Nonprofit Spotlight And Why It Matters

Fatima Bey 0:00

Before we begin today's conversation, I want to share a quick note about this episode. This interview is originally being released as a part of Podcast On, a global initiative where podcasters dedicate an episode to spotlight a nonprofit making a meaningful difference in the world. For this episode, I chose to highlight Speak Feed Lead, a nonprofit that helps young people discover their voice, develop leadership skills, and share ideas that matter, including opportunities to step into a TEDx stage and speak publicly about the issues they care about. You'll hear more about their work during this conversation, but if you'd like to learn more or support what they're doing, you can visit speakfeedlead.org. Now, let's get into the conversation. This is MindShift Power Podcast, the number one critically acclaimed podcast where we have raw, unfiltered conversations that shape tomorrow. I'm your host, Fatima Bay, the Mind Shifter. And welcome everyone. Today we have with us Jackie Bailey. She is out of Washington, the state of Washington in USA. She is an international conversation coach and the executive director for the Speak Feed Lead project. So how are you today, Jackie?

Leslie Nelson 1:29

Hi, Fatima. I'm doing really great and so honored to be here with you.

Fatima Bey 1:34

I'm really, really excited to have you here because I can finally have a conversation that I just can't have with everyone that I can definitely have with you. So I like to dive right in. So I mentioned that you are an international conversation coach and the executive director of the Speak Feed Lead project. So tell us, what are, what is, what does that mean? What are both of those? And what do they have in common?

What Conversation Coaching Really Means

Leslie Nelson 1:57

Ooh, awesome. I call myself the International Conversation Coach because I help my clients to have those important conversations that will help them heal and possibly even help others to heal or change something about their lives through inspirational stories and messages. That's what conversations do. And when you think about it, every relationship we have with anybody starts with a conversation. And because I've worked with people all around the world, that makes me international. So that's the first part. The second part, the Speak Feed Lead project, is my lifelong mission. And it is a nonprofit that I founded and I still direct today. And it's based on my childhood as someone who was silenced because of chronic and daily abuse by family members and friends of the family. And by being silenced for so much of my formative years, today I am honored and delighted to be able to help other people break their silence, whatever that means for them, and to be able to speak up, to lead with positivity, and to inspire other people. So speaking, the speak, feed, lead portions of the title of my nonprofit is that I help people to speak with power, to feed others in word and deed, and to lead with positive influence. And what they have in common is that because conversation is woven into all of that, and that's where everything starts. And I don't know about you, but the best speakers I've ever seen on stage are those who have a conversational tone when they speak. So even though I'm a conversational coach, those conversational skills transfer very nicely to a stage.

Fatima Bey 4:02

And what age groups do you typically work with?

Leslie Nelson 4:06

I work with k kids as young as 10 generally. Now I have worked with some kids a little younger than that for some special projects. But when supporting young people who want to, for instance, be on a TEDx stage or they want to do their own podcast or something, I have found that age 10 is where they are mature enough to not only be able to learn how to say things, but also are mature enough to be able to give feedback to others so that they're both supporting and growing themselves. And then I work with everybody from 10 up all the way to, I think my oldest client has been in their 70s, close to 80, actually.

Helping Young Leaders Notice Power

Fatima Bey 4:50

Now, uh something I want to tell the audience is um I didn't say it in the introduction because I wanted to say during the conversation. I strongly, strongly, strongly, so strongly believe in a lot of what uh Jackie is doing. She works very closely. A lot of the people she worked with are teens, and uh, you know, which is where we intersect. But her her love, passion, and concern for teens is where she and I intersect greatly, and why we can have 17-hour-long conversations if you don't stop us. So she I have been, I have, she also has a podcast, and I've been a guest on her podcast, and I've had the opportunity to have those off-air conversations. And this is a woman I have around here not just because she knows stuff, but because she actually cares. Um, and she really spoke way too lightly of Speak Feed Lead project. We're gonna dive deeper into. Um, they do a lot, they do so much, so so much that's so important. Um, and uh one thing I love about you, Jackie, is that you recognize the gift in others. So if you see a teen who's got leadership abilities, you are going to extract it. You unless they don't want you to, you're gonna get it out of them, and you're going to help them to turn into who they should be. And I respect you so much for that. I absolutely love it. And I've had the opportunity to uh to work with a couple of the uh the youth that you've actually trained, and they're amazing. And so I I just want to publicly say I really believe strongly in what you do, and especially in Speak Feed Lead project. So let me I want to dive into the deeper part of the conversation that I have you on here for today. So, talking about youth, given their background in what you do, you work closely with young people who are clearly ahead of the environments that they're placed in. That's why they're leaders. What are the signs that a young person has outgrown the room that they're in, even before adults are ready to acknowledge it?

Leslie Nelson 6:46

That is an amazing question, one I've never been asked before, and really appreciate the opportunity to consider. And I'm not so certain that there's a point when a young person is ready to be promoted from the room that they're in. I firmly believe we are all leaders. We come to this planet with influence. In fact, I've many times I've asked my young students to consider how they feel they influenced their parents before they were even born. Like what changed in their mom when she knew that she was going to have a baby? What did they influence their mother to change? And of course, they'll they'll guess, well, she probably ate more healthy. Yes. She probably was careful in her activities. She didn't go horseback riding or skydiving, you know. Um, so they recognize I influenced my mom to change her behavior and the way she thought and the way she felt, even before she knew who I was. And when asking them how they influenced their fathers, they think, well, he probably needed to buy a bigger house, which meant he probably felt that he needed to get a better job or get a promotion or a raise or something like that because he wanted to take care of his family. And when they can recognize the influence they've had even before they were here, then they begin to realize that they've had influence ever since. And so I don't know that they mature out of the room that they're in so much as they recognize their influential ability at some point when someone points that out to them and says, you are a natural influencer. People are watching you all the time. Whether you're doing good things or bad things, you're influencing someone else's thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors just by being you, just by being around. And so why not make it good? Why not do good things? Why not feel good things? Why not exhibit good behaviors, uh, exhibit good values so that you can make a positive change on the planet while you're here with using your influence. So I don't know that it's there's a point when they grow out of the room. I think there's a point when they just recognize that they actually have power they never considered before. And I'm not sure parents always recognize that either. I think it's sometimes it takes someone else to point it out to the young person.

Fatima Bey 9:27

Yes. I think very often um a big fish in a little pond is kind of what the way I would put it. When someone sometimes, sometimes you can out outgrow your circle, but not necessarily the same thing as outgrowing a room. But I love the the de the depth that you went with that. I love that that mind shift, and this is mind shift power podcast. The mind shift that you put about you influenced your parents before you even born. Boom, mic drop moment. There's there's power in that. There's that there's there's you had power before you're born. But what I like about the way you said that is that, and this is what the youth get from you when they have these conversations with you. That is empowering. That thought is empowering, and that empowerment creates uh what's the word I'm looking for to starts with a C right now. Um confidence. Thank you. I haven't a brain fart because I know this works. Like confidence, confidence. So that right there helps to build confidence. You just made that one little comparison. You just pointed out one little detail, and that begins to build confidence. And you're right, you're there's little leaders in everybody. What you're gonna lead and how, that's gonna be different. You're not you might not lead a whole nation, you might just lead the room, but you you can lead something.

Leslie Nelson 10:47

Um well, there's another word there too that starts with C that is a big mind opener or mind shifter when they think about it is contribution. I think we all as humans, we want to feel like we belong to a community. Whoever that is, it's usually our family and our early part of life. But we want to contribute to it. And sometimes when we don't know how to contribute or even recognize our power to be able to contribute, then we we don't grow. We kind of stagnate. And so confidence, yes, big part of having confidence. But the confidence grows even more when they recognize the contribution, yes, yes, they make to even a simple conversation with someone and that they can change and influence someone's life.

Trust Over Control In Parenting

Fatima Bey 11:42

Especially when you're younger, to know that, oh, what what I think or what I said matters. Um, when you have so many adults, unfortunately, who are trying to shut them up? Oh, shut up, little kid, you don't know nothing. And they may not use those words, but they had they they use that attitude. Um and I I love that you you counter that. You really, really do. Let me ask you this. You kind of have already answered, but I will, but I know that you have you can dive a little deeper. What changes internally for a young person when adults stopped managing them and starts trusting them with responsibility?

Leslie Nelson 12:21

There is a lot that changes there because many kids, for the first time, when a parent starts giving them freedom of choice, and it really is choice, right? When because when parents are managing kids, they're saying, you're not capable of choosing this yourself, or you're not capable of making the right choice. Right. So I'm gonna do that for you. But when you give a child, well, or anybody, but we're talking about kids here, when you give a young person the position of I have a choice and I'm gonna be responsible for the consequences of my choices, they mature a lot more well-rounded than kids who are just told, you gotta do this, you gotta do that, because I'm the parent, and I said so. Right. So there are a lot of helicopter parents today. I I don't know why that changed in our society. I mean, my mom had to work when I was young, and so I was what you call a latch key kid, and I was responsible for myself. I had to get home, I had to do my own work, I had to make sure I was getting things done for school the next day, and there was no one there to remind me of that. But today it seems like if there's not a parent there to say, Did you do this, did you do that, get off the game and do go do that, kids don't have the, they don't take as much initiative as we used to. So when a parent gives the kids a responsibility of managing that themselves and allowing them to fail, I think that's that's where parents sometimes they don't want to see their kids sad, they don't want to see them upset or or having to deal with failure because we don't like to deal with failure, and it's even more painful when our kid has to do it, right? Right. But I think that's a big part of it. We we have to let our kids fail. That's how we learn. We learn through failure. We learn through success as well, but usually success comes after several bouts of failure, and then we figure it out, and then we're empowered. Then we're empowered. But if mom and dad are always there to save us from the feelings that might come from getting a C on that test, then they don't learn how to feel upset, and it's okay to feel upset, and then how to soothe themselves to get back to feeling, okay, I'll just try harder next time.

Fatima Bey 14:46

Well, and not only that, we we all have to learn eventually whether it's at 15 or 50. And if we don't learn at 15, then we're stuck learning it with bigger consequences at 50. And we can see that all around us right now. We did not learn something that we should have learned when we were younger because we were coddled, because nobody allowed us to have consequences or to make our own decisions. And then when we get out there, this happens to college kids all the time. They were sheltered too much, you know, parents well intended, but shelter too much. They get to college, you get all this freaking freedom, and they lose their cotton-picking mind, and they just start doing everything. And then they have consequences that are sometimes lifelong and sometimes detrimental, all because they never learn how to make their own responsible choices before they had the opportunity to screw it up even harder. And you're you're so right. You're so, so right.

Pandemic Pressure And Youth Silence

Leslie Nelson 15:41

Um, and I saw a lot of that happening during the pandemic, um, as so many of our young people took their lives during that period of time. I don't know all the reasons why, but because of the conversations I've had with my young clients, I suspect that in many cases, it was because without life experience, during that time when they were shut down from school, shut down from extracurricular activities, including the things that sort of gave them identity, whether it was music or sports or martial arts, whatever it might have been, that was who they were. And then to be taken from that instantly, literally overnight, and away from friends, away from routines that gave them discipline, many of these young people didn't, they didn't understand that we were gonna get past this and we were gonna be okay. And life might look a little different on the other side, but that's gonna be okay. You know, we could benefit from this. And so a lot of kids chose to just, I'm done with this, it's too scary to think about what this is gonna be like later on, and so I'm out. Um, and many of my own students told me that during that period of time, they were afraid to say, Mom and dad, I'm I'm really scared, or I don't really understand what's going on, because they knew their parents were feeling that. Parents were worried about their jobs and they were worried about grandma and grandpa getting sick and passing away. They were worried about whether they were going to have food or could they go to the store, or you know, where could they go? Were they gonna do locked in? I'm certain that that tempers were flaring at home when people were stuck to stuck with each other without an escape, uh, especially if parents were already having strained relationships, that came out. And so my students have told me I just stayed silent during that time because I didn't want to add more burden to my parents when I knew they were already at the max of their stress level and I couldn't say what I wanted to say or needed to say because I didn't want to add to it. And that just breaks my heart. Um, that we unintentionally silenced our kids during that period of time because we didn't sit down and say, How are you feeling? What are some of the feelings you're having today? You know, and we've just avoided those conversations because we didn't want to have to face them ourselves. And I'm speaking for parents. So that's an example of the ways that we can unintentionally keep kids from recognizing their own power and helping them to be more resilient.

Fatima Bey 18:25

You just said a whole lot there. Um and I I I just I love it. I absolutely love it because you just said you just really said a lot there that people need to think about. No, seriously, people don't you're saying things out loud that some have thought about, but not I think not enough have thought about deeply enough, or at least haven't expressed it out loud. Um let me ask you this because this is relevant. We're just we're still talking about the in the internal parts uh of of the leader and the becoming leader. When a young person steps onto a public stage like TEDx, and you've you've put uh several youth on the TEDx stage. Not a dozen, not a dozen. Is that how many now? Wow. And and for those of you listening, that's not easy. It is actually not easy to get somebody on a TEDx stage. So um the fact that she's got a dozen is a huge testament to what she can do. Um so, Jackie, what do you see happen inside the the the youth that get on the TEDx stage? What do you see happen inside them that has nothing to do with performance? Is that when they're on the stage or before they get on the stage? Um one I would say once they've done it. Once they've done it.

What TEDx Changes Inside Kids

Leslie Nelson 19:44

Once they've done it? Okay. So here's something that happens to everyone when you stand on a stage and there are people staring at you. And in these, in this case on TEDx, they limit the audience to about a hundred people. So for the first time, these young kids are speaking to an audience of a hundred people. And that seems pretty big to a young person. Yeah, it is. And they're looking at you and they're expecting you to say words that are meaningful and inspirational and helpful and maybe even educational. And it feels like a lot of pressure in the moment. And all of the kids, every single one I've worked with, have said, I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. Just before, you know, when they were introducing me, I was thinking to myself, I can't do this. There's no way. I can't walk out there and and do this. So that fear just grips them at that last minute. But they do it anyway. Many have said, I thought of you, Miss Jackie, or I thought of my parents, and I thought of all these people who were counting on me and had worked so hard and supported me so seriously to get here that I knew I had to do this. So they walk out on the stage, and this really has nothing to do with performance at this point, because each one of them knows I have a message that I've been practicing. I feel it's important, and I'm gonna share it with them in hopes that they see the importance of it for them individually. So they start, they get out there, and they start speaking, and within a matter of 30, 40 seconds, the fear, the panic, the nervousness is gone, and they focus on what I'm here to say. And they do it. And they do it beautifully. And these are memorized speeches. So they've they've worked on this and they've not only memorized the words, but they've wor memorized the timing and how to say it a certain way and when exactly to make eye contact or you know, whatever you're gonna do with your body, right? It's kind of been blocked like a a performance, if you would. And so when they're done and they finally take a breath and they walk off that stage. They feel superhuman. And I'm just telling you what they've told me. They feel superhuman. They feel, there's that word contribution again. They feel that they have contributed something to those 100 people that were there. But it in the case of a TEDx talk, that's just a small audience in the moment. But when it is published on YouTube, do you have the potential of being seen by millions of people around the world? And they recognize that, right? And so they know in that moment, I have just done something that I never thought I could do. Yeah, I wanted to, but I really never thought I could actually get a chance to do this. And if I had a chance, how would I do it? And so they walk off going, I just did something that most kids never will do. And I just did something for an audience that that I didn't know I had the power to do. And who knows what's going to come of this? I mean, these are all the thoughts that are going through their head. And so it's hard to quantify because every individual has a different experience. But generally speaking, after having done that, they are completely changed. They are changed. And I can tell you that kids, kids that go through an experience like that, they are not going to be tempted to take their lives. No matter what pandemic or crisis or challenge situation they encounter again, they already know I can do anything. I can do anything. I've done the hard thing. I can do anything. And so it does, it literally changes them forever. And they view the world differently because they've given a gift. They've not just stood up there and said what they wanted to say. They've given a gift to a hundred people in the room and maybe a million people after the fact. And their voice is going to be heard forever.

Fatima Bey 24:03

Forever. That was another mic jock moment when you said those people are not going to be tempted to take their lives. That is so, that is such a huge statement and so deep and so true. Because once you have confidence and you realize I have value, it's one thing to think maybe I have value, to be told you have value. It's another thing to have receipts. And when they get on that stage, and again, getting on a TEDx stage is not easy for anybody at any age. That they they really are selective with who they put on there. So it's a big deal to be able to get on in the first place. But the confidence, and as you were talking, that's the one word that came up again. It was like confidence, because I'm really big on building confidence because I do think that that's where people's strength lies, where it goes to die and where it goes to grow. And, you know, confidence. If you don't have it, you begin to you live beneath your own privileges. Uh, but when you have it, you can you have the opportunity to actually grow into who you should be. And I love that you build confidence. This is one of the reasons I love so much what you do, because I see that you do that. You really build the confidence of our youth. You know, my focus is youth, so of our youth. And that is such a big deal, and it changes the world because you change them, and then they go and change others. And and and here's the other thing I love. When you have these 12 and 13-year-olds get on the TEDx talk, uh, you know, tet the TEDx stage, we adults listen differently to a kid than we will to someone like me and you who are adults. We really do. We hear differently, we listen differently. They have an opportunity to influence adults in ways that we can't really. And I love that you do that. I love so much that you do that. So let's try to deeper dive right now.

Leslie Nelson 26:09

Um, TEDx itself is an or an international organization, and they vet every speaker that applies to speak at a TEDx, meaning that they will they will determine is what this speaker's saying true? If it's not true, you don't get published. All right. But if they do publish your speech, that's saying this person is an expert on this subject. Now that person could be 10 years old. And now at 10 years old, you have an international organization that says you are an expert. I mean, imagine what I love that too.

Turning Life Stories Into Talks

Fatima Bey 26:51

But I I love thank you for saying that. Yes, thank you for the and you just pointed out the enormity and the importance, what a big deal it is. Um, I just I absolutely love that. Now let's take a deeper dive into I took I let's go back to what I said in the beginning. We're gonna take a deeper dive into uh speak feed lead. You generally explained it in nice terms, but let's take a deep dive into what you really actually do for youth and where you do it. Explain to us exactly what you do with Speak Feed Lead and where do you usually do it?

Leslie Nelson 27:29

Well, we used to provide public speaking courses, they were very important and necessary during the pandemic. We were having in-person classes just before the pandemic, and then when everything got shut down, of course, we had to shut down and we couldn't meet in person. We reworked the curriculum, then we continued online. So we had public speaking courses that we carried on online for quite a while. Then when kids went back to school, in many cases, they went back online. And so we suffered a lot with our student level membership level during that period of time because the kids were in online school all day. And the last thing parents wanted is for them to take an online class at the end of the day. Right. And so our programs definitely suffered during that period of time. And but what I started to realize after working with these kids and specifically helping them with a keynote speech, with a podcast development, with uh creating or facilitating a workshop and or a TEDx talk, that is where I find my greatest joy in helping them to achieve something that they're aspiring specifically to do. So I no longer have the courses. I will do it for small groups here and there. If they bring me the number of kids, I'll I'll do a course. But I don't market my courses or create courses out of the blue anymore. Most of my time now is spent one-on-one coaching with the young people. And these are kids who aspire to be on a stage in some regard. Although there are some who just want to feel confident going into a new school year, and they come to me and work with me for just a month, and I help them with their conversation skills and help them understand how to contribute powerfully and effectively to a conversation socially so they can make friends easily, build trust, and have confidence in themselves, right? So that's that's one of the simpler things that we do. But as we work with these kids one-to-one, what we do is we start to help them recognize their experiences in life and how they learn from those experiences, and how that knowledge now can actually be beneficial to someone else when you share it with them. And so then we work on turning that experience into a story. And then when you get several stories put together, that is a speech, or it's a curriculum for a workshop or something like that. So when they have these aha moments of my foot got run over by a car and I didn't overact, I acted professionally and well, and I said, ouch, that hurt. When they recognize that's a big deal and that someone else can benefit by hearing that story, then they realize, well, everything I've experienced in my life, I thought was insignificant. But in reality, it has shaped exactly who I am, how I got this way, and why I am this way, and how I can help the planet because of it. So those are the small things that we work with them on that turn out to be really big influential opportunities, is just helping them see this is your life experience. What'd you learn? Hey, you know what? What advice would you give to somebody else in that same situation? And that simple process right there helps them realize, ah, I could, I could give some people advice. Now, here's an example of that. Years ago, I was doing a podcast, and I had my then nine-year-old grandson as a guest on my podcast because we were talking about leadership. And I wanted him to specifically come on and talk about his principal and some of the people at school who he admired. And so we had a great conversation. Now, Sam is almost 17 now, but so that was quite a while ago. But here at nine years old, and I asked him a question that I ask a lot of young people. I said, Sam, if the whole world came into your living room and said, Sam, we want to know the most important thing you have to tell us. What would that be, Sam? And he said, Well, first of all, grandma, I'd tell them to get out of my living room. And then, and then I would tell them to get off their video games and go spend time with their family. He was nine years old. And he had an important message for not only other nine-year-olds to hear, but for everybody to hear. The the things we do may not be as important, probably aren't as important as spending time with our family. So at nine years old, he knew something important that he could tell the world that would be inspirational. And so that's just an example of every every child has influence, every child has something to share. We just need to give them the opportunity, and we learn that they are absolutely brilliant.

Confidence Without Ego

Fatima Bey 33:01

So, what I'm hearing, kind of what you do is you help people to recognize that they're not pebbles, they're diamonds that just need to be dusted off. That's a beautiful way to put it. I love that. It's an analogy I use a lot because I I I too recognize that some people don't recognize their their greatness that they actually do have. Um and they think they're just another pebble, and they're really not. So I love that you do that. Um let me ask you this one last thing about leaders because you deal with this directly. Once a young person realizes uh what you're saying, that their voice carries weight, how do you teach them how to handle how to handle it so that their leadership doesn't turn into ego or undue pressure?

Leslie Nelson 33:55

That is an excellent question. And I'm so glad you asked it because it's important for us to know why and how that happens. So going back to the idea of when a young person learns how their experiences have shaped them, and that that has built in them a value system. Because when you when you take an example of a lot of experiences they've had and you say, What did you learn from that? Then you can ask them, what do you believe now? Because of that. They start to build a value system within themselves. And they and they begin to realize, you know, every experience I've had has been important. It's shaped me. Well, when you recognize that in yourself, now you look at every other person on the planet that you come in contact with, whether you know them or whether they are perfect strangers or not, you recognize that person has value. And if I sat for a moment and talked to that person and asked them about their experiences and their stories, I would be inspired. I would learn a little bit more about that person and probably a lot more about myself. And so when we learn our values, we see the value in everyone else and we build empathy, we build compassion, and we build love, a brotherly love for our entire community.

Fatima Bey 35:19

Yeah, but I've been on the TEDx stage, so, and the rest of my friends have it. So I'm better than them, right? Right.

Leslie Nelson 35:28

Well, it's hard to have arrogance and love of other people at the same time. It really is. And so I I feel that when you understand the value of other people, you have that unique ability to be humble and yet powerful in your own self at the same time. So you recognize the power you have to uplift, to inspire, to teach, to have positive influence on other people, but your arrogance doesn't soar. You just have this energy and this vibration about you that attracts people to you. And you don't have to be arrogant. You're just attractive.

Fatima Bey 36:17

You're you're absolutely right. One of the reasons people get arrogant like that is because they don't know who they are. So arrogance is often insecurity, it's just the other side of the coin. So you have a heads and the tail, you know, and my old my old pastor actually used to teach this lesson, and I I've I've taken it from her because I think it's very valuable. You have heads and tails, they're actually on the same coin, they just look different. And when people are insecure, they flock to what looks like arrogance to compensate for the insecurity. But you're absolutely right. If they have the right mindset to begin with, that other people have value, not just you, it's very hard to go over to the ego side because it it starts to not make sense. Um, and I do think it's something that's it's not in alignment.

Leslie Nelson 37:08

It's it's yeah, it it becomes a misalignment between what you really know and then the behavior that you're exhibiting, and uh, there's something wrong there. And it starts to actually, it can affect you physically. We get stomach aches and headaches uh when we are living out of alignment with who we really are and what we're telling the world we are.

Practical Advice For Youth

Fatima Bey 37:28

Oh my god, Jackie, you just hit on something so big. That's a whole nother episode. But absolutely, we're like a fish out of water. When we are misaligned with who we actually are, other things hurt. Other things hurt. Sometimes they're physical, sometimes they're mental, but other things hurt. You know, um, like a fish out of water doesn't feel too good because it's meant to breathe in water. Um and then we start acting up and flailing, and that's a whole nother thing. So what you have you're you're on another world stage right now. This is an international podcast. So what advice do you have for the youth of the world today?

Leslie Nelson 38:05

Kids, speak up. Yes. Um, if you don't feel comfortable speaking to your parents or the people that are most important in your life, find someone that is ready to listen to you. There are people out there, right? But don't stay silent just because you feel insignificant. You are not insignificant. And if your speaking even is just writing, that's a great place to start. There is something that happens from your brain to your heart and then out the tip of your hand when you are writing down your feelings and when you're writing down your experiences, you are releasing something. It's still getting onto the planet, just not necessarily through your voice at the moment, but you're sharing it. You're putting it on paper. And that is a way to start. Start writing down your experiences and ask yourself, what did I learn from that? What would I do differently if I was faced with that again? Uh, what would I advise someone else to do in the same situation? Right? If you if you write down your experiences and ask yourself those questions, you're still going to get to speak. All right. And then as you build your confidence in that, if that's where you need to start, then you can start finding friends who are true friends, loyal friends, and start sharing with them a little bit. Listening to them as well. We need to be active listeners. But we can start sharing a little bit more of ourselves with the people that are trustworthy and that aren't going to betray us or um do something unkind to us because we've shared our heart with them. So find the people. Don't don't be silent. Find the people you can talk to and say what you need to say.

How To Support Speak Feed Lead

Fatima Bey 40:02

Great advice. So, how can people support Speak Feed Lead project, the Speak Feed Lead Project?

Leslie Nelson 40:09

Well, thank you so much for that. We are a nonprofit, and there's a lot of kids who need our help, and yet many who cannot possibly afford our programs. We don't necessarily get grants. Um, we are self-sustaining, and so our revenue is created from the things that we do and the projects that we have for kids. So families do pay for our coaching. Um, and yet there are kids who need it that we would be happy to help with donations from people who support us. So if you go to speakefeedlead.org, you will find lots of ways to support us. You can support an entire family. We have a family talks retreat that is coming up in April where an entire family will come with me to Costa Rica and spend five days totally disconnected from the internet, from AI and social media, and actually connect to each other. Each member of the family creating their signature talk and presenting it to each other. And so you could support or help support a family to make it to that retreat, or you could support one or two young people. Um, it doesn't matter how small, any donation helps and will keep us going and keep us able to do more. We also have a health, hope, and higher aspirations humanitarian mission where we go to Tanzania, Africa. In 2024, we went and we served a thousand kids in some of the remotest villages you can imagine where these schools have dirt floors and no electricity. And we helped these kids stand up for the first time and actually speak. Speak their truth, speak their stories, talk about their experiences. And it was so empowering. And we put some of those speeches into a book, some of those stories into a book that was published. And so their voices are getting out there and being heard even from the remotest parts of Tanzania. So that's another way you can help us.

Fatima Bey 42:26

I I'm gonna say this. I always say, if you want to change the world, change the ones who are gonna go out and change the world. And that's precisely what you're doing by building up the next the leaders of the next generation. So I love that you do that, especially the fact that you go to Tanzania in particular, um, and help and help people to rise up. I oh, I've just I love it so much. Um so you said you, Jackie, you have something special for my listeners. What is it?

Leslie Nelson 43:00

Fatima, you're right. There is a way when they do make a donation, and I know your listeners are going to, because these are the good people on the planet. When you go to speakfeedlead.org and you make a donation of any amount, what I would really love is for you to share with us how you were led to us. And if you found us through the Mind Shift Podcast, then in the comment section when you make your donation, I would like for you to put Mind Shift. And that's with a capital M, I N D, and a capital S, H-I-F-T. And that will let us know that you found us through Fatima's podcast here. And we want Fatima to come with us the next time we go to Tanzania. And so I'm offering you an opportunity that I'll I'll promise you that a portion of your donation will go into a special fund to help Fatima afford her journey with us to Tanzania. Tanzania. So go to speakfeedlead.org. And when you make a donation, there is a comment section there. Just comment mind shift and we'll help Fatima get with us to Tanzania.

Fatima Bey 44:14

And you would be helping me to make a dream come true. More than being a millionaire. That's what I want. For real. Thank you, Jackie, so, so, so much for coming on. And I I just enjoyed talking to you so much. Um and once again, thank you for coming on my show.

Leslie Nelson 44:32

Thank you very, very much. I appreciate you allowing me this stage to share my voice because that's what we all need to do is share our voices with the world. So thank you so much.

Fatima Bey 44:46

And now for a mind shifting moment. Who told you to shut up? And I don't just mean the your words. I mean the mindset, the dismissal. The moment someone made you feel like what you had to say didn't matter. Because what we heard in this conversation today is that silence is not natural. It's learned. And too often it is learned early in life. You learn to hold back, to not say what you're thinking, to not share what you feel, to not use the very voice that could change your life and someone else's. And then we wonder why confidence is low, why leadership is missing, why so many feel unseen. And when you help a young person find their voice, you don't just change a moment. You change a trajectory. And that's a big deal. That's what Speak Feed Lead is actually doing. They're helping young people stand up, speak, and realize I matter, what I say matters, and I can lead. And that work is not limited to one place. It is happening globally, including Tanzania. At the end of this episode, Jackie shared something I didn't expect. She said that if you make a donation to Speak Feed Lead and put mind shift in the comments, part of that will go towards helping me to join them in their next trip to Tanzania. Now yes, that would mean something deeply personal to me. It would be a lifelong dream actually coming true. But bigger than that, it would allow me to be a part of helping young people, our youth find their voice in places where the world often isn't listening. Yes, please donate, but if you can't, here's what you can do. Ask yourself this. Who around you is staying quiet because no one has made space for them to speak? And what would it look like for you to help change that? Because helping one voice can change everything. You've been listening to My Shift Power Podcast for complete show notes on this episode, and to join our global movement, find us at fatimabay.com. Until next time, always remember there's power in shifting your thinking.