Secrets to Achieving Holistic Wealth

[Wish you knew how to put the pieces of the puzzle of life together? Get ready to discover how to achieve holistic wealth and live a life you love!]

Have you ever wondered how to thrive not only as a mom but in all the areas of your life? All of the aspects of our life is interconnected. Looking at your life from this holistic perspective can help you to nourish all the areas of your life so you can truly thrive.

Today, my guest, on the Soul Care Mom Podcast is Keisha Blair a trained economist and founder of the Institute on Holistic Wealth. She shares her empowering journey as well as practices you can use and implement today to help you create holistic wealth in your life and your motherhood journey.  

You can also listen to this conversation on iTunes or your preferred podcast platform.

[Disclaimer: we are not health professionals. This chat is solely based on research and personal experience. If you have any concerns please seek out the help of your trusted health professionals.]

[Please Note: This post may contain affiliate links. This means that Soul Care Mom may receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. Please see disclaimers for more information.]

Hi there, Soulful Mama. Welcome to the Soul Care Mom Podcast. I’m Catherine Wilde of soulcaremom.Com, mom of three amazing kids, a Soul Care Mom Coach, and a Yoga & Meditation Teacher. I’ve helped hundreds of women, and I’m here to help you feel calm and find your unshakable confidence as a mom. If you’re ready to stop living in survival mode and you’re ready to drop the mom guilt and overwhelm, this podcast is for you.

Think of this as a lunch date with a girlfriend, grab a cup of tea and get cozy. It’s time to get honest and vulnerable and shift the traditional mindset around motherhood. Be sure to subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Get ready to grow and feel empowered as a mom. I’m here for you, Mama. Let’s get started.  

Catherine Wilde

Hi, Keisha. Thank you so much for joining me today.  

Keisha Blair

It’s great to be here. Thanks for having me here, Catherine.  

Catherine Wilde

I’m so happy and honored to connect with you in this way. And you wrote a beautiful book called Holistic Wealth. And you have an incredible story. You were widowed at the age of 31, just eight weeks after giving birth to your second son. And in your book, you talk about the detours that life can hand us. And this was a big one. Can you share with us a bit about how you navigated this significant detour in your life?  

Keisha Blair

Sure. So thank you again for having me. Catherine, it’s great to be here and to share this journey with your audience. It was quite the detour, as I said in the book. And I was in my career, I was climbing the corporate ladder, seemingly doing great things. I had one child at the time, he was three, and I had just given birth to my second child. And then my husband died eight weeks after I gave birth. And as you can imagine, well, it was a sudden death, so we weren’t prepared. He wasn’t ill.

And so it came as quite the shock. And it was very difficult on my son, the three-year-old, just to have his father walk out in an ambulance and not come back home. And it was so difficult for me. And as I wrote in the book, it’s one of those things where I walked into the hospital with my husband living and breathing and walked out with a white plastic bag with his belongings.   And I still remember the day as if it was yesterday. And I needed that time to kind of make peace with it. And luckily, I was able to take that time to kind of do some soul searching and think about how to deal with the detour, as you mentioned, and how my life would unfold and what I wanted for my sons and me, and how would I go forward.  

Keisha Blair

And my husband at that time was such a rock for all of us as readers will read in the book. And so I took the time and I really did the soul searching. And that’s when I came up with this framework. And it’s so funny. After that period ended, I went back to work and started working again.   And at the time I was writing another book. It was Memoir. And I thought, what lessons have I learned from all of this? And how would I distill this in a way that would help other people?   And I sat down and I wrote this 40 life lessons article. And that was the viral article that I shared. And it was just a very vulnerable piece. It was so vulnerable. I didn’t want anybody to see it. I kid you not. I did not share it. I did not put it on social media. I just figured if nobody saw it, it would be fine. And lo and behold, the editors at Medium contacted me and they said, we want this to be one of our favorite pieces for the year. And we’re going to record like an audio version.  

What is Holistic Wealth?

Keisha Blair

And then it just took a life of its own. And I had distilled those life lessons in that article. And that’s when an agent said, you need to write this book. And my editor said I’m seeing holistic wealth. So that framework about how I dealt with the detour is all outlined in that article and then really fleshed out in the book.   And there are some core lessons in there that really stick with me, even today. And it’s empowering yourself with a mindset that’s not victim and blame. That is one that can empower you to get your power back and to live your life on your terms. How ever you want to show up in life on your terms because we’re moms. And in the book, you’ll go through everything that I went through in terms of walking that journey about the mom guilt. And feeling inadequate, and wondering what you would do.   And I know that’s something moms deal with on a daily basis. And for me, it was just amplified because I had just lost my husband. I was now a single mom with two boys. And I was also trying to figure out what my next steps would be.  

Keisha Blair

And so that was one of the major lessons about dealing with that detour is what’s that mindset that I have to empower myself with so that I’m not constantly living in the past. That I’m not constantly in this big grief. This journey of looking back and wishing I had my life, as it were before. And that’s when I came up with the holistic wealth mindset, which is what I outlined in the book.  

And I also outlined the holistic wealth method, which also helped me. And it helps me every day since even now. And I think what’s going to deplete me and what’s going to enrich me? And that’s the whole concept of the holistic wealth bank account, which is what’s going to add to my bank account, my holistic wealth bank account, and what’s going to deplete it?   So I remember feeling depleted all the time as a mom going through grief. I was breastfeeding, I was doing all that waking up every 2 hours to feed in the depths of grief. And I thought I need to focus on the activities, the people, the things that will enrich me rather than deplete me. And I thought about that in a methodical way and start focusing on the things that enriched me.  

Holistic Wealth Management

Keisha Blair

And some of the things, Catherine, are some of the things you also preach, which is self care and doing your yoga and meditation and mindfulness. Really taking the time to care for yourself and doing the things that enrich you. And for me, with holistic wealth, it also extends to finances and how I spend and how I save and not being pressured or feeling pressured.   Sometimes as mom, we feel pressured to be the ones to do everything. We’re on the PTA meetings, we’re on student Council, we’re bringing in baked goods. Freshly baked goods. And we’re doing all these things.  

Keisha Blair

And I thought I can’t do all of this the way other mothers are doing. So how do I set myself up so that I’m having that balance in my life with the situation I’m being dealt with right now and still be able to live in an authentic way?   And that’s when I came up with those two things that I outline in the book. And so those were major parts of it for me because even now, with detours. And detours will happen over and over again. We all go through disruption. And these are things that I keep coming back to, constantly empowering myself with a mindset that enriches me and thinking about that holistic wealth bank account and how I enrich it and not deplete it to the point where I go into bankruptcy. And I feel absolutely bankrupt in every way, both emotionally, physically, mentally, and with my actual finances.  

Keisha Blair

So those are two key themes in the book that readers will see over and over. And I think in the book, I give ways that they can be applied and how I came through that, using that. But of course, there are tons of other things, too, that are there for readers. For anyone who’s going through a detour, going through a life altering setback.  

How to Achieve Holistic Wealth

Catherine Wilde

Yes, I definitely recommend grabbing a copy of this book. And thank you so much for sharing that. Your honesty, your vulnerability in sharing your journey and your story is so beautiful and I’m sure so healing to other moms that are listening. And there’s so much that you just said that I would love to unpack.   You talked about mindset and empowering yourself and creating this life that you love and also setting beautiful boundaries. But could you talk a little bit more about holistic wealth? We’re looking at life from all angles, right? Because all the parts of us are really connected, even though sometimes we like to compartmentalize things. This journey or this perspective of looking at your life in a holistic way helps you to thrive in all the areas. Right?  

Catherine Wilde

So can you talk to us a little bit more about the book? You say that “Holistic Wealth involves growing into a better version of ourselves.” So could you talk to us a little bit about all of the areas that you focus on in Holistic Wealth and the bank account? A little more like, how can we make sure we’re not depleted in our bank account?  

Keisha Blair

Yeah, absolutely. I love that line about holistic wealth, allowing us to grow and to become a better version of ourselves. Because what I said in chapter one of the book was that I didn’t feel like I was living authentically at the time my husband died. As I said previously, I was climbing the corporate ladder, which I had wanted. It’s not like I hadn’t wanted that.   But when I looked at my values, there was a contradiction there, because then, yes, I wanted to do that. I wanted to be the best mom. I wanted to be the best wife. I wanted to have that balance. But I knew I probably had to give it up if I were to climb the corporate ladder.  

Keisha Blair

And so there was always this tension, and I think his death allowed me to really engage in some self examination. And that’s when I realized that there were certain things that I was willing to give up. And here I was with two younger children. One was a baby, and I had to sacrifice anyway for them. And I had to give up those goals and dreams. And in doing that, I became a better version of myself.   And that’s how this holistic world framework came about, too. Because in the book, I talk about the fact that these things that we think sometimes our sacrifices, they seem like setbacks in the beginning. But they’re actually enriching us in a way where we become more holistically wealthy.   And the good thing about it, well, for me in the beginning is that and this is where the whole thing becomes so interdependent. Right? Luckily, I had planned ahead in my personal finances so I could take that break. So if I was not on a path anymore in one area of my life that I could take that break, slow down, and think about what I wanted.   And this is something I also want for women in terms of their finances. To be able to take control and to have that power, to be able to make these decisions that can enrich us. Because if we can’t make those decisions that can enrich us, then we’re going to be in a problem. There’s going to be a deficit. That’s where we’re going to be running on empty. And that’s when we’re going to feel depleted and end up in that kind of bankruptcy that I talk about.  

Before the pandemic, when we thought about self care it was almost like a privilege to be able to take time off. Or it’s a privilege for you to be able to take a sabbatical.   But now that we’ve gone through this experience, we’re realizing this is absolutely fundamentally necessary to our mental, emotional, and spiritual health. So this pandemic has just made this even more there for us in terms of what we need to do.   And so that’s the thing about becoming a better version. It’s like how am I aligning my true values with my mission? And so in chapter three in the book, I talk about a personal mission, and I outlined one for myself. And in the book I give examples. And in the workbook, there are some case studies for the audience members who want to try to do that.  

Keisha Blair

And in doing that and alignment your values, you’re becoming a better version. Because it’s not just about, yeah, I get up and I do these things on a day to day. But how is it leading to that mission? How is it leading to that end goal that I really want for my life, that legacy that I really want for my life?   And so that’s why all of this framework is such a good framework for becoming a better version. And this experience, even with the pain and tragedy, I feel blessed to be able to share this with others. Because I think that this is something great that has come out of that tragedy for me is sharing my experience. And sharing what I was able to distill to help others.   So, yeah, I think that’s the whole gist of how we become more authentic. How we show up more authentically in our own lives. And how we become a better version.  

Catherine Wilde

I love that so much. I love that. Just as you’re speaking it’s bringing tears to my eyes. I love the way that you took such in the face of death are loving your partner, your life partner. You were able to change your perspective and live more fully, right? Such a beautiful your journey of growth through all of this is so heartwarming and beautiful and empowering.   And I love that you share the personal mission statement. That’s also something that I use with my clients because when we can take that step back and look at things from a wider perspective, we can really direct our lives in the way that we want them to go. We may not be able to control everything that happens, but we can live authentically to ourselves and create that beautiful life. So can you talk to us more about what is the personal mission statement and how can we create one for ourselves?  

Keisha Blair

Absolutely. So I first started it in the viral article that I published, have a mission. Outline a mission for yourself. Because I think, as I said, so many of us suffer through inertia and we’re so busy in life. And some people are at the point of burnout. There’s an epidemic of burnout there’s an epidemic of a lack of work life balance that we hardly have the time to think about. Why am I here? What’s my unique purpose and role on this Earth?   And it dawned on me, too, in terms of developing a better version of myself, that I went back to my values. And this is one of the things that I tell others too. I tell readers and certified holistic wealth consultants, start with the values in defining a personal mission, writing your personal mission statement.   And in the Holistic Wealth Workbook

, we have a whole list of values that you can go through and check off to see which ones align with yours.   But start with the values and then think about your story of self. And in the book, I talk about your story of self because when I think about my story, for instance, I’m just giving that as an example.  

Keisha Blair

Catherine, I was widowed at 31. I am a trained economist. I am a mom. I have so many things in my experience that I can use to make my mission that much more impactful. And it’s very specific to me.   In chapter five when I talk about not comparing yourself. So, like, our mission statement is rooted in our story of self. And so once you have that, you don’t have to think about what the other person’s doing, what the other person’s mission is. Am I going to achieve this?  Because it’s all rooted in the sum of who you are. And so even if we align on certain things, then you know what? I can use my mission to help enrich yours because we all have these different roles to play. Right?  

How To Begin Holistic Wealth Planning

Keisha Blair

And so that’s the beauty of crafting a personal mission statement for yourself. And it really helps you to pinpoint where you’re going, what your success goals are, and your core outcomes. But it does so much more than that. It helps us to really see what we bring and who we are and how these experiences have enriched us and really what our purpose is.  

Because I think when I surveyed mine and my story of self, it became clear to me what my purpose was. This was connecting with other women and other moms and using my experience to help them through any sort of life transitions or setbacks anything like that.   And using my own direct experience in terms of my professional background as well to try to help in whatever way I can. So that’s the whole kind of the gist of it behind the personal mission statement. And of course, in the book, it’s covered more fully. And in the workbook, there are case studies, too.  

And then in the book coming out in March, there’s also a bit more on that, the Holistic Wealth expanded and updated book. So it’s a critical piece. And you know what funny is when people ask me what are the micro steps I can use to start living holistically wealthy?   If you were to give me one thing, because people ask me all the time when I do, like, library talks and talks elsewhere to audiences. They’re like, give me one thing I can do. This is the one thing that I think is really good as a micro step because I think it’s so easy for us to do, but it’s so effective. Right?  

Keisha Blair

And it really can turn the tide when you’re at a crossroad and you need to figure out where do I go from here and what is my life about? It can really renew that meaning for you and that inspiration and really give you some sense of purpose. So that’s the one major thing I think. Thank you for asking me that.  

Catherine Wilde

Yeah. That’s beautiful. So if there’s a mom listening right now and she’s like, this sounds amazing, but I wouldn’t know where to start. So start there. Right?  

Keisha Blair

Right. Start there. That’s one of the micro steps, among others that you can definitely use to make a start. You know, the other one is I also develop this free quiz, the personal financial identity quiz. That you’ve probably heard me talk a lot about, Catherine. And that’s another micro step that people can take.   And it’s very in line with your personal mission statement because people are asking me now can I do like a money mission statement as like a subcategory in my personal mission statement? And I’m like, absolutely.   And knowing your personal financial Identity can help you do that, because then it also helps you to be more authentic if you’re a minimalist, if you’re a risk taker, if you’re a maximalist no matter what you are. And then you can start honoring your personal money story by doing that.  

Keisha Blair

So that’s another micro step that I think something that we can all do today. These are things that we can all do now, as I’m speaking, we can start jotting down those points, these one or two steps that we need to take right now that we can start making a difference in our own lives. So I love that.  

Catherine Wilde

That’s beautiful. And I love that you have a quiz, and I love that you talk openly about finances and money because I think as women, that’s something that is changing. But often we don’t feel so empowered in that, especially sometimes it’s stay at home moms or things like that. We feel a little bit less empowered around money. And so I love that you focus on that with women. That’s such an important topic.  

Keisha Blair

Yeah, absolutely. And in the book, there are a lot of chapters on that, too. And readers came back, and even during the pandemic, I didn’t have a quiz before readers came back. And they’re like, you mentioned in your book that we all need to know our personal financial identities. How do we do it?   And so during the first half of lockdown, I went and I created that quiz because readers came back and they’re like, how do we do it? And I needed to tell them how to do it. And I sat down for months and I tested it, retested it. Tested it on family members. Tested it on the podcast. And so far we’ve had a really good response. And we’re seeing trends. Now with the quiz. It’s available on my website or on the Institute on Holistic Wealth website.   And people have been saying, yes, it’s spot on. This is exactly me. And they’ve been sharing their stories. And money is one of my favorite things to talk about, too. So, yeah, I’m glad that readers spurred me on to carry this even further than I thought I’d ever carry this through.   And in the new book that will be released. It’s out for preorder now in the new book, I have a whole chapter on that and a whole chapter on why this is so important and my own personal story around that part of it, which wasn’t in the first book, in the first edition. So I think readers will also benefit from that.  

Catherine Wilde

That’s amazing. And I love that you took that feedback and helped people go even deeper with it. So that’s really beautiful.  

Keisha Blair

Yeah. So I did. And it’s so funny when you have a book your readers steer you right? Your readers will come back and they’ll say, oh, I read the book, and I think you should develop this certification, which I did. And at the time, I had never done that before. And so it was exciting and scary at the same time.   So I developed the Holistic Wealth Certification Program for consultants. And some of these women were already in the field delivering financial literacy programs to women, and they wanted something more. And there was a huge gap in the market because they said as financial advisors and as women out there giving financial interest in workshops, we’re not seeing the material that we want to see, but we’re seeing a lot of that in your book. So I created that. And the financial identity is part of that. It’s one module in that.   And so they’re Holistic wealth consultants who are now certified, and they’re going into their communities, and they’re working through with people. Working through the different aspects of tying everything together. Tying your entire holistic wealth portfolio together because there are different pieces. And the new book also helps you do that, too. Because I think in the first book, it was mainly fleshing out the pieces of the viral article, right?  

Keisha Blair

And kind of fleshing it out more so people understood more fully what I meant. And the second book is really about, okay, how do we go even deeper into putting together a holistic wealth portfolio that each person can have to help us navigate that disruption, to help us build that life portfolio?   It’s like a life portfolio based on you. And really take that to the next level. So I’m really grateful for the journey and for women. And most of these women are moms who came forward who absolutely are passionate about women and women empowerment and economic empowerment for women and really helping women gain control of their time and money, which is something we see a lot of with the pandemic, with the great resignation wave, with women leaving their jobs because of a lack of childcare. Right? With women not knowing what to do and just being frustrated with the balance and achieving that balance. And this is something that will enable women to do that more effectively. So that’s also another big piece of it that’s come out through this pandemic, which is great.  

Catherine Wilde

Yes. Okay. So I love that you mentioned that moms are really resonating with this. Because motherhood is this incredible journey and we have this beautiful task of guiding the next generation. And so when we can empower ourselves and thrive in our own lives and create this life portfolio as you said, we’re setting this beautiful example for our children to be able to do the same. To empower them, to do the same.   So have you seen that with your kiddos at all? That the things that you have been doing have been flowing into their lives and having an effect on them?  

Keisha Blair

Absolutely. So it’s so funny. They’re actually like little crusaders now for holistic wealth. And even in our day to day, we do it very, very we do it slowly. But it’s done in a way they’re like little lessons for the kids. And even starting with gratitude.  I posted this picture on my Instagram about the gratitude jar that we made when we were in lockdown and we were doing online learning and the kids would throw these tantrums when the Internet would go in and out. And we made this gratitude jar just to give thanks for the little things during the day.  

So like, we had a good day with our teachers, and each person would write that down, whatever they were grateful for, slip it into the gratitude jar. And that’s one part of it. There are so many different facets to it, to be honest. But that’s one thing that always stood out to me as we went through lockdown is instilling a sense of gratitude in them and allowing them to be able to see authentically and explore that who they are. And really not being ashamed to say it and to feel proud of it. And in their creativity, whether it’s art or music, to be able to feel free to explore that.  

Helping Kids Integrate Holistic Wealth Practices

Keisha Blair

Because you’ll see in the book, too, that that’s one part of how we can cope. These things help us to cope, whether it’s our hobbies right. Or the things that we enjoy that really help us build our resilience muscles.   And it’s so funny you ask that question, because every time I do a library talk, parents ask me, how do I help my kids be more resilient? How do I help them?

And so I’ve been thinking about holistic wealth in terms of kids, and teens, especially teens who have suffered so much during this pandemic. And that’s one of the things that I talk about is not only gratitude but helping them explore those hobbies and those things that really enrich them and give them a sense of purpose and joy. And there’s so much beyond that in the book and how parents can help instill that in their kids in terms of even having a family mission statement. Where kids know that as a family, here’s what we’re about.   Here’s what we value, and here are our values as a family. What do we value? And when we do our personal mission statements, that’s something that we can do with the kids.  

Keisha Blair

We can extend it to a family mission statement, have the kids participate, and really think about as a family what we value. And then, of course, there’s a personal finance side of it with teaching kids financial literacy.   Which I get asked about a lot because teachers are now integrating it into the curriculum and they’re looking for resources to help kids. And my kids are doing it now in school. That’s also a big part of it.   I think that’s come out during the pandemic even more is helping with this economic recession is helping kids in school become more aware of their personal finances and how to use money and how not to and the destructive ways that we can do it.  

Keisha Blair

That’s like a big part of it. And it’s something I get asked about frequently. And it’s so funny, though, that I think once readers start going through the book and workbook, there are so many ideas, therefore translating it to a family and translating it to kids. And there are so many concepts in there that are just so basic. There are things that we do all the time that we might not think about, like taking walks in nature, Catherine, and how that can impact kids and impact their mental health.

And helping them get out there and helping them recognize and really explore nature around them and how that helps build them, too. Right?   And then there are their relationships. So there are so many aspects of it that I’m actually trying to put together, like a holistic wealth book for kids and teens. Lots of parents have asked and I get asked all the time. So I think that would be great. That would be something that I’d be really excited to do.  

Catherine Wilde

It makes me so happy to hear that. I hear when there’s more talking about finances in school, because I think that’s the gap that is missing in our education. And then also I hear more and more about the teachers bringing mindfulness into the classrooms and things like that. It’s so beautiful. It makes me so happy.  

Keisha Blair

Yeah.  

Catherine Wilde

And you’re so right. Like, all these parts that we’re doing for ourselves can also be incorporated with our children. And gratitude is such a big one. I love that one. I love that you created a gratitude jar.   And I’ve also noticed that prioritizing self care in my day, we talked a little bit about self care, but that my kids notice it, too. And then they are able they have a model, they have something to look at and see how this might look like in life. Right?   This is how I can take care of myself as well. And I would love to know because it can be so hard as moms to prioritize that self care time those walks in nature, whatever fills your cup because we have this long to-do list. So I would love to know how you take time for self care. And what are some of your favorite practices?  

Keisha Blair

Yeah, absolutely. Nature is something near and dear to me. I feel like it was instrumental in terms of my own healing and my journey through grief. I feel like and that’s why there’s a whole chapter in there about spending time in nature in the book because it was so instrumental.   Like, I remember when I went on sabbatical and I would wake up every morning like the place where I lived, it was 800 ft above sea level, in the mountains. It was beautiful. This was in Jamaica.   And so birds woke me up in the morning and I take my hikes and I hike like twice a day. And so now I still do that. Like, I still wake up early in the morning and I go out and I take my nature walk. And it’s unbelievable how healing it can be.  

Keisha Blair

I mean, you get your exercise in and you’re also becoming one with nature, and it just fills you up. And it gives me a lot of joy personally. So that’s one way that I know I personally, regardless of how busy I am, it’s something I set aside time for. And the other thing is that because I’m a writer, I read a lot. And it’s one of those things that it’s so bad that my husband has to say, no, you need to stop now at some point in the night when I’m trying to read everything.   But I love reading a lot. And to me, that’s a part of me time. And the time that I take to kind of think through my day and think through my next steps and my goals and reading actually helps kind of solidify that for me. So that’s a big part of it, too.  

Keisha Blair

And a lot of that happens, too, when I put the kids to bed. And so for many of us moms, I think it happens when we get those glimpses of alone time. And the kids are sleeping or they’re out and we take that time for ourselves. And that’s what I’ve been able to do. But it really, really does enrich me. And so I’m hoping that for those who are struggling with self care and how to integrate it in your daily life.   Another thing that I did a lot was meditating when I was on sabbatical. That was when I really learned how to meditate, really learned how to listen in to my intuition and figure out my intuitive voice. And I talk about intuition a lot in the book, too, because in my busyness prior to my husband’s death, I did not even realize this thing.  

Keisha Blair

And it was on sabbatical. And I took the time that I really realized, and I really tuned in and realized that sometimes being productive isn’t necessarily what we need. Sometimes we just need to be still and need to be calm and to really listen to our hearts and our soul about what, you know, we need to do.   So that also helped me. And it’s so funny because that was like a transformation for me after that experience. So I think those are some ways that readers can incorporate that. And it’s so funny in the workbook. I think there are lots of little because it also acts as a journal. Prompts and questions that can help you to integrate more in your life, like your hobbies, and integrate different aspects of self care in your life.  

Catherine Wilde

Yes. That’s beautiful. I love that you provide a workbook to go with the book because a lot of times we soak in all this wisdom, but then actually cultivate it into our lives, bringing it into practice, we have to act, right? We have to take an action. So doing that step of journaling and bringing yourself and your life into the process is a beautiful way to get started. I love that you have that piece with your book.   So this has been such an amazing conversation. And I am so grateful to you for sharing your journey so openly and all of your wisdom and your tips.  

Catherine Wilde

And I love asking this question because the answers just are always so beautiful and heartwarming. And I would love to know yours. So if you have been on this amazing journey, this heartwrenching journey at times, this growth journey, if you could go back and tell Keisha anything before this big detour happened in your life, what would you share with her?  

Keisha Blair

Wow, such a deep question. And I love it. Because you know it’s so funny I write in my book and I don’t know if you’ve reached that part yet. Where I think about the little girl with the ponytails and when I think about her, that’s when the tears start tumbling down. Because I think about how naive and how rose-colored that little version of me was. And if I could go back and tell her one thing, I’d tell her that no matter what happens in life, she’s special and unique.   And not to compare her journey with anyone else’s. Because even though that journey might be filled with detours and roadblocks and, you know, hills and valleys, that journey was going to build her into something better and wiser and make a difference in this world.   So I think that’s something that readers will also see in the book when I talk about that little girl. Because I remember when in the early days of grief, I think that was the time when I would think about this girl little me not knowing this would happen to me at 31 and I was just past 30 when it happened.  

Keisha Blair

So it felt like I had just graduated from school. It felt like I had just started life so young and going through this. And when I thought about that little girl, it would always bring tears. It would always bring tears when I thought about her.   And so I think that’s what I definitely tell her about her journey because I know that’s one thing that I also grappled with about the journey, especially in the early days. How do I come to grips with this journey and what do I do with it? Where do I go with it?   And so but it’s turned out to be a blessing, you know, and just being here, talking to you and seeing your reaction, Catherine. And seeing how much this has impacted you and seeing your reaction makes me realize how special it is that I’m able to share it with others.   And so, yeah, that’s what I would say. But yeah, I like that question because that’s something I spoke a lot about in the book. Seeing and always remembering the little me and thinking about her and thinking about wow. Just not knowing how life turns out. And so these lessons, I think, are so good for all of us and to pass on to our kids.  

Keisha Blair

And that’s one of the things I think that’s important to pass on to our kids at a young age, just letting them know no matter what happens, you’re here for a purpose and a reason. And it might get tough. There might be losses, but there will be gains, and you’ll come out of it better and stronger and you will build your resilience.   And I had this conversation with my son just last night. His team his soccer team went to the semi-finals and lost, and he cried and cried and cried. And this is the same conversation that I had with him was there will be these times where you have those wins and you have those losses. But just know, look at how far you’ve come and look how far you were able to get. So I think that’s something that we definitely should instill. Because I think we just help our children prepare better for the detours up ahead, which is always better. Right? So thank you for that question.  

Catherine Wilde

Yeah. That was such a beautiful response. And so much of what you said, I think so many of us need to hear more often, you know, that we are special and that everything happens on this journey to help us grow. And it can be a healing and beautiful journey if we allow it to be.   And I love that you talk about comparison, too, because that’s something that’s so easy to fall into, especially these days with social media. Yeah. Thank you for sharing all of that. Yeah.  

Keisha Blair

No, you’re welcome. You’re welcome. And I think even for Instagram and there was a study about young people, especially young girls, comparing themselves on Instagram. Seeing their friends and the lifestyle and the clothes and everything. It’s so important for us to be able to talk to our kids about these things, too.  

Catherine Wilde

Absolutely. And this was wonderful. Can you let us know where we can find your book and where we can find you online?  

Keisha Blair

Yeah, sure. So the book is available everywhere online. And the new book, which is the expanded and updated version of Holistic Wealth, will be coming out in March, but it’s available for pre-order right now online. And. Yeah. So folks can find it there. And my website is keishablair.com. And of course, there are lots of resources there, too. And I’m available on social media. I’m @keishablair on Instagram and on Twitter and on Facebook I’m @keishablairauthor. So I love hearing from readers. So feel free to reach out. I’d be happy to hear from you.  

Catherine Wilde

Awesome. I will include those in the show notes so that everybody can find you and get a copy of your book. Thank you again, for taking the time to talk with me today.  

Keisha Blair

Thank you so much, Catherine. I really enjoyed it. Thank you so much for having me on show.  

Catherine Wilde

Absolutely.  

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