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Ep 5: Why Being Coachable Matters w/ Vanessa Blair-Lewis
45 Plays6 months ago
In this episode, Coach Autumn is joined by Vanessa Blair-Lewis, head women’s basketball coach at George Mason University. Together, they dive into an inspiring conversation about the transformative power of being coachable while pursuing wholeness. Vanessa shares her remarkable journey from basketball player to coach, emphasizing the vital role of connection and relationships. Explore her unique coaching philosophy, which revolves around holistic development and the creation of a supportive, trusting environment. Drawing from both wins and loses, Vanessa offers profound insights into embracing your vulnerability.
Intro and Outro Music Credit: Savage by Beat Mekanik, Free Music Archive, License type: CC BY
Please visit: www.autumnswain.com
Contact: [email protected]
IG: @drautumnswain
FB: Autumn Alena Swain
Links:
IG: @CoachVBL
IG: @masonwbb
https://gomason.com/sports/womens-basketball
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Transcript
Introduction to Align Living Podcast
00:00:05
Speaker
Hello there. I'm Dr. Autumn, leadership consultant, wellness coach, author, and I'm incredibly grateful to be your host of the Align Living podcast. I'm here to equip you with the tools, inspiration, and practical tips necessary to lead a life of wholeness and pursue greater Shalom in your life and that of your families, teams, and communities.
00:00:34
Speaker
My mission is to empower you to lead from a place of holistic wellbeing. It's time to say peace out to the fatigue, fog, and frustration of living in a place that lacks abundant wellbeing. Join me as we embark on a comprehensive exploration of spiritual, physical,
00:00:56
Speaker
mental, emotional, social, and economic well-being all within the comforting embrace of one podcast.
00:01:13
Speaker
Hey, good people. Dr. Autumn here. Welcome back to the Aligned Living podcast.
The Importance of Being Coachable
00:01:18
Speaker
And I'm just so excited to have the opportunity today to chat with you about being coachable. We're all on this journey towards aligned living and pursuing our wholeness, and it's not always easy.
00:01:32
Speaker
So for me, being coachable is probably one of the most important things that I could think of in the way of embracing growth in this pursuit of our goals. So today we're really going to focus on answering the question, what are some key characteristics and qualities of a person who is coachable?
00:01:52
Speaker
And how can one cultivate a coachable mindset? And so I thought, who better to have on this show to share insights into this topic than an actual successful coach? So I want to welcome you, Vanessa, Vanessa Blair Lewis here with me. Thank you so much for having me.
00:02:09
Speaker
Absolutely. So before I jump into asking you some questions, I'm really excited to hear your answer too. I just wanted to introduce you to the listeners. So just a little bit about Vanessa.
Meet Vanessa Blair Lewis
00:02:20
Speaker
When I was looking up her bio, she's currently the head women's basketball coach at George Mason University in Northern Virginia, but there was so many incredible accolades listed in her bio. I literally just pulled a couple that I thought were most relevant to our topic today.
00:02:35
Speaker
But she started out as a successful basketball player before becoming a coach. So Vanessa was a two-time NEC Player of the Year and was inducted into the Mount St. Mary's Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, NEC Hall of Fame in 2013, and her playing jersey was retired in 2019. And then after college, she played two years of professional basketball in Sweden.
00:02:59
Speaker
And there's there's more to all of her coaching and playing career, but I just wanted to mention a couple other things about her coaching career. She's a 22 year coaching veteran. Okay, so we have something to learn here. And then as a division one head coach,
00:03:13
Speaker
She's recruited and coached 37 all conference team selections, as well as multiple other things, players of the year and so on and so forth. So, um, what I really wanted to, um, highlight as well is there was a quote that really stood out to me. Um, just folks that had wonderful things to say about her. And, um, you will understand quickly why I wanted her on the show. She is a winner both on and off the court. She's a connector and a relationship builder.
00:03:41
Speaker
which is vital to what our young women need today. In our programs, the young women have been able to excel on the court, in the classroom, and in life. Coaching basketball was not her job, it was her ministry. She has managed to transform our student athletes into champions.
00:03:57
Speaker
And so I loved that because as we know, as we talk about aligned living, it's a whole life practice. And so I'm really excited about this. So how we got connected, our kids play ball together. I watched our coach before we became friends and I had so much respect for her approach. And so, yeah, I just wanted to get started.
00:04:23
Speaker
So Vanessa, I wanted to ask you before talking about your coaching career, I wanted to ask about your days as a basketball
Lessons from Being Coached by Family
00:04:33
Speaker
player. Obviously you were successful. I want to know what helped you become a coachable player and how did you grow into that posture?
00:04:43
Speaker
Well, I had the luxury of playing for my dad. So I think I had to be coachable and respectful because I probably could have gotten a whooping if I weren't. But it's one thing when you have to play for your parent, you know, you're in a dual role. You know, you're the
00:05:01
Speaker
you're the player and you're the child. And so my dad and I were able to form an amazing relationship that way. There were the days that were tough where I had to answer all the questions for why does she do this? And why does she do that? And why did we lose? And I have to ride home where the other girls got to go home with their parents and kind of forget about it for the day. But then there were those moments where we were together so much.
00:05:24
Speaker
He had become my best friend, but I also was able to see how he mentored the other young women that I was so fortunate to have both parents in the home. I had never even thought a lot of times that the young women that he coached didn't have a dad in the home. So my dad became their dad. They would come over the house or, you know, when you're young, you just don't understand why somebody may be spending the night for a couple of weeks. But then as I got older, you know, I found out old parents may have been splitting up and dad stepped in to help out.
00:05:54
Speaker
But you just don't know those things as a youth. But somehow that got instilled along the way without the conversation because we had the relationship of the everyday in and out. Tough times, great times. Just always being able to look over my shoulder and there was someone in the stands for me, but he was sitting beside me on the bench. He impacted my life in such a profound way because I learned how
00:06:22
Speaker
to deal and coach with women from a man. And yet this time, this sounds kind of awkward, right? But back in the day, I don't know about you, Autumn, there weren't a lot of female coaches. You know, like my first female coach may have been softball, never basketball. I never had a female basketball coach. I had assistant coaches, but never a head coach.
00:06:44
Speaker
but I learned how to coach women through my dad. And so that was a luxury that I'm so honored that I was able to have. Yeah. Wow. Wow. I didn't know that part of your story. And I'll tell you one thing you said that resonates so much is this relationship, you know, of being coachable and the people in our lives that help us grow. It is so relational, right? Because that's why I love the nature of
00:07:08
Speaker
The concept of coaching is because you have to know somebody to be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses and pull them out of them. I love that. I always love hearing about folks' lessons learned in life. I'm a big advocate of failing forward.
00:07:29
Speaker
It's a big theme of my book. And yes, my book really targeted young people and the development of youth. But the reality is, is some of our greatest moments of transformation come from considering how we like, embrace that concept of failing forward. So I would love to know, like, when you reflect back, or even maybe current season, and I don't know, what were some of the greatest moments of transformation in your life? I love failing forward, because I talk to my girls about that all the time.
00:07:58
Speaker
my young women that, you know, what I do autumn is obviously not every day, there are 1200 jobs in Division I that I occupy. And there are only 5,000 Division I athletes that play women's basketball, 5,000. Like we go to tournaments with our kids and there could be that many playing in a weekend. So for them to have the beauty of being able to perform in a space where you're almost one of one at times,
00:08:28
Speaker
I say that because we operate in the public all the time. So my successes are front page, but so are my failures. And so if you look at it as a failure, then every day getting up wanting to not read the newspaper would be daunting. But I always share with my ladies that when you win, you learn. And when you lose, you learn. Either way, we learn.
00:08:58
Speaker
So having those successes this year for George Mason was historic. When I took over the program, they had won zero games. Like I took over a program, I left sunny Florida to move up to Fairfax.
Transforming a Team Culture
00:09:13
Speaker
And my husband was like, are you sure you can do this? Like, you know, if they don't win, they are coaches. I said, yeah, I'm pretty sure this is my calling, my next journey. And in three years, we were able to turn the program around
00:09:27
Speaker
from zero wins to 23 wins in a postseason. And everyone always asks, well, how did you do it? We learned a lot of wins. We learned a whole lot in losses, but we learned the power of connection through togetherness. And it wasn't that when I got the job that they were so bad, that these players were so bad. When I went in the locker room autumn, the first time I met these young ladies, 10 minutes before my press conference, I met the team.
00:09:55
Speaker
And I had to kind of talk to them in 10 minutes to share with them that I'm your new coach, right? This thing happens so quickly at this level. One day I'm in Florida, the next day I'm in Fairfax at a press conference. And I asked the ladies, what do you want in a coach? What do you want? Because sometimes in these spaces, the children, the women, they don't get asked the question. And they were like, we don't want to be embarrassed anymore.
00:10:23
Speaker
We're afraid to go out there. We lost every game. We feel horrible. And we don't want to embarrass this university anymore. And that rule that stood with me, that stuck with me that the university can change clothes, so to speak, so quickly by hiring someone new. But we never asked what the young person felt inside during that transition. And they were humiliated, Autumn. And as I worked out with them, they weren't bad players.
00:10:51
Speaker
They weren't, everybody has something to give. You and I know that as parents, our children have something to give. They were purposed to be here. And what they were missing was a culture of trust. And that's what we built. So people say, how did you turn it around? We turned it around with the power of connection and touch, literally. A hug has so many medicinal properties, right?
00:11:17
Speaker
that a person needs 13 of them a day to fill the medicinal properties. So now take this young woman that
Embracing Ubuntu in Team Building
00:11:24
Speaker
I may have from Spain, Australia, Kansas, Washington state that are in a new environment. Where are they going to get 13 hugs a day? Like where? Yeah, maybe your boyfriend or, you know, but to be medicinal in nature, they have to last at least 20 seconds.
00:11:42
Speaker
What better place to get it with your teammates? So when you're around my program, when you see our girls, we are always hugging. That is a part of us trusting each other, letting us each other in, and feeling vulnerable. And so we start every practice. I hug every one of those ladies. From the time I walk in the door before I leave, they get that from me. They get that from my staff. And we have this thing in practice where we say,
00:12:08
Speaker
five touches and whatever you're doing, you have to go connect and touch with somebody at least five times that we're here more presently with each other in these difficult times and difficult practices and times where I'm not yelling, coach, you know, I'm sorry, you probably got a chance to meet me before you knew me. You were like, who is this woman? I'll say, you know, because I have to like get information out in a quick fashion. But we joined together and we linked in a spirit of what we call unbloom to.
00:12:38
Speaker
And I don't know if you've ever heard this word. It is a word that is South African in its nature. It was a word that helped fight apartheid at a time when Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu took up the horns, the reins of trying to overcome this atrocity. And it was a spirit. Ubuntu is a spirit of the word that says, I am therefore we are. It means I have a moral responsibility for you that I can't be
00:13:08
Speaker
what I can't see in you is that I have to bring my best to this so that we can have our best out. It is looking inside of another person and I am another person through another person's eyes. And so that spirit of connectedness, that word unified an entire country to overthrow apartheid.
00:13:30
Speaker
I coined that word with my team back in like 2012 when I was at my previous university and it was a word that sustained us through all of our times. And sometimes we say it, but most of the time if you're around my program, you just feel it and you say, what is that? And it's that spirit that if you're hungry and I have food, you're no longer hungry. And we talked to our players about this.
00:13:55
Speaker
if we have any argument or any disagreement, because I have 15 women in the ages of 18 to 22. And I say, how can we solve this through in Ubuntu? How can Ubuntu win here? And it's like, you know what? You're right. You go first or you start. I have had players doing games, Autumn, where playing time is the most valuable resource for athletes, right? We know that. And I was going to sub a player out.
00:14:22
Speaker
And that player said, Coach, let her play longer. She's having a great game. Wow. And that was one of my best players, doing that for a player that barely got off the bench. That is the embouch of spirit that we incorporate, that we have on in our program. And that's how we turned around a zero program into a hero program.
00:14:45
Speaker
Holy smokes. Okay. That's amazing. Don't say sorry. I'm saying like goosebumps over here. Like that was amazing. Like we could end right here, but we can't cause I have a few more questions. That was like so awesome. And seriously, like I think for everyone listening.
00:15:02
Speaker
We all need a team in our life. We all need to be part of a team. Ironically, in a future episode, I'm going to be talking about another barrier to the pursuit of wholeness, and that's individualism. I feel like what you're talking about, the power of community. You might not be on a team as structured as a basketball team out there, but we all need teams in our lives. I had mentioned in a previous episode, having recently gone through a really challenging time,
00:15:29
Speaker
in my life and it was a team of people that helped me be the best I could be in that season. That was amazing. Okay. And the next question I have for you is actually kind of related because you talked about so much of that success was understanding that we are whole people, right? Like we're holistic in nature. And so you personally value the whole player, the whole person, but what are some ways that you have helped them
00:15:58
Speaker
as their coach value their whole selves, right? Does that make sense? You value them, but helping them see the value in their whole person. Wow. No, that's a good one. Without sharing too much about the relationships that we form, every week our players, we have meetings with our players, but it's not about basketball. We can talk about anything, but we just can't talk about basketball.
00:16:26
Speaker
because I want them to have a place where they don't have to be a basketball player. They can just be a human being that has an ability to play basketball. And so a lot of times when you deal with athletes, their identity is so wrapped up in what they do that that takes over a lot of their life. So if they fail one night in a basketball game,
00:16:50
Speaker
the next day in class, you may not really have that person there because they're thinking about the missed shot, the missed layup, the missed opportunity, how they failed. And we have to remind them that you are more than what you do. You're more than what you do.
Beyond Basketball: Personal Growth and Leadership
00:17:05
Speaker
Like we are built to be more than just what we do. And so those meetings, that vulnerability, that openness, I have watched Beauty in the Ashes.
00:17:18
Speaker
I have literally in these 20 years of coaching watched young women who had been through abuse, verbal, physical separation of families, death of sisters, brothers, like someone connected, not older, generational, not that that doesn't hurt, but literally a sister and they don't know what to do. So they bury themselves in a sport. And then when the sport isn't working out,
00:17:46
Speaker
they, that's when they fall apart. But the beauty of it was they always tell them that your beauty is in your ashes. Like that is an aroma for Christ. And I, I'm a faith-filled person and I, you know, always tell my boys to never be ashamed of the gospel. Um, but like when you're burning incense and ashes, like there's value to that, that it's okay that those things happen, but what's not okay is to not
00:18:14
Speaker
talk about them, to not know that that's a part of your journey, because that test, what that mess will be your message, that test will be your testimony. And so for lack of sharing too many of the personal stories of these young women, I've been able to coach conquerors.
00:18:37
Speaker
Not a basketball. Like if I ever wrote a book about my journey of basketball, there would be very little X's and O's. There would be very little of that. Because I don't think that that's what my gift was. My gift was and is letting people see the value of them. And it just happens to explode in a sport. But who they are when they put that basketball down, a lot of my players aren't playing anymore.
00:19:03
Speaker
but they're impacting the world. And that's what's so important that the four years are going to go by and we're going to have conference championship champions and we're going to have player of the year. So we're going to have all of these things. But one day you're going to put that ball down and you're going to have to look in the mirror and you're going to have to see somebody that's not a basketball player anymore. And are you going to like her? And did I do my job to help you go out there and feel like you could occupy the second highest seat in the land? I'm sorry.
00:19:33
Speaker
We've already done that. Did I empower you to know that you could go occupy the highest seat in the land with no questions about it? That's my job. That's what gets me up in the morning. So I've been able to coach those overcomers and not just the ones you see on the court.
00:19:55
Speaker
So sorry about that again. No, no, that's so good. I love all of this. And we all need like in our lives, in our goals, in our pursuits, we need like truth tellers, like people who really, like even with friendship, I feel this so strongly that you want friends in your life that will tell you the truth and want you to ultimately like,
00:20:19
Speaker
be the best that you could be. And that sometimes includes challenging yourself to work through the stuff that's sometimes uncomfortable. And so, no, I love this. So I do want to ask you. Okay.
00:20:32
Speaker
What would you say, and this is a more, I guess, practical question than the others, but what are some key characteristics and qualities of a person who's coachable? And then how would one cultivate a coachable mindset in themselves? So in other words, like you as a coach, when you're looking for players, you want people that are coachable. Like what are some things that listeners can embrace to help themselves become more
Developing a Coachable Mindset
00:20:59
Speaker
coachable? Because I feel like if you're not willing to
00:21:01
Speaker
embrace, truce, and learn, it's going to be hard to take in the things that you need to take in right in our goal with this podcast is our pursuit of wholeness and holistic health. So what would you say are just some of those key characteristics of a person if they want to be more coachable? I learned so much during COVID. When COVID hit and the world was kind of losing their mind, I said, you know what? There are going to be so many
00:21:31
Speaker
butterflies that bloom in the season, right? There's going to be some gardens that grow because sometimes without the adversity, you don't grow. And I just looked at COVID as a time where it was so much isolation that I found the only way I could connect with my players because we weren't in the same space they had. The season was canceled. The girls have been sent home as I became a better leader because I became a better listener. And that
00:22:00
Speaker
And that didn't happen like year one, like I hadn't always felt that, but COVID showed me that, that in order to grow, in order to be coachable, even for myself, because I learned from my players every day. It's not a one-sided spirit. It's, I learned from them every day. Sometimes I'm having those days where I just have to say, oh my gosh, I have 19 million things going on and a player will come up and give me a hug and be like, it's okay, coach. We're going to do everything right today in practice.
00:22:30
Speaker
You were going to make your day easy. You know, it's just that, you know, that moment. And it was just that stuck out to me that I became, I became better coachable because I was a better listener. And sometimes we know all of the things to say, but we don't listen and not listen to respond. Like really listen when you're taking in hard information or when we're hearing our sons get coached with hard information.
00:23:00
Speaker
A lot of times we respond emotionally because we hear negativity. Maybe it's how the person is speaking to you has a big effect on it, of course. But just being able to listen is the biggest characteristic. When I talk to recruit the first time, I usually leave them with something to do and I find out what kind of player they are really quickly. So I'll say to them something like, oh, you have a game on Thursday? Text me after the game.
00:23:28
Speaker
and let me know how you did. Or, you know, something where I give them, and invariably those really good players, those ones that I know I can connect with, I'll get that text. Hey, Coach, we won by seven. Because they heard, they listened to me. It just wasn't, oh, I got a call from a Division I coach, and I'm off the, no, let's listen to each other. And I always say, hey, when's your birthday? Like, you know, you're getting to know somebody. And I would put it in my phone. And even if that player didn't choose my university, I'd text them on their birthday.
00:23:57
Speaker
Because that shows that, you know what, you cared about the day I was born. You know why I care? Because you have something to give to this world. And if you don't give it, it won't be given. And we're all the recipients of what God has purposed in your heart. I'm glad you were born. So listening is a huge, that is one of the biggest ones, but the second one is hard, is vulnerability. I said we, you know, our team is big on touching and hugging and in this space of,
00:24:26
Speaker
a lot of people like, hey, I don't know, you know, what's, it's hard to be vulnerable and vulnerable in two ways, vulnerable to let someone in your space and vulnerable to hear what may be wrong with your game or, you know, that kind of thing. Like that's hard to hear when
00:24:43
Speaker
For 18 years, you probably had a parent or parents or coaches that say, hey, you're the best. You got it. You're great. And then you get to me and I'm like, no, we got some things to work on. This isn't good. Or you're not playing or you're not starting as much. And now you have to put yourself in a vulnerable space to listen and get taught. Listen and learn. I love that about players. If they're able to do that, they
00:25:09
Speaker
You can really conquer a lot of things in life, because remember, it's not about just the four years with me, because you're going to go into an employer now. And that employer is going to say things to you. And you're going to have to listen. You're going to have to be vulnerable to the information. And you're going to have to learn and grow. But eventually, what I hope is that you become the teacher one day. That's what I want our leaders, our women, to become leaders and teachers one day. So listening is huge.
00:25:39
Speaker
being vulnerable for information, for feedback and follow through. The last part of the shot. And once you listen and once you're vulnerable to get information, like how are you going to follow through after that? Are you going to walk out and be like, they don't know what they're talking about or the world is against me or are you going to follow through and become a better you?
00:26:02
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, I love that. You know, I was at a Busboys and Poets open mic night and like when someone presents like a really great poem or something like that, like instead of like loud claps, you like could do like snapping or the first one I went to they're like, or you could do like the follow through like shot thing. And I'm like, Ooh, I love that. You know, cause I'm a basketball player too and a fan. And I'm just like, Oh, that's so awesome. But.
00:26:27
Speaker
Those are so, so important. Being a great listener, being vulnerable, and then following through. Like seriously, if listeners could take those three things and start applying them to all the practical content on how to be healthier physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually, all the things,
00:26:45
Speaker
That will definitely alone set you up for success. That's so good. And while you were speaking, I was thinking about this scripture popped into mind that I love. It's just so practical. And I share it with my kids all the time, but to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger, right? And so.
00:27:02
Speaker
You know, I think sometimes when we hear hard things, in our humanness, we want to be defensive right away and whatnot. But when you think about being vulnerable and listening well, those two things alone kind of help push defensiveness to the side, which is kind of the antithesis of being coachable. So I love that. That's so good.
00:27:23
Speaker
So last question I wanted to wrap up with, because listeners are on this journey towards wholeness and it can be tough, right? Because life is full, life could be complicated, life could be challenging, you name it, right? And so I just want to know from you, what word of encouragement would you give to my team of listeners out there on this journey, especially when times get tough? Oh, man. You just said it. You ended it. Our season ended horrifically.
00:27:54
Speaker
It was a very bad call from not just one referee, but all of them got together and none of them made the correct call based on the rules of the game. And for my seniors who never get a chance to replay those moments, it was heartbreaking. The locker room was devastating. You had worked, this team had worked so hard from where we came from, right, to this point.
00:28:19
Speaker
and it was over by a mistake that eventually was apologized for publicly, but it still takes nothing away from the devastation
Finding Contentment in Challenges
00:28:28
Speaker
that these girls, they'll feel for the rest of their lives, right? And I had to address that pain the next day that we got back, the next day, not three weeks where it's a little less numb. And I sat there and I said, Lord, I am hurting if not
00:28:48
Speaker
as much or more than they are. Every one of my household was hurting. The boys, they're 10 and six. They're like, mommy, we're so sorry. We watched it. I was getting calls and texts from so many people. That was wrong. And I'm thinking about what do I say to these girls? And this was that part where you lose, you have to learn, even though it's not your fault. Even though every single thing you did, Autumn, was with the right intention.
00:29:17
Speaker
You got wronged. How do we go on? And this scripture is how I address my team. And this is what I'll share with you. Philippians 4.11. Paul wrote most of that while in prison, beaten, not the best of life. And as he wrote Philippians in 4.11, he said, I have learned to be content
00:29:46
Speaker
in any situation, whether having much or having little. I mean, that is the verse that came to me to share with my girls. And I was almost like Jonah in the whale. I'm not saying that. I'm not going to Patmos. I'm not putting me in the belly. There's no way we are angry. We are upset. And the more I sat with it that morning, I said, he has an ED on learned.
00:30:15
Speaker
Because Paul had been through so many trials, he had learned that the things of this world are going to fade, right? They're going to fade. We're going to spend an eternity if we're believers with Christ, like we believe that. But he learned because at some time in his life, he was learning. And that's what I share with our girls, that
00:30:38
Speaker
We may not be Paul, we may not have learned yet how to be content in every situation, but if we get up every day and we put an ING on it and give ourselves enough grace to get to the ED that usually happens over a lifetime, we're learning to be content, whether I win a game,
00:30:58
Speaker
whether I lose a game, whether the refs got it messed up, whether my partner, my spouse just drove me crazy, whether my kids didn't do well. I am learning because I'm a being, an ING. We're all ING-ing something. And I hope that one day I can, as Paul says, I've learned. In the meantime, we're learning to be content in all situations.
00:31:27
Speaker
That's so good. Now you've successfully not only giving me goosebumps once, but twice during this short interview here. So this is so good. I do want to give you a chance to tell people if they want to follow you, cheer you on, whatnot. You could do that in a second. But as per usual, wrapping up all my
00:31:47
Speaker
Podcast episodes now for coach autumn's practice of the day because practice does not make perfect Practice makes permanent and so today's tip right on theme. I want to encourage you all to be coachable We have to in order to be coachable. We have to humble ourselves to receive feedback, right? Okay, so my practice my challenge for you is to identify a goal and then a struggle you've had in
00:32:14
Speaker
in working towards that goal. And then here's the hard part. Vanessa spoke of vulnerability. Ask someone who knows you for some feedback, okay? What they may know about you that can help you on this journey and then receive it with an open heart, okay? So this actually, this practice embraces so much of what you had shared, Vanessa, from
00:32:37
Speaker
you know, having a team around you and being vulnerable and then listening well to their feedback. And so that's my challenge for you all. I appreciate you all for listening to this episode. Vanessa, you are truly amazing, truly a light.
00:32:51
Speaker
And I would love for you to share it with folks if, you know, I don't know, Instagram's the best way to follow you or what you prefer. And who knows, maybe if you do put that book out into the world someday, I invite everyone to read it, because I'm sure it will be life-changing. But with that being said, yeah, why don't you wrap up here?
Closing and Social Media Information
00:33:09
Speaker
Yeah, you can go to George Mason University women's basketball GMU.edu and follow us also on Twitter at coach VBL V B as in Blair L Instagram you know what I don't even know it off the top but I'm pretty sure when you Google my name you'll see you'll see a whole lot but
00:33:30
Speaker
I would love for you not to come just to follow me, but to follow these amazing young women. And if you can support them by showing up in the stands, by cheering for them in their most vulnerable states, out there in front of thousands of people where they make mistakes, where they get back up, where they succeed, and where they fail forward, I would really appreciate that. So anytime you want to come to the game, hit me up, inbox me. We'd love to have you there. Our women would love to have your support.
00:33:59
Speaker
Yeah. And don't worry about the handles. I'll make sure they get in the show notes. So I feel it's hard to keep track of all of it for sure. So anyways, Vanessa, thank you again for being here. You're amazing. And to all the listeners, thank you for plugging in and have an amazing day. Thank you for tuning in to the Aligned Living Podcast. I'm Dr. Autumn, your guide on this journey to wholeness or shalom.
00:34:28
Speaker
Ready to embark on this journey of self-discovery and transformation? Head over to autumnswain.com to learn more and dive deeper into the world of aligned living. Until next time, stay aligned.