Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Start your week smiling with your friends Kathy Zant and Michelle Frichette. It's time to get ready for some weekly motivation with WP motivate.
[00:00:10] Speaker B: All right.
[00:00:13] Speaker A: Happy Friday, Kathy.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Happy Friday, Michelle. How are you?
[00:00:17] Speaker A: I'm good. I'm TGIF, you know, I mean, hey, it's always a good thing.
[00:00:22] Speaker B: TGIF. Yeah. So I had this week off, so it was like PG all week.
[00:00:29] Speaker A: Thank goodness. It's all week off. I love that.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: It was nice.
[00:00:33] Speaker A: That's awesome. I know that it was nice. But you've also cleaned your garage, and I've done some of those things that you needed to catch up on. And even though it's still, like, busyness, it feels good to have the time to do some of those things when you have some time off, doesn't it?
[00:00:49] Speaker B: Yeah. There's just like, when you're constantly working and doing all the things, stuff just gets messy, and it's right before the start of a new year, so I feel like I'm cleaning out a lot of the old stuff and getting rid of clothes I haven't worn in a few years. Why did I even bring this from Arizona?
[00:01:13] Speaker A: All of that kind of stuff.
[00:01:14] Speaker B: I'm just, like, getting rid of things, donating stuff. I'm cleaning stuff up.
I've got a leak in my sprinkler system, but it's not that.
Yeah, that was, like, fun. I was recording a podcast on Tuesday with Do the Woo with Bob, and the doorbell rings, so, of course, Milo the Dachshund is just.
Yeah, just crazy. And I'm like, he just wouldn't stop. So I had to just stop the podcast. And then I go outside and it's the water department, and they're like, do.
[00:01:46] Speaker A: You have water running?
[00:01:47] Speaker B: Because the meter is, like, going. And I'm like, show me. And I had to figure it all out. Luckily, I was able to turn off the sprinkler system, and my sprinkler guy is here. But that was, like, one bit of stress that I didn't want to deal with this week. But I feel like all is okay in the world and I am ready for new. I'm ready for the new year. But I've been also been thinking about all of the amazing things that have happened this year. It's been a really interesting week just to have that space to just really wipe some slates cLean, get ready new slates, but also really look over the year and feel like it's been a good year. How about you?
[00:02:27] Speaker A: Yeah, same. I will say first to the water thing. You know, you live in a northern climate. When they don't watch your water meter, nobody knocks on your door because you're going through water like crazy. Because we have water plentiful here. We never get into drought situations.
I live a mile south of one of the biggest lakes in North America, so nobody cares. But you're like, the water. People knocked and said, hey, you're using a lot of water. That would never happen here.
[00:02:53] Speaker B: Yeah, well, they were actually checking the meter to see how much they want to tap my bank account later, and they noticed that it was going, and they're like, are you running water? And I'm like, no, I do know I have a. Oh, I won't even get into it. I have an outside shower because this house was built and wired and plumbed. Everything's ready for the pool. That I don't. Oh, that I was tempted with, because when we moved to Arizona, I'm like, I'll move to Arizona, but I want a house with a pool. And, oh, well, we're really close to the neighborhood pool. And then I went a few times, and I was like, oh, this is nice. And then somebody threw a football and hit me in the head. And I'm like, I want my own pool. So when you come here, it's like, here's the picture of the pool. Here's the plans for the pool. Here's the outside shower that's leaking for the pool. But I don't have a pool.
I've got this outside shower that's drip, drip.
[00:03:50] Speaker A: I got to get it fixed.
[00:03:51] Speaker B: That's happening Monday. But the sprinkler thing. So when they said, are you running water? I'm like, well, I got one little leak. And they're like, no, this is a gallon an hour. And I'm like, oh, show me. And then it was full of water, and I'm like, why is there water here? Well, because it rained. I'm like, has it rained for a while? That's pretty clear water. I think it's the sprinkler system. So I immediately took everything apart and shut the water off and called my sprinkler was. That's been my. Like, I'm like, I just want a week off.
[00:04:22] Speaker A: I just want a week off.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: No stress, no problems, no nothing. But then, yeah, so when. When that podcast episode comes out with Dave Lackey and me talking about the future of emerging technologies, and then the dog starts barking, and I'm like, yeah.
[00:04:36] Speaker A: I got to stop.
[00:04:39] Speaker B: I got to go deal with all of this stuff.
I'm the problem. It's me.
[00:04:46] Speaker A: Another Taylor reference.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:50] Speaker A: Well, I was thinking and we talked.
If people think that we don't know what we're going to talk about before we just start talking, it's true that we don't know exactly what we're going to say, but we talk for a few minutes before we start recording because we're not dumb.
We have some semblance of a game plan when we actually start recording. Yeah, but I was thinking about how at the end of November, beginning of December, you start to see those are the entertainers and the movie stars and whatever that we lost this year. And I'm always like, we still have four more weeks. That people could die putting this out now.
Not to be totally macabre or anything, but I thought. So I think, well, I don't know what else to talk about this week. Other know, sprinklers and things that go wrong, which I'm all about that, too.
But it's been a pretty cool year for both of us. I think we've done some different things. And I had never traveled outside. Now, when I say I've never traveled outside of North America, I've been to Hawaii. It's part of the United States. It is a trek. It's not part of the contiguous United States. However, I had never been to Europe. I had never been to like, oh, wow. I had never been to like, there's so many places I went to this year. I'd never been to, like, there are places that I went to this year, not always for work, either, that really were highlights of this year for me. I mean, there's lots of other things that are exciting and things that happen.
You know, you and I hadn't seen each other in person since pre pandemic, and I got to give you a hug in Phoenix when we were both there to speak. And so that was know. And just, gosh, this last year, you have settled into, I think, more of, like, what normal your new normal is following the previous year with your husband's stroke and all things that happened there. And I lost my dad last year, and I have a new normal and what it feels like. And so, yeah, this year felt like one of. I don't want to say everything's all better because it's not like you just go back to the way that things were when you have major events in your life. But there's a semblance of a new normal in my life anyway, and it feels like in yours, too. And I don't want to speak for you, of course, you're free to chime in, but it has been a good year, in spite of the things that were challenging last year. And even this year, it's been a pretty good year. And I've traveled a ton this year. I've started new projects this year. I've reached out and talked to people that I hadn't talked to in decades this year, so it's been a really good year. How about you?
[00:07:33] Speaker B: Yeah. That first trip to Phoenix was really good. That was the first time. And it was kind of scary at first because it was like I hadn't been away from Mark for.
Since everything had happened, and it was the first time. And I'm like, I can do this hours I can, no problem. And I did fine. And then that kind of just, like, freed me up to do the trip to Florida with the cadence team, and that was great to just spend some time with them.
And then I did WP campus, went to New Orleans for the first time and brought my daughter and stayed at a nice hotel. It was kind of like her birthday present, and it was good. And then we went to Nashville and then went to Washington, DC. And so I got to travel with my daughter a like, because I felt bad for her because when my son was in right after high school and kind of like drifting a little bit, not knowing what he was going to do, he traveled with me. He was like the professional camera holder, so he actually worked with me and did a lot of word camps with me and stuff.
My daughter hasn't had that opportunity, so this year I got to take her on some trips and spend some too much money on her.
It was fun.
It was good. And I needed some breaks, too. And now we're two years post stroke now, and it's not as hard as it was two years ago, but some things are just still. It's just always going to be a challenge.
Last night, he wanted to watch football, and I'm like, you can have your football game. Here you go. Here's the remote. I'm going upstairs to sleep. And I couldn't sleep well. And then about 01:00 I heard him hollering. So I came downstairs and he's like, are you my friend?
Yes. What's going on? Why don't you go to sleep? And he's like, it was on Amazon Prime. And so the next movie had queued up, and he was like, just saying the name of the movie. I can't even remember what it was, but it was like Captain prime or something. And he just kept saying that. And he's like, make it go away. And I'm like, you've got the remote right here. And he's like, you know how to use?
[00:09:56] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:09:56] Speaker B: We just had this conversation of when.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: You'Re done, he's like, show me.
[00:10:05] Speaker B: Like 100 o'clock in the morning. So there's still like, crazy stuff like that happens.
Cognitively, he's so much better than he was, but some other things where it's just like, we just had this conversation.
[00:10:18] Speaker A: But my guess is if he gets tired, things change. If he's dehydrated, things change, right?
[00:10:25] Speaker B: Totally.
[00:10:26] Speaker A: My mother, very similar, actually.
She texted me one time. She's like, something's wrong with my phone. I'm like, well, I need more information than that.
It won't stop showing me this audacity thing. I was like, what are you talking about? She was. Every time I open it up, there's this audacity thing. I'm like, mom, that's my website.
She just had it in the browser. She was just always looking at the browser on her phone and thought that my website infected her phone. Let me show you how to remind you how to close chrome. Okay. It's. God, are you happy?
[00:11:06] Speaker B: So funny.
[00:11:08] Speaker A: What are you doing? What is this world coming to that anyway? Yeah. So much fun. It's so funny. Yeah.
[00:11:14] Speaker B: Mark's mom, like, windows, was just something she just didn't understood. Well, now it's showing me this, and I would just start laughing in here.
It's not funny. It's very frustrating. And I'm like, from here, over here, it's funny.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: Outside looking in. It's hysterical.
[00:11:36] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:11:37] Speaker A: I know what you mean. Oh, my gosh.
But it has been a good year. Last year we lost my dad, which we've talked about before, and I'm the oldest of six and I'm 55 years old. My youngest sibling is 15. So there are 40 years between me and my youngest sibling. And the second to the youngest graduated high school this year. And so their mom died ten years ago. Their dad died last year, our dad died last year. And so it was really important to the two older brothers. So I'm the oldest and my brother Robin, Greg, that we all be there for Joshua's graduation. And so I flew to Oklahoma in May to be there for his graduation and another three years, I'll do it again for Caleb's graduation and be there. And my sister is not somebody. She's like, oh, I wish I could have gone. I'm like, you could. Nobody stopped you from going to like, she doesn't work. I'm like, I don't know why you weren't, but I'm not your travel agent, so figure it out if you want to be there.
But for us all to be together for that and that week, I got to spend a lot of time with Corey and Lindsay Miller, too, working on stuff for post status.
I bought myself my first ever pair of diamond earrings from my dad's estate. I spent some money from the estate and got myself something I've always wanted and celebrated WordPress 20th birthday that week, too. We did a live event for post status. And so I did a whole bunch that one week, including going to see a Chihuli exhibit, which is that glass artist in Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and Museum there.
And I also got to see, there's a TikTok famous cat called Indiana Bones who is part of the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City in Moore, Oklahoma. And so he wasn't there that day. But I did go to the Museum of Osteology as well. So all of these things I did with my little brothers and just had so much fun that then, you know, I got to go to Greece. Athens, Greece. I live next to a town called Greece, New York. So when you tell people around here you went to Greece, you have to say Athens. Otherwise they think you just went out over and they're not impressed. But Lydia and I went to Athens this year. She has been building her DJ business like crazy. So I was able to build her a website for DJ Lidvicious using cadence and it's on Nexus hosting and the things that, the tools that we have accessible to us at work.
And so it was cool to be able to have that week with her, learn more about what makes her tick, watch her interact with like, now she feels like. Then she flew down to Wordcamp us just to see the people she met in Greece because she was like, yeah, I know these people. I'm like, well, at least now you have a website so you can say you are a Wordpresser. But those kinds of experiences. And then I took two weeks this year where I just went out in nature with my cameras, know, take the pictures that people have seen me post all over of birds and deer and bumblebees and whatever.
Yeah. So it's been a pretty good year. And I've spoken more word camps and online events that I could care to even try to remember and put in order for you. But I have to say one of the highlights is getting a text message from you. At what time was it? Like 745 08:00 in the morning going, are you busy today?
[00:15:16] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:15:18] Speaker A: And then I had nothing on my calendar and so you and I messaging back and forth all day, running the cadence amplify event was actually a highlight as well. That was so much fun.
[00:15:26] Speaker B: Yeah, that was very cool. Yeah, we started that.
The idea came up early last year and I think we did the first one in March. You were a speaker then too?
[00:15:38] Speaker A: I was, yeah.
[00:15:39] Speaker B: And yeah, it was mostly just like people know, like I really did it. Like there was no formula. It was just like I'm just going to tap people that I know and I did the same thing this fall. It was just know, tried to get it well rounded. I was going to first do it just like as a cadence focused type of thing. But Ben really actually was like, let's do it just like security performance, like anything that's going to help people really understand how to make their sites more effective. And I'm like, oh, even easier, even better. I can do this. So that was really cool. And then met, you know, there was a couple of people that I just knew online that I didn't really even know that well that I've become good friends with because of cadence amplify. So I was very proud of both of those events. And Matt Madeiros was like doing his gravity forms live event and he's like, I'm not ever going to do like marathon with the seven hour live stream. He just did like a half day thing. But he did amazing. I mean he's such a great content creator anyway.
But yeah, I thought about it. I'm like, wow, that was a long day.
[00:16:54] Speaker A: Well, I had run three word fests which were 24 hours events before. Right. 7 hours is like so easy. Not a problem.
Yeah, so much fun.
[00:17:06] Speaker B: I would look at those word fest, I'm like, you people are torturing because I know I'm seed for a good 8 hours. Like Robert Jacoby and I had the Robert and Kathy show for one of those and that was like 8 hours shift and that was a long time. So for you guys to do it for 24 hours, that was a lot.
[00:17:27] Speaker A: I mean, I did take a little nap. I took a couple of hour nap in the middle of it all because you can't just stay awake for 24 hours straight and expect to sound anywhere near intelligent by the like three quarters of the way through.
[00:17:42] Speaker B: It's so empowering and so, I don't know, heartwarming to do those types of events and have people get something from it. I get something from it. It's just so great. Are we going to do more next year? Like, we got to do something next year.
[00:17:58] Speaker A: I'm working on some ideas, for sure.
I can't talk about exactly what I'm going to do at work because things are still in the pitch deck stage of things, but yeah, I'm working on some things like that. And then I just had a meeting this morning with Rachel Winchester, Wyn, and she's been really leveraging LinkedIn and doing live streams, and she's invited me to be the first guest on her live stream to work on a project live on the stream. And so I've got some things like that coming up as well as I can't talk about where I've already been asked to speak in some places because it's not public yet. But I will be speaking out for some different companies and doing some different things, not for some different companies at their events. Let me get that clear.
Always for stellar MVP, but at different company events that I've been asked to do. So those are kind of exciting things. And for me, underrepresented in tech is going to take on a new direction because at the end of this year, Ali Nimmins, who's my co founder partner in crime over there, is stepping away to pursue other passions of hers, and I wish her well. I don't think anybody in the community thinks that there's been any rift between us, and certainly there hasn't.
And I did that big old gulp when she first told me, like, oh, gosh, what are we going to do? But already pivoting. I've got guests lined up to come on in January already, and I've been talking with a company to have somebody sponsored as my co host going forward.
Yeah. Starting maybe February, March of next year. So hopefully everything will shake down like it's supposed to there. But I'm excited about that and some new webinars that we're going to plan to do next summer to pick up where we left off with them this year. So, yeah, there's no rest, but it's all good stuff.
I have this feeling of, I've never had this before. Right. I think you hit a certain point in your life and you start to look at retirement and you realize that everything you wanted to do in your career has to now happen. With that timeline in place in your 30s, you're like, I got so much time, but like, I'm 55. Realistically, how much longer am I relevant in WordPress? I mean, I'd like to say another ten or 15 years, but who knows for sure? So the things that I want to create to help others and leave a mark need to be done within a certain time frame. And so I kind of feel that pressure a little bit also with the realization that if things that I have in mind don't happen, that's just the way it's supposed to be. Right? Like, I think I was telling you, like, my legacy, I honestly don't care if know my immediate family after I'm gone and they're gone. It's okay if the rest of the world doesn't remember who Michelle was because I'm not here to be sad that they don't remember who Michelle was. Right. But I really do hope that some of the things that I help move forward for underrepresented people, for individuals in particular, that those things carry forward, whether my name is attached to them or not. And so those are the things that I really think about wanting to have done as I look over the next.
[00:21:04] Speaker B: Few years, for sure, yeah, I'm definitely in the same boat where it's just, and it's not even that. How relevant am I going to be? Because my next step is a little out of WordPress. A lot of out of WordPress. Not like I'm like, see you later, WordPress. The ride's been fun, but don't let.
[00:21:26] Speaker A: The door share the way out. Wordpress.
[00:21:29] Speaker B: Yeah, but it's sort of like this.
I'm going to a place where I'm building on the platform of what WordPress and I have done together and doing more and going to wider audiences, and I'm excited about that. But it's also like, it's such a healthy thing to have that time awareness of. I don't have much time. Because you're not promised tomorrow. Nobody's promised tomorrow. But when we're kids and we're in our 20s, it's like, oh, I can work this job for a while while I'm playing over here. But it gets to the point where it's like I want to be able to look over my life and say, I'm proud of what I've done. That's it. Not necessarily even, oh, I was recognized by so and so. No, I'm proud of what I've done. I've been of service to humanity with the hours that I had, the finite hours that I had. I'm really cognitively and almost crushingly aware of that time limitation that I really want to go back to my 22 year old self and bop her on the head and say, do more earlier.
I mean, I took a very long break from really even working much at all and kind of stood in my husband's shadow for a long time while he was doing all of his stuff. And I spent the majority of my days with kids and dogs and meadows in the mountains. And all I have to show for that now is pining for it all. And, like, I don't want to go.
[00:23:07] Speaker A: Your kids are not pretty good, though, so, I mean, there is that, too.
[00:23:11] Speaker B: Yeah, it's all been good. I have zero regrets, but I wish that I had been more cognizant of how I would feel now. Sort of like nearing the end of my career and saying, I want the cherry on top now. I want to know. I've had a few cherries on top. I've done some stuff that I'm super proud of that I feel very fulfilled by, but I want more. I want it to be bigger. And so that's what I'm looking for in the next five to ten years. And then I should be done. And the mountains and the meadows should be ready for me by then. Again, I hope.
[00:23:50] Speaker A: Yeah, for sure. Yeah.
So there is that feeling of. And it's not an impending doom. I don't want people listening to this go, oh, my God, it sounds terrible. No, it's just that you have this realization that time isn't. Overall time is continuous, and it will go on, but at some point it goes on without you. And so between now and the time that it goes on without you, what do you want to have accomplished?
I went to a seminar once. It was at, like, some camp or something, that family camp we went to. But the seminar, and this is not an uncommon thing, but where the speaker talked about, live your dash. Have you heard that, like, on your tombstone, someday I'm not going to have a tombstone. My daughter's going to scatter me to the wind. But let's talk about that figurative tombstone. Yeah, I know I'm always TMI on here.
It would say 1968 to whatever year that I was.
[00:24:44] Speaker B: Your dash, right?
[00:24:45] Speaker A: Yeah. So that dash in between those years, like, what do you do in the dash? Live your dash. And there's a poem about it. And like I said, this is not an earth shattering, brand new concept. Do not attribute it to me if you're listening to this. But it's true. Right. And as you look over that dash, whether it's 20 years and somebody's lost tragically early or it's 110 years and they're wondering why they're still here at that point. What do you do with that time that you're on Earth and when you're in your 20s? Yes, there are some people who absolutely understand the gravity of that and work really hard early on to build early and big and continue, but most of us don't. Right. Most of us are like, we got so much time ahead of us. And as you see, that percentage start to close down of what your active time and your influential time, or whatever you want to call it, starts to close down and you see the end of that tunnel kind of coming. It does. There's a different weight, a different gravitas. I love that word to it. Right. That really makes a difference.
[00:25:51] Speaker B: Yeah. But that being said, there are so many stories that I've heard of people who start late and their impact is made later in. There's. Yes.
Colonel Sanders didn't start Kentucky fried chicken until he was in, what? I don't even know, later years.
[00:26:15] Speaker A: Yeah, we don't know what dark haired Colonel Sanders looks like for a reason.
[00:26:20] Speaker B: Exactly.
The painter, it's not Mother Teresa. Stop putting that in my head. Who is Georgia O'Keefe.
No, but there was a painter.
[00:26:33] Speaker A: Georgia O'Keefe.
[00:26:35] Speaker B: No.
[00:26:37] Speaker A: Did she start later in life? Grandma Moses.
[00:26:40] Speaker B: That's it. Okay. Grandma Moses, Mother Teresa, they're filed in the same card catalog in my.
[00:26:47] Speaker A: It.
I wouldn't see the card catalog in your head someday.
She's got socks in the shirt drawer. I just know it.
[00:27:03] Speaker B: Oh, gosh. Yeah, totally.
Anyway, yeah, so Grandma Moses didn't start painting until later in life.
There's tons of. Just because you have a certain number attached to your age or your driver's license or whatever, that doesn't mean that you're done. That just means that you have that much more experience and that much less doubt, I think, in yourself.
I look at where I was, like, in my twenty s and where I am right now, and I so fully believe in myself, especially over the past few years, I really know what I'm capable of. And it was so funny because somebody, I had to switch a bunch of people over from elementor to cadence this week because I do.
Does. And I'm not sitting on a Zoom call to explain all this to you. So I'm going to send you one of Clifton's videos because I know he'll explain it way better than I would. So I find the video and it's like Cadence beginner 2023 I'm like, perfect. I'm going to send this one. So I scan comments just to see, oh, look, all these people love Clifton because he is great, right? The Bob Ross of WordPress, so easy to listen to, teaches so well and scroll down and one of the comments is, wow, you're the best, Clifton. You're way better than that Kathy from stellar.
I started laughing so much, but my 20 year old self would have been.
[00:28:41] Speaker A: Like, did your today self respond and go, I couldn't agree more. Exactly.
[00:28:49] Speaker B: That's what I did. I'm like, lol, you're right.
[00:28:52] Speaker A: Clifton's the best.
[00:28:53] Speaker B: And then I went on Twitter and laughed about it. And then Matt Madeiros came in and is like, you're awesome, too. I'm like, yeah, thanks, but no, Clifton, he's the dude. He wears the crown of best YouTuber. For know, I did some videos, but I'm never going to, oh, I don't want that crown. I know where my talents are, and I know I'm totally okay with that. But my younger self would have probably been like, oh, how could I be better? I've been criticized, right? And now it's just like, thanks. I agree.
I have just like, I don't know, my candle behind me that says the last F is on fire.
Yeah, I have zero F's to give.
[00:29:37] Speaker A: Exactly.
I'm going to bring my mother up again. Thank God. She doesn't know what a podcast is or how to listen to it because she comes up a lot. But she reached us, I want to say, in her 60s, which I'm only 55, so I hope that I'm not this way. I think just being aware of it makes you not be that way. But we'll be sitting at a table in a restaurant, and somebody will walk by, and in her normal voice, not like hushed or quiet tones or anything, she'll be like, oh, my God, did you see how poured into that shirt that woman was?
You can just comment on people's appearance out loud. That is not okay. But seriously, she has zero F's to give at that point, either, or self monitoring or self awareness or any of those things. I want to take that and apply it to myself as opposed to look at others and be judgmental, right?
People call it confidence. I call it balls, whatever. Like, I'm real ballsy sometimes or whatever.
I try to be kind in how I approach things.
If we really want to talk about the Year interview, we'll talk about how Michelle upset the entire Wordcamp Europe at some point this year.
[00:30:47] Speaker B: You did?
[00:30:48] Speaker A: I sure did.
[00:30:49] Speaker B: You got people talking.
[00:30:51] Speaker A: I'm a Mover and a shaker, but you know what happens with that? And I had people come up to me at Wordcamp Europe and tell me how wrong I was and put their finger in my face. Most people did not. Most people came up to me and said thank you. Quietly, people on the team, on the leadership team, on the organizing team said, thank you for saying what you did, but there were people who were very upset with me and told me that I have a big voice and I need to be more careful how I use it. And I said I was being careful how I use it. I'm using it to advocate for those who aren't feeling confident enough to advocate for themselves. And you can agree to disagree with me on this, but you're not going to change my view. I was kind in how I approached everything. I was not accusatory. I was hoping that things were going to get better. I offered my assistance to help, which was turned down, which is fine. I'm not expecting that people are like, well, if she's going to solve the world, let her do it kind of thing. But I'm not somebody to just point and walk away. And so I realized, but every time I speak my truth about things and how I see things, positive change has happened that We've seen that happen with underrepresentation as far as disability and disability accommodation. And now we're seeing it really make a difference in how underrepresented people are being brought to the stage at events. And so, hey, if I am the person that is like the squeaky wheel, and that's what my legacy is, but it affects positive change, I guess I'm okay with that, too.
[00:32:18] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a really interesting point, because it's like, last week I complained about elementor because I was dealing with it, and I was like, not.
[00:32:32] Speaker A: I saw that tweet.
[00:32:35] Speaker B: I did not expect that to blow up, and I was in a ranty mood and I was just having a time, and I was just like, I don't like it at all. And then why did that blow up? But I think that's the thing, is when you have a gravity to your voice and you're respected, there's more weight to what you say. I have zero regrets, though, and I think you should have zero regrets on what you said. You said what you said, I have zero regrets. Yeah. And I think that's the thing, is you get to a point where your words have a lot of meaning.
Do you need to be completely and totally careful about what you say.
You say what you say and mean it. The thing I can't stand is, like, when people are just like, oh, you have to be politically correct, or you have to watch what you say, and, oh, you have to think about the ramifications of what you say. Well, why don't we think about the ramifications of what caused me to say the thing?
[00:33:39] Speaker A: Right. Yeah.
[00:33:40] Speaker B: Because had attention being placed on diversity, you wouldn't have had to say anything.
[00:33:47] Speaker A: Right.
And again, I approached it with kindness, not in an accusatory way, because I do realize that these are people, and I don't want to hurt people's feelings. Right. It's one thing to know Gmail didn't work and be upset with Gmail, but it's another thing to say these eight people who are responsible for doing this thing failed. And that's not what I was saying at all. Right. I was not accusing people. I was addressing a situation, a system in place.
And I do. I know that I made some enemies, and I'm okay with that because you're not going to be everybody's cup of tea. And that's okay.
[00:34:23] Speaker B: Yeah. The thing is, if you want to make an impact in the world, you have to be authentic and you have to be congruent in your words. And I see a lot of people who. I'm not calling anybody out because it's really not my place and I don't care, but I see a lot of times where people almost like, they're not congruent in their words, they're not authentic in their words, but they have this fear based reasoning to almost gaslight, like, no, this is the way things are. And it's like everyone knows it's not. You know it's not. I know you know it's not. But you're saying that, and I'm supposed to buy into this fantasy world, and that doesn't serve anyone other than it deals with your fear of, I don't know, some kind of lightning bolt coming down from on high on you or something. But authenticity, that resonates with people, feel it. They know if you're not authentic with how you speak, and you're just like, what, washing everything and everything's fine, and it's just this way. Hey, talking to you, the whole Stepwapford wives communication that I see people do sometimes I'm just like, I know you know, that's not know. I know. In the Wordpress space, there have been some really authentic conversations lately that I just appreciate so much of just, I, I want Matt Mullenweg to speak his mind.
It's so refreshing and honest and, oh, our dear leader has said these things. People get upset about it and it's like he said what he said for a reason. Like, let's unpack it. And Spencer Foreman has been doing these interviews with Matt and with Sayad Balky at awesome motive, a couple of people who have been under some criticism and is asking hard questions and letting them speak in this authentic conversation. Yeah, I love it and I hope to see more of that in 2024 of people just like if we're all authentic, yes, there's going to be conflict, but I think it's going to be healthier for the community with people speaking their mind and speaking their truth in a kind way.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree. Absolutely. Is there any big thing you're looking forward to next year for yourself?
[00:36:45] Speaker B: I have big plans that I just don't even know what they're going to be, but I know they're going to be big because when I have conversations with my new opportunity, I could feel it in every cell of my body that it was the right thing and that nice, some big things are going to happen and I can't tell you what they are. I just know that that's okay.
[00:37:05] Speaker A: Yeah, I can't wait to see it happen. I can't wait to see it unfold. For sure.
[00:37:10] Speaker B: It's definitely going to be interesting. I'm super excited. That's also kind of, it's a little bit scary, but fear and excitement are like the same coin. I think.
[00:37:22] Speaker A: I think about that scene in Indiana Jones in the Last Crusade with the leap of faith where he's looking across this chasm and has to figure out how to get there and doesn't realize that he can't see the path because it blended so well. And so he picks up a handful of dust and just throws it across and suddenly the path appears. And that leap of faith thing, I think of that a lot when I think about the future. And just like that little step of faith doesn't have, you don't have to jump, but just that step of faith into the next thing can be scary. But it's almost always so worthwhile.
[00:37:59] Speaker B: I'm writing this down.
[00:38:01] Speaker A: Okay. I know.
[00:38:02] Speaker B: I could listen to it later. Do it.
[00:38:04] Speaker A: I don't want to lose this. Yeah. It's such a cool part of that movie for sure. And for me, I have been thinking literally for years, like, if I was going to build a course what would my course be about? Right? And I've thought so many people have courses on how to use WordPress, they don't need my voice teaching them how to use Wordpress. Other people do it better. What could I teach people? And I thought, well, I could talk about podcasting a little bit. And I'm in conversation with somebody, actually, who has a training program to do a course on podcasting, but what would I do as a course for myself? And then it occurred to me within the last couple of weeks that I have built a personal brand, that people know who I am in wordpress for better or worse, like me or not. Right. And that I could do a class on building your personal brand. And so I'm going to start talking about that.
I still talk about underrepresentation, but I can't give the same talk every single Wordcamp I go to, right. So I have to have some new ideas and things like that. And so I think I'm going to do a course and maybe even write a book about building your personal brand.
[00:39:10] Speaker B: I love it. You've heard it here first, and if.
[00:39:13] Speaker A: It doesn't happen, then I'm going to delete this episode later. But that's okay because it's also okay to dream things and then let them go if it doesn't serve you down the line in the future.
[00:39:27] Speaker B: Yeah, that's the thing, is the things that I've done, that I've written a book, and I look back on it, and it's like, I'd never write that book again. It was therapy for that point in my life. Right. And I am working on a book now, and it's kind of therapy for right now, but after it's done and it's published, it becomes something else.
It's like a Taylor Swift song. She writes it as therapy for her, like, as she's going through her breakups or whatever, and then all of a sudden it becomes our songs, and it's like something I sing with my daughter, and that's like something that we do together that she's mortified by, but got to give her something to have therapy.
[00:40:11] Speaker A: We have to hurt our kids. No kidding.
[00:40:13] Speaker B: Exactly. I've told both of them if they weren't in therapy by the time they were in their 20s, I've done something wrong. And guess what? They both had therapy sessions.
[00:40:22] Speaker A: Oh, there you go. But it wasn't just on you. They had a father, too, so I'm just saying.
[00:40:26] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
[00:40:29] Speaker A: Anyway, well, we've been going on and on this month we want to hear. This has been one of my favorite.
[00:40:33] Speaker B: Episodes because we're talking about so much fun stuff. This is great.
[00:40:37] Speaker A: It is great. I want to hear what other people have to say. I know we ask for your input a lot. Please hit us up on the soCials, even if you just want to tell us one on one, what was your highlight of this year? What are you looking forward to next year? I think it's important to reflect on the things that brought you joy and to look forward to the things that will bring you joy. And so I hope that all of our listeners, I always feel like, I don't know, Martha Stewart or something, so. Dear listeners, dear Abby, like Gentle reader, you are one of our listeners. Gentle listeners, tell us what you're looking forward to. Tell us what was the biggest thing that brought you joy this year, or even what were your biggest challenges, and if you overcame them, how did you do that? Because we're all about celebrating you and helping and wishing good thoughts for you all in the future as much as we do for each other. We just happen to do this once a week with each other, but we want to know about what's going on in your lives, too.
[00:41:36] Speaker B: Definitely. Yeah. Hit us up.
[00:41:38] Speaker A: Hit us up.
This is not our end of the year. We have a couple more weeks before we're going to call it a year and then pick back up in January. At least I hope.
Yeah. So we'll be back. So we'll see you next week. And in the meantime, yeah, just let us know. What do you think? We want to hear it. We hope that our ramblings every week. We started this podcast like, let's motivate people.
It's the Michelle and Kathy therapy session. We know that.
We acknowledge that. But if it helps you, or even if our silliness sometimes just makes you laugh, cry, whatever, we hope that we've helped your week in even a small.
[00:42:21] Speaker B: Oh, did you, did you see that we ended up under the WordPress podcasts?
We were actually on there for WP weekly for the awards.
[00:42:30] Speaker A: I did not.
[00:42:33] Speaker B: What did that.
I wasn't expecting that because I wasn't, like, marketing anything for WP weekly awards. And I saw that. I'm like, oh, somebody lit. Somebody nominated us. Thank you.
[00:42:46] Speaker A: Thank you.
I know a couple of my other podcasts were on there, too, and I was like, I don't know which one of me to vote for, but none of me won, so it's okay.
[00:42:57] Speaker B: Yeah, that's funny.
[00:42:59] Speaker A: It's all fun anyway. Well, I hope you all hang out. Thanks for hanging in there with us this week as we talked about all the exciting things and reflected back and looked forward. And we hope you're all having a great week and we will see you on our next episode. Thank you, Kathy. Bye.
[00:43:15] Speaker B: Thank you, Michelle.
[00:43:16] Speaker A: Bye.
This has been WP motivate with Kathy.
[00:43:19] Speaker B: Zan and Michelle Frichette.
[00:43:21] Speaker A: To learn more or to sponsor us, go to wpmotivate.com.
