Welcome to working towards our purpose, a podcast that
offers a different perspective on what a job can be. For everyone
out there that's heard that voice in the back of their head asking for something
more, it's time Time to listen to it. I'm your host, Gino,
and join me as I interview people who have decided to work in their
own purpose. Together, We will learn, become inspired,
and hopefully find our own path towards working in our purpose.
Joining me today is Genevieve Paturro who is an inspirational speaker,
an author, a consultant, and the founder of Pajama Program, which is a
nonprofit she started to give pajamas kids who are living in shelters
and didn't have any. Her book, Purpose, Passion, and Pajamas
won the National Indie Excellence Award, and she was also featured on
Oprah. Genevieve, I'm really happy to have you here. How are you doing today?
I'm fine, Gina. Looking forward to our conversation. Me too. Me
too. So So why don't you tell us, you know, to get started a little
bit about yourself. I'm interested in, like, your background, your schooling,
like, what you did in the corporate world. I know you had a a corporate
career and, kinda just share, you know, whatever you feel comes to you.
Sure. Sure. Well, I was born and raised in New York in a
very, very traditional Italian family. So I know you know
a little bit about that with your name. You know? Yes. Yes. Yeah.
My dad came Off the boat from Italy with his father. He
was 15. And, of course, they wanted the American dream, you know,
and and my grandfather wanted my dad To get married and have a
family in the United States and give them everything that he could.
And so he married my mom who was American but Italian background,
And they raised 4 of us, and I was the 1st born.
So I felt a lot of pressure to uphold
all the traditions, and there were Most of them I loved. What's
not to love about, you know, just hugs and kisses
and great food and, you know, Always having family around. That
was all the good stuff, but my parents wanted me to get married and have
kids. I felt that. Although they didn't always say that, I knew that was expected,
but I used to sneak down and watch Mary Tyler Moore and watch
strong women, and I loved the idea
of Being on my own, maybe because I was, you know, the
oldest and I had 3 to to, you know, follow after me and looking
up, Yeah. To what I was doing and watching, and I was I felt pressured
to, you know, be a good example. But that was the the small
part of me that was Really leading me. You know, how can I be a
corporate woman in a in a man's world and make my way that way? So
I followed that dream. And it was rocky with my my parents, of
course, because, you know, through the for a loop, but I did
that. And I went to Fordham in New York, I studied communications,
and I worked at WFUV Radio. And from there, I went on to do
radio and then TV. And for 12 years, Was in the TV world
and went up to VP marketing, and it was an exciting life. It was
exactly what I expected. But I didn't realize
until a Voice in me when I had
a quiet moment in my apartment, a question
came to me from from here. I'm pointing to my heart because I know
the difference between this and this now, the head and I heard a quiet
whisper ask if this is the next 30 years of your life, is this
enough? And it stopped me cold, and I realized
there was something missing. That if I kept going at the rate I was,
workaholic, crazy schedule on my own, I'd be really
tired and alone in 30 years. And, yeah, the money
was good, and I had pretty things. But in a moment,
You know, sort of like the light went on, and I said, okay. But what
is that really gonna leave me feeling? And I realized that there
were things in that tradition that I'd been Raised in that would
have filled that hole, and one of them would have been children. So I thought,
how can I bring children into my life, in the life I have now?
And that's when I remembered a news report I saw of police and
social workers sort of storming an apartment and taking the children out of
a very unsafe, unhealthy,
scenario. And I said, I wonder if I can find where they bring
those children in these cases and maybe visit with them. So I called the
shelters. 1st, I called the police. They told me about the shelters, and I called
the shelters and asked if I could come in at night and read to the
children, And they welcomed me. And that's how
purpose started to come into my language because I don't know about
you or about your listeners, but Nobody ever asked me
when I was thinking about what I wanted to do, you know, have you discovered
your purpose? You know, that's important that your North Star. Never heard that
word. And even later, I thought purpose
was reserved for very special purpose, you know, famous people who did
something Earth shattering and, you know, changed the world,
like Oprah and Deepak Chopra and Einstein and Alexander Graham Bell,
all those people. But I've learned, you know, that if if I had a
purpose that I found through that, what came next,
everybody has a purpose. And I started
reading in the shelters, and that's when I met the little girl that changed
everything. So that's part 1. And
2nd part is is so simple.
I started reading to these children, and I
saw after I read to them the room they were going to sleep in. Now
this was an emergency shelter, so they were very safe,
Caring, loving caregivers, but it's not a home.
Certainly isn't a home you'd know or I'd know or probably your listeners and viewers
would know. So when I stared in that empty room with cots and futons and
the kids just they were in soiled clothes, whatever the
police or social workers grabbed them, They were still wearing,
unless there was something in their size at the emergency shelter just
for 24 hours to put on. They were uncomfortable, and and
they were wriggling around. And some of them were crying trying to fall asleep.
And I thought, this isn't bedtime. My mom's bedtime for us
flashed in front of my mind and kissing and hugs and snacks and
story after story and giggles, you know, and tucking us
in. And, of course, We had pajama time. We had put on
our pajamas, and that's what stuck out to me. No
pajamas. And they were trying to get comfortable in the clothes they've been wearing for
who knows how long. And I brought pajamas the next time with the
storybooks. And after I read them, I started handing them out. And
My world turned upside down when a little girl asked me quietly,
what are pajamas? And I found
myself trying to stay calm because I was exploding inside.
I was just heartbroken having to explain pajamas to her, and
the staff Passion told me she has no idea she's never had
pajamas. And that began this
obsession That now you know, that became Pajama
program 23 years ago. Thank you for
sharing that whole story. I really love, the way you articulate it
and and, you know, kinda how you walk through it and so many so many
different directions I can go in that. But I think the first thing I wanna
talk about is You mentioned early on, like, when you first heard
that voice in your head and and you were listening to your heart maybe
instead of your head. And That's something that, like, I've noticed
as of recent since I've left corporate, the difference between the 2. Right? Because you
can think your way out of anything, but, Like, feeling something
is is a much different feeling. And I think a lot of times as
someone who is very in their head, All the time, I used to be in
engineering, you know, very logical, analytical. Like,
figuring out or or being able to feel the difference between that 2, has been,
like, A game changer as far as making decisions and going forward.
Was that something that came to you easily, or, like, were you always
able to kinda, like, Make decisions with your heart versus your head? Was that something
you're aware of? How like, what was that like for you?
I think I think it was split. I think looking
back, there were heartfelt decisions in
there. But I know I ran everything through
my brain first. Mhmm. And it was
hard for me To trust what I wanted to
do because my brain was telling me, you have
a mortgage. You've been in this business for 12 years.
Where are you going to get money to pay for your life? You're
not gonna get money for giving kids pajamas, and you're gonna Fired because
you're doing all of this behind everybody's back, and you're really
a terrible employee all of a sudden, so you're not gonna get away with this.
So what are you doing? And so I felt that constantly,
which is why I didn't tell anyone for months what I was doing. I
was trying to juggle. You know? And in my book, One of the lessons is
leave juggling to the clowns because you obviously, I made a mess of
things, and I I really
I really had to find a way to switch
the leader from head to heart. And I
think I just consistently followed my
heart even though my head was saying, you're crazy. You're headed for trouble. You don't
understand. There came a point where it switched.
And because your brain our brains are smart.
What happened and I tell people this is what happens. Your brain
says, okay. I see. The heart's going so
I'm smart. Let me help. And that's really what it
felt like in time. So it
reversed. My my head still kept me
smart, but it It was behind the heart. That make any
sense? Yeah. That makes total sense. I I love the way that you said that.
Yeah. It's Almost like with a practice, your brain learns, like, alright. I guess
I guess we'll listen to this this other voice sometimes and, like Yeah. We'll
help it where we can. That Yeah. That's that's that's really interesting.
So tell tell me what it was like to to balance the the both of
them. Like you said, it was, You were keeping it a secret, and same thing
for me. Like, I never told anybody about the side business that I had. And
especially when I was sent home for COVID and and, like, nobody was watching me,
I felt Extremely guilty for doing both jobs, 2 laptops all at the same
time. What was that like for you, and and
what eventually made you break? Yes. I get
I get what you're talking about. But I was hiding in an office
because it was years ago when there was no COVID, and you couldn't bring your
phone to work, which was the size of a shoebox. And I was lying. I
was bringing in pajamas in suitcases because I was gonna make it
mad dash at lunchtime, and I never took lunch. I was a
workaholic. I came in before everyone, and I left after everyone. And then I never
took lunch. But now I was coming in late because I had to get to
any store that opened at 9 or earlier, Took a long
lunch and left early to buy pajamas and bring them to the
shelters. And I was coming in with suitcases and just saying I was gonna visit
a friend For a weekend, I was staying overnight, you know, and
nobody ever looked in the suitcase, so I thought I was okay. And I was
answering the phone because not only were the shelters calling me that I
was that I knew about, but they were sharing my name with other people who
ran shelters. So I was getting new calls. I didn't wanna miss any of them.
And my work was clearly deteriorating. I mean, because it was not a
priority anymore. I was more concerned about saying yes to
everybody who called and finding a way. So The bills were mounting.
My work was deteriorating. I was giving no one an explanation, and I
didn't have anyone that I had to tell. But I did
I did think it would come to a point where I'd have to tell someone,
and I needed some support. So I picked sort of a
neutral friend. I really thought about who to pick because I didn't want Because I
didn't want anyone to get me in trouble who knew what I was doing could
get to my bosses. And I didn't want anyone close to my family, but
I wanted someone who also was sort of a workaholic because I felt like maybe
they would say, yeah. You know what? I feel empty too. So I picked a
friend. We went out for drinks. And I practiced
before I saw her what I was gonna say, and every time I practice, it
sounded ridiculous. You know, I'm I'm gonna quit my job because I met this little
girl. She didn't know Pajamas were, I can't believe it. Can you believe
it? I just all these kids never had pajamas. This is
what I wanna do. And I just I was hoping she'd say I'll help you
because I needed help. Instead, she knocked me down
completely. I mean, Question after question, valid
questions. But to me, it was like she was stabbing me in the
heart. Why are you doing this? You're not saving their lives. Can't you just do
it on an afternoon, on the weekend? You worked so hard 12 years. How are
you gonna pay your bills? And it was, like, coming from
everywhere. And I I was I was just
I was torn up because I knew that she had valid
points and I had no answers, But I was heartbroken that she didn't
feel what I felt, that this can't stay this way. We need to
get everybody to help. So I clamped up again
for more months. So that was really hard.
That was really hard. Really hard. And one of the lessons that I I also
Teachers, you gotta get your cheerleaders because making a change like that,
as you've said, is is lonely, and you doubt
yourself. And you worry, you know, if you found out, at least I did, that
I'd be in worse trouble. So it was it was really
difficult for me. And then I just I just
tried again when I met a great guy who I knew that he expected
me, you know, to be a a 2 income relationship. And I
figured, let me tell him before I get in too deep. And I
said the same thing I said to to the my girlfriend, and he said, I
think you should go for it. And that was the 1st cheerleader, and it felt
really right. That's yeah. That's awesome. It
it's so important to Surround yourself with people who can,
I don't know, see see similar visions or see, like, the good in you, I
guess? Yeah. Or feel, like you were saying before,
lead with their hearts, but but so many of us don't.
Yeah. Yeah. You know? And the automatic Reaction is
the practical questions. Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. And
and for me, figuring out, like, Why those
people are coming from there has been extremely helpful in not, like,
personalizing those conversations. Because I've had similar conversations when I first started
and Just felt stupid telling friends, like, what I wanted to do and then, like,
feeling small and not wanting to do it anymore. But there's there's such
value in, like, Being able to have a connection with somebody, and they kinda, like,
see where your vision is or, like, inspire you even more to
to keep going towards that. And, I mean, for me, like, networking
has been a huge help in that. Like, for a while, I was doing stuff
all alone, and then I became part of this co working place where I just
met all these awesome people. And yeah. There's it it's so much
help is all around you if if you're kinda, like, open and and willing to
it. And and also kind of being, like, intentional with who you share yourself
with, I think is is also kind of important. So so what was
the the the moment where you eventually did decide to leave
corporate? I mean, it must have been a difficult decision. It
was. Well, there was there was an episode at work
where I was, Packing up some
materials, and I was supposed to go on the road and send materials ahead of
me. And my boss He traveled a lot, which I was thankful for because that's
why I got away with a lot. Mhmm. He was there, and he came
over. And I I mean, I was always on edge because I knew There are
other people probably noticed I was a different person, and he might. And
he just looked at what I was packing up. And in that moment,
I saw the way I was organizing the materials, which
was a a mess. And he just said, what are you doing?
What are you doing? And my mind was like,
does he know? Was he asking me the deeper question other
than what are you putting in the box? And
that was the moment I said to myself, and I didn't say anything to
him. I said, I'll I'll fix it. I'm my mind is somewhere else. And I
and I knew then, and And I had to have a discussion with him when
I got back. I didn't tell him, and I don't know to this day
if he knows about that that moment. But I had to
say, I have to do something else, and I didn't go into it.
But, coincidentally, the company was having
some issues too, so I felt, okay, let me see if he'll
buy me part time to ease some
of the financial concerns he had,
and it worked. So I went part
time. And that was that was hard because that's a big
Salary change, but I didn't care, which was pretty selfish,
on my part. Because by then, I was with the
the the man that I married, and I put it all on him.
And I and I you know, through the rocky financial time, which
was a lot Because then I quit. I just always kept
kept saying to him, well, you told me to go for it, so, you know,
Now is the time you can, you know, you can help here.
Mhmm. And he didn't have a big paying job either, so
It was it was trying. It was really trying. But
when I knew I was letting somebody down and that I wasn't gonna
go back and fix it, I had to come clean, sort of. I didn't
tell him honestly, but I did back out, so I wasn't a disappointment
to my my employer. Right. And and even
to yourself, I'm sure, because it took you know, your whole career,
I'm imagining because I was the same way. Like, you wanted to be a good
employee. You wanted to do things well. And now Now all of a sudden, you're
not being a good employee and you're, like, almost questioning your own,
integrity and you'd be like, why am I, you know, doing this? But then,
You know? It it's for other reasons, and and, you know, like you said, you
had to move on to something else. Yeah. So yeah. That's I blocked
out the guilt Because otherwise, I I can you know, I think all of
us can carry guilt and do the wrong thing. And I I blocked it
out again selfishly Because I had work to do. I had
to get the pajamas, so I I focused on that, and I just put the
guilt in in a little compartment in the back of my brain.
Yeah. And and even that word selfish too, I think, is something that I think
about a lot lately, being selfish and being able to
Do what you think is right or or or to fill your own cup or
to to, I don't know, get yourself in a higher energy level.
Like, Selfish has, like, a bad term, but Mhmm.
If you can be selfish and get yourself into a position where then
you can help others, Then it's not really being selfish because in
the long run, you're able to help more people than you would have anyways. Like,
that's that's the biggest thing I noticed from corporate. Like, this huge anchor just came
off of me, and I was better to the people around me. I had time
to listen to my friends. I was more in the present moment. Like, that's kinda
coming from being selfish. And I don't know. I I guess, what what are your
thoughts on on being selfish these days in that word, selfish? Yes. I I
agree with you. I agree with you. I think we have to we have to
live our purpose, and we all have 1. And I think COVID showed us that
more and more people are saying looking back at their lives and saying, I did
all this and almost lost. We didn't know if we were gonna make it
through, and I did a lot of soul searching. And now I wanna switch doing
thing, you know, do something I really love, and it's Sort of an okay
feeling now, less selfish. But, you know, and I and I teach
this all the time. Listening to your heart And changing
what your path has been doesn't have to do with
starting a nonprofit. It has to do with what you love because as you said,
That is contagious. How you are when you are doing
what you're meant to do, what's yours to do, and you discovered it early
or late, It changes your relationships. It changes your
attitude, your vibration. It changes people around you for the better.
You know, you can make A $1,000,000,000 singing, and that's your purpose. And
look how you fill the world with love. That's not
nonprofit. The same with any Anything you do,
you're sharing something from your heart, and other people
feel it, and you raise their vibration as well. So it can be anything.
Yes. Contribution. I love that. And that's why I loved reading your book because it
it's you're doing that. Right? You're showing by example, like, what you
did to follow your purpose, and now you're other people around you. And and
even so, I know that you're, you know, doing more speaking and
writing you have a second book and Kinda like sharing your story now and and
getting to that stage. What what is that been like for you as far as,
like, transitioning to to be more of a, I don't know. Sharing
what you've done or or who you are. Yeah. Well, I
want to inspire people because, like you and I, we changed paths.
You know, we were already set for many years, and it's
okay to change. Yeah. Just just change if you
wanna change. And And doesn't matter how old you are. It doesn't matter what you
wanna do. If it sounds ridiculous to other people, there are ways
to to Share and to find people who will support you
because we all feel like we're talking about alone and
embarrassed, and we don't know where start, I had no idea what a five zero
one c three was until I got a an onslaught of packages because of an
article in a magazine. And a letter came in that
Thousands of packages. A letter said, please send us your 501c3 so we can send
you a grant. And I didn't even know what that was. And talk about
feeling dumb and having to start to ask Questions about that because here I
am. I'd, you know, I'd given to some charities, and I volunteered once or twice,
but I didn't even know what that was and what it entailed. But I
knew At that moment, I had to do this to be
responsible to all the people who were now trusting me with their, you know, their
goods and their pajamas and their books for the kids and their money. So
I try to inspire people not to get stuck there and turn
back. But If I did it
because I did it in a in a messy way, but I learned a lot
of lessons, I want them to know it's not late, and it's
so, So worth it. Mhmm. So,
what what would be the first thing that you would tell somebody who, you
know, Has had the list of excuses or, you know, the monetary
reasons or thinks it's too big of a task? Because I think that's that's part
of it too. It's just it seems like this insurmountable task that you Don't know
where to start. What what would you say to to help somebody out like that?
Well, first, I'm a jumper. So I jump. I still do
it, And I figure out how to swim after I jump into the
water. But there's a slide and there's a jump, so I've learned
that. And for many people, a slide is either
Something to continue for the rest of their lives or something that will take them
to a jump. But if they are say they're in in a job that
they like, But they love to sing, or they love
to care for animals, or they love to do
flower arrangements, whatever it is, but they don't Think that they can make a living
or as much money as they need, then slide that into
your life, and I teach that too. Even an hour A
week doing what you love, whether you can do it hands on or you
can immerse yourself in the field, research, talk to people who've
done it. Find a way to bring it a little bit into your life every
week, and that will change your whole attitude. Because putting it
on the back burner and shoving it in the back It's such a disservice to
yourself and to your heart and to the reason that you're here.
It's it's not giving it The the breath and the
and the light that it should have. So even
an hour a week, and there's so many ways to get that power
in your week, Will make you feel great, and other people will notice the
change in you because you've given yourself this major gift.
And if for the rest of your life, that fills you,
then a slide, it is. And if you
find, whether you decide at the beginning, I'm ready for a jump, Or you
say, you know what? I like this slide. I'm starting to see a
path, then great. And I can help you get there, but you
know That you know, that's where you're headed, and it's a little
easier to digest. Yeah. I love that, because
it's it's not just black and white. There's there's many different ways you can go
about it. And I was I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday who
I hadn't seen in a little bit, and we were kinda talking about this. And
one thing that I was saying was, like, just Even just, like, talking about the
thing that you're excited about or you're passionate about, like, can you
know, you you tell somebody and you get a positive passion, and now you're excited
about it. Or maybe You get some feedback and it gives you an idea to
do something else and, like, just even, like, communicating that or or feeling
comfortable enough to communicate with somebody and and sharing something that maybe
feels vulnerable, which leads me to, like, the idea of human connection
and, like, meeting certain people who, You you know,
it's a there's, like, an unspoken thing about you. It
it's something that, like, I'm noticing all over the place now. And You meet somebody
and, like, another example, somebody that, like, I work with recently, like,
something that, like, I do that I don't really like talk about. I just, like,
shared freely. And I'm, like, wow. I didn't really expect to share that, but I
did because of this certain, you know, connection that you have with somebody.
And I I I don't know. Talk to me about, like, human connection from your
experience and, like, how it's important for you. It
changed everything for me, and and it sounds like It changed everything
for you too because it's it it's it was awful
holding in this bursting energy that I had,
whether it was frantic to try to get to these kids
or the joy when I got to them and the little things that, you know,
that I saw, their reactions to the pajamas and things like that. It was
Awful not to share that. And when
my new husband said go for it, it sort of
made me breathe, and, of course, I started to tell more people. And when you
share, you find your purpose. And not everybody has to be your
people. There's certainly people who probably would say
I was crazy to give up what I gave up, and the life that I
continue to lead, you know, Isn't as
affluent. I get that, and that's, you know, and that's
okay. But when you find Your people who are doing
what they love and want to hear more and and ask you for
support and Let you into their heart when
they are considering a change. This is
bond that that that's created, and then you can Show them
and lead them to more people who will be supportive. And imagine if
we all did that. We all shared. Oh, you wanna Play guitar?
Okay. I know some people. Let me put you in touch with them. And those
people have a heart open for the new
person. It's just It's just a magical connection that
we that we need, that feeds us, that should be more
natural than we give it credit for Because we're
as I say, we're in this together. And if I've learned
anything, and and it's my number one lesson Because people used to
say to me what I used to think about other purpose. Wow. Look at 1
person. Look what they did. Look at at Oprah. She's 1
person. What a difference she made. And Martin Luther King was
1 person and, you know, and all these purpose,
everybody from from a president to a scientist
came up with that idea. Oh my gosh. Einstein was brilliant.
He changed everything. But it's it's not. Even when people said
that to me, look at one idea, it's not. It's it's not the power of
one that changes anything. It's the power of one another that
moves mountains and moves people.
And that's the way I believe we get things
done for ourselves and as a community, and that's how we give back.
And that's how legacies are are started because
people are left with the the memory
of this wonderful feeling about something that they're a part of.
Mhmm. Yeah. No. I I love that too. Uh-huh. I love the
way that you describe that. It makes it when when you speak, it
resonates with me a lot. And, I think, I don't know.
There's a there's something in your book, that I remember a passion in your book
where you're talking about, not knowing How to get from,
like, a to b, but just kinda, like, going for it and having
trust, and then almost magically, like, these things would kinda, like, pop up.
And, You know, it it seems like a miracle or or
whatever word you wanna use to describe it. Can you talk to us about that?
Maybe give us an example of a time that that happened to you and, Your
your thoughts on that now? Yes. It happens all the time. It's the way it
it's the way that it is, but we
Some of us don't believe it. Some of us push it away because it just
sounds like it it couldn't happen to me. But I can tell you, it
happens more and more, and it happened all All the 20 some
years, and it still happens, with pajama program. I have lots of examples, but I
didn't I didn't believe in that either. I'd call them coincidences,
you know, my first Life's a whole you know, good things happen, put good
energy out, and, okay, good things happen. Oh, yeah. I'm thinking about somebody, and
then they call. Wow. What a coincidence. That's a one off. But
Things things when you're on purpose. Like, the
universe, the invisible god, everything you believe in,
because If you believe we're not alone, when we're on purpose,
which is the way I believe we were designed to be,
things do happen. So, For instance, in my book, I I talk
about at the beginning, when I had that letter from someone who said, I
need your 501c3, and I researched it, and I said, oh my goodness. This is
a process the IRS. I have to do this. I need a lawyer. Now I
did not have money. I didn't have a job. I was never a
saver. So I didn't have money, and then I and I had quit my job
at that point. And we're in my 1 bedroom apartment, and
the boxes were up to the sky of people sending us stuff.
And I said to my new husband, And I and I
made a fist when I was leaving that day. I need to
find a lawyer. Now I didn't say it on purpose. I didn't
make a fist on purpose, and I left. I called him at lunch because
on the way to the office, just an hour and a half later, I'm on
the corner to cross the street in Manhattan, and I hear a man Call my
name. Genevieve. Genevieve, is that you? And I turned and I recognized him, but I
didn't know who he was. And he said, I'm Santiago. I'm Mary Stone.
Remember? We met a while ago. I'm an attorney. You know,
I couldn't believe it. He said, let's catch up. You
wanna have lunch? And I said yes. And we had lunch,
and we caught up. I told him I need an attorney
because and I gave him the short version of the story. And he said,
Well, I don't do that kind of law, but I know somebody who does. And
I was off to the races. And that happened. And to this day, my
husband says, make that fist. When you need that, Whatever you
did in that moment, make that fist, and he'll bring it to you.
Yeah. I like that. The the physical action of something. Yeah.
Yeah. And and talk to us more too about, like I know you're a vision
board person and, like, manifesting and, like, you know, meditating on
things, thinking how things feel. How how important is that in your, like,
daily life? Is it something that you always come back to? Is it something you,
like, start with, or what's it like for you? Always. I'm I'm looking at my
vision board right there, and I change it, you know, at least once a year,
beginning of the year. And, yes, early on, my
number 1 cheerleader, my new husband, he said, You know, what
would change things? Because, of course, it was a struggle with the program financially.
And for me, just trying to figure it out
alone with his help and, You know, step by step. And
he said, what would be a game changer? This is a couple years in.
And I said, you know, getting on Oprah. And he said, okay. Let's
meditate. And I said, I didn't even know how to meditate.
And I said, well, everybody resting out on Oprah. I think
that's, like, you know, crazy. And he said, no. Let's go. And and he
there was a park by us, And we go there, and he he
literally told me, sit down, close your eyes, picture,
visualize, and Tell god, the universe,
whoever you want, you're open. Find a way. Find
a way to bring her Into the picture. Find a way to connect with
her. Sit quietly. And we did that. Now at first, I thought
this is crazy. You know, my mind was winning again in that
scenario, but I did it. I did
it. It felt fun. I pictured myself on her couch talking to
her. And, of course, you know, a couple years later, her
office called, her studio called, and I got on the show. So it it works.
And that's there are lots of other smaller things that happen that are on the
vision board, you know, goals and things. But It's
it's a daily practice for me, the meditation and the visualizing. And like I
said, I look at it. I'm looking at it now. It's everything from a picture
of me little Feeling joy because feeling joy as often as you
can every day changes your vibration, lifts
you, And, you know, and goals, financial goals, picture of
the beach house I want, all that stuff. You know, and I teach
it. You gotta Put up pictures that call you, that resonate with you, not just
picture of a Mercedes. Yeah. Look look through. It might be a Toyota
that calls you. That's the picture you need. Yeah. And and what was
it like when you finally, like, heard the news that you were
going to be on Oprah and that thing that you had Thought about and brought
into passion, like, was there. What what was that feeling like?
Yeah. Surreal. Surreal. You know, I I go into
detail in the book, and people can watch it on my website,
the episode, but it was very surreal. And when they called,
it was 2 weeks before from the first call to telling me that I would
be on the show. I didn't tell anyone, not even my husband, that they called
because they they kept calling and asking more questions. And, you know, of
course, I was waiting to find out if they were gonna say
okay or well, thank you very much. And I didn't want to
tell anyone because the last thing you ever want is to say, The show called
and then have to go around and say, but they didn't pick me, and I
did not want that. So I didn't say anything. And then she
said, You know, we'd like to book you. And then I I told just a
few people because, again, you have to get there. There's a tape, and it has
to go well, and there can't be any, you know, any Turnbacks.
So it was it was surreal in in
the the first part prepping with them for
my appearance, And then, actually, on the show, which
was really not how they prepped me because it was a surprise,
not to give it away. But that whole thing, what
came after was more than a game changer.
Mhmm. Yeah. That's that's awesome. And, yeah, I'll definitely leave some links
in the show notes so people can go see that video and, you know, get
to your website and all that sort of thing. I I do wanna Also ask
you about, certain things that, like, you've learned along the way. And, like, for me,
reading has been a really helpful thing, and there's certain books that have,
like, Pretty much changed the way that I see the world or, like, changed the
course of my life. Is there anything books or any other sort of things that
you've, like, been able to Consume and then it
changed, like, your vision on thing, anything that, like, stands out in particular?
Yeah. The the old books. You know, Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of
Positive Thinking, Bob Proctor's books
on, you know, how your thought influences and his videos
to this day. You know, he left us a couple years ago, but About seeing
things, and it's your attitude. It's your feeling, your vibration
that attracts things to you, whether it's good or bad, however you're
feeling. Those Those stories, those
books, they knew. Even Einstein is coming out now, Tesla.
All these people saw things in their minds, felt
things, Knew you know, you knew that they could
achieve they knew they had to go after what they wanted to achieve because it
was coming from some incredible forcing them.
And when you're guided and you feel this force in you
pushing you, pulling you to something, It's
it's an incredible overwhelming
feeling to go that way. And I think
people, you know, people I talked about it, you
know, the secret. It's it's true. You know? I lived
it, and I wouldn't have believed it before. But I lived it, and
I know it's true. And and every time I jump and try something
new, I have to get back to that and say, It's
real. You know? Don't get lost in the fear of something new all over
again. Just trust that it was the right time
to move. Yeah. That that that's a big one is fear.
And and I try to do that when I find myself going down those
spirals of negativity, like, thinking, like, am I thinking about this from a fear
standpoint or is it something else? And it's it's almost always something
being in fear. And then I can, like, recognize and be like, okay. Well, that's
just something that you're afraid of right now. You're not gonna feel like that tomorrow.
Just kinda, like, let it pass through you and move on to the next thing.
But yeah. Even just, like, For me, the language of energy
is something that, like, I learned from this book called The Celestine Prophecy, which
Oh, yes. I love that book so much. I tell everybody to read it. I
actually have multiple copies that I keep getting more. Read it again. Okay.
Yeah. I actually just started again, and I was afraid I've only read time, and
I was afraid to read it again because I didn't want it to be, like,
less significant. Yes. But as soon as I opened it, I was like, nope. It's
exactly the same. Yes. Yes. Yes. Good to know. I love that book.
Mhmm. Love that book so much. Yeah. So
what what's next for you? What what what are you excited about for the
future? Well, more live speaking engagements because we're
back doing live. And the reception's been
great because I think, again, Through and since COVID,
people are more willing to speak their truth and
find what they wanna do and Change, and
and so it's resonating. And I I'm I'm able to feel
like I can inspire people, and they're ready for it
More than ever. Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. I I definitely
feel that as well. Mhmm. Just people getting, like you know,
It's it's almost like a society wide, like, energy of, like,
annoyance and, like, just they're tired of it. They don't they don't wanna,
keep doing the the previous way of living or, you know Yeah.
Wanting something more. I think that's that's always the language that I've always used. It's
like just wanting something more. Yes. Not enough. But and this
Because, clearly, it's a you know, we're transitioning as Mhmm.
As a human race to this foreign freedom
that we were taught And some people still hold
as not allowed, you know, as selfish, and you have to
play by the rules. And people who don't Wanna see the change are, you know,
bucking the system, and the people who feel like
I don't have to do that anymore Or, you know, or
or changing things. Mhmm. Yeah. I I agree, and
that's something that's very exciting to me. And meeting more people who who
are, you know, Existing out of love instead of fear,
I guess, is maybe what it is. So yeah. And then,
you know, as we're coming coming to the end of our time here, I always
like to ask, What what does purpose mean to you? And and in your own
words, what is purpose? Well, I think definitely
following your hard voice And going in, you know, on my website,
I I have an exercise to find your purpose and and start there. Because
if if you can take some quiet time
And talk to yourself and be honest and
write down what yourself is telling you, Paper and
pen, not on a computer. It can be an amazing revelation,
and you discover things about yourself if you're honest that have
been there for a long time that we just push away because it's not acceptable,
or we don't see how we're gonna do it, or we have to turn everybody
else's life upside down if we make these changes or do this thing or say
these things. But it's if we're
honest a 100% honest with ourselves in in our
quiet, moment. We'll find
we'll discover the purpose that we have that's
that's unique to us. It can be a singer, like
other people are singers, but you have your own voice. You know, it can be
that you create a job That's doesn't
seem but it's on anybody's radar, but you
can create something. It's there. It's it's in
there, but we've covered it up with mounds and mounds
of doubt and fear and the way it's Always been and what will
other people think that we really need
to take as much time. If you can't take 90 minutes,
You know, for this, then then I I don't know how
else you can be real with yourself to start.
Start giving it air to breathe. Start thinking about what
you've discovered in those 90 quiet minutes
and And see how ideas will come. Little doors will
open. Little coincidences will passion, and, you know, You know,
people are always asking for signs. You know, I'm gonna change my career if I
get a sign. People always tell me that. Right? And I and I say the
same thing To myself even now. I'll know if that's the direction. If I get
a sign, if in the next 2 days, someone calls me
who's in that field, then that's my sign. And it'll happen,
but it starts with being honest and
saying, I would love to change,
and I would this is what I would love to do instead. Then doors open,
signs come. Mhmm. Yeah. Being open to receiving the signs
is is the biggest thing for me. And, and even just, like,
being curious too for me has been this past year has been a huge
word for me, curiosity, and just being curious with the things that excite me. Even
if it seems weird or, like, you can't see what you would do with it,
just following it and being like, well, that's interesting. And then it leads you to
another thing It's another thing, like you're saying. So yeah. It's free. Right?
Freeing. Freeing. Yes. Very much so. And, yeah, the last
thing. If people really resonated with you, what, where can they find you? You
know, what's your website and that sort of thing? Yeah. My
website's genelvive pituro dotcom, and you
can find pajama program@pajama program .org.
Awesome. And I will definitely leave that in the show notes so people don't have
to remember it. And thank you so much for your time and for your
vulnerability and your stories and speaking
about your truth and and and sharing it and spreading it to other people
because it's really making a difference. And like I said, I had no idea who
you were until I found this book randomly in a bookstore. And and the words
that you specifically chose for the title caught me, and it's it's
been, nothing but positivity for me. So I I really appreciate that.
Oh, Gino, I'm so happy that you shared your story and that you're doing what
you love, and you took a chance. It's inspiring. And and
anybody that knows you, I'm sure, Just feeling that positive
change. Yeah. What a great reminder. Thank you.
Sure. Thank you for listening to Working Towards Our purpose.
If you liked today's episode and are interested in more, you can sign up for
my Substack newsletter with the link in the show notes where I Share
thoughts, tips, and ideas that I'm learning along my journey to help
inspire you. The show was produced by Pleasant Podcast at pleasant
podcast.com.