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The Art of Influence
28 Plays1 day ago
In this engaging episode of the Uncommon Wealth Podcast, host Phillip Ramsey welcomes art influencer Liz Lidgett, who shares her journey from being the art kid in school to owning a successful gallery in Des Moines, Iowa. The discussion delves into Liz's path of pursuing her passion for art despite challenges and societal expectations. Highlighting her unique approach, Liz details how her grandmother’s encouragement played a vital role in igniting her passion for art, eventually leading to the creation of Liz Lidgett Gallery and Design which thrives on inclusive and diverse art representation, specifically focusing on midwestern art landscapes.
This episode highlights the pivotal moment when Liz transitioned from the corporate world to entrepreneurship, overcoming adversity by turning the obstacles of the pandemic into opportunities for growth through e-commerce. Liz shares valuable insights into her commitment to artists and clients, her definition of success, and the ethical backbone of her business. The dialogue is vibrant with themes of passion, loyalty, and resilience, portraying Liz as a beacon of light for those aspiring to marry personal passion with professional life.
Key Takeaways:
- Liz Lidgett emphasizes the importance of pursuing your passion relentlessly, as demonstrated by her transition from corporate life to owning a gallery.
- The gallery’s success is largely attributed to its diversified collection, focusing on making art accessible with pieces ranging from $250 to $25,000.
- Through adversity during the pandemic, the gallery adapted by launching an e-commerce platform, reaching art lovers across all 50 states and several countries.
- Liz places high emphasis on ethical business practices in the art world, advocating for timely communication and payments to artists.
- A supportive partner, communication, and teamwork are vital components of maintaining balance in both personal and professional aspects of life.
Notable Quotes:
- "I think that doing good is good business, and I know that doing the right thing can make you successful."
- "Sometimes you're the lead singer and sometimes you're the tambourine player."
- "You take the materials in front of you and create something from nothing every single day—it’s incredible!"
- "Passion is infectious. I know my demeanor changes when I'm talking about art."
- "In Des Moines, you need a great idea, and people will rally around because we support our own."
Resources:
- Visit Liz Lidgett Gallery and Design in the East Village, Des Moines.
- Follow on Instagram: @lizlidgettgallery for gallery updates and @lizlidgett for personal insights.
- Check out the podcast "Ten Minute Masterpieces" for art insights.
Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
Everyone dreams of living an uncommon life. And the best asset you have to achieve your dreams is you. Welcome to the Uncommon Wealth Podcast. We're going to introduce you to people who are living uncommonly. We're also going to give you some tools and strategies for building wealth and for pursuing an uncommon path that is uniquely right for you.
00:00:27
Speaker
Hello and welcome everybody to another episode of the The Uncommon Wealth Podcast. I'm your host, Phillip Ramsey. Today we have an amazing guest with us, Liz Legit. Holy cow. I can't wait to unpack her uncommon, but if this is your first time listening because you're listening for Liz, I get it. Thanks for being on the show. We get to interview rock stars that are loving their life, and we're financial advisors that like to pursue people and help them encourage them to be their own best asset. What does that mean? it means that whatever you're passionate about, if you did that every day in your life, you would love your life. And if you could get paid for it, when would you want to stop doing that? The answer is like, well, I don't know if I ever would want to. And that's what we try to do. So we believe that you're your best asset. Liz feels that the same way. Here's her bio. If you want to know it, I don't have a bio. I make it up. And so I'm going to give you three words that I think of when I think of Liz.
00:01:19
Speaker
I'm so nervous. Oh my goodness. Oh, and it's also in studio, which all we, we all know for the regular listeners that this is my favorite way to podcast. Um, so here's my three words. She's an influencer. Holy buckets. That means a lot, but I don't think that in the negative way, like where she's doing duck lips and like selfie sticks.
00:01:41
Speaker
influencer of like, she's super passionate. So that's my second word, passionate about art. She got the bug at a young age and she like just leaned into that, which I think a lot of people would be persuaded not to, but you have to be passionate. So one thing about this uncommon path is it's not easy. And sometimes that passion has to get you through that. And so there's my second word. So we have influencer, we have passionate. And my third word was one that we just talked about before and i'm I made up. It's loyalty. She's loyal. She's been married to her husband for 14 years, but they've been together ah since high school. So I think those are my three words. yeah How do you think I did? I love that. I would take any of those words. Okay. Well, you can take all three. that is it Okay. So Liz, you own a gallery. I do. Okay. Liz legit gallery yeah and studio. What is it exactly? Uh, Liz legit gallery and design. and design. Okay, perfect. And so from a young age, that's what you wanted to do or like this kind of formulated to where it's at now.
00:02:41
Speaker
You know, i I literally had no idea what I wanted to do. But the thing that really changed me was when I was five, my grandmother, Elizabeth, who I'm named after, um gave me lessons to the Des Moines Art Center. And she saw that I was always carrying and doodling and carrying an art pad around with me and all of that. But that was this beginning of a love affair.
00:03:08
Speaker
um And so I just was always the art kid, always. I always the was the one that was drawing. I was in AP art classes. I was hanging out at the art center in so many different capacities. And so I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, but my parents had told me that if you can write well, you can do anything. And so I went to the University of Missouri for their journalism program. Okay.
00:03:33
Speaker
And I wanted to learn how to write and then during that process my advisor said you have taken so many art history classes that you have a second major. um and ah And that I think goes to show that I was just.
00:03:51
Speaker
subconsciously trying to engage with something that I just loved. And then you kind of wake up and you're like, oh man, i I do love this. I love being around it all the time and maybe I should pay attention to that a little bit more. It just always was kind of there in my life. I didn't really think so much about the fact that it could be my forever. yeah I was really lucky though, speaking of my parents, I was really lucky that they always encouraged it. They never gave me the like, you could be a struggling artist for the rest of your life or whatever, it's kind of those toxic stories we tell ourselves. right um So like I always, it was just like, you do you and you're gonna be able to figure it out. We believe in you. So that was, I felt very lucky. So then I went to USC and got a master's basically in public art. So it's like curatorial practice in the public sphere.
00:04:40
Speaker
So that are they known for that? They've got to be known for that. Well, they are probably one of the only ones in the country that have a program like that. So they're known for that. Yeah. So, um, I lived in l LA for a little while. Um, Nick and I both did. And then, uh, we came back in 2010 to Des Moines because we saw how the art scene was changing. Oh, and I always say for the positive in Des Moines. Yeah, I do. And I felt like it was at this moment where the beginning I could step in, I could be a part of it and I could make maybe make a difference. And I thought that that was just this pivotal moment. And I do feel so thankful that I'm here in Des Moines because I don't know that I would have been able to do the this career like this anywhere else. yeah um But I always say that fascinating in Los Angeles, you have to be a multimillionaire to make a difference.
00:05:31
Speaker
But in Des Moines, you have to have a great idea and people will rally around you because we want to support our own. Absolutely. And so um I came back and I was the in-house art advisor for a corporate collection here in Des Moines. And then ah after about a year of that, I realized that I wanted to work for myself. and Keep saying your words, Flo. Keep saying your words.
00:05:56
Speaker
And I wanted to, um I just didn't love corporate life. That wasn't for me. It felt um kind of soul crushing. I don't think that everybody feels that way. Lots of people try that. If you get anything from this podcast, just know soul crushing, eight to five. Wells Fargo principle, soul crushing. And if you are an employee love it at that place and you feel that same way, you get it. Yeah. If you know, you know. Yes, yes.
00:06:24
Speaker
So um from there, I started out as an art advisor. And so I thought what I was doing for my nine to five that lots of companies would need that. So I literally started cold emailing people from LinkedIn.
00:06:39
Speaker
Wow. And um somebody from Corteva, which at the time was DePont Pioneer. Which was Pioneer and yes all those others. Yes. um um Was like, you know what? I would love to help a young business owner. Let me get you with the right people.
00:06:56
Speaker
And it just, I think it shows the power of like one, yes, one person, like you're going to get a lot of no's, but you're going to get that. Yes. And it makes it all worth it, first of all, but second of all, um, it really like per can propel you forward really quickly. 100%. And so from there, I knew what my number was. I still know to my day, this day, like what number I have to make every single month to, my number is very, very different than when I had no children and no mortgage and all of the things. But I could make enough to like put food in my mouth and a roof over my head and contribute to my family with Nick. And from there, I quit my job. What was Nick doing at the time? He was working for the opera. Oh, wow. Yeah, he was their head of marketing. OK. He's an opera fanatic. Really? He's a creative director at an advertising agency now and on their board. But he is an opera fanatic. Well, tell Nick that I'm going to the opera for the first time this month. Are you? I am. Yeah. I got my wife tickets. She loves it. I haven't gone yet. So here we are. This is an aside. Yeah. But the really special thing about Des Moines Metro Opera
00:08:12
Speaker
And I'm going to say this for everybody that's listening, is that because they're off season, normally fall and winter is the opera season. But Des Moines has a summer program. So they pull people from all over the world, the biggest houses in the world. Because they're off season. And they're off season and they want to sing and need to work. And so they all stay at Simpson College in the dorms. Oh fascinating. All of these renowned singers. Yeah. And they put on three original shows. Yep.
00:08:40
Speaker
And it is only for that limited summer season of they practice, they create all of the sets, they do all of the costumes, everything over a summer period and then they perform them for three weeks and then they never happen again.
00:08:53
Speaker
It's just amazing. It is. It's so special. I actually got me more excited to go. I know. It's so special. I love that kind of stuff. Anyway, OK. So you know the number. Your husband is working. Yeah. And then do you have children at this time? No. No. No children. No children. No children. Because right now you have two. I didn't say that in the bio. My bad. I do. Two amazing kids. Yeah, I do. But keep going. I love it. So OK. So then from there, I just people started calling and saying, would you you know, do my, i was you know, I was doing all of these corporations and then they would say like, would you do my home? Would you do my restaurant? Would you do my small business? All of that. And I just kept saying yes because I was interested. You know, so we did the 10,000 small businesses program together. Yes, we did.
00:09:39
Speaker
And one of the things that I took away from it was there was this little chart, and I don't know if you remember it, but it was like, what motivates you? Is it money? Is it doing good things for your community? Whatever it is. And mine, I was like, oh my gosh, this is me. It's doing interesting work.
00:09:57
Speaker
And that is what really, really, truly motivates me. Do I want to lead this like fabulous life where I can you know create wonderful things for my family and my community? Yes, I do want that. Money is definitely number two. But doing interesting things is why I say yes to things I've never done before and why I love my job so much. Because every day is different. Every day is different. yeah And I get a lot of really cool opportunities that I'm like, yeah, that would be really interesting to yeah create a wallpaper line. Let's try it. You know, let's write a book. Let's whatever. So I get to do all of these really cool things that I think, man, I mean, like what an opportunity. I get to try it.
00:10:37
Speaker
so I just kept saying yes and so that flash forward so I did many years of art advisory and then in 2019 I opened the gallery and I did that because how scary was that though let's be honest well it it seemed a little bit scary, but I knew that my art advisory business at the time could really take on most of it. I thought that if I could sell four to five pieces of art work a month, that it would really pay for the rent portion and we would still have the rest of the remaining business. We now sell over a hundred works of art a month. So the business has really changed in a very um crazy way in the last five years. But in 2019, none of us knew that we were about to head into this crazy pandemic. yeah
00:11:25
Speaker
So it was scary in retrospect, but I didn't feel like it was scary at the time. It felt like a really natural progression. And you knew your numbers, which made it a lot of a less emotional decision. Yeah, exactly. I know what my numbers are. Yeah. If this is going south, like we can still handle it. It wouldn't be ideal, but yeah I'm willing to take the sacrifice. hundred percent Okay. And I'm an arts person and it's like, so I don't know now, after actually after 10,000 small businesses, I understand my numbers a lot better, but at the time it was like, give me the bottom line. What is that number? Is it $5,000 that I have to make every single month? you You don't have to get too fancy with it. Anyway, so I felt like lots of galleries have a bad rap, right? The art world in general has a pretty bad rap. i'm not sure
00:12:09
Speaker
okay I'll just take your word for it, Liz. Let's visualize this. When you picture going into a gallery, do you picture feeling comfortable or uncomfortable? Most people feel uncomfortable. Stuffy. um Security there, right? Security there. Taser you. yes You know how it is. Prices aren't posted. If you have to ask, then you can't afford it.
00:12:31
Speaker
um Amen to that. There's maybe a snooty gallerista in all black yeah kind of judging you as you walk around. Round glasses. Yeah, I know. and Okay, so that's, I think, the thing that most people feel uncomfortable about and what they picture.
00:12:46
Speaker
And we watch it on a daily basis when we see people walking into the gallery, there's almost this like dance that they do of going in and out, in and out. Am I allowed in here? Can I come in? And we're like, yes, come in, come in. Because we're trying to change those stereotypes. Well, it's legit. She's going to get you comfortable pretty quickly. Come on, let's go. Yeah. yeah um So we really focus on accessibility in a lot of different ways, where it's making people feel comfortable in the art world, making them understand that they can afford original artwork. We've got artwork that starts at $250 and goes up to $25,000. So we've got a really, really wide range, but we have become known for specializing in work that's almost even under $500.
00:13:29
Speaker
wow We do two sales a year online through our website. That's all about artwork under 500. And we have people buy from around the country. Wow. On those sale days. Super uncommon. You see why we got here on the show? Sleep there. Love. So then 2019, we're open for nine months. We're really focusing on like walk-in traffic. We're in this adorable area in Des Moines called the East Village. And then 2020 happens and the pandemic goes and we get shut down.
00:13:59
Speaker
And then that week, ah Tina, who has been with me the entire journey, works so, so hard and creates an e-commerce website for us. Wow. So that anybody can shop anywhere even though they can't come into the gallery.
00:14:14
Speaker
life-giving. yes We got a heartbeat. Yes, exactly right. so Because I feel incredibly responsible for not only my team, but all of our artists. i you know these are I think that artists are an incredibly valuable and important part of our society, and I had this vision that they were you know working still, but then not you know the fact that they they just needed to be paid. They needed to put food on their table like everybody else, and I was going to be the person to do it.
00:14:43
Speaker
so um and yes you yes I took that responsibility on even though maybe it wasn't mine. but I felt like it maybe it was. So anyway, I started going on Instagram every single day and thinking, okay, I don't know what's gonna come from this, but nobody can go into a museum. Nobody can go into a gallery right now. They're not seeing art on a daily basis. Everything on social media, everything in the news is so scary right now. What if we could be just the light of light the brief moment from that? Yes, the light in that. yeah
00:15:15
Speaker
And so I just started talking about why I liked art and why I thought something was beautiful. And I just really got in close and showed them a new piece every single day and I just told them my thoughts on it. wow It wasn't academic. Profound. It wasn't profound. It was just my thoughts, me talking. Every day. Yes, every day. And so people started paying attention and people from from around the country started buying artwork from that e-commerce website. Wow.
00:15:43
Speaker
So um they would fall in love with the artwork like I had through the video. Yeah. Maybe because of your love for it. Candidly. like Yeah, you know maybe. yeah Kind of like I just fell in love with opera because of your love for it. Here you go. um i you know I think passion is infectious. I really do. It's one of your words. I don't know if you know.
00:16:06
Speaker
And you know i I know that my demeanor changes, my eyes change, I light up when I'm talking about artwork because I think it's so exciting that this...
00:16:19
Speaker
People can have the exact same materials in front of them and create wildly different things. And I think that's incredible. I mean, people create artists create something from nothing every single day. And that is incredible. It's incredible. So yeah anyway, I talked about that. People started buying. And so fast forward to last year, we sold artwork to all 50 states and seven countries. That's a accomplishment. Yes. um And we're on track to do that again. So we are shipping to.
00:16:49
Speaker
every corner of the United States and we're doing that through talking and video and um social media and then our website. Ecommerce. Ecommerce, baby. Wow. I feel so happy that this has come together because I do feel like I've been able to create this job that is mine alone. Yeah. That really is- Compliments you're uncommon.
00:17:15
Speaker
yeah that's great that's a great way to put it yeah That's a great way to put it. It's really the things that I'm good at that somehow come together to be able to create a job. yeah It's fascinating because like as we get we grow up, it's always like, what do you want to do? What do you want to be? and all you know like That's the pressure that we put on, I think, society.
00:17:35
Speaker
yeah But especially with people that are uncommon, me and specifically and you, it's like, I don't know. I don't see myself doing any of this stuff. right Like, what would I do? i I don't know. And so it took me a while to kind of catch my, I don't know, uncommonness and there's just be enter into it. Like, okay, what does this look like for me? And then how do you create something in order for me to highlight exactly how I'm gifted? Now I think that you're 100% right is passion is so infectious and there's not a lot of people that have it. And so when you do have this like glimmer in your eye, it's like, I want to be around that. Like I want to hang out more yeah with that. So that's really cool. Okay. Tell me what your gallery's reputation is in the industry. Like are you, is it just kind of like we fly under the radar or like people are taking notice?
00:18:23
Speaker
Um, I don't mean to toot my own horn, but toot toot. Yeah. we are yeah anyway um I would say that people are taking notice. I wouldn't say that I'm mainstream or anything like that. But what I can tell you is, um,
00:18:40
Speaker
we are known for helping people start. yes And because we can be this wonderful entry point where people are for the first time say, I've always liked art, but I've never found a place where I feel okay with starting. And we love that. We love helping people start collections and get connected with the artists that they love. The other side of the thing is that we are very good to our artists yeah and I think that we have a ah very good reputation because artists talk. And when we when I'm trying to sign someone, because we now have 67 artists that we represent, wow we started about, I think maybe it was like 15 to 20, and now we've got 67. And so they call each other and say, hey, Liz wants to talk to me, what can you tell me about it? And I hear 100% of the time,
00:19:35
Speaker
I'm on this phone call with you because I spoke to another artist that's already with you. Referral base. Referral base, absolutely. and I think about the fact that we've got basically two sets of clients, the people that are buying the artwork, but then also the artists because there's hundreds of thousands yeah of galleries around the world.
00:19:54
Speaker
um And they have their choice of a lot of different places. And for them to work through us is such a trust relationship. And so we are very good to our artists. And even in small things that shouldn't be considered all that good, it should be considered commonplace, honestly. yeah um But paying quickly and on time, communicating with them, giving them feedback. ah The amount of times that I hear from artists that galleries ghost them, even though they've got all their artwork, that they have to wait for months for checks. I mean, things like that, that it's like, I know, I see your face. I know you would not think.
00:20:36
Speaker
Fascinating. But artists have, or galleries have a very bad reputation on the artist side too because they know that artists desperately want to be in a gallery. And they can exploit that, unfortunately. Wow. Wow. That's a little glimpse. The seedy side of the art world. Yeah. So anyway.
00:20:56
Speaker
Okay, I gotta, let's talk about adversity because this is maybe not, I don't know how I'm going to say this, not, this is the joy that I get to have is not only building a business, running a business, creating something myself, but also being shoulder to shoulder with walking with other people who are creating a business and and going down this uncommon path. The times that we hit adversity are probably daily, but those are the things that have created us to be who we are today. And so talk to me about a time in your career where you've hit adversity and you had to like fight through it. And then what did you learn after that? Because I would say it's something that I've done ah and and witnessed is just the constant learning and adapting and changing and and trying to become better. And so adversity.
00:21:44
Speaker
When I was starting the gallery, the first thing that comes to mind, when I was starting the gallery, I had a lot of conversations with people I respected a lot telling them kind of what our core tenets were going to be. One of them is to this day, the fact that we represent 50% women artists. We actually represent probably closer to 70% women artists, but that 50% is our line because the international average is like 14%.
00:22:11
Speaker
And we know that women are 50% of those artists that are graduating with their MFA's. I mean, the point is there's no shortage of women artists. One of the things from people that I respected over and over again is don't do that. Never work. Never work. Why would you limit yourself? Why would you put barriers on yourself?
00:22:31
Speaker
And it was one of those times where I really had to sit back and almost meditate on what is important to me. yeah And I finally came down to the fact that I think that doing good is good business. And I know that doing the right thing can make you successful. I don't think that you have to be unethical to get ahead.
00:22:52
Speaker
And so I had a lot of adversity almost in my mind that way of people that I really respected telling me this would never work. This is a dumb idea. This is a dumb idea. Don't go down that path. And then you have to really go inward and say, but I believe in myself, first of all, but I believe that what I'm doing is right. yeah And that is such a mind game sometimes where people that are much older than you or have been in the business longer and all of those things. Um, I am not impressed by this is the way it's always been done though.
00:23:26
Speaker
So that that is one thing about myself. Another thing is because I always say yes, because I'm interested in doing interesting work, I've definitely been in many times where I've bitten off more than I can chew. In over your skis. Yeah, way big time. yeah um you know Last year we did a hotel and they wanted 700 pieces of our work. Oh my.
00:23:50
Speaker
And I- All different? ah There were like 12 different styles. Okay. 700 pieces. Okay. And so anyway, I figured out how to do it. I was working with a manufacturer. I got them all created and then, I mean, we're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars, yeah right? Yeah. And then the manufacturer- Stop. Didn't do it right. No. So we literally hired a team of 10 and we had to go in a warehouse and literally fix every single piece of artwork ourselves.
00:24:28
Speaker
And that was so hard. That's adversity. So demoralizing and expensive and all of the things, but what I came out of from it was knowing what I actually should say yes and no to. Sure. Right. What actually is for us. Yeah. And then on the other side is like, the only way is through.
00:24:52
Speaker
And I mean, I could have sat around and cried about it. I could have been pretty upset with the ways some of these... people from the hotel were speaking to me, I was. But at the same time, I had a contract. We gotta get through this. We gotta get through this. So what I learned from that is that we can do it. Even if I say yes to something that we shouldn't have, we can get through it. And it's gonna suck so bad. It's gonna suck so bad. But I can get through it and I can figure it out. I mean, there have been times where I've been physically tested, I've been mentally tested, On a daily basis, there are questions that my team asks me, and I think, I don't have the answer for this. I don't have the answer for this. But then who would? So I gotta have the answer for it. Right. Let's go. Right. So there's a lot of times where I've gotten really good at being like, I hear the question, can you give me a moment while I think about that? Because sometimes when I just fire off an answer, it's not the right thing. I need 10 minutes to really process and digest it.
00:25:58
Speaker
And there are no art emergencies. you know We're not saving lives. yeah So that's the other thing that I've really had to learn is there are going to be a lot of people that are very up in your face about timelines and urgency and all of those things, but what they think doesn't have to affect you. Yeah. Let's just pull back here. Let's just pull back here. Yeah. Right? It's a brain surgery. yeah So there were times so early in my career that I got wrapped up in other people's urgency. And we look, we work in a timely way. There's no question about that. But you know when they're emailing me at 9 PM, I don't have to respond until the next day. Nothing has to happen in those hours. right um So I think that part of what has come with the time that I've been in business is just a um a confidence and are almost a relaxation and I'm much happier for it. The experience does something because even though let's go back to the hotel thing like what do you think the biggest thing that you learned in that moment
00:27:04
Speaker
when you had to fight through it. like I feel like sometimes trials are the best like team unifiers of like, well, we got to get through this. ya Here we are. i think well i mean Along with the like checks and balances that I've learned that would just need to happen in the future, um I think that it's OK. Just because I haven't done something before doesn't mean I have to say yes. I really was going through this process of like, I just want to try things. I want to learn it all. Let's do it. let's do it When it started affecting other people, that's when you were like, oh, shoot. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think that I really, I go through a checklist basically now, truly, in my mind of what are our mission and visions, our core values. And if it doesn't align, then I'm not doing it. Yeah, we don't need to. We absolutely do not need to. Things are working. Yeah. Clipping. Let's talk about my man, Nick, because I like him already. He's such a good guy.
00:28:02
Speaker
A lot of times I usually just give, I'll just give you the floor of like, where would you be without Nick? Because here's what I would say. The universal truth is like, he wouldn't be where you're at. Like the support and love that your spouse is giving you through this uncommon path is like,
00:28:18
Speaker
incomprehensible the amount of value it is. And just, it's just one person. So this is what I say to people. If my wife is with me, I'll go fight the world. If my wife's against me, the world's upside down. Even with the world with me, my world's upside down. You know, like my wife is like my biggest advocate and my biggest supporter, cheerleader. And sometimes she's the one who's just like, you can do this. You know, and that, that kind of motivation. So tell me about Nick. Where are you at?
00:28:45
Speaker
what i would say Well, first of all, he's my favorite person. But what i what I would say back to what you just said, I agree with all of it. I agree with all of it. But that is because we have become we've we are very lucky people with amazing partners.
00:28:59
Speaker
and i have seen as you get older that people have it within them you know and i think that if nick were here to he would say let's have this in her the entire time i just helped her see it right right so whether it's your spouse or it's a good friend or it's a business partner i do truly believe you have to have.
00:29:22
Speaker
an incredibly supportive team and you have to have someone you can speak to about it. um What I will tell you is that Nick has helped me in hundreds of ways. you know um I met him when I was 17, right? So we truly grew up together and I'm so lucky that we didn't that we grew together. yeah right right and so growing apart right exactly We just see the world um in a really compatible way. We're very, very different people that really work. um He is truly one of the kindest and you say loyal, but man, Nick is loyal and he's hardworking and he is a wonderful partner and father.
00:30:12
Speaker
i've i I tell my kids all the time that the best thing I've ever done is give them Nick as their dad. you know It's just like, oh my God, like they are so, so lucky. And I'm so lucky to witness him being a dad too. um he's so he's a He's a really, really good partner and we communicate a lot. I mean, communication is at the core of who we are as a couple. um I don't know if you've heard of that ah book and game called Fair Play.
00:30:41
Speaker
No. Okay, so it's a book um for couples and it's just about how um basically the load is shared between a couple. And so then there's also a game that accompanies it and it's literally like kind of a stack of playing cards that has every type of task in the world. And you go back and forth and you're like, I'm going to take this on.
00:31:04
Speaker
This is going to be me. Oh, wow. I take this. You take that. And at the time, at the it's a very visual, physical way to look at and see like. Your roles and responsibilities. and Yes. And then your roles and responsibilities. Yes. yeah So we try and go through that too. Um, you know, once a year and really try and examine like, okay, at this point in our life, uh, what do we need? We also very much understand, and my mom told me this one time is that, depending on the day or the event or the hour, there there needs to be an A and a B in the relationship. And sometimes I'm the A and sometimes Nick is the A. And we are really good at giving each other the spotlight because I think everybody deserves it.
00:31:48
Speaker
you can't always be the one that... Is always the front runner of this. Yes, because everybody needs sunshine, right? yeah Right, yeah, right. So I think that that's something that we are really, really good at, that we are going to be our each other's biggest cheerleader, and we are the one that's like, this is your thing, this is your time. How can I support you? How can I support you? Um, I was telling you before we started rolling that I had in May, two of the craziest weeks of my entire life. You know, I didn't get to see my kids enough. I wasn't sleeping enough, you know, and Nick was the one being like, have you eaten? yeah You know, like, you know, all of those things. yeah um He would stop by with flowers just because he knew I needed a pickup, like that sort of thing. And also cookies because I hadn't eaten. And it's cookies. We're always good with cookies. So I just, I feel so lucky because I mean, there are times in the very beginning that he was the breadwinner. The consistency? The consistency. I mean, to this day, he's our healthcare. Amen. Do you remember that? Thank you, Nick. Yeah. So I mean, there's so many there's so many things, but I think we both have really distinguished roles that are very compatible, and I feel very lucky about that. Very cool. Brene Brown, have you ever heard of her? Yes. Yeah. She has this thing, and she's like, you know so somebody's like, I give 100% all the time. She's like, no, you don't. No. No, you don't. She's like, marriage is this. She's like, sometimes when you're down and you're like, oh, so I can all give you 20. The other side is like, I'll give you 75%. Right. ye And then when, when one side's like, Hey, I'm at 20 and the other side's like, I'm at a 20. Okay. We really need to work together here to like, try to figure out like, where are we going to get the rest of the 60? You know, like let's communicate a little bit more. And I thought that's such a brilliant thing because it's true. Like you can't give a hundred percent of relationship. You just can't. but you can give you, sometimes you're in in a better capacity to take on a little bit more responsibility, encourage a little bit more, like drop by, i give cookies. I'm always about that. And so what a cool thing and thing just to to reflect because you wouldn't be where you're at without a supportive spouse. No way. And so ah what a cool thing just to see that and kind of unpack that a little bit. One of one of my favorite um marriage advice pieces, actually there's two of them. They're both from Chris Rock.
00:34:07
Speaker
Why wouldn't it be? One bit that he has is about marriage and the fact that sometimes you're the lead singer and sometimes you're the tambourine player and you better be the best freaking tambourine player that there has ever been in those moments, right? yeah And then also he talks about moving a couch and it's impossible to move a couch by yourself. But with two people, it's pretty easy. So if you both are like on task, doing it together, you can move anything.
00:34:33
Speaker
yeah And I think about, Nick and I actually both talk about both of those things all the time where it's like, hey, i you got to help me pick up the couch here because like I can't do this alone. right um And so yeah i yeah, I think communication is the key. Oh, that's great. Yeah. It's cool.
00:34:48
Speaker
it's fun to see somebody like not only thriving in life but thriving in your marriage like there's something about professionally and personally like oh wow like there's something there and there's like an intrinsic joy totally that you really do get to wake up every morning and go tackle things that you probably didn't think you would have to and you love that Yeah, totally. And then you get to also take responsibility for not only your employees, but your artists, like you're impacting other people. And that's the other part of this uncommon path that like, if you're just doing this for yourself, like it's not going to work very well. No matter what, even if you're like, I don't like people, but I do technology which impacts people. Well, okay, you're still doing it. And so we're all uniquely gifted. We're all uniquely kind of wired in order to push on how we're gifted. The other thing I've found recently is like we don't value what we're good at a lot of the times, as as valuable as it it could be. And so like somebody will look at me and like, oh my goodness, you can talk in a microphone. I would love to do that. like I just talk, right? right so yeah So there's things that I do that I'm like, well, that's just normal and like that's valuable to people. It is. Well, you take it for granted. We take it for granted because it's easy for us, but that doesn't mean it's not valuable. and so exactly
00:35:57
Speaker
Okay. What would our listeners do if they wanted to hear more about you, they wanted to get in the art scene, if they want to just go to the gallery? Yes. Okay. So we're in these village Liz legit gallery. And so you can come in, uh, Monday through Saturday. dance Yeah. Just be confident. Just be confident. Walk in. and We'd love to see you Monday through Saturday. And then we're open 24 seven online at Lizlegit.com. And then you can follow us along on social media. We are big on Instagram at Lizlegit Gallery and at Lizlegit is my personal life. So you'll get to see Nick and um my darling children and our home life and all of those things.
00:36:35
Speaker
And I have a podcast called 10 Minute Masterpieces. um So we talk about the most famous works of art in the world. um you know you may You can vision envision Starry Night, but do you actually know anything about it? you know So it's that sort of thing. And yeah, we're we're all over the place more than anywhere. um she's an influencer man It's such an odd relationship with that word. It's a love-hate thing. It is, yeah. Like a true passionate influencer. That's like, I don't care if anybody's watching or listening. I'm doing it. I like it, which I think is the best kind. All right, Liz, I'm a huge fan. Thanks. Thank you for being on the show. Thanks for having me. You're a magnet. You're a magnet. That's really nice. You're just getting people joyful, and you're excited. And so that's just... Yeah, producing, I think, the uncommon space of like, you're uncommon, and I love to. Thank you. I'm grateful that we got a chance to get to know each other. Same. And any way I can help, I'm right here for you. Thank you. Yeah. So you've been listening to the Uncommon Wealth podcast. I've been your host, Philip Ramsey. Until next time, go pursue what you're passionate about. It'll be worth it. Thanks for listening.
00:37:54
Speaker
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