TheDailyBrag
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Rebuilding and Advocating: Lisabeth's Story of Triumph Through Turmoil
What happens when life throws you curveballs that force you to rethink everything? Join us for a compelling conversation with Lisabeth, a vibrant soul who transitioned from Michigan to Austin, Texas, and has called it home for 30 years. Lisabeth takes us through her personal reflections on pivotal moments like September 11th and the seismic shift it caused in her worldview. From her early days in acting and modeling in New York to a career move to Pinehurst, North Carolina, Lisabeth recounts her fascinating journey that led her to Austin, all the while sharing the city's remarkable growth and what keeps it close to her heart.
Ever wondered how one bounces back after a severe financial and emotional crisis? Lisabeth offers an unvarnished look at her life post-divorce and the collapse of her seven-figure ad agency, revealing the raw realities of living on friends' couches and grappling with tax burdens. Her story shines a light on the value of authentic grief and the essential role of friends and family in rebuilding a shattered life. Through her narrative, Lisabeth underscores the power of facing one's hardships head-on and the strength that emerges from such resilience.
But the conversation doesn't stop at personal transformation. We also explore Lisabeth's professional endeavors, including her significant work in fighting child sex trafficking in Texas. By discussing community efforts and her role in grassroots movements, Lisabeth provides an inspiring example of how collective action can address critical social issues. She shares memorable experiences from her career, including pitching to Anheuser-Busch and celebrity encounters, and wraps up with insights on personal growth and the impact of the "Outwitting Fear" course. Concluding on a hopeful note, Lisabeth and the hosts reflect on the power of connections and anticipate future collaborations. Tune in for an episode packed with resilience, community action, and the triumph of the human spirit.
all right, lisabeth, how are you today? Thank you for coming to the daily brag. How's it going?
Speaker 2:ah, it's going great. I'm in beautiful austin texas, it's. Uh, I was just telling you it's eight o'clock at night, so I did pour myself a little glass of wine, sir I like that good stuff I like.
Speaker 1:I said I brought my water with me, all right, so you're in Austin Did you grow up in Austin.
Speaker 2:I'm actually from Michigan originally. I've been in Austin for 30,. Wow, 30 years 30 years. This year. Yeah, yeah, 30 years this year.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:I go home every year to Michigan. I am a Michigander love Northern Michigan, love the you know the water, yeah and uh, but I do, uh, love Texas. I gave birth to two Texans, so that puts me up on the scale of being a Texan.
Speaker 1:Oh, you're a Texan, yeah, you're a full. Texan Now so I recently did. You just have a birthday recently.
Speaker 2:I did Sunday.
Speaker 1:September 12th.
Speaker 2:Yeah, september 12th that's awesome.
Speaker 1:So where were you so 20 years ago? How was that birthday? You're like a day after September 11th.
Speaker 2:Oh, I thank God every day that I was not born on September 11th. That would be so so hard.
Speaker 2:so, somber, I had the joy of spending the day with my kids and grandkids on the lake and we played around. But on Saturday we went with some friends. We went to some friends to a winery in Texas there's a bunch, I'm sure, everywhere now there's wineries everywhere so we did some wine tasting and somebody said that, oh, thank God you weren't born today. And that made everybody stop and lift our glasses and toast and you know, and send, say a prayer to all those that were lost, as well as the families. And so, um, I can't.
Speaker 2:And I was just on the phone with a gentleman who was in the building. He was in building seven, his name's Ari and he an amazing man. He has a podcast and we were just talking about it. We weren't doing the podcast, but we were talking and it's called Whispers and Bricks bricks, okay. And he was talking about how, in that building, when it hit, you know, in our lives, he was listening to the whispers of how to get out and where to go and help people. And he said but we also in life have bricks. You know, we run into those walls and what are you going to do? You're going to listen to the.
Speaker 2:you know your inner guidance, your whispers, or you can let those bricks stop you and I was like you talk about, so we were talking about his experience on Saturday, so I can't even imagine.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I can't even imagine.
Speaker 1:Now, how did that? Did that change you in any way? Uh, when that happened.
Speaker 2:Um I I don't know if it changed me I. It broke my heart for our country.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:When I, when I realized what it was, my mom and I I used to live in New York, I used to do acting classes and modeling in New York and my mom would come visit me and we would go to windows on the world and felt like you know, we were all that and you know I don't know if you've been there and you stand at the windows and you can look out, of course, statue of Liberty but then there'd be Cessnas flying around below you because you're so high, and my mom called me after I dropped the kids off at school and said a plane just hit the World Trade Center. We both thought it was a Cessna. And then, when I got home and realized what was going on an Alan Jackson song when Were you on that dreadful day? I was, I was in shock, I was just and I was sad for for my children that the world was never going to be the same again.
Speaker 1:That's right, it changed. It changed so much. I, I, um, how about you? Yeah, I was gonna ask you what? How did it change you? Uh, it changed my politics a little bit. Looked at politics a little bit different that day, um, but for the most part, um, you know, I it just, yeah, it just it just gave me that sense of you know, we're not, it's different now, we're never going to be the same again. And you had to really look at I think it made you look at for me again politics. It made me really look at that a lot different than what I the way I looked at it before. So I'll leave that there, but yeah, that's a whole nother podcast.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. That's what.
Speaker 1:That's what happened there mostly but but so so you used to come to New York, but but you, you grew up in Michigan and then you moved to Austin. How did but? But you, you grew up in Michigan and then you moved to Austin. How did that happen? Why Austin as opposed to?
Speaker 2:Well, I, I grew up in Michigan and then I went to New York and did the acting and the modeling and then, um, I got a job. I was in marketing advertising and I got a job at the resorts of Pinehurst, which is in Pinehurst, north Carolina, and they have seven golf courses an amazing golf course, and I was my father's favorite daughter when I was working there because he could golf for free. So I was the favorite for a few years and I married. I met a Texan and he wanted to get back to Texas and that's how we got back, and at that point in time I was doing training and speaking, so I could do that anywhere. And so we got to to Austin and been here ever since.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:And we have watched it grow. I mean it is crazy how Austin is such a favorite city but, uh, some people don't like it. The growth, but it's still near and dear to my heart. It's a great, great city.
Speaker 1:Good, good. Now you know, I know a lot of people is moving there from like the Los Angeles area, I think even the New York area. You may have a lot of people migrating to, like the Austin Texas area. So how do you guys feel about that out there as Austins?
Speaker 2:Well, I don't know what it is today, but I know as of a year ago maybe two years ago, I don't know with COVID, I know housing markets through the roof down here, but we were averaging 159 people a day moving into Austin. So that is a lot of people moving in every day. You can't stop it and a lot of people don't like it, but that is growth. I mean, what do you do? And we live actually an hour outside of Austin. We live and we have an apartment in Austin. I'm in at the apartment now in Austin, but our home is an hour out and we're on 30 acres and so, yeah, so that's really nice. And so I do escape the city and then I use the apartment for an office. And then tonight, knowing I was going to talk to you late this evening, um, and I have control of the remote, I thought, ooh, I'll just spend the night talk with you, then watch whatever I want on TV and drink a glass of wine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's gotta be a great football game on tonight.
Speaker 2:Somewhere or something on Netflix. Ted Lasso's not on till Friday, though Drats.
Speaker 1:All right. So you, you met your husband on the golf course.
Speaker 2:No, no, no. Um, I was doing some training but I I'd met a Texan and so we moved to Austin and then we were we're we're divorced and, um, I remarried when I was here and that's the, the, that's the fallout of the ad agency. And my when my life crumbled was was that was that All right.
Speaker 1:So if you can take me on that journey for a little bit, and just about how your first divorce impacted your business, and you know how you went from, you know, living at friend's house and not not having somewhere to stay permanently, and at that point you didn't have your home yet, so you kind of had to rebuild, uh, from from the bottom up. So tell me about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I, um, I was in business with, uh, my partner was. I was in business with my partner, who was my husband, and we had an ad agency and we were really good. We were seven figures. Like I said, we were on movie sets, we were doing behind the scenes red carpet junkets parties. We were doing extremely well. But I knew for a really, really, really long time, and maybe even before I married him, that I shouldn't marry him. But I don't know if guys do this, but as a female I was like it'll be all right, I can fix it, I can make everything work, and I don't know if you guys do that, but I think we do Okay yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So, um, as we're into the business, it just the. The relationship was horrible and there was so much negativity that there was a point where I needed to get out. Something needed to change and I didn't. I stayed in it so much longer than I should have because of my fears of what are people going to say. I don't want another divorce. Our kids are very well combined, we have clients. I mean, I just stayed and I just became a shell of myself. I didn't stand up for myself. I had lost my confidence, and so then, when it was time, when it was like, okay, you're out, then things started as we started peeling away the things I knew he had not filed, we had talked about. He had not filed our personal taxes, and all this came up in the divorce. But there was three years of personal taxes he had not filed and interest and penalty on a daily basis for seven, eight, six years of taxes. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:It's pretty amazing amount of money. Yeah, yeah, it's a pretty amazing amount of money, and so when you watch those Optima commercials if you have no money, they will work with you.
Speaker 2:If you have money, gimme, gimme, gimme. And we owed them money. We did. We owed the IRS money. Well, he had the opportunity to plead hardship and so the IRS went oh, you have a business, you have money coming in. And so they came after me, the business.
Speaker 2:And so it got to the point where I was robbing Peter to pay Paul for so much of trying to take money from this. And it wasn't my money, it was media buys and it was client money. But I was doing whatever I could to hold that house of cards together and I couldn't. So I had to sell the house, dissolve the business. In Texas, luckily, I didn't have to declare bankruptcy, you're allowed to dissolve a business. And but my biggest fear which sounds crazy was well, and then let me back up. So dissolve the business, may something end of April, may.
Speaker 2:My mom died in July and then had to close on the house and sell the house in August. So all this happened over a couple of month period and at that point I was homeless. I mean, luckily my kids are married. One's married, the other two are in college, so it wasn't like everybody was out, so I was living on couches. I didn't know what I was going to do. A couple of big things that came up for me was, first of all, what are people going to say? And I don't know if you've ever dealt with this or your audience has dealt with it, but my identity was so tied to my job.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't know and you go. Are people going to like me? What's going to happen? Am I going to be? And you find out who your friends are. You know that old song you find out who your friends are. Luckily, I have so many amazing friends that they believed in me when I didn't and my family believed in me when I didn't. I had just you know somebody. I remember somebody calling me saying well, get up, go get a job, go sell something. And I went. I, I can't go sell something. And I went. I I can't. You know, I was at the bottom of myself there was no self-esteem.
Speaker 2:You know I'd lost it all and and and, not like over time, like that, wow so yeah.
Speaker 1:So at what point, uh, did you find the courage to get out of that marriage? Because you said you kind of sensed that it was wrong getting into it, at least for you, and then, at some point, you know, it fell apart. So at what point did you find the courage to say you know what? This isn't working for me. It's time for me to go. I can't fix this.
Speaker 2:You know, I actually haven't shared this. It's. This is really silly. But one morning I was getting ready doing something and I thought I could be a waitress. I could work at a grocery store. You know, I, I, I. It was that simple of I don't have to be doing this, I don't have to stay tied to that, to this marriage. I can go, I can get a job anywhere, maybe not in the industry that I'm used to, but I will survive. And when that little click of I could be a waitress hit me, it gave me the freedom of I don't have to stay here, right, I can leave, got it and that's yeah, that's what it was.
Speaker 1:Okay. So then you got out of it. You got out of that relationship and you were moving around, you know, friend to friend and trying to rebuild your spirit. So how did you? How did you do that and what helped you with breaking through that pain and being down from the divorce and everything else that you were going through at the time?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm not a depressed person at all, so I didn't know what depressed looked like. And when some people asked me if I was depressed, I was like I don't think so. Me if I was depressed, I was like I don't think so. And then when I thought about it and went well, I pick up a bottle of wine every night and crawl in bed and drink a bottle of wine and I was broke. So it was really crappy wine. It wasn't even $10 bottle of wine. It was this crappy, it was a bottom shelf wine. And I went oh yeah, maybe that is depression. Well, is that what that looks like? Okay, and the hardest thing for me to do. My friends didn't even know how bad it was. My kids didn't know how bad it was, and I'm the founding president of Texas Women in Business, and so I'm on a platform.
Speaker 2:People, you have a business, you're doing this, you've started this, you do not, and I've. I walked around so long with that fake smile that everything was okay, that I wasn't even supposed to be on stage and I don't know why I was. But there was an event and there was a couple hundred women in the room and I got up on stage and said I need to tell y'all something. And that was my defining moment, because I came out publicly and told the whole story, cried. People were crying, people were shocked. The line of women to come talk to me to thank me for telling my story. Women would come up and say I'm dying inside, my life is miserable, I've been faking it, I'm unhappy. This is what happened, my husband's leaving me, blah, blah, blah. I have to file bankruptcy, whatever, it was that defining moment of finally coming clean, which I think we need to do. We have to come clean and face it. It gave me that freedom.
Speaker 2:And I think another really good thing was I grieved. Right, I had. And some friends were telling me people would say just come on, you can do it, buck up, you can do it. And I know if I would have just shoved it down, it would have come out somewhere somehow. And so I allowed myself to grieve, I allowed myself to mourn the loss of my life and my mom and start over. So that was the defining moment. Start over, so that was the defining moment. And when I realized that I wasn't alone and other people weren't alone, I went okay, there's something to learn from this.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:There really is something to learn.
Speaker 1:So how long do you think was the grieving period? I know one of the things they say usually in grieving you first go through the pain and you go through anger. Uh, uh, and then I forgot the next step. Uh, and then you know there's the breakthrough period. How long, how long did you stay in that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I probably was in. I was in the. I think there's denial in there too.
Speaker 2:I think, denials first maybe and I don't know the grieving, but let's, let's just say denials in there, and I think that's one of the first ones. I was in denial for the first couple months of I can do this, I can get out of it. I, you know, I can just charge ahead. I was denying that it was happening. Then I went into anger and while I was drinking the wine in bed I was swearing at God. I fist in the air you, son of a. You know, I was so pissed off Because I actually had friends who the IRS hello, we've decided to forgive your tax lien. I mean, I had literally friends and they would call me going isn't this great? And I would just no, I'm pissed off, why not me? And so I was literally screaming it at God and I thought why can't I be like Sunday school, uh, bible story, job. Why can't I be that every you faith in god, trust in god, no matter what? And then I've never actually read job. I read the sunday school version of job.
Speaker 1:So you know which? That was it.
Speaker 2:That was it it's like joseph and the technicolor dream coat and joe, you know the good noah, those goes, yeah, and I actually got my bible out because I always read the New Testament and I pulled out Job and read Job and I went, oh, job was really pissed, job was really mad at God and he was swearing at God. He was mad, and I went, okay, and that gave me freedom to that. I'm a human being being, yeah, I'm a human being, and God knows I'm grieving, god knows I'm sad. So, okay, you're good, okay, we can get through that, and so that was probably a good couple months. And then I now this has been, had, been going on in the line, and so I I drew a line in the sand and I'm saying literally, but I wasn't in sand, but across like here, and said I can stay like this and be miserable and not trust and hate and resent or and blame and blame everybody else. That's really easy to do when you're there he did that and they did that, and he did that and he said that, and you tell your story over and over and over again because you want validation.
Speaker 2:And one day I went what's my responsibility in this? And literally when I stopped pointing fingers at everybody else, especially him, and I started he just did what he did. That's just who he is, I mean he, that's just so. But when I looked at myself is when I went, oh I have, I have some responsibility and this, and started looking at myself of what I needed to fix. That was really I do. I facilitate every month at a program called Discovery, which is an amazing program, and we have an exercise and during that exercise, every single time, everybody's pointing that way and we have to stop and go. No, what are you? You can only control you and it's that's when you can take charge and make things happen. Yeah, that's the only time when you can start taking responsibility and stop blaming.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so a lot of, a lot, like a lot of people who go through tough times. A part of their story is always about friends telling them you know, you know, just shake off, shake it off and get out of it. And I always say you know that's easier said than done. You kind of got to go internal and do it yourself. So did you get did you seek counseling at that point, or was it just like mental strength that got?
Speaker 2:you there, it was mental strength. I I probably should have gotten counseling. I'd never had counseling before, I'd never gone to therapy or counseling. So again, it's not in my wheelhouse, but I probably would have gone through everything a lot quicker if I would have once a month and we haven't in two years because of COVID, the program called Discovery. So I am kind of in that environment once a month. But even there I started realizing, not until I accepted responsibility, and you know the program directors were really thrilled to see my sad little face every month coming in to be a self-attaker.
Speaker 2:There was one month that I said we would buddy up and sleep with another facilitator to save money for this nonprofit. And I said I can't. I said I need to sleep by myself because I'm not sleeping and I have the TV on and I don't want to disturb somebody else. And the head of it said, well, if you don't mind, you know, because it is a nonprofit. To be fair, it will be $107 for you to have your own room. We'll pay for one night, you pay for the other. So that way it's fair to everybody. And I just started crying and he and I just started crying and he was like what I said? I don't have $107.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:I said I don't. I think I have enough money to get there enough gas, but I don't have it. And I was sobbing.
Speaker 1:He's like I'll pay for it. I'll pay for it, but you know he's told your story to this group of women. What was the next steps for you?
Speaker 2:The next step was accepting responsibility and stop blaming. And then I started asking myself why, why did I allow this happen? Why didn't I stand up for myself? Why didn't I say, oh hell, no to certain things, stand up for my kids in this relationship for employment? You know what was wrong with me? Why did I devalue my opinion in this relationship? And so that's what really started bothering me, because I didn't want to repeat any of it again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's when I started figuring out that I have we have well, we all have core fears, yep, and my two big ones. There's five basic fears that are silos that everything fits into, but my two were or are not being good enough and not worthy, which made total sense. Why wouldn't I stand up for myself? I'm not good enough, my opinion doesn't matter. Why am I devaluing myself? Why don't I put a better price on my head? Not price on my head, but value myself more. I'm not worthy, I don't deserve it. So when I started peeling back the onion and getting down to those that changed my life because I am worthy and I am worth it, but I didn't realize those things were sabotaging me I didn't realize that was what was the hidden message going on in the back of my brain Right. That was huge for me, huge for me.
Speaker 1:Got it. Now tell us about Texas Women in Business, and I know you guys just recently had an event on September 10th you did a coffee event. Now there was five founders in that business.
Speaker 2:Yes, so we were supposed to actually have, on September 10th, our 11-year gala, which was our 10-year gala, since we didn't have it last year again because of COVID and we canceled it this year as well because we didn't know what was going to happen. Yeah, five of us started this, which was really very cool. We were in another organization and we had a chance to take that over. I was a board chair for that and five of us sat around the living room at my office and said what do you want to do? Do you want to take it over? Do you want to start a new one? And how hard can that be to start a nonprofit? Yeah, run, don't do it Run. And 11 years later, we have chapters in Lubbock and Houston. We've got chapters that are interested in San Antonio and Dallas and San Angelo, and it's really very exciting and cool that we started that and it's still going strong. Our big thing that we're doing, which I'm proud of, everything that we do we give money away every quarter to a nonprofit. We've given away I think they just told me $50,000, over $50,000, which is really wonderful. I think they just told me $50,000, over $50,000, which is really wonderful.
Speaker 2:And this year we are spearheading a grassroots movement across the state of Texas against child sex trafficking. Texas is number one in trafficking and we thought it'd be really great to collaborate, to reach out to women's organizations across the state and say, hey, it's not your group and that group and this, these are our kids. So what can we do together? And now we have men's groups, we have rotaries, we have chambers, all saying we want to get involved, and we're working with the governor's office, which is amazing.
Speaker 2:Some people don't like the governor, some people like the governor, but I say, politics aside, whether he's our governor or not, I don't care where you're standing. These are our babies, these are our children of Texas. We have to do something. So we are doing an awareness, bringing an awareness. We're going to do a major event and we are affiliated with the Carly Ryan Foundation out of Australia with their material. So it's going to be a pretty amazing, powerful and I'm very, very proud of that. What a great legacy that will, if we can save one life. How amazing would that be?
Speaker 1:That is amazing, yeah, and did you start that after you left that marriage and came out of the, or that? Was in the before.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was in 2010.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I started that in 2010 with these four other ladies and then it was 25 ladies and then 50 and then it grew from there. But that was part of it, and part of it actually was to escape. When we started talking about that, I went to every meeting, I went to everywhere, and he would get mad at me, saying I can't believe you're going and be putting me down about it and yelling at me and I would say, well, I can go there where people really like me and respect me and want to hear what I have to say, or I can listen to this.
Speaker 1:Right, I'm out, Got it Now. So the trafficking you think that's happening more because you said Texas is like the number one area for that. Is that because you're right next to the border? Is that what's going on?
Speaker 2:We're next to the border and Houston the port. Yeah, we got a major port and it depends on your statistics and what day you're looking at. We're one to two, we can drop to three, but we're way at the very top of that. And online exploitation across the board is up 95% with kids online and what happens is that kids don't know. They think they're playing with another kid the video games you can play with anybody and they're playing with a 55-year-old man and they don't know it.
Speaker 1:Yeah these games are dangerous. They are dangerous oh yeah, so is Miraculum your company, or is that a company you just worked at?
Speaker 2:I worked at it. Miraculum is a company out of Orlando and the founder created a green fire retardant and it was pretty awesome because I commuted from Austin to Orlando for six months. I'd leave on Sunday or Monday and come back Thursday or Friday, and so it was my mileage. My miles were awesome. I took two kids to Sweden off my miles.
Speaker 2:It was great, that's awesome. So I did that for six months and, um what I once? I my ad agency is gone. Now I'm working with this clients that I really enjoy and doing more, consulting more projects, and I'm having a ball doing what I do and that way I can also focus on not on our watch.
Speaker 1:Got it. So you left that, the marriage and everything else, and you started what was the business? You started when you, when you left, when you.
Speaker 2:Finally, my company my company is called big cheese TV and I was going to ask you about that big cheese TV.
Speaker 1:So what does it tell us about big cheese TV.
Speaker 2:We do a lot of productions. We do commercials, we do videos, we help people launch their podcasts. Chancellor Hans, which is an ex-congressman and chancellor of Texas Tech, we help launch his podcast. So it just literally is the holding for all these projects I do, whether it's branding PR yeah, these projects I do. Whether it's branding PR. And what's really fun about it is the team that I had for 15, 16 years. We all still work together but, depending on the project, I call and bring in a certain team and we work on these projects and get them up and running and move on to the next one.
Speaker 1:That's. That's incredible, yeah. So what's the work that?
Speaker 2:my, I am. So I have to tell you a really funny story. So when we were first called back in 2003 or 4, a handful of us I got the call from anheuser busch to come up. They'd heard about our creativity that we were doing with gsdnm, which is a really big company and ad agency in austin, huge, biggest one here, and we were doing productions for them. And so Anheuser-Busch, the head of it, called and said will you come up and pitch us some ideas for some things? So they said first of all, you have to have a roof over your head. You can't be a bunch of contractors, you have to have. So we went and found an office really quick and I can't remember what the other I can't remember. There was two major stipulations. So as we're getting ready to leave, we were coming up with business cards and titles. And so the money guy was Mr Grisdale from Beverly Hillbillies, our artist was Pixel Pusher, our business development person was Schmoozer and they put me down as president. I was like I can't be president.
Speaker 2:Going into Anheuser-Busch, we came up with Big Cheese. So we go into Anheuser-Busch and their conference room is three times as long as this apartment. Big eagle on the conference table amazing. And we're all like, oh my God. And the head of advertising and marketing director of marketing advertising came in and she's introduced herself and she said and you are? And I said I'm Lisa Beth Thomas, I'm the big cheese. And she went yeah, okay. And then I gave her my card and she was you are the big cheese. Like my card made it official. So she collected everybody's cards and showed every person from Anheuser-Busch that came in our cards and held them. And I went we're never changing our name, our names, our titles and when the meeting got started she looked at me she, I was on one end of the conference table, she was on the other and I said I just have to tell you if nothing else happens from this meeting. We went up in the St Louis arch, we drank a lot of Budweiser and I got a new suit.
Speaker 1:So we're good.
Speaker 2:We're, you know we're good. We ended up doing two productions for them and two major commercials, which was great.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. Yeah, great story. So tell us about some of the work you've done with Disney. I think you did some work with Disney as well.
Speaker 2:We did a lot of associate, producing, shooting behind the scenes, disney and for some, my brain is not thinking of what we, because it wasn't like Mickey Mouse, it wasn't those, it was shows that they were doing and my brain is like not remembering what. We did HGTV, though, and we've done Discovery Channels. We worked on American Idol. We worked on the Bachelor one of the very first Bachelors A lot of Robert Rodriguez movies. We worked behind the scenes and did a lot of the red carpets for the Spy Kids movies, sin City, those we used to go to Robert's house and sit with him while he edited, because we had to get footage and get him footage, so it was really, really great. That's awesome, really fun stuff.
Speaker 1:How do you go from uh, having nothing to starting like having it all, losing it all and then starting from scratch again and getting those type of clients? How did that happen?
Speaker 2:I think the best way to answer that is and I don't know how else to say this, but I'm a good person.
Speaker 2:Okay, and that's a good answer, and I and I dealt with integrity and I was kind to people and did what I said I was going to do, always under-promised and over-delivered always. And when all of this fell out, I had to email every. I called every client and then I had to email all the reps. And we had a lot of reps. We had a lot of stations and radio stations. I had to email them all and tell them what was happening. Happening and every one of them sent me whether a card, a phone call, loving the ABC station, kvu offered me a job. It was amazing. Only one station was not nice to me.
Speaker 2:The rep actually was talking to one of our clients and complaining that I was doing this, and the client my client said and he'd been a client for 15 years said it's not like she's taking the money and going to Mexico, she's homeless and they were defending me. And so the thing that sustained me in this market without having to leave, is that my reputation before this blew up and I we we'd worked with DR Horton homes I don't know if you know DR Horton homes since 2009,. I'd emailed them, told them what was going on, what had happened. I can't buy media in the market. I owe the media money. So to this day I still can't buy media.
Speaker 2:But a girl that I worked with for 15 years started a media company, so she would do all the still can't buy media. But a girl that I worked with for 15 years started a media company, so she would do all the buying and I would do the creative. But DR Horton called and started talking about the Christmas campaign and I said remember, I called you, I've lost the agency. And they said OK, so for Christmas, christmas. And they just kept going and so I was very fortunate. So I think it's the, I really believe it's how you treat people. So, yeah, so I was able to pick back up.
Speaker 2:it took a little while to build it back up, but, um, but I did, yeah, but I did, yeah, but I did Good, good, good.
Speaker 1:So what are some of the um? So, from your experience, um, how can you, when you talk about the five fears that we have, um, is there any fear that you held onto from your experience, that you're still trying to let go of, from your experience, that you're?
Speaker 2:still trying to let go of Not good enough.
Speaker 1:Not good enough. Not good enough. How are you working through?
Speaker 2:that, yeah, and what? What's beautiful about it is that I know it. So when it shows up, it's and that that's the beauty of it, because I finally figured it out. And when I peeled away that onion, like I said, and I started really going down deep of, okay, what is this? And I have a system of how you get down to that. But when I got down to that, now when it comes up, I know what it is, whereas before it was sabotaging me, it was in the back of my head and I didn't know it, it was whispering to me. But now it shows up. Even today I was working on a proposal. I was like I better give a better, you know, and I started kind of manipulating the numbers and I went what are you doing?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:What you bring to the table is so valuable. This client's going to make hundreds of thousands of dollars off of your ideas. Come on Right, you're creative. Trust in yourself, believe in yourself. Everybody else does, but before I I wouldn't know to stop myself and say that before I'd be like, well, let me do my break. But now I'm like, no, I'm worth it.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, you know it's interesting because I've told this story a couple of times. So when people do hear this podcast they're going to say, wow, he tells that story all the time.
Speaker 2:But for me, we go and listen to bands and we want to hear our favorite songs, so it must be a favorite story.
Speaker 1:Tell it that I'm doing right, because that's always the fear is should I do it? Am I good enough, right? And I've found that you just like for me, I just broke loose and said I'm not. I'm just not going to give a damn about anyone's opinions about what I'm doing. Right, because you said earlier when we started about being tied so much to something, it becomes your identity, and so that was something for me where, uh, what I was doing prior to this became part of my identity, and it was like oh, how do I tell people I'm no longer doing that right? And so you just had to, had to, let go. But, like you, I did it through mental toughness as opposed to having to go through therapy yeah um, yeah, so now you're running this business and you have the texas women in business.
Speaker 1:What? What are some of the other stuff you currently have going on? Um, how about talking about the uh, uh, courageous and unstoppable you podcast?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I, I. I had somebody asked me to do it and did some photos for it, and my photos are fabulous, which I love.
Speaker 2:Elizabeth Ha me to do it and did some photos for it, and my photos are fabulous, which I love. Elizabeth Hauser did them and I did five. And I really admire you because after five I was like, hmm, I don't know if I could come up with something all the time to talk about, and so those are over here and maybe someday that will come back up, but it just it was really fun to do, but it wasn't the thing that lit me up. I'd rather talk to you and have a conversation with you than coming up with something, but it was fun to do. So, yes, I've got that.
Speaker 2:And then a client, jerry Hodge, who's the ex-mayor of Amarillo, an amazing man's success story. A book is coming out in the next couple of weeks, working ready to launch that for him, and he and Kent Hance, the chancellor of Texas Tech the kindest, most wonderful people. And that's what we like working with, really good working with, uh, bandy constructors down in San Antonio helping them with some new videos and got one more. What we're working on? We're working on a new website for someone, and there's something else noodling around in my head and I can't think of what it is, but it is so much fun because again, it's taking on projects that we, we like the people. We enjoy their values. They're good people, they value us and we want to do great work for them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, who's some of the favorite celebrities or companies that you've worked with so far?
Speaker 2:Um, there's many in Austin which you know. Amy's Ice Creams we worked with for years. But I have to tell you my favorite celebrity story. I have a couple of them, but we were doing the Red Carpet Junkets for years for Miramax and Sylvester Stallone was in Spy Kids. Three or four, I don't remember how many Spy Kids there were. I think there were, yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't remember, but Spy Kids there were, I think there were. Yeah, I don't remember, I don't remember.
Speaker 2:Great, I mean fun, fun kid movies, loved them. And so we were at the office and so we would always go over and do the red carpet junkets or do the things that they needed. And one day they called and said hey, elby, can you come over? This afternoon we need to interview Sylvester Stallone. And and we, you know, can you come over? You guys do it. And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So we ran over there and we get there and they said now you have to put tape in the camera and keep it running at all times, cause even when he walks in, he doesn't want you can't stop and go, let's start. You have to be rolling. So there's no downtime. You have to stand a good distance, six feet at least away. Don't look at him directly in the eyes. I mean I had all these and I was like, oh fun. I was like now I know why you called me. And they were like, yeah, you get to do this one. And so, all of a sudden, you could hear the rumbling in the hall he's coming, he's coming, he's coming. So he comes in, walks in and he stands, I shake his hand and the camera's running. And he said you know, did they tell you my right side is my best side? I want you to shoot my best side.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And I couldn't help it. I said well, actually I think your backside is your best side, so if you would for me. And everybody was like, oh dear God, did she just say that?
Speaker 2:And he looked at me and laughed and laughed sat down, held my hands, we talked for like a half an hour, hugged me, it was awesome. And then a couple months later I saw him on the red carpet. We were doing a red carpet junket and I walked into his room. But that red carpet junkets, you're in a room and they come to you so they just move, move, move, move to do interviews. And he walked in and he was like you're here, and he hugged me and we visited and his makeup artists were like he loves you, he loves you, and so it kind of goes back. Well, we're talking about you know, you just be yourself, you know, be your authentic self, and that that changes, changes things. So, yeah, that was a good one. That was fun, that's awesome. Do you guys stay in touch? No, but I wouldn't doubt, if he came to town and I went and found him, that he would know who I was. Good, good, good. He would know who he was, who I was.
Speaker 1:So what's some advice you would have for women who's been in your situation but haven't found the success?
Speaker 2:Oh, that's in the situation of losing it all, or in a bad divorce, or yeah.
Speaker 2:Kind of both in a bad divorce and losing it all and and and um you know, I, I don't want to be that person that says believe in yourself, cause when you don't, you don't, when you don't, you don't. I knew I was a shell of myself. I actually remember looking down at my body, going where did I go? What happened to me? I Ooh no one's asked me that question I, I'm going to go to fear, because that was my big one. We're here.
Speaker 2:Here's a really interesting stat or information we're only born with two fears, that's it. We're born with the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. Everything else we've learned, yeah, so it's fear of rejection or failure or not being good at whatever it is. We learned that from somebody. So if whatever is holding you back, I always look at it as, for example, there's five core fears Fear of being loved or not being loved, being alone, not good enough, not worthy, and trusting. Trusting has a lot to do with abused people, so that makes a lot of sense. Or people that have been hurt as children, but there's still trust. But those are the five, right, and people can say there's others. But you think about it. Fear failure, probably. If once you dug down and really got down to the bottom of that presenting fear. It's probably not good enough.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know they'll slide into one of these silos. So my advice would be if you're not succeeding, what is holding you back? And it's that is my advice what look? Look within right.
Speaker 2:Don't look out, don't blame the environment, don't blame the economy, don't blame you. Look within. What is holding you back? What are you afraid of what? What can you do? And the thing that and what story do you have to share? And what can you? You know, what have you learned that you can share with others? And once you dig down deep and again, when you find that what that is that's holding you back, that core fear, that freedom of it, is amazing. I remember, um, I didn't date, didn't even think of dating for three and a half years, and my kids finally were like mom, come on, you need to go out. And I was like nope, and girlfriends would say to me we'd be at a bar or something and say are you going out? Because that ain't going to last long.
Speaker 1:You better get out there because that's going to go away one of these days.
Speaker 2:And that's a true friend when they tell you that. Yeah, and I finally met David and we've been together six years and not married, but together for six years. Okay, and I was so mean to him in the sense of my non-trusting, that man couldn't look to the left or the right without me saying what are you doing? What do you mean by that? Who was that on the phone?
Speaker 2:I had so much distrust and hurt and again I drew the line in the sand on that one too and said I can be like this forever and lose this really great man or a man like him, or do something about myself. What is wrong with you? And the biggest thing I discovered. And I said to him I am looking at you through the cracked lenses of my past. Right, and you had nothing to do with it. I'm blaming you from my lens. That's broken and that is so unfair. And when I again realized what was back here was important because it was part of my journey, but I stopped blaming everybody else and I said, okay, you've got to stop. This is when I changed my life. So I would look within, I really would.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 1:There's a saying hurt people, hurt people. So I find that a lot of women who've been through what you've been through, often when they get out of their situation, it takes a long time for them to date, and then when they start to date, uh, the men kind of like walk on eggshells, and I think vice versa too right for men who's been in bad situations. They get out of it, they look at every woman and, uh, you know, you can't go out after nine o'clock. You know, whatever it is, I don't know what you're doing when you're out there. Um, I guess what the question is what is that one thing that helped you to change that, that view? Because I think you were saying that you looked internally and decided you didn't want to be that person.
Speaker 2:I didn't want to be that person. I didn't want to be. I didn't want to be that person you see on movies or on TV. I'm a trusting, loving, kind, fun person. Yeah, and I wanted to get back to that. And the again kind fun person. And I wanted to get back to that. And again, the only one that could change that was me. And guess what? If he was doing those things, it would come out, it would show up. But guess what? I was going to drive him away with my behavior, no matter what. No matter what. And it was horrible. And when I think back now I'm surprised he stuck with me. I really am.
Speaker 1:What did you think made him stay stick around?
Speaker 2:I think he knew I was hurting and that I was. I really was. I am a. I am a good person. I'm a nice person. If you met my kids, they're really good kids. My family is lovely. So a crazy woman I don't think would have a really good family that played, enjoyed and loved and my friends, and so I think he just knew I was hurt. Yeah, but there's a point. You can only do that for so long.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:You can only put up with somebody for so long and then it's going like okay, how long can I do this?
Speaker 1:Exactly so. I didn't want to be that person. That's good. How's your kids?
Speaker 2:first of all, oh, they're great, they're out of college. Now my daughter's 38. She's an EQ nurse and lives in San Antonio with her husband and three daughters. My son, paul, will be 28 next week. Wow, 29 next week. He was born in 92. And he is just finishing his second round of COVID. Oh, okay, he had the first round, which knocked him to his knees literally. Wow, COVID, and the first round which knocked him to his knees, literally.
Speaker 2:He was early on. He had it May, the very first year, and it's been 15 months but he just got a second dose of it. Yeah, and then my daughter, casey, will be 28 and she lives in Austin and is in a hotel restaurant management and loves it. So everybody is really. They spent the entire day together on Sunday on the water and it was great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you guys all spent the birthday together.
Speaker 2:Yes, we did.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, we did so. What's next for you?
Speaker 2:It's going to be big. This Not On Our Watch is going to be what's next for me. Again, I'll be doing marketing projects and video projects over here, but that is going to. I'm going to be speaking around the state with Sonia Ryan from the Carly Ryan Foundation. We'll be starting to speak around the state and going to events and getting this movement ready to move.
Speaker 1:Okay, good stuff. And also I want to say I listened to your podcast. I liked it. I enjoyed it. Did you? Yes, I did. I enjoyed the episode. So if you ever have spare time, you should continue with it. I liked it.
Speaker 2:I really did.
Speaker 1:I should have guests, though, shouldn't I? You can? I mean, you did an excellent job with the production. Now, who did the production for you, as far as the editing and all of that stuff?
Speaker 2:I did it in my closet. You did Wow, good job. I had a digital hand recorder in my hand, in my closet, and I had no script. Yeah, I just went for it, wow, and it came out. So Listen.
Speaker 1:If anyone out there listening, please check it out. So what? It's? Five episodes. It's the courageous and unstoppable you, just an unstoppable you. Yeah, it's a great podcast.
Speaker 2:I liked it. I enjoyed all five episodes. It's the courageous and unstoppable you.
Speaker 1:Unstoppable you. Yeah, it's a great podcast. I liked it. I enjoyed all five episodes. I listened to the first one, I guess, the intro, the trailer. I listened to it and I said oh, that's cool, I'm going to check out the other one. Before you know it, I had gone through all five episodes.
Speaker 2:Oh good, well, thank you, thank you. Well, and they were only 10 minutes long. So people are thinking how did you do 45 minutes without? And they were only about 10 minutes long, just little nuggets. And the State of Women Institute was the one that I was working with on that. And so when I say I did it in my closet, I did have, I did send it and then they added music to it. So, yes, I did not do all that in my closet, the recording was in my closet, I did have, I did send it and then they added music to it. So, yes, I, I did not do all that in my closet, the recording was in my closet.
Speaker 2:But good stuff in my clothes, and my clothes were my buffer, my sound, and I mean we used to have the sound rooms, we used to have all that, and so I was standing in my closet going okay, here I go.
Speaker 1:Hey, so I was just checking out Buzzsprout I think it's Buzzsprout's website or, I'm sorry, youtube and a lady there on video on YouTube, in her closet, with all the clothes and everything around her, and I. It was a great. The content was still amazing.
Speaker 2:So that's all that matters. It's all that. One of my best friends, melinda Garvey, awesome Woman Magazine. She does a lot of her things in her closet. You walk in and there's a microphone and a seat and it's a great buffer. You got all those clothes, yeah.
Speaker 1:Any books in the future.
Speaker 2:I say no, but somebody was talking to me the other day that I should start jotting down stories and different things and see where it, where it takes me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I asked because I think you have a great story, lisa Beth, and I think it would be, it would be good. I think people would enjoy the story and and I think you have some amazing things to say. Uh and yeah, so, uh, I would read it. I'd be a read. So definitely, I'm a, I'm a big book guy. So if you have, uh, if you ever have the time and you decide to write a book, let me know I'll. I'll check it out, I'll let you know.
Speaker 2:I'll let you know, and I'll send you the link, the um outwitting fear course, where you get down to your fear, is only about an hour long and I'll send you a link. So um with, so you can just do it. I would love for her to get your feedback on it. Absolutely, now, can anyone take that course, or you have to. Anyone can take that course, um, you, it's outwittingfearcom and you can click on to become an affiliate that people are also recommending and so then they can get paid to to recommend it. But it's only $97. I kept it really inexpensive because I wanted everybody. It's a pair of shoes, you know it's. It's a. It's a nice dinner out to get down to your core fears, and I put on there if there's a promo code, I think it's podcast, I put it in just a little while ago and it's 10% off. So if anybody that wants to do it, but I will send you a link so you can just do it and get your feedback on it.
Speaker 1:Sure, and I would love to put that on my Instagram for anyone that may want to take it.
Speaker 2:I would love for you to yes do it.
Speaker 2:I get such great feedback. I had a woman that it probably was a year that she bought it and just was not going to do it. And finally she said I don't want to know my fears, I just don't. I don't want to get there. And she texted me the other night, probably 1030 at night, and said are you awake? And I said yes, and she called me and she said thank you. Why didn't I do this sooner? I didn't realize the freedom I feel. Now I understand why I was doing what I was doing and I couldn't have been happier. I couldn't have been happier.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. So if people wanted to reach out to you, how can they do?
Speaker 2:that If they go to lisabeththomascom, which is my website, or Outwitting Fear, there is a link to my email. Okay, but you know I say that and I might go to my junk mail. Those, I think, go to my junk mail, so just lblisabeththomascom will get to me and I'm trying to get that not to go to junk mail. So I don't want to miss anybody.
Speaker 1:Okay, outside of Texas, women in business do you do any sort of coaching?
Speaker 2:Yes, I do. Let's talk about that, tell us about your coaching. Well, it's something that's come up and it's not formalized but I do, and so when people do call me and I've gone through the course or want to talk about it, I, I end up, I end up coaching, so that might be another arm. I think all these things are starting to unravel and unfold, which I'm kind of like just letting it happen.
Speaker 1:Good, that's the way to do it, kind of just let it grow.
Speaker 2:I'll let you know.
Speaker 1:Yes, let me know. And, uh, you know, I'm going to share the uh linked for the fair um training on on uh link on my I'm sorry on my on my Instagram and I'll share that. Uh, and just let me know the promo code and I'll make sure I give that out as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll shoot that to you.
Speaker 1:And excellent.
Speaker 2:And thank you for still being so informed. You were the most informed and had looked and that's why some of the things you're asking me, I was like, wow, I never even thought of that, nobody's asked me that question before Um. So thank you for knowing me better than I know me.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you for coming by. Um, I really appreciate it. I really appreciate you taking the time. I know last week was tough, but I'm glad everything worked out. And just so you know really quick. I have like 40 employees that I manage in my nine to five and I tell them all the time on our calls family and health comes first. That's always the priority. Everything else can come later. If you don't have family, you don't have health, you don't have anything to take care of you don't have anything. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was a magical moment, like I said, and for the listeners it was just one of those. We could not connect and we were both in the studio but we couldn't see each other. And I got a call that I was able to help someone that needed it desperately. And if he had been on this call I would have put it down in text saying I'll get back to you. And that would not have been. It was one of those kinds of calls that was an emergency call. So God works in mysterious ways and it worked out.
Speaker 1:I'm glad it did. I'm glad it did. You know what I'm going to tell you the truth, because I got that thing when you got on that I was messing around with to change my background, uh, and I was messing with that while I was waiting and that probably is why I didn't see you or you didn't see me. So that could be, that could be part of that.
Speaker 2:But it could have been yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah so cause.
Speaker 2:I was in join room and I saw your logo up there, so I knew I was in the right place.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you were in the right place. That was just me messing around, and God told me to do that so you can get to your family.
Speaker 2:I can take care of my family.
Speaker 1:Well, enjoy that, enjoy. Enjoy the rest of your evening. And I got a little wine left. Yeah, finish that wine, get on the Netflix. Bye well, it was awesome, it was a pleasure. Thank you so much. I hope we could do this again.
Speaker 2:By the way, I would love to, and if I have a podcast I will call you.
Speaker 1:Please do. We'll reverse. We'll reverse. I don't know if I'm good at being interviewed, but I'm good at doing interviews. I think I'm good I think.
Speaker 2:I think you're pretty good. I think you're pretty multi-talented. I wouldn't worry about it.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much. I appreciate that. All right, well, you enjoy the rest of your evening and we'll catch up again, please. Uh, let's stay in touch. All right, I will Thank you, you, you.