. And so even from that point, there was this hunger to be seen and to see myself. And so that journey, you know, to make a long story short, in terms of, of that journey of my family there was a lot of pain. I've done a lot of sharing about that in different podcasts and the TEDx talk that I, I gave a few years ago, but I lost my whole family at that point. My dad denied it. He still denies it. I'm actually not in relationship with my parents, but at that age 21, I got married, left the family, you know, finished college and began my healing journey.
Lisa Foster: 00:09:25 So began looking into personality stuff and then doing a lot of therapy and healing work around that. And it was super traumatic. So I know I'm sounding like really calm and professional about it, but it was are we allowed to say to swear it off? It was, it was a full on shit storm as you can imagine. And it was horribly painful and really, really hard. And so I was finishing college at the university of Washington, married my first year and and figuring that out and having PTSD and having all sorts of responses. And then beginning this deep dive, really my first three years of marriage was a deep dive into healing. So that has been a theme my whole life, personal growth, healing coming out of the effects that I still have some of the affects of that experience in my life that I still work through.
Lisa Foster: 00:10:22 But in terms of the strengths and personality piece by 2007, 2008, so there's a big chunk there. You know, I graduated with the speech communications degree. I did some work in fundraising and marketing. Then I was a stay at home mom, homeschooled my son for a number of years and 2007, 2008, I was starting a nonprofit helping orphan children in a rural village in Zimbabwe, which is a whole nother story. But I was starting that my only child was at entering middle school and being bullied and it was this divine, I feel like moment where like the heavens opened. I opened, I opened the newspaper one day and I've, I've read this article about Marcus Buckingham, I don't know if you've heard of Marcus Buckingham. He's one of the, he's, he's not, not that old to be called a father, I don't think. I think he's probably in his fifties, but he has written a ton of books about strengths and personality and this whole positive psychology you know, movement if you will, around strengths based leadership. So I hadn't done much with strengths and personality. I had done a lot of the healing work around my abuse in my past, but when I got ahold of his work and that was the same year that StrengthsFinder 2.0 was coming up. And so I just devoured everything and began applying it personally with my son and professionally. And so, you know, that's really where I just deep dived there.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:11:58 So, Oh man, so many things he did. I mean there's this juice everywhere. This is so juicy. So Zimbabwe, yeah, bring it, bring it it's shirt that you were like, that's another story. Can you share that real quick? Cause as you know, I'm a friend of tra, a fan of travel. And if you want to talk to him, Bob away for a second, let's go there.
Lisa Foster: 00:12:23 Yes. Well and again, this is one of those things I will say with my personality, I am a, and I don't know if you're the same way, but I am a jumper off cliffs person. And what I mean by that is I may be freaking out, scared to death, but if I intuitively believe something I can, I can pull it out and be fricking brave. You know what I mean? And courageous. And this is one of those situations where I had spent years trying to have a second child. So there's a lot. So I did spend 10 years dealing with infertility as well. And by the way, I was in a marriage that didn't end up lasting and had a lot of issues around it. So I've had a ha, I've had a number of different dynamics that I've had to work through.
Lisa Foster: 00:13:15 And so as I was working through the infertility piece, my now ex husband wasn't interested in adoption or foster care or anything like that. And I really was. And so we couldn't even talk about it. And what began to grow in me during that season of pain and loss and, and this love for children and wanting to have more children was, well, if I can't have more children in my home, then maybe I can do something to help children elsewhere. And so just through again, sort of these, this intuition, divine appointments, I ended up in Zimbabwe in 2006 traveling with a former pastor of mine who was involved, land had made some, again, connections and was looking for the kids. I was supposed to help, you know, I felt like I was supposed to go on this trip and find these kids. And so we visited different you know, community based care programs.
Lisa Foster: 00:14:08 We visited orphanages, things like that. Really some, some good work being done. But it wasn't until we landed in this world village and I met 80 dual orphans, children sitting under a tree with the headman. They're they're kind of chief if you will, of their village and they had no support. That was when I thought, okay, God, okay universe if I can do something, I'm going to try because that's who, that's who I want to help these kids. And so I came home, this is kind of a cool story. I will say it's, it's a, I like miracles. I imagine you do too. I like it when things like just zing. Oh my gosh, how did that happen? So I home and other than my ex husband, I told one other, well, I came home and I wrote out a vision and mission for a community based care program run by Zimbabweans to serve these kids.
Lisa Foster: 00:15:01 And I had my little plan together and it was sort of just, I had no real experience other than just a lot of heart, a lot of hope, a lot of possibility and believe in miracles. So I do this. Tell my ex husband, I tell one other person that a man named Mark friend of mine, I kid you, not, two months later, he calls me up and says, Lisa, you're not going to believe it. I was in a meeting today and I met a Zimbabwean named Davison who's getting a master's in leadership at Denver seminary and he has the exact same vision and mission you do to help the orphan children in his home country. Can I connect you to, and he did. And he became the director. And we, you know, again, miracle after miracle, six months later, we're have nonprofit status. We've got a board, we've got a team of volunteers. We've raised enough funds to send Davidson and his family back to Zimbabwe to begin that work.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:15:58 Okay.
Lisa Foster: 00:15:58 And I ended up transitioning out of that work, but that work. So I birthed that work and then it got adopted by an organization called vision trust. And it is now what started is 80 kids in one village had, has now one project I should say has now reached over 2,400 kids. And Davidson is still the director in Zimbabwe. And so all of that was happening. And so that was really the place where I got to practice bringing people in and giving them assessments and really thinking about how they could best use their strengths, what their superpowers and kryptonite. But that's the Zimbabwe story.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:16:39 Wow. Do you see kids? That's why she's here. That's awesome. So that's awesome. I love it. I love it. Yeah. And I am a fan of, I love those. I'm also a super connector and I love doing that. I love when I meet somebody and it immediately clicks and I go, I've got to connect you with these people. It just happened the other day. I was like, I had three people as we were talking and when I was on a discovery call and I was like, you got, I gotta connect you with these three people and they're going to, it's going to be awesome. All right, here we go.
Lisa Foster: 00:17:19 I know we're going to talk Enneagram later in the podcast, but that is one of the, just blows my mind. Super powers of any Graham twos, which is what you are, which is their ability to intuitively connect and like massive scale. It seems like it just, I just, I love that about any Graham twos.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:17:39 Oh wow. Yeah. And it's, it's, it's interesting too because when I was younger it was dormant, you know, like it wasn't, I wasn't practice, I wasn't working that muscle and I wasn't intuitively open to it, you know, like I wasn't just like going to that space. But I remember when I first got into the startup world that I became really good friends with one of the cofounders and we hit it off. We became bros. He actually was an MC, he was the MC at my wedding and went from being, you know, cofounder, boss to friend and emcee at my wedding, you know. And he actually took me onto a couple of, of other businesses after that original startup. And I remember hanging with him at his house one day and we were sitting out on this back porch and he was like, you know, the, the thing about you man is that you are, cause he is a super connector as well.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:18:40 And he's like, the thing about you is you are totally a super connector. And ever since then and I w I was recognizing it, but he like blatantly called it out and was like, bro, this is so natural for you. And now I look back and I'm like, wow, I totally, cause I also, I remember growing up loving all kinds of groups, you know, and being connected in OD, I didn't have like one click. I was always like, I was friends with like, you know, all the different types of cliques. Cause I just love people and I never really, I wasn't like just in that one crew. And I remember in college I hung out with so many different types of, I mean like punkers death, metal heads, you know, I, I was, I'm also a DJ, you know, so I was in that scene hippie scene.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:19:32 I mean, you know, because I'm also, you know, a lover of, you know, mother earth and, and animals and wildlife. And I had adopted a whale when I was in college named midnight, who interestingly enough, midnight was a mother who had several children, but she also was interactive with so many other animals, like dolphins and all kinds of other Marine life. And that was the thing that I loved about her was that she interacted with all the, she was like very interactive with other animals and now, now I think about it and I'm like, huh. Makes sense. Huh?
Lisa Foster: 00:20:08 The super connector gap continues and want to comment on that for a second. I love that story about, you know, you're the cofounder that became your friend and called this out in you because this is the power of, I think, assessments and their ability to shine a light on something that we just take for granted. And I do believe that what we focus on expands and when we can begin to put language, wrap language around those superpowers that gives us confidence, we begin to see it at play and then we begin to consciously exercise it and it just grows and becomes, you know, part of our zone of genius. So very cool.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:20:50 Yeah. Here, here and I agreed. Agreed. Because then an a, do you know, I think I asked you about this before in our pre-interview call, but do you remember or do you know my unique abilities or I'm sorry, unique ability. I'm trying to think of the whole book title. I think it's two. Dot. Oh, that's what that was what I was trying to think of like what it was, but the company is what I was,
Gabe Ratliff: 00:21:23 Strategic coach I think is the name of the company and that was what I was thinking of. But yeah, I did the book and the workbook my unique abilities or developed my, well let's try that again, shall we? Kids. I read the book unique ability to dot O which I had heard about on a podcast and I did the workbook to develop my unique ability and all of that work was so fascinating to me because it taps into these and I'm a same, I'm so into these tests because I feel like it really helps to, to do exactly what you just said to, to bring that point back around of, of it gives you this reference. It's not an affirmation, right? It's like an, it's a realization and an understanding of the deeper level of like how we interact in the world and the, and like where things come from.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:22:18 And so it gives you a better understanding and it gives you a way to utilize that as you say, with like strengths and like how you can use those strengths and you can work those muscles because you actually have this tangible understanding of what that is as opposed to when it was dormant for me. And it was something that I was not consciously, you know, practicing and developing and also getting fulfillment from it. Right? I mean like when you tap into that and you start to understand things like this, when you work with a coach like yourself and you start to go, Oh my gosh, I didn't even think about, you know, and you miss those things that you take for granted and then you start to get that the stuff becomes clear and then you can actually do something with it beyond what you had been.
Lisa Foster: 00:23:09 Absolutely. And that was what was so game changing personally from me back in 2007 2008 because I had been a stay at home mom, I had lost a lot of confidence. I mean, you know, going through all my healing journey. And again, being in the relationship I was in I didn't have a ton of confidence. I had boldness because I felt so compelled to help these kids. But having an understanding of my strengths the ones that of course I, I got like, Oh yeah, empathy, my number one strength. Positivity. Okay, that makes sense. That's why I have this crazy hope that we can do something for these kids. But when I saw the strength and I know we should we share that one. I saw the strength of Lou, that was a surprise and I actually, I always ask my clients were there any surprises because the surprises are what can be the greatest growth edge for us.
Lisa Foster: 00:24:05 Because I had at the time, because of the dynamic I was in, I thought I was introverted and I had this perception of myself that I don't like parties. I don't like networking. I'm not good at it, you know, all of this stuff. And then when I read this definition of winning others over and the ability to meet someone right away and find those places of connection and rapport and make friends easily, I was like, Oh, okay, I think I actually do have that and now I'm going to really practice that. Which mind you. Thank goodness I did because I needed to be out there building the volunteer base, you know, getting the fundraising for the, you know, hosting the events, doing all these things. And because I had that sense of, no, this is my, this is my strength, I'm just going to lean into it. It kind of, you know, I'm going to see results with ease. That's what I began to see. So I love that about all of this kind of work.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:24:58 Right. I, that one was a great one for me too, cause it was fun. It was fascinating to me. My manager actually at my last startup, she's, she's actually I forget what they call it, but it's like it's like a facilitator for strengths finder. And so she had this access to that and had all of this training behind it, similar to yourself. Right. And so she had all this information around it and we were starting to look at that and how we could utilize those strengths in our team. And that's another thing that has been important to me is I've been developing a team for my mission and my business, you know, and being like, who do I want to be working with and what am I looking for and how does that interplay with my strengths? And so I remembered taking it and then getting those responses and being like, interesting.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:25:53 But then I saw Wu and I was like, I mean I am woo, but, but then I learned like, Oh no, it means winning others over. And I was like, Oh, okay, cool. And then she was like, this totally makes sense, you know? And she started unpacking all that for me and I was like, Oh yeah, it does. Like I, yeah. Okay. And then for me, what I wanted to kind of piggyback on what you just said is it's like become a little bit of a game for me too, right? Where it's like this, it's like exciting to me to meet new people and to look for those connections because I now know, like we were just talking about a minute ago, it's like now that you have this information that you can take that and like, it's something to get excited about. Like, Oh, I have this skill that I now know and I can harness how can I use that to the benefit of others?
Gabe Ratliff: 00:26:48 Absolutely. I love, right. Yup. Yeah. And then it was this like this like eyeopening experience of like, Oh, in like my wife, she cracks up. Cause we, when we travel, when we go anywhere, she's like, you can talk to anyone. And I'm like, yeah man, everybody's cool. Everybody's got a story. Everybody, that's why I do this show. I'm like, everybody's got a story. He's just got to give them the chance to share it. And you know, and, and like, and you just find that something and now it's not like you're seeking, it's not like sleazy, right? It's not like you're looking for it to be like, Hey, how am I going to get in there and get in your head? No, it's not like that at all. It's like, how do you connect? How do we, you know, how can I connect? Cause the connect for me, which we'll get to here in a little bit, kids.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:27:34 For me, connectedness is my number one. Oh, is it your number one? That's my, and then woo. And then positivity. And that makes sense for me because like, that's like one of the biggest things. And that's, you know when I did the four not the four agreements, but the the love language with my wife, quality time, very number one. And it's like, to my core, like if I feel like people are just like shining me on and do you know, like the whole experience of being at like dinner when people start breaking out their phones and they're jumping on social media and you're added, you're actually together at a meal and you're like experiencing life together. And now look, if I'm looking something up real quick, I'm, I'm being vulnerable here. Kids sharing a little bit, but like if I'm, if I'm with friends, you know, and we're like looking something up like, Oh, who, who's that actor?
Gabe Ratliff: 00:28:32 Like what move are they in? Or, or you know, like something on Wikipedia or whatever. Like when, when something like a movie starting or something like that's one thing. But when somebody is like, actually on Facebook sitting at the table where you're like having a dinner and a conversation, that's when like quality time, I just like am like, what are you doing? And I start poking fun, you know? And I'm like, seriously, put your phone away, you know? And but yeah, that one for me goes hand in hand with the same thing with connectedness and you know, winning people over and like just that, like how they interplay together for me because I think it's just so important for making relationships for business, making relationships in life. You know, just like this relationship, right? Like it started off with like a handoff from a mutual friend and turned into this like budding friendship of just like, Oh wait, we have so much in common and you know, we get on the, we get on the call, you guys didn't see this. But before we start the interview we were just like giddy and laughy and silly cause we're so similar and just have so many things in common and have a lot of energy. I can't imagine us at like a conference. People would just be like, okay go take a break man.
Lisa Foster: 00:29:47 It's so funny because, Oh connected, this is my fourth strength. So I have that as well. And then we are both ENF JS in Myers-Briggs, so that, that combo but I have to ask you this because you kind of brought it up with the example of being at a meal and having someone you know, be on the phone, which I also would not like. I can't even imagine like that would feel so, you know, offensive to me or something. But, but I was going to ask you the thing about Wu, the kryptonite with Wu, with, with, I think connectedness will positivity is being around people that we can't win over or that are super negative or you know, are not affirming and don't like us. Like, do you ever find that? Like what did I do? I'm like this like, don't you like, like me,
Gabe Ratliff: 00:30:30 I'm also an empath, so like I'm just like, and I'm a perfectionist, so I just am immediately, and I'm a, you know, I'm a pleaser, so I'm like, how am I, you know, being a helper, I'm like, how, how, how am I not, I can't win them over. What's wrong? What's wrong with me?
Lisa Foster: 00:30:49 That's what I do. I, you know, my, my now husband Tom, it's so my new husband as of I think a month and a half now. So congratulations. Thank you. I did not know that. No, we didn't talk about that in the beginning. I know it's been since our first conversation, but yeah, so he has helped me a lot because he's a very different personality. He's very strategic. He's in any grand made challenger. He's very grounded and real and not as much, not at all into like fearing what people think or needing their approval in ways that I'm, I'm still working through. I still have to consciously work through like, you know what, this is why, you know, as coaches and you're going to get this, we do the work that we want in our own life. Right? You know, we do this work because this matters to us.
Lisa Foster: 00:31:39 And and so that's why I talked so much about the power of understanding and shifting our lens to a lens of strengths and personality so that we can avoid taking things personally. So I can, and I've learned to do that now for the most part, and it may take me a little bit, I'm trying to get faster at this, but even in mid conversation, if I'm not feeling the love connection, which is the space I always want to be in with three, relationship building strengths and two, influencing strengths with strengths, fine with Clifton strengths. I love that connection. I'm able to now practice going, okay, they have a totally different perspective. They're probably a thinker. They probably have different strengths like around, you know, strategic strengths. Are there any graph type might be a logist more cerebral or not, you know, more introverted. And to really practice that level of acceptance of, Oh, it's not about me at all. It's totally them just showing up in the world and can I just relax into and be compassionate for myself and for them and I don't have to win everyone over. I don't have to have everyone love me all the time.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:32:54 Yeah. And that's definitely been a practice for sure for me as well. You know, just understanding that some people you just can't vibe with. There's some people in our administration that just can't vibe with. Yeah, I went there. That's right. I'm going there with ya. I can't, I'm practicing authenticity. Yeah. Here, here. Yeah. I mean that's, that's part of this show. It's stepping out and standing up, having a voice and getting, giving others a voice, you know. But it's also, you know, it's also part of what I was excited about this conversation has been, I, I in, I've done this work myself. I, I, that's one thing I connect with you on, like you just said, like, we do the work that we, we want and we put I the work I do with my business coach Nate, issue, lap guard, we talk about source commitments, right?
Gabe Ratliff: 00:33:55 Which goes deeper than just your values, but it's like the commitments that you, you, it's what you want to put out into the world. And for me, it's like what you want to share with the world, what do you want to bring to the world? And for me, those are like joy, transformation, community, creativity empowerment, freedom. I think freedom. I write this in my journal every morning, I'm like, freedom is such an under underrated thing. People throw it, or I guess I don't even want to say underrated, but just, it's, people throw it around a lot, right? But when you really think about like personal freedom, financial freedom, you know, those are really valuable to me. You know, being able to captain my captain, my own ship, you captain your own ship. When you took charge of your life, like when you shared in your Ted talk around your, your, the hero's journey that you went through from victim to eventually hero, you know, and then beyond where you're actually making a, an impact and like changing the world from becoming the hero and like taking that and doing something with it.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:35:09 And that to me was just, just so powerful, right? Because you're, you're doing exactly that and that's the, you're D and you're, you're, you're have since gone from that and are coming from this space of empowerment and freedom and all of these things. And you've been able to change that the language and the way that you up to then have a new relationship that with someone who is in a totally different space, that you can come from this like very clean and clear understanding of like what you're looking for and that it's okay that that's what you had to do. You know, that everything is okay. And I love that. I love that about your story. And what I'm trying to get at is that the other thing about this show that I'm so excited to have you here for is to share these insights with my audience because so many of us need this support and there's a lot of people that don't know about these things though, or, or, or just haven't done them or you know, maybe haven't felt like they're worth it or that they're valuable. But there's so many times just so far in the conversation that I just keep hearing these stories that prove the point of this stuff matters. This stuff matters.
Lisa Foster: 00:36:33 Well, absolutely. And you know, parallelism is a made up word. It means para to come alongside. And Allume to help people shine. And in terms of my biggest why in life, you know, to help people no matter their past, know their value and worth and that they can be freed up to shine. That is what I live for. That is absolutely what gets me out of bed in the morning. And I have found that the, the, the data points gathered from these specific assessments and what they can unpack in terms of an awareness that builds confidence and compassion for ourselves, but also empathy for others really when they are understood and applied and leveraged in our lives personally, professionally, they can change our trajectory. They can give us the fuel we need to create lives. We love, they can give us the, that fuel we need to change careers or to find our way within an existing company or as a, as leaders to raise up a team that absolutely is engaged and knows how to communicate with one another and honor one another and, and create impact together, really reach and fulfill their bottom line goals and intentions that that's what lights me up about this kind of work.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:38:07 Yeah, great segue by the way. Thank you. I was just about to ask, talk about parallel.
Lisa Foster: 00:38:16 Fair, fair. Yeah. So apparel bloom, it's interesting because it did start with originally with the intention to help people who've experienced sexual violation move from surviving to thriving become their own heroes in life. And so it began with, it's the signature was the free to shine coaching program. And as a centerpiece of that work, I had the session called your original design, which integrated Clifton strengths, Myers-Briggs, and the Enneagram. And what began to happen right away is that as people were going to the program, they would say to me, when we got, we worked through that session, he can, can my husband do this? Or Hey, I have, I'd love my team to do this work. And you, you know, people begin, you should offer this to people outside of the sexual violation conversation. And so I began to do that and I began to find that I was getting speaking opportunities in this conversation and beginning to like act out the Enneagram types as part of keynotes for fun, playful things.
Lisa Foster: 00:39:26 And begin, you know, breaking out into song and using different accents and being really playful in that conversation in a way that I couldn't in the sexual violation conversation. And so what ended up happening is by the end of last year, I kind of looked up in my life cause things get so busy and looked up in my business and went, wow, this arm of things, the shine from your original design program and all of that is, is really taking off. And what's happening is now I have like two brands, teams I hired are hiring me to work with their, their groups and going to my website. And it's all about sexual violation. And so what happened is I had a transition and, and it kind of, I do want to, can I just share one story that's related to, it's coming out from me and my heart right now and I want to share it because it's so powerful.
Lisa Foster: 00:40:17 So at the same time last year I had been doing para Olin for three years, focused on sexual violation. The me too movement had come. It was chain, you know, I'm so grateful for that movement and, and all the things that have been happening. And I was in this love relationship and my son was graduating college this next year and so it was kind of a transition time for me. And during the Brett Cavanagh hearings I had a first cousin write me an apology after 27 years. I had not seen him since my wedding day when I was 21 years old. He is an amazing human an an author, a journalist, pretty, pretty well known, like just an incredible person professionally. But I had had nothing, I hadn't really read his work. I had had nothing to do with him. And during the Cavenaugh hearings, he sent me this beautiful apology.
Lisa Foster: 00:41:22 We totally reconnected. He was apologizing for not believing me, for not standing in the gap when everyone was saying I was lying and, and really doing the courageous thing and he was honoring the courage and, and all of that. I say that because something beautiful shifted in me. Something that I think my heart had longed for that I hadn't even communicated to myself, which was a fan, a family member to see me and to acknowledge what had happened. And so we began a relationship, then he flew out to Boulder, we had dinner together in January. It was like this closure, it was this completion for me in a way that I, you know, didn't fully understand the moment, but looking back that, and so by February, March, I knew I needed to transition parallel to focus solely on leadership and team development and my speaking and consulting and coaching around strengths and personality. And so that's what has happened in terms of, of where parallel is going. So
Gabe Ratliff: 00:42:39 That's awesome. That's so awesome. I mean cause have you, did you have you, I don't know if this is like things that you want to, cause like you were talking about the me too movement and things like that, but so I also do my, you know, as a, I studied film in school and photography and one of the things that I just, I absolutely love that medium of film. And how you can share stories beyond. Absolutely. You know, I grew up reading books, love books, still do, but I love the power of story and how we continue to share the stories through that medium. And so every Friday I do a weekly film and TV recommendation for people cause I had so many people asking me for recommendations. They're like, Hey man, I'm feeling like this. What should I watch? And so I've been doing that. But what I found is so great about, it's called critical fandom. And what I love about it is it gives me an opportunity to also put out fellow creative entrepreneurs, right? I'm still following my same mission, but I'm supporting other auto tours who are telling these great and powerful and impactful stories. And one of them I just shared recently, it's called unbelievable. Have you heard about this show on Netflix?
Lisa Foster: 00:43:53 I knew you were going to say this. Yeah, I was trying to tee it up for you. Like Oh yeah. Here's the thing. I actually haven't seen it, but what I have done is just last week I listened to this American life podcast and they replayed their segment from back in 2008 about that, that unbelievable was based on scoring. And I am going to watch it.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:44:20 Okay. So yes, definitely. I, I, ah, I, so I will, I, I don't, I'm not going to spoil anything, but I do want to share this because I think it's really powerful. The thing that I really loved, so part of the part of this movement that I am trying to showcase is the women's voice. And that's a new thing unfortunately. But it's a new thing that is now infiltrating Hollywood and it's a beautiful infiltration because we're now seeing shows like that where, so there, so the, the lead, one of the, the, the lead girl who this is about that actor is also in another movie called book smart, which is hysterical. Yeah, it's hysterical. That is also written by, it's by written, but I just recommended that one, cause I, I love that actor. She's amazing. And I love seeing her range because of what we see in unbelievable.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:45:22 When you see it, you'll see what I'm talking about because now you've, you said you've seen books, Martin, you've seen, it's like, you know, very funny. It's like super bad or like a John Hughes film. Unbelievable. As a complete difference. But the thing I love about both of these is that they're written by women and most of those episodes were directed by women as well. And so I just, I love seeing this because we're getting to see, it's like Fleabag Fleabag just want all these, the Emmys and like she is, we love her. I totally have a crush on her. Like we, you and your wife. Yeah. We just, yeah, we watch everything together. Yeah. I mean, cause so she came up on a podcast episode with Elaine Merino. We were talking about she works in diversity and helping teams look at equity and equality and how to actually implement diversity and how that works in the tech space as an older Latino woman.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:46:15 Right. And so she understands on several levels what that's like. And so we were having this conversation and the woman's voice came up and she mentioned Fleabag and that was one of the ones I hadn't seen. So we, I was like, Hey, we have to watch this. So we, we started it and within seconds we're just like, love it, you know? And I recommended Fleabag and you know, it's just so great to see these stories that are being put out into the world because there is a lot of them are hysterical. Not all of them, right? Like we're talking about. Unbelievable. But it's just so great to see this other, through this other lens that people don't even realize. We weren't able to see these stories and hear these stories through. But because of these stories being told, like unbelievable, we're getting to see them, we're getting to have this, this sort of clarity coming around not being heard, right?
Gabe Ratliff: 00:47:07 And not being seen and not being believed when you share a story. And that's exactly what happens in this story. And the thing that was really powerful for me that they did masterfully is in the first episode you see her interaction with police. And you see what it's like to not be seen or be heard and believed. And you see this just like devolve from, you know, the immediate finding out. And there's this like they go through the motions, but then you see it just chip away at the belief and it's just, it's, I was just unbelievable. I mean they named it properly, but then you see in the second episode when another victim is coming forward and the interaction with women police and how the interaction was completely different and it was so powerful to see that. And so I highly recommend even just watching those first two episodes because you get to see the juxtaposition of how just a simple interactions and like how people are engaging in a situation like that can be, have such a ripple effect. And so anyway, that's the thing that I really, I wanted to bring that up because with you sharing that story of like what that was like, but then have someone actually get it and take the time to, to also, not to be, to not to not have such an ego. Right. And to not like just maybe recognize it, but then not take that step to actually supply that apology. I just think that's, that's so amazing to hear that it took me a minute to get there, but it was worth it, I hope.
Lisa Foster: 00:48:58 Oh, it was there. Was there so much there. Well first of all, the unbelievable piece though, those locations of the, the rapes Lynnwood Washington, Kirkland, Washington, I don't know if they actually use that in the film. They use the locations, but that's where I grew up. Kirkland, Washington, golden, Colorado was where the female what like they, they took and they transformed the case and made, did everything. Right. and so I just thought that was interesting too, that these, these are my two locations that I've been, not that it's about me or anything, but it just resonated so deeply. Like this is what's happening. And continues to happen. But I wanted to say something too about, about Bruce. My cousin he gave me permission to share his letter with the parallel community. And I have never had such a profound response for any email that I've sent.
Lisa Foster: 00:49:56 Any event that I've done anything, the, the emails just flooded in people writing, I'm in tears. I don't think I'm ever going to get a letter like that, but thank you. I can experience it, you know, by proxy, if you will. That because, because really as, as women and men, well, any gender, any gender that is experienced sexual violation that is most often our experience to not be seen, to not be heard. When I was listening to the podcast about this case with unbelievable, I was not at all surprised that she recanted her story about the the rape. And I actually did the same thing about my father early on. Total pressure from the family. They were all so angry with me that I had said something that I had done something and I just said he didn't do it and denied it until he walked me down the aisle.
Lisa Foster: 00:50:53 And then I'm on my honeymoon cause I had, I mean, I like Fe, like I literally like it's [inaudible], it's a, it's a real disassociation what you need to do to survive what it means to not have zero support. I mean those, that's what people deal with. And so yeah, to the choices that people make and, and, and thank God there's so much more understanding about neuroscience and trauma and the effect on the brain and why people disassociate or why they have different affects, you know, when they're reporting or recounting their abuse. It's all really powerful and I think everybody needs to understand it because we've all been touched in some way by sexual violation and, and abuse.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:51:39 Yeah. Yeah. I'm one myself, you know, so that, that was, that's one of the things I really appreciate about these stories and like that, that people are, and, and like you said, with the advances that are happening in medicine and the study of the mind and the body and how we interact, you know, it's not, we haven't solved all that stuff. Like there's still so much to go. But the thing I I I love and appreciate is that these are just another doorway to get a little bit closer for peace for people, you know, and to like to have a better understanding about themselves. Just like what we're talking about. With the work you're doing now. I mean this is all relevant like all this, I think it's all part of who we are. It's how we show up. It's how we interact.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:52:35 It's why we do the things like our why comes from a very, very deep place and the work I did when I left the corporate world as a creative and [inaudible] and took that opportunity to do this deep work and ask myself these questions and do these tests and do these things that like have since been a building block for me to also it's like gives me strength, right? Like these give, these are not just strengths in name, they also are what are foundational for us to do the work we do because it's all part of our story, which is part of my mission is to help share these inspiring stories of people out there. Making a difference and who are captaining their own ship and who are doing these things that are, you know, that are part of their why, you know, and part of who they are.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:53:28 And it's not just doing the same old, same old, you know, like that. I don't want that for people. I don't want that for anybody to keep doing the same old, same old, you know, like I know people have work to do in all kinds of roles, right? And we need those people to do them. But I think the more clear we get about these things that we're doing and why the more fulfilling life can be, you know, and like the, like I loved in your questionnaire response when I had asked about what is it you would love, what, what is it you want to do or inevitably want to do down the road? And you said, I'm doing it. I just want to keep doing it on a, on a grander scale. And I love that. I love that because you're on the right track. Right? And if you're saying that that means that you have worked through so much, it, like you said, it's still a practice and still work in progress, but it's, it says so much for how far you've come to be able to make that statement in life and in business.
Lisa Foster: 00:54:37 Thank you so much for that. It's it's been a little bit wild because my only child just graduated college, he's actually in the industry in LA. Just got his first job at a talent agency there and he has a heart for, you know, film. So I love the conversation about film and I love, I'll have to get ahold of your recommendations and I have this one thing to say about, have you seen dead to me?
Gabe Ratliff: 00:55:03 Not yet. That's on my, that's on my list.
Lisa Foster: 00:55:06 Oh my gosh. Liz fields creator, show runner. Amazing. Has a second sear a season coming out. Looks amazing. Yeah, I was watching that at the same time as Fleabag and I'm like, I'm in heaven. Yeah. This is definitely the golden era of TV continues. Yeah. But what I was gonna say, there's a couple things I wanted to comment on. The first is how much, you know, it's, you know, thank you for, for being vulnerable and sharing your own story or your own experience. And I didn't want to step over that. And, and I think it's interesting. I thought I had of just, you know, both of us being on this journey and loving assessments and loving these you know, tools that help us know who we are. And it just, I, I, I've never actually made this, I had said this out loud, but I was just thinking how powerful, for those of us who have experienced shame and hiddenness and a total lack of self worth that often comes that that does come with any kind of sexual abuse, sexual violation the self-blame, the self hatred, and how interesting that the two of us have both used these tools as a source to rebuild what has been you know, torn apart, if you will.
Lisa Foster: 00:56:31 I don't, you know, within us. And I think that's a really profound point to make, you know, as to why I've, I've been drawn to this as to maybe why you've been drawn to these resources because they really do provide a evidence, a different kind of story then the story that we have related to our abuse
Gabe Ratliff: 00:56:55 Here, here, here, here. You know, I will say I wanted to make a different one differentiation that I think I, you know, it doesn't make it better for me in my story, but the one thing, so one of the instances that happened to me was when I was a toddler. I was, I was very, very young. It was a babysitter, a male babysitter. And then the second one, I was all little older. I was more, I think I was Oh gosh. Oh man, I was, I was still young, but I was like old enough to remember this. So I'd say probably maybe five ish, somewhere around in there. And the one benefit that I had is that there was not a question of who it was and that it had happened. I didn't have that aspect to mine. I remember my dad walking me over to his house and having a conversation with his dad.
Gabe Ratliff: 00:57:59 So it was, and we were all standing there looking at each other, you know, like this teenage babysitter who, you know, had fondled me in like the back yard between houses with staying there, looking at me, you know, obviously shamed. And then, and his dad and my dad talking, you know, and I'm like having to, I, he, he liked walked me over there, did participate in this thing and I'm like, I do not want to be, why do I have to be here? You know? And I just remembered that that was hard. That was really hard. But it was at least like this, like somewhat of a closure, you know, because there wasn't that decades long, did this happen? Did it not? You know? So that was something that I wanted to kind of share. That was, you know, it was kind of a unique thing for my instance. But the, I think it did help me come to terms with it a little bit sooner in my, you know, it's still has, you know, repercussions and circumstances from having it. But I just thought it's interesting to me how, how there's just can be different experiences like that for us when things like that happen and just like how things like that can info unfold, you know?
Lisa Foster: 00:59:30 Yes. Wow. Thank you for sharing that. A level of detail because that is a unique, I mean story and kudos like, yeah, it's like there's, there's so much in that story. And, and I think you're right, there is a level of when, when it ha, when people haven't told and there's still, you know, many people go their whole lives because it is a family member or maybe a beloved family member. Maybe they love that family member and so they don't want to, you know, out them if you will. But to have that level of closure, but also, like you said, the repercussions of having to stand there and see your perpetrate, like, like, yeah, it's just, it's hard. But I think, thank you for the clarification.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:00:18 Yeah. Yeah. I just, I don't know. I just felt like, yeah, I don't know. I felt like you shared, so I felt like I should share. And it's just interesting to me, just such a interesting experience of going through that, you know, and like even saying it out again, being like, God, what a weird fucking experience and being that young and like being like being the victim and being the one at that time. We aren't anymore. But at that time and like S, you know, standing there like completely freaked out and a shit, you know, ashamed and everything.
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Gabe Ratliff: 01:02:26 I want to switch gears now a little bit to back to like some of the things we were talking about before we, we've been, I realized one of the things a minute ago was that we've been talking about Enneagram, we've been talking about Myers-Briggs, we've been talking about Clifton StrengthsFinders but I thought, Hey, let's, let's, let's dive into like what these mean so that people can kind of have a better sense of what we were talking about in case they haven't heard of it or they're not familiar with it. Because as I was mentioning to you before we started to roll, I had forgotten I had done the Enneagram and when it came up recently and I had redone it, I was like, Oh, I already done that. But it was a, it was a, it was pretty close to what I had gotten a few years ago. But it was also an eyeopening experience to go back through it again in this space of, you know, being more open to these assessments and how foundational they are for how we show up. And these, you know, like you had just said about how we interact with the stories that we had about ourselves. So could we start with maybe a Enneagram? And I thought maybe you could break that down for people who don't know.
Lisa Foster: 01:03:40 Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, in fact, I actually, I use them a certain way and I would love to walk through your results the way that I actually use them. If you're okay with that,
Gabe Ratliff: 01:03:52 Please do.
Lisa Foster: 01:03:53 Because I, I believe that each one of these three assessments has an invitation for us. And when they're combined in a certain way, they provide a three 60 perspective that can be game changing if it's applied. So if we had your chart in front of us, which we do not, but if we did, I'm going to try to remember every, all your strengths in order. I would start with the strengths column. So that's Clifton strengths. So this is Gallup is the one that has put together this assessment. And the invitation of Clifton strengths is the invitation to contribute powerfully, affectively and with confidence. And so the, the three characteristics of being in a strength are, number one, we are energized. We are lit up from the inside out. We can be physically tired, but we were exuberant, right? We're passionate. The second characteristic is we see success with ease.
Lisa Foster: 01:04:47 We see results right away. And the third characteristic is that when we are in our strengths, this is the zone of being in flow where hours can just pass and we're in that elevated state of being. So the other thing I want to say about Clifton strengths is that there are 34 talent things they're called. And the more that we use those talent themes, they become strengths in our lives. And I would add the more that we marry skills that allow those strengths to shine. And we bring in the 10,000 hours, Malcolm Gladwell talks about this truly is our zone of genius. So in terms of a place to focus and make sure we are being expressed, this is so important. So as we go through your strengths as people are listening to be thinking about, okay, what are my top five strengths and how often am I using them in my life? Gallup talks about, you know, trying to bring in your strengths into 80% of your life. Now, I was joke that because my second strength is positivity. I say 80 to 100%.
Lisa Foster: 01:05:55 And you said earlier that like, yeah, I looked at, you know, if I look up at my life in the last six years, I left my marriage six years ago. In six years, my entire life has been transformed. And it is because I knew my strengths and personality and I have deliberately and consciously created a life I love and a business I love based on my strengths and personality. So it's totally possible if we, if we choose to make those little iterative shifts. So if I remember correctly, your number one strength is connectedness. Then you had positivity. Woo. Oh woo. Okay. Connectedness, woo, positivity, input, and futuristic. Okay. So in the of the 34 talent themes, there are four leadership themes in which each of the strengths or talent themes can be categorized into or yeah, it can fit into. So there's strategic strengths, which are the superpowers there at being able to see a plan and, and figure out the best way to fulfill that plan.
Lisa Foster: 01:07:00 Kryptonite for strategic strengths is being brought into late to an idea because they're always going to have more ideas and they're going to have input. And if it can't be utilized, it's frustrating for everybody. So you have two strategic strengths in your top five input, which is all about being curious and wanting to gather information. You know, it doesn't surprise me like the level of research you did even on me before this present, before this podcast because that's part of your superpower. This also might look like you're on a trip and you love to collect things, you know, from each of the places that you visit or loving to collect words or you know even even the whole film list, you know, and these female voices and like that. Any anywhere where someone is needed on the front end strategically to go out and do, you know, recon if you will, and gather details.
Lisa Foster: 01:08:00 You're gonna, you're going to be energized by that. Does that resonate? Oh yeah. Yeah. Your second strategic strength is futuristic, which is this ability to see very clearly what the future could be, to really have this creative visual capacity to paint a picture of what's possible, which I'm sure you're sitting here because however long ago you painted a picture of, I'm going to leave corporate, I'm going to do this thing. I'm going to be a coach, I'm going to do these podcasts, I'm going to hear people's stories, I'm going to share their stories, and now it is here. And then you can create it. So again, the futuristic strength on a team is incredible at getting people excited about possibility.
Lisa Foster: 01:08:51 So then we have two other leadership themes that are our next one is going to be influencing that is people who sell an idea internally and externally. Okay. So these are influences. I call these the sales strengths on a team, you have one influencing strength. And that is woo. In your top five, you could have many more, right? You know, six through 10, but in your top five woo, which we've talked about earlier, that's winning others over. That's the ability to go and connect with pretty much anybody and really get them excited about what you're up to. Influencing strengths, raise the energy, that's their super superpower. They come in, whatever they're up to, people want to join them. It's like the pied Piper, you know, here we go. This is what we're doing now. And it was like, yes, please. That sounds good. Kryptonite for these types. And we talked about it a little bit earlier. Kryptonite is going to look like, not like having to sit behind a desk and be alone and just, you know, data entry that's going to just, you know, soul destroying for,
Gabe Ratliff: 01:09:58 I did that once. I remember that so bad. Ugh, that was so bad. Yeah.
Lisa Foster: 01:10:05 So that's, yeah. Get these types out there with people and being able to share what they're excited about now and, and, and everybody wins. The next leadership theme is executing strengths. These are your get are done types you do not have any of these strengths in your top five. And then the final leadership theme is relationship building and these are the strengths about bringing people onto a team and making sure they're well cared for and happy and at peace and, and moving forward together. And so this is where you have two strengths, your connectedness strength, which is that ability to see the connections between people, between institutions, between ideas and, and really connectedness. Strength is a bridge builder, connectedness, strength, hate silos, you know, in, in corporate, in any kind of situation really, you know, really good. Multiculturally you know, very into with the variants of stories and wanting all of those to be heard. Also connected. The strength is more of that. I, I hate this word because I think it's a little derogatory, but like we will in the sense of, and I ha I have the strength too, but in this sense of having faith in the universe or in God or in this sense of it's all going to be okay.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:11:32 Yeah, definitely.
Lisa Foster: 01:11:34 Yeah. and then you have positivity, which is, Oh my gosh, the glass is half full and actually dripping over the edge and positivity strength just makes everything more fun. Like they come in, these are the, these are the types. It's like they should be in charge of all the events at a war, at a workplace, like remembering people's birthdays. These are the ones that bring the healthy kind of drama. They just make everything a little bit better. That creativity, the way they tell a story, the way that like, okay, we're going to go on a scavenger hunt to learn about this very creative idea. And so those are your strengths. Any questions or comments about your top five strengths?
Gabe Ratliff: 01:12:21 I just appreciate you doing this fun exercise. This is awesome cause I feel like this is really a great way to connect with you and how you work with people. Right? Cause that's, that's part of what, that's part of what the show's about. But what a fun way to do it, you know, for, to be the scapegoat to be the Guinea pig for, for the listeners. You know, so you can kinda, they can hear like what this means and how you speak to it. Cause I was just getting excited, like listening to you because of your strengths and how you share you know, and it's just there's enthusiasm behind it. Right. And like that's what I love hearing about people who are doing the work they love. But yeah, no, I I've done a lot of processing on StrengthsFinder specifically out of those the three and really trying to dive in to what they mean and what they mean to me. So that one I think I have less questions about.
Lisa Foster: 01:13:24 Got it. Beautiful. So then our strengths are expressed through our personality, which is Meyers Briggs. And to me that's the invitation to create great relationships. And so the thing that I always point out for folks when I work with them is someone could have their same strengths in that same order, though I have yet to see the same order in anyone's top five, but they could. But if they were expressed through an introvert sensory thinking, perceiving an IST P mechanic instead of an EMFJ protagonist, which is what you are, those strengths would show up totally differently. And I SSTP mechanic type is very logical, very rational, very good with their hands, very good behind the scenes, strategically building things, you know, all that kind of thing. And so those strengths would show up differently than they do in an ENF Jay who is the consummate people person incredible superpowers around social interaction and, and getting along with people and being, you know, loving to speak in front of people and being really good at teaching and leading and facilitating.
Lisa Foster: 01:14:42 Ian FJS. Absolutely. You know, you talked about it earlier and as a fellow Ian FJ, it's like we love people. So I, I recently I wrote a blog about this and I have a chart on my website that has the Myers Briggs types as animals. Oh, cool. Yes, yes. And that's really fun. And I actually just recently did a workshop with a team where that's what we, we talked about was there different animal types and how they show up on what you can expect and how to communicate with them. And so in the world of the animal types and ISP is a cat and any NFJ is a dunk.
Lisa Foster: 01:15:17 So, you know, you talked about earlier the exuberance of the two of us share and like, Oh, this is just a party. It's, it's, we come by it honestly. I mean, dogs love people in general, right? Like that's, you know so the superpower of a dog is they pretty much get along with everybody. You know, everyone's best friends. Super loyal. Kryptonite for a dog is please don't hurt their feelings, you know, don't tell them they can't, you know, don't, don't, you know, keep them at home, let them go for the walk and to play in the dog park. Please. My wife would be cracking up right now. Well, I gotta tell you in this blog I wrote about the fact that I'm a dog married to an octopus. And so we joke about like, thank God we know this stuff about each other because when he shoots out his inkjet or his ink, whatever's like, Hey, I need you alone. And it gets all over over my cute little dog ether. It's like I don't take it personally because it has nothing to do with me. And then when he, when the octopus is ready, then I get, you know, all eight arms.
Lisa Foster: 01:16:30 It's really fun. So I'm just going to high level with the ENF jet because usually I go into the different personality preferences. The superpowers, as I've been saying, the main superpower of an ENF J is their ability to lead a room. You talked about yourself as an empath earlier. That is part of the superpower. So whether they're up on a stage speaking or just working with someone one on one or making a new friend, they're picking up in an instant without even thinking about it. All the cues and adjusting accordingly, adjusting. So as a speaker, an EMFJ speaker, without even thinking about it, if they're realizing, Oh, I'm losing the audience, I need to add a little more fat because I'm chatting, I can tell like, there needs to be some more logic here. There'll begin to pull out some of that, or I need to, you know, sing and dance cause they're getting bored when to do that. And so that's, that's where that shows up also. Their next superpower is what's called introverted intuition. So these types are very intuitive and it's introverted in the sense that they get their most creative ideas when they're alone. So I don't know about you, but I literally get my best ideas in the middle of the night. That is when I'm slowed down enough that I, I get my, and so I constantly am putting notes into my phone, you know? See, it sounds like you're the same.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:17:53 Yup. Yes, yes, yes, yes. And yes.
Lisa Foster: 01:18:00 Yeah, J super altruistic love helping people. I've heard jokes that UNF JS could be the cult leaders of the world because they can read people so well. And all of that. But usually they're very altruistic and they actually just want to help people so they don't become the Jim Jones's. But this, the kryptonite for an ENF J is going to be any kind of, it's called introverted thinking. So any kind of just sheer logic without the people equation, that's very challenging. Again, an ENF J for myself, like if I'm having to do a lot of data entry or even when I spend too many hours doing some of the bookkeeping or whatever, it's I get drained because by people.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:18:45 Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah, that definitely makes sense. Yeah. And that was the same way, you know, being on set for years. That was whenever, whenever it was between cause I was an editor for a long time. And you know, when you're in the edit suite, it's just you and your editing. You might have a producer with you and your, you know, you're collaborating in that way. But a lot of times for me, I was the producer and the editor and the cinematographer and like all of it. And so, but then there was the times when I was just editing it and like I remember for a long time, I mean it was a long time, I would just be editing and editing and editing and editing and then I would come home and I'd have stuff I wanted to work on them my own.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:19:26 And I'd be like, no, cause I've been editing so much I don't want to edit anymore. And, but when I was on set and just interacting with the crew and we're capturing all of this gold, you know, it's just like cutting up and being silly and like I remember getting praise a lot. That was actually one of the things about when we did the StrengthsFinders around the connectedness and the positivity and things that my manager that had that background in it would call out. She's like, yeah, that's why you're so great on set working with these. Cause we were, we work with instructors that were doing these shows that hadn't been on camera. They had been instructors and teachers and whatnot, but they had not done on camera. And so there's like a whole thing about being on camera as you know, cause you've been on camera on your site and it's very different, you know, and like you have to build up your energy because you don't come across the same way on camera as you do in person and you have to go even more abundant with your energy to come across in a normal way.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:20:28 And there's like all these little things and just how to calm people down who had not been on camera. And that was like, I remember I was getting praise on that a lot and I just would be like, Oh thanks. You know, and I, I didn't think about it, but then I would hear it right. And then you have this thing of like, Oh, okay. And that starts to add up again, like we had talked about earlier. Like you start to have reference for it and you're like, Oh, that's a thing. I'm good at that. I didn't know that. So now I can use that.
Lisa Foster: 01:20:58 I love that. And yeah, now I can use that. And now I know wherever I go, whether on a volunteer team or in business or in my personal relationship, I know the magic that I can bring to the equation, the superpowers that I can leverage to collaborate with the other person that I'm with and I can be confident about it. So I don't have to puff up or be competitive or do all the other things that we can sometimes do as humans. I can just show up and contribute because I, you know, does that make sense? Versus agreeing to things that really drain us and everybody's being robbed. But I can totally see that with you. And it is, it's those same superpowers that make you so good at what you're doing now. And, and then make it fun for you.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:21:47 Yeah. Yeah. This is the best. This is the bestest. I'm having so much fun rack heads. This is amazing. I hope you're enjoying this cause this episode rocks.
Lisa Foster: 01:21:59 So there you have it. So strengths being expressed through personality, that to me is our gift mix. That's what we come to the planet with. These two assessments I call our descriptive assessments because they're describing strengths and personality traits that aren't going anywhere. And then if I, if I had my chart in front of you, what you would see is then are our strengths and personalities are then expressed through our Enneagram type. And this is where I think it starts to get really interesting because the, any Graham's invitation is to choose our healthiest expression in any given moment and to shine our brightest. And so with any, so the Enneagram is not just a descriptive assessment. The Enneagram really is, I would consider I consider it to be one of the most powerful and profound growth tools I have ever had the privilege of utilizing in my life. So we're talking to woman who's done a ton of therapy, read a ton of book, like a lot of self help and growth and all of that. And nothing has tapped into my blind spots, my, the shadows of my type, the persona and wrapped language around the things that trip me up as I try to feel safe and loved in the world. Like the Enneagram.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:23:23 Oh, totally agree. That was one of the things that was so eyeopening for me was exactly what you just commented on was the, when you're in some other work I had done, it talks about it like working negatively or positively or like the shadows, right? Like when you're essentially working negatively in your zone. Yep. Yep. Fascinating.
Lisa Foster: 01:23:45 It is fascinating. And so one of the things that the Enneagram does is it not just, doesn't just describe the habitual patterns of our thinking and feeling and behaving. It also shows us what's underneath those patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. In other words, the core motivation that is driving our life. And it doesn't just describe that it isn't just a scripted, it is also prescriptive. It, it reveals, doesn't put us in a box. Any of them is nine types. It doesn't just put us in a box. It doesn't put us in a box. It, it reveals the invisible box we've been living in and gives us the prescription or the way out of the box. So when we're talking about an Enneagram to help her, the, the desire, the core desire of a two is to be loved. Another way to look at this, I've been speaking about this recently and I just wrote a blog about it, is I believe each of us has a burning question based on our core motivation or runs the show in our life.
Lisa Foster: 01:24:54 And it's the subconscious question. And four to that question is no matter what environment they're in, it's am I loved? Am I loved? Am I left? For me as in Enneagram three, it's am I worthy and accepted? You know, am I getting my gold stars? But for two, that's, so that's that core desire to be loved. The fear when any of us are in the fear of our type, then all that greatness that we carry in our strengths and personality is significantly dimmed or overshadowed in an unhealthy expression. Okay. So you've got all the strengths and personality, Tracy, but just been talking about the fear of the two is to be unwanted or rejected.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:25:40 Yup.
Lisa Foster: 01:25:40 And so when a two is perceiving a no to their burning question, so when the perception is no, I am not loved, this is where we begin to see some of the unhealthy behaviors of the two. We begin to see some of the track of the Enneagram too and what those behaviors might look like. They may look like an obsessive love, like really doing whatever they can to manipulate people to get them to love them. They can look like you know, actually, so having no bound, they have no boundaries many times. And then when they're in that fear zone, if they feel like somebody has betrayed them or finally taken advantage of that, if enough is enough, then what a two will do is they'll go, I don't know if you could hear that, you know, wipe their hands of them and be like, okay, I had no boundaries.
Lisa Foster: 01:26:36 Now I have the wall of China. You are out of my life. And so they'll go to this very domineering stance because in the Enneagram each of us, when we're in that space of disintegration or stress, we take on the unhealthier characteristics of another type. So I'm trying to think what else. Yeah. For a two there can be a lot of and then again, this is the unhealthiest zone of the two. This is the shadow like you talked about earlier, that shadow side. We talk about most people, and I'm curious for you how this resonates or not. Most people that I work with, they don't see, they may see a few times in their life or they, you know, they may see a few times in their, in their fear zone, but most of us are in what's called the crutch, which is the average state of our type, which is, you know, the train barreling down the tracks of our types.
Lisa Foster: 01:27:31 So in other words, this is the strap, the unconscious strategies that we have to make sure that our question, our burning question is a yes. So for a to that strategy is to always get love and intimacy. So a two shows up in the world. And actually let me back up a little bit because to, you know, I think all of us come to the planet and the essence of our type. And so as little kiddos, we're figuring out subconsciously again how to be safe and loved in the world. And so for a two child, what they're figuring out is if I can be a helper, if I can be mama's helper, if I could be the teacher's helper, if I can, that's how I'm safe and laugh. And so to begin to develop a persona, which is what each of us do with our tight, there is a persona that we have, which is that strategy to be safe and left.
Lisa Foster: 01:28:31 So for the two, the strategy is work, work, work, work, help, help, help, help other people. Love, love, love. Give it all away. Give, give, give. I joked with the theme song for a to is give it away, give it away, give it away. Give it away because two's part of their superpower. But part of their trap is their purses open. For the world. Their heart is open for the world. Every stray dog, every stray human come to my house, come to all my drinks, happy hour drinks on me, you know, all of that. And subconsciously it's a way for them to get the love they long for without having to ask for sense.
Lisa Foster: 01:29:15 So that's really the strategy that twos pick up on is there can be this overbearing affection because of it, because they want to help people. So they will, will kind of interject themselves. They're called the mom and Papa bears or the Enneagram because they do have these huge hearts and they're amazing parents, if you will. Not just whether they have kids or not, but for animals or for anybody who's in their vicinity, just like even what you shared earlier about being on set, you know, yes, you have these super powers that were all at play and they all fed into this, but also your Enneagram too and wanting to help those people and wanting to kind of take them under your wing and do whatever you could do to make sure they succeed. That's what twos are. Just so gifted at, they love being second in command, you know what I mean?
Lisa Foster: 01:30:05 Cause they love. And what I mean by that is they some types like the three, like the seven, like the eight, you know, especially the three. It's like, Oh yeah, shine on me. You know I'm good. Right? But twos, yeah. Like I want to shine on my partner. I want to shine on somebody else. I want them to get what they need and I'll trust that it's going to get, I'll get what I need. So the biggest quality, the biggest area of growth is to swallow their needs. And what I mean by that is they have a very hard time expressing to others what they need.
Lisa Foster: 01:30:50 They have a hard time asking for what they need. So if, if they're in a relationship, they might have a hard time. If they know their love language is touch and maybe their partners isn't, they're going to have a harder time saying, I just need you to hold me like for 15 seconds when you come home from work, because that feels really vulnerable to the two because to express what they need means that they're not meeting somebody else's need, which is the only way the two no's to get the love they long for. Does that make sense? Oh yeah. So the life journey of the two, the healing key. So for each of the types, if we were looking at the chart, we have the arrow. That's the fear that the results in an unhealthy expression, we have that, that arrow, that is the crutch or the strategy, which results in it. Just a Oh, what's the, I'm forgetting what the word is right now, but basically you're kind of a survival expression. Like it's not, it's not, you know, our life isn't too dimmed, but it's not the, you know, all of our strengths being expressed in this really healthy expression. So for the, to the healing key or the prescription out of the box of the persona is to self nurture and set boundaries. Now often when I tell this to a two, they're like, I don't even know what that means.
Lisa Foster: 01:32:25 What do you mean self nurture and set boundaries?
Gabe Ratliff: 01:32:29 I immediately thought of Bernay Brown. I was like Bernay but he's got me covered. That's why I love her because she helped me start to connect with that. Like setting boundaries, which I knew I needed work on.
Lisa Foster: 01:32:46 Yeah, no, that's huge. And it's huge for many of us, but in particular for twos. And so what it can look like is making sure, I tell one of my, one of the life hacks I give twos, and it sounds like you might be already doing this, is to set boundaries early and often. So in other words, when you are first joining a team or when you were first beginning a friendship, but when you were first volunteering you know, at your local shelter, think clearly, how much time do I have, how much time do I want to commit? And S and communicator early on versus giving it all away. And then feeling taken advantage of self nurture can look like actually using that gift certificate you were given six months ago. Never having enough fun. You know
Gabe Ratliff: 01:33:43 I don't know what you're talking,
Lisa Foster: 01:33:46 But here's the thing. Every time, and this is why I love this work, because the healing key is not a destination point. It is a moment by moment choice. So when we're doing the work of the Enneagram, any time gate, you notice, Oh, I'm in the trap of the two. I'm trying to ingratiate myself with this person or I'm flattering them versus being authentic because I want them to like, or I'm feeling rejected. And so I'm, I'm, you know, getting more domineering or whatever it might be. The moment you notice it, the key is to ask yourself, how can I self nurture and set boundaries right in this moment?
Lisa Foster: 01:34:30 And that is that healing question versus the burning question. The burning question. Am I loved? Am I loved? Am I loved when we notice that's at play, to be able to go pick a second, how can I love myself right here, right now by self-nurturing, by setting boundaries. When a two does that, then the fullness of their strengths and personality get to shine in a healthy expression. And so they're incredible. Super powers come forward. And here are some of the superpowers of a two that I just, you know, twos make the world go round, right? They, the beautiful gift they give us when they had filled their own cup up internally, their own heart cup, right? Then they can go out into the world and they are giving freely their labs. So in other words, they give unconditional love. They are picture of unconditional love, but that love begins for them with themselves.
Lisa Foster: 01:35:36 You know, these are the types that, that whole kind of cliche about put on your own oxygen mask. First. They were who this was. That was, you know, they, they could just have that ride from their face every day. But when they do, they are picture of unconditional love. They have total freedom. One of your key words, right? Your key core values. They have freedom in their relationships. They have healthy relationships, and their super power is they can walk into any situation and they know how to authentically help whoever they're around. Whatever's going on. These are the types that, whether it's an emotional connection that's needed, whether someone just needs to sit, you know, someone's sick and they need homemade chicken noodle soup. I joke, nobody bakes homemade chicken noodle soup like a two, you know, they will be there with the, you know, I'll put the, I'll be the one that put together the meal plan. There'll be the one to just listen and hold the hand of that person that they care about. And so, but it's done in a way that they take care of themselves too. Does that make sense?
Gabe Ratliff: 01:36:44 Fascinating
Lisa Foster: 01:36:46 Thoughts or comments about the Enneagram too?
Gabe Ratliff: 01:36:48 Oh man, so much. So much, so much, so much. Yeah. You know, I, the interesting thing too was the, when I did the, my last test, it had a list of twos in the world, you know, that we would recognize. And I was like, Oh my gosh. I mean it was like Desmond Tutu, Gandhi, you know, it was like all these people. And I'm like, yep, that totally makes sense. Because they had done exactly what you said, right. They filled up their cup and then they went out and unconditionally loved and made these massive impacts in the world. And, and it, it made sense to me at that point when you kind of have that reference for others who've worked at positively, as I mentioned earlier, you know, where it's like you're, you're in that space of not getting in your own way or, or, or where you're feeling like you're not loved and you, you're being taken advantage of cause you haven't set boundaries and had been self nurturing, you know, and figured out how, how to engage with that when that burning question I did that earlier, by the way.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:38:01 I was, I watched your video and was going through the chart and I was laughing like, yep. Kryptonite. I know that one. Cause yeah, it's true. It's, it's the, the G, the chili peppers give it away as perfect, perfect soundtrack for this guy. When I was in elementary school or middle school, I remember there was a Christmas where I went out and I didn't have a lot as a kid, but I remember I went out and I got gifts for so many people and they were like, we're not even that close of friends. Why are you giving me a gift? You know, they loved it. They really appreciate it. And I was, it was off obviously thoughtful gifts, but I had gotten all of these gifts for people, whether they were even like good acquaintances or, you know, and also my good friends. But I remembered some of them being like, why is he giving me a gift?
Gabe Ratliff: 01:38:57 Like of all people, you know, it's like Valentine's day, you know, everybody got a Valentine's card, right? But for Christmas it was odd. I remembered these faces of just like, what are you doing? And I'm just like, I'm gonna give her, you know, I'm gonna give her, that's what I do. And I remember my mom being like, really? Okay. But yeah yeah, there's so much to unpack from that. So dear listeners, art falls out there. I really hope you enjoyed these, this exercise. I thought it would be so much fun for Lisa and I to interact in this way to showcase, you know, my, my own assessments so that you can kind of see just how this works and like how these interact in the way that we show up in the world, whether that's in life, in business and how informative it can be to do this kind of an assessment and all of them and how they interact with each other.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:39:57 It's fascinating to me totally into this. So I'm just like giddy as a school boy over here. Speaking of which, I wanted to ask, taking all of this into account, how can we, and the art flows out there listening. How can we use these strengths and personality assessments to like transform our relationships? How can we engage with these kinds of things to, to, to yeah, to like transform our relationships and how we, how we work with our teams, how we work with clients. Cause a lot of this stuff resonates for me with like how I show up with my clients and questions I've had to ask. Right. Cause I want to help them when I'm coaching and you can't do it all for them. Right. That was a tough lesson for me when I first started coaching is like recognizing that I want so bad for them to see this thing that I'm trying to, that picture that I'm able to, that that future that you were talking about and I'm able to like paint. I remember a couple of clients specifically, I was like painting this picture and I've like wanted it so bad and I'm giving all this energy and this inspiration and everything and they're just like not there yet. And I was like I don't get it. You know, and I did get it but I didn't at the time. Like I didn't in that moment and I, it, I had to come back and process it.
Lisa Foster: 01:41:20 Yeah. So when I work with teams and I work with couples as well and do this work, I always start off with an individual session. Would you just got a little mini one where they get ahold of their super powers, their kryptonite, what motivates them and how they can use that to fulfill their personal intentions. And then when we move into the couples training or the team's training, this is where I bring in a methodology that I also speak about called accept, articulate and apply. And it really is a roadmap of how to bring this information into your everyday life, especially when you find yourself in reaction. So one of the things I talk about when I speak, people know, and even so my videos, I do this thing with lenses and I talk about the lens shift and how we can have that new lens on.
Lisa Foster: 01:42:05 When we're you know, driven by criticism and judgment and you know, those, those core motivations that we're unaware of and, and how to shift the lens through the lens of strengths and personality. So that's the first big takeaway is for anyone who's listening what ever assessment you've taken, whatever data points you have, if you can put them on a one sheet or if you can put them on your phone or if you can put them somewhere that allows you in those moments where you're in reaction to remember, Oh yeah, I, why am I in reaction based on these data points? Why? So, for instance I, my, my husband Tom [inaudible], he had a situation where when he was working at this company, his COO kept coming into his office and we talk his ear off about, you know, all these different situations.
Lisa Foster: 01:42:56 And he was getting more and more frustrated. And so when he learned, accept, articulate, apply, except is to shift the lens, that's an internal shift. And so he looked at it through the lens of strengths and personality and saw, Oh yeah, as an Enneagram eight my burning question is, am I safe and in control. When my Enneagram one [inaudible] a COO who was question is, am I in integrity when he comes into my office and just starts talking to me and preaching at me and telling me, obviously I did not feel safe and in control. And I actually pushed back. And so he began to shift into compassion like of course. And then he did the same thing for looking at a col through this lens. Why is he coming? Oh, because his burning question is, am I in integrity? So when I come into his office, I need to explain why we need to take this step as a software development, you know, to, to make these changes.
Lisa Foster: 01:43:53 And I need to tell this story in ones can be a little pedantic when they're in their, their storytelling mode. So of course, compassion. So that's the first thing is, is people can make internal shifts to compassion and empathy because there is a reason we are showing up in the world this way. There's a reason you might be in reaction in a situation or I might be if I'm feeling like, Oh, I'm rejected or I didn't do well, you know, at something. And then steps two and three about articulating and applying. So step two articulate is about really understanding a problem by claiming our kryptonite. So I, I teach people how to look at this through the lens of what is that kryptonite for you and how is it showing up? Cause I can pretty much guarantee if you look throughout your life, wherever something is not working, consider kryptonite is at play.
Lisa Foster: 01:44:45 So to be able to take the shame out of that and just own it. And notice I don't say weakness because in our culture we try to fix weaknesses. You can't fix kryptonite. Kryptonite is kryptonite, right? So what you want to do is mitigate kryptonite, right? You want to mitigate its effect. And so then that third stage is, okay, we can understand a problem, but how do we then leverage our superpowers? How do we apply these strengths to create what we want as individuals or as partners? And so that's where you, again, keep the data points as a roadmap. So for you, at Gabe, as we went through your results, to be able to go, okay, as I'm making a choice about whether I, you know, travel to a certain place or work with a certain company or a client to be able to look and go, okay, will I be able to be in positivity? We will. Will I be able to be in my superpowers? Is there a warmth and connection? Cause that's what I need. That's going to be key.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:45:46 Love it. Yeah. Thank you. So I know we've got to wrap up here really quickly. I just realized that it's that time. This has been so amazing. I just wanted to ask about your 62nd shift. That was something you wanted to share with the audience and then we've got our last little quick wrap up questions.
Lisa Foster: 01:46:08 Great. yes. So my 62nd shifts, these are just short little vlogs that I create that give tips and tools about strengths and personality. And so those can be found on my website and people can sign up for those there. And I usually send those out about every two or three weeks. And I also have blogs and charts that I provide as well, so people can continue to keep strengths and personality in the forefront of their minds.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:46:33 Love it. All right, wrap up questions real quick. What is the book or books you've given most as a gift?
Lisa Foster: 01:46:41 The books are attached about relationships and attachment style and the big leap about do you know that book? Gay Hendricks?
Gabe Ratliff: 01:46:52 That sounds really familiar
Lisa Foster: 01:46:55 About upper limiting and how to keep expanding in our capacity for good things in our life.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:47:01 Nice. Favorite movie or documentary?
Lisa Foster: 01:47:05 Favorite movie or document? Well, my favorite movie from when I was a kid, West side story, the musical I went with me in the madic. Okay.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:47:14 Yes. What is something you believe that other people think is insane?
Lisa Foster: 01:47:22 I do believe that.
Lisa Foster: 01:47:26 Everyone think is insane. I do believe anything is possible. If if we, if we love and we have enough hope. But I, I say that with a little bit of a caveat because I know I'm not going to go be an opera singer, but in terms of transformation and internal transformation, I believe that is possible no matter our pass.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:47:47 Yeah, I totally, yeah, I get it. The, what is the number one thing that you'd like listeners to take away from this interview?
Lisa Foster: 01:48:00 The number one thing is that really understanding our strengths and personality and applying them. We really, truly can create lives and relationships and careers that we'll love.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:48:18 Where can people find you on the interwebs?
Lisa Foster: 01:48:21 On the interwebs. They can find me on LinkedIn, Lisa Foster on Facebook, that parallel. And then parallel.com
Gabe Ratliff: 01:48:28 Lisa. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. This has been so amazing and I just, I love you. I love your work and I thank you for your time and yeah, that's, that's, I can't say enough. Thank you so much.
Lisa Foster: 01:48:42 Thank you. It's been a pleasure.
Gabe Ratliff: 01:48:46 Well. That's it for this episode. If this is your first time listening, thank you so much for being here. I really hope you enjoyed the show. The Artful Entrepreneur podcast comes out bi-weekly and is available every other Thursday for your enjoyment and all links and show notes for this episode can be found at theartful.co. If you haven't yet, please subscribe to the show and leave a rating or review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you'd like to be a guest or know someone that would be a great fit, please go to theartful.co/guest and thanks again for listening. Until next time.
