Remarkable People Podcast

Simone Knego: Life Lessons from Mount Kilimanjaro & Changing Your View of the World | Episode 54

April 20, 2021 David Pasqualone / Simone Knego Season 3 Episode 54
Remarkable People Podcast
Simone Knego: Life Lessons from Mount Kilimanjaro & Changing Your View of the World | Episode 54
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Show Notes Transcript

EPISODE OVERVIEW: 

Are you one of those people who was born knowing exactly what you wanted to be in life, or are you one of the masses who still doesn't know what they want to do when they "grow up"?

In this Remarkable episode, or guest and friend shares with us her Remarkable story of career, family, adoption, and climbing the infamous Mount Kilimanjaro. Let her experience and hard life lessons make your journey easier, more enjoyable, and help change the narrative of your life for the better. Welcome to this weeks episode of the Remarkable People Podcast, the Simone Knego story!

GUEST BIO: 

Simone Knego, author of the best-selling book, The Extraordinary UnOrdinary You, is a wife, mother to six children, and an entrepreneur. In her new best-selling book, The Extraordinary UnOrdinary You, she details her journey of adopting three of her six children, her climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, and all of the funny, scary, and inspiring stories that came along the way. Simone holds both a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Accounting from the University of Florida and is a CPA.

FEATURED QUOTE(S): 

  • "It was meant to be."- Simone Knego

EPISODE PROUDLY SPONSORED BY: 

SHOW NOTES, LINKS, CONTACT INFO, SPECIAL OFFERS, & RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Contact Simone:

  • Website: https://simoneknego.com 
  • Instagram: @authorsimoneknego
  • Facebook: @unordinaryyou
  • Buy the book: https://geni.us/ExtraordinaryYou
  • Visit her website: https://simoneknego.com
  • Invite Simone to speak: Simone@SimoneKnego.com

Special Offer(s):

  • Leave a comment or review for the podcast in YouTube or Apple Podcasts, let us know about it via our contact
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David Pasqualone


THE NOT-SO-FINE-PRINT DISCLAIMER:

While we are very thankful for all of our guests, please understand that we do not necessarily share or endorse the same beliefs, worldviews, or positions that they may hold. We respectfully agree to disagree in some areas, and thank God for the blessing and privilege of free will.

Simone Knego: Life Lessons from Mount Kilimanjaro & Changing Your View of the World | Episode 54

Hello friends! I'm David Pasqualone. And welcome to this week's remarkable episode. The Simone Knego story. This week, we are going to talk about climbing, Mount Kilimanjaro and the lessons our guests has learned. We're going to talk about the importance of family adoption, figuring out what you want to be when you grow up.

Right. I'm 44 and I'm still trying to figure it out. So hang on tight. Before we get into this remarkable episode. I know you've listened to a lot of episodes in the past. If you love our podcast, please like it. Share it. Give us a [00:01:00] five-star review on Apple and other podcast directories. And if for some reason you can't let me know, write me@meatdavidpascoeloan.com.

Check out the show notes, or you can find the link. So before we get into this remarkable episode with Simone let's thank our sponsor, Pam Heinold Realty. And past Safari, both Pensacola locations, even though we're global, if you're in Pensacola, if you have a past prom. Call pest Safari. The Huey family has been in pest control for years.

They have patents, they have inventions, they have Ghostbuster type equipment. I've even used them to help me find a leak one time under the floor of my home. So if you have nasty cockroaches or ants or rats or anything else, that's keeping you up at night. Call past Safari, check out the show notes or go to Pesa, fari.com.

Also, if [00:02:00] you're looking to buy a home or find a home that is pest free, already call Pam Heinold. Pam's one of the best realtors in Pensacola. One of the best realtors I've ever worked with. And at one point we moved eight times in 10 years. So we know real estate call Pam. You can go to Pam heinold.com.

Check out the show notes, give her a call until Dave tell her Dave sends you. So at this time, we're going to jump into the episode. You're going to get some great time with just hanging out with me and Simone. And then at the end, she has a special offer for our listeners. Listeners. So hang on tight.

Thank you again to intern Casey for making this all possible. We got God, we got our sponsors and we got intern Casey, putting this all together for us. So I love you. I'm Dave Pasch. Won't check out this great episode, enjoy it. Please like us and share the podcast all around the world and then let us know how we can better serve you.

Have a great day and enjoy this episode. .

[00:03:00] Part 3 Simone Knego Life Lessons from Mount Kilimanjaro and Changing Your View of the World FULL INTERVIEW: [00:02:59] Hey, Simone, welcome to the podcast. How are you today? I'm doing great. How are you? Fantastic. And thank you for being here. I have read your bio and we've talked previously, so I'm so excited for our conversation today. And as the listeners, you guys, and girls know the format, right? You're going to hear Simone's wonderful and remarkable story.

She's going to go through the past the obstacles she had to face how she overcame them in practical steps. So you can too, and then we're going to transition to where she is today. So now we can skip behind her and help her grow. Sounds great. Right? So Simone, at this time, can you take us back? Tell us about your, what formed you, where are you from?

How did you grow up? Tell us your story. So I actually grew up in Buffalo, New York. I have one sister she's two years, nine months older than me. I was always an outdoorsy kind of kid. I was always playing in the [00:04:00] muck and catching snakes and stuff like that, which is kind of hard to believe these days.

Cause I look at my kids and I'm like, don't touch the snake. But, but you know, growing up, I had a great childhood. My parents are my dad passed away actually almost two years ago now, but my mom lives in the same town as us. And you know, they were, they were, and my mom still is, you know, great parents.

My, my mom grew up on a farm in rural Pennsylvania. Her mom had a sixth grade education. Her dad worked in the coal mines and a local brewery. And she knew from a really young age that she wanted to be educated. And so she started working for a local family, saving all her money and got into the university of Pittsburgh.

And then while in college she worked three jobs and got into medical school and she was one of five women in her medical school class. And she graduated in 1980, 65. Wow. That's super [00:05:00] impressive. Yeah. And she, you know, she was a physician my entire life, you know, and she was like the supermom as well.

When we were little, she used to make our clothes. She cooked dinner every night. I honestly don't know how she, how she did all that she did, but she did. And that's what we do. Right. Like we, we figure it out and we do what works for us. And so I really did have this. I really had a really strong foundation growing up education was really important to my parents and my sister and I got along really well when we were little still do today.

And we, when I was 13 years old my. Parents said we've sold the house and we're moving to Florida. And so that was a really tough thing for me because, you know, I was 13 and just about to start high school and going into a completely new environment with and they put me in a private school and there were, the kids had been together for their [00:06:00] entire lives.

And here I walked in, you know, completely the newbie. And, and it was fine. I, I actually skipped my last year of high school. I went early admission to Auburn university and then after my first year of college I came back, got my high school diploma after my first year of college. And then I went to the university of Florida and got a bachelor's a master's in accounting.

Now, before you go on to talk about that, like the transition from New York to Florida, and then when you got there, what kind of adjustments did you have to make. Yeah, I think it, I mean, it was a really tough transition for me because I, I mean, I knew my parents were looking to move, but I wasn't really prepared for it.

I was away at summer camp when they made the final decision and my sister was entering her senior year of high school. So she [00:07:00] actually stayed in Buffalo and lived with a family friend for that last year because to uproot her during your senior year would have been really traumatic. And that was really tough too.

So basically, you know, I went from. Being in Buffalo with the kids I was used to. And then, you know, my sister staying back in Buffalo when I moved to Florida and you know, getting used to for one thing, moving from Buffalo to Florida is like two weather extremes. I just remember. And you know, I'm 13.

I just remember like sweating all of the time. And I'm like, how do people live here? Okay. Now I, you know, I live in, I've lived in Florida now most of my life. And so I know how people live here and I know why they live here. Cause we, we like the heat. We love the heat here. Yeah, I get used to, you get used to it.

And then I remember being at a baseball game with my son and he pretty much grew up in Pensacola and he had a [00:08:00] jacket on in 90 degree weather. I'm like, are you kidding me? But he just grew up in a, so you get used to it, right? My kids wear sweatshirts to school every day. And part of it is because of the, you know, they have AC inside and then they go outside.

So I think they're, you know, they're cold when they're in the rooms, but they do, they wear sweatshirts every day. Which to me again, I think is, you know, a little, a little strange, but Hey, it works for them. So right. So you get relocated to Florida, you skip a year now, how did you manage that? Did you do a early admission program or did you just skip it?

Yeah, yeah, I did early admission. So a lot of universities have, I don't say a lot, some universities have a program where you can skip your last year of high school as long as you have enough credits to go in. And so I had enough credits to be able to go and, you know, got the score that I needed on the act to get in.

Don't know if I get in today. But back then it worked just fine. So [00:09:00] yeah. And then I started my first year at Auburn university. Now did you know, like some children from the time they're born, pretty much they're focused and they know what they want. And other people are like me still trying to figure out what they want to do when they grow up.

And they're in your high school years when you're jumping into college, did you already know what you wanted to do? No, again, I've I just figured it out like two years ago, so, and I'm 40 years old, so I'm definitely one of those people. I have tried many things in my life. Yeah. So I didn't know, but what I did know is I, high school was not an easy time for me.

I, you know, I don't want to say I struggled to fit in, but I didn't love it. Right. So it was, and I did great academically. So for me, it was fine to go ahead and, you know, take that, jump to the next level and, and move on to college. And that's what I did. And so I'm. I was 17, which again, that's a little tough right.

To, to start [00:10:00] college at 17 where everybody else is 18 or older. I don't want to say everybody else. Obviously there's still people younger than me. And at that age though, it's a huge difference. It's so weird. Just one or two years when you're going to college. If you start at 20, you feel like you're so old, or if you're 17, you feel so young because in America we have listeners from all over the world.

So if you're listening from another country, you're like, what are they talking about in America? You're pretty much forced to go to school until you're 18. You know, that's your high school days. And then from there, you can choose if you want to go to university or not. And then at that point you get a lot of freedom and flexibility because now your choosing where I want to go to school and what I want to major in and who my friends are and where I stay.

So what someones talking about is that transition and that just one or two years does make a huge difference. I, how did you adjust to it? Oh, I struggled. I mean that first year of [00:11:00] college you know, again, I made great friends. It just wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't the school for me. Yeah. I didn't know anybody there.

And you know, that part was maybe, maybe a little bit difficult, but I ended up lasting there a year and then I moved back and went to the university of Florida. So again, all, all parts of my path that you know, led me to this moment in time. So I think all, all important pieces of my history, because I do believe that, you know, everything every moment in time, you know, is, is what brings us forward on this journey.

And you can't look at it as I don't ever look back at something and say, Oh, I regret doing that. I say that was part of my journey because you know, it was, I can't it's it's in the past. Right. I can't get rid of it. It's there. So it was part of what got me to where I am today. That's awesome. And then, so you went from Auburn to university of Florida.

And then what did you study at the university of Florida? So I started off being [00:12:00] pre-med again, You know, with both my parents being physicians, my sister was a physician. My sister became a physician and I I did my classes, I got to organic chemistry. Honestly, I failed organic chemistry. And that was basically the end of my pre-med days.

Yeah. I mean, that's, that's the hardest class probably in the program. I can hear, like, if I don't love this I'm out. Yeah. And I said okay, this was not the thing this, you know, and, and honestly I did have someone ask me if you could change any piece. And of course my answer is I wouldn't change any piece, but I think that I would have really loved being a physician.

So, you know, that, that piece of me, maybe I would say that, but in general, I, you know, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. And that's the right attitude. That's what you're, you're thinking. And if you're a listener, you know, someones talking about how she had to make a decision, then adjust and [00:13:00] then change a decision.

It's not even that she made a bad call or a mistake. It was just part of her journey of learning and growing and sharpening her as a person and bringing her to where you're going to hear. She's been at the top of the mountains and with beautiful children. So, so keep growing. So now, and the other thing too is I remember sitting in classes in college and I originally went for engineering.

Cause I had people talk me into it. I had professors talk me into it and I never wanted to be an engineer. And I thought, okay, I'll go to engineering school just so I could maybe sell robotics in the future. Right. But I remember sitting in those class and being like, I don't want to do this with my life where you like that in your classes.

Yeah, definitely. Well, you know, it's, it's interesting because when, when I started in, you know, started pre-med and then ended up switching to accounting, I don't know if I loved it anymore. Honestly, it was kind of like you know, I, but math was something that was easy for me, so I was able to kind of just move forward with it.

[00:14:00] And I had a really great support group, a really great group of friends within the accounting department. So I think that was really more of my focus is that I really, you know, we worked so well together. We had such a, a good time together and it was worth, you know, all of those pieces kind of fell together for me, but you know, the pre-med stuff, again, just, it wasn't my, it wasn't the strongest piece for me.

So that's how it goes. But I bet we'll get this into your story, but. I'm sure God, you, some of this stuff you learned in a way you never saw down the road, right? Like some of the stuff you learn in pre-med or an engineering or in anything you take there's something in the plant. Cause I remember going to school for two years for engineering.

I'm like, I'm never going to use this. And then I ended up engineering body armor for the government. So it was like crazy. Yeah. Like, so I'm sure for pre-med, you know, everything you do, there's a new mental process, right? Yeah, for sure. For [00:15:00] sure. I mean, there's always, you know, pieces that, that come out later and you're like, Oh, I didn't know.

I would need that. Okay. I can tell you, I did not need organic chemistry and that's, you know, thankfully, thankfully, because I wouldn't be able to do anything with it. And, and, and that, and that's it. Basically, I took my CPA exam, passed my CPA exam, first try. And I actually said to myself, cause I knew we were moving to Texas.

And I said like, okay, I, I really want to pass this the first time, which is really it honestly, it's, it's a difficult thing to do. It's a really hard test. And, and I kind of had in the back of my head if I don't pass it the first time, I don't know if I'm going to retake it, but. In my style, I passed it with 75 was the passing score and there were four parts at the time I got 75, 75, 75, 78.

And so the only thing I thought to myself was I over I overstudied on the section that I got a 78 on. Awesome. That [00:16:00] is awesome. Alright, so now you get, you pass us massive, which is a killer test. Everyone I've ever talked to. Yeah. So that's a beast. Where do you go from there? We moved to East Texas. We lived in Tyler, Texas for five years.

And. That was a completely different experience. We I was, I was 21 years old, my husband and I had just gotten married. So he is he's 30 he's 10 years older than me and at the time. And so he where like he joined a medical practice in Texas and we were like, okay, we're, we're going to Texas.

And you know, I worked at a CPA firm out there when I first, when we first moved there. And then I, I guess a year in, I got pregnant with no, actually I was 23. When I got pregnant with our first child and [00:17:00] had my first child at 24 years old. And so I'm double his age now. Cause he's, he's 24 and I, it's funny because looking at him now and I'm like, okay, you're you're 24.

The idea of him getting married is like off the charts. Like, you know, young. Yeah. Yeah. Well, when we were growing up 24 was actually a little on the older side and now it's like, wow, that's way too soon. So it's crazy. And then generations, before people get married at 12 and 14, right? So I guess when you're, yeah, you go from, you know, nothing to do.

You get married at 12, you get TV, you get married at 20. Now we have the internet, you get married at 30. Right. So no part in the story, how'd you meet your husband, where did that happen? That's actually a great, and it's funny nobody's ever asked me that on, on any of the podcasts I've been on. So this is a good story.

I was actually working at the hospital starting when I was 16. I was working at the hospital you know, [00:18:00] school and, and then over the summer, and I first met him actually when I was 16, because I would be like, Dr. Kaneko, do you need anything? And you know, we would, we would talk about stuff again.

He was 26 years old and my mom was like, you know, Don't talk to that, man. And then you know, I went to, when I went away, went away to college at 17. My mom said to me, once that he came into her office and was like how's your daughter doing? And she's like, Oh yeah, she's doing well. And so I came back from my first year at Auburn, was working at the hospital again and I ran into him in the hall and he's like, can you page me later?

And I'm 18 now. And I said, sure, doctor, can I go? I'll I'll page you. And you know, I paged him. We have this really long conversation. And at the end of the conversation, he's like, do you want to go out to dinner? And you know, so he's 27 now I'm 18. And so I called my mom and I [00:19:00] said, guess who just asked me out?

She's like that Canadian guy, she's like, be really careful. He's much older than you. And yeah, she wasn't wrong. But you know so we ended up, that was, I was 18 and we you know, I remember still going over to friends' houses for dinner, and they're like, we can't serve you wine because you're under age and I'm like, that's just fine.

It's okay. And then we got married when I was 21, so, and we're still married today. Amen. And you know what though? You're from Buffalo, New York originally, and I'm from Boston outside of Boston, Milford, mass. And it's more European culture where a lot of times the men are 10 years older than the women.

So was your mom more of the American mentality where like, I don't like this or did she come from that European mentality where 10 years is fine? I think she was just more concerned because she felt like I was too young. That, I mean, I don't even think it was like specific in her mind that, Oh, this guy is, you [00:20:00] know, 10 years is like way too much.

I think it was just like, you know I just think that you're too young to be dating anybody. What does a mom want? Don't date? Anybody, you know, stay, what do I want? Stay home. No, doesn't want that for sure. Yes. Yeah. Never, never date anyone. But yeah, so and again, like. Everything for a reason. Right?

So like, you know, it turned out to be an amazing life together. And my mom couldn't have wanted anybody else for me to be married, to, like, she thinks he's like the best thing ever. So you know, it's, it's been, it's been really good, so that's fantastic. And how it should be. So now you guys move to Texas, he takes a job.

You said he got a practice in Texas, and then you're there at 23 and you have your first child, so pick up. So yeah, and, and that was, again, you know, I'm away from family. My parents actually ended up moving [00:21:00] to, to Texas to be near us because this is another first grandchild. And so we, I had Jacob when I was 24 and after, after we had Jacob, we actually We ended up buying a farm.

And like, that was like a thing from my childhood is that I loved horseback riding and I always wanted to live on a farm. My husband, not so much, but he, he he's really good at going along for the ride and kind of enjoying the moments anyways. And so we ended up buying a farm. I ended up teaching horseback, riding lessons, running a summer camp, and then almost four years later I had my first daughter and it's hard to believe she's actually going to be 21 on Sunday.

So that's amazing. Yup. Yup. And you know, we, we lived on this [00:22:00] beautiful piece of land that, you know, and I had my horses and. Dogs. And it was, it was a lot of fun living out there. A lot of work, you know, obviously, you know, cleaning up after the horses and, you know, my favorite thing would be to go on the tractor and, and, you know, mow the property, which my kids are like, you did what?

And I'm like, yep. That was back in the good old days. But you know, really cool things. And then when Emma was about eight weeks old, we moved back to Florida and the decision was really, my parents didn't love being in Texas. They were going to move back to, they moved back to Florida. My husband's parents live in Florida and, you know, we, we really wanted to kind of stay close to the family, but also his, you know, he had a great practice in Texas.

It was just a very it was a level one trauma center. So. When he wasn't [00:23:00] when he was on call, he couldn't do elective cases because it was just so busy there. And so it was just very, very not that being a physician is ever not stressful, but it was just extremely stressful. And when we saw that there was an opportunity to move back near family, we were like, okay, we're going to take the opportunity.

So that's what we ended up doing. That's awesome. So now you move back, you have two children at this point, and then your daughter's name is Emma. That's my daughter's name, their middle name, grace, by any chance. So you have two kids, you move back to Florida and then are you still doing accounting work at this point?

Or are you just full-time mom now? I'm full-time mom, which is fricking, that's why I was like, that's hard enough to have two kids and be a full-time mom, let alone do that and working. So I was trying to figure out where you're at at this point. Yeah. This point I'm full-time mom and I. You know, the another, another interesting transition, but you know, it, [00:24:00] again, it was, it was great to be close to family, especially now with two kids.

Yeah. And then we, I'm trying to think of like next like that though, that period of time was probably a blur because of having, you know you know, with Emma only being eight weeks old, actually we came home and my, my sister actually got married right, right around then. So I think it was like the month after we got back from Texas, my sister got married and, and then, you know, life continued and then almost three years later I had my third child Olivia and I was still well staying home at that point.

And. You know, things were chaotic, but, but great. And that's kind of when we had the discussion of you know, do we want to, to adopt, we had talked about it before, and this was kind of like the [00:25:00] moment of, you know, kind of now I, now we're never really, because, you know, we are now that the kids are old enough, but still young enough that, you know, we could still continue adding to the family where it wouldn't feel like two separate families.

It would feel like, okay, we're just, if this is just part of the progression. And so we decided to adopt from South Korea. And so we adopted Noah when he was four months olds. And he is now 14 years old. So and that's crazy too. Again, I just, every time I talk about like these times, like how fast they go by, it's just crazy to me.

So let's, let's stop right there for a second. And let's, you're impacting a lot and for our listeners, let's, let's focus on this topic adoption. Okay. That's a great thing to do. And you go to all these concerts and they are like, Hey, you know, adopt a child or support adopting children. And it's [00:26:00] something yeah, we absolutely need to do.

And we should do, but it's not for everyone. And making that decision is huge because it's not like I bought this jacket. I'm going to give it away now. I mean, that's for life, you adopt the child and you love that child for the rest of his or her life. So what process and journey did you go on to come to the point from even considering adoption?

To making it happen. So if someone's listening, what are the steps they need to take to know if it's right for them? Yeah, for us, it was really a discussion of, you know, they're, they're just, how do we want to grow our family? Do we want to grow our family anymore? And you know, there, there's so many amazing kids in the world just waiting for a family to love them.

And, you know, we, we knew we could be that family. And that was kind of like the, you know, really the thought process behind it, you know, for each of our adoptions, you know, we. It was a full family decision. You know, we had everybody involved in the discussion. We [00:27:00] did a blind vote each time. Obviously when the kids were, you know, under two or under three, their vote didn't really either they were going to just say yes, you know, so that part didn't really matter.

But you know, we wanted everybody to be on board because it takes an entire village. Right. And so, you know, and we didn't want, we wanted them to feel like they were part of the process and part of, you know, raising these children as well altogether. It's just like, you're there just your siblings, you know, just like everything else.

And we wanted to make sure that they kind of felt like they were included in all of it and that, and it worked really well for us. And. And what made you guys think to adopt? Like where did it go? Like most people, they have three kids, like I'm busy, this is enough for me, but what was on your husband and your heart that you're like, let's, let's look at the adoption.

Well, we had actually looked at it in between Jacob and Emma. So there's four years between Jacob and Emma. So [00:28:00] after we had Jacob I didn't get pregnant right away. And so we started looking at, you know, other options and that was when the discussion actually started. And then of course, as the discussions got a little bit deeper, then it was kind of like, Oh wait, you're pregnant.

So that kind of ended that discussion at that period of time. So, and that's when we, you know, when we were back in Florida and we said, you know, should we revisit this? You know, let's sit down and have a conversation. This is something that we talked about that we wanted to do. And, you know, with three kids, can we still do this?

First of all, are there programs available to us to be able to do this? And the answer was yes. And. Do we want to move forward with it? And the answer was yes. And we went from three to four and chaos to more chaos and it's fabulous chaos. And then, so now you have Noah, you said he's from South Korea. Okay.

And then how long, what happens next in your life? [00:29:00] That was a really crazy year, year and a half, two years. Noah is an amazing kid, has a lot, he has a lot of sensory issues. So I always joke about how much, you know, he used to cry. He's 14 now, so only when appropriate now, but he, he, you know, as he, you know, he struggled with a lot of things, you know, we, he cried on our flight home from Seoul to Chicago.

He cried 16 out of the 18 hours. And you know, this is one of those moments where I take a step back and say, okay, You know, I saw it. I knew, you know, th th the, the periods of time where we look at ourselves and say, you know, that either we know too little or we know too much. And I think I, you know, I struggled with myself at that point saying, you know, I'm raising three children already, and I can't figure out how to quiet a baby on a plane.

You know, you have all these doubts that go through your head and, you know, but every child is different and you have [00:30:00] to figure out what works for them and what works for you and what works for you guys as a team. And it took a little while, but you know, we, we figured it out and, you know, he really is an amazing kid and super loving and pretty funny.

And and, and then, so that was. That was 14 years ago. And then RA came home at four and four and a half, and he's now 16. So two years later we decided to adopt again and we looked at, you know, programs that were available to us and we fell in love with Ethiopia. You know, there are amazing children that just, the people are amazing.

They're, they're beautiful and kind, and, and the children are, you know, in a situation where there's usually some kind of, you know, horrific event that kind of leads them to be separated from their birth family. So [00:31:00] whether it's a death in the family or, you know, it's, when you talk about poverty, you know, my RA grew up in a mud hut.

He didn't have running water, no electricity. You know, didn't own shoes until he was at the orphanage, didn't have shoes until he was at the orphanage. So he's got scars all over the bottom of his feet. So things that, you know, we, you know, we don't see on a daily basis here as part of daily life there.

And, you know, that was really eye opening for us. And what's interesting is we took our our oldest girls with us when we adopted Ari and kind of to see it through their eyes, to see that journey through them was really life changing as well. And we knew when we were at the orphanage to bring RA home, that we would get that we were going to come back one more time that we, we just knew that, you know, when, when we met the kids, they were, they just wanted someone to love them.

They were holding your hands. They were sitting in your lap. [00:32:00] It was really, really emotional and really an amazing experience. Yeah, I've never been to Ethiopia, but one of my great friends, highly is from Ethiopia and he loves the country and he's in everybody. I've met all his family, all of his other friends from they're just amazing people.

And they love, I mean, Ethiopia overall. They love God. They love, I mean, Reaganomics and the country is actually one of the fastest growing economies right now because of it, because they're moving out of that poverty cause they're were implementing. Good fundamentals. So that's fantastic. So you had Noah, you had Ari and then you go back again.

And what, what did you take home this time? We adopted Millie. So though, and again, the way the system works is that they match you at the adoption agency, matches you with a child. And so you get a referral photo and a little bit of, you know, a little bit of [00:33:00] history on the child and, you know, and so it was Millie and she's a beauty.

She had the satisfies I had ever seen. You know, she was, she had CAUTI a core protein deficiency that has had, you know, you know, she had this extremely distended abdomen. She had Giardia, you know, all of these things where again, we don't think about on a regular basis here. But kids are so resilient.

Like she. It took her a year. Once she was home to really get well, to get you know, get rid of everything that she had. And if you met her today, you'd have no idea. Like she just is, she's such a cool kid. All right. I can't wait to see, send us a picture of your whole family. And I'll put that some people are listening to the podcast.

Some people are watching the video cast, but wherever you are, check the show notes and I'll have a link in there to a picture of Simone and her family. So you [00:34:00] can check out the six beautiful kids or husband and even what's mom looks like, yeah, there we go. Now, most people, they have six kids. They're busy.

They just focus on the children, the family. And they kind of get in their groove and move forward. That's what you did right? Certain days of the week. Yeah. I'm just kidding. So take us from the sixth child to bring us into the transition into where you are today. What's happened in between those two. Oh my gosh.

There's so many things. How long do we have? Yeah, there's no time limit. It's totally up to you. Our listeners know they can pause and come back. So you just tell your story. So a lot of the things that happened in between then and now, you know, when we talked about at the beginning, but figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Right? Like, so all of these things that I actually went back to school to be a teacher. So I have a master's in accounting, I'm a CPA. I decided, you know what, I [00:35:00] had kind of have my own classroom at home. Why not actually, you know, go back to school and become a teacher. And so I did that. And then I taught for about three years and.

Unfortunately, it was with six kids now at home. The babysitting expense was a bit, a bit higher than what I was actually getting paid. And so I decided, okay, let me figure out something else that would work for me in terms of, you know, working. And so I went into medical sales and did that for about seven years and also went and worked for in sales for a coffee company, a cereal company.

I did all kinds of different things, really kind of, you know, saying, I want to really learn this and then let's see where it goes. And again, I think for a long time I was, I struggled because I didn't know where I wanted to be. I didn't know what [00:36:00] I wanted in terms of professionally. And maybe that goes back to the whole organic chemistry piece.

I don't know. But I know now, like this is where I'm meant to be. This is what I love. So what I love is I love talking to people. I love sharing my stories because if I can impact one person, then, you know, sharing personal details of my life is all, all worth it. So then I 2015 I had a really fun and unique opportunity to go climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Wow. That's a dream. That really is a dream come true for guys like me and the ladies, but some people like, heck no. So tell us about that. What made you want to do it and what was it like doing it? So the way it started was my husband's. One of my husband's closest friends had actually. Climbed it the year [00:37:00] before.

And so he called my husband and said, Hey there. And he went with an organization called the live strong foundation. They were raising money for camp for their, for their foundation for cancer patients. And so he called my husband and said, are you interested? And my husband was like, No, but call Simone.

So they called me and I said, you know what? Yeah, I would love to, I mean, give me a challenge and mix it with philanthropy. I'm definitely there. Had I climbed anything before? No. And again, don't let that discourage you because you know, again, you train, you, you set your mind to something, you train really hard for something, you know, you've you do the follow through.

I really believe that you can, you can really do whatever you put your mind to. But you have to do the work. You have to do the work. Yes. And that's quite the work. Explain for those who don't know what Mount Kilimanjaro is, because that's not a little, little bump. That's a massive, massive [00:38:00] endeavor. So explain Mount killing me.

Yeah. Yeah. So it's in Tanzania. It is 19,341 feet at the summit. And it's the highest single. The freestanding peak in Africa and, you know, it's the great thing about that. Climb, hike, climb. However you want to say it is that it's not technically challenging and that's why people can attempt it when they haven't done other climbing expeditions before.

And that's why it worked for me. You know, there's things that are, you know, it's, trust me, it's not easy. There's nothing easy about it. Like just the getting rid of your creature comforts and sleeping in a tent on a hard floor, or when it's, you know, 10 degrees outside, like all of those things are, you know, learning to go to the bathroom outside, you know, all of those things are part of it, you know, and, but it really kind of, for me, it was really not just the [00:39:00] physical challenge, but the mental challenge as well saying I'm going to do this.

And again, following through with it. And, and I did, and it was even more special because I was with. You know, it was called survivor summit. So a lot of people that were on the trip were cancer survivors. They were climbing in honor of a family or a friend who, you know, had either passed away or was currently in treatment.

And it just added that extra layer of determination and grit. And it really was such a powerful group to go with. And, you know, I, I say this a lot, but you know, when you talk about leadership, you know, leadership and elevation, which is our, our, our leader for the trip, his name was Chris Warner is Chris Warner.

He, I mean, he wrote a whole book about leadership at elevation because, you know, what do you do, right? Like if something's going wrong, how do you work together as a team? And again, we're, we're 16 people who are perfect [00:40:00] strangers. And, you know, obviously we, we figured out how to do all this together as a team.

And it was really. Probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life and, you know, reaching the summit and really saying, you know, looking back down again, everything that has happened in my life, the good, the bad, everything that I struggled with and saying, you know, I just did this. And, and all of those moments in time, you know, led me to led me, led me to the summit.

Yeah. And making the summit. I've done a little bit of mountain climbing and not near 19,000 feet. I mean, oxygen becomes an issue. Actually I remember thinking to myself, I don't know if I can take another step like, and you have to mentally do it. It's not about physical. So what are the, like, give us some lessons from Mount Kilimanjaro.

What did you learn from your journey on Mount Kilimanjaro? [00:41:00] Yeah. Not, not to limit yourself. I would say that that'd be lesson number one is that, you know, I think so many times and so much through my life, I would compare myself to other people and say, well, I could never do that. Or, you know, that, that isn't, that isn't not, it isn't for me, but like I'm not capable of that.

And I think like we have to get rid of that, that piece of how we look at ourselves. I think also that how important it is, you know, as a parent, you know, as anyone, actually the self care piece, how that to do something for yourself, because you want to do this and. For me, it was such a great lesson for my kids.

Like, again, I'm not a mountain climber you know, but I did take whatever two and a half weeks away from my family to experience this. And I think it's great for them to see that, you know, yes, you can do these things. You know, you, you take the [00:42:00] time, you work really hard. So I think it was a great lesson for them.

You know, we talk about moms being selfless and it's I think it's important to be a little selfish, sometimes selfish in a good way, not selfish in a bad way, but selfish in a way that kind of adds to the self care piece that, you know, when, when my kids look at the things that they can do in their future, that they're going to believe in themselves.

And talk about that. Cause a lot of people are confused and I still sense a little like a, I don't want to say guilt, but like there's a difference between self care, self care is good taking care of yourself. Cause if you don't have it, you can't give it to your kids or anybody else and selfishness that's a whole different level.

Yeah. And so describe the difference to the audience between self-care and selfishness. So they don't feel guilty and becoming a better person. Yeah. Yeah. The reason I use the the word selfish, someone said it to me once when I was telling my story and she said, I'm saying this in a really positive way.

So I'm [00:43:00] not saying like I'm saying that I was being selfish in a way that. Positively impacted my kids. So the self care thing I think is so important. Like we have to take our, we have to take some time for ourselves, whatever it is, whether it's, you know, a 15 minute run, something that we feel really good about.

Because I think when we do stuff like that, it really does add value. What we bring back to our children. You know, I feel better about myself when I do something for myself, I feel great when I do stuff for my children, but I also feel really great when I make the choice to do something for me. I come back with, you know, refreshed.

I come back with a new outlook at an extra layer of patients, you know, all of these things where I think that we don't allow ourselves, which I think is not the right way to look at it. I think that it is really important to take some time for ourselves, because for me, it makes me a better person. And so when I use the word selfish, I definitely don't mean it in a way that is [00:44:00] a negative thing.

And the only reason I use it is because I once told someone the story about Kilimanjaro and they said, well, moms are supposed to be selfless. And that story sounds a little selfish, but I'm saying, and she said, but I'm saying that in the best possible way, because they think that we, we make ourselves feel guilty when we do something for ourselves and we should, we should not feel guilty.

We should understand that having this moment of selfishness in a positive way is truly self care. Yeah. If that makes sense, a hundred percent, a hundred percent listening and you don't fully get it right us. Right. Some of them write me and we'll try to help you get through it because I used to think like too, like, Oh man, my wife's home all day with the kids.

Yeah. I worked all day, but she worked all day. And if I go to the gym, that's just wrong. So I got out of shape and unhealthy had no energy and now will worst husband and father. So you really gotta take care of yourself so you can take care of those you love. And not everybody has to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

That's quite high. I mean, that's great. [00:45:00] I mean, that's, that's tough. So I remember carrying a guy down the mountain cause he had what is it called? Like not oxygen deprivation. Oh, elevations, like television seconds. Yeah, the dude was like, he literally, it was like he was high on drugs and I had to put him on my shoulder and carry him down and I was already exhausted.

So it's like, how did you do 19,000? I know how long. How many days did you, did you come so far then acclimate or how far did you go each day? Five days up, two days down the, the, the summit day was you go from. A little bit over 15,000 feet all the way to the summit, obviously that's the most difficult, but the rest of the days are to get you, you know, to get you acclimated to the, the some sort of elevation.

And you know, it's, it's not a race to the top. It's, you know, one foot in front of the other and slow small steps. And that was one of the biggest things that, you know, our Chris Warner would say all the time, like, don't waste your [00:46:00] pennies, you know, really understand that if you're going to expend all this energy at this kind of elevation, you can't get it back.

So you really got to take those small steps and, you know, really kind of really focus on what you're doing. Focus on this moment, like focus on exactly what that footstep means to you and say, you know, it was really a powerful message. I'm not trying to beat, you know, beat anybody up the mountain. I'm not trying to race up there.

I'm really trying to enjoy every step I was taking. Yeah. Those are great life lessons. I mean, you said don't limit yourself. Self care is important. Small steps in the moment. Those aren't just for climbing a mountain. Those are everyday life. So those are great lessons you learned. Thank you for sharing them.

Absolutely. Now you get to the top before we move on with the rest of your life. Describe that experience because everybody's experience up there is a little different, but it's just, I don't want to be it's close to God. I mean, you're literally not just physically higher, but there's something spiritual about mountain climate, at least to me.

What did you, [00:47:00] yeah, I, you know, It's funny that, you know, no matter what situation you're in, your personality comes through. Right? So like I'm at the top and I'm feeling pretty good still. Like they're they have the the, the oxygen, the thing that they stick on your finger to checks your check, your oxygen level.

And I was still at about 75%, which was pretty good. And there were some people that were in the fifties and I could tell, I was like doing the mom thing, you know, I was like, I think your lips look a little bit purple. Hey, let's go, let's check your oxygen level. And I'm like, so even at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, I'm still trying to be the mom of the group, you know, and I seem to take that with me everywhere I go.

And I'm proud of that. I think that's a good thing. We're were in mom mode and just so the listeners know like a healthy Oh two level. Is 92 or an above. You don't want to be below 92 or though, like you got issues. Right? Right. So you're climbing a mountain. It's 50 to [00:48:00] 75. That's just insane. Yeah. I mean, there's no way to, and that's why you can't stay that long at the summit because obviously, you know, low oxygen levels, low oxygen to your brain obviously will affect you, you know, for a very long time.

So but yeah, I mean, I think that really. Looking at that moment at that accomplishment and whatever, you know, your religious beliefs are the spiritual part of that standing on a mountain, the summit of a mountain that high, and kind of looking around and you see the world a little bit differently.

Like at least for me looking at the other mountains around and saying, Whoa, this is just unbelievable. The view from here, what, what everything looks like, you know, how different it looks from up here. And then experiencing that with, you know, people who, the week before I were perfect, strangers who are now, you know, really good friends was really emotional.

And you know, my tent mate, she's amazing. [00:49:00] She she's a breast cancer survivor. And so, you know, Seeing her take those last few steps to get to the summit just was such a powerful thing. Also my, the guy who I climbed with the last day, who was my, my, my summit buddy, his name's Mike, he had Oh my gosh, so many surgeries.

And I forget the number, but it's like somewhere between 70 and a hundred surgeries over his life. And he he's, he's a young guy he's in his twenties and he maybe he's in his thirties now time goes by too fast. But you know, watching him experience that moment as well. When, you know, when he was younger, they didn't know if he would even survive.

And then now to be at the summit of Kilimanjaro after he climbed it, not just like, he, he just climbed this mountain. And you know, when he was younger, You know, that was never something that he probably even thought about. And so, I mean, it was just such an [00:50:00] impactful, impactful moment. And let me ask you a question and I know this is, you know, very transparent, but you were up with a bunch of cancer survivors.

Did that almost motivate you more like, man, these people are recovering cancer. There's no way I can say in fact this one, I got to give it all like, did it, did it motivate you or am I just a weirdo? Yeah. You know what what motivated me would, what motivated me about. That is that they had such an extreme level of positivity, like, and determination that there's no way you could even doubt for one second that we all wouldn't have made it to the top because, you know, they literally like it was coming from, you know, their pores, how positive they were and how, you know, like how their outlook on life.

So, I mean, that piece said to me, like, we are definitely doing this, you know, and I think that that was incredible motivation for me to kind of, [00:51:00] to be part of that moment. Right. And it was really, it was really, really a special moment. One of the other cool things that happened was when we got to the first part of the summit, it was at sunrise.

And I took out my phone to take a photo. And I had cell service. And so I called home and I was able to talk to my husband and kids as I was submitting the mountain. And and you know, they were all cheering and like, it, that, that to me, like, I was like, Oh my gosh, like, this is the moment I was the only one that had cell service.

So whoever wanted to use my phone called home and kind of had that moment as well. So that was a really, that made it even more special first I'm here. Right? First time you were probably having to pay your cell bill. Right? I know it was like, Ooh, it worked for a reason. Yeah. So that was really special.

That's awesome. So now you climb Mount Kilimanjaro, you're making new friends and then you come home to your husband and six kids, whereas [00:52:00] life take you from there. And what year are we at right now? That was 2015. So what was I doing then? I mean, I was still working. I came back and I was still working in medical sales and.

I was doing a lot of volunteer work with the Jewish Federation. And then I applied and, you know, again, regular daily stuff, right. Are all of these moments that are so important to our lives. You know, the kids growing up, the kids graduate from high school, the kids moving on to college all during that time period.

And then I became I was selected to be actually co-chair of a national young leadership for the Jewish federations of North America from 2018 to 2019. And that was like a full, another full time job. It was really it was an amazing experience, you know, [00:53:00] Meeting other people traveling throughout the country, speaking, you know, traveling overseas, seeing different parts of the worlds, you know, that was, that was a really great moment.

And then when I finished that yeah, organization, like for our listeners, not familiar with it, what is the organization's focus and what did you do with them? Yeah. So so the Jewish federations of North America, I really focus on obviously helping Jews throughout the world, but it's also one of the big things that I like to focus on is that when I talk about there's a, there's a.

A phrase that a Hebrew phrase it's called Tikun Olam, which means repairing the world. So when you look at different organizations like even my, my local Jewish Federation, when we talk about Tikun Olam, it's not repairing the Jewish world, it's repairing the world. So it's helping people, you know, all throughout the world, it doesn't, you don't just [00:54:00] have to be Jewish.

And so in my local community, we have a lot of partnerships with the local churches. We do different missions to Israel where different church leaders come, you know, so it's, it's really, to me, it's an amazing thing. It's how our, our world should be, that we respect each other for exactly who we are.

And so I was in that time period, I was the chair of young leadership, which was a group of. 350 people from across North America that we did leadership training really kind of worked on our leadership skills and how we could come back and help in our local communities. And, and again, that was a really great learning experience for me.

And what I really loved is that I met so many different people. I had the opportunity to opportunity to speak in so many different communities about my life, my stories, and it really, you know, made a [00:55:00] positive impact on, on my life. Just seeing again, everything that I do, I feel like I learned something from everyone I meet and I learned something from everything I do.

So kind of seeing what else is out there beyond Sarasota, Florida, beyond, you know, beyond all these places that I've lived to see what's happening in the world. And after that, I. Actually pause one more time. I'm going. I want, I don't want to keep interrupting you, but I want to make sure. Yeah. Okay. So you just made a comment.

There's so much more beyond Sarasota, Florida, and we have listeners right now in Portugal and Italy and all parts of America, New Jersey, and you know, Texas, we have people in Canada, Australia, there's so much more beyond all of your desks everywhere you live. Everybody thinks that way. They think that's their whole world.

But talk about how these [00:56:00] experiences, literally it's like a paradigm shift that changes your perspective of life. Seeing that, and being with that organization, how did, how did that affect the way you saw the world? Yeah, I mean, definitely. I mean, it opens your eyes to, you know, any, any time I've traveled somewhere bringing the kids home from Ethiopia I've been to Ghana on a medical mission with my husband.

And I mean, I've traveled all over the world, but I, you know, really taking something away from each, each country seeing that the customs and traditions and understanding that there are, you know, Everybody in this world is different. Right. But we're all integral to the fabric of society. So we're all important, all the things.

And so seeing and appreciating someone else's culture and taking away something that you've learned from being in someone else's home, [00:57:00] where they celebrate things differently, or the way they cook is differently. You know, I think sometimes we get caught up in where we are in the moment and forget that there's so much more out there.

And so many again, like every country, every city, every person, we do things differently and you know, and different perspectives on, on life and family and really learning from other people and understanding how much of an impact that can have on your own life. So when I look at the world, I feel like I, you know, I, I can still, I, I learn something every day, but opening my eyes to see how much more out there there is and how, you know, people again, how people do things differently, how, how you can really appreciate, you know, the way different people celebrate and live their lives.

I mean, my sister, my sister actually lives in Switzerland and [00:58:00] we were visiting her one time and we went to see a Harry Potter movie and all of a sudden in the middle of the movie the lights come on and the screen goes off and I was like, okay, Did it break and she's like, no, Simone it's called intermission.

And I was like intermission and a movie. And you know, like what a great thing. Right. But here, I think people would like lose their minds. Like we have two hours and 15 minutes to get this movie done and get onto our next activity where there it's like the whole experience, you know? So appreciating those, those moments, the chance to slow down a little bit.

And she's like, yeah, you have like 15 minutes, you can get up and get a cup of coffee. You can go to the bathroom and come back and, you know, finish the movie. And I was like, honestly, it's brilliant. But like, I, I can't see it happening here because we're like impatient. We got to get to the next thing. So those kinds of things, I think really our impact.

Yeah. Do you remember have you ever seen like. Chitty Chitty bang, bang, or the sound [00:59:00] of music. Some of the Iranians, you know, American movies, they used to have intermissions. And then we got too impatient as a country, so they stopped and now we just go, you know, we can watch gladiator for three and a half hours.

No break, no break, little break. Yeah. Is your husband Jewish? Is he also Jewish? Well, he is now. And that's actually, if you want to hear a story, this is a great story. Well, cause yeah, I'm thinking, you know, the, I believe there's one race, the human race. Now within that, there's tons of nationalities.

There's different cultures, but when, when people say, what race are you I'm like human, literally human. I'm not trying to be a punk. There's one race. And like, I'm thinking you're the perfect example of Simone. You have kids, natural born, you have kids through adoption. You have kids from Africa, you have kids from South Korea, but they're all your kids and you love them.

All right. And then I'm thinking right with the way cultures are. You have multiple cultures already. So I was wondering where your husband was and how you celebrate it. So that's where I was [01:00:00] going with that. So this is a, this is a great piece to it. So I'm glad you brought this up because I'm, so his family is from Croatia.

He grew up a Catholic, not super religious, but definitely, you know, they is, they celebrated, right. So and things evolved over time. But when we got married, it was never a discussion of, you know, if he was going to convert or I was going to convert, we did have the discussion of, okay, how are we going to raise the kids?

And the discussion was that we were going to raise the kids Jewish. Now this wasn't me telling him this was a true discussion of, you know, this is what we, what we want to do. And so. Fast forward 20 years. So we still, you know, we would celebrate Christmas as well with his family. We would celebrate Easter with his [01:01:00] family.

20 years later, we, 19 years later, we were we went on a trip to Israel and it was a young leadership mission trip to Israel, really. And in terms of this mission trip, it was really learning about educating about what the Federation does in terms of program support in Israel. And, you know, we had, it was an amazing group of people.

People we wouldn't have met in any other realm But at first, my first, my husband didn't want to go cause he's like, I'm not Jewish. Am I going to feel weird? And I'm like, first of all, nobody's going to ask you that. Okay. And second of all, let's just go, our friends are leading. It, let's support them.

And, and guess what? He had the most amazing experience on this trip, you know, and really again, we met people that he would have never met in any other realm. [01:02:00] And it was the first time he truly felt like he was part of a community. So at the end of the trip, you know, we are sitting down in a group and he said you know, this had such an impact on my life.

That when I, when I returned home, I want to. Start my conversion process. And he did. So after 20 years of marriage, he converted to Judaism. He knows way more than I know because, you know, he had to work for it. Right? Like he studied all of this where for me, it was just given to me and, and trust me, I know, I know a lot of stuff, but he, he knows all the details.

And because he, you know, as I say, he worked for it, like it's really important to him. And it's really and again, we're not religious but we are very spiritual and also really focused on traditions and obviously family and how important it is to pass those down to our children, you know, the [01:03:00] traditions that we have.

And so that was, that was a pretty. Pretty emotional piece because I never thought he would, I would never ask him to convert. Like this is, I think religion is a very personal thing. And I think that, you know, you it's, nobody else should make you make a decision on something. Nobody else should force their beliefs on you.

You should love what you, you know, how you do things. And so that was, you know, that, that, that was a really crazy moment in time that, you know, he, all of a sudden he made this big shift and he studied for a year with a rabbi and, and then converted. Now there's the saying. You should never discuss religion or politics.

And I think that's the biggest trash statement from St. Himself, because that's the two most important things. It's like, how are you living on this earth? And what's going to happen in eternity. So whenever somebody says not you, I'm not saying, no, you are saying you have respect for [01:04:00] other people's opinions.

You're not pushing something on them. And I agree with that, but we're talking openly about, you know, God and religion and, and I just, I, to my, to me, I think that's the most important thing in the world because what's the average life, 70, 80 years we die. Well, then what happens for eternity? So just real quick for someone listening, when your husband converted to Judaism, what is the beliefs of that religion?

Like? So if somebody doesn't know anything about what is a belief of Judaism, like where I come from a Christian worldview, I believe. And I don't want and correct me if I'm wrong. Basically we both believe in the Bible. We both believe in God, the two thirds of the Bible. It's the old Testament we completely agree on, but where Judaism changes, like I believe that Jesus is a son of God and you believe he's a great prophet, correct?

Is that I don't want to misspeak. I don't want to misspeak. Yes. And so, you know, for us, when we talk about who we pray to, we pray to God. [01:05:00] Right? So you call them Ivo, right. Or like, how do you refer? Cause isn't like, I think people say ABA, but it's pronounced Arava and it means like daddy, right? Abba is his dad, but Hachette is one word for God.

There are multiple words. I'm trying to think of what comes close to what you are saying, but obviously, but like, I'm just saying, when you pray, there are a little bit of differences. Cause there's a different relationship, I guess. So like. That's I guess, explain the differences as you understand them and I'll stop talking.

Yeah. So, I mean, I don't know if I really understand the question, but like you said, your husband converted, he had a background that was Catholic and he converted to Judaism. So what are the differences between the religions that, Oh, that, that part of the question? Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, you know, yeah, it's exactly what you just said that we, you know, we, [01:06:00] we use the old Testament.

We believe in God and exactly where it changes is you know, the part for Jesus and the new Testament. And so, you know, we're basically, we stopped at this period of time and you kept going. And that's kind of how, you know, it's, that's the simple way of looking at it. But, you know what so much of our beliefs are, you know, the same in terms of our values and you know, how we care for our families.

And, you know, the things that we, you know, I talk about, you know, my Jewish values, which again, respecting your you're respecting other people, loving your neighbor, all of those kinds of things that I think are really common in, you know, themes throughout Christianity and Judaism. And I don't wanna, I don't want to miss speak on any of it, but you know, it's, it's funny you say the piece about not [01:07:00] talking about religion or politics, I'm willing to talk about anything, but when you know, someone the other day said, is there anything off limits?

And I said, I don't really like to talk about politics because I don't feel like I know enough if there's something that I know enough about. I am happy to talk about it, but. You know, I don't want to get in a conversation with someone and say, you know, go ahead. I have no idea what I'm talking about here.

So that's probably why I don't talk about politics on Oh, probably ever. I was going to say a regular basis, but probably ever it's probably a good thing. That's probably a good thing, right? Yeah. I feel like, you know, if I'm gonna, if I'm gonna represent something, I should know what I'm talking about.

So so there you have it. All right. So you and your husband take this trip, changes his life and your life, essentially from there to where you are today. What's the rest of the story? The rest of the story is really after the, you know, my. [01:08:00] Time from 2018 to 2019 as co-chair. That was kind of like the beginning of why I decided to write this book.

I was doing these public, the, the events that I was doing, speaking in other communities and really telling my stories and people would say to me, wow, you're so inspiring. Again, this goes back to the struggle piece where I, as you see, I've tried many different things, trying to figure out, you know, where I want it to be in my life and what, what my purpose was.

And, you know, and I compared myself to others for a very, very long time, Oh, I need to be doing this, or I should be doing this. Or, and, and again, did it get me anywhere? No, it didn't get me anywhere. So that was like the time period where, you know, I would, I would get off stage and people would say to me, wow, you're so inspiring.

And I'm like, yeah, Well, you know, and I, I couldn't even say thank you. Like someone's giving you a compliment and I have learned, and trust me still, it's a [01:09:00] struggle to say, thank you. When someone says, Hey, Simone, your hair looks great today. And I'm like, my, my inst, my response used to be, Oh, I think it's a little too frizzy or, you know, whatever.

And the response is, thank you. Someone's taking the time to give you a compliment. So that's like the, the struggle piece. So when someone said to me why you're so inspiring and I'm like, you know, me really, and you know, you hear it a few times and then you're kind of like, well, that's the whole point, right?

Like that, it's the little things we, I believe it's the little things that we do every day that make a huge impact. So, you know, the things that you're doing in your life to, you know, Do good things for the world to do good things for your neighbor, you know, to be kind to other people, to me, those things make such an impact.

And so that's when I started thinking, okay, okay. You know, when people would say, well, do you have a book now? I don't have a book. You should write a book. And I'm like, well, I'm not a writer. And again, that, that thing of like putting that [01:10:00] on me, I'm not a writer. Well, could you be a writer? Like, honestly, think about it, Simone, like you love telling stories.

How do you put them down on paper? And that was the, that was kind of like how I, how it all came about. And then I just started putting it, putting things down on paper and really, you know, Understanding that it was important to share, you know, all aspects of my story, not just the, the triumphs, but the tragedies, the, you know, any, the, the bumps in the road.

Because again, they're all part of my journey. Again, I couldn't write a book long enough to cover everything. So it's like bits and pieces probably I've told more in this interview. No, I'm kidding. There's a lot in the book, but you know, there's, you know, there's so many things that happen in your life that kind of define your path and, you know, it's, you can't write them all down, but you know, that was, that was kind of how I got to that point.

And then really sitting there, it took me a year to kind of get through everything. And, and then now [01:11:00] the books out there in the world, and I talk about my kids, my family Kilimanjaro, and the way I see the world and, you know I've had really good feedback, which is great. And I have learned to say, thank you.

And you know, that's, that's a big step. Absolutely. And that's hard. And what are the, how did you do that? Because that's a mindset that's, I don't know how to describe it properly from a psychological aspect, but it's almost like we're not accepting the grace. We're not accepting the love we're self-sabotaging ourselves.

So it's not instant. It's not like a switch. Right. But how did you transition in this mindset? How did you move your mind to accept the praise? Yeah. You know, I think that there's a lot of, there's a lot of pieces to it and I get asked this quite a bit and I think that I probably meet privately need to come up with my, my formula because there, you know, there's a lot of pieces to it.

I think we're so hard on ourselves [01:12:00] all the time. I think we criticize ourselves too much and that was the first thing I stopped doing is like, you know if I gained weight, I wouldn't be like, you know, So crazy about the fact that wait, you know, Oh, you look great. You look awful. You, you know, like stop, okay.

Like things happen in life, right there, there are these moments where, you know, and like, we need to learn to love ourselves exactly how we are. So, you know, it was those pieces of saying to myself, no matter what, it might be feeling bad about something, but there's something that I really like about myself right now.

What is it? Is it my hair? Is it my eyes? Did I have a really good moment today? Like one positive piece that could kind of, you know, propel me forward to say, okay, this is really great. And the other stuff doesn't really matter. Let me just focus on this piece. That's really great. And everybody has that.

There is not one person that doesn't have something that they can look at and say, I really liked this about myself, or I really had this great moment today. Like we all have something that we can [01:13:00] really take away and say, okay, this is really good versus everything is horrible. Because I think that we can choose to be happy or we can choose to be miserable.

And I have decided that the right choice for me is, is to be happy and to look at all of the stuff that I'm struggling with to kind of say, this is bringing me to the next step. And then the other things that I did, I really, I really started focusing on how I would talk about myself or talk to myself.

And I joke, I call it Mira moments because, you know, we all have something to say to ourselves sometimes time during the day. But I would. You know, I stopped doing the your just I'm just, Oh, I'm just a stay at home. Mom. I'm just a substitute teacher. I'm you know, that, that just part, I think, is there reason for it?

Right. One thing I always said and is, [01:14:00] I'm just an ordinary girl. I am an ordinary girl that has had extraordinary moments, but I truly believe we are also all unordinary. And we're also, we all had these extraordinary pieces within us that we just have to realize that are there so that we can bring them out.

And I would say also one of the things that, especially in our house, we don't use the word can't because can't means won't, you're not even going to try. If you say I can't do it and I'm going to try. So, you know, we really, we really have gotten rid of that piece and I might have said this earlier, but you know, changing that mindset of what we they can, and can't do again, getting rid of the camp piece.

But you know, someone said to me, I, I could never, I could never climb Kilimanjaro. I'm like, well, do you want to, no, I don't want to. Okay, well, that's a different, that's a different story. You don't want to climb it. It's not that you can't do it. If you really work towards it, you couldn't do it, but you don't want to.

So [01:15:00] change the narrative to what the real words are. And because words matter, like the way we interact with somebody and you know, another, another thing that I always like to say is that I something that I always say to my kids is that the worst that someone can tell you is no, you can't be afraid to ask.

You have to put yourself out there. Because your whole life, you're going to go through wondering like, Oh, should I have asked for that raise? Should I have, you know, should I have done this? Should I have done that? And you know, and I can tell you, people want to say yes, right. People want to help.

That's that's the nature of humanity. They really do care. And so when you're willing to put yourself out there and say, you know, could you help me with this? Or would you be able to do this? People want to say yes. And so, you know, again, and the worst they can say is no, and you've asked and now, you know yeah, I agree with you 100%.

I think I [01:16:00] does your kids ever get annoyed by you trying to be so positive? Cause my, and do, I'll try to tell them the same things will miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take. Like Gretzky said and all the things you're saying, I'm, I'm believing. And I agree with you completely, but my kids get annoyed when I'm telling them it all the time.

Do your kids get annoyed or are they cool with it? Yeah, of course they get annoyed with me. I mean, come on. That's like part of the parenting journey, but like, I don't care. I'm still gonna say it anyways, you know? And the best is when then they say it back to me and cause like, I'll have a moment and they're like, I'm like, I don't know if I should call about their ser leg.

Hello, what's the worst they can say mom. And I'm like, Oh, there we go. You th the, the child is now parenting the parents. So and I love that because it means that, you know, they've taken it in and they get it. So even if they're annoyed by it, they're going to remember it later. And they know that it's an important thing, because that's what, it's a driving force in my life of how I, you know, interact with people and how I respond to things.

And so I think it really does impact them and it might [01:17:00] drive them crazy, just like. You know, my, one of my favorite things to do is start a random conversation. So, you know, whether it's like back in the day where I was traveling sitting at the airport and I S you know, talk to the person sitting next to me or getting on the airplane, I always say, hello.

Next to the person sitting next to me, if they responded, then we would start a conversation. And my kids are like, Oh, let's see, is mom going to do it? Oh, here she goes again. Which person do you think she's going to talk to? And you know what, like, it's funny, but like, it's okay if it annoys them, like, again, they're paying attention.

That's important. Yes. And for anybody listening, communication is, you know what, it's pride next year. Relationship with God, the most important art, the most important skill, in my opinion. And I remember. You can do drills, like exactly what you're talking about. Like you and a friend make up a scenario, and the next person you run into, you got to try to get that to happen, and you're not manipulating or hurting anybody or [01:18:00] doing anything bad.

But what you're trying to do is learn to listen to people, encourage them and guide a conversation. And especially if you're in sales or in any kind of public speaking, or try to move an audience a certain direction. That's great practice that someones telling you for you to talk to random strangers and get outside yourself.

It's great. So that's awesome. You're teaching your kids that you see them doing it, or do they have a different personality? I see I do see them doing it, the older kids, the younger kids, not so much yet, but we'll see. But the old, and again, again, what I'll be like, do you want to, and they're like, remember mom, we're not supposed to talk to strangers.

I was like, Oh, okay, here we go. So yeah, but definitely with the older kids, I see them, you know, you know, reaching out and like having a conversation and being confident when they get up in front of a group of people like that, to me is huge. Like understanding that your words have value and that you can impact people with your words in such a positive way, [01:19:00] in a negative way as well.

But we focus on, you know, the positive way that you can impact people. So, you know, it's funny, like when, when I talk about like changes that you can make, you know, Transformation is, is a process, right? Like I don't all of a sudden look at myself in the mirror and say, Oh, everything is excellent. You know, a hundred percent of the time.

That's just not how life works. But really that, you know, it's a journey. Transformation is a journey. It's, you know, it's not an event. It, it takes time to kind of see yourself differently again, because that's really, you know, my focus is that we don't need to change who we are because we all have these extraordinary pieces inside of us.

And we need to see that we need to see those pieces to, to understand and really believe in what we're capable of. Yeah. Have you ever seen our logo? Did you see our logo? Exactly. What you're saying is we have an well, I'll send it to you. And obviously if we're going to podcasts [01:20:00] on the cover as a listener, but we have people each season.

And they're average everyday ordinary people, but the remarkable inside is the superhero. So you've got the superhero shadow behind them. Cause we all have greatness that God put inside of us. Most of the time, we just need to let it go. Yeah, you who we were made to be. We, we need to believe in ourselves.

We need to understand that it's it's in there and you know, I know, I understand as a, as a person that, you know, for many, many years struggled to see that value in me and couldn't even take a compliment. You know, and now that I, I see it, I see it in everyone. It's not that I just see it in me. I see it in, you know, other people who don't see it in themselves.

And I'm like, let me tell you what you just did and what an impact you made. You know, like these little things are, you know, truly impacting, you know, the world, you know, it's the ripple effect you and, and talking about the communication piece, how important that is, [01:21:00] especially now this human connection piece.

Where, you know, Depending on where you live, but in general, right? Like we don't have the same kind of human connection that we had a year and a half ago. And understanding that there are some people that, you know, I was on a call with a friend the other night and I'm thinking, you know, people say to me, Oh, it must be such chaos.

You had, you had all six kids home again during the pandemic. How lucky am I? That I had all six kids home during the pandemic, like, right. Like I. Never thought that would I have the whole gang back together. So that was really, I was really lucky, but for people who, you know, are alone, you know, how much more alone they feel right now.

So sometimes your conversation with them might mean the only connection point they have during the day, other than a sales call. And that's why I think it's important. Like even when we get on a sales call, you know, that you talk to the person about being a person, not just the fact that they're the voice of the other end of the phone, [01:22:00] they're human, you know, they're living a life.

How's your day going, tell me, tell me about your day, anything good happening? Like, I think that to me, you know, again, one of those things where the kids are like, Oh, here she goes. But I think it's so important that we take the time to do things like that. Yeah. A hundred percent I think you're spot on. So let's do this.

We went from your past through today. Is there anything we missed before we move forward? Because I don't want to skip anything that's significant or that you want to talk about. And then we're going to get into the name of your book, what you're doing today and where you're going and how we can help you get there.

So is there anything we missed to this point in your life? I think you got a really good version. I think you got, I think you got everything I can think of right now. I think you got it. So, and you even made me think of things that I hadn't thought of, so it's great. Perfect. Well, I'll give you a copy of this to you.

You can embed it on your own website for your, your story. All right. Thank you. Thank you. So now let's do this. What's the name of your book? And I'll put a link in so the listeners can grab [01:23:00] it. If they want to learn more about you and your journey and go deeper. I'm sure there's a lot more about your story and a lot more you can glean from as the listeners from listening to Simone's story, but what's the name of your book?

Yeah, it's called the extraordinary unordinary. You. Nice. And then can they buy it on Amazon? And yeah, you can get it on Amazon, basically. Any, any place online where you can get a book, you get you'll find it. So, yeah. That's awesome. That's awesome. And then where are you going from this point? So when did you launch the book?

When did it come out and then the goals with it? Yeah, it launched in October. You know, My goal is really to get my messages out again, when I go back and say, you know, and exactly what your title is, the whole, you know, being an ordinary girl, I am an ordinary girl. We're all ordinary, we're all unordinary.

And we all have extraordinary pieces. You know, being able to share, you know, kind of what I've realized about [01:24:00] myself, my stories, and really looking at ourselves and saying, you know, realizing what we're capable of and recognizing that the things we do every day, you know, really have the power to inspire the people around us, that we matter.

We all matter, and we all make a difference in the world. And so, you know, again, speaking engagements, that's my thing is I want to be able to get up in front of, I love the podcasting piece. You know, being able to share my stories because if I can impact that one person, then I've done my job. Amen.

Amen. Well, it has been a true pleasure getting to hear his stories, getting to know you more. I'm excited to check out the book and to see pictures of your family. Make sure you send that and I'll share that. And Simone, you truly are a remarkable woman. I appreciate you being here and for our listeners, if you want to learn more about Simone, if you want to connect with her again, the show notes will be there, but Simone, what's a best way for a listener to get ahold of you.

If they want to talk to you. [01:25:00] Yeah, my website Simone kaneko.com. And again, the spelling, the spelling of my last name is K N E G O. But two dates, I believe on the only Simone cunego in the world. So I think even if you spell my name wrong, you'll be able to find me. And I would love to hear from you.

I think it's really important, you know, whether, you know, listening to this podcast or if you've read my book, you know, reaching out and shooting me an email so I can, you know, I can have a conversation because I, I really do feel that the human connection piece is so important to all of us. Awesome. Well, thank you Simone, for being here, listeners, hang out one more minute for a special offer at the end of this, and we will see you next week.

  Part 4 Simone Knego Life Lessons from Mount Kilimanjaro and Changing Your View of the World SPECIAL OFFER-2: [01:25:44] Okay. I hope you enjoyed that episode as much as I did ladies and gentlemen, and now Simone is not only willing to share the time we just spent together, but she's going to give away two copies of her book for free. All you have to [01:26:00] do is like the episode. Put a common in, in your favorite directory or player on our websites, whether you use Apple podcast, Stitcher, Spotify, you go right to our website, put some comments in, and then two weeks from the date that this episode airs, we're going to randomly put your names in a digital hat, pick out two and send you the book for free.

So Simone, anything else you want to add to it before we move on? And the only thing I want to add is that whoever is chosen once you read it, I would love to hear from you. So thank you so much. Awesome. Awesome. So thank you, Simone. Again, you truly are remarkable woman to our listeners. We hope you get this, you grab it.

And like our slogan says, don't just listen, but do the good things. Repeat them every day and have amazing life. I'm Dave . This is a remarkable people podcast, and we'll see you next week. Ciao.

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