Maybe I Can with Debbie Weiss

Ep. 100: My 100th Episode: Celebrating the Journey and Looking Ahead

• Debbie Weiss

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In this special 100th episode of the Maybe I Can podcast, I’m taking a moment to reflect on the incredible journey so far. From the very first episode to now, I’ll be sharing the highs, the challenges, and the unforgettable lessons learned along the way. Join me as I look back at the growth of this podcast, highlight some of the most impactful moments and guests, and express my gratitude to all of you who have been a part of this journey. Let’s celebrate how far we’ve come and look forward to what’s next!

 Debbie Weiss
 https://www.debbierweiss.com
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/maybeican
 https://www.instagram.com/debbie.r.weiss
 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNi8Frz-SsR9Mv_h0CNjB9w
 https://www.tiktok.com/@debbierweiss
 https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/maybe-i-can-with-debbie-weiss/id1676123222

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Speaker 1:

And welcome to Maybe I Can, exploring possibilities one sprinkle at a time. If you've ever found yourself asking is this all there is to life, then you're in the right place. I'm Debbie author, speaker, entrepreneur and coach, and every Tuesday, I'm here to share a sprinkle of hope and inspiration. Together, we'll uncover the more of hope and inspiration. Together, we'll uncover the more More joy, more fulfillment, more prosperity, more fun. We'll share stories of transformation, actionable tips and that little nudge you need to take the next step. So let's embark on this journey of discovery and say maybe I can, to a life filled with more, ready to find out. Let's get started.

Speaker 1:

The Maybe I Can Show starts now. I want to welcome you to the 100th episode of my podcast. I should have had some kind of sound effect in the background, but I have to say that for the hundredth episode, maybe this is good, maybe this is bad, I don't really know. I'm not prepared. I'm not prepared at all For the next half hour you're going to hear what's at the top of my mind. I just returned, late last night, from a two-week European cruise. It was the trip of a lifetime, one that I never, ever would have imagined was possible, and so I think what I want to start with today is just kind of maybe catching you up with a little bit of background about who I am. Now, if you've been listening, obviously you know who I am, you know what my story is. I'm going to do the Reader's Digest version Even for me. I'm really going to try and make this short, sweet and succinct, because I really want to show you what's possible, because in my wildest dreams, where I sit right now, I never would have imagined was possible.

Speaker 1:

And so let me go back to the beginning, not the beginning of, okay, I was born on this day, but basically until I was in my 50s, I felt like a victim of my circumstances. I began caring for my dad, who became disabled when he was 46. When I was 17 years old, he luckily lived for 30 years, but I was his main caregiver and then I became the caregiver to, well, both my sons as any parent is a caregiver, but a little more intensified because my older son had and has some disabilities. And then my husband became ill, both physically and mentally, and I became his caregiver until he passed away. Actually, we're coming up close to two years. On December 30th will be two years, which is hard to believe.

Speaker 1:

So I've been a caregiver for over 40 years, a widow, and, like I said, for the majority of my life it just kept feeling like one thing after another. I could never get ahead of anything. I have had a lifelong struggle with my finances. Even when everything seemed to turn around, something would happen and I would either self-sabotage or circumstances would change and I'd get myself right back in the rough situation and it just seemed like that never ending cycle, that cycle of getting up every day and doing it again and hitting the pillow every night, exhausted, overwhelmed, thinking about, oh gosh, okay, what do I have to do tomorrow? Never really having goals.

Speaker 1:

I mean, yeah, sure, did I have goals? The one thing I didn't mention was I've had a lifelong struggle with my weight. So of course, I always had some kind, and still have some kind of weight loss, health, workout goal. I always had well, I don't want to say always, but maybe at work, in my professional life as an insurance agent had goals there, but other than that, no dreams. I felt like pretty much, this was it. There is nothing left to my life. Not that I wasn't looking forward, you know, my kids and my family and all of that kind of thing. But as far as any of my dreams and goals, you got to think or at least I was thinking that at 50, 55, actually later in my 50s, you're done, right, you're kind of going down that curve, heading towards retirement and financially I knew I couldn't retire and quite frankly I couldn't really imagine I still can't imagine completely retiring, because I do enjoy a challenge and engaging my mind, but I want to do it on my own terms, right, I mean, maybe not full-time, maybe a part-time situation, something more flexible.

Speaker 1:

So that got me into my 50s where I kind of realized that, hey, I have been blaming everyone and everything else that has happened to me my entire life. And my friends and family would say, boy, it just seems like you have a black cloud over your head. Every time they got on the phone with me it'd be like, okay, what now? And I always had a story and they honestly weren't made up or embellished, it was really happening.

Speaker 1:

With all of that I was not, you know excuse the term, especially because I'm Debbie, but I was not a Debbie Downer. I did always and have always had a fairly upbeat personality, looking at the bright side of things. But that didn't mean that I still didn't understand and I was always questioning why me? What had I done? Was I a bad person? That all of this was my life, where I always was comparing myself to friends and family and even before social media. But then, of course, when social media hit, needless to say, all I saw was those people with the perfect family and the perfect life and the vacations and the pictures and the celebrations. And then I'd look at my dysfunctional life and feel sorry for myself, sorry for myself.

Speaker 1:

And somewhere around my mid-50s I started to take responsibility, take responsibility for my challenges, realize that, yeah, there were circumstances maybe in my life, things that happened my father having a stroke, my husband getting sick things that I really didn't have any control over, but yet I was never taking responsibility for the things I did and do have control over. And when I had that realization, it was mind-blowing. It was hard to take a look in the mirror and say, look at this, you made it to more than half your life and never took responsibility, truly took responsibility for your actions. Yes, here and there, of course, but on the whole not so much. And at that point I had already started to kind of handle my lifelong weight problem and I needed to start addressing my money situation and that was probably, I would say, four or five years ago.

Speaker 1:

And through that process I was really introduced and became engrossed with personal development, something that I had never given any much thought to, didn't really understand, felt it was for people who had quote unquote problems, didn't know how to deal with life. I knew how to deal with life At least I was. I was dealing with the day-to-day, so I felt that that wasn't an issue and I think I also thought that that was a little, you know, woo-woo, a little out there, that that wasn't for me. And boy was I wrong, because I've really done a 180, because now I'm so passionate about it and feel like it's for everyone and I spent so I wasted so much of my life not working on it.

Speaker 1:

But no regrets, everything happens in the right time and the right time hit for me and it sent me down this path of self-discovery and what started as an idea about making money, which was to sell a supplement product that I used and actually still use, on the side in addition to my full-time job, to try and bring in more income, and it morphed into kind of where I am now, and it did that by me really listening and paying attention to the whispers in my life. And what I mean by that is that somehow the universe, god whatever you want to call it some kind of divine intervention, they're sending you little messages along the way and a lot of times it's very easy to ignore it. But really what it comes down to it? But really what it comes down to, I think about it as trusting my gut. My gut is giving me information and for whatever reason usually because that information is either something I'm afraid of and I honestly think that that is typically what it comes down to Maybe my gut is telling me to do something, but I am scared out of my mind to do that. I feel like there's a lot of risks. I could be exposing myself, I could be made fun of, I could fail, I could be judged, and who wants that? So it's so much easier to stay where we are.

Speaker 1:

And when I stopped doing that, that's when things really happened and I started my you know, after I switched from supplements and then I launched the caregiver support squad, which was to help caregivers learn the importance of self-care, and I went down that road and I created a business and I did training and got certifications and eventually had to come to the realization that, even though I did and I do feel extremely passionate about this topic as a matter of fact, my November podcasts, the majority of them, are going to be on this topic of caregiving and self-care it didn't resonate with me, because coaching other caregivers was very difficult for me, especially in that time when I myself was very, very heavily involved in caregiving. That was difficult for me, and so it was hard for me, as an empathetic person, to talk to other caregivers and hear their stories. So I transitioned again because I realized, hey, yes, I want to help caregivers, but I want to help everyone. I want to help everyone understand that, regardless of your circumstances, stop making excuses. Whatever it is that you want in this life, it is never, ever too late, and that's the journey that I'm on now. Where that led me to was something that in my wildest dreams, it was never a desire. It was nothing that I ever thought of.

Speaker 1:

I wound up writing a book. I published my memoir on August 9th 2023. On second thought, maybe I can, and it was one of the hardest things that I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding things, and because of that, I feel like I got a little bit of that writing author bug. And now here we are, on October 29th 2024, two weeks away less than two weeks away, actually from the publication of my second and really third book called the Sprinkle Effect A Guide to Creating a More Colorful and Fulfilling Life, and the companion workbook of the same name. And if you're listening instead of watching on YouTube, I'm holding both these books in my hands for the first time, actually, and I can't explain the feeling of accomplishment and pride and that feeling I look forward to, like when I published my workbook I mean my workbook, my memoir that feeling of gratitude and satisfaction when readers give me feedback and let me know how helpful it was to them. And I think that these two books are going to be even more so because they're a little more, not a little more, a lot more and help you see, personally and individually, how you can transform your life, just as I don't want to say that I have, but I am in the process of doing and I'll always be in the process, and so will you, because if we stop working on ourselves and continuing down this journey. That means that we've taken our last breath. It should never end. So here I am, along this path.

Speaker 1:

One of the other whispers that I listened to and really, if I'm being honest, I didn't listen to the whispers it wasn't until Shana, my business coach, not only whispered, she said it in a regular voice, and then she basically had to scream it at me that I should start a podcast. And a podcast was something that I was terrified of. I mean, who's going to listen to me? What do I have to say? How do I do it? I had so many questions and for a while, I would say at least six months every time that Shana brought it up, I had another excuse or I gave another date. Well, when this right Like, how many of us do that? Well, once my book is published, well, once the kids are back to school, once vacation's over or the holidays, especially now, that's the perfect, perfect thing, right? We're coming into that season where it's like well in January thing, right, we're coming into that season where it's like well in January, yeah, okay, I had to stop. And so, on May 1st of 2023, I took the plunge and launched the Maybe I Can podcast and, as I said at the beginning of the show, today is my 100th episode and I still find it so incredibly hard to believe. Want to share is that.

Speaker 1:

How often do we sit back and really truly give ourselves credit for these type of accomplishments? And today I am celebrating this accomplishment with the message that you should also celebrate your accomplishments, big and small. I don't know about you, but I have a tendency not to do that. I have a tendency to be like okay, I checked the box book published, check what's next, wait a second, wait a second. How about we take a breath? I'm not saying that I can't say what's next, but there should be a pause, a pause to look back and say, man, look, how far I've come. And you know, I also feel this way about this vacation that I just took, because several years ago I would never have dreamt that a vacation like this was possible.

Speaker 1:

For so many different reasons, caregiving being one of them, money being another, right the caregiving. You know my husband passed away and that relieved a lot of my caregiving and a piece of me feels a little guilty saying that, but it's honest, Do I want him to be alive? You damn well better believe it to be alive. You damn well better believe it In the worst way. Yesterday would have been his birthday, or it was his birthday, and if you follow me on social media, you know how deeply I miss him.

Speaker 1:

But my reality is that I no longer have that responsibility. My oldest son, I'm happy to say, is doing well and with the help of my younger son and my brother, my older son was absolutely fine and with money I've made changes. I continue to make changes, I continue to work on it, but all I know is I am no longer going to keep putting everything off because now I'm 61. And regardless of how old you are, I'm not saying to put yourself in a poor financial I'm not offering any financial advice. But will there ever be a great time with money? Will I always think that it's too expensive? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm done feeling that way because as long as I trust my gut and I make I don't want to say smart decisions I don't know if that's the right term, but as long as I'm on this personal development journey, I'm going to do what I know in my gut feels good, and this vacation was it in my gut feels good, and this vacation was it, and I had the best trip of my life. I visited so many amazing places. I spent two weeks with my two cousins, who I couldn't love and adore anymore anymore, and I can't wait. I'm excited what's going to be next, what's next? Because this was the trip of a lifetime, and I'm happy to say that I basically disconnected.

Speaker 1:

If you do follow me on social media, I really didn't have too many posts. Many of the posts were pre-planned. Too many posts. Many of the posts were pre-planned. I hardly made any reels or TikToks. Yeah, no, I just needed to take a break and I did. I didn't check my work emails for my day job. I didn't even open them. That's amazing. And all I had to worry about every day is what do I need to wear for where we have to visit? What's the weather? What kind of walking shoes, those kinds of things. How great is that. And each place that we went and visited Great is that. And each place that we went and visited and my trip was. Basically, we went to Rome for a couple of days in the beginning, until we got on a cruise that left from Rome and visited three stops in Greece Santorini, athens and Mykonos had a beautiful day at sea, with beautiful weather laid out on the deck 76 degrees, a light breeze. It was delightful. And then came back around to Italy where we went, and Catania and Pompeii, florence, and the last day we were in Cannes, france, come on, each place was magical for a different reason.

Speaker 1:

And when I look back at what I had written, back at what I had written I don't know maybe four years ago, about my dream life and what my dream life would look like, travel was on that list and when I wrote that it was a thousand percent not going to happen in the foreseen future and now it has, and so many things on that dream life I don't want to say list, but really dream life list of mine. They're happening. And why are they happening? Because I believe that they're possible. I believe that my dreams are possible. And hey, are they possible? By me sitting back and rubbing a lamp and hoping that that adorable genie is going to come out and grant my wishes? Do I think that it's going to happen? Because I'm going to go buy a lottery ticket and I'm not saying don't buy a lottery ticket, that's up to you, but is that the only chance that I have of living the life of my dreams and having financial freedom. No, it's not. It's not going to happen that way. However, I can and should, and the same goes for you. Dream and dream big. I don't care if you can't imagine. How will this ever happen? That's not the point. Dream and dream big and then you need to start taking action. Like I said, the genie, the lottery ticket, that's all fine and good, but that's not going to get us there. We can't just wish and hope. We need to start working on ourselves. We need to start taking very small actions that will lead us down that path to get to our dreams, even if we don't know how we're actually going to do it.

Speaker 1:

When I started dreaming about having financial freedom, you know what? I started by selling things on Facebook marketplace. Now I started with, you know, running around my house and looking with what I could possibly sell. I didn't look at something and say, oh, this is something that I can only sell for $5. How is selling something for $5 really going to give myself financial freedom? No, I said, look, I can sell this for $5, $3, $2. I sold stuff for right, because it was taking action, it was doing something, it wasn't sitting around and feeling sorry for myself and what was me?

Speaker 1:

And oh, that'll never happen, thinking those kinds of negative thoughts. Yeah, it's never going to happen if I'm not going to believe it possible and if I don't begin to take action. And today I am celebrating the action that I have taken since that time and I know, I know that I will continue to take action on this path. That is going to continue to lead me to my dream life. And the same is possible for you. I don't care what your situation is, I don't care if you are homeless. There is always something that you can do. And the minute that you stop believing or you don't believe, well, that's what'll happen.

Speaker 1:

And I'm going to butcher this quote just off the top of my head because this speaks to me. It was something that Henry Ford said, that is, whether you believe you can or you believe you can't. You're right, because it all starts with our thoughts and our beliefs, and only you have the power to change them and you can change them. Power to change them and you can change them. I don't care if you've thought the same thoughts, you've had the same beliefs for your entire life. Your new life starts today. Make it happen. I know that you can. I am living proof and that's why here I am on my 100th episode sharing what I've learned, and thank you for listening. I will continue sharing. I will see you next week and I will see you every week, and I can't wait to speak to you again on episode 200. Make it a great day. See you next week.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for spending part of your day with me here on Maybe I Can, exploring possibilities one sprinkle at a time. It's been great having you and I hope you're leaving with a spark to light up your journey to more. Remember, every big change starts with a single maybe. If you're ready to kickstart that change but not sure where to begin, I've got just the thing for you. Head over to download my free guide, the One Critical Step to Kickstart Change, and take that all-important first step. Let's make those maybes into reality, one sprinkle at a time. Catch you next Tuesday at 4 pm Eastern, 1 pm Pacific, with more stories, tips and that extra push you might need. I'm Debbie saying goodbye for now, but always remember maybe, just maybe, you can.

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Debbie Weiss

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