Shownotes

Catch this insightful episode where JJ chats with Lesley about her personal transition from saying ‘yes’ to harnessing the power of ‘no.’ JJ spotlights the unique obstacles women face in the publishing industry and imparts her wisdom on practices that can spark your self-confidence in choosing the right ‘yeses’ in your life.

If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co. Or leave a comment below!

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.

In this episode you will learn about:

• The uphill battle for women when publishing books.
• How to build a tribe and navigate your ‘yeses’ and ‘no’s’.
• How to start a side hustle alongside a full-time job.
• How to embrace imperfections and act on opportunities.
• Embracing your multidimensionality.
• Tapping into feminine energy for success.

Episode References/Links:

• The Power of No Bundle – https://jjdigeronimo.com/powerofno
• Accelerate Your Impact – https://jjdigeronimo.com/career-books-for-women/accelerate-your-impact/
• Seeking – https://jjdigeronimo.com/career-books-for-women/seeking/
• Together We Seek – https://www.togetherweseek.online/
• JJ DiGeronimo’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjdigeronimo/
• Books written by JJ Digeronimo – https://jjdigeronimo.com/career-books-for-women/

Transcript

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INTRODUCTION

Lesley Logan
Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I’m Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I’ve trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it’s the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It’s a practice, not a perfect. Let’s get started.

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Lesley Logan
All right loves, I’m so excited for the incredible guest you’re about to listen to today, this woman is on a mission to empower you to take more seats to the tables that you want to be at. She is unstoppable. And you’re gonna hear that from her. And she really followed this, this draw inside of her like what to do next, and how to share that with others. And I think that’s really important. And I know if you’re listening to us that you are that woman, you are the woman who like learn something, and you share it with others. And the more that we do that, and the more that we show up before we’re ready, the better this world is going to be. And a lot of things in this world could be different if more of us step up before we ready, we’re ready. And I know that scary for you. I know you’re listening to this, because that’s a little scary for you. But JJ actually has this incredible moment, you’ll know in the moment is because I’ll tell you to rewind and listen again, is this incredible moment where she really will tell you the truth about who you are and what you do. And too often, we we as women wait until we’re 100% ready to we have all the things and so I hope that this episode is the kick in the pants you need before you’re ready to do the thing, to ask for help, to do something a little bit scared. And she’s got three books out at the time that this was recorded. She’s got incredible resources for you and then the Be It action items. She’s got this freebie that I really want you to use because I don’t know about you, but sometimes it’s a little hard to go, Should I say yes to this? I say no to this? So, at any rate, this episode is for you ladies, and I cannot wait to hear how you show up differently afterwards.

All right, Be It babes. I’m so excited. First of all, I love when another person uses initials because I’m LL, our guest today is JJ. So we’re like, you know, we’re definitely helping you understand the alphabet. But also I love when powerful women are doing things to help other women do what they want to do. And our guest today is absolutely someone who’s going to empower you to rock your world. JJ Di Geronimo. Hello, welcome to the Be It pod. Thank you for being here. Can you tell everyone who you are and what you rock at these days?

JJ Di Geronimo 0:30
Sure, sure. So thank you so much, LL, for having me here. I couldn’t be more thrilled I really work to share my lessons as a human design three, five, I have to do it. And when I perfected or I get really good at it, that I share it. And that’s why I have several books. But really, the whole focus is to empower women to step into what is calling them. And my personal preference is to get more women at more tables.

Lesley Logan 0:54
Hmm, I love that. What a great mission. I know my human design word, but I don’t know my numbers, I need to go back and look at them because I remember them being on the sheet. So that’s so cool. We just had a guest on who does Enneagram and I’m like, well, crap. Now I gotta know that number too. So, how did you get started in this though? Because I mean, like, I imagine there had to be something that made you go, Okay, this is the thing I want to do, because it’s not exactly the easiest torch to bear.

JJ Di Geronimo 1:24
I really think just out of my sole own self need. I didn’t get married until I was 30. I didn’t have kids till I was in my mid 30s. I lived in Ohio, but had an office in Silicon Valley. And then I started saying all these yeses, like, Yes, I’ll marry you. Yes, we’ll move to the suburbs. Yes, I’ll procreate. And I was never really schooled on how difficult that was going to be to manage. And I think you know, so many people say you can have it all, you can have it all, you can have it all. And even if you go to several panels, which I had done my whole career and look, people said, oh, you know, they really didn’t like lift the covers up to say how hard it is to find someone to work in your home and be with your children, how hard it is to get your husband your schedule lined up. So I started a woman’s group in 2008 of all women in tech, and it was just 12 women. And we talked nothing about tech, we really just talked about keeping all the arrows going in the right direction. And that really was the basis for my first book. And I wrote my first book really for my daughter, because I didn’t want her to have to struggle like I was struggling at the time.

Lesley Logan 2:24
I love that you bring that up. Because I do think people say you can have it all. And I’m not saying that you cannot have it all. But like, it’d be really nice if they would say and here’s, here’s how hard it is to have it all.

JJ Di Geronimo 2:34
Or here’s the team, here’s the people, you need to be behind you that are running around to be all these things you don’t have time to do. Because you’re making the money and you’re running the group and you’re having young children. I mean, it’s just an amazing amount of work for women. And it’s not surprising how many people basically get lost in their yeses in their 30s and 40s. Because it’s just so much to do, whether it’s parents, it’s things you do in the community, you’re having children, maybe you’re adopting children, maybe you’re just have a mission that you want to work on off the side of your desk, it’s a lot to keep everything going.

Lesley Logan 3:09
So, so you started this group you, you got your first book out. First of all, I think it was wanting to know like, how, like, did you have the team in place, you could write the first book? because that’s already one more thing to add to the list of things you added, like you had a balance in your day?

JJ Di Geronimo 3:26
Yeah, so the first book took me over two years, I wrote from 11 to 2 in the morning, and I could only do it like one or two nights a week. So if I was up late working, and I felt like I had a little more stamina, I would write for two hours. And the universe sort of pulled together people for me. So you know, there’s somebody through somebody like, Oh, I think I know an editor or I can figure out how to get you published. It’s not easy for women to get published. I’m not gonna say it is in fact, I even this book was hard to get published, I finally just created my own publishing company, because I’m like, you know, there’s got to be a way for more women to share their voices. And the work I’ve had to do for even this third book is ridiculous. I sell so many books, like, it’s crazy, the amount of masculine energy that determines whether or not a woman’s voice gets published, and I just have had enough of it I just am sick of working in such a masculine dominated planet.

Lesley Logan 4:14
Well, I mean, like, my goodness, I’ve been in tech in 200 12 (…) I also imagine that that number, while it can’t, it’s grown, it’s also not nearly the numbers it should be. We had an amazing woman in financial tech on the pod recently. And she’s like, ya know, like, there’s not a lot of women in that category. And so she’s really trying to do the same thing that you’re doing to like, help more women understand that side of it. So in 2000 you wrote your first book, or when did you write your first book?

JJ Di Geronimo 4:45
I wrote my first book in 2009 and 10. I published it in 11 Ithink.

Lesley Logan 4:51
Yeah. So I will also, I love that you share like you had to do it, like in the middle of the night when you had some energy because I do think that people might not understand that like, when I wrote my book, it was on Sundays, I took an iPad with a keyboard to a Starbucks, so I couldn’t be distracted. And I parked the car and I put as much money in the meter as could be. And I would write until the meter was up, and it wasn’t allowed to leave. I’m like, You’re gonna sip this coffee, we’re not going to drink it too fast, because you’re not gonna go to the bathroom to distract yourself, you’re just gonna, like stay here and write, right? Because it is hard to, one, create that commitment to something that is so, I don’t wanna say amorphous, but like, how long is the book gonna be? When is the book gonna get done? It’s a little bit hard of a goal to, to see the finish line on. And to be a mom while doing that. That’s incredible. What, so, what ended up happening with that group? What did it end up turning into? Or did you did it? Is it still together?

JJ Di Geronimo 5:43
So yep, so it’s based on LinkedIn, it’s about 8000 women now…(Lesley: that’s insane) I know. And it’s not something I do for money. It’s just something I did because I needed to feel understood, I needed to understand how to keep everything going. And I felt like I needed my tribe. And so that just tech savvy women just really is just consistently going, and now everybody is in the community, they all help each other. And I have, you know, I’ve evolved, I’ve evolved, I’m trying more, I’m doing more. And when I didn’t even tell my first company, I didn’t even really tell them about my book. When I published it, I kept it super quiet, because I didn’t want my company to think I wasn’t taking my job seriously. But little by little people would kind of hear about it or read it. And then I started speaking out a lot of women’s, women in tech or women in business, women in engineer events. And that was great. We talked a lot about a lot of energizers, things to keep your energy going the right direction, how to say yes, what to say no to how do you align your yeses. But then a lot of women want to know like, how do we get promoted? How do I get on a board? What is a sponsor? How do I find a sponsor? And I just started collecting all these questions women in business would ask. And it’s funny because you think I would know what I’d been in tech for over two decades at the point. And there were so many questions, I had still too like, why are so many women in middle management? And why aren’t women getting the opportunity? So it just was, took me just off guard in the sense that I thought so many more women were happy. And what I found in doing a lot of my speaking in meetings is that women still had a lot to give and do, but they couldn’t figure out how to make it happen.

Lesley Logan 7:16
And I’m so sorry to cut you off. I think that that is like, first of all, I love that you listen to the questions that you’re being asked. And also like, you didn’t have to know all the answers to get started. Because that is, I do think it’s an interesting thing. People don’t know, like, even in all industries, not just the tech industry, it’s like because for so long, there was like one woman at the top if there was any. And it was like a numbers game that could only be one. So like, you know, there wasn’t a pathway that was shared with anyone and people are kind of guessing and how incredibly fast or women could get there if there was just some sort of like, here’s what you need to get a sponsor or here’s how you get on a board. Or here’s how you get asked to do these things, like, what a great information packet for people to explore. I want to dive into the yeses and the nos. Because you said you were saying yes a lot. And obviously had to learn how to say no and have the right yeses. And and this might be in your book, but how did you start saying no without feeling bad about it?

JJ Di Geronimo 8:12
Oh, no, you still feel bad. But you have to, you have to prioritize or believe enough what you’re running towards, to give you the confidence to allocate time in your schedule to create things that are going to act as a catapult.

Lesley Logan 8:29
Hmm. Okay. All right. All right. So it all goes back to the schedule everyone.

JJ Di Geronimo 8:35
Well, and I created a chart because I’m like you, I want to know, like Power of No, positive thinking like how, how, like, I’m an engineering mind, I want a spreadsheet, I want to figure out like step by step. So my first book, the woman Cathy interviewed, she told me a lot about how she prioritized her kids, she basically sat down with them in the beginning of a quarter instead, what games, what plays, what do you want me to be at because she was a single mom, and she had a medical device company. And she traveled the world. So she would put those things in her calendar, and then she would share it with their kids like, I will be at those things, but I will not be at everything, I just can’t. So you tell me what’s important. And I will be at those things. And she’s like, I didn’t travel on those days, you know, I really worked my schedule around three or four things we agreed to for her two kids. So we continue to talk, I talked with a lot of leaders. And I put together The Power of No chart and I created it. It’s out there for everybody to have and I’ll give you the link at the end. But the idea is, is that you have to be really clear on what is the commitment. Who’s asking you? does it align to where you are and where you want to go? And what type of energy does it give you? Because that whole equation not only sets you up for success, but it gives you time to really process what’s being asked of you. And the last column is how much time does it take? Because I’ve been asked things that take 40 hours that I could get done in four hours or do something for the same organization or the same initiative for four hours and still get all these checkboxes. So I think being really mindful of what people are asking you and how it fits into your schedule and doesn’t aligned where you are or where you want to go gives you permission to decide. Because we give our time away so freely and especially as women because we want to be liked, we don’t want to feel guilty, and we want to feel like we’re contributing. And that just creates a really busy lifestyle, but it might not create any momentum.

Lesley Logan 10:18
I love this, I get asked to do a lot of things for people. And, and I know when they ask, they might think it doesn’t take that much time, because I’m always filming things. I’m always doing stuff. So I probably like it’s no big deal. And but it is, it’s like one more thing on the to do list to like plan ahead and do the thing. And I didn’t want to say no to this thing. Because I knew that like one of the things I love is to help people feel seen, I love to make like I love to support their passion for a movement. But I also couldn’t say yes, if I like had to film from scratch. So I actually was, I went through my old photos. And I was like, do I already have this thing filmed from years ago? Do I still have that filming? And I sent it that I said, Hey, it’s a yes, if you can handle this quality of video, it’s horizontal. Otherwise, I’m so sorry. Next time, please give me a month’s notice. And that was perfect. And so I was able to say yes, but I didn’t have all that equation. But I love this equation, because I do think one it’s gonna take, it’s gonna make you have to take a step back before you say yes to things and give a response. But also, you can have this like, it’s a it’s true, yes. You’re not like, oh, is this the right thing to do? because you’ve done all the things to, like, ensure it is.

JJ Di Geronimo 11:28
Yeah, and we’ll provide that at the end of the links that people can just download the chapter, the chart and a video, they can figure it out for themselves. But I think what I learned, you know, through the journey of women that want to be more seen, they want more influence, they want more impact, that there is a difference of working in your career and on your career. And this is not something I realized until I started doing the research for the second book, accelerate your impact, because there’s just so many of us thinking, if we check every box, and we do everything on our to do list, you know, we’re gonna get to that next level. And a lot of times that happens in your 20s and early 30s. But after 35, there’s fewer positions in the roles many women are aspiring to, and they have to be more strategic about letting their accomplishments be known, aligning to the right projects, making sure you have somebody in the room that can speak up on your behalf. And and you have already started kind of moving in that direction for the work or influence you’re already making. And if you don’t have time in your schedule, you can’t make that happen.

Lesley Logan 12:24
Yeah. So I’m wondering like, taking a step back to when you were doing all of this when you were creating the space in your schedule, when you were trying to like maybe even just reflect on the changes you wanted to make in your career to make room for speaking and make room for your books. What was that like? Was it, was it nerve racking? Were you like, Oh, this is totally gonna work? Like, how did you? How did you get your mindset and even your family on board with these changes? Because it’s not like you can just like flip the switch. Like there’s there’s other people involved.

JJ Di Geronimo 12:54
Well, first and foremost, I did it off the side of my desk for eight, six years, from 2008 to 2014. I was doing the books, talking, in addition to my tech job in Silicon Valley. So I kind of incorporated it because I was still working with our partners, and I took speaking engagements with people that I knew in the industry. And over time, I kind of was able to make it work. But they did, there did come a point where I’m like, What am I doing? You know, at my 40th birthday, I ended up in Sedona, and I’m like, why am I on this planet? Like really? Why? Because this is exhausting.

Lesley Logan 13:27
Yeah, yeah, that’s true. I think Sedona is a great place to figure out why you’re on the planet. It’s a beautiful space for that. So now you’ve have three books out, I know, you’ve just released one recently, and celebrated an amazing birthday. I’m wondering like, what are you working on now? How are you being until you see it? Like, what’s the next step? Have you figured that out yet? Or are you, are you enjoying where you’re at?

JJ Di Geronimo 13:52
Oh, gosh, that’s such a big question. So I would say that I’ve just be transparent. I’m an 80% kind of girl. Like, I don’t get caught up on details. You know, I have, I’m not very good. I have to have editors. I’m dyslexic. So I feel like I just keep at it everyday, I just get up and keep at it most of my life that’s been off the side of my desk. But it’s passion projects that fuel me for other activities in my life. And I really feel that I live my work in the sense that like I’m sharing what I’m going through. So my third book, Seeking, is a book that really taps into all the self doubt that is holding so many women back and dives into really specific situations that probably started decades ago for many women. So whether it’s the relationship, your mother, your relationship with money, how you view yourself, you know, how perfectionist plays in, when does confidence walk out the back door? There’s all these things that really hold women back. And frankly, we as a planet can’t afford that any longer. We need women to step in when they’re 60% ready, because honestly, it’s not really going that awesome when we keep standing back waiting to say well I didn’t check this box. And I didn’t get that certification. And I never did that before. Like we birth life, right? We keep our kids alive. We get them into colleges, you know, we keep our parents going, like, we need to step into places that we desire to have more influence and impact at 60 and 70%. And stop nagging ourselves to be 100% ready.

Lesley Logan 15:21
Oh my gosh, everyone hit rewind, replay that a little bit louder in your ears because, yes, so I have, I’ve seen other careers just because I get to, like, interview a lot of people, but I saw it in my own where people are like, waiting. They’re like, Oh, when I get this certification, then I can actually apply for this thing. I’m like, does that application even asked for that certification? Like, have they even asked you? You know, and the only reason I could say that is because I randomly was given opportunities, because people would ask me a question. And I’m like, Oh, I didn’t think about like that. Let me do that thing. And so I found that there is actually no ladder, there’s this ladder that everyone is thinking exists in the industry that I’m in, and I managed to get to the top without climbing it. And so it’s not because I’m special or unique. It’s just because I was like, I actually didn’t even know the ladder existed because I wasn’t in the industry long enough to know. So I saw that. And too often I see people oh, I need to, I need, someone should tell me and invite me to be that trainer, or someone should tell me or invite me what I should be doing this workshop on how to do this thing. It’s like, actually, every single person that I look up to you see has it already. No one actually, no one actually did that. They just were like, it needs to get done. I’m doing the thing, I have the skill set to do it. And and the way you describe it 60 or 70% ready, it’s like one of the best ways I’ve ever heard it described because it’s not about being 100% sure, or 100% educated on the thing. It’s like, think I know enough to say, here, here I am. And I can do this thing. It’s really cool. I loved the way you said that.

JJ Di Geronimo 16:48
Well, and you obviously have high self efficacy. So self efficacy is learned, self efficacy is having a vision for where you want to go and believing you can achieve it. But here’s the catch. You can only grow your self efficacy if you take on opportunities before you’re ready. Because it’s a memory system of like, Can I do it? Can I do that? Do you think I can pull it across line? And if you’re always waiting to be 100 to 120% prepared, you’re actually hurting yourself and you’re not doing anything in your self efficacy bucket. So for those of you that are listening in, like, go for it, make the phone call, do the Google search, send the email by the URL like whatever it is, I’d have 25 URLs, why? Because they’re 13 bucks, and I couldn’t make up my mind. So like, do whatever it takes to do a step this week.

Lesley Logan 17:33
That’s like literally how competence is actually born. It’s not because you like we’re you’re reading and go, okay, now, today, I’m confident because you like you did, you took a step. And then you’re like, oh, look, what I could do, I could actually buy the URL wasn’t actually that as hard as I thought it was going to be, you know, like, we coach them people and they’re like, oh, my gosh, I have to get this LLC. And I’m like, you guys, it’s a fucking website, like, just go on the thing and like, fill it out. And they’re like, I plan the whole day. And it didn’t take that long. I’m like, correct. And now and now you’re just like, you know, so it’s like it does take taking those baby steps. And, and, and not necessarily going I have all the ducks in a row. Because you might not even know what ducks you have to have lined up until you actually take the first step.

JJ Di Geronimo 17:33
Right. And there’s so many people you can find on LinkedIn that are already ahead of you that you could just watch what they’re doing. Even call them. You know, when I was publishing my first book, I never published a book, I found a couple of groups that publish books, like a couple of group, author groups on LinkedIn, I watched people post feeds, I found some pretty cool influencers. Some of them were older, younger, I call them and I had a 20 minute call with them. And I just ended up publishing my first book, I have some questions. I can’t tell you how many people were like, Yeah, sure, call me. It’s fine. I’m like, okay, and I’ve seen a couple of these people. I’ve met them in person since and I just feel like there’s so many people that want to help people, but they need to be asked in the right way. So you got to follow them, pay attention to what they’re doing. Ask them a question, referencing something they’ve already done. You know, I really think for us, it’s just cultivating these conversations and actions that allow you to lean into whatever is calling you to do next.

Lesley Logan 19:03
Yeah, and I think, I think you mean, like, it’s not staying in the background. And then and then trying to figure it out. It’s like engaging with the person enough to that they know them and then asking. And so often people just don’t even do the ask. They don’t ask. So I want to go back to because you just mentioned earlier in our conversation, like you have your own publishing company now, like that is a whole new world. I would imagine like, yes, you’ve been on the one side of it as an author, but like, I feel like that would, that’s, how many books did you have to read? the conversation you have to start, or can anyone do it?

JJ Di Geronimo 19:39
I mean, you can start anything you want. I have a team of people that helped me get all my assets back for my first two books and help me publish my third book. So there’ll be behind the scenes doing it. But the idea was not that I’m going to do it right now necessarily, unless it makes total sense. But what I wanted to get my IP back into, I eventually want to create a path for other women and so I have a community where I’m interviewing all all these energy practitioners because I feel like for me, I had done the Myers Briggs, I’ve done the Strength Finders, like, it’s just so heavy, so masculine, I needed to round out knowledge about myself. So I’ve used the Enneagram. I’ve used human design, I’ve used birth charts. And I feel like a little bit of self awareness comes in every tool you find. And I’ve been able to step out in my work in a new way, because I see myself multi-dimensional now. And that’s just this hardcore, you’re a leader, you’re insightful. You’re like, I want to know more about myself so that I can align with my life’s work while I’m here.

Lesley Logan 20:35
Yeah, we just had on a woman who is a 20 plus year behavior scientist. And then she studied the Enneagram. And so she brings in all those decades of science around behavior, and then with the Enneagram. So she’s really good at typing. And she explained it and I think this is one of the best ways and if you haven’t listed episode, just go back in the feed. It’s right there. But it’s really cool, because she actually explained like, Strength Finders, Myers Briggs all those are really awesome tests that tell you like, what you do. But Enneagram is like why you do what you do. It’s like really that enlightening, insightful thing that is, it’s not so easy to do with a quiz. It’s definitely hard. It requires some subjective and some awareness in there. And I think that’s really cool. Because I love my Strength Finders. In fact, everyone who knows this podcast knows that my husband and I like really, truly got together because we looked at each other, like top five, and there was a couple that overlap. And we’re like, okay, you want to get out of here. It’s really hilarious story. But it is interesting to me, I’ve always wondered, well, why do I want to be like that? Why is significant so important in the top five for me, like, because it’s a little frustrating to have those a strength, and I think can go unless it’s like, actually significant. So. So I think it’s really important. I love that you’re bringing it in that like that more feminine energy around all these things to make these next steps. What are you most excited about working on right now?

JJ Di Geronimo 22:02
Oh, my goodness, well, I have been granted by the universe, this amazing retreat space on Lake Erie. So I started retreats in 2008. Because I just needed to get women out of conference rooms to start to like reconnect with Mother Nature, reconnect with themselves. So many women are sitting like on the sides of their body, because we’re trying so hard to be successful in the corporate space. And when you think about it, a lot of times, we’re asked to check half our knowing at the door. And so we show up with half our toolkit, but expected to deliver at 120%. And so we feel like this huge disconnect internally, and I saw it from city to city, whether it was in Kansas, or Texas, or you know, South Dakota or California, I keep seeing women that are just feeling like they’re just missing out on their joy in life. So the reason I wrote Seeking is I wanted to share all the energy practices I was doing off the side of my desk. And with that I started a community together we seek and now I interview a lot of the energy practitioners that I work with, to share with women that this is not voodoo. This is not woowoo. This is just information. This is just processes and practices. And if it makes you feel better, and you get a better line with who you are as a person. So be it.

Lesley Logan 23:15
Yeah, yeah, I am. I yesterday, I literally just talked to somebody I said, I said what you do people call, like at least a double Woo, if not a triple Woo. And like, like, what what do you say to that? Do you think this is like super woowoo? Or is this like scientific? And she’s like, there’s actually science behind all the energy work that I’m doing like Joe Dispenza has sown the science to it. And yes, it can seem woowoo. But what if we stopped thinking that woowoo was like this other weird thing for those people over there? What if we all just like, incorporated it? And it’s really true. Like, what difference does it make if having like some sort of symbolic stone next to you helps you remember that you want to make money, if it helps you make more money?

JJ Di Geronimo 23:53
When you think about it, and I’m just going to put it out there, but a lot of people that have trained us that it’s woo are men. And I believe it’s because women hold so much power, but we have been trained that we don’t, and I feel like there’s some kind of just synergistic, just some synergistic momentum that will occur when women start working with women in a way that we were told not to, but really isn’t harmful. So I learned birth charts during COVID because it helps me so much you know, to learn when my son was which is the eighth house to learn how it impacts my work, when learned on my Chiron is and all these little bits of information basically gave validation to what I thought was weird about myself and now I celebrate it.

Lesley Logan 24:37
Yeah, yeah, I I just was on if you haven’t started listening to it, JJ, you gotta it’s called The Mom and Me Astrology podcast. And so the mom, who I love, Mary, she’s been doing this since the 70s. And then her daughter is psychologist and I was raised with two parents who do readings. You know, so she like has had anyway. And they did my birth chart for their Aquarius episode. And things about me that I was always like, so weird, like, do that I really wish I could like figure that out. They’re like, so this is what makes you a disrupter. And this is what makes it like, Oh, it is a strength of mine. Thank you so much. And it just goes back to what you’re saying so much of what we’re told not to do, so that we can fit in or move up the strings or don’t do these things, is actually the superpowers that if we just unleash them, then we actually would take all their jobs, and that’s what they don’t want us to do. So ladies…

JJ Di Geronimo 25:29
Yeah, we’re gonna show up differently, we’re gonna have the confidence because that’s what my birth chart did for me too. And that’s why I learned because I’ve got to share with more women what their work is. And I’ve been doing it in circles with women, so especially friends, they like validate it with each other, I really focus on like, how does your birth chart help you understand your life’s work? And I think for me, a lot of women have a lot more to give the world but they just need a little bit more self confidence, a little bit of direction, and a little bit more insight. And I think that these energy practices give a lot of those things. Yeah, so I’m super happy to share my process. You know, I ended up in a therapists office, I was so unhappy with so many accomplishments, because I was completely disconnected on the inside. And I feel like I am not alone.

Lesley Logan 26:12
No, no, no, One of my besties is as a holistic doctor, and I was talking to her because as soon as I feel something’s off, I’m like, Hey, girl, this is not working like that three days in a row of this is not normal. And I’m like, do you just get calls all the time. She’s like, so many people wait till it’s 30 years like you have, there’s so disassociated from their body, you’re like, you’re not crazy, that thing is off here, some adrenal supplements and like, you know, get some more sleep and be kind to yourself, and it should be fine. But so many people are so disassociated, they don’t even understand what’s going on in their body. So they don’t even know how long they felt that way. I also just want to go back to what you’re saying insight, like, the birth chart, or even Enneagram. Yes, ladies, you could say all these things. But like, if you’re struggling to take the first next step to build any amount of confidence, or any amount of self efficacy, having a little insight that you actually are born with these powers already in you might be the thing that you need, like I wouldn’t run away from that.

JJ Di Geronimo 27:12
Yes, and I’m sure the two of us could give plenty of recommendations. And that’s what my community is together we seek it creates a safe space for women to check out different energy practices, and then reach out to the practitioners directly. They don’t even need to call me. I have a network so that everybody can interconnect with one another. But it’s really to take the mystique or sometimes there’s negative connotations out of this work, because I do believe it is time for women to step up. And we have got to change the way we feel about ourselves and the things we say to ourselves and any way you can work on that you should be doing it.

Lesley Logan 27:45
Yeah. JJ feel like we like just tap the surface. There’s more we want to talk to you about but I really love that you’re here, we’re gonna take a brief break, and then find out where people can find you, follow you, read your books. // All right, JJ, where do you like to hang out? I heard LinkedIn. So it sounds like the place but what’s all your handles?

JJ Di Geronimo 28:03
Yeah, so it’s JJ Di Geronimo. You can search for any of my books, you can search Together We Seek Sata online. That’s my community. That’s where you’ll find me live talking to a lot of different energy practitioners. And I think, you know, regardless where you are in your career, if you’re having children for the first time, and you’re trying to juggle it all, you know, the book, the working woman’s GPS, or if you’re in your career, do you want to get promoted or get on a board, accelerate your impact. Or have you been in your career for a long time, and you’re just disconnected. You can visit Seeking, I really feel it’s like the journey of the professional woman is captured in all three of my books. And I feel like it’s been such a tool for books, clubs and women’s events. So I’m honored to talk about it if you have any questions.

Lesley Logan 28:41
Oh my gosh, thank you so much before I let you go, you’ve given us amazing advice. And obviously your books are full of all of them. But for the people who want to take some action right now bold, executable, intrinsic, targeted steps people can take to be it till they see it. What do you have for us?

JJ Di Geronimo 28:53
So you can download that essentially Power of No bundle and includes a chapter and includes a video and a worksheet and you can get that at jjdigeronimo.com. Forward slash power of no

Lesley Logan 29:06
And that’s the one that’s going to help us know how to K N O W know how to say no. Yes, yes. Awesome.

JJ Di Geronimo 29:13
URL, I’ll send it to you but it’s power of N O, and I named it like that because you know, once you start really being conscious of what you’re saying yes to and no, you really do start feel more confident and get a little more power back.

Lesley Logan 29:26
Yeah, you get it just one of those great ways of connecting back to yourself for sure. JJ, thank you so much for being here. Everyone, how are you going to use these tips in your life? Let us know if you download that equation and how you’re using it. Tag JJ, tag the Be It pod and until next time, Be It Till You See It.

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Lesley Logan
That’s all I’ve got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate this show and leave a review. And, follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over on IG at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us help others to BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day!

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Lesley Logan
‘Be It Till You See It’ is a production of the ‘Bloom Podcast Network’.

Brad Crowell
It’s written, filmed and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan and me, Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan
It is produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.

Brad Crowell
Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.

Lesley Logan
Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals and Ximena Velasquez for our transcriptions.

Brad Crowell
Also to Angelina Herico for adding all the content to our website. And finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time.