- Lisa Leonard
- Lisa Leonard on Instagram
- Lisa Leonard Designs on Facebook
- Brave Love by Lisa Leonard on Amazon
- Brave Love by Lisa Leonard presale at Barnes & Noble (free necklace when you preorder!)
- Ruth Soukup
- Ruth Soukup on Instagram
- Living Well Spending Less®
- ruth@ruthsoukup.com
- The Living Well Planner®
- Elite Blog Academy®
- Small Business Roadmap
- Compassion International
- The Meadows
- On Becoming Babywise by Robert Bucknam M.D. and Gary Ezzo MA
Lisa is a jewelry designer and the founder and creative vision behind the company Lisa Leonard Designs. She’s also the author of the forthcoming book Brave Love. Lisa and I actually met on a trip to the Dominican Republic with Compassion International, and I was delighted to find that Lisa was (and is!) amazing, brilliant, loving, and compassion. Over the years, our friendship has only grown, and I’m delighted to introduce this wonderful woman to you today! Her new book is honestly one of the best I’ve read in a very long time, and I think you’ll be inspired to order it after you hear her today.
As you’ll learn today, Lisa’s oldest son was born with an intellectual disability. This is one of the topics she focuses on in her upcoming book, along with struggles in her marriage. One of the things she did so well in her book was exploring these topics in a raw, vulnerable, real way, while still absolutely honoring her family and being deeply respectful of her husband and sons.
Lisa takes some time in our conversation today to dig into the marital unhappiness she experienced. She openly admits that she was ready to separate from her husband, even though she felt like she was turning her back on God and her faith by doing so. To her surprise, she felt like she really saw God for the first time after she told Steve she wanted a separation.
Tune in to learn about how Lisa and her husband put their relationship back together and how they keep it healthy, and what Steve thinks of Lisa’s new strength and openness. She’ll also talk about learning to trust her gut in business, why she suggests being cautious about hiring friends, how she got started in turning her jewelry hobby into a true business, and much more!
Highlights
[05:41] – Lisa introduces herself for listeners who don’t know her already, and explains who she is and how she got to where she is today.
[07:50] – What inspired Lisa to write her book and share her story, and how did she find the courage to put herself out there in that way?
[10:05] – Lisa talks about whether it was cathartic to just put everything out there.
[12:41] – We hear about how the process was for Lisa’s family.
[15:49] – What was the turning point that made Lisa and her husband commit to working things out instead of throwing in the towel?
[21:41] – Lisa goes into more depth about the retreat that she mentioned going on as she and her husband were healing their relationship.
[24:29] – We learn some of the techniques that Lisa and her husband use to keep their relationship healthy and thriving.
[27:25] – Steve, Lisa’s husband, totally prefers her newfound strength to her former people-pleasing self, she explains.
[29:23] – Lisa shares a story of a powerful experience that she had involving a young girl in the Dominican Republic.
[33:45] – What is one of the hardest lessons that Lisa has needed to learn in her business?
[35:59] – When Lisa has listened to advice that led her business away from her values and heart, it has ended up costing money and relationships, she points out.
[39:04] – We hear about how Lisa took her creativity and enjoyment of making jewelry into an amazing thing and a full business.
[43:23] – Lisa points out that taking each little step is empowering, even if you fail.
[45:37] – Lisa’s new book is coming out on January 29th, she reveals. She then talks about what else has her fired up right now.
[47:36] – We learn about how accepting help in various areas has helped Lisa find the alone time that she needs to thrive.
[49:08] – What is the best piece of advice that Lisa has ever received, and why?
[53:05] – Lisa shares her parting thoughts, and lists some places where people can find her online to connect or learn more.
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