Stop Shrinking and Start Building the Legacy You Were Called To Lead! (New Year 4 Part Miniseries 1 of 4)

I just had the best conversation, a powerful conversation. It changed everything and I want to bring you in on it. This is for the ones that are ready, that are ready to make a life changing difference. If you want a different year, you cannot bring the same small version of yourself into it. This is the year you stop shrinking to make other people feel comfortable. This is the year you stop apologizing for who you are. This is the year you stop hiding your calling, delaying your obedience, and playing small in the places God designed you to lead. Because you already know you were meant for more. You do, don't you? You better. The question is no longer, do I deserve it? The question is, will I rise into it? You cannot build an unshakable legacy while living in a watered down version of yourself. There comes a point where shrinking stops looking like humility and starts looking like disobedience. And for some of you, that moment is today. Hear this friend, when you shrink yourself, your family shrinks with you. When you rise, they rise. Legacy expands when leaders expand. I'm going to say that once again because I want you to really feel it. Legacy expands when leaders expand. Not through perfection, but through obedience. And we can all do that. Uh, no. Ooh, that's better, right, Beth? Yeah! Yeah. She founded an architectural concrete company. He founded a hundred million dollar clothing company. She took the world by storm as a social media star. He took the world by storm as a famous serial entrepreneur. Together we started a business. And had babies. Now we're figuring out the best ways to do both. Join us as we learn from other entrepreneurs going through the same life struggles. As they share their life hacks about success, love, kids. And everything in between. Hello my friend and welcome back. I want you to pause before we begin today. Because this moment matters here at the entrepreneur parents podcast. This show, our show, that means you guys has officially reached number one. And I don't say that lightly. I say it with humility, gratitude and awe. This didn't happen overnight. It happened over years of showing up. Years of choosing depth, depth over trends. Years of having uncomfortable but necessary conversations. Friends, I refused to quit. I didn't want to miss an episode. Years of serving, even when no one was watching, when no one was listening. And we did it here together. That's with you guys. And I am deeply grateful. Because I didn't start this from chasing success. It came from helping others. And always, God gets the glory. I'm your host, Ildiko Ferenci. And it is so, so, so good to be back. And sliding into an incredibly beautiful new year. Because there was some really, really, really hard times last year. I'm so excited to slide into this new year with you guys. The show has never been number one. Or it just, we tried. Believe me, we were trying. But I know this last month, it was just, it was just time. And yet, here we are, here we are. You convinced me to step into these solo episodes. The ones I was honestly uncomfortable to do. And look what God did. Look what God did. It was like a confirmation. It was like, this is exactly what I wanted you to do. And because of you, your listens, your five stars, your reviews, your messages, and your willingness to pour into yourself. And yes, with my children right beside me, through this journey, literally beside me, in person and on the charts. Because there was a time when we were number two and they were number one. And they did it in a year, less than a year. This is legacy. This is the dream, friends. This is the dream to build with family. It's a legacy. There is a, there is a kind of joy that only comes when success is shared with the people you love most. And how do you do that? Because they're on your journey. And sometimes it takes a lifetime to realize that. And sometimes you realize that when you look at another family, that's doing what you should have done years ago, but guess what? It's too late now. And then you have regret. But not us, not this family, not this community. We're doing it together. And if people want to get off and they want to do their own thing, they are welcome to do that. God bless them. Good luck. But I am so proud of us, the ones that stuck here, that kept going. I am proud of you for choosing growth, for choosing truth, for choosing to do the inner work, even when it's uncomfortable. Because some of these conversations, they are uncomfortable, friends. But that's where it gets real. That's where it gets real. And thank you for sharing your stories. You're very personable, personal. Your personal, raw stories. I see your emails, every single one. Please keep writing to me at contact at prettyandpunk.com. Contact at prettyandpunk.com. Your words matter more than you will ever know. And your stories are powerful. You're the hero of your story. I'm the hero of my story. And we are exactly what other people need to hear. Because we are qualified to help others through our journey. And through our story is how those people connect. When they hear that story that you lived, they're able to say, I can do it too. She did it. He did it. They did it. I can do it too. And it brings hope. That's a beautiful thing. So friend, I am proud of you for being here, for not quitting and for putting in the work. Today is not about resolutions. It's not about fixing yourself. It's about becoming someone new. And we can all do that today. It's about returning to the person God designed before fear, before exhaustion, comparison, and criticism that made you smaller. This is the year you reclaim. You're going to reclaim the identity you abandoned just to survive. Or whatever it was that you were going through. Because the enemy will throw things your way. And you have to overcome it. You cannot give up. You understand how special your life is. There's a cemetery full of people that would give anything to have one more day. And you woke up to another day. That is a blessing and that is a gift. Do not take that lightly. I sure don't. Today we're talking about the version of you God has been waiting for. The one who stops shrinking. The one who stops playing small. The one who finally steps into who they were called to be. Oh, that feels so good to say it, doesn't it? The one who finally steps into who they were called to be. Let's begin. Some of you have been shrinking because you're afraid of being perhaps misunderstood. Or some of you have been shrinking because you're tired. We're mothers. We're fathers. He gets exhausting, especially in this season. Some of you have been shrinking because you don't want to make others uncomfortable. Don't do that. Don't do that. I've done that. Don't do it. Some of you have been shrinking because somewhere along the way, pain convinced you that small is safe. But you were not created to be small. Remember, your life is a gift. Waking up was a gift. Before you reach for that coffee, consider this. What if the energy boost you're looking for isn't in your cup but in your cells? I challenge you to swap your morning coffee for Sheila Jeet by Symbiotica. And here's what can happen. No crash, no jitters, just clean, sustained energy, plus mental clarity and trace minerals that our bodies actually need, that are actually starving for, to be honest. This isn't just a supplement. It's an ancient adaptogen sourced from the Himalayas that supports myocondrial function, stamina and overall vitality. Your coffee never did that. Okay, let's just be honest. Try it for a week and tell me your body doesn't thank you. Symbiotica's Sheila Jeet is next level wellness. And honestly, you may never go back to drinking coffee. Click the link below down in the bio and get your Sheila Jeet today. Psalms chapter 139 verse 14 says, I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well. We were created with intention and precision, precision with purpose, not timid, not accidental. I was born a surprise, okay friends, and not replaceable. None of us are replaceable. Each and every one of us have a very special God given destiny. We were fearfully and wonderfully made. Say it, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I don't care what anyone else says. I don't care what anyone else calls you when they're mad. Okay, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. And if you're close to God, even if you don't have a physical family, like a bloodline here on earth, maybe your parents have moved on, or maybe you only have one parent left or a few people in your family other than your husband, your wife, and your children, whoever it is that I'm talking to, your father will watch out for you. Okay, do not worry. And what God crafts with intention should not walk through life, apologizing for existing. Do not. Do not listen to what anyone says. Do not take how they talk to you, okay? Sometimes people are so nasty when they get angry. Nasty. But guess what? That's their problem. That doesn't define who you are or who's you are. You know exactly who and who's you are. So they could say whatever they want. Okay? They got their problems they got to deal with. I want to take a special moment to share a season where from the outside, people thought that I was living the dream, the photos, the perfect adventures, the perfect smiles. It all looked so picture perfect, the highlight reel. But behind the scenes, I was fighting for my life with a newborn and a young baby. And I was also helping my mother fight for her life after her own devastating diagnosis. It was hard. I'm going to be honest, it was hard. It's hard enough for you mamas that are going through this new season with a brand new little baby. You're trying to understand this new version of yourself. You're not this little baby. You're waking up in the middle of the night. Sometimes it feels like you're losing yourself. God sees you. God sees you in the night. You know I think about it too is just don't forget those special moments. Because your children won't remember those beautiful special moments. Those private moments that you spent with your child. Remember that. And if you're living through it, really, really, I know it's sometimes a struggle. It's hard. You're the only one getting up in the middle of the night. But hold on to it. How special. How special. And God sees you. You know, I heard something really, I just have to pop this in. I heard something so amazing that there's a group. There's a group of nuns that pray around 3am in the morning. They wake up to pray for new mothers. It gave me chills when I heard that. I could not even, I was, it just, it just, it hit me in the most beautiful way. Are you kidding me? Like can we as mothers or who fathers, whoever's listening right now, when we wake up in the middle of the night, let's say a prayer for the mothers that are going through it. Let's say a prayer. Let's join that, that, that beautiful intention of, of pouring into the new mothers. Where was I? I just, I had to share that to you. I had to share that with you. So here we are. We were fighting back to my personal story. We were fighting for our marriage, our family and our future through pain that no one could see. No one saw it. We were carrying medical battles, emotional exhaustion, fear, business, business pressure, parenting demands, heavy outside pressure from other people on our marriage and spiritual where, where, I can't even say it. How do you say it? Warfare. There you go. There you go. Spiritual warfare. All at the same time. All at this. All at once. Yeah. And every time I shared a beautiful moment, people would comment, wow, your life is perfect. Perfect. You're living the dream. And for a while, I let them believe it. Not because I wanted to, not because I wanted to, to lie or be fake, but because I didn't want to be a burden. I didn't want to, I didn't want to be seen as the person that was going through these things. I didn't want people to look at me a different way. You know, I told a few people. The diagnosis and some of the things that we were going through. I didn't, I didn't want to be looked at like that. I just want it. I knew, I knew in my heart that I was going to get through this and it was just going to be a moment that it was just going to be a thing. And then I could forget about it. That I would never have to think about it, that I could just move through it. And that I didn't want anybody to ever, ever feel sorry for me or give me pity. That's not the way that I was raised, by the way. And my mom was the same way with her battle. I'm kidding. She was the proudest woman, so strong. But I realized that if I kept it to myself and hit it, I hit it somewhere in a dark closet that, that I wouldn't be able to help people going through the same thing. And shrinking doesn't always look like hiding, but sometimes shrinking looks like performing strength. So no one sees you bleed that too. And as I was saying, even eventually, eventually we made the decision that changed everything. We stopped shrinking. We stopped performing strength. We stopped sharing only the highlight reel. It's all part of the journey. We got honest about the most important journey of our lives. About, yes, the blessing of these babies. And what we were going through. I never spoke it. I never, I never said it in a negative way. That was very conscious, a very conscious way. Because the tongue carries so much power. But we did speak openly. I spoke openly about what we were really walking through as entrepreneurs, as having to have to put everything on hold to stop that. Parents, believers and fighters. You're fighters too. Whatever it is that you're going through. And that vulnerability is what birthed this podcast. This is how it all started. Realizing we weren't the only ones trying to build something great to raise children to protect a marriage and fight private battles. Even medical ones at the same time. We weren't alone and neither were you. And now by the grace of God, this show has reached the top of the charts. It was always top 10 and top five, but boom, that was just confirmation. And it was confirmation in this part where it felt uncomfortable. But I didn't want to give up the show. It happened a few years ago. You know, because someone decided to do something else, the whole thing went on pause for a minute. I was sharing somewhere else, but it just stopped. And it felt awful, awful on the inside. Awful. Because I knew, I knew that I had to share the stories that I had to lift people to connect with people. We climbed to number one together with you guys. We, we as in me and you. Okay. Not because I did this. I didn't do this alone. It's because of you. You were investing in yourselves, your families and your marriages. And you said, I don't want to walk this thing alone. I want to build a legacy. I want freedom. I want life on my terms. And I am so proud of you guys. And that out of that, out of that obedience, God built one of the most powerful communities. Of purpose driven entrepreneur families I've ever seen. The exact community we needed. I needed back when we were suffering in silence. Through the greatest pain. That happened because we stopped shrinking and started speaking, speaking. That started in vulnerable vulnerability because it became, it became this. It became a movement. The moment we stopped hiding is the moment the legacy began. Something I never even, I never even dreamed of. God brought me to it through the pain. I was, I built, I was in the, I built an architectural concrete company. I was in, on film and TV. I was training to, it's funny because a lot of people think that acting is, you know, you're faking. It was the hardest classes of my life to, to what they would do is they would see something in you and for me, I've, I've gone, you guys know the story. I've gone through a lot of my life as abandoned child, losing my brother. Just the things, just the things, okay, the things, but in that world, those are blessings because you can instantly connect with the character that you're playing. Right? If they lost someone or they are going through some kind of obstacle, you don't have to do as much character research because you have it in your bones, in your blood. You know exactly what it feels like. So I was very blessed and those were things that I just wanted to leave in the past and never experience again. Oh, but guess what? In the classes, they would crack you open to just bring that, bring that honestly. One of the things that we would say for me, because everybody has a different talent, is to be as honest, to be as honest as I can be today. I promise to be as honest as I can be today, to not shut down the feelings, to let them bubble out, to let them come out of my mouth and connect with that person across from me. And then all of a sudden, these things started happening and God brought me into a different industry, podcasting. That was the gift. And you guys connect and resonate with me because I'm able to share the stories that I went through. I have the blueprint. Why would you listen to me? If I did not experience and live the things that you're going through, parenting journey, loss, grief. And by the way, grief is different for everyone. We're going to do a very special episode soon. It is different. Some people are blessed where they could just, they have the event and it's done. And they don't think about it anymore. I think my husband and I butt heads because I'm a feeler. I'll feel it forever. And I remember he would kind of be like, why are you grieving so long? Like it's over. It's done. We have to bury your mom. But you cannot tell someone how to grieve. You cannot. You cannot tell them, oh, give away her things or give it. Just get rid of it. Whatever, whatever it is, whatever it is. I'm sorry. I just, I had, I had, I am so excited for this episode because it's different. I think the other day we got in the biggest, biggest argument. This was a while back about him saying, just get rid of this stuff. Like my, my so-and-so is on the phone with me. He's just get rid of it. I'm not ready. And it's none of your business. It's none of your business. How I grieve. I am not ready. Some people want to keep a few things to look at because once you get rid of the things, that's the confirmation that they're gone. I'm not ready for that. Okay. You want to do, you give away, you give away the things that mean something to you. You go ahead. You do it. Okay. Everybody grieves different. We got a little off topic, but I'm very excited to do this, this episode on grief because there's the feelers and then there's the, the, the, the people that, that are comfortable with it. And there's nothing wrong with either side. Some people it's like it's, it's over. It's done. And then some people, it changes them. It changes them, but we also cannot get lost. We also cannot get lost in a way where, where we don't rise again. How do I put it into words? We need to rise again. Okay. It's on our time, but we do need to rise again. And that's different for everyone. So anyway, as I was saying, when we, we were vulnerable, we, we, and we stopped hiding. And that's the moment when the legacy began. And, and trust me, this wasn't easy. I still have a text. I still have a text that my husband received from someone who mocked this podcast and said, everybody's talking about it. It's ridiculous. I can't believe you guys are going to podcast that they were going to have a heart attack. And yet here we are. Number one, boom, boom. There we go. Number one, we did it. And that's going to fluctuate always, but just seeing that, that's so exciting. So exciting because that's because of you guys. And you guys will have those haters, those jealous people. Don't let it bug you. I like it. It pushes me. It's like, if they're not talking, that means you're doing something wrong. Let them talk. Let them talk. Let them talk because God will straighten it out. Okay. And just give it to God. There they are. They're gossiping again. God handle it. Handle it. And the funny thing is sometimes they gossip during the hardest time of your life when you're fighting for your life and they're gossiping, gossiping. God, take care of it. One day they'll taste it too. And one way or another, and that's kind of a good learning curve for the people that gossip. And so listen, our children, as I was saying, they reached number one, two. So it was them. It was us. So look at the way that it falls. Look at how it falls into place. It's mean text. And then you kind of remember. You remember when you hit those milestones. God will celebrate you publicly when others choose to gossip behind your back. He'll celebrate you in front of them. And I know for some of you, this message is, is triggering something deep. That's not condemnation. That's an invitation to break the chain that's been holding you back. Stop shrinking. Let's go through a declaration this year. Let's do something fun. Okay. Get ready. Repeat after me. I no longer apologize for the calling on my life. I do not shrink to be accepted. I rise to be obedient. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I walk with authority because I walk with God. My legacy expands when I expand. My family rises when I rise. And above all, glory to God always. This is my thing. This shows this show. This show exists because he healed me. I'm going to say that this shows that he healed me, but I'm going to go a little deeper on that, that this show exists because he healed me. This answer came to me to do a podcast. Like, where did this idea even come from? If not from him. Because he carried me. How could I not give him the glory? Because he restored what should have been lost. And forever I will be grateful. I will forever be grateful by serving others and by giving God the glory every single episode. Now friends say it with me. This is the year I stop shrinking. That was awesome. That was so good. And now, some episodes we do, we'll say prayer and some we don't, but I want to invite you to say prayer. If you're not driving, close your eyes. Father, thank you for every person listening right now. Thank you for the calling you placed on their life. Not by accident. Not by chance. But with purpose. Give them courage where fear has silenced them. Give them confidence where doubt has minimized them. Give them clarity where confusion has held them back. Teach them to step boldly into who you designed them to be. Not for their glory, but for your kingdom. And their family's legacy in Jesus name. Amen. Friends, I am so proud of you for investing in this time. And this time into yourself today. I'm really proud of you guys. I mean, you could have chosen to scroll or do something else or watch a movie. I don't know. There's a million things you could do. So just some examples. But you chose growth. You chose healing. And you're choosing legacy. And if this message spoke to your heart, please share it with someone you love or care about. And if you hear it, they'll know just how much you care. And if you haven't yet, leave a five star review in a kind word. This helps this message reach the families who need it most. And finally, if you haven't listened yet, I invite you personally to tune into the entrepreneur kids legacy show. Little Daniel and Destiny have poured their hearts into creating something truly special. And in just one year, they too, they reached number one, less than a year, less than a year. What am I talking about? Less than a year. It is a new year, but less than a year, they reached number one. And that tells us something powerful, doesn't it friends? And that screen free, faith rooted legacy focus learning is exactly what children need right now. If you'd like to support their show, the entrepreneur kids legacy show, you can do so at buy me a coffee dot com entrepreneur kids. And the gift and donation helps cover production costs and supports the excellence they bring to each episode. Every contribution is deeply appreciated by them and honors their hard work. So go do what you can leave them leave them what you can. They truly appreciate it. And thank you for spending this new year's day with me. So Ferenci, this isn't just the start of another year. Okay, this is the beginning of a stronger, braver version of you. Okay, mom's, the dad's stronger, braver version of you. Never, never forget this strong families build unshakable legacies and it all begins when you step into who you are called to be. God bless you have an incredible week and I can't wait to talk to you again soon. Send me an email. Send me an email. God bless you. Love you. Thank you beautiful friends for listening to this important message from mama. There is someone you love and care about. Oh, and we'd love to personally invite you to listen to our podcast. It's for young future allidles ready to change the world and be a light in the dark. Listen together as a family. It's called the optional kids legacy show. We know you'll love it. Be bold, be kind, build an unforgettable family legacy. God bless you. We love you. And parents, if no one told you yet, let us be the force. You're doing a remarkable job. And remember, you are the hero of your story because every legacy begins with a hero and that hero is you. This podcast is for inspirational and educational purposes only and it is not intended to replace professional advice, legal advice, diagnosis or treatment. We are here to help you understand the importance of your life and your family. We are here to help you understand the importance of your life and your family. We are here to help you understand the importance of your life and your family. We are here to help you understand the importance of your life and your family.