Episode 234- How To Use Practical Intelligence To Achieve Your Goals And Live Your Best Life

Jamila Souffrant 0:00

You're listening to the Journey To Launch Podcast. How To Use Practical Intelligence To Get To Your Goals And Live Your Best Life.

Intro 0:11

T-minus 10 seconds. Welcome to the Journey To Launch Podcast with your host, Jamila Souffrant. As a money expert who walks her talk, she helps brave Journeyers like you get out of debt, save, invest and build real wealth. Join her on the Journey To Launch to financial freedom in five, four, three, two, one.

Jamila Souffrant 0:39

Hey, Hey, Hey, Journeyers. Welcome to the Journey To Launch Podcast. That's right, you are now a Journeyer. If you are new here, that means you are on this journey with me and 1,000s of others on the path to living your best life, financial freedom, independence, you name it, the world is yours seriously. And so one of the topics I want to talk about today is practical intelligence. Well, it's going to be the topic. So this is going to be a solo episode. So for all the people who love my solo episodes, here you go. I know I've been promising to do more than. I promise you I've been working on it. I've been super busy with some exciting projects that I'll share in a bit. But I wanted to get this one out there for you guys, because I think it's so important to talk about this concept and idea of practical intelligence. So we're going to go through what it is, how you can identify if you actually have practical intelligence or not. Also, we're going to talk about examples for myself, I'm going to show you just examples, small and big, of how I have harnessed practical intelligence. And I've identified it in certain areas. And I can say that, that is the reason why I am where I am, right? And so I want to share that so you can identify it in your own lives. And then let's talk about cultivating it more in yourself and in your kids, especially if you have kids. How do you encourage them to have practical intelligence?

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All right, so practical intelligence. What is it? I remember the first time I read about it was through Malcolm Gladwell, his book, The outliers, and I read that book A while ago. And so I had an incident happened recently where I realized like, oh, wow, this is that practical intelligence coming out. And you know, quite honestly, we use our intelligence, the different levels of it, and types of it every day in our lives, or we would not survive, you know, we're constantly using our brain to help us make decisions. But I wanted to take it back to what practical intelligence is to find that did my research. And I came across the work of Robert Sternberg, who is a cycle metrication that I say that right? And he wanted to understand intelligence and more cognitive approach. He wanted to basically look at all forms of intelligence. And so he came up with the three forms of intelligence. And I'm just going to quickly go through the three forms practical intelligence is one of those forms, and then we're going to talk about what practical intelligence is. So he thought that standard standard IQ test was not the greatest predictor of one success because it can only measure a narrow range of analytical abilities. And so he thought that success in life is based on a completely different type of set of skills and in So the three types of intelligence that he talked about, and research were one, the analytical intelligence, the ability to analyze, critique, and evaluate. Two is the creative intelligence, the ability to discover, invent and create new solutions. And three practical intelligence, which is what we're going to talk more about, which is the ability to apply, use an implement what you know, that includes knowing what to say, to whom, knowing when to say it, knowing how to say it for maximum, maximum effect. Practical intelligence, helps you read situations correctly and get what you want. And it's critically the type of intelligence that separates the sort of animal ability measured by IQ. So that's like the technical kind of definition that Steinberg had a practical intelligence. And he also says, according to Wikipedia, and I'm going to link some of this also, because I want you guys to read and look into this yourselves. But this is also known as street smarts. It's your ability to move about in the world, and to be comfortable with negotiating and different environments, right?

And I thought that this was so key. And so when Malcolm Gladwell talked about it in his book, "The Outliers," what stood out to me when he said it, Malcolm Gladwell, and I'm just gonna read a summary or like how he basically characterized it. But for Malcolm Gladwell, he looked at it as it showed, really, the ways in which the rich and poor use practical intelligence, or the lack of practical intelligence, depending on how you were raised. And so it's really that social skill and that soft skills that you don't really necessarily you can't measure, but it's the way someone walks into a room and can handle authority or question authority, or feel comfortable. And in the book, he, I remember this, he know he talks about poor parents would not really encourage their kids to question authority, because they saw authority as the final say. It's the end all be all. So for example, like taking your kids to a doctor. And might I say, part of this, too, I do believe is just the mental load on people who don't have time to think, to think about all the things, because they're trying to put food on the table, right? So they don't have time to think about, "Oh, I should be questioning my doctor..." I should be... you know, they're looking, they have a limited time and energy that they need to expand or expend on making money for their family and survival, right? And so he talks about it, Malcolm Gladwell, talks about it in the way in which think about if you were raised in a certain environment, or just in a way in which you were not taught to question authority. You go to the doctor, and your parent is talking to the doctor, right, as a child the whole time, you're not encouraged to ask a doctor, any questions. You're not encouraged to talk back, you know, in some of our culture as being from the Caribbean, and Jamaican, you know, we have this culture of you respect authority. And while it's important, I don't think, like to have some respect, obviously, as a child, I believe that, that line of thinking really impacts and greatly holds back, kids and people growing up in those environments. And when it really needs for them to speak up for themselves, they don't know how, and then it carries through as an adult, versus in the book, of Malcolm Gladwell talks about in "Outliers," that rich parents will say, do you have any questions for the doctor? They don't mind if their kid comes home and the teacher says, "Hey, you know, the, my, your kid pushed back." they would say, "Yes, they're supposed to push back and negotiate." They're encouraging this in their kids, they have almost like this entitlement, which is not always a bad thing, this entitlement to have a say. And so imagine being raised like that, in a way in which you are encouraged to speak up for yourself to speak up and challenge authority. And so this is the kind of thing that happens, that you take with you, as you navigate and you grow up, right? And it happens now, when you're in the real world by yourself, you know, for the first time that might be in college, where you have to advocate for yourself. You have to say, "Wait, that's not the class that I wanted or signed up for." Or if you see that your professor or boss, right, at let's say you have a fast food job is doing something wrong or not treating you properly, you can speak up for yourself, and then again, it translates through every step of your life. He also said, so Gladwell, in the book, he's... He called this concerted cultivation, because it was almost like it's on purpose, it's practice that you would actually give these exercises to your kids.

So with that, I wanted to talk a little bit about how I have viewed myself in terms of using practical intelligence, small and big, so that you can potentially identify if you've been using it, or maybe not have been using it in your life. And so I'll give a couple of examples, because at the start of this, I said that there was an incident and it was a really small incident. It wasn't a big deal, but I had a small incident that happened and I posted about it on my Journey To Launch Instagram. And I said, "Wow, I'm so glad I questioned this authority because it saved me money, right?" And so the reason why I'm talking about it on the podcast is because this does impact your money. It impacts your money. When you're negotiating with your boss, the types of jobs you have, the type of people you meet, being able to get mentors, being able to network, this, this directly impacts how much money you potentially can make, how much money you have made so far in your career, or life, and just trajectory of things going forward. And so this is what happened.

I went to the museum, the children's museum, with my kids, my husband, too, and our membership was up, so we needed to renew it. And when I went to renew it, you know, I said, "I believe there's a discount for teachers," because my husband, my husband is a teacher. And the lady, she was very nice, but she was like, "Um, let me double check." And she went and looked, and she was like, "There's no discount for teachers. You know, it's just the standard rate." So you know, it's three kids, it's me, my husband, so I was like, okay, and I was like, "Are you sure? Because when we first signed up, we had a discount," because he was a teacher. And literally, she went and did some typing in her computer, and said, "You know, there's no discount showing for teachers at the moment. Maybe they changed it." And so I was like, okay, so part of me wanted to let it go, right? You know, but part of me was just like, "No, I know that there has to be a discount." So when she handed me the form to start filling out, there was a like, on the back, it said, if you work in these agencies, or in this field, you'll get this discount. And I said to her, I'm like, "Oh, you know, ma'am, it's right here." And she literally was like, "Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry. You know, I didn't see that." And again, she probably meant well, for the most part, right? I do believe most people mean well, but if I had not pushed back and advocated for myself, in this small way, you know, this wasn't $1,000 savings, right? But it was, you know, a few bucks that could have went to now ice cream after the museum or towards going out to eat today. And that's what I posted on my social media, I said it was the fact that I was able to question authority, even though she was super nice. So it wasn't a contentious, kind of like back and forth. And sometimes it may have to be that way, if you're really advocating for yourself, and someone is not believing you or, or giving you the respect. And it reminded me a practical intelligence of questioning authority. And again, this was a very small example. But it saved me some money.

And I want to talk about a bigger example of practical intelligence and navigating that in my life that I know, for a fact changed how much money I made in my corporate career, and where I am today. I was an intern in college. And I always say, you know, Inroads was the program that I went through, where they place minorities in fortune 500 companies, and you get like, paid, for the most part, really well for being a college student. And I was lucky enough to get a placement at a company, my freshman year, so my freshman to sophomore year, I started interning with the company. And I remember like, actually went on like three different interviews with three separate companies. And the last company is the one that kind of like, accepted me, but the only position they had available was in the IT department. Which you know, on the face of it was like, "Alright, at least my foot is in the door," But I always knew like, I did not want really, to be in the IT field. You know, my major was going to be business management with a specialization in finance. And I always said, like, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, but I wanted to make as much money as I could. I had when I was growing up this vision, like I want to be a millionaire, I just want to make as much money as possible. And of course, not knowing much, I thought, okay, Business Management seems to be like the place people make money... business. So when I got this internship and it was in the IT department, I was like, "Alright, I'll make this work." And by the way, I had some amazing experiences as an intern in the IT field. And it's funny, I wasn't really doing any IT work as an intern, it was doing more like admin-related things. But the way Inroads works is, and how it used to work. I'm not sure it's the same now, but they... you would be at this company and you would go back each year until you're graduating and the goal was for that company to offer you a full time position before you even left for your senior year in college. And so, I knew that I got this position for my first internship that summer from freshman year to sophomore, it was in the IT department. The second internship, so my second summer, which was my sophomore to junior year was also in the IT field, but it was like in a different department. It was still in like the IT division, but different departments again, very admin bases, and project management based, I wasn't actually doing much IT work. And I remember saying to myself, "I have one more internship year." So from my junior to senior year, which was very important, because that, that year is where the, like, your division may potentially offer you a full time job. And so I said to myself, "Well, I only have one more year, I don't want to have a full time job in the IT department. I want to go..." and I remember looking at the structure of the organization that I was in, and I said, "I want to go to the investments department," that is the ,I don't know what I want to do in investments, I had an idea, I knew I wanted to potentially be in real estate. But I said, "I need to somehow get to that department." So here it comes. I'm now kind of doing my interviews to get to my junior to senior year of internships at the company. And I go to the Inroads, like, coordinator at the company and I say, in the IT department, and I say, "You know, I really would like to switch to the investments department, I'll still be an Inroads intern, but I don't want to be in the IT internship program here. I want to be in the investments internship program." And you know, there was some pushback, they were like, "Well, you know, you've been interning with IT for a few years now. And when a department kind of sponsors you, they want you to stay there." And I said, "Okay, but is there any way that I can talk to someone over in the investments department who runs that internship?" And you know, they weren't really helpful. I remember having to find the person who was the investment Inroads person. And the other thing about this was, the investment department was in New Jersey. The other departments were in New York City. I lived in Brooklyn when I was home in the summer, but the commute from Brooklyn to Manhattan, it was a train ride. The commute from where I was at home in Brooklyn to New Jersey, I had to drive. Luckily, I did have a car, but I could also take the train. So remember, that was something they said too like, "You know, it's pretty far out, we don't know that you'd be able to make it." And I said, "Okay, let me just talk and let me at least visit the department in New Jersey," the investments department, this is the building that had all the investments for this company. And I made like, I contacted that person who was in charge of the Inroads program, and I made an appointment. This is me at-- how old was I-- must have been like, was that 19? I believe I was around 19 kind of doing this, taking the initiative. Anyway, fast forward, have the appointment, it goes... meet the lady. And even she's just like, "Well, you know, like, we have people who have already applied to be in the investments internship." And I was like, "Well, I know, but is there any way that I can be considered, because this is what I really wanted to do." I eventually, part luck, obviously, but part also my just insistence, I get my third internship in the investments department in real estate. And it was perfect, because I was like, "Okay, this is where I want to be." And so yes, my commute was longer I had to drive, they had to make some changes, but I was able to switch my internship to real estate investments my third year instead of being an IT. And from that, before I even left, for my senior year of college, the company offered me a full time position in investments. Like they had an offer letter for me before I went off to my senior year. And you know, basically it was like, "Hey, you can accept this job, you have this amount of time to, to basically say yes," and I remember not really going on many interviews, my senior year was really great, because I had this job offer. And I was like, "Why am I looking for any other jobs?" You know, I like to keep things simple, and easy. And I was like, "Listen, I'm just gonna take this job in investments and make it work." So all of that, I believe that navigating authority, pushing back when people wanted me to stay in a certain lane, advocating for myself was what got me my full time position. And then eventually, even with that, I had to navigate out of the position, so when they offered me my position, it was investments, but it wasn't the type of job I wanted in investments. It, eventually they offered me a full time position and they place you where they just had space, and they placed me in portfolio management. But I always knew I wanted to work with a direct asset, that asset being real estate. So again, I navigated after a year or two to the real estate department, which is another, just people telling me maybe not, no, you should stay here, but me understanding what I needed to do. And getting into the investment department definitely set me up at a starting salary that was more than the IT department route that I was going.

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So advocating for myself set me up with a great starting base rate salary. I'll tell you right now, when I graduated from college, years ago, years, years ago, my starting salary, I believe it was either $50 or $55,000. Which is not that bad, okay? For a 22 year old. And I believe I had like a $5,000, like,signing bonus, you know? So and i don't know that it would have been that much if I was in IT. And even if it was, the way that the investments department is set up at the company and a lot of places is,it's based on a bonus structure, like you know, you're dealing with the money, right? And I remember because I eventually when I transferred and finally got into real estate, we were dealing with billions of dollars of investments. And so the potential for income in those positions were just a lot more lucrative than the IT track that I was on. Not to say that you can make a lot of money in IT, because you can, but for where I was in my trajectory, and that was the way. And so I think about that all the time. What if I never would have advocated for myself? What if I would have been too scared to push back on, you know, these grown ups telling me no? And telling me, you know, they had some logical concerns about the commute and things that were important on their end, but I don't think I would have been making the type of money I was making, or in the position that I was if I had not-- from that age at 19, pushed back and advocated for myself. So okay, that's a big example. The small example is saving a couple $100... well, it wasn't $100 at the museum was like a couple dollars, but it was something at the museum and pushing back on authority. And then this big example is probably literally like 10s of 1,000s of dollars of a difference and just a career that was impacted by my ability to push back on authority.

And so you think, where did that come from? Like, how did I know and learn to do that? I would say that part of that is, I think, just natural for me, in terms of my mom always said this, like, you know, there's just some kids, if you have kids, you just know some of your kids are just naturally the type of kid that's going to just question things and talk back potentially, right? Like I have, I have three kids, I all three of them are kinda like that. And so I think naturally, that was a part of me. But I also think my mom helped cultivate that, because she also didn't grow up with much of a voice, meaning she was not allowed to really push back. She was raised by old school Jamaicans where it was like, kind of like you're seeing not heard, and like she would get in trouble, like if she if she expressed herself in a certain way. And because of that she allowed me to fully express myself. She allowed me to question authority and say to her, "Hey, I don't like this," you know, like I could say to her, "I don't feel like I'm being treated fairly," and I wouldn't get in trouble. And so that is how I believe that I had the kind of courage to do what I was doing at such a young age. When people say to me, "How did you know to buy your first place at such young age?" And I talk about my story of buying a condo in Brooklyn. All that, I think it's just cultivated too,from the way my mom raised me. And so you may be thinking to yourself, maybe, "Oh, I have some similarities. Like maybe my parents encouraged me to do that. And so I can see why and how I've been able to get to where I gotten to," and maybe you're more like my mom where you were not able to question authority. It was harder for you. And so you may be seeing the results of the lack of being able to practice your practical intelligence in your life right now. In how you interact with your coworkers, your boss, people around you. They don't even have to be people who are like in control of your career, but just like things like at the grocery store. At you know, the museum. Friends, anyone, like you may notice that you have a hard time speaking up for yourself. Or, you maybe you speak up for yourself, but if you get any pushback you stop, right? Like if a person doesn't agree with you, or says something that is not in alignment, with what you think should happen, you just, you kind of give up. And so I think identifying if you are-- have a stronger, you know, if there's a scale of one through 10, and you're like, "Well, I feel like I'm more of a 10 in terms of the way I navigate authority and people," versus, "You know what, wow, like I realized I don't actually speak up for myself often. I don't question what I know should be questioned because I'm afraid that people won't like me, or I'm afraid of what will happen." Is, the first is to be honest with yourself, you know, where do you fall in that?

The other concepts are surrounding practical intelligence. I wanted to talk about this, is also through Steinberg's subtheory of intelligence, he talks about these three ways in which you can fit into your environment, because part of this is, like, environment and being comfortable in any environment, or at least adapting to it in a way to you don't need to adapt anymore. And so he talks about these three processes: Adaptation, shaping, and selection. When it comes to being able to fit yourself or interact with environment. And I thought these were really key,because I do think you have to be able to do all three of these things, not all at the same time, but they do benefit you in some way. So the first one is adaptation. So this occurs when you change oneself in order to better adjust to the surroundings. For example, something really simple. If the weather changes, you can put some clothes on, right? I feel like adaptation, unfortunately, for people of color, that's what we call code switching. Black people sometimes, like when we go into the corporate space, we talk a bit different, and we present ourselves differently than we would with our friends, because it's not necessarily the social norm, if we're in spaces that are not people that are like us, right? Like it's different. And so there's one way we talk with our coworkers, and it's another way we talk with our friends. So that adaptation is important to be able to turn it on and off. Unfortunately, it shouldn't be that way. Everyone should be able to show up as themselves, but we all know that that is not the case. You still have to adapt to your environment. The other type of creating, basically, this "fit" with your environment is called shaping. So again, this is from Steinberg's subtheory of intelligence. That all goes under the practical intelligence theory. So shaping is the second one, where it occurs when change, when one changes their environment to better suit their needs. So this is when you you don't change yourself to fit in, you change the environment to fit in. And but that means you have a little bit of control over that environment. So in the example here, they say like a teacher may invoke a new new rule or raising hands to speak to ensure that the lesson is taught with the least possible disruption. So the teacher has some authority here and can say, "Hey, you know what, I'm changing the environment. I'm going to set the tone for the environment and change the way things are done, so it can better fit the way I need things to get done." And this is important, in a way, because if you think about it, while there are a lot of things outside of our control, in some instances, especially if you're working for someone else, there are ways in which you can potentially see what you can control in that environment. Whether it is your desk, or your space, if you're working back in the office in person, or even if you're working from home, like what in your environment can you change to help better suit your goals and your needs? The third one that they talk about is the process of selection. So that's when, you know, you do a new, complete, alternative environment to replace the previous one that's not working. And I love this example that they have, this is, I'm reading this from Wikipedia, and it says in this example of the process of selection, this can relate to when immigrants leave their lives in their homeland countries where maybe they're in during just economic and social hardships, and they go to another country for a better life. And I mean, I obviously, can relate to this because, this is basically my mom's story and how we got here and so many stories of you listening and your parents, right? Like this, you know, this environment is not working for me at all. I cannot change this, like, so that's like someone quitting their job right? And finding another job that's you know, jumping into being an entrepreneur. That is leaving a country or somewhere that you once knew for something else, for something different. And so it's important, because your environment, your, your ability to connect, and fit in or change your environment is so important, because I find that the people who feel that they have no say, no authority within their own environment, no way to change it, or no way to adapt in the meantime, you know, we all have those people, I have them in my life, right? Where it's like, I can go into the same environment as someone else. And I can make it out by adapting, right? If it's not something I can change, if I know that I have to just do this to get something done. I can adapt for the short amount of time, potentially, that it may take. I can, kind of, almost like what personalities work with any personality. And it is a skill. And I'm not saying that everyone has to do this, but I realized that in even navigating the corporate world, and the entrepreneurship world, my ability to adapt to environments, to change environments, to control what I can control has greatly impacted what I've been able to do, who I've been able to meet. Sometimes I think of these things as more obvious, because I do realize that it's been so impactful in my life and career, but sometimes it's not as obvious. And you might be thinking to yourself, "Well, I'm, I'm stuck here, or I'm not making a lot of money. Or I'm in this position with my boss who is just contentious, or it's just not the right thing. And this is the reason why I can't make money. This is the reason why I can't reach my goals. And I'm miserable." And while some of those things may be true, right? It's your reality and you have the right to your reality and your truth is also okay, but what are you going to do about it? And I always say, Are you going to make the environment your enemy? Because I always say anything you push back, pushes back more. So once you start not liking something, once you this, like you know the meme were the girls eating her crackers, and it's like, once you don't like someone, everything they do is annoying, so that you see the little girl eating the crackers, you like look, even the way she eats her crackers is annoying, right? And so I really do believe once you see your environment as bad or people as bad, then you will react as such and will only push back and make it worse.

And so how do you adapt when you need to adapt? How do you know when to push back on authority and when to not push so much right? We all know those people where, yes, I think entitlement in a way is good for especially for people who have not been able to feel entitled or empowered, right, in this society and in certain positions. You should walk in with some entitlement, because you do deserve more. But there is a there is a line. You know and I know there are some people who, their entitlement and the way they are, is a turnoff and prevents them from getting more out of people in life, right? And so there's this fine balance. And, so, I want to talk a little bit now about what you can do. What you can do, currently, in your life now, to gain more authority over your life, but then also be able to interact with authority better. How and how you can potentially cultivate this in your kids and yourself. So I would say, one, you know, read. Read as much as you can. I'm going to link some resources in the episode show notes, so wherever you're listening to this, if you're listening to this on my site, so my website, journeytolaunch.com, just go there you'll see all the episodes ever released. And the show notes for this episode, which is in the bio, you'll be able to see the links, right? So, I'd recommend reading Malcolm Gladwell book, "Outliers," which talks a little bit about this. It talks about, in general, what makes people outliers and great and practical intelligence is a part of that. I'm going to link some other resources also, but again, it's being honest to yourself about yourself and listen when I say, like, questioning authority it's funny, because I actually don't feel like while I question authority I'm not someone that just, every time I see injustice and or feel like I'm being slighted I'm saying something. I'm also not like that. There are times where I'm just like people would expect me actually to say more in this situation, but I've come to the point in my life where I have limited amounts of energy and I don't need to fight everything. There are some things I just let go. I'm just like, I'm not it's not even worth it for me to put the energy in here. I'm not trying to be a crusader and save every single person or dollar, honestly. So part of it is understanding in yourself, are there moments, are there things that you are not doing, not advocating for? Or that is that is trying to you know, get make more money at your job, so you need to talk to your boss and have a raise. whether it is speaking up in that meeting, and you know, you have an idea, say that idea. You know the person... Billy does not know everything. You know things too! Or Billy may... this is the wrong thing that Billy said and you can speak up for yourself and say something differently, right? So it's realizing when those moments are happening. If it is something you can let go, because it's not worth it for you to push back on, or it's something that you should speak up about. And then practice it. So, maybe, going to your boss, who is not the best person or nicest, and pushing back right away is like too much of a jump. But maybe it is your doctor, or it's someone who is saying something you don't agree with. Practice it in a small way with people,where it's not rude. So I'm not asking you to go out and just start arguing with people. That's not what we're gonna do, Journeyers. We are talking about just advocating and asking questions. It doesn't even have to be a contentious, I don't agree with you, it can be, "Oh, I have a question. What does this mean?" And especially if, you know, you are paying someone, anyone to do something for you. So you know, your doctor may be a lawyer that you're working with? Even if you're you have kids, right? And you there's a teacher that you for your kid that you have a question about. Practice it in those ways. So I would say find opportunities in your like everyday life, whether big or small. So you can start small, to start asking questions, and to start expressing a difference of opinion in a positive way if you can, to someone else.

Now, when it comes to your kids, I think this is really important. You know, people always ask me, "How do I invest and make sure my kids are set financially." And I'm like, "Yep, that's important." But, because of the way I was raised, and the results that I've gotten from my life, I realized that the greatest gift my mom gave me was the ability to fully express myself and believe in myself. So she did the financially, she's helped me in ways. So there was something she did financially, which I'm so grateful for, but to me, what was bigger that she did for me was she allowed me to express myself. She instilled confidence in me, she allowed me to push back with her without getting in trouble. So, while we are looking at the numbers, and how much we want our kids to have in their bank account, and you know, 529s, and all these things. Fine, yes, you can do that, but what's more important, if you don't have extra money to do that, is to instill confidence in your kids. It's to allow them to practice this with you. It's okay if your kid disagrees with you. It's okay if they tell you no, right? Like, they can be a conversation around that, because you don't want, when they go into the real world, and an adult who they should not trust, who is not the type of adult they should be listening to. And we all know there are unfortunately, a lot of those type of adults in the world. You want them to know how to push back, in a way right and respectfully, but then sometimes it may not it, they may have to advocate for themselves in a more aggressive way. So you want them to practice that with you first. You even want that with potential other authority figures in their lives. So they can be with you respectfully, right? If they don't agree with something, allow them to express that they don't agree with it. With teachers, you know? With doctors. So I love the idea of when you're taking your kids to the doctor, you say to your kid, "Do you have any questions for the doctor," or before you get to the doctor, maybe because I know how my kids are, if I ask them that they're just gonna look at me like they can't speak. They, my kids act so shy in front of other people, but at home, they are all mouth... they are. They talk, they like talking so much. And then in front of other people, they don't know how to talk. So, what you can do if you have kids like mine, and they're kind of shy sometimes is to ask them before they go to the doctor. Do you have any questions for the doctor? And that way, they know that they have a space to ask you. And then when you get to the doctor, you can say well, John, you know, was curious about this right, John? And hopefully, open a dialogue.

Okay, so practical intelligence, I hope that this conversation around it was helpful. I know that once I was able to put a name or word to what it was, that was happening in my life of why I was able to navigate situations, and negotiate my way into different spaces. And it's still happening today. Even as an entrepreneur, there are things where I'm like, "Hmm, that would be interesting for me to like, do and or learn about," and it's someone who's of authority, or maybe they have a, you know, a bigger following and or just in a different type of position or even in like the business side of my work, right? Like the lawyers and my agent, and I have to push back and question things and not just take what they tell me. And so again, it is going to be in every facet of your life.

So I hope that this was helpful for you. If it was let me know. You know, I love hearing from you. I am @journeytolaunch on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. I mostly hang on Instagram. So take a screenshot of you listening to this. Tell me about how you've used practical intelligence in your life, small or big, you know, and when I say that, it means how did you navigate a situation and advocate for yourself or negotiate into a better situation for yourself? And then also it's not listen, be honest too, maybe you realize that "Hey, I have not been doing this and I want to do more of this." And so tell me that also @ me @journeytolaunch on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook to share this with me. Please share this with your family and friends. The more people who hear these episodes, the better. You know, don't be greedy, send this information out to people who can use this to help fuel them on their journeys.

Okay, and I also am finally able to share some exciting news, some big news. I am the host of Fidelity's brand new podcast, "Modern Life," and it's officially out now. It's so, kind of crazy and surreal that this is all happening. I'm probably will do a whole nother episode, a little bit more about just life and business updates, to include this, but the Modern Life Podcast, you can find that podcast wherever you listen to the Journey To Launch Podcast. I am the host, we are taking a fresh take on life, money, and redefining what matters. And talking about all the things. You'll gain personal and practical insights to help you live your best financial life. Some of the topics we're discussing are investing, career, parenting, entrepreneurship, and more. The first episode dropped on Tuesday, September 28th, depending on when you're listening to this, but it goes out every week until December. So you have time to listen. Check out Modern Life, hosted by me, wherever you listen to podcasts and don't worry Journey To Launch, the podcast, is still gonna happen. So you won't miss anything happening over here, but go out and check out this new podcast, hosted by me, Modern Life, too.

Don't forget, you can get the episode show notes for this episode by going to journeytolaunch.com, or click the description of wherever you're listening to this and you can still grab your Jumpstart Guide for free to help you on your journey to financial freedom by going to journeytolaunch.com/jumpstart. If you want to support me and the podcast and love the free content and information that you get here, here are four ways that you can support me in the show: One, make sure you're subscribed to the podcast wherever you listen, whether that's Apple Podcasts, that purple app on your phone, your Android device, YouTube, Spotify, wherever it is that you happen to listen, just subscribe so you are not missing an episode. And if you're happening to listen to this and Apple Podcasts, rate, review and subscribe there. I appreciate and read every single review. Number two, follow me on my social media accounts. I'm @journeytolaunch on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And I love, love, love, interacting with Journeyers there. Three, support and check out the sponsors of this show. If you hear something that interests you. Sponsors are the main ways we keep the podcast lights on here. So, show them some love for supporting your girl. Four, and last but not least, share this episode this podcast with a friend or family member or co worker, so that we can spread the message of Journey to Launch. Alright, that's it until next week. Keep on journeying Journeyers.