How a Single Mother Reclaimed the Dream She Never Lost

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Living Your Legacy –

Episode: How a Single Mother Reclaimed the Dream She Never Lost
Host: Rudy Mawer
Guest: Gigi Highness
Date: July 13, 2026

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Episode Overview

This deeply heartfelt episode features Gigi Highness, an author, musician, and transformational coach, who shares her remarkable story of maintaining her artistic dreams amid the overwhelming responsibilities of motherhood and caregiving. The conversation explores how to reclaim lost passions, redefine identity, and create a meaningful legacy, especially after years of putting others first. Listeners will discover actionable insights on embracing authenticity, overcoming self-doubt, and reigniting creative and personal purpose.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Hidden Identity and Quiet Passion

• Gigi discusses how almost no one— not even her best friends of 30 years—knew about her musical talents due to her focus on caring for six children, adopting her niece, and looking after her mother with MS for 15 years (00:00).

  • Quote: "I was buried in responsibility with taking care of my six children. Then I adopted a child … and my mom had MS … But I got it done because I remained consistent with trying to work on my craft in the dark, even when I couldn't go to a studio, even when nobody knew my name as far as a musician." – Gigi Highness [00:00]

• She always held onto her love for music, even in secret:

  • Quote: “When I was a kid, I loved music. And in full circle today, it never left.” – Gigi Highness [00:48]

2. Reclaiming Your Voice and Identity

• Gigi’s mission: helping others reclaim their voice and sense of self after losing it to duty, fear, or self-doubt (02:09).
  • Quote: “It's part of identity and you must know who you are … I help people reclaim their voice.” – Gigi Highness [02:09]
• The importance of understanding if you’re living on purpose, not just surviving:
  • Quote: “It feels better when you know who you are and you can provide outwardly to the world something great, something that the world needs, because apparently we're all here for a reason.” – Gigi Highness [02:30]

3. Authenticity in an Over-Filtered World

• Host Rudy shares how being unapologetically himself (from a young age, thanks to his upbringing) affected his branding and happiness (03:05), noting:
  • “One of the most freeing gifts of life is to not care about things.” – Rudy Mawer [03:33]
• Gigi reflects on her own shift:
  • “That was my problem before. I always care what people thought. … If I could be like that person who doesn’t care, then I can really shine.” – Gigi Highness [03:39]

4. Childhood Roots and Conditioning

• Gigi’s new book, “The Quiet Reclaiming,” mirrors her journey back to the passions of her youth, delving into how childhood shapes the adults we become, for better or worse (04:19).
• Both discuss how social expectations can suppress self-expression, and that breaking free is "like training a muscle" (05:32).
  • Quote: “It’s like training a muscle. … The ability and having the confidence to be able to do it.” – Gigi Highness [05:32]

5. Staying Consistent and Building a Brand

• Gigi reiterates that pushing through quietly, consistently—even out of view—pays off.
  • “Being consistent is what gets you where you want to be.” – Gigi Highness [06:59]
• They talk about how quirks and “gimmicks” become memorable parts of your personal brand (07:17).

6. Balancing Responsibility & Self-Fulfillment

• Gigi explains how she managed a household of up to 10, caring for children, her mother, and siblings after her mother’s illness, yet never lost her creative spirit (08:06 – 12:41):

  • “If you’re struggling with caregiving or children and you’ve lost yourself, … it’s not over.” – Gigi Highness [12:41]

• Both discuss the danger of using responsibilities as an excuse and the necessity of finding balance (13:18):

  • “You should never sacrifice all your own happiness for someone else. It’s like … put the mask on in the plane when it’s going down, because if you’re dead, you’re not any use to anyone else.” – Rudy Mawer [13:36]

• Gigi learned this lesson painfully through burnout:

  • “Sometimes we go wrong when we are helping everybody else and we never think about us. That happened to me once … I experienced a burnout and I never wish that on anybody else.” – Gigi Highness [14:24]

7. Mission, Legacy, and Next Steps

• Gigi’s core mission is to leave a legacy for her children and anyone who resonates with her story (14:53):

  • “If I could just help one person, I think God would be happy with me. But if I can impact more across the globe just because of my lived experience, I'm sure you can.” – Gigi Highness [14:53]

• Gigi shares upcoming projects and where listeners can find her:

  • Website: gigihighness.com
  • Instagram: @GigiHighness
  • Books: The Quiet Reclaiming, The Book of Ruach – available on Amazon
  • Music: All major platforms; first single: It’s Our Time
  • Quote: “My first single is called It’s Our Time. … Yeah. It's my time. It's your time. Our time.” – Gigi Highness [17:00]

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• “Did you listen to what the world told you and forgot who you were?” – Gigi Highness [00:48]
• “You don't remember the everyday, average person. You only ever remember the crazy people.” – Rudy Mawer [07:21]
• “If all else fails, you can go right back to it…. There is, it’s not over.” – Gigi Highness [12:41]
• “Let it use you. Use it for fuel. In other words, all of my struggles, I turn it around and use it for fuel.” – Gigi Highness [13:48]

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• [00:00] – Gigi’s early life, hidden passions, caring for family
• [02:09] – The importance of reclaiming your voice and identity
• [03:39] – Overcoming fear of judgment and learning confidence
• [05:32] – Training authenticity like a muscle, reframing childhood lessons
• [06:59] – Consistency and personal branding
• [08:06] – Quiet steps toward reclaiming herself
• [12:41] – Advice for those buried under responsibility
• [13:36] – The balance between caring for others and self-care
• [14:53] – Gigi’s mission and concept of legacy
• [16:04] – Upcoming books and music; where to find Gigi

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Closing Note

Through humor, honesty, and vulnerability, Gigi and Rudy illuminate the journey of reclaiming dreams after a lifetime of sacrifice. Their dialogue is filled with practical encouragement for anyone feeling lost in their roles—particularly parents and caregivers—and a reminder that it’s never too late to rediscover yourself and build a meaningful legacy.

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Transcript

[Gigi Highness]

My best friends of 30 years right now never knew that I was a musician. They never knew that I could sing. They never knew that I could write songs. I was buried in responsibility with taking care of my six children. Then I adopted a child, which is my niece, and my mom had MS, so she lived with me for 15 years. Right. But I got it done because I remained consistent with trying to work on my craft in the dark, even when I couldn't go to a studio, even when nobody knew my name as far as a musician, even when nobody knew that I had talent.

[Narrator]

Gigi Hyness is an author, musician, and transformational voice helping people reclaim who they are after years of responsibility, fear, and self doubt. Through her upcoming books and her music, she's using her own story to help others come back to themselves and remember the passion they thought they lost.

[Gigi Highness]

Did you listen to what the world told you and forgot who you were? And how do you get back to that person? And when I was a kid, I love music. And in full circle today, it never left.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. And I think one tip, you know, whether it's business finding something that you loved as a kid, nowadays I just try it.

[Gigi Highness]

And you need to listen to that voice, that gut feeling telling you

[Podcast Intro/Outro Voice]

it spans the globe like a super high is cold Internet. Elvis, Brent, today Apple is going to reinvent the phone. It's not over until I win the living your legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy. Oh, that is sensational. Open Chicago with the lead. You said Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.

[Podcast Host]

Hello, and welcome back to another episode. Sat here today with Gigi. We're going to dive into her life. Legacy, impact, everything. All the amazing work you're doing that I know we're gonna talk about. And you know, one thing you said to me offline, which caught my attention, is you help people reclaim their voice.

[Gigi Highness]

Definitely.

[Podcast Host]

So I'd love to start with that. Tell us a little about yourself and

[Gigi Highness]

what that is that is so important because it's part of identity and you must know who you are. Right. In order to do your best work in this world. Right. So I help people reclaim their voice.

[Podcast Host]

And I think that's so needed. Sorry to cut you off, but like, so many people are too afraid to be themselves these days. Right?

[Gigi Highness]

Exactly. My mom used to always say, be yourself.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Gigi Highness]

And she said so much that I was like, okay, I think I am being myself. But what does that mean? You know? And sometimes we don't know what it means. And you might Need a little help doing that. Try to figure out am I living on purpose or am I just living and working and doing what I have to do to get make ends meet or whatever. It feels better when you know who you are and you can provide outwardly to the world something great, something that the world needs, because apparently we're all here for a reason.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Gigi Highness]

So we all here for a reason, and we need to know what that reason is so that we can do our best work.

[Podcast Host]

And, you know, I think it's interesting because I always teach you I have this loud, bold brand and stuff. Right. And I think I've always been successful in business and do well because I'm not afraid to be myself.

[Gigi Highness]

And I love it.

[Podcast Host]

I luckily grew up not caring too much about what people think. And I've noticed after coaching people and seeing people throughout life and my staff and friends is we live now in a world, I think because of social media more than ever, that everyone cares so much about how they look and what other people think.

[Gigi Highness]

Exactly.

[Podcast Host]

You know, I always say one of the freeing, free, most freeing gifts of life is to not care about things. Yeah.

[Gigi Highness]

See, that's. That was my problem before. I always care. I always care what people thought. And if I was saved to myself, if I could be like that person who doesn't care, then I can really shine. Right. You know, and I look at you with your red hair and everything, I love it, you know, and now I'm starting to become that person and teach other people how to become.

[Podcast Host]

And it's incredible when you do that, your happiness goes up, you know, like.

[Gigi Highness]

Doesn't it?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Gigi Highness]

It's like throwing the middle finger. And I wouldn't do that, but it's like, who cares? Yeah. At the end of the day, people, even if they don't like something about you, they have. They'll learn to respect your confidence. They'll learn to respect something about you that they wish they had.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Gigi Highness]

You know, so that's why I'm doing what I'm doing with the Quiet Reclaiming book that's coming out. It's a mirror of my own journey, my own story as it starts, of course, with my rearing as a kid, because, you know, that's the basis of who we are, you know, and you look back and you say, why am I like this now? And you got to go back and rewind the time and you realize, oh, that was something in my childhood that helped me become this person. Yeah. Or it hurt me to become this person.

[Podcast Host]

I think most People they are brought up to like, hey, don't do that. You got to fit in. Hey, the kids will pick on you. Hey, the teacher be telling you off. Right?

[Gigi Highness]

And exactly.

[Podcast Host]

I think one reason I don't care too much about what other people think is my parents were pro athletes, so they were locked, doing their own thing, and they let me do kind of whatever, you know, not in a bad way, but, you know, I could. I kind of like, you know, had braids in my hair, dyed my hair. Freedom kid. Just, you know, And. Yeah, and sometimes. Yeah, you would get bullied in school for it, but you learn to deal with it, you know, explore. Yeah. So I think that. That. That helped me get. Get like that. And I think it's like training a muscle. If you grow up and you always care about what other people think, it's really hard to shed that skin and train that muscle to get comfortable.

[Gigi Highness]

That's so impactful, what you just said. It's like training a muscle. It's not even about what you're doing. It's the ability and having the confidence to be able to do it.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Voice]

Wow.

[Gigi Highness]

Yeah. That's big. That's huge. So in training that muscle. Yeah. We train our kids. We. And sometimes we have to retrain the muscle because sometimes we pick up some old, bad habits and things. Old, bad thoughts, doubts, belief systems. Right.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Gigi Highness]

And those belief systems, they. They change. They. They impact how we go on about the rest of our life. So I think sometimes it's called get your mind right. You got to get your mind right. I have a mentor that used to tell me that all the time. I'm like, what do you mean my mind is right? He's like, no, you got to get your mind right. I say, okay. He says, but sometimes we don't know how to get our mind right. So we got to do some things that. That lead us to becoming that person that we. It's transformation, you know?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. A lot of exploring, a lot of time, A lot of things that start to add up and compound together, you know, And I think when you eventually get there, you know, like I said, it's much more freeing and happiness. And, you know, you get so comfortable, you know, now I kind of. You know, we were actually funnily looking through photos and videos of me on social media. And, you know, my hair is so red. I was joking with my family. I'm like, look how ridiculous my hair is. You know? But you still wear all my sides off. It's just I got this red wig on My head, you know, it's so funny. But when you get to a point where you don't.

[Gigi Highness]

It's your branding, though, then people expect it after so long, you know, and then you're consistent with it. So that's another thing that I noticed, that being consistent is what gets you where you want to be. Whether it's something silly and you start doing it, people expect it. But if you can make a brand out of that.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. I call it the gimmick. You watch your gimmick. You know?

[Gigi Highness]

The gimmick. Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

It's a gimmick people remember. You don't remember the everyday, average person. Right. You only ever remember the crazy people.

[Gigi Highness]

There you go. My friend told me since that we went to that event last night, I posted some pictures on Facebook, right? And I showed her this hair, but I let her be the first one to see it. And she goes, no, G, I wouldn't have picked that for you. And she's like, why did you do it? Like, you know, I said, well, hey, you know, if it becomes a brand, everybody will remember me. Right? So then I just have to live up to it. That's all it is at the end of the day. So, hey, welcome to the Quiet Reclaiming. It's no longer quiet.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Voice]

Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Like, I like it. So. So, you know, you've got the book, but let's talk a little about, you know, how do you help people? Obviously, bringing the book out of the ways to work with you. Those.

[Gigi Highness]

Yes, definitely. I want to talk about that a little bit, because the Quiet Reclaiming is called quiet. Because there were steps that I was taking along the way. I was buried in responsibility with taking care of my six children. Then I adopted a child, which is my niece, and my mom had MS, so she lived with me for 15 years, right? And quietly. I was working on my passion, which is music. And I went to college, and, you know, it was. It was tough. I had a very tough time trying to balance everything, but I got it done because I remained consistent with trying to work on my craft in the dark, even when I couldn't go to a studio, even when nobody knew my name as far as a musician, when. Even when nobody knew that I had talent. My best friends of 30 years right now never knew that I was a musician. They never knew that I could sing. They never knew that I could write songs. So what I did was I kept working on it, and now that I'm writing the book, it's going to be a transformational guide to help people Learn how to come back to themselves. Man, woman, boy, girl, it doesn't matter gender, right? It's going to matter about. Were you lost in duty? Were you, did you shrink? Did you listen to what the world told you and forgot who you were? And how do you get back to that person? What was that thing that made you alive? That thing that made you have so much joy and passion? We all have at least one thing that we can go back and think about that. You know, when I was a kid, I really liked this or that. And when I was a kid, I loved music. And in full circle today, it never left. Like I tried to. I thought it was like I was too old now, right. With six kids and they're all graduating. My oldest son Is what, 36? Hey, I got a teenage boy that's 16 now. But then everybody's graduating. And I said, oh, it's too late. You know, some little voice, you know, I always had this voice on the left voice on the right. One voice saying, it's too late. The other voice is saying, no, but I like that.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Gigi Highness]

You know, I don't want to get rid of it. What do I do? How do I get back to it? Well, I'm going to do it anyways, you know, and you need to listen to that voice, that gut feeling telling you this is what you were born to do.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. And I think one tip, you know, whether it's business finding something that you loved as a kid nowadays, I just try it, you know, like I think, I think we're so worried about, like we become over analytical as we get older. And the reason kids have fun and play is they don't analyze things. And it's the same reason they fall over and hurt themselves.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Voice]

Exactly.

[Podcast Host]

Is that the core purpose is they're not over analytical.

[Narrator]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

They don't actually have that part of the brain developed yet. And as we grow and become older, we develop that too much in many cases, you know, so you want to try singing or you want to try become, you know, get into painting. Right. Or learn to DJ, you know, just. Just spend 200 on Amazon and try it. Worst thing is you don't like, you throw it out.

[Gigi Highness]

Exactly. What's the worst?

[Podcast Host]

But we overanalyze it for months instead of actually just pulling the trigger and trying it. So now, you know, I've got much better about trying things. You know, one year I wanted to learn music. I picked the piano, bought a piano and hired a piano.

[Gigi Highness]

Come on.

[Podcast Host]

So. And I was. Had no music bone in my Body. I just thought it was fun, but that's because I got used through business. I think more of just, you know, let's try it and figure it out and see how it goes. And I think, you know, a phrase I always use is, what's the worst that can happen?

[Gigi Highness]

What's the worst that can happen? You learn something new that you decided, oh, well, that's not the thing that I want to do, but at least I know how to do it. Do it.

[Narrator]

Yeah.

[Gigi Highness]

And you can have stuff to bag you up and be, you know, that, that second thing that you can do if all else fails, you can go right back to it. So dancing for me was, was that other thing I, I used to dance. You know, I was a ballerina growing up. You know, I want to say ballerina, but it was more like I was in tap dance, modern dance and jazz, you know, all of that good stuff. And so that's another one part of the passions that I have. But I just really want to help people that are been in a situation similar to mine to where they were buried in responsibility. As you can tell, when I said I had six kids or seven kids and then I had my stepmom and then I had, I didn't even mention my brother and sister. I had to take care of them because when my mom took sick, they were 4 and 5. So from all the way until age 18, I had to bring them along. So you're talking about a household of nine, 10 people. And I want other people to know that if they, you're, they're struggling with caregiving or children and they've lost themselves, there is, it's not over.

[Podcast Host]

Well, I think there's so. I hear so much of that.

[Gigi Highness]

Right?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I'm fortunate, obviously I'm younger, don't have kids and all that stuff, but I, I meet so many people sat in this chair at my events and you know, I'm like, business is hard enough. I could never imagine having that raise, responsibility, all look after, relative. And I think that's, you know, so inspiring to hear that. And it really blows my mind because it's like, but, but I think it's so great for people to hear those stories because I do think people, you know, I understand it's so hard, but you can either use it as an excuse not to pursue your dreams, or you can try and still pursue.

[Gigi Highness]

There you go.

[Podcast Host]

I love the stories where yes, you have all this to juggle, but you don't use it as an excuse not to pursue your dreams because I always believe like, you know, you should never sacrifice all your own happiness for someone else. It's like, you know, put the mask on, on in the plane when it's going down because if you're dead, you're not any use to anyone else.

[Gigi Highness]

There you go.

[Podcast Host]

And I do believe that in your own happiness. And I think too many people do sacrifice their own goals and dreams for

[Gigi Highness]

other people, but they never come back.

[Podcast Host]

They never. Yeah, you've got to, you've got to have that balance, you know, that's it,

[Gigi Highness]

that's it, that's it. That balance is like you mentioned, you have to have that balance and you have to realize, let it use you. Use it for fuel. In other words, all of my struggles, I turn it around and use it for fuel. It's like, you know what, I'm not upset that I'm dealing with this, but I am concerned that if I don't do something for me, it's. I'm not going to be able to live it down.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Gigi Highness]

And who wants to go?

[Podcast Host]

That comes back to not worrying too much, you know, having that conversation or creating those boundaries again. Not everyone does it because they don't want to upset someone else. Exactly, exactly.

[Gigi Highness]

So, well, you got to be able to also take care of.

[Podcast Host]

Yes.

[Gigi Highness]

Self. Self first before anybody, before you can help anybody else, you got to be able to help yourself. But sometimes we go wrong when we are helping everybody else and we never think about us. That happened to me once and I create. I experienced a burnout and I never wish that on anybody else. And I'll never do it again.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, learn from your mistakes. Yeah, good, good. So, last couple of questions, you know, everyone on here is on a mission to help people change the world. Impact legacy, what does that mean to you? What is your mission?

[Gigi Highness]

My mission is to. I'm gonna leave a legacy for my kids. I want everything that I'm doing to be impactful to someone else's life. And if I could just help one person, I think God would be happy with me. But, but if I can impact more across the globe just because of my lived experience, I'm sure you can.

[Podcast Host]

You know, the books, the stories, the you've done, you know, that's why we're here doing these things. And yes, the beauty of modern day world is the media and the ability to reach millions of people. And that's why we do all this to, you know, people to hear that message and realize they're not alone. They're going, you're not alone. You know, What. What you've gone through. And you have to create these things. So I love that. So, last question. People are inspired, motivated, or fascinated by you and your journey. Where can they find you and the books and all those things. Can you tell them?

[Gigi Highness]

My website is Gigi Highness. That's spelled with two GS. H I G-H-N-E-S-S.com and of course Instagram. Instagram is Gigi Highness. And also they call me Auntie Gigi. So my books. Well, I'm saying books because I will have more than one.

[Podcast Host]

Many plans.

[Gigi Highness]

Yeah, yeah. Actually, I started off with one and it split into three because I have such a big story. So I said, I'm not going to condense this and overwhelm anybody else. And so, yeah, you can find my books. It's called the Quiet Reclaiming, and then that's going to be on Amazon. Also, the book of Ruach, that is a more spiritual book. It's like, you know, the breath of God and he breathed over the world and he made things happen. We have abilities spiritually that we can start putting out into this universe, but it starts with us. You have to know where you are, like in a Jeep on the GPS before you can know where you're going.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Gigi Highness]

So, yeah, that's second book. And my music, my music. Just look for me on all the major platforms. Spotify, it's gonna be Amazon, YouTub, Apple, and even Pandora eventually. So, yeah, get ready for it. My first single is called It's Our Time.

[Podcast Host]

Love it.

[Gigi Highness]

Yeah. It's my time. It's your time. Our time.

[Podcast Host]

Very fitting.

[Gigi Highness]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Excited for that. So, everyone, I hope you enjoyed that story and were inspired by it and maybe some of you resonate with that and, you know, can take something and apply it into your life. And from what we discussed today, so, as always, keep working hard. Have impact, have legacy, and I'll see you guys soon. Take care.

[Gigi Highness]

Peace out.