 Welcome to the leaders mindset where we have illuminating conversations with people who are making an impact in their jobs, in their families, in their communities, and how they're becoming leaders and building the teams they need to make the kind of impact they want to make in the world. Today we have with us Jennifer Barber. Thank you for being here today. Thank you for having me. You've been a digital marketing strategist, a creative director, an agency owner, so many other things. And when I get into all of it also, you've been named one of the top 30 women bosses here in Las Vegas breaking news today. Yes. So first congratulations. Thank you. And I'd love to hear all about that when we get to it. So I've known you for a little while and I'm so excited to sit down with you today and talk. So tell us about you. Tell us about your journey. Where did you go as back as far as you want? Where did you start out and what was the path to sitting in this chair today? Right. Well, first of all, thank you. It's an honor to be here. You're doing some amazing things to just spread the message out there about leadership and overall just to collectively bring people together in unity. How I started? Well, I grew up poor. We all have these amazing stories of struggles. And I think I want to preface my life on that because it's become such an intrinsic part of my evolved self that I have to honor what I was before. We were poor. I grew up in the Philippines. So raised by my grandmother, who was my mentor in life. She was a strong woman. I admire her for, you know, she was a matriarch. She took care of everybody in the household and she was a leader. So I've had a great first start to serve strong women leadership in the family. I had a big family in the Philippines, so our culture is it's really we help each other out. There's a lot of love, right? But my mother was out of the country and, you know, I was being raised by my uncles, my aunts, my grandma. I flew a plane to Canada by myself at 10 years old. That was a scary experience of my life at 10 years old. I haven't seen my mom for a while, but she says Canada has a great opportunity for you to come and live with me and build a life here. Better opportunities from the Philippines. And I said, why not? So I hopped on this plane and had a stopover at Hong Kong and they put me in a wheelchair and they wheeled me around. And I thought that was fun because you're 10 years old and you're like, why not? So I got to Canada and that's where basically I had my education of British standard. I had to learn English was my second language. I understood English, but I didn't speak it. So there was a bit of a transition that needs to happen, but through the process, I went through it. My mother was an entrepreneur. She had a restaurant and she had a grocery store. So can you imagine that I walked into this woman who was very driven and a hard worker, right? And I just watched. I mean, this is my mom. I haven't, I mean, my grandmother raised me. So there was some strong women in my family at that point. And my experience was, you know, just witnessing that, that the opportunity to create a better life for yourself was really in the forefront of what I was seeing with my family. And that's that's how I've always felt that was carried in my heart. But I want to just go back a little bit because I will tie this all in at five years old. I had a neighbor and she showed me a pen pal, you know, when people still used to write love letters to each other and actually took the time to craft the letter. She says, I have this pen pal in the U. S. He's in the army. He's a U. S. Army. And I really like him and she showed me a postcard. It was beautiful. It was a postcard of San Diego. And I said, I looked at it at five years old. And I said, I want to be able to go there someday. I don't know what it was, but at that very moment, I really vividly recollected that I looked at that postcard and I said, I'm going to marry an American guy and I'm going to live in San Diego. Five years old. So I'll come back. So I was in Canada. I studied in Canada. I followed the path that most Asian parents would want for their children. We all know that is. I had three options to be a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer. I did none of those and I'm happy to say that. But I did well in school. I was an overachiever, right? And not necessarily because I was just born and raised to be an overachiever. At a young age, I saw poverty. I saw hardship. I saw struggles. I saw a murder of my grandfather. It was tough. It was tough. And I said, I'm not going to waste this life. At a young age, I already knew I was going to be someone someday. And I couldn't quite configure how it's all going to play out. But I just made almost like a declaration to the universe at that point. But I'm going to make something happen, right? So fast forward, studied in Canada, excelled in school. I didn't really struggle much in school. I had student of the year in my high school and then moved to, you know, university and things like that. Then because I just went straight where I just studied and I worked hard, there was a gap in there of enjoying life and being a, you know, living life as we speak. So the journey took me to, after university, like after college, I basically went from that to, you know, to moving towards finding an opportunity. And I was offered an opportunity to work for a private investment firm in Vancouver, Canada. At that time I was staying at Edmonton, Alberta. And, you know, if you know Canada, you know it's cold, right? And I said, okay, why not? Vancouver is warmer than Edmonton, which is a flat prairie land and minus 40 degrees Celsius where everything's shut down and nothing works. So I went, my journey took me after, you know, school to work for an investment firm. Now that wasn't in the plan. I wasn't supposed to go into any kind of investment firm or business or any marketing of any sort. But I went with the flow because I knew that I couldn't, I was at the point in my life where I think I'm doing this to make my family happy, right? I don't know if I can do this for a living, you know, what they want me to do. And those are very noble, admirable jobs. But something inside me, and I listened to that voice, that inner voice, Jen, it's crippling for your soul. Your voice is not who you are. You're very creative. You've got your right brain and your left brain, you're logical, but you're also very intuitive and emotional and spiritual. And how do I come together? Where do I fit in the puzzle? Like at that point in time, you know, I didn't know about mentorship, coaching, any of that. I wasn't subjected to that growing up. I was subjected to three professions, to be a doctor, an engineer, or a lawyer. But where's the fun, you know? That's kind of where I was. I was still in the transition mode. When I worked in the investment company, at the time it didn't make much sense, right? But I'm looking at now where I'm sitting here with you guys, and especially you, Jason, and I thought, how do I connect this dot? Why did I have that job? What did I learn from that? And so the takeaway from it was I learned teamwork. I learned to be along other team members, and he was a diverse team member. We have men, women, and, you know, different walks of life. And I started very humble. I was a receptionist and worked my way to a team lead where I was account managing for some of our investors. And that experience in there was really eye-opener for me because it helped me get to training. It helped me interface people to how to build teams, how to communicate effectively as a team member, and just some skills to, you know, personal development skills. They invested in their people to develop us. So that was like, wow. I was like, I need more of this kind of environment. I like it. So the journey took me to, you know, being a mom. And I, you know, I met the father of my kid, and it's not a happy ending. We all have gone through our fair share of, you know, but that was necessary. Now sitting here today, it was a necessary part of my personal spiritual growth. And it took me to Canada, not Canada, but to San Diego. Fast forward, San Diego. So I was never married to the father of my kid, but when I went to San Diego, I met another person there and as fulfilled on the earlier story at five years old, I was going to marry an American guy and I'm going to live in San Diego for eight years. That really manifested itself. So I'm confident in saying that because this will all make sense when I elaborate a little further down the line with you. But I basically lived in San Diego and I was, I wanted to start, I had this vision that I was going to be opening a boutique, wholesale jewelry place by the beach. And so I did that. I went to Ocean Beach in San Diego. As a Canadian, I rushed into the thought of this is so exciting, I get to be in the beach and didn't realize that the location and the demographic of Ocean Beach are not really people that really shop. So that kind of hit my pocket. I would consider that as an attempt to start and have my entrepreneurial journey, but I epically failed. Well, I think a lot of entrepreneurs have had a couple failures under their belts. Yeah, yes. But it was hard. It was hard because financially, you know, you invested into it and you had your dreams crushed. And I said to myself, I am never touching another piece of wholesale jewelry ever again. And where do I go from here? So it puts things in perspective. Like when you attempt and you're really enthusiastic about a dream, you're like, where do I go from here? I was probably 27 at this point, very young. I said, hmm, I'm missing something. So I recognize that awareness that I am missing something in terms of business. And I said, okay, it's marketing. But I sat there and as I was really contemplating and going, I guess, I'm having an introspection. I said, what would move this needle? And I could go to school again and waste a couple more years of my life. And I really mean that when I say that. Or I can find somebody that I admire that maybe I can work for and I can learn and I need to learn from a woman. Because I'm a woman. I have a divine feminine in me. My energy is feminine. There's nothing wrong with learning from men and at that time that was the direction where my soul told me to go. I listened to it again. And so I found in San Diego I worked for a lady who owned holistic practice and also going into business for herself to be a business coach. She has a book and she's actually top, I believe top 54 women in the world. During the time I was under her mentorship and guidance, so working for somebody like that the bar is raised. I learned the details that it took. I learned her mind and how her soul that she put into her work and how the authenticity that came with being a leader, right? So that was a very humbling and learning experience for me. And then from then on forward I just kind of pursued personal development. Really, people that go into coaching is because they want to help guide people to their highest level of potential. Be it in the business front or be it in if you're a life coach you're leading people to make really amazing decisions that's going to impact their lives and to have a powerful legacy for their family. So that was, my eyes were opened. I think I found my place where I fit. I wasn't convinced yet because I had my ups and downs through the journey, right? It wasn't an easy walk in the park. Let's just say that. So you were telling us despite all the changes you made all the feeling like you were on the right path there were still some struggles along the way. Yes, absolutely. And I want to keep this as real as possible because it helps others out there that are praying to hear some very authentic experiences from real life people. I was, you know, I had a husband but I felt almost like a single mom. I never, despite of struggles on a personal front at home I never once said I don't want to work. I've always said I'm going to help move this family. I'm going to carry my own weight. I need to communicate that to you because there are single mothers that are, you know, tuning in to you and looking for ways to, how could she make it? How did she make it? So I feel that this is for us, you know? You know, I had several jobs after the lady that I worked for that was in the Forbes and after that I just, I started to work in other fields like the next field that I worked for was, it's a very, you're going to like this one. I worked for a gentleman who had a technology he invented and I have to feel like I need to share the story and it is actually a, I wouldn't say it's a toy but it's a flashlight that is integrated by a bracket that you can put on a gun like the M14 and AK-47 and this flashlight is paired with a button that can be integrated in the hand grip of the gun without going too much details. I know you're a military background, so Air Force. But I was thinking why did I apply for this job? This is so far off my radar of, you know, experience or knowledge. But again, just because we can't see the complete picture doesn't mean that we're being moved exactly where we need to be so that I can sit here and tell this story today. So I remember being interviewed in a boardroom and there were 10 other men and I was like the only woman, actually, sorry, there was two of us, two women and the rest are men and the opportunity is, the opportunity was really amazing because it was only for, it was a contract for about two years to do this project. I'm given a project and my project had a code name. It was Comac and that is really an AK-47 gun and outfitting it with this button that turns on the flashlight and has strobe functionality and it's adhered to the gun with this bracket, right? And I was thinking are you kidding, Jen, how on earth are you even going to, you don't have experience in military so those were the limiting self-beliefs that we all have been programmed to, right? So to make a long story short, I worked for this gentleman. We did well, you know, the technology was sold and I'm kind of fast-forwarding it to this experience today and I said on earth, why was I doing that? But that same boss found me about two years, I was now three years ago because he was so impressed of how I was when I worked for him that he had another thing that he invented that he wants me to bring me back on board. So that's a good thing, you know, when they still look for you after all these years, he has his family, he's got his two kids. So that is one of the most interesting job I took on because I actually physically had to go to gun places like gun ranges and try to say, hey, I got the school toy, you want to look at it? Like put it on your gun and if you're a female and you're attractive, you know, you get some help but then they'll invite you to drink a beer and shoot something in the gun range so I knew that I wasn't going to stay in it for too long but that was some of the most unique experience I've had living in San Diego as I worked for this gentleman who I would consider a genius. He really never really spoke a lot to me, he just drew diagrams all day and excel spreadsheet and pivotal charts and that opened my mind that, you know, communication can be done in several ways, you know, and the way he's teaching me is not, it's not the way that we would normally get taught, you know, he just, but he worked, I understood and it's opened my mind and there was this curiosity because I thirst for knowledge and I always say to anyone that knows me really, I'm a perpetual learner for life, like a student of the universe so I always felt that way so I love it when people can challenge me can give me something to dig deep on so that and the last thing that I ever did in San Diego was I worked for this amazing couple who are Americans and but they had a family owned factory in Mexicali, Mexico and I was sort of their account director at that point they were a great husband and wife team that's when I started to feel different about setup on workspace because, you know, one of the owners, the CEO would go surf during lunch break because we're literally in the La Jolla side of San Diego where it's footsteps away, he gets out of the door, he walks, there's the beach, he has to surf during lunchtime and he says, Nero, you're going to be okay over here? I'm like, yes, you're good and he's like, he comes in with his wetsuit change and goes back to his office that now I can tell the story now but at the time I was just like, oh, he's so lucky I'm like, oh gosh, I wish I can do that well, I don't know how to swim that well, you know what I mean? maybe not, that's not a good idea maybe not that not that, but it was to freedom he taught me, my gosh, this guy is brilliant, he's smart he works hard, but he's balanced he's having fun at the same time I said, I can do that I'm like, it really literally was like I was still in my 20s when this was happening so you gotta understand, it opened my eyes I said, I want that kind of freedom he's creating his own schedule he says it's a short day on Friday because he wants to go surfing and he can absolutely do that because we landed all our accounts so that was the taste of true depiction of lifestyle like, you got a business you got big, big clients he's handling everything, it's not a walk in a park there were struggles in the company but he's out there in the water nourishing his soul, nourishing what he loves to do so I was like, gosh, I want to be like not in the sense that I'm going to go surfing but I want this available to me you want that freedom I want that freedom you want that freedom while still having the responsibility of bringing something into the world bringing something into the world and making your impact contribution now this, the narrative of my story gets clearer and clearer as I go through the journey because again, I'm invested in two things the lessons, that's the most painful part we're going to have to go through all of it because we get the best lessons through the pain and then the outcome so I'm invested in both I'm not just invested in the good outcome I'm here for both because I have an understanding that it all will come together to connect the dots and paint the whole entire picture of why I went through, I went through, I made that decision I worked for that person that person hurt me that person helped me and mentored me it's a beautiful symphony of coming together and that higher conscious level of realization that really if I could, if I've given a chance to redo my life I wouldn't redo anything because it made me to who I am today and this woman here today sitting here I trust her through the pain through the struggles through loneliness, through brokenness I came here and I am trusting Jen I trust the woman who I've become well it seems like you've been very conscious about the choices you've made yes sir and you've had some amazing experiences that have brought you here what brought you to Vegas and what are the things you're involved in now this is a little bit of a heartbreaking story but it's the truth so you know it's hard to leave the beach it's hard to leave that sunshine weather San Diego lifestyle but I worked so much that I wasn't really enjoying the beach all that much what brought me to Vegas is actually my son so even though I was married it wasn't a very good marriage we had struggles and you know I'm just going to come right out and say it he was narcissistic and very verbally abusive so what does that mean I was in a household where I was walking on eggshells almost every day while balancing being a mother and protecting my son from all of it and paying the bills it was a lot but now that I look back at it it's too tough on me up because I have a really big mission for God that's kind of how I look at it and so anyway you might have to help me out a little bit on your questions again because I kind of got off track there for a second no this is I mean I love hearing all about this I think the audience really loves hearing about this it was just what brought you to Vegas oh yes so my son went to what's considered at the time top three schools it was La Jolla it was a public school but it was rated well and my son was slow in speech and reading and I've but my son's it's an old soul he's quiet but his brain is just very different it's differently wired than me I'm very I read I write and I like to verbalize he's more of he looks at a number and he can solve the most complicated equations without showing any answers and he'll give me the number so I already know that but because he's going into a system where there's 30 kids in a classroom and they're all different they put them on the process of this is the way we're going to teach you guys have to conform to the way we're teaching you because if you have any special kind of disability forget about it you know we don't got time for that or we're going to put you through a system and that's what happened I was pulled into a room I felt it was an ambushed I thought I was just there to meet about my son's you know progress but I had a psychologist in that room I had clinical people I had the principal I had all sorts of expertise in that room and I was shocked I walked in that room and everyone was of course just like hi you know casual conversation we brought you here today because here are concerns about your son being slow at reading and you know all sorts of things and I listened but that fire inside of me that any mother or any parent that loved their kid would have it's the protection that we have for our kids it's also if something doesn't sit right we don't have to take it so that fire was ignited as I was listening to them make their diagnosis on my son who I birthed who I've known since child and you know and some of these people that are giving their opinions they have not never had kids themselves so I looked at the the psychologist at the time and I said do you have a kid and she says no I said in fact I think you're fresh from fresh out of school right you're giving a diagnosis about my son and you're going to offer my son to take what exactly so they mentioned the drugs that my son needs to take and I looked at her I don't think so bloody hell no you're not going to put my son into Ritalin and I said my son is a perfectly smart kid he's probably bored because his mind works really fast the communication level is not the same you guys are not talking to individual kids as if they need to be engaged individually because they're all different and so at that time it was just my word against ten other people in the room and I just got up and I said no way you're going to make my son into a guinea pig in your experiment and in fact you guys get funding for this right you get funding for kids for every kid you sent through this stuff that you guys are setting up for my son and you know there's no way I'm signing to destroy my son's life so I said we're leaving the school I don't care I'm going to find a teacher I'm going to find another school that's going to help my son and I'm going to come back here and I'm going to send you all his grades and how successful this kid's going to be I walked out of that never looked back slammed the door and yeah my son had a couple more weeks and I just started making plans and I started applying for jobs in another state because to put a kid through a private education with additional you know supportive type of people specialists it's a really ridiculous price in San Diego and that's what brought me to Vegas okay it's a mother's love I said I am willing to sacrifice my career my life what I built here in San Diego my connections my friends because I know this is the right thing to do I'm going to fight this battle with my kid because he can't fight right now and I didn't know this is where unwavering faith comes in I didn't know if it was going to be successful my endeavor but I just know that there is no way that I'm going to put my son through that I'm you know that is why we as parents that is our personal responsibility to our kids to protect them and make sure they get everything they need to have a fighting chance to make it you know out there so that's the decision and this was during the recession like around the 2008 time where you know the market crashed and there wasn't a lot of jobs available in fact I think I applied for 100 plus jobs before I got anything so the humbling process is now here wow like I took a stand I took a big stand I told those people off and I protected my son invisibly spiritually and now where do you go from here Jen you gave up a good paying career to what start over yeah started over again total shock like from that weather here I hated it at first I hated Vegas I was like I can't I remember like it's so hot and oh my goodness why did I move here it's like barren you know it's different now so I was like well let's give it a shot so I didn't have the most amazing job when I first moved here in fact it was it's a very humbling experience that for some odd reason I got back into jewelry but this time I was deciding jewelry for pottery barn and that was the downtown incentives there with Tony Shea and you know the building of the downtown culture here in Vegas so I was Tony Shea would come in our office in the studio and would bring his dog Blitzy and he's like can you watch Blitzy for a second well I'd be like you know stamping on real gold and making sure that every little millimeter of difference is going to affect that whole thing and then you can't make costly mistakes like that but so that that was my very humbling job didn't pay much but I didn't care I was like I'm open I'm open to the experiences of the struggle and the in between I called that the in between right the gaps and I said I can't do this forever it's hard on your hands and everything I mean I paid the bill I never never stopped working I never said I'm going to stop working so that that was the case you know and fast forward the next job was a lot better that was now through action coach so it's the business coaching firm yeah and that's one of the things I want to ask you about is through all these experiences but especially working for the woman who is a business coach and working for action coach what did you learn about and also from your grandmother yeah what did you learn about leadership and leading teams and bringing bringing something into the world with a team around you with my grandmother is her her heart for you know for for life integrity so I think those are intangible virtues really that I've learned from my grandmother as I see how she functions because she was a tax collector in the Philippines where she would literally go business to business and say please pay your taxes and in order for people to and it's they're poor and they're trying to make a living for their family and sometimes they can't pay the taxes for my grandmother so I saw this as a young kid they're like I'll give you two fish if you give me three more days to pay you back and I was like you can do that grandma I'm like that's pretty awesome I'm like oh and that's how we kind of that's how we kind of fed her family you know because we were poor but my grandmother my grandmother worked for the government and it was like going through and they know her name they respect her she was kind to people she says okay I'm going to give you five more days come up with the money or else we're going to figure something out so compassion was there with her leadership and she treated people with kindness and the lady in San Diego was she's more of a shark you know and while she is very feminine she has her very masculine side to her and she has a strategic plan and she's always she's always kind of mentioned to dream big and to not be afraid of how big your dreams are and and her one of the stories that I recollect her saying is that her dad was an entrepreneur and at a young age her dad said something so insightful to her that says okay all you have to do is print a business card and start giving to the people that's how you start like thought about this and she has a way of simplifying complex things when it comes to starting a business and leadership and it's inspiring and the way the brand messaging and the tone of her you know business was something I resonated because it was really kind of centered in authenticity and feminine so that's what I learned from her that women can be bosses that women can also make it and that women can be respected yeah so then business coaching world where it's it's corporate oh this one's a tough one this one is really learning to navigate around difficult personalities type a personalities and not and really one thing that they're great at is they and I think this is really actually a method that they do is they throw people work immediately and see if you can survive if you can be independent and you can do your job effectively with little to no instructions they give you the best training eventually but they want to see if you have the acumen to the business acumen to kind of go through the ebb and flow of you know being incorporated set up teamwork multiple departments and dealing with that kind of level of magnitude yeah Wow so you've certainly learned a lot along the way you've had a lot of ups and downs yes but you also have some cool things going on now yes I do so what do you want to tell us about the things you're working on now well I got a couple but this one goes close to my heart January of this year I really I was digging deep I said I need to do something that's impactful that's I feel that it's going to help and I always loved working with kids you know I love kids so I said I would like an opportunity I said it to God and in prayers you know I said I want to do something where I help kids and fast forward I am now a board of director for whalers they are a nonprofit organization here in Las Vegas what we do is we focused on age foster kids that get rejected out of the system after they're 18 so we work with 14 to 24 year old youth and we give them life skill training we create the programs we have culinary arts media theater arts and me being on board my team and I are creating a digital marketing course for the kids to take because we are heading to that and it's not going away any time soon so it's a good thing for the kids and we offer it to the kids who are aging out of the foster care system so they have a real shot at getting good jobs and being their bosses because I encourage entrepreneurship to children that we look after so that's what I'm very proud of that's what I'm currently working on and obviously not doing this all by yourself you have a team around you so tell me about your team where did you find them how are you growing your team to be future leaders tell me about everything about your team well I started my experience with my inspiration behind building an agency and I'm going to give credit is instinct media there was Mike and Laura and Laura was the one that really had hunted me I was still working an action coach she had hunted me and Laura's phenomenal woman so I respect her because she built this she built a hell of an agency in Colorado and she says why don't you come on board and I really want you to be a creative director so I learned a lot in a span of a whole year I was working with people that there was no toxicity politics there was just how do we help each other grow what can we do to be better and I was given the right environment that's when I thrived the most that's when I said oh my goodness I don't have to worry about so and so wiping me under the rug anytime or somebody taking credit for my work I don't have to do any of that so this was the lesson was I was I needed to experience that side of the spectrum of a dog eat dog world set up highly competitive politics all that red tape to oh I like the people I work with I want to get up in the morning let's get started let's go and they're supportive they invested in even having a coach talk to me and the team and everything and the brilliance between that is the way they set up the process and the systems it's so very typical just a marketing place that it was top I know that they were some of the best people some of the smartest people I've ever met and I absorbed it like I just wow I was like this is so great and my skills has always been in sales in marketing in communication and taking that culture index personality assessment I'm an architect so I'm a master builder it's in the the culture index millions of people architects are based on my results it's in the 5% of the world are architects so they can they have their visionary and integrator side of their brain they can give you the big dreams but they also know how to operationally create and make it happen and execute so it was so nice to see that because I've always thought I was just right-sided but then this gentleman processed me this is in Florida says do you realize that you're not even using you're only using about 5% of your brains I mean no sorry 22% and he says you need to be tapped into the 80% you're in the right position right now if we're going to onboard you for you know to be the chief marketing director for a company because you're going to be able to lead and I said wow I'm like wow this is so great but I love data so I you know the logical part of my brain is that's good stuff now I understand who I am but I'm also very spiritual so in combination with data with intuition it's a powerful combination yeah that's fantastic doesn't it make all the difference when you are on a team where people support you they believe in you they're looking out for your future yes I always say to people there's no business without people yeah so we are in the business to build our people first before we build any kind of business so they are a direct mirror of my leadership I love that it's an absolute direct mirror so if my energy is off my social media strategist that's going to call me in 10 minutes it's going to feel that and she's going to feel off so it's a big responsibility that I act in integrity and I say integrity and we all have different definitions and I keep it simple integrity is doing the right thing when nobody's looking absolutely that's exactly what I look at I'm like when I hire people is that a person of integrity will that person do the right thing if I'm not around will he represent me the best way possible or she represent me the best way possible and so it's truly important that is the key to any kind of driven environment to have leader like people that can own their job they can step into leaders hungry so it's like hungry, humble and willing to learn I don't look for somebody who's I am the best no I just need somebody who's hungry you know willing to learn and just you know willing to be mentored through the process that's fantastic yeah I think when I was looking when I was in the Air Force we had some direct hiring authority for a squadron I worked for actually two squadrons and I was always looking for the people who wanted to be there it didn't matter if they were the most skilled that we interviewed or not the ones who really wanted to be there wanted to contribute and wanted to learn were the ones we always ended up hiring that's so good so I want to play a game with you sure this game is called rapid response oh my goodness I'm going to ask you a question okay and I want you to find okay alright you ready trying to be ready alright born ready Jennifer Barber rapid response your time starts now okay podcast recommendation Simon Sinek okay best pizza you've ever had Bronx pizza here in Vegas the white pizza okay good to know I have not tried that it's delicious where is that located Port Apache something we should all be paying attention to our spiritual evolution oh okay good one okay you get a choice here sure and they may be the same thing okay what is either your get psyched up song or your walk on music song get psyched up song is good gracious this was a struggle for me to listen to so many music depending on my mood okay so get psyched song is Disney it's the little mermaid part of your world okay because I sing it in the shower there's a deeper meaning to it it's not just beautiful magical mermaid thing it's a girl fresh in the water with this strict dad and wanting her freedom and you know taking the risk to go and venture to the world yeah yeah that's awesome a book everyone should read The Alchemist okay by Paul O'Coheil I think I agree on that I think everyone should read that yes best Halloween costume uh best Halloween costume was oh oh my goodness um okay so it would be during the time where my son dressed up as a uh Luke Skywalker and I was dressed up as a princess Leia I think I believe yeah okay we're a big Star Wars fan I see that yep next vacation uh Puerto Rico okay an important trend to watch oh my gosh uh um oh wow you got me on this one uh this in in what sense what do you think is an important trend we should all be watching um oh uh AI AI integration of AI in business in everything in everything in business and even in finances okay this one should be easier yeah favorite sports team uh Vegas nights go nights go go nights go go nights go your biggest influence in life my grandmother I thought that was going to be the answer my grandmother she sounds like an amazing woman she is she truly is well thank you thank you for playing our game thank you I always like to letting me play to asking to asking some questions like this to get to know our guests a little better last night I was looking through your Instagram sure and you've shown that to us today how introspective how self aware you are but even though you've got that for yourself you know every few months on your Instagram you find where you've done a post where you're sharing some of these things you're going through yourself and how you feel about an offering advice to someone and it sounded to me like it was there was someone somewhere who's finding that today it's exactly what they needed to hear right you've told us a lot about your story but how did you become so tuned into yourself is there is there something we've missed in your story about how you became so introspective self aware I left the immigration battle for five years of my life this is when I knew God was real I'm trying not to cry about this because this was a very tough part of my life I was in San Diego and I was denied I'm Canadian I had all the proper documentations I have an immigration lawyer shout out to Josh everything was properly done right but during this time this was when we had the the 9-11 all these other things that are changing that I can't ignore external forces and it affected everybody to a even a micro level like myself even as I'm not from a third world country I'm not from I'm not a refugee I am a Canadian citizen so in that regard I felt like I was targeted and I was denied and this was the fight for my life aside from the financial burden of it and the back and forth I was denied twice the second one I'm going to retell this story I was putting a room my ex-husband was in another room and as I was sitting in there and they played good cop good cop bad cop and they brought in my own person that spoke my language to see if they can just befriend me it was all strategy but if you are telling the truth the truth doesn't need you know justice it doesn't need to be defended on you don't have to defend the truth so that's kind of what I gathered from that was it was the longest interrogation of my life I think I was in that room for eight hours and my lawyer was waiting the whole time left and then when I came out I felt defeated like absolutely exhausted mentally spiritually emotionally exhausted this is a really powerful story this is when I really made peace that I know God got my back and I came out of there and my ex-husband I can see from the video was slamming the table he was so like pissed came out it was just like silence and then the lawyer comes up to me and I was holding tears and he says listen it's not good but it's not bad what does that mean give me the bad and he says it's not good it's not bad they can't make a decision today they were supposed to make a decision that day that was the second thing and he says if they deny you for this supreme court I said I don't have anymore fight left in me to go all the way to the supreme court I'm going to have to rethink and that meant everything I built again is going to be gone I'm going to restart somewhere else that seems to be the pattern right but something in me told me I'm like okay it's not a no but it's not a yes and I said did they tell you they're going to deliver the letter personally to your home and I was like when and he says we can't know that so I was just kind of like feeling really hopeless like really like ready to throw the towel I was so exhausted financially it was draining so I you know I went home and you know dealing with you know my ex-husband at the time he didn't handle it well so he was just slamming doors and just not it's like he's right it was on hold but deep down I was free though in my mind and my soul that I knew that this is just another step of the pain that I needed to overcome but it was just when I went home and I walked in my house I felt like this looming dark clouds was on top of my house like I just felt that dark dark energy and I looked at my son he was young at the time and I said there's no way I'm going to stay and be miserable you know I just literally just left the house and my husband went into the room slammed the door and I just went in my car and I buckled my kid in the car and then I finally saw the steering wheel in my car and I sat there and I stared at the steering wheel and I don't know why but at that moment I said Jesus take the wheel I just literally verbalized that and I said and I cried so hard I put my head down like it's that deep cry you know I said like I gave it the best fight I could I'm not able to to do it anymore I'm tired and then I forgot my son was in the back of the car and he goes like this with the little tissues mommy don't cry here you go and I'm like I cried some more because I'm just like oh gosh I'm falling apart right and so at that moment I said fine I accept my I accept my destiny I accept my faith like faith if this is it if I have to go back to Canada so be it if I gotta have to make a life again over there I'll do it if this means like separation from my marriage because right now it's so complicated right I was just everything was just like oh my gosh where do I go from here I don't have the solution and that was the moment where I said I accept I surrender I literally said that I accept I surrender what you have for me because I think that you have a plan for me although I'm not really I'm really in pain and I'm hurt about this what's going on right now but just for today I said just for today can you just make me feel loved can you just make me feel like I'm not alone I am broken I literally said that I'm so broken I don't know how to go about this I've fought this far too long five and a half years so I went to Rubio's I ventured with my son because you know Rubio's and this was in La Jolla and I walked in there and it was crowded and then the only table I could find at the time was a four-seater table now I have a little baby so I felt not that I was trying to be selfish but you know I kind of like the extra room I don't have to be so close to people and I sat down and I remember you know there was some alcohol in there and they said something really not nice and it says some people they're talking about me some people do not have consideration and they take a four-seater chair when there's only two of them I was like in my ready battle mode I'm like wipe my tears I'm like excuse me what's your problem you know what I mean like and then they laughed at me and I was just like I was I felt this little and I sat down and I shrunk in that chair even more I went through a lot already and I looked at the corner of my eye and there was this woman she had like an aura about her she had a glow and she was mulata so you know curly hair just grey and just staring at me intently with the kindest eyes like it almost like bothered my soul because I'm like why are you being it's like undressing me and then she looked at me and she smiled and then I was like like look away because please I'm a hot mess do not look at me and then I looked up and she was right here in my face and I was like like taken back but there was something so different about her energy about her demeanor and the way she was looking at me as if no one else existed in that room just me and she says are you having a bad day dear and I looked at her and I'm like I'm falling apart like basically but I didn't want to tell her exactly the details of what I was going on it's a public space and then I just looked at her and then she grabbed my hand like this and she petted it like like along like my aunt you know or my grandmother right and she petted it and then I looked at her and said what would you do if you can no longer see the light at the end of your tunnel translation I'm losing hope I can't go through this journey it's too dark for me I've been through it and then she gave me the kindest eyes and she kneeled down and this is the most unusual thing in a public space and my son was just so calm and you know and I kinda looked at my kid making sure he's okay she kneeled down and she gave me a kiss on my right cheek and my left cheek then she whispered in my ear and she said stop looking for the light you are the light you need to trust that you are chosen to have the divine light to go through that tunnel everything's gonna be okay I was like the heaviness in my chest it's like lifted it was lifted like everything that I've ever felt emotional pain disappointment abandonment issues all that lifted and I was like like I could breathe and I looked at her and I said like really? and I was like he's like yeah everything's gonna be okay and so I'm like this wiping my tears I looked up I was like this can't be fast you can't exit this fast I can't see it and I said to my son son did you see I'm sorry I skipped this part before I did that I actually asked for her name I said what's your name she says you can call me Solera I would never forget that so I didn't connect all my dots yet but I looked at my kid because I was worried because I was like so focused at this woman and I felt like nothing else mattered and I just like laser focus vision tunnel on this woman and it's just like everything just stopped for a second to have this conversation with her to comfort me I look at my son I said okay he's like this like nodding his head and I was like where did she go and but at that point in time I felt so light like no more pain and I was like huh I'm not scared anymore I don't have anxiety I'm not having a panic attack I'm not sad I'm not feeling broken I walked out of there like I'm brand new person and then that juxtaposition image earlier of my steering wheel caught me because the light was shining on the steering wheel and I looked at it and said like this it was when it hit me I was like I asked to be comforted I asked for God to show up and to make sure I'm not alone in this journey and what it could be the worst decision I could be deported I could lose my kid because you know all these other things that have been set up I got inside the car and I said wow I said thank you God you're here I'm ready whatever the decision is I'm ready like I'm so enthusiastic in case you get deported Jen I'm like it doesn't matter I can do this I can do this and I drove home and that dark crowd almost felt like it's been lifted out of my house and I think at this point I was like okay you know it's gonna be fine and then I was happily and then the ex-husband came out of the room and says why are you so cheerful I said I couldn't even share because it was such an intimate moment spiritually he says oh by the way they came in today and dropped this letter and I said I knew that was the verdict right and so I you know it seems like it was sealed it looked like it was closed I'm thinking he probably opened it already but it was poker face I could not read him I grabbed it and I said I need some alone time I need to look at this and I turned my back and I went to the kitchen because I don't want them to see me cry if it's it's it's it's it but I remember like this is a this is when I knew that the God is real I looked at that paper and it says welcome to the United States of America I'm Canadian and I still fought for that five and a half years of my life it was a hard battle it is really a hard battle it's back and forth and at that point I just I I smiled and it was a happiness because I knew that I was already that however bad we have it however it may look like hopeless or situations whether that's on a personal front or business that I knew that there's a higher power that makes the final decision for us but our hard conditioning has to be in alignment to for that to come in our lives we have to ask for help we have to surrender when we need to and that was when I really knew God showed up for me real real hardcore it doesn't matter how much opposition you have this battle has been won I was going to be victorious that is what he gave me and I I literally like fell on my because of the struggle I literally fell on my knees and I said I am going to serve you moving forward thank you for not abandoning me in my times of need and I'm going to make moving forward from here on forward everything I do has to be impactful to deliver the message that you're here you're here available to those who want you in their life you're waiting patiently for others so I want to be a restoring gift and a blessing whether that's on a business on a personal front in every level and that's where I get my deep introspection from because it's such an intrinsic part of who I am it's a that moment it's a indelible it left an indelible imprint in my soul that I can't go back to my old way of functioning of thinking that I have all the solution that I can cure cancer or you know that science is going to cure cancer or whatever else is happening right it's just that logical part of my brain was switched to hold on a minute here's another side of your brain or your heart space and it has to be an alignment your heart needs to communicate to your brain now that you know the reality that there are there are higher power in the work to sovereignly protect you guide you and be here for you when you really need to there was no way my lawyer couldn't believe it so he didn't even know the verdict so I called him and I was shaking on the phone and he says if I'm honest I've been an international lawyer I know the laws in Canada and I know the laws in the US for immigration I have never had a client that went through what you went through this is the most craziest in my whole career of 30 years being an immigration lawyer I've seen someone battle immigration and it's almost a syph like I don't know why you went through this but I'm so glad that they approved it and that's why I value my freedom yes I am free in my own mind but the freedom that we have here in the US I fought for that and I'm Canadian so that's why I had to share that I knew that I was slightly admitting this because I know I was going to get emotional but that is such a beautiful powerful amazing story it answered all of my questions about advice you would give to folks who are disconnected feeling hopeless so wonderful I don't have to ask you those questions anymore you are such a powerful successful business woman and leader I'm so interested in what are the tools you use what are the methods you use with your team to help them grow into the kind of leader you are yes that's a good question so is I really like and I'm sure you guys have heard of this EOS which is the entrepreneurs organization the book traction goes with it in terms of the mechanics of the setup of the process and running a team coming from a business coaching that is the best and I would say it's the most effective way to really build your team and to get everybody in the right seat so that they can no more micromanaging that's what it does is it eliminates it we are now building leaders to step into their game and they are accountable for their success and so this the shift in perspective of you know just an employee to you have a real stake at making a name for yourself in the company just this is your we're going to give you everything you need to be successful take it to the organization that needs to happen in order for you to be successful at your job we're setting people up with the EOS system we are setting people up for success that's awesome I love that I love setting people up for success and we believe in that so strongly here both here on the podcast and in my company of we're not we're not creating employees we're building leaders for the future yes we are I have a couple more questions for you but I like to so tell everyone where they can find Jennifer Barber and where they can find all the amazing things that you're working on right now awesome I am quite out there in the social media so you can follow us on Instagram which is Empirefy agency I will give you all this spelling of that and I'm also for my personal one I'm open to always meeting new friends new connections I'm all about enriching lives of others Jen Barber LV on my Instagram as well on my I have Facebook the same same name for all of those and our website which we'll launch is going to be mid October it's www.empirefyagency.com awesome and your Instagram is awesome it's very very inspiring I can vouch for that personally alright last couple questions someone or something you're grateful for my son my son I I would say I built around I've sacrificed my life and that's not in a bad way I made the right choices because my son saved my life in so many ways I could have gone to a different side of the spectrum here but my kid was I looked at him and I said I'm going to be this I'm going to be here for this kid to make sure I guide him all the way to success so he has I've always believed that so I say my son I'm very grateful for him he is I am a true single mother I don't have support so it's me and him we built a team that's why he's my best friend yeah that's fantastic that's beautiful last one sure advice that you would give to future leaders especially young women leaders who well from my experience it would be somewhere along the lines that there are respective roles that both male and female are very good at but one thing that a woman needs to know is she is capable of building her dreams and making them into reality and that no external forces or opinions of society males or anyone else out there matters but hers and it requires evolution of self in many layers and that this is deep but it is peeling and piercing through the veils the layers of programming that society has I can easily make that statement and you can make your dreams into a reality as a young woman but gender doesn't stop you from achievements and you really but there's an element to not neglect your spiritual self and in the process of becoming who you are meant to be and that is making the the impact that you need to make in the world and you need to learn to trust yourself and listen to those inner voice and guidance because they're there for a reason well I think that's a perfect place to end it Jennifer Barber thank you for being with us today thank you to litigation discovery group for allowing us to use this space and create some great podcasts thank all of you for watching the leader's mindset we love having you whatever you're going to do today make sure you have an impact