← Going Big! with Kevin Gentry
Going Big! with Kevin Gentry
How Love and Enterprise Are Rescuing Thousands with Becca Stevens (Thistle Farms)
00:40:31
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- [00:00]
A
We're the largest network for long term free beds for women survivors in the United States, period. There's almost 700 long term free beds for women survivors. There's still 400 women on the waiting list, by the way. Then we realized that the issues that we're talking about, they're global issues. Nobody cares about borders and human trafficking. Zero. There are no borders. Whether you're talking about cities, states, or nations, people get traffic. And so we wanted to begin to share this model internationally. So we have 46 global partners in 21 countries.
- [00:38]
B
Welcome to the Going Big Podcast. I'm your host, Kevin Gentry, and this is the place where we celebrate bold moves and big ideas. Each week I sit down with inspiring leaders, entrepreneurs and change makers who are making a significant impact in their careers and in their communities. Whether you're looking to level up your leadership, pursue your passion, or just get inspired to take your next big leap, this is where those stories come to life. Now, if you're listening on iTunes, YouTube, or anywhere else you tune into podcasts, be sure to hit that subscribe button so you'll never miss an episode. Now let's dive in to what it means to truly go big. Welcome back to another episode of the Going Big Podcast. I'm your host, Kevin Gentry. One of the hardest realities we face today is the subject of our conversation today. But as you're going to see, we've got a very hopeful response. Human trafficking, addiction, exploitation is a widespread problem, far more widespread than most people realize. It's often hidden in plain sight and in most ways in our society, it's been addressed in a rather fractional, transactional way, often more focused on punishment than restoration of the victims. And so I think what you're going to be seeing today gives a very hopeful path and a way to go big in a very positive way. My guest is the Reverend Becca Stevens, who has been working in this area for about 30 years to address a significant problem. And through founding Thistle Farms and the center for Restorative justice, she is now helping in a big, big way. What began as an effort in 1997 with one house to help five women is now helping hundreds and hundreds of women through 90 different other support organizations. It's a national effort and indeed, I think it's become an international movement. What Becca is doing, and again, there's a lot to be inspired by. But it's not just the scope of what she's doing and the scale of it that is my reason for wanting to have her on the Going Big podcast. It's the model that she's utilized that focuses on giving these victims hope through longtime support jobs in social enterprise, free housing, and frankly, love applied in a very concrete and consistent way as a demonstration that can help a lot of problems. So I think, as you're about to see, we're going to go through the whole arc of what Becca has done. The nature of the problem she's trying to address, her unique and innovative solution, her own reasons for wanting to be involved in this, and a lot of great lessons and insights about what she's done. So, Becca Stevens, it is really great to have you on the Going Big podcast today.
- [03:43]
A
Thank you for having me. What a fun title. What a fun punk cast. I mean, I've listened to some of them and it's like shining a light on hope and big ideas is such a beautiful thing. And I think love is a big idea. And so I'm glad to have this conversation with you. Thank you very much.
- [04:02]
B
Well, thank you for being a part of it. And more importantly, thank you for what you do. And let's dig into it. But before we even get into thistle farms, which just amazes me. But before that, help our audience understand the nature of the problem. In terms of human trafficking, addiction, exploitation, what is it you think that people don't get or just misunderstand?
- [04:27]
A
Well, I think what people don't get or misunderstand oftentimes is that, you know, what we're working with are the scars. We walked out of the desert with the idea that of a human being abusing another human being, using that other human being for their own benefit. These are some of the oldest scars in the world. And it takes many forms. And it is like you're saying, it comes from every issue in the world. The problem we're dealing with, whether it's child abuse, abandonment, the violence and vulnerability of poverty, the idea of buying and selling people, the idea that we can incarcerate people out of that, which is impossible. You know, there's a lot of it's not one thing. It's the idea of what is at the heart of some of the deep wounds of broken communities. And how do we have a fresh start? So it's not just Hope for the 1500 women we work with annually. How is it hope for a whole community to think we can heal these generational and generational and generational abusive issues forever? Like our kids don't have to bear those same scars?
- [05:41]
B
Well, when I hear the term trafficking, to me it just sounds like a distant thing. It's Almost like it couldn't even happen here in the United States. This is just something you hear in other places, but it's right here in our backyards. Tell us a little more about that.
- [05:57]
A
Sure. So, you know, I think people, when they hear trafficking, think just, you know, a girl, a young woman, is having this perfect life and then she gets kidnapped in a van and taken away. And oftentimes that's not what really the reality is most. Vast majority of times it's people who are already vulnerable, who've already been abused as kids, who have already turned to drugs at 12 as their first mental health medicine. And they're already in very dangerous situations. And the most vulnerable people are the ones that get preyed on the most. You know, one of the things that you realize is like, oh my gosh, this is happening in like in the state of Tennessee and 90 of the 95 counties. There are, you know, documented issues of this happening. And it's when you take, you know, young girls and you start grooming them and saying, go do this for me, go do this for me. And they're so desperate and they're so confused and broken and addicted sometimes, or they get addicted or the person that takes them in addicts them so that they can gets them addicted so that they will go work for them. And we have girls, you know, who were first shot up by their mothers when they were five and six years old. We have young women whose, you know, stepdaddies was their first trafficker, you know, and just stay home from school and help me do this so he can get the drugs. I mean, do you know what I mean? Like, it's not so just this perfect life that gets interrupted so many times. It's when you go back, the roots are really in child exploitation. Whether or not it's trafficking or just straight up sexual abuse or abandonment, or you're in a bad foster care system or whatever's happening in your life, that's mostly the roots of it. There's always a backstory, always a backstory. And that's what we try to say is not what have you done to somebody when they come in, but what happened to you when being trafficked and then maybe even prostituting yourself became the choice. What were your options? Because nobody wants that when they're a little girl, dreams of that, nobody. So what happens in a life where that happens to young women and how long it takes to extract people from that and to get people to trust again and to love again, you know, and to be self sufficient, like all of that takes. It's a year's commitment to people.
- [08:36]
B
Well, given then. I mean, this is obviously a very complex and multilayered problem, as you say, has been going on since the beginning of time. But how did you get involved? What did you see that you thought you could bring to this? Maybe it was a whole journey. But how. What were some of the sort of starting moments?
- [08:55]
A
So for me, I think just in my own life, how it all started is I've always been an entrepreneur. First of all, I've always wanted to figure out how to make things work, like, since the beginning. But also, my dad died by a drunk driver when I was 5 and left my mom at 35 with 5 kids. So we immediately went into that vulnerable category. And that's when people step in. And it was one of the leaders of the church that first started abusing me. And it went on for. For years. I mean, my first memory is in the fellowship hall of the church. So I wasn't like, trafficked. I was abused, and I was vulnerable, and I didn't even have the words to tell anybody about what was going on. You know what I mean? Like, you don't even. You don't even know. And that stuff stays with you for so long. And so I also had really beautiful, strong community. I had an amazing mom. And I had so many people that believed in what I was about or what I was trying to do. You know, I got a scholarship. We were talking about Suwanee. It was the Episcopal women's group that gave me scholarship to go to college. You know, it's like, so I have a lot of gratitude, but a lot of brokenness. And I think that combination with my entrepreneurial heart. When I came out of divinity school at Vanderbilt, I was like, oh, my gosh, what we're doing is just warehousing people. They're not going to heal this way. Like, if it was happening. For me, the main thing I want is safety. I want a safe bedroom. I want, you know, my own key to my own house. Not some kind of halfway house that doesn't feel safe at all, that somebody else is running. You know, I mean, there's no trust in authority when you've gone through that in your life. So what I wanted to do was create what I would want for myself if I was coming off the streets or out of prison. And that's how we started one house, and we said two years rent free with no authority in the house. And the idea behind that was that felt the most trauma, informed care. I could think of. But within a few years it was like there also has to be trauma, informed economics because the women, as long as they are dirt poor, it's not love, it's still this. I'll go anywhere with anybody if I can make sure I can send money that I'm supposed to send for child support or I'm going to send money to make sure I can get to my job or whatever it is. So that's when you know, the women who on average had hit the streets at 15, we said, okay, well we'll just start a bath and body care company. How hard can it be?
- [11:34]
B
Well, first of all, I want to go back to because I mean I frankly it is very difficult for me to contemplate the nature of this problem. Quite fortunately have never been exposed to anything like this. But it has been given more attention in recent years and the stories are just heartbreaking and yet you're stepping immediately into the brokenness to try to support and restore. Which is amazing because I want to understand that more. You mentioned your first house. I did a little research. Now it was the first house called Magdalene. What is the story behind the choice of that? We're just after having celebrated Easter, I'm intrigued.
- [12:21]
A
Well, she was the first preacher of resurrection. She was the very first preacher. She's the first person that said, you know, there's life after death and you know, I love that. And as a woman who is an Episcopal priest, I always have tried to imagine what this woman went through when she was walking towards a tomb guarded by Roman soldiers, the occupying nation. And she faced that and you know, found signs of life and began to speak her truth. And I've always thought honestly that nobody needs a hero in their life like the women that I serve get to be the hero of their own story. They deserve that, they want that. That's their God given right. I want to be the hero of my story. You're the hero of your story. You know what I mean? And what we need are people who are willing to be good hosts and say we can provide time, space and resources so you can find your own glimpses of life. You can find your own joy in this work and take your place as a healer and you can provide for your kids and you can make choices about where they're going to school and you can decide what kind of car or transportation you're going to use. People get to make agency and have choice and be heroes and healers. And that's what I think, at least for me. Magdalene did she became the hero of the story, which is so beautiful to me. Unlikely heroes
- [13:57]
B
indeed. Well, part of the objective I have with this podcast is we'll get into inspiring people to kind of find their gift and pursue it in a life of meaning and purpose. But, you know, the first part is discovering what it is you want to do or what you're good at or how you should pursue your. What is your vocation? How should you pursue it? So how. How did you decide you wanted to become study for the priesthood? How did you want to decide to go into the church? Tell us a little bit about that as we could all benefit and learn, and then we'll get into what you're doing with thistle farms.
- [14:34]
A
So I was actually a math major in college. I loved math. I love math. Still means part of the whole, figuring things out and working with it. It's a universal language. I married a musician, which is another universal language. They're all tied in together. But theology is yet another universal language, love. And so it's a very good fit to go from math into theology and an idea about what does love look like practically? What does love look like mathematically, quantitatively, and how do we live into that? And I think for me, it made sense to start in my hometown, where I had known my own, you know, journey of. I don't know if I would. It was vulnerability, brokenness, but also just, you know, tenacity, courage, maybe as a kid. And, you know, I wanted to figure out how to help other people find that. And so it translated for me, and I hope for people, like, whatever they're doing, like you're saying, whatever path you're on, it can translate into where you have curiosity, where you have that spark. And that's what happened. For me, it was like, I really came to life when I got to be around the women I was meeting on the streets and in prison. I came to life, and it was like, we can do something. We can do something together that's going to be beautiful and help change. And we have. We've been a part of the changing of the language. So there is, like you're saying, more awareness, more compassion, more legislation to expunge records, more opportunities for people who have been through hell and back.
- [16:16]
B
You know, I mean, the combination of math and theology. Most preachers, I know, their eyes glaze over when they have to look at financial reports and things like that. But this is interesting because I've often said in the nonprofit world, we're all trying to make a difference. We're all Trying to make a difference in the world. And that's a mathematical equation, right? You got to go from one point to the next point, which is a perfect segue into your model, the model of thistle farms. Walk us through that step by step. What did you back to your way of being an entrepreneur, maybe social entrepreneur. And you're thinking about the way the world in this mathematical way. What did you come up with as a model?
- [16:55]
A
Well, I do want to say before I will tell you that, but I want to just reflect on one thing you said is that I think what people sometimes forget in the justice work is that margins matter. And like we're making good decisions that allow us to be scalable and sustainable. And that's I think like if we're afraid of that, then we're not going to grow to the potential of what the mission can do. And so the model is really a vertically integrated model. And it started in a one house in Nashville, Tennessee with like I said, two years rent free, no authority in the house. So that we were working alongside women survivors to create community, the oldest entity the world knows for healing. Then we moved into the economic piece of it, starting a bath and body care company. Candles and body oils were our first products. They made perfect sense. You know, there's good margins, they're reusable, renewable, so people have to keep buying them because they're consumed consumable products. There was the need to then start figuring out what a market looks like, how do we expand the market, how do we get to the marketplace, how do we play ball with people? And then other communities really wanted to do it. And we knew if we were going to scale, we couldn't do it just by opening up one new house a year in Nashville. Tenness that was never going to, you know, that wasn't going to scale the way we wanted to. So we started a network and our first community that we partnered with was in New Orleans. It's called Eden House and it's a model of an aligned network. So we went from Nashville. Now we're in a national organization now we're the largest network for long term free beds for women survivors in the United States, Period. There's you know, almost 700 long term free beds for women survivors. There's still 400 women on the waiting list by the way. And then, then we realized that what you're talking about, the issues that we're talking about, they're global issues. Nobody cares about borders and human trafficking. Zero. There are no borders. Whether you're talking about Cities, states or nations, people get traffic. And so we wanted to begin to share this model internationally. We just celebrated our 20 year partnership with a group of women in Rwanda that make geranium oil. And so we have 46 global partners in 21 countries. And in 21 countries, we have heard the same story. So while each model looks a little bit different as you continue this vertical integration model, the core issues about how individual women bear those universal scars on their backs. You know, I've heard, I've heard the same story in so many languages and just am humbled by it and just feel like when we are not afraid to engage the world for healing, when we're not afraid of that people, I mean, I've met, I don't know, 100,000 people who are working together to try to help love heal. I mean, it's been the most amazing gift of my life. It's over the last 30 years, it's brought tenderness to my life, it's brought joy. And I think this model is a model that is scalable and sustainable, and it helps people, you know, love each other. And that's what I think is the most important thing the world needs.
- [20:33]
B
All right, well, there's a lot you just shared there. There's a lot more to dig into. I want to go into the model more, but first I want to go more to the human side of it. I mean, you're touching about your approach grounded in love. Help us, for anybody watching or listening, understand, put a human face on this if you could. I mean, thank you for your willingness to. Or even your own personal story. Is there somebody maybe that's at thistle farms or what, that you might just tell the story about where they are now, what this is doing for them.
- [21:15]
A
So you should know that there's about 120 employees at Thistle Farms headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. So 100.
- [21:22]
B
I did not know that. Wow.
- [21:25]
A
So we have, when we, we manufacture products, you know, and ship them out all over the world, we have the whole logistics team, the manufacturing team, the program team, the networking team, the global team, the founders, outreach team, you know, all the team, all the teams. And we've been around so long now that there's many, many, many women who came in as residents who now are managers and directors of thistle farms. Because the whole, again, the whole idea is not you're doing this for someone else, you're doing this with each other to build a movement for freedom. So the story I'm thinking about in particular is a woman who came in her story and she's told it, you know, many places. So I'm not saying anything without permission. But she came in. In her journey, I think she began at 6 years old with her mother, who taught her how to do really unspeakable things at that young age so that she could feed her drug habit. And this was another state. She ran away when she was 14. She was trafficked all over the United States. She ended up in Nashville, Came to thistle farms. She was late 20s, came to Thistle farms and found out she had breast cancer. She lost all her hair and was bad breast cancer and, you know, all the chemo, all that stuff. And when she lost her hair, you could see just scars that looked like a roadmap on her skull. And she said it was from, you know, that when you do something that your trafficker didn't want and you got your skull busted open or something, somebody. John or somebody busted your head, you never went to the hospital. They just put your head under cold water until it stopped bleeding. So it left bad scars. And it was like this wake up and reminder for her of this is what my life has been, because she's had this beautiful head of hair and has come that naked. She ended up getting married. They didn't think she was going to have kids. After her cancer, she had two kids. She went back to school and got university of Tennessee, Got her degree in social work, Then went and got her master's at UT in social work. She ended up. Now she is the director and vice president of all residential services for our community. But she, you know, she works with the tbi, you know, the Tennessee bureau of investigation to help young trafficking people. She started programs in prisons for women. She's amazing. Her son is now, you know, in school at ut, so now her son's going to college. I mean, she built a life. And she is one example of somebody that didn't come in just for healing. She came in with a mission, and she's helped thousands of women find their way home.
- [24:36]
B
Wow. All right. Thank you.
- [24:40]
A
Doesn't that make you want to buy a candle?
- [24:43]
B
Okay. Yeah, exactly. Well. Well, it certainly emphasized the consequential nature of what you're doing. But, yeah, let's. Let's just jump in right now. Somebody wants to support thistle farms. They can contribute to you. You're a 501c3 nonprofit organization, but they can also support your efforts by buying your products, right?
- [25:08]
A
Absolutely. Because you have to imagine when you buy a product from us, the person who is producing that product is getting so much healing. I Mean, I wish you were here in person so you could just smell where we are. You know, I mean, you're manufacturing candles and oils, so it just smells beautiful. And women are making money, but they're also, you know, creating something healing to be sent out. And about 70% of our products that we ship out are actually gifts for other people. So it becomes almost like an evangelical tool to share the story of healing. And I want you to know that when, whenever this podcast airs, we will get somebody contacting us who has somebody that needs us. Do you know? I mean, it's not that this happens to other people. This is somebody's cousin's niece is on the streets. Somebody knows somebody that's in a bad space and they need some help. Like, this is an ongoing story of hope. And also, you know, it's outreach to find out, like, who can we help and who can we touch with this work? We want to do that. We want to help people find their way back. So, you know, when people buy the product, that's what I say is like, please don't tell me I'm inspirational. And then go buy your soap somewhere else. Go. If you use. So if your listeners use soap, buy your soap from Thistle Farms and you will change lives and use that soap for 30 days and see how, if it doesn't help, you just not just cleanse your body, but bring hope to your spirit.
- [26:46]
B
All right, we got Mother's Day coming up, too, so we got a gift. Gift buying opportunity. Why candles?
- [26:52]
A
Well, candles are easy. You know, it's soy wax and fragrance and a little bit of cotton wick in some kind of container. So it felt like we weren't going to mess them up when we started. But also it was what we have done is our practice at Thistle Farms. And it says it on every candle. When you open it, it'll be in the top, written out. We light this candle for the woman on the street and the woman trying to find her way home. A single candle can cut a path through the darkest night. And so the idea of being the light was like we talked about before. It makes sense both theologically and economically. And whenever you get a product that makes sense theologically and economically, you should go for it.
- [27:38]
B
Here, Here. Why? I wondered if there was the reference to light and the importance of that, if I could. How does your faith today, Becca, continue to have a bearing on what you're doing?
- [27:52]
A
Oh, my gosh. This work has given me a lens to read the Gospels, Especially the gospels. All scripture, but especially the Gospels with Oh, gosh. What is like, just a deep, deep and abiding love for the way Jesus led it is amazing to me. And just the other night. So I've been an ordained episcopal priest for 34 years, and this just not too long ago, I read the passage again where Mary is anointing Jesus's feet. And then Judas says, why are you wasting that on his feet? We could sell that and give it to the poor. And Jesus says, I promise you I'd never let it sink in. Leave her alone. And I was like, that is the call to freedom. Like, if not to not help somebody if they're in need, not to inter. Not intervene if there's an injustice, but, like, leave her alone. If she's doing something good and trying, give her the freedom to go do it. Leave her alone. And to all beautiful young women, like, leave them alone. To find out what their calling is and their spirit is and where that's leading them. And so I'm still learning so much through this work through faith that gives me great joy.
- [29:18]
B
Wow, Becca, this is crazy. You know, I literally read that passage in John this morning. And. And by the way, you know, Judas says, why not give it to the poor? He wasn't going to give it to the poor. We know about him. He was going to take it or take some portion of the money if he would, because that's what did. But I had not thought about it in that manner, so I'm going to go back and reread it. Thank you for sharing that. Wow.
- [29:42]
A
You're welcome.
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B
That's pretty profound.
- [29:44]
A
I know. I want a T shirt that says, leave her alone. Jesus.
- [29:52]
B
Well, I asked you about your faith. I know your family is also very important to you. You've spoken about that. Can I just put you on the spot and ask you about the role they play in what you're doing, too?
- [30:03]
A
Yeah. So I, you know, had no idea how I chose my husband. It was like I met him and fell in love with him when I was 24, and just like, this is who I'm going to marry. Like, I just knew. And, you know, we are celebrating whatever it is, 37 years this year. Oh, wow.
- [30:24]
B
Congratulations.
- [30:25]
A
It was a good choice. He's a singer songwriter in town. He's, you know, he's in the hall of fame. Marcus humming.
- [30:31]
B
He's sure he's written some of the most important country music songs or songs, but country music songs in particular the past two or three decades. My God.
- [30:41]
A
Yeah, he's a. He's a good man. And he's been a great partner in this and he helped because, you know, he made all those bridges easier going into. If you're in Nashville, Tennessee and you're trying to build an organization, he helped get the early donors early on. People that, you know, were excited about it and, you know, songwriters love a good story and they love a dream and this is what this was. So I'm always so grateful to him. We had three sons who are all artists. All three sons are artists. So Levi has, he's a singer songwriter as well. Levi Hammond, who's expecting his first baby. He and his wife super excited about that. And he started a record company called 3686. He signed several artists and is doing really well. Our middle son just had his first museum showing. He's an oil painter, Kaney Hummond, who paints stunning portraits. Our youngest son is Moses Humman. He's a designer, graphic designer artist who has created and branded all the things we do. When you were talking about the center for Contemplative justice, that is the grant making organization that serves, you know, 50 communities a year around the world. He does all the branding and organizing around that. So the sons have stayed close in in the art world and still carry with them the love for justice and incorporating that into what they do. And we have a dog. I love our dog.
- [32:18]
B
You've, you, you are blessed in many, many ways. Well, before we wrap up, I just want to dig in a little bit more to this model because for people listening, a lot of them are in the nonprofit space. They're working in causes. They're trying to get to the root cause of some big problem, trying to figure out how to do it better. Any particular thoughts about how you grew? I mean, so you went from Magdalene to now this big natural thing. First of all, did you, did you have a vision for something bigger? Did you grow incrementally at the margin? Back to your math point earlier. How did you grow?
- [33:01]
A
So I'm actually a little bit surprised we're not bigger. I mean, I feel like it's a really good idea and I feel like it has real potential. But like, how do we get as big as Burt's Bees or how do we get. You know what I mean? Like, I really want to get big. And we just landed an account with Hilton Hotels to be in all 650 hotels. And it's like that's, that's the kind of thing we want. We have a huge manufacturing facility. We have a bunch of trained amazing women. We need to grow bigger. So the vision isn't for this. The vision is to be much bigger. Much bigger. Because there are so many folks that need to both buy from and work with missions with business, not just business with missions, which I support, but to be a mission that has a thriving and an important business is where my heart is, and that's what I hope for other people too, is that you figure out what the mission is and build whatever the model is around that the business to support that big, beautiful mission.
- [34:09]
B
Well, you keep casting that big, bold vision. I really believe it's the biggest and most important indispensable ingredient for really going big in this area. Now you've raised, I did some research. You've raised over $90 million for these efforts so far. Maybe even more. Maybe my numbers are a little outdated, but here's why. Why don't people support you more? Who? When? Tell us somebody. Sometimes somebody has said no. When you've asked for support, why do you think somebody would say no to this?
- [34:38]
A
I think there's a lot of reasons people say no. I think there's always, you know, some donor fatigue around so many needs out there that it's overwhelming. I think people say no more to women's businesses than men's businesses. That's factual. Even though all the data shows if you invest in women, you heal communities, if you rape women, you kill communities, but investment in women heals communities. But if you look at philanthropy today or any national magazine, the percentage of money that goes to women led organizations or women organizations serving women is significantly less. And I don't know why. Then I think the other thing is people tend to think sometimes if it's a justice based mission, that somehow you might be inferior in quality and products, even though our products are FDA tested, test out the roof, they're the highest quality from every source that we use. There's a sense of like, oh, I need to get this brand because it's really fancy. And if I do thistle farms, it's a charity. They're not able to make that leap that we can be, you know, a high end, beautiful brand.
- [35:49]
B
Well, maybe that's the opportunity. But very interesting, by the way, if there's any consolation, as you may know, the majority of givers now in the United States are women. It has shifted over time. Just the time that you and I have been alive. And so maybe that will work in your favor as well. But there are a number of things you said I can see and they're just biases that exist and you keep Casting that big, bold vision. But you touched on the root of love. And you also, when we were getting ready to start the conversation, talked about just the world today. And what's an example of where you've really leaned into love as the driver of what you're doing and seen it pay off?
- [36:38]
A
Wow, what a beautiful, hard question that is. And I think. I don't know, like, the answer is so big that it's hard to pin it down. But I will say that what I think I do, I think I kind of extract love from where it's all around us. But how do you extract it and make it powerful for people sometimes? And that's what I think I do. I don't. I do. I lean on love every day. But one of the things we like, like, in order to get the healing power of the lavender plant, you have to distill it. You have to put it through a distillation system, and you extract the essence of that plant, and then it's this powerful thing that people use for calm and peace and healing. And I think in this community, with the products we use, with the programs we offer, we're able to extract love in that way and offer it back into the world. That's what I do on a daily basis.
- [37:43]
B
Well, you keep on doing it.
- [37:46]
A
You gonna come visit us?
- [37:48]
B
Absolutely. I had hoped to do this live and in person because I needed to make a trip to Nashville. It got postponed, but I will be there before the end of the year, even if I just have to make a special trip just to see what you're doing. I've heard about it from so many people. You got a lot of fans out there, thank goodness. So you've got a lot more up in potential for reaching more people, reaching more people who can invest in and support what you're doing, and then hopefully that you can support further in return. All right, so here's the final question. It's a question that I often ask, and it's just, Becca, looking back on your life and the many blessings that you've acted upon and how you've used your gifts so well for anybody listening around the world, in whatever form you can address, anybody that's listening, wherever they might be, what should they take away from this conversation and whether it's advice, encouragement, inspiration, what would you offer?
- [38:48]
A
I would say that today is a good day to fall in love. That's what I would say. Tell me more that, you know, today is the day that you've been given. Fall in love with something, you know Fall in love with an idea. Fall in love with yourself. Fall in love with your partner again. Fall in love with a flower that's blooming in the spring. But today is a good day to. To open your heart to fall in love again today. Not tomorrow, not yesterday, but today. And when you fall in love, when you feel that love, see where that leads you for one next step. Maybe it's a shaky step. Maybe it's through darkness. Maybe it's through a hardship. But that next step, it'll lead you closer to love's heart.
- [39:35]
B
Well, ladies and gentlemen, be sure to check out Thistle Farms and Becca Stevens. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for what you're doing. Keep on doing it and I'll hope to see you soon in Nashville.
- [39:45]
A
Thank you so much. This means the world. Thank you.
- [39:49]
B
Thanks for tuning in to the Going Big podcast. I hope today's conversation left you feeling energized and ready to tackle your biggest goals. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes, YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. It really helps spread the word and it gets these inspiring stories out to more people. You can also find more content, resources and updates at our website, goingbigpodcast.com Remember, the only limits are the ones you don't challenge, the limits that you impose on yourself. Keep pushing, keep growing, and above all, keep going big. See you next time on the Going Big podcast.