← Black Entrepreneur Experience
Black Entrepreneur Experience
BEE 500 Founder/CEO, B is for Black Brilliance & 7Gen Legacy Group, Shawna Wells
00:41:56
Shawna Wells launch 7 Gen Legacy Group, where she coaches non-profit executives and CEOs who are doing social good and want to make a difference. Info:
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- [00:00]
A
Welcome to the Black Entrepreneur Experience podcast. Inside the business buzz and brilliance of black entrepreneurs. Here's your host, Dr. Francis Richards.
- [00:12]
B
What happens in Vegas goes all over the world on Black Entrepreneur experience, episode number 500. Thank you for joining us as we elevate the Black Entrepreneur experience by interviewing CEOs, thought leaders, innovative thinkers and black entrepreneurs across the globe. I'm your host, Dr. Frances Richards. Are you ready for the support, structure and space to uncover the untapped power in business, in your personal life, you want to lean in and listen to our next guest. Legacy architect, coach, educator, mom, friend and resident Hype woman. Founder and CEO B is for Black Brilliance and 7Gen Legacy Group. Welcome. Shauna Wells.
- [00:58]
C
Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thank you for letting everyone know I'm a resident hype woman too. I appreciate that.
- [01:04]
B
Absolutely. I've given our audience such a brief bio. Why don't you fill in the gaps and share with our audience what you'd like them to know about you and your business.
- [01:14]
C
Thank you. Well, as you mentioned, I'm the CEO and founder of 7gen Legacy Group. And in that work, I am also a mom and a friend and a proud Philadelphian, although I live in Las Vegas. And what's important to know is that the work that I do is really connected to who I am being in the world. We often say that we're at 7gen Legacy Group moving from a human doing to a human being. And so I'm also the CEO of BS for Black Brilliance, which is an organization that has been designed for caregivers to have conversations about Black brilliance in our everyday lives. I run two companies where I get to amplify and exemplify what I believe should be present in the world, which is us thinking about the generation that has come before us and the ones that are coming after us to make sure that we're doing right by ourselves and by them. I am so glad to be joining you and in conversation with you and your community. So thank you for having me.
- [02:10]
B
Thank you for being here. Let's step back and take us on a journey. How did you get here?
- [02:18]
C
Well, I'm always in relationship with my ancestors, so I often when question when a question like this is asked is I am grateful for their decision making. For better or for worse. Doors open, doors closed. So I got here because of them and I got here because of the world that shaped around them and the world that they shaped. And so as I think about my own grandmother, she was an entrepreneur herself. She built her own restaurant. I didn't know this until after her passing. I found a news article where she's standing strongly next to me. A stove. And it's listed what the menu is for the day. So I got here because of decisions like that inside of my own lineage. And I got here because I was able to pass through a set of stories over time. So from Philadelphia to Vermont to Las Vegas, back to Philly to Las Vegas, through relationships, play, work, and the ability to really honor the promise that I think has been given to me that I can then pass on to the next generation. And then I just want to name because I think people see you, they see me, they see business owners, and they're like, they just. It just happened. Poof. And it doesn't. It's like a series of ups and downs. It's a lot of no's before you get your yes. And I think all of those things are breadcrumbs telling you what are. What is yours to do and what are. There's things for others to do that are not yours. You don't have to do it all. And so part of it has been in relationship with the yeses and no's of life and the accumulations of the yeses and nos that my lineage has put at my feet.
- [03:47]
B
I like when you talked about the ebb and flow of business, the ebb and flow of life and learning. And even when life is lifing, right. And businesses. Business and getting really, really busy. And it has those lean moments. Okay, I want you to give our audience some advice in those lean moments.
- [04:09]
C
Well, I'll say I try not to give advice. Right. Because it's. It's like, yeah, it worked for me. And it may not. Your circumstances are so wildly different than mine. But I will say there are a couple of things I've learned. And I'm going to be watching you because I want to see you smile when you're like, yeah, maybe I learned that one too. So part of it is like, all the rules are made up. And in the moments where you hit what feels like a low point or am I doing this thing? Or is anybody listening? Reminding yourself that the world we're in now was made up by a group of humans who thought a thought were imperfect in nature, that comes from a lot of love and kindness. When I say that, that they put something in place and it either worked or it didn't. And so if you never get to the point of putting something in place and seeing if it worked or it didn't, you're not Going to know whether or not it's your thing. I think one of the things is to remind, to remind myself. The thing that works for me is like, hey, it's all made up. If that's true, then I can write something like when we wrote our book, right? Like, I can write something, put it into the world, see what happens, and then learn from that, and then learn from that. And I think the second thing that I am continuing, the universe continues to allow me to learn this lesson, is it's likely never a finished product. You might produce something, and I am somebody who will create something. I'll be like, cool, I'm done. And that's actually the starting point, right? You created the thing and now you. It's building a community and an audience that can be helped by the thing that you built. And that's the work. The work isn't creating the thing. The work is really creating community and connection and care and intention with a group of people who are going to benefit from this thing that you were able to build. And they're going to tell you, they're going to say, that part doesn't work, but that part does. And that is actually part of what the job is as a CEO and a founder is to figure out what are the pieces of this that will help. Help us all. So I think, I say those are the two things that really keep me committed to trying. Because at the end of the day, I'm a human trying. Right. What do you think of that?
- [06:13]
B
I think it's pretty profound. And I like what you said about it's all made up because as an entrepreneur, you're constantly, and I don't want to say all, but you're constantly trying to figure this thing out and you think someone else has the answer. And I think that's very profound. When you said that it is all made up, up, and it gives you the ability. So when you launch and you go out there, you believe that you have the answer and you want to launch and leap your own business. But once you get in there, especially if you have worked in corporate America, you start doubting yourself because you're so accustomed to being in the system and the system telling you move right or left, but. But you have the ability now to say, these are my rules and I'm going to see what works and what doesn't work.
- [07:13]
C
So I like that.
- [07:15]
B
And I also like what you said about. It's about community, care and connection. Because when we get that aha moment as an entrepreneur, we're like we got it. But like you said, that's just the beginning. And you're like, scrap. I thought I broke the code. I thought I cracked the code. And you realize it's more steps. So those are, like, really some huge value bombs. Thank you for sharing. I want you to have a monologue, and I want you to name this person, living or not, and they've inspired you so much. Who is that person, and what are you saying to that person?
- [07:56]
C
The first answer I'm going to. It's normally the first answer, but I'm not going to take it because it's always my grandmother. But I think what I'm going to take is I was a principal and I had a student, Kevin, and Kevin was a fifth grader when I first met him. Kevin taught me about the profound question that led me to legacy, which is, why are you here? So to Kevin, Kevin, your face, your smile, and like your Riley limbs, are a constant reminder for me to be impeccable with my word and intentional with my action, and to live every step, choice, decision by a code that I get to create. Because you, as you know, ask me every morning, Ms. Wells, why are you here? And in the many days that I knew you and the almost 400 days that you asked me that question, you shaped for me the real discipline of being able to speak to why I am here and what is mine and what is others and how that comes together to paint a picture. So, Kev, I know we had our tough moments where you would show up in my office and you didn't belong there, and you really gave me a lot to think about, and it profoundly impacted me, my children, children that I don't know, and the beautiful community that I get to service. So I'm grateful.
- [09:22]
B
Are you still in contact with Kevin?
- [09:24]
C
Kevin has passed. And so I honor the joy that he brought to my life and to the world as long as he could be with us.
- [09:34]
B
Thank you for sharing that. Tell us your why. Why do you do what you do?
- [09:39]
C
If you asked me this five years ago, I would have had a different answer. But I think we gained depth over time. So for me, I believe that I would often say to our staff, we do this work for the children in front of us, of course, and we do it for the generation coming after them and the generation coming after them and after them. So why do I do this work? I do this work in responsibility to myself to create a place where inside myself that my lineage gave up a hell of a lot for and sacrificed and worked and rolled up their sleeves and diverted joy, play dreams, but also push those things forward as they were diverting their own, they were pushing things forward for me. So I do it to honor them and I also do it to honor the next generation. I just believe I'm a bridging ancestor and we have the opportunity, as people who I hope want to do good in the world, to be very intentional about the good we do without exhausting all of us and all of our resources. And so inside of this generation, I do it because 7gen Legacy Group was founded after hundreds of conversations with black and brown women who I would ask, how are you? And our eyes would well up at the answer, because the pressure of what it means to define success by someone else's rules over time can be really exhausting. And so there are really three groups of people. I do it for those who have come before us, those who live today with the definitions of success that are insufficient to our brilliance and to those coming after us, who we hope get to live inside of their brilliance without feeling this way, like, feeling all scrunched up, being able to take up as much room as they can, and we need them to.
- [11:19]
B
What's your ideal client?
- [11:21]
C
We have three ideal clients. So the first are people who are in or who are asking themselves this question of what else is there? And that normally comes out actually in a. In, like, sneaky ways. So the question is like, how can I spend my time better? Or what's my next job? Those are the surface questions that typically come up when we. When we encounter folks who are trying to figure out, like, there must be something else here, they're starting to search or wander. The second are people who have actually come to the realization that legacy is so much more than money or generational wealth. It's actually about generational health. They're like, I want to do it. I'm not really sure how. And we get really specific with people about, how do you do it? How do you find the time to do it? What do you want to set boundaries around? What do you say yes to? What do you say no to? And then the third are folks who are leading organizations who are saying the organization has the ability to create impact through its resource, through its time, through the money that it spends. How might we do this differently as a team of leaders with a leadership team, creating in the world. What all those three folks have in common is that they're willing to question the rules, right? Like, rules are a theme for us. Like, you're willing to question or disrupt or Think differently or say, like, this thing that got us here may not get us any further or at least it won't get this me any further because I'm tired. I'm like, I see something different. That's who they are.
- [12:48]
B
Talk about. I call it opportunities. Others talk about can call it like, worst moment in business or life. What was your takeaway?
- [12:58]
C
I'll share with our. With B is for black Brilliance. We've been on, you know, I'm an educator, so working inside of a construct of a school is so much different than working inside of the construct of a business. And so as I thought about and we dreamt up BS for black brilliance and we built a coalition of folks who are contributing ideas. We started really as an organization that would support schools, and we still are that in some ways. But what we started to identify was actually inside of schools, what we're teaching has a place, but a place has not yet been made. And so we had to really think about who are the people that we're talking to. And who we're talking to now are caregivers, people who have a vested interest more outside of school than inside of school in raising black and brilliant humans. Now, why do I share that? When I say that out loud, it sounds like, beautiful, right? I'm painting the picture. But imagine creating the thing that you thought was going to really shape how we existed inside of a way of being, and it didn't work. And you had to go back to the drawing board a couple of times to really figure out who you're going to be in the world. That's like starting a race. Like, you've start, you've run a marathon and then you're about to go run another one. And so I'd say, like, what it helped us do is get more and more clear on who we are, what we believe, what our boundaries are, what we say yes to, what we say no to, what we are unapologetically ready to say. And what we had to put aside was like our own ego, right? Like our own. Like, well, this is what we think is right. That's not what our people are telling us. This is what they're telling us they need. So now we have to reinvest money, time, resource, art in something different.
- [14:39]
B
Talk about your top three mentors and what lessons do they teach you.
- [14:47]
C
I love this question because it's the first time when you ask the question some way that you asked it. I don't know. So thank you for the lesson already. When I think about mentors, Most of the time, I think about people who were so positive in my life. And I've had actually a few mentors who were present in my life and taught me what I didn't want to do. And I think we don't talk about those mentors actually. Like, those people who are actually teaching us. No, this is. You can do it this way, but this is not in alignment with your values. I do think that. Thank you for asking the question that we asked it because it emerged as you were asking it. So one of my mentors is my dad. And dad, if you're listening, hi. So I never say this to him. So I'm going to say it here, which is I watched my dad have to piece together, like, some version of a story that people were not willing to write for him. He is an entrepreneur. Like, he can't help himself. Like, even if he was trying to work inside of a system, like, nobody is going to tell my dad what to do. And that can be including me. Right? And so that can be, I think, a really frustrating trait. And I say that with a lot of love, but it's also a really beautiful trait that my dad passed on to me. And the question that he gave me is like, okay, but what's possible? And I find myself asking that question a lot. Right. This might be this way, but what's possible? The second mentor that I can recall was actually my math teacher, my geometry teacher. When I was in eighth grade. Mr. Morton. And I grew up, I had the privilege. My parents sacrificed a lot to help me be in private school. And my math teacher just took an interest. I was terrible at math. Like, unless it has a dollar sign in front of it, I can't do math. Took an interest in helping me figure out not the numbers, but my confidence around the numbers. He would, like, slyly get me to do math and even said to me, one day, Shawna, I think one day you're going to be the President of the United States. And for a little black girl in a white environment to hear that from their math teacher when I wasn't that good at math, it's just, like, disruptive, right? It was just like a disruptive thought of how just one person saying, no, you're good. You're enough. This one thing doesn't have to define you. I've carried that with me for my whole life, and I'm grateful. Mr. Morton, if you're listening, I hope you are. To you. And the third mentor I'd say is my good friend Octavia Rahim. Who I met. You know, you meet those people later in your years, you're like, nobody can teach me anything. And then you meet somebody and you're like, oh, you were meant to teach me something. Octavia Rahim is a rest coach. She's. She's a beautiful human. And when I first met her, I wasn't really sure what I wanted. Like, I wasn't really sure how to articulate what I wanted or needed from her. But she just met me where I was. And I think part of learning and being a coach, an executive coach. I've been an executive coach for 15 years is finding people who can help you through your evolutionary stages. And Octavia was one of them. And she created enough space for me, as a friend and a colleague, to be able to ask really pointed questions about how to really build a company in the way that can service your clients, service you, and service the world. And so Octavia continues to be. We're like co mentors for each other, I think. Continues to be a mentor of mine. And in deep conversation with me, let's.
- [18:14]
B
Talk about your biggest takeaway. What do you want from our conversation today? What do you want the audience to leave with?
- [18:25]
C
I think in threes, I'll say three things. We think a lot about Legacy at 7gen Legacy Group, and I try to embody. We have a set of principles that we work on, but the most important principle is that there are an infinite number of possibilities and you have a finite amount of time. The question is, how quickly can you get in touch with yourself to do the thing that is yours to do aligned to that legacy gets left in every decision that you make, whether it's, as you said, in the opportunities or the challenging moments, or it's in the moments of full potential and excitement. But it gets made every single time. You walk, you breathe, you move, you disrupt. And so be conscious of that as you build your company. Right. How you pay your people, how you pay yourself, how you wake up in the morning, how you build your schedule. I often say I can tell who you are by two things. You spend your time and how you spend your money. Because those things are moral documents. Your calendar and your budget are moral documents that represent choice about the finite amount of time that we have here. Applying that logic to your business can keep you whole in moments where it's really hard to figure out what to do next. The third piece is we all have our own set of brilliances. Most often, I see people's brilliances represented. When something terrible happens, what do I mean by that? Well, we see it at a funeral. We see it when someone is feeling ill. We start to like say, I have deep gratitude for you. And the question is like, can't we do it now? Can't we talk about the ways in which we are brilliant now with deep self awareness about what it means to be in touch with who we are and our. And our awareness on the impact of. Some people might say you brag, right? But you are a beautiful human being that is brilliant. And we should not save those conversations for the end of our life because really you can build from your brilliance and that can do a lot of good in the world. Those are my three thoughts for you. What do you think of them?
- [20:30]
B
I think they're very profound in terms of I like what you said about don't save your brilliance to the end of your life. You and I talked kind of briefly before we started the interview and I didn't share. The work I do is around legacy audio recordings where I work with anyone to capture as a storyteller. But one of the areas we're really focusing on is individuals with early stage Alzheimer's or dementia capturing their story before their memory fade. When you talk about the legacy and for the generations ahead and the generation behind, it's like when you talk about it from your brilliance and it's a similar word, it's around story. We all have a story. But does your family really know your story?
- [21:31]
C
Right.
- [21:32]
B
So what you're saying is right on the money. So I want to ask you, what is your zone of genius?
- [21:40]
C
One of the things you know, you can tell what your zone of genius is by the way that people, how people talk to you, right? What they say or what they mirror back. I've had to come to this as a zone of genius because the rest of the world has told me that this isn't a valuable trait for me. I am a really remarkable listener and I can hear you and then create something based on what I heard you say. And so I can find very precisely what is the thing? Get to the heart of the matter. What is the thing that you're trying to say? And how can we create a set of scaffolds or structures around it to ensure that that actually happens and, or that you're clear with the world about what it is. So that's why we do personal legacy statements. What are you trying to say? What are you declaring? And how are we building infrastructure around your life to ensure that those things happen over and over and over again? And the Same is true in organizations and early stage business. What are you actually trying to do and how do you want to do it so that it makes the impact that you intend? So that's mine. And I used to think it wasn't good enough, because it wasn't. Sometimes it's. I've been able to make it tactical, but it's less tactical than a spreadsheet or than something that you can see on LinkedIn. Right. It's a way of being in the world that actually does take a lot of concentration and focus and clarity and astuteness that it was hard to recognize at first. And I share that just because I think many of us downplay the thing that we're most good at. You're good at this, right? You skirt the way that people recognize your brilliance.
- [23:16]
B
And you're a podcaster, is that correct?
- [23:18]
C
I am. I am.
- [23:20]
B
Sponsor podcast.
- [23:22]
C
So we have a podcast, it's called Legacy Lyrics and Life. And I get the opportunity to talk with folks who are doing social good most of the time, people who have chosen to build organizations or companies that are making an impact with and alongside other people. We talk a lot about the realms that we believe in at 7gen Legacy Group. We believe you live your life in six realms. And we start with that conversation and we really interrogate this idea of legacy. Is it important? Is it not important? How does it show up? It's not one of those that is like there are some. What did you call them? You call them value nuggets or something? What did you call them? Value bombs.
- [24:01]
B
Value bombs, yes.
- [24:03]
C
Yes. So there's a lot of those. And they're also. We are interrogating what does it mean to live and leave a legacy. And then at the end, we have deep conversations about music, which I think music is one of the best examples or artifacts of legacy that we have, that actually the melodies get passed on from one generation to the next that formulate how we hear the world. And also what song does for us. It can take us right back to a moment in time to help us see ourselves again as our 8, 10, 15 year old selves. And so inside the lyrics of the music, a lot of legacy can be left. I have a question for you about music. Have at it. All right. All right. So if you were to think about a song or a lyric that really embodies the legacy you're hoping to leave, what would it be?
- [24:50]
B
Wow, that's deep. I'll always love my mama she's my favorite girl and you know what's so deep when you said that is because when you think of lyrics like I love to dance, I love music, and one of my dreams is to go to Argentina and learn the Argentina tango. Like I love Latin dancing. Right. When you ask the question about lyrics and songs and they're so powerful. One of my pastimes, I love karaoke and I'm not a singer, but I do love music and I love to sing and I sing on my own. So when you were asking the question, I had to go deep because immediately I started going to my karaoke playlist. Right. Which is not necessarily the legacy that I want to leave. I want to say I'm going to reverse that and ask you what is that lyric and song for you?
- [25:51]
C
Yes, we have something in common. I also love, deeply love karaoke. And you bring up a good point because there are all these songs that matter to us and that doesn't mean it's the legacy that we want to leave. I will share two, both very close to my heart, which is my dad. The first person who introduced me to what a Wonderful World was my father. And when I look at the song in its entirety, what I see is possibility. And so for me, the song, the entire in its entirety is the legacy I hope to leave. What a Wonderful World. We see our children and we see the trees and we can, we can slow down time. Doesn't song just. It just slows down time when it's on. It's actually a very short, short song. And then change is going to come by Sam Cooke and really it's the line change is going to come that is so important to me. But it's also the background of the song which is so you know, Sam Cooke takes a major risk in performing that song as he right before his death. And he's not incorrect. Change is the only constant. And if we can wrap our heads around that and embrace it as part of our lives and our legacies, then I think we have the ability to shape more robustly what we're actually working to build and our connection to what's happening around us. So those are my two.
- [27:14]
B
Let's talk about legacy. When it's all said and done. How do you want to be remembered?
- [27:19]
C
I obviously spend a lot of time thinking about this, but I'll share a story. So my daughter, I have a seven year old, a two year old, and I have a step bonus son who's 23. Hi to all of you, if you're listening. And my daughter is my grandmother and we named her Pearl she is my grandmother. My grandmother's name was Pearl. I had my grandmother. So Pearl's old. She's old soul. And every year I ask her, what do you think I do? What do you think my job is? What do you think Mommy's job is? And early when I would ask her, in her four, when she was four, she would say, you do really hard things all day long in front of a computer. And she's like, and then your face looks like this. And she would squint. And I was like, oh, I need to change that. So I asked her this year, what do you think mommy does? And she said, you play with your friends all day. And that's what I want to be able to impact. I want us as grown people with emotional maturity and care to be able to play in the sandbox of life. And I want to be able to have been the space holder for that. So we create space for adults to play again and for us to create from our most brilliant selves, to be able to build what we may have pushed aside. I hope that's me. I hope I get to do that alongside others and in a world where it feels pretty constrained that I'm able to not necessarily take the constraints away from you, but open the door and allow you to see I have defined myself by someone else's rules, and this is my game. So I get to set the principles. Pl not pal and the game.
- [28:51]
B
Talk about that transition from becoming a principal into entrepreneurial ship.
- [28:59]
C
It's such a trip to go to transition from a title to a title. I went as a teacher, then I went to be a principal. I had no idea what I was doing. If any of the students are listening, y', all, I didn't. And I still love you. They're now, like, in their 30s. I think I saw one of them on an airplane on the way back from a trip, and they were, like, super grown and ready to gamble. So they are old, older now. And I had the pleasure of going to one of their weddings this year. As a principal, I had to know a lot of stuff. You know, a lot. I always say, like, you know a little bit about a lot of things. I can tell you a lot about ceiling tiles and floods. I can also tell you a lot about reading and math. I can tell you a lot about toilets because, like, a lot of kids spend the time in the bathroom. I can tell you a lot about fevers and puking. Right? Like, I can tell you all of those things. And so it can get confusing for you. When you're in a job and you're doing it fairly well, there are so many things that you get good at that you start to think that that's all you can do. And so the transition for me, really, over time, as I built our company, I first became an executive coach. I've been doing it for 15 years, and I would do it with what I knew. I would work alongside other people in education. And that's when I really started to figure out, oh, Shauna, you're not actually good at this. Put this thing aside. You're good at this. And I focused less on what the title was and more on who I was being and what I could do. And that, I want to say, was my idea. It wasn't. It was a lot of people around me saying, like, okay, get clear. What is it that you can impact? Where do you feel the most joy? Because you need to know those things when you don't have a title to rely on. And I think that's the biggest thing that I've learned over time is that titles can be helpful when you first start. They can also be constraining when you try to do something new, because you define yourself by doctor, teacher, lawyer instead of listener, builder, constructor, coach. And that transition for me was so powerful to help me understand there's a whole world out there, and it doesn't have to be defined by the four things that were options to me when I was in eighth grade.
- [31:11]
B
You've had many success stories in business. Tell us a success story, and by all means, only share what you can share, and you made the most impact. And why did you choose that particular story?
- [31:27]
C
My temptation is often to pick one that involves our students. I'm going to pick a different one this time because I think I like your audience. A few years ago, we decided that we were going to launch our first workshop called Unleash youh Legacy. And it was risky. It felt so risky to do it, because it was like putting yourself out there. We're talking about legacy. You know, it's kind of a concept that people feel. Really what we're talking about is dying, right? Like, that's the word. What. That's what it conjures up. And so we took on this big idea. Gratitude to my team, who was like, all right, Shauna, we'll try it. And I said, we gotta help people understand that legacy is about living. And so we're going to teach this workshop, and there are three things we're going to do that are different. We're Going to not require that people be on camera, that this is like a self reflection exercise. We're going to ask them for 90 minutes of their day and we're going to actually do work in this zoom. We're going to do real lineage work and real legacy work. And it's become a beautiful experience that I look forward to teaching. In one of the classes, a woman arrived who I did not know, and she comes into the class and when you first start, like every, it's like you know everybody and then over time it starts to ripple out. And that's like the coolest moment. Woman, I didn't know her. She comes in and she's, I think everybody's beautiful, but she's so beautiful. Sun shining in her face. And she's diligently working through our session. She kept her camera on and I'm like, I don't know if it was helpful to her. I don't know. We collect feedback. At the end, we get their email address, you know the drill. And she sends me an email a week later and she says, after I wrote my personal legacy statement, I did two things. I talked to my grandmother for the first time in 20 years and my kid is very sick and I have been prioritizing work because we have health insurance. And I realized that's been a mistake because what he really needs is me. And so I'm taking family medical leave. I'm flying my family to the best hospital that I can and we're going to stay there as long as they need to figure it out. And like, I had no idea that that, like, I believe so greatly in legacy work and that kind of transformation happens in coaching. But in a 90 minute session, our first few weeks of doing it, that it could really change the filter that you use to live your life. That one I haven't told. So that there, that's new. Thank you for that.
- [33:56]
B
Thank you for that authenticity and transparency and that story. Shauna, if you conducted this interview, what is the one question you would have asked yourself? I want you to ask the question and answer it.
- [34:11]
C
You asked so many beautiful questions, but I wonder if it's a question, it's a question around. On our podcast, we just talked, we just had the pleasure talking to Devin Morris, who runs the teacher's lounge, and he talked a lot about the frustration of legacy sometimes and what does it mean to go to do long term work while doing what feels immediate and what folks say is urgent. And so I think the question might be, what are the agitations of that you feel personally of living in alignment to a legacy, right? Because I, when I talk about it sounds beautiful. I just told you that story, right. But it's not perfect. And I'm always like, you gotta walk with what you believe. And 90% of it is going to make sense and 10% of it is going to create agitation. So that would be the question. What agitations can legacy create? And I will say this personally, for me, it's agitated everything. When I first had my. When I had. When I was pregnant with my son, my skin was itchy all the time. And I would say when I first discovered legacy, my, like inside skin was itchy all the time. Right? It was sort of like what, what this isn't. This is so radically different than how people, how most people that I have encountered think. Although my ancestors, I know, thought generationally and many of our ancestors have. So the agitation it creates happens in three parts. The first is sometimes when you go to redefine rules, other people don't like that. And so there are people that you have love for your whole life that are so much a part of who you are that may not like a part of who you're becoming. And that's an agitation. Right? That's something to. That you really have to think about. The second thing is there is like a equilibrium between, like, I really do have to get this linked out post, LinkedIn post out today, right? And there's. I'm thinking generationally as well. So what does it mean to think generationally in the small acts of our days is really a new way of thinking. It causes the brain to have to reorient. And then I think the third agitation that it has created for me personally is we shifted. We even shifted our language and conversation early on away from generational wealth because my grandmother left me a heck of a legacy. There are $0 attached to that legacy. We move from generational wealth to generational health. And that reorientation is sometimes in conflict with how legacy gets presented. Being okay with that and dropping and redefining, really, what does it mean to live a luxurious, healthy, intentional life? Takes some work. It does. This is in a overnight way of being.
- [36:53]
B
Shana, what's on the horizon for 2025 for you and your organization?
- [36:59]
C
Thank you. Thank you for asking. We've decided to open up a mastermind that is built for people who are thinking about what's next and who are thinking about articulating their lives through a personal legacy statement. And like I said, we have six realms that we believe lead to a life, well, lives. They're all research based and we'll think about and answer questions around those six realms. For example, one of those realms is relationships and community. One of those realms is wellness, financial, freedom, play, work, which we always do last. But it's an opportunity for us to really articulate what's the impact we're making in the world. So there are six virtual sessions that folks will join and then we're doing a remarkable retreat at Maryville in Austin, Texas. It's three days and two nights and it's really an opportunity for you to step back from your life, look at all of the versions of yourself you've been to define what you truly want and need as you move forward. We've been doing retreats in small ways over the last five years. This one is an opportunity to bring folks together to really be in dialogue with themselves, the most important person and to be in dialogue with other women who are doing the same. So we're really excited about it. We think it's quite an opportunity for people to hear themselves and to hear others. And we've designed it based on what people have told us they really need and want.
- [38:25]
B
And if someone's interested in the retreat and the mastermind, how would they connect?
- [38:30]
C
Yes. So you can find everything you need at7genlegacygroup.com backslash living your legacy. If you can't remember that, you just go to 7gen and you can go to our services page and you will find it there. And we are happy to talk more about it if people have questions. It's a big and transformational moment for folks so we are glad to guide as much as we need.
- [38:52]
B
And if you can't find it there, they can always connect with you on LinkedIn and you will give them the directions there too also.
- [38:59]
C
Yes. Thank you. I will Definitely be monitoring LinkedIn for people who have questions.
- [39:04]
B
Thank you so much for sharing.
- [39:06]
C
Thank you. Thanks for asking.
- [39:08]
B
We've come to the part of our interview. It's called Rapid round of Fun. I'm going to ask you a series of questions and I'd like you to give me very quick answers.
- [39:16]
C
Answers.
- [39:17]
B
If it's something you desire not to answer, feel free to say pass. Are you ready for the Rapid Round of Fun?
- [39:24]
C
I am ready.
- [39:25]
B
What is your favorite comfort food?
- [39:28]
C
I love French fries.
- [39:29]
B
You relax. Doing what?
- [39:31]
C
Sitting by a fire in the morning.
- [39:33]
B
The last movie you saw?
- [39:36]
C
I think it's Everybody's wicked.
- [39:38]
B
Your ideal car.
- [39:41]
C
I gave up cars a long time ago. But if I, if I Were gonna have an ideal car. I would say the new Rivian is pretty sweet.
- [39:49]
B
Your favorite singer or rapper?
- [39:52]
C
Okay. Like everybody's got a queen. Whitney Houston is mine. She is my favorite singer.
- [39:57]
B
Your favorite dance song.
- [40:00]
C
Oh, I love I'm going to give you two. I want to dance with somebody 100% comes on them up. And Clarity by Zed, which is, I just think, such a fun song.
- [40:11]
B
What foods you eat every week? No matter what?
- [40:14]
C
I always eat peanut butter and I always eat black eyed peas.
- [40:18]
B
Work out or hit the couch.
- [40:20]
C
I work out. Yeah. Workout.
- [40:23]
B
Shauna Wells, thank you so much for joining us on Black Entrepreneur Experience podcast. Before we let you go, share with our audience the best way for them to connect with you and to do business with you. Feel free to leave all your social media handles and definitely let us know how we can listen to the podcast.
- [40:41]
C
Oh, thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. What an honor to be in conversation with you. You can find me in a few places so you can find me on LinkedIn. It's just Shawna Wells. I have curly hair. Every other Shauna Wells has straight hair. So that's how you can find me. You can find us on our website 7genlegacygroup.com and you can join us at Unleash youh Legacy if you'd like to learn more or Living youg Legacy, which is our brand new mastermind that we created so you can join us there. You can also find me over at BS for Black Brilliance. B is for Black Brilliance.com and at BS for Black Brilliance on Instagram and on LinkedIn. And we are excited to see you in either places. Oh, and the podcast. You can find our podcast on all of the major channels, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or on our website. It's called Legacy Life and Lyrics. We drop one every other week. Sometimes if we're lucky, you get a bonus one in between.
- [41:35]
B
Thank you, Shawna. That's a wrap.
- [41:37]
A
Thank you for listening and subscribing to Black Entrepreneur Experience. We would love for you to leave a review and rating on itunes and share with your friends. For show notes and more episodes, go to www.beepodcast.com. join us next Wednesday. And remember, green is the new Black, so keep your bank accounts and your business in the black.