This week Turg and Randy Z took a trip out to the beautiful 41st State Assembly District in Pasadena, California to connect with Assemblymember Chris Holden as he shares his journey through his 20s and 30s in the political arena as well as insights and tips for how to join the noble fight as an activist in your community.

So, you’re in your 20s and you’re thinking about politics?!

Chris shares his exposure to politics at an early age and how he was able to reflect on his role to make and impact changes in the community in which he grew up. So what does a 23-year-old know about politics? Well, really not a whole lot – but that doesn’t mean you can’t try to shake things up a bit. But, the decision wasn’t easy. Chris talks about the choice between his love for basketball and the commitment he made to his community to pursue his purpose. 

Find out more about Assemblymember Chris Holden on his district website and on Twitter

Another one for the road – Turg and Randy Z sit down for yet another 1-on-1 conversation that touches on the depth of our human emotion, experiencing traumatic situations and how we can use (our) children as a conduit to better understand our own emotion and how all of this relates to what helps push us through our 30s.

Kids are a tough nut to crack – but what if we had stronger tools with which to ‘crack’ them?

When we think of survival mode, we don’t really understand what activates within us that triggers our survivalist mentality. Randy shares his recent experience with bedtime at the Turgman residence and how he equates his experience to when Tom Hanks’ character in Castaway lost Wilson.

Turg walks us through his experiences with parenting and the conversations that couple must have to divide and conquer the “kiddie chaos”. The most important thing to remember is to not let the chaos transcend reason and destroy the relationship. The next most important thing is to remember not to lose your cool – they’re just kids (easier said than done. Trust me, I know! – Turg)

But going back to survival mode

Survival mode is something we are all born with. It’s also something we aren’t always too sure on how to control. It can lead to undue stress and anxiety and if we let it – it can destroy our interpersonal relationships. Not to mention it can harm how we view ourselves. It’s important to understand our approach to our own emotions as well as our approach to parenting so that we are ensure the development of successful, confident and strong children.

When taking risks, we don’t always understand what they are and how to approach them

How we view the risks we take depends on how we perceive the situation and how well we take hold and work our way past the adversity. In its most simple form, we can learn a lot from our children and how they handle the ever-changing environment around them.

Rationalizing a child’s behavior to help us better understand our own emotions

Understanding the situation and understanding how to handle it – and most importantly not beating the crap out of your kid is the most important part of being a parent.

 This week, Turg and Randy Z take a moment out of the interview schedule to go back to basics and discuss careers and pathways in more depth than ever before.

Is spending too much time at one career stop a bad thing?

Randy mulls over the past 10 years of his career at the same place. It’s a bit of knowing you are in the right place and a little bit of complacency. But, with the comfort comes benefit and sacrifice. It’s up to you to determine what is worth more at this point in your life. Is it worth starting over, or is it worth staying and growing in one place? Turg contrasts the last 4 years of career growth and challenges. There is a lot of change that comes with starting over so frequently, so when do you stop and ‘smell the roses’? Does it ever end?

When we take time to reflect – what do we find as the result of our thoughts and ambitions?

Turg shares his experiences in speaking with other people on LinkedIn as he has found a new ‘calling’ as a self-proclaimed career coach of sorts. And within the recent dialogue, Turg shares a story about one of his LinkedIn interactions that stood out and serves as inspiration for him to reconsider the career path he’s chosen. Seeking out others online – especially people you don’t know – is sometimes a good strategy to get some real-time feedback without judgement. Have you ever considered going out of your ‘local’ network to find advice about your job or entrepreneurial aspirations? 

Why is it so hard to take your own advice?

New conversations always bring about this revelation. So, why is it that we can never seem to find the answer? Why is it that it’s so much easier to watch others succeed rather than to try and succeed within our own world? Of course, every circumstance is different and offers its own set of challenges. Some people are just more risk averse than others and some people plain don’t care about the risk or even considering it and just take a leap of faith simply based on confidence. 

So in the end, how do I figure out what I really want to do?

This is a challenging question that we can never really answer for you. But, here are some things you have to consider when contemplating your current situation (if you’re not already self-employed):

• Do you want to feel fulfilled as part of an established enterprise?
• Do you want to feel that sense of collaborative validation?
• Do you feel like you’ve learned enough throughout your career to do it “on your own” as an entrepreneur? 
• Do you know the risks associated with your decisions to stay or “go” and have you realistically evaluated them from every angle? 
• Can you really account for every factor in your life that may impact your success? (The real answer here is NO, but it doesn’t hurt to ask…)

And of course, while we are always advocating finding your self and doing something you love – pursue the most realistic approach; something that works for you. In the end, if you’re not happy – reach out and find a support system that will help you see, learn and grow more.

This week Turg and Randy Z are joined by LaKitia Woodard – Founder of A Sister’s Truth, a company focused on helping women cope with the hardships that arise throughout their journey – as they discuss the reality behind the story of a sexual abuse survivor who set out on a mission to discover her purpose in life while working to inspire others to find courage behind their own voice. 

Sharing your story not only helps inspire others, it helps liberate the soul

LaKitia shares her story – or as she puts it – her journey to purpose and the feeling of loss she felt as she quietly suffered. It took one instance for her to break out of that feeling of perpetual hopelessness – when she began sharing her story. From then on, her journey was clear: help others in need of the same help, no matter the problem. 

The truth is that everybody has common ground

When we focus on exposing our truth and converting that into our purpose, we win. The benefit of sharing what pains us throughout our lives is the ability to find others who share the same experiences. Unifying a community of like-minded people, LaKitia focuses on searching out the issues and turning them into triumphs. This helps liberate others to love themselves and own their truth in order to overcome and find the courage to overcome their pain. 

The 30s are amazing – so why do most people fear turning 30?

Sharing a lot of what set the stage for her 30s, LaKitia talks about what made her 30s so powerful. Establishing herself and learning about herself and what drove her to success all began with her first experience in sharing her story. It all boiled down to a single interaction with a little girl who had been a consistent victim of sexual abuse. This interaction helped spur the passion behind her mission to help others fight these wrongs. The inspiration that came from that one moment helped her affirm what she sought to find.

United by a singular purpose

Often, when we look back at our lives and try to identify the turning point it comes down to a single moment in time. When we take the time to think about the triumphs we all experience throughout our lives, the ideal we need to maintain is that we help others along the way; it’s not solely about us. How we help others throughout our journey through 30 is how we help ourselves thrive and grow as members of this global community. 

To find out more about LaKitia and her mission at A Sister’s Truth and join her on her mission to help others on their journey through 30.