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Join co-hosts Kat Lee, mom next door, and Laura Wilkinson, Olympic Gold Medalist, as we help you understand how to reach your goals, big or small. Whether you are winning a World Championship or decluttering your kitchen cabinets, we interview people who have gotten it done and break down the mindset shifts, processes and systems that got them to the finish line. Ultimately, our goal is to help you reach yours so that you can be our next guest on the Hello Goals Show.
02: Heart and Hosts Behind Hello Goals
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[00:00:00]
Ep 1
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[00:00:00] kat: Hey, welcome to Hello Goals. My name is Kat Lee
[00:00:02] Laura Wilkinson: And I'm Laura Wilkinson.
[00:00:03] kat: and in this podcast we're going to be talking about how we can set and actually reach our goals because how many of us set goals and then kind of never get there or we just forget about them or we put them by the wayside and I don't want that to happen to you.
I don't want that happened to me and And I'm just passionate about learning about the process of setting and actually reaching a goal. And I want to take you along on that journey. So just ~to tell us~ a little bit about ourselves. My name is Kat Lee. I live in Waco, Texas, and I've been married to my husband, Jimmy, for 27 years, hard to believe.
That's a long
[00:00:39] Laura Wilkinson: good.
[00:00:40] kat: And we have three kids. I have a 22 year old police officer, a 20 year old nursing student, and a 17 year old senior in high school. So Laura, I'm about to be an empty nester. ~So~ I'm not sure if I'm gonna have to like adopt 12 cats or I don't know, take up 12 new hobbies. I'm gonna have to set some goals for Being an empty [00:01:00] nester.
~Um, but yeah, and I, I just love setting goals and trying to reach them, uh, just passionate about that. ~So tell us a little bit about you, Laura.
[00:01:01] Laura Wilkinson: Well, I'm a mom of four, so everything you just said about your kids are like my goals. Like you have done the thing that I am currently trying to do. So I love it. So if you're bored and you need a new goal, you can come help me. Raise my children. Okay. So I live just down the road, ~uh,~ north of Houston, Texas, and I'm an Olympic gold medalist. And like I said, mom of four and I'm homeschooling now. So that's a whole new adventure. And yes, I am absolutely passionate about goals in every aspect of my life, because I think sometimes. We don't realize what we're capable of until we learn how to push ourselves outside or above that bar that we kind of cap ourselves at. So I think we're all capable of more. And I am passionate about helping people reach their biggest goals.
[00:01:43] kat: Oh, I love that so much. I've been thinking a lot lately about being outside my comfort zone because I feel like God is constantly pushing me out there. ~You know, like when you're ~
[00:01:51] Laura Wilkinson: ~kick. ~
[00:01:51] kat: ~yeah, yes, ~like when you're little and you go swimming maybe with one of your parents and they're like, Oh, just jump in.
I'll catch you. And then they keep backing up a little bit [00:02:00] and you have to keep swimming towards them. That's kind of what I feel like life is at this point. As soon as I get comfortable, something happens and I have to step outside my comfort zone. But I definitely feel like that's where I have. I've grown the most, it's definitely been not comfortable and hard, but I've definitely grown the most.
Now, for those of you listening, I want to give you a little bit of backstory because I just think this is kind of fun. I remember in 2000, I lived in just north of Houston and the Olympics were on, ~uh,~ it was the Sydney Olympics. And I remember there was a hometown girl who I didn't know at the time, ~uh,~ who was, ~you~ a diver for the US team.
And so we were all watching it and cheering her on. It was so exciting. We were so proud when she won and it became my favorite Olympic story. And just to, so you guys know a little bit about me, there's going to be a lot of sports analogies in this podcast because I love sports. Words, because it's just such like a little microcosm of [00:03:00] life.
Like in one, you know, one small competition, whether it's like a 30 minute pickleball game or whether it's a three hour football game, you have like the gamut of emotions and everything. And so I've always loved the Olympics. Like I have an Olympic yearbook from, I don't remember what year that I would just pour over.
I had, I just loved the Olympics. You know, fast forward, this has been my favorite Olympic story. And I'd be like, guys, watch this. She broke her foot and then she won the gold medal. And I would make my kids, watch it. And so for my birthday, I think a couple of years ago, ~um,~ my daughter, I think reached out to you on Instagram and said, can you leave my mom a happy birthday message?
[00:03:42] Laura Wilkinson: that's right, I remember that.
[00:03:45] kat: And, and then you did. And I was like, no way. And I was so excited. And so, you know, guys, it's, it's just so fun. And so I just, I love our combination here, Laura, between you've reached the thing that so many [00:04:00] people dream about accomplishing and And it's inspiring. ~Um,~ and then I'm hoping to bring in like the everyday, the everyday mom situations, you know, I, I want to make dinner tonight and I don't feel like it.
[00:04:15] Laura Wilkinson: Dude, dinner
every night is hard. Yes.
[00:04:17] kat: ~you know,~
[00:04:17] Laura Wilkinson: I love that because I, yes, I reached the pinnacle of my sport. But I'm still a human every day. I'm a wife and a mother, you know, we've been married 20, how many? 22 years now. And, ~um,~ you know, trying to make dinner every night, trying to like survive homeschooling.
Like the everyday stuff is sometimes harder than the big stuff, you know what I mean? Cause sometimes you're more motivated to do the big stuff with everyday stuff. You're just like, Oh, this is so hard, but I'm totally with you on the sports analogies too. I think . Sports are such a good, like, they're just a great metaphor for life.
Because like you said, that in a small period of time, there's all the emotions, but there's, it's also a very black and white way to view things
because there are rules. There's a structure. This is how you win. and this is how you lose, [00:05:00] but life's not like that right? It's real gray and lots of different shades of it. and sometimes it's hard to navigate. Like, what do we need to do? What are our priorities? How do we figure this thing out? And so coming back to sports. And the lessons that we learn in the pool or in the arena, like they're very relatable to everyday life. And I, for me, they've helped me guide my life outside the pool,
[00:05:22] kat: Yeah, and just for those of you listening who are like, I don't like sports ball, I don't do sports ball,
I'm not interested in sports, stick with us because I think this can apply, this can apply to anything. Like if you think of sport just like, like I said, like a little microcosm, it can apply Making dinner.
I don't want to make dinner, but I have to make dinner. I need to go get all the ingredients to make dinner. And then, aha, I finally made dinner, you know, regardless of whether people end up liking it or not, you did the thing. So, you know, even if you can even look at the little things that we do every day that are are a challenge that we have to think about that we have to plan [00:06:00] for.
All of those are kind of little goals as well. And while you don't necessarily need to like sports to get our analogies, I think it will help you understand, ~um, just kind of~ the angle that we're coming from because it, ~uh,~ just mentally. And I think that's a big thing, obviously, Laura, that you know a lot about, ~uh,~ just so much of the challenges we have in setting and reaching our goals is mental.
And the mental things that we need to, ~to~ overcome. And ~the one,~ one other thing that I do want to say for, for all of you listening is that this isn't a go getter podcast. Like ~I'm,~ we're not here to say you've got to do all the big things and hustle and wake up at the crack of dawn and go to bed at, You know, o'dark thirty.
Really, this is just about ~whatever,~ whether your goal is just to get more sleep, whether your goal is to take a daily nap because you're homeschooling four kids and you have a dog that sometimes barks at people, ~um,~ whatever your goal might be, we just want to help you get there. And I think we all have different seasons, kind of like you were saying, Laura, ~um,~ the [00:07:00] seasons between being, pursuing an Olympic gold medal and the seasons between being a mom.
We have different goals and it, and it all looks different in that way.
[00:07:09] Laura Wilkinson: It does. And there's seasons where you feel a little lost to Like when I was making the transition out of sport and into the more like regular life it was hard. I kind of lost my identity a little bit, didn't really know where I was going. And for a very goal oriented person, that was, that was difficult.
That was a big struggle, but there's, there's beauty in those times as well. And if you're feeling that way, like I want to help you get out of that also. Cause there's definitely more there for you. I feel like if you've got breath in your lungs. There is still hope and purpose in your life. And so we want to help you live that to the best of your ability and be all that God created you to be.
[00:07:49] kat: I would actually love to press in on that a little bit more. Like, what are some of the things that you did ~to,~ because that sounds like a really hard transition. You're an Olympic gold medalist. You're on top of the podium. You're on a Wheaties box [00:08:00] and then you're not like you just, it's not like everyday life people dive, you know?
So how do you, how did that work for you? I'm so curious.
[00:08:11] Laura Wilkinson: Well, it was hard when I retired. Okay. So I retired twice. I've been through the hard lost stage a couple of times and it wasn't easier the second time. I'll just put it out there, but I knew I would be okay because I made it through the first time. But the first time. I retired when I was thirty, which was really old for a diver. and I was just ready to be a mom I was like the diving thing is Done. Now I want to be a mom. And I just set out to be this mom And that wasn't happening. And it was really difficult because it's not like a sport where you can go train and get better and improve and do all these things and see that you're you're making progress toward this big goal that you have, this just wasn't happening at all.
And I, I was like, if I don't have diving and I'm not a mom, like who am I? And what's, what's the point? Like what's going on? And [00:09:00] I struggled for a while for a couple of years just trying to figure that out. And I. I realized at one point God had brought me to second Corinthians chapter 12 where Paul is talking about that thorn that God has put in his side.
And he is begging God to remove this thorn, like three times he pleads with them and God's answer is, my grace is sufficient for you. And I got stuck there. I couldn't even read the rest of the verse because I was like, his grace doesn't feel sufficient for me. Cause who am I? And I'm lost. And if, if I can't have this, like, what do I do?
And what I realized was if, if his grace isn't enough for me, if God isn't enough for me, ~uh,~ in not being a mom, Then there's a problem. And if, and if I'm going to be a mom, I need him to be enough for me. So
either way, like I knew I had an issue that I had to rectify that first, that God had to become enough for me. And I really pressed into that and it was months.
And I felt like I went through a whole grieving process and all of that, ~but,~ but finally came to the point where I could move on. [00:10:00] Beyond my grace is sufficient, you know, my power is made perfect and weakness and therefore, you know, Paul says I can boast in all of these, ~um,~ insecurities and, ~ ~persecutions and all of these different things because when I am weak, then I am strong because the power of Christ is resting on me.
AndI realized then that it was like, it wasn't necessarily about what I wanted, even though this is what I desperately wanted. ~ ~ It was about what he wants for me and this plan that he's written for me. And he is enough for me and that he has to be. ~Um,~ and it just opened up a whole new world of opportunity.
And, ~um,~ actually in that same period of time, God completely transformed my husband's heart for adoption. And so we started the
adoption process shortly
after that. And then, you know, all the rest is history. I have two kids from birth and two kids from adoption. And it's, it's awesome. I can't imagine my life any different.~ ~
[00:10:50] kat: ~That's amazing. ~That's amazing. I think you touched on something that's just so crucial to this whole topic of our podcast and, and ultimately that's just our [00:11:00] identity ~and, you know, ~if our identity isn't in Christ, it's in something that can be lost.
It can be something that we can fail at. It can be something, you know, like the whole rock and sand, ~um,~ parable. ~And.~ That's foundationally what I would encourage all of us to explore is my identity in Christ. And ~am I going,~ if it's not, I can't weather all the highs and lows and emotional trauma of being outside of our comfort zone.
Cause that's scary. You know, like we don't just dive into the pool and swim to nothing. We're swimming to our parents and we have that, hope in front of us. And so if our identity is in Christ, then we have that hope that whatever happens in the meantime, we're good. And so, you know, ~I, I,~ as I coach women in, ~um,
~
~Uh,~ setting goals and things.
I often talk about ~just what is your, like,~ do you have a personal inventory? ~Like~ have a note on your phone and just start writing down things about yourself that are true. ~Like~ I remember being on a mission trip when I was in college and it was like a seven day mission trip. And, you know, I was hanging out with [00:12:00] people the first five days and I remember being specifically on the bus heading out to a project and this friend that I've been hanging out with all week came and sat down next to me and started talking to me and I was like, Can you please stop talking?
I didn't say that out loud, but ~like~ in my head, I'm like, your mouth keeps moving. just can't handle it. And at that point I realized that I'm not really an extrovert. I'm maybe more of an ambivert. And apparently I have a social limit and I
[00:12:29] Laura Wilkinson: what, an ambivert? I
[00:12:31] kat: Okay. Okay. So there are extroverts
[00:12:34] Laura Wilkinson: that are fueled and filled by being with people and there are introverts that are fueled and filled by by alone time
[00:12:41] kat: and an ambivert is right in the middle. They get some fuel from being with people and some fuel from being by themselves, but they need both. And so if you're on a day five of a seven day mission trip, and then you have an extrovert sitting next to you, who's just verbally [00:13:00] processing everything.
I just was like, Oh my gosh. And so in that moment, I realized this is true about me. And that changed everything. Like I was able to then look back on my life and be like, that's why I got so annoyed all those different times. That's why I couldn't handle this or that. And as we set our goals, if you can just note, what are the things that drain you?
What are the things that fill you back up? ~Um,~ what are, you know, ~when did,~ when do you have the most energy? Because sometimes we just set random goals that we feel like we should set cause we saw them on Instagram and they don't really work for our lives. Cause you might be training for Olympic gold medal in one season.
You might be raising four kids in another season and those schedules look a lot different.
[00:13:43] Laura Wilkinson: So, knowing our identity in Christ and knowing ourselves how he made us and how that works together
[00:13:53] kat: I think that is so key so that then our goals can become a
[00:13:56] Laura Wilkinson: sacrifice
[00:13:58] kat: and
not an [00:14:00] idol, because that's where obviously, I think we can struggle really hard.
[00:14:03] Laura Wilkinson: like that. That's really good. So why are you so, like, when did you become so passionate about goals?
[00:14:10] kat: You know, I think it's been gradual. ~I mean, ~I would always make little plans for myself. Growing up. But I think honestly, once I had kids,~ I, and this, this feels not true of like,~ this doesn't feel like the normal story, but I feel like after I had kids, my brain kind of came alive,
[00:14:25] Laura Wilkinson: Yes. That's very unusual.
You are not normal.
[00:14:29] kat: I don't, know what it was.
~Um,~ but I just started seeing how much bigger the world was and realizing what was possible and~ what I think,~ here's the thing, I think once I had kids. I was spending so much more time with Jesus because I desperately needed it. ~So I kind of, my,~ my short story is that I, my mom passed away when I was a baby.
So I never kind of had that mother daughter relationship. And when I became a mom, I just wanted to be a great mom because I never had that, and I [00:15:00] wanted to be that. And. When you want something so desperately, you do whatever it takes to get there. And so I realized I can't do this by myself. And so I need Jesus.
And that's when I started just really starting my day with him and spending more time with him. And I think that's why my brain kind of exploded. And I mean, my, my heart as well in that season. And just, I think he opened my eyes to just the impact that we can have, ~not just as moms or as wives, or, you know, just in general.~
walking through the grocery store and smiling at somebody, you know, it could completely transform their day. They're like, I thought nobody cared, but then this one lady just smiled at me and it just made me feel happy. And maybe that saved their life. I don't know. You know, you never know what God can do.
And so how cool is it that we can wake up every morning and step into like, step through the wardrobe into Narnia and to whatever cool plans that God has for us. I just think it's, Very fun and exciting. And I want to live my life in such a [00:16:00] way that I'm ready and waiting whenever he wants to call me into the game, you know,
whether it's smiling at the person at the grocery store or, you know, teaching my kid math.
Okay. That's not a good example. So I definitely did not teach my kids math, but you know, whatever, wherever I am and whatever I'm doing, I just want to be as intentional as I can. And I get to live this one. Life and it's just fun and exciting and anything is possible. I'm talking to my favorite Olympian on a podcast.
So how cool is that? And you know, I just love encouraging other women too. I think as we get older, we tend to dream less and we think that our lives are. On the downhill. And I don't believe that to be true. So I just hope to give a little bit of inspiration to women to believe that you can still do really cool things.
going off of that, I would love for you to tell about the second part of your Olympic retirement, because I think it's such an inspiring example of seasons.
[00:16:59] Laura Wilkinson: Well, [00:17:00] thank you for sharing that part of your story. I didn't know that. Um, and that's, it's beautiful. You know, it, it breaks my heart that you didn't have that growing up, but I love that you so desperately wanted to be what you didn't have, ~um,~ that it just changed everything. Like, that. I'm verklempt over here. ~Um,~ that's no, I love that. That's a, that's a beautiful story. ~Um,~ yeah. And I, yeah, when I finally got to be a mom, ~um,~ it kind of happened really fast. We, you know, we started that adoption process and then got pregnant. And then by the time we brought our first adopted child home, like our kids are only six months apart. And,
um, we thought, wow, that was a great experience. Like we should start the adoption process again. It takes a really long time. ~Um, and that~ was six months after bringing our daughter Zoe home. So they were 12 and 18 months. And then we signed more adoption paperwork for ~our,~ what ended up being our fourth child, Cause three days later I found out I was pregnant with my son.
So we kind of went from having like one kid to knowing they were going to be four within like six months. So It was a little
insane. Um, but you know, they're all within four years. So it's, it's, [00:18:00] it's a lot of excitement. ~Um,~ it was a little overwhelming sometimes, but awesome at the same time, you know, and I wouldn't, wouldn't change any of it.
~Um,~ but you know, as, as fulfilling as that was, like, I still, every time the Olympics came around, like there was still that, like, did I, was I done too early? Cause I didn't, when I retired at 30, it was cause I wanted to be a mom. It wasn't cause I felt finished diving. I definitely needed a break, but I don't think I retired necessarily for the right reasons.
~Um,~ where I didn't see it through. I don't know. I don't know what you want to call it, but that itch was kind of still there. And I remember watching like the 2012 Olympic games kind of frustrated because I felt like I could have been in the mix and then 2016. And I had gone with media to be there on the.
You know, for the, for the media side, like interviewing people and things like that, and 2016, I got to be on the pool deck seeing all of it too. And it was just like, man, I wonder if I could do this again, you know, but here I am, I
was like 36 years old at that time. And, ~um,~ you know, I, I just wasn't sure kind of what I was doing, but my husband said, Hey, look, why don't you take the [00:19:00] fall and just.
It's just. be all in, like just do it for like four or five, you'll know at the end of four or five months, like all in, if like you're just too old, you can't do this anymore. Or if you want to keep going. And, ~um,~ by January I had my entire 10 meter platform list back off. So I was like, ~um,~ okay, okay. I guess I'll, I guess I'll give it a whirl. And it was really funny. because the same day I kind of announced my unretirement, I got inducted into like this international swimming hall of fame, which you're. Supposed to only be inducted into when you're.
like retired, it's like, oops. And so that was kind of an interesting thing. So I, I got back into it, not really knowing where I was going.
Um, but I thought, wow, like I
just only know how to plan for a quad, like every four years, it's an Olympics that I had done three of those cycles. That's what I knew this was now like 2017. So I thought, well, why don't we go through 2020 You know, let's just see what happens. And, ~um,~ things were going well.
I had gotten like second at nationals. I was being invited into camps and invited into world series and things, big [00:20:00] competitions to be a part of, but we were struggling bringing our fourth daughter home from Ethiopia. There was a lot of issues there. ~Um,~ just a lot of political turmoil and stuff. We finally bring her home in 2018, but she's really attached to me.
I can't like get her off my
hip, you know? And so like, there was some adjustment there and finally. When I was able to kind of get back into training and back in the swing of things like mid 2018, there was something wrong with my arm. And this set up a whole series. I found out I had to have a plate in my neck.
I had a two level cervical fusion, which took me an entire year to recover from. Um, and then I got back into training again and then COVID happened and the whole world shut down. They postponed the Olympic
games year. Like it was kind of this really wild journey. And then during COVID, we didn't have access to a platform for a year or so.
I ended up going to the 2021 Olympic Trials. I had qualified for it and um, was going in there, but I literally had just a couple of months of training on a platform. Like I felt very unprepared, which was weird. I had never gone into a big event like that, just [00:21:00] unprepared. And so that, that was really frustrating to me.
And people were so kind and so nice. I think they even gave me a standing ovation. I didn't even realize it because I was so angry because I felt like I was diving so bad because I had no training under my belt. So it was, it was not like the meat I had envisioned or what I wanted it to be at all.
Like I did not hit those goals, but I can look back and realize that, okay, you know, goals are great. And, and
they're always worth pursuing because like a lot of times that just drives us to go to the place we need to go, but we don't always need to achieve the goal to have an amazing experience. Like my kids got to watch me train. Like I had to end up training out of a house a lot of the time. So they got to see not just mommy leaves and goes works hard, but they got to see me blood, sweat and tears here in the backyard or up in the game room working out. Like they got to be a part of that. They got to come to the workouts. They got to see the meet, you know, and that was really special. And like
[00:21:53] kat: How old were you at that point?
[00:21:55] Laura Wilkinson: I was 43 at
the 2021 trial. So yeah, [00:22:00] I'm getting up
there.
[00:22:01] kat: that's just amazing.
[00:22:03] Laura Wilkinson: Well, but I think, I think what's important that I've realized is, is I think it's important to set really big goals, to like push yourself out of your comfort zone, to do things that you can't do at the moment, to try to do these new things. But that also like, you're not going to hit it every time. And, and missing a goal isn't a failure because if your goal is like way up here and you still hit like right below that, That you have come so much farther than where you, where you were way down here. You've still grown. You've still done these incredible things.
I went to three Olympic games, but I only got one medal, but I do not consider the other two Olympic games a
failure, you know, fifth at the Olympic games of like 10 points off the podium is not a failure, you know, but in, in our athlete eyes, sometimes we'd see it that way, but it's I can look back and say, it's not, and look at all those experiences I had.
Because I aimed really high, you know, so it's, it's a balance there, right? Like, like the goals are important and it gives you, when you can break them down into these doable [00:23:00] steps and it gives you this pathway to get there. Even if you don't accomplish it, you can still look back and see what you accomplished along the way and how far you came and how much you grew as a, as a person or as an athlete. And so I, I don't think that's. Something that you disregard because,
you know, there's that cliche saying it's, it's not, it's the journey, not the destination. Which everybody loves to say, but like, once you live it, you, you realize how very true that is. I stood on the podium for what, all of two minutes why they play the national anthem.
And that's it.
[00:23:31] kat: Mm.
[00:23:32] Laura Wilkinson: worked my entire, like life and career, like, went through a lot of stuff to stay on the top of that podium and then it's over just like that.
So it's, it's not about that moment. Like that moment was cool. It's special that I have a little medal to like remind me of what happened, but that wasn't the moment that meant so much to me.
It was
the getting there, you know,
[00:23:51] kat: Mm hmm.
[00:23:52] Laura Wilkinson: things that happened on the way.
[00:23:53] kat: Well, and the whole journey just made you resilient and able to come back from, [00:24:00] Oh, I had neck surgery. Well, well, let's start. Oh, I had a broken foot. Hey, I'll still, I'll still keep training for the Olympics. Oh, I had neck surgery. Oh, I'm, you know, three times the age potentially of some of my, Competitors.
[00:24:14] Laura Wilkinson: need Watch it
[00:24:17] kat: but I say that because, you know, for all the, you know, everyday women listening, how often do we just immediately disqualify ourselves ahead of time because we think, Oh, I've already, I haven't necessarily reached my goals in my past, or I'm too old to do this, or I'm too whatever to do this.
And I love that you. You know, you kept coming back, you kept trying again. You saw it as being more about the journey than necessarily the destination. And you didn't look around you to decide whether or not you could do it. You looked within you to decide whether or not you could do it. And I think that's an inspiration for all of us.
And I know that for myself, I don't, I didn't know you at that time, but I do remember watching your journey on Instagram and [00:25:00] thinking, gosh, If she's 43 and she can go to the Olympic trials for one of the youngest sports out there, surely I can go sign up for my local pickleball league or whatever it was that I, you know, might've been afraid to do.
And it definitely inspired me and I'm sure so many others. And I hope that, uh, for our listeners today, I hope this inspires you, you know, what, what dreams did you have when you were little? What dreams do you kind of still have that maybe you don't even acknowledge anymore? One of my favorite factoids is that, ~um,~ I think it was, ~um,~ oh, who's the, the chef?
Julia Child. She didn't start cooking until I think she was 40. And, ~uh,~ Laura Ingalls Wilder, who wrote The Little House on the Prairie series, did not start writing until she was 65. Her first book, Until she was 65. And, ~um,~ Grandma Moses, the famous painter, I don't believe started ~writing~ until [00:26:00] she was maybe 80.
[00:26:01] Laura Wilkinson: Wow.
[00:26:02] kat: just tons of stories like that. So, you know, whatever age you may or may not be, there's something fun and exciting for you. So if I could give, give anything to you to walk away from this episode with, it's just try dreaming again in that little note where you notice things about yourself, like, I like this, I don't like this, this fills me up.
This drains me. Start writing down some of your dreams. It can be wild. It can be crazy. It can be ridiculous.
[00:26:29] Laura Wilkinson: It~ should be,~
[00:26:29] kat: It should be. Yes. Like, let's just say I still in my back of my head, every time the Olympics rolls around, I look at Filipino dual citizenship laws or rules. Like, maybe I could be like an Olympics snowboarder for the Philippines, because there can't be that many Filipinos who snowboard.
I don't snowboard, but hey, You know, anything is possible. And I just want to, um, end this episode by saying anything is possible. With the Lord, anything is possible. You never know what could be. And so I just would encourage you and challenge you [00:27:00] to begin dreaming ~and to check back with us in the next Hello Mornings.~
~No, dang it.~
[00:27:01] Laura Wilkinson: ~Well,~
[00:27:01] kat: ~Mornings.~
[00:27:01] Laura Wilkinson: well, if, if we could, I, before we end it, I do want to
ask one more question because, When I became a mom I kind of had this feeling that like, My dreams are over. Now it's time for my kids. And like, I felt like I had to shelf a lot of stuff, you know, and this was, this was in between my two Olympic career times. I felt like I had to put things away and just, just be there for them. And I think a lot of, especially young moms kind of feel like that, like, okay, my time is over. And it can be very frustrating because, ~ ~We don't feel done. Like we still have things that we want to do, or we feel compelled to do things, but we feel like maybe we shouldn't. But you, when you, you said you woke up when you had kids and you became very dependent on Jesus. Like how, as you kind of woke up and, and I'm sure had to be dependent on him raising three little children.
How did you kind of get through that? And what, what motivated you when, [00:28:00] cause I'm sure times were still hard.
I mean, I, I know you, you came to this new place, but at the same time, I'm sure it wasn't easy every day. Like what kind of kept bringing that to you and kept motivating you and helped you keep your eyes on Jesus in the process and learning who you are and setting new goals.
[00:28:17] kat: yeah, I mean, I think, honestly, it was just, Spending time with Jesus. So I'll just wrap in a quick version of my bigger story. So you can kind of see how it comes a little bit full circle. And I think it's just that he had a plan for me. And I think so often we might discredit ourselves. We might count ourselves out of things, but if we just kind of step into the plan that he already has for us, then we never know what could happen.
And so, you know, after I had kids, I. You know, like I said, I kind of feel like I came alive. I signed up for a web design course that was online that I could do on my computer while I had my brand new baby. ~Uh,~ and so I started doing that, then got into blogging and then I decided to start a blog and then it got.
You know, it did [00:29:00] well and got a lot of readers and I'd had a podcast and then I had a guy that I met along the way named Sean Groves. He reached out to me and he said, Hey, ~uh,~ we have these trips that we take, ~um,~ artists and writers on for Compassion International and we're going to go to the Philippines in six months.
Do you want to go? He didn't know my story. I've never met any of my Filipino family. I'm not a world traveler, never thought that I would end up. Going to the Philippines. I was like, yes. And so long story short, ~um,~ I got contacted through Facebook, ~which was created in this journey, um,~ by a cousin that I used to exchange airmail letters with when I was really little.
~Um,~ and I said, well, I'm actually going to be in Manila. And she said, great. We'll meet you there. So the day that I got to meet my Compassion Sponsor child, we went back to the hotel we were staying at. And 18 members of my family had traveled 24 hours by plane, train and automobile just to be in that lobby [00:30:00] to meet me.
That day. And so for the first time in my life, I got to be surrounded by a bunch of women who looked like me by my mom's, ~um,~ brothers and sisters. And so I think that whole journey, the setting goals, all of that, it was just me, honestly, just spending time with Jesus. And he was like, I've got this great story for you.
I've got this great plan for you. And so I learned about web design. And so I learned about blogging. And so I started blogging. And I set these little goals because I felt like this is where God was leading me. And there was one point when I had the blog and it was for moms, cause I wanted to encourage moms, but I'm like the motherless mom blogger, like who's going to, who's going to read this?
And, and what, what do I have to offer? And I felt like God wanted me to write a little ebook about How I get up and spend time with him in the mornings and what that looks like. ~Um,~ and I was like, that's going to be real popular. Nobody wants to read a book about waiting, waking up at oh dark 30, but that's actually the very thing that made my blog [00:31:00] popular, that put me in front of Sean Groves, that got me on the compassion trip that allowed me to meet my family.
~Um,~ and so. I just think that, honestly, it sounds kind of cliche, but it was just being with the Lord, you know, just spending time with him and following the next steps that he had for me along the way. ~Um,~ so
[00:31:22] Laura Wilkinson: He has an even better imagination than we do,
[00:31:25] kat: right? Right? In, in no world did I ever think any of that was going to happen. So, ~um,~ so yeah, I, I would say, God has great adventures for us, and he's really cool, and he has cool plans for you, and a wild imagination.
So dream big, ~um,~ and spend time with Jesus, and you never know what's gonna happen. So, so for those of you listening, thanks for joining us on this episode of the Hello Goals podcast, and I hope you'll join us next time to learn more about how do we set and how do we reach goals, [00:32:00] because our ultimate goal Is for you to reach yours and to be our next guest on the Hello Goals podcast.