168 | Using Your Platform for Good with LaNease Adams
Our guest today on the pod is LaNease Adams. LaNease is an Actress, Producer, and Motivational Speaker. After appearing on the TV show The Bachelor during Season 1, she was subjected to racist harassment that sent her into depression. She recovered and found a deeper commitment to using her platform as an influencer for good.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
THE IMPERFECT SHOW NOTES
To help make this podcast more accessible to those who are hearing impaired or those who like to read rather than listen to podcasts, we’d love to offer polished show notes. However, Awarepreneurs is still a startup with limited resources. So we’re not there yet.
What we can offer now is these imperfect show notes via the Otter.ai service. The transcription is far from perfect. But hopefully it’s close enough - even with the errors - to give those who aren’t able or inclined to learn from audio interviews a way to participate.
LaNease Adams Awarepreneurs Interview
SPEAKERS: Paul Zelizer, LaNease Adams
Paul Zelizer 00:01
Hi, this is Paul Zelizer, and welcome to another episode of The aware partners podcast. This podcast is all about the intersection of three things, conscious business, social impact, and awareness practices. Each episode I do a deep dive interview with a thought leader in this intersection. Someone who has market tested experience and is already transforming many lives. Before I introduce today's guests in our topic, I have one request. If you could go over to iTunes or whatever app you're listening to the show on and do a rating and hit the subscribe button, it helps tremendously. Thanks for considering. Today I'm thrilled to introduce you to Denise Adams. And our topic is using your platform for good my needs as an actress, producer and motivational speaker. After appearing on the TV show The Bachelor during season one, she was subjected to racist harassment, and was sent into a depression. she recovered and found a deeper commitment to using her platform as an influencer forget when he's Welcome to the show. Thank you for having me, Paul. Well, we've already heard in your bio, you've dealt with some hard things in your life. And we're gonna get into that. One of the things we like to do as a podcast called to wear printers, is to get to know what's a wellness or awareness practice that you personally use to be resilient in hard situations and to show up for the work bring your best self to the world, day after day, week after week? Well, would you just like one or a couple? I don't know. 27 hours? I think you have more than one. But yeah, like a cup one or a couple? Okay, well, I'll give you two that I have found to be extremely important for me, but I have to make sure to do. The first one is journaling. When I was younger, I didn't realize when I was taking my English courses, and we were forced to journal at the beginning of each class, that that would actually be something that when I got older, I would be essential to me staying grounded. And to me, just being able to pursue my dreams and my goals, I found that journaling, writing out my feelings, writing out issues that I'm having, and being able to get them out on paper and move through them that way, has been extremely beneficial. If I'm ever having a rough day, or having a hard time getting through a certain period, I definitely like to journal about it. And that helps me get through another practice that I have found to be extremely important for me is exercise. And if I am going through a tough day or, you know, there's something on my mind, I found that going for a walk, or going for a jog and just getting my body moving, getting my blood moving. being one with my thought is something that is crucial to helping me get past that. And these are two positive ways to just get through tough times in your life.
Paul Zelizer
There's a lot of research on that. For our listeners who don't know, my first career was in community mental health. And there is a ton of research in the field of journal therapy about how effective it is. I don't know if you're aware of that. But like there's a, I'm a research geek and, you know, like what actually helps human change. And yeah, journaling is an awesome practice. And there's a lot of science behind it.
LaNease Adams 03:48
It makes so much sense. And I wish I had known that when I went through that rough time after the bachelor what I have found, because I was 23 when I went through my depression. And what I learned after I came through that was that I didn't have any coping mechanisms for the rough times that we all experience in life. I was just going through my life, and you know, you would have a bad day or you would have a bad experience. And I never thought about, oh, this is something that I might need to work through. I just kind of was living my life. And now I have found that journaling and exercise are our very positive coping mechanisms to help us just navigate life because life is you know, we get things thrown at us on a daily basis. You get a phone call, you get an email, you meet somebody, all of those experiences, some will be good. Some will be bad. And we have to learn how to navigate through those positively. That's so true.
Paul Zelizer 05:06
And you jumped right in and you started talking about your career in entertainment was that like on your radar like for, you know, most of your life, you decide I want to be an actress, I want to be a producer, like, Is that what you were growing up with the aspirations of doing with your career.
LaNease Adams 05:23
Unfortunately, I hadn't really known what I wanted to do with my career. When I went to college, I went in as an undecided major. And I didn't always I knew that I had an affinity for acting and for the arts. But it wasn't something that I thought I could actually do. I thought it was just something that I enjoyed. But the longer I, I took those courses, I minor in theater, the longer I took those courses, and when I came back to LA, for summers, and I would book different jobs here and there, I really knew that this is what makes me happy, I just, I always felt so happy on set are so happy and acting class, it really just spoke to my soul. So I think it's amazing that I have been able to actually make a career out of it. I'm so thankful for that, because I've taken some office jobs. And I will tell you, you know, you learn a lot, being in an office, you learn a lot about business. But being inside those, you know, those four walls really just, they don't make me happy at all.
Paul Zelizer 06:42
totally understand, I totally get it. So, in your early 20s, you started to you know, have some success as an actress and you wound up on Season One of the bachelor, what was that experience? Like?
LaNease Adams 06:57
Absolutely. What happened was I had, you know, I had a couple of movies at that time, I had done a couple of TV shows, and I was getting hired to be a model and music videos. So I was having a pretty good time. And then a casting director that I knew, called me and and told me that they were casting a dating show, and he thought I'd be really good for it. Because I had done some other small dating shows. And the casting people always thought I was pretty funny and, and fun. So I went down, I was interviewed for the Bachelor, and I had to take a couple of tests, you know, they test to make sure you're healthy and you're mentally stable. We had to go through all of these things. And I'd say about two weeks later, I was on my way to Malibu to participate in the Bachelor. So it all happened kind of fast.
Paul Zelizer 08:02
Yeah. And that was a very significant life experience, both the part of it about being on the show and being more visible. And then we talked before we hit the recording button. And there is also some pretty painful experiences that came with being on The Bachelor talked about, but what was it like on both sides?
LaNease Adams 08:26
You know, I would have never imagined that doing this reality dating show what literally changed my life. I just thought it was another silly little thing I was participating in because my personality was always one where I was always up for an adventure. So I was always doing you know, something silly, I thought this was another little silly thing that I was going to do. But what happened was, I think 20 million people had tuned in to this little crazy adventure that I decided to do. And me being the very first kiss on this show and me being African American. And it being a dating show and the lead guide being white, all of those things coming together just created the perfect storm for me to just go through a whirlwind. So it was dealing with the instant thing because I walked outside my door one day when the show started to air and all of a sudden, you know, everyone knew me, wanted to talk to me. For the most part, they were all very nice people. It was really online that I that I was reading the negative stuff where some people I thought that I shouldn't be dating this guy because I'm black. It's like, Who does she think she is? He's not going to pick her eye. It was just this storm that hit the 23 year old me. And all of a sudden, I just no longer understood life. It was like, I thought that I knew what life was about. And I realized I didn't know much of anything. And, and that's where I wish I had some coping mechanisms, or some wisdoms are something to help me because I ended up just falling into this abyss because I just didn't know. I didn't know which way was up and which way was down. I, I didn't, I just didn't trust anybody. Because now I started to think Well, as you do all these white people think that about me, because I had always had white friends and friends of all races, and now I started to think, gosh, have I been missing something Am I like, out of place here. And it just, it just brought me down, it brought me down. And that it became even more complicated when a so called friend of mine had offered me something to take away my anxiety. And that became an addiction because it felt like it made all of my, my, all the pain go away. So it you know, it was a really rough time. For me, I hit rock bottom, when I ended up in the hospital, my mom had to take me to the hospital because I hadn't been eating and I just wasn't doing well at all. And the doctors made me stay there, they would not let me go literally just like held me there. And and that was when everything just, it had to change when I realized that I was here all alone. And you know, all of the peoples whose ideas I have put above my own, you know, the people who didn't like me, or the people who treated me badly, I just realized I hadn't been good to myself. And that's when I decided to put myself first. And that's when I realized I didn't even love myself, I just realized all of these things. I was like, how did I get here. Um, and I ended up you know, just doing a lot of soul searching. I just started reading these self help books and trying to figure out where kind of I went wrong and how I could write the ship. And because it was, you know, it was quite, I was used to at least enjoying my days, you know, I was used to having so much fun and and when you're going through a depression is just so dark and bleak. I want it to fight my way through it because I just knew that I couldn't live my life like this. And so that is that is just how I started to, to work my way through it. And I ended up reading a lot of books, journaling, finding self love, finding coping mechanisms, learning to communicate my feelings and not putting other people's feelings ahead of my own. Because I realized that was one of the main things that caused the problem is I always put everyone else's opinions and feelings ahead of my own. And that's not healthy. I never would say things that bothered me because I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. I kept that in. And I didn't realize what I was doing to myself. I
Paul Zelizer 14:24
I can only imagine what it was like to be 23 years old. You're on the show with 20 million viewers. And suddenly people have opinions about you and your life and who you should be dating and shouldn't be dating should be, who you should be kissing and shouldn't be. Ahh. Ouch. Ouch. Yeah. Wow. And it sounds like you know, real face to face with racism in America in a way maybe that it hadn't shown up in your life before. Is that fair to say?
LaNease Adams 14:54
Yeah, you know, that's absolutely it. And someone asked me they said that Nice, really you were that shocked by that? And I said, You know what? Yes, because growing up in Los Angeles, we live in what people would consider. Some people call it a salad bowl, some people call it a melting pot. But it is a lot of different cultures. You know, in high school, my best friends were Asian, white, black, and I had dated white, Jewish. So, for me, and my whole life, race wasn't a big deal at all. And I didn't realize that it wasn't that way, all across the world, because you know, when you're young, you live in your own bubble. So that was my first experience with racism. And it happened to be just on such a grand scale, that it was a bit shocking. And I think just having everything compounded. At the same time, it was just a lot to deal with, you know, I had black people who didn't think I should be dating a white guy and white people who didn't think I should be dating a white guy. And then when I found my picture of me kissing the bachelor, on a white supremacy website, with terrible things written about he and I, and how, you know, this is terrible for the world. It was just like, what is going on, it was so much bigger than me, that it was, it was quite scary, you know, and I had to just toughen up. And I really, I had to deal with those feelings and work through them. Like now, it's so far removed from me, because I now understand that there are good people in this world. There are bad people in this world, there are people who think different ways, and you cannot let every person affect you. But at that time, I didn't see it that way. I just felt ashamed and, and lonely.
Paul Zelizer 17:25
If there is a list of we're going to talk about what you know, your recovery look like and how you're using your platform now, and he's but if there's somebody right now, who's dealing with some sort of harassment, because they're different, either because of what they look like, or their sexual orientation, or they don't have as much money as somebody like somebody who's really getting put down. What would you say to that person?
LaNease Adams 17:50
Well, what I've learned is that, you know, there's a saying that opinions are like, fill in the blank, everyone has one. And so, you know, I just realized that everyone is going to have an opinion, you cannot let your foundation be rocked by someone else's opinion. You never know what these people are dealing with, what they're going through. So if you allow some stranger, to affect how you feel about yourself, you are going to be in for a tough life, what I learned is that you have to be secure in yourself, you have to know I am the best person I can be, I am doing the best that I can on a daily basis. I am a good person, I have a good heart. If someone does not like me, that's not my fault. It's not my problem. It's there's, and they're missing out. And you and you try to find you leave yourself open for people who do love you, and people who will accept and respect you. And if you never find that, at least you love and accept yourself and you respect yourself.
Paul Zelizer 19:15
So you, you know kind of took your legs out from under us as harassment and these horrible things horrible things that people were saying about you and and led to depression and addiction and a bunch of things, you know, pretty pretty hard places you went. And then you took a pretty deep dive into you know, self development and personal growth and you started journaling. You started reading and talk to us a little bit like what started to happen. career wise, as you were like coming out of this life changing experience.
LaNease Adams 19:50
Well, you know, I had I had no choice when you go through Yeah, it was like my legs were swept from underneath me. When you go through something like that, you've only got two choices, you know, you lay down, or you get up. And I slowly I started walking, because at first I, you know, my body had been so tired. You know, I was an athlete in high school and as an athlete in college, but going through that year, that crazy, a year of an experience really took a lot out of me. But when I decided that I was going to get up, and, and, and make my life back, and better than it was before, I just I started walking on the treadmill, I started going to the bookstore, I would go, I would go to the Self Help section. And I would take one subject at a time that I knew I needed to work on. So I was given a book about self esteem and reading, get a book about self love and read it, I would just I just started reading books that that would help me, help me put myself on a solid foundation because what I realized was that I wasn't on a solid foundation, I didn't have the the quotes that I have now the store of wisdoms, so I had to just read a lot of books and and create that for myself. And then yes, I learned that I learned that when I'm having an issue, I need to work it through, I can't just let it sit in that space. And that is how I discovered my journaling, I would just start writing about how I felt and I would make a list about, you know, where I wanted to go, what I wanted to do. And I look back now at some of those lists, because I still have those books, I look back. And I've accomplished, you know, all of those things. So I'm a really big believer in getting your thoughts and ideas and your feelings out on paper, get them out of your head and get them onto some paper.
Paul Zelizer 22:18
So as you're doing this work of kind of re you know, going back down to the foundational level in our audience will understand this, I've struggled with substance abuse issues, and my kind of deep dive with what happened with that is partially how I got into this work. I think a lot of our audience will understand we've hit something, and you had your unique something after those horrible experiences being so visible with the bachelor, you started this like, Alright, there's some ways in which I'm not in alignment with myself and who I am and loving myself. And really, that's I heard you say, lefty, more open to some of these really horrible opinions. And also it's like, Ah, that person's what the hell did they know? Right? What started to happen as an actress, and as a producer has used, we'll get into your motivational speaking work in just a second. But let's just stay as an actress and a producer as you're doing that deep dive personal work. What happened with that part of your career?
LaNease Adams 23:22
Well, you know, what happened was my work actually got better. Before I experienced all of this. I think that, you know, there was always there was always, I don't know, it's just it just seemed like, once you kind of experience depression and you come through it or you experience heartbreak, and you come through it, you're able to color your work so much better. So as an actress, even though you know, I went through this terrible time I you know, I was knocking, I would say on death's door. It was it was a terrible experience. But when it came down to my work, it just gave me so much more empathy, and so much more understanding to color to color my work with as an actress. I brought that to this short film that I just completed called heavens revenge where, you know, this woman goes through a depression, she goes through heartbreak, and I feel like as an actress, I was really able to paint with all of the colors because of the experience that I had gone through. And also once you come out of this depression or substance abuse or whatever the issue that you have had dealt with once you come out of that You're so much stronger. And I think you just you're so much more passionate about life. And you have goals and you're like, Okay, I'm back. And I am going to, I'm now going to live the life that that I that I want to live. So it just made me stronger. And it made me just push even more harder.
Paul Zelizer 25:26
People can feel it, can't they, when we, when we have one of those experiences or times in her life like that, where we really hit some hard, hard, hard stuff. And we, you know, a lot of us might have even died want to stay in this place, this human Earth place. It's not a place to be if you're a caring, compassionate being and you decide you're like I heard you saying, you know, it came back with some sense of caring for life and caring for other people can tell, can't they win, we've had those experiences.
LaNease Adams 25:58
I think so i think so I know, a lot of people who knew me prior and who know me now, I think that I'm just a stronger person, I say I say what's on my mind. Now, one of the things when you hit rock bottom, and you're by yourself, and you look around, and you realize that you are on your own, one of the things that comes out of that, I think you find a voice too. You give yourself a voice, you realize that if I don't speak up for myself, um, no one else is going to do it. So it also gave me a stronger voice. And you know, I'm not going to allow anyone to run over me, because in this world, people will run over you. I mean, I had no idea. You think if you're a really nice person, that your life will be better and easier. But you know, what happens is when you're a really nice person, you still have to have boundaries, because the world and people in the world are waiting to test your boundaries. So you got to have those boundaries. And that's what I learned too, you have to know when to say no, and to speak up for yourself, and to know that you matter, your opinions matter. Your thoughts matter, your ideas matter.
Paul Zelizer 27:37
You know, totally here, your boundaries are one of the most important skills I know of for a social entrepreneur, just just crucial. So I couldn't agree more. So let's do this. I want to pause for a moment and just thank our sponsors. And when we come back, I want to ask you about the motivational speaking and the positive impact work that you're doing, Denise. But before we do that, but wherever yours isn't, like most podcasts, we don't have like a website service or a meal delivery service. That's one of our sponsors. We have hundreds of sponsors. It's called the aware printers community, and this is the way it works. You've got something that's about making the world a better place and you want to grow it, you want to have more impact, and you want to live a good life in terms of your income. What we do is show people how to do that. And I'll give you a few examples. We have a podcast success team for those who are like glynneath and want to learn how to either go to other people's podcasts and tell about your work. And or start your own podcast and how do you do that successfully? And how do you enjoy it? And how can that really help you impact more people and increase your income. If you're thinking about using Instagram, or LinkedIn, we have these wonderful things called pots where we are small groups of 12 to 15 people on, we're on those platforms, and we're sharing and liking and helping people get better at using those platforms. If you need a website, or somebody who can do a logo. Again, people who understand your kind of brand. That's what the web printers, communities are all about over 300 people who care about you and your impact and helping you learn how to have a good life in terms of your income with this kind of brand. Do you could use a little more support. Go check out the web printers community at aware printers comm forward slash community and they make you aware printers for sponsoring this podcast. So Denise, as a result of all that work, you decided I'm gonna put some of this, you know you got pretty visible being on the bachelor and your other projects and being an actress and a producer and he said I'm going to do something good with this. Tell us a little bit about your work as a motivational speaker and the other ways that you're trying to be a force for good using this platform that you You've been given?
LaNease Adams 30:02
Well, Paul, you know, when I was going through, coming out of the depression and everything that I went through some of the things that helped give me motivation to keep going and to see the light at the end of the tunnel was reading about other people that had gone through this, I remember reading about Fergie, who was a singer and the black IPS, who, I didn't know that she had gone through a really bad addiction problem prior to her success with her music career. And just reading about people who had gone through this and had come through the other side, it helped inspire me. And so what I knew was that and what I have learned is that, you know, we go through these things, we should tell her story, in order to help people to let them know that they're not alone, to let them know that there's light at the end of the tunnel, to help give people coping mechanisms. I, I did it I wish I had known. You know, prior to me going through what I went through, I think if I had seen someone out there speaking about hat, finding your voice and not putting people's opinions of you, above your own, and all of the things that I try to talk to people about, I think that I would have been more aware. So if you have other people and maybe like me, you know, my father passed away. Really suddenly, when I was one years old, one year old. And my I had a young mom, she was only 19. So I didn't really have a strong parental upbringing, I didn't have older parents who could instill these ideals in me. So I wanted to help anyone who might have been like me, who who could use this knowledge that that I have found?
Paul Zelizer 32:12
What kind of groups do you tend to speak to when you're doing speaking engagements?
LaNease Adams 32:16
Well, I spoken to mainly high schools. So far, it's something I just signed with a new agent, and we want to expand my territory. But so far, it's just been local high schools here in Los Angeles, where where I was born, but I definitely would like to, to expand that more.
Paul Zelizer 32:42
What kind of topics Do you speak to the high school students about?
LaNease Adams 32:45
Well, we talked about the same things that I'm talking to you about here, just having self love, and being confident. Those are the things that that I like to talk about just having a voice and knowing that you matter and not judging, not judging the person next to you because they're different. You know, not, when you get online, to not just say the first thing that comes to your mind and consider other readers consider the person that you're talking about. Those are the issues that I've really been trying to hit on. I've also done a few other podcasts about just being grateful. The power of positive thinking. So really just trying to spread some light and positivity. I don't for some reason, I it seems like we kind of lacked that. When you know, you open the paper or you you get on the internet, I think we need to see more people talking just about the power of positive thinking the power of being grateful, the positive of loving yourself and loving each other. So that's been my message
Paul Zelizer 34:07
going forward. Denise, what's your sense of the balance of your work as an actress, your work as producer, director, and your work as a motivational speaker and in this world of really bringing positive messaging and particularly like you said, helping people who've been through some hard times and maybe had some similar experiences to what's the balance there as you look forward?
LaNease Adams 34:33
Well, um, you know, to be completely honest, acting is what I love to do. You know, I, I'm actually we're actually working now on a full length feature film, taken from my short film, so we're expanding it. I'm really excited about that acting
Paul Zelizer 34:52
revenge film or we'll have a different name.
LaNease Adams 34:55
Yeah, well, yeah, heavens, revenge was a short and we're not sure if we're going to Keep that same name for the feature, but it is. It's expanding that storyline. And it's it well, what happens is having she you know, she shoots her boyfriend in the short film, and then in the feature, he doesn't die. But there's a whole nother story that comes afterwards. So that's what we're working on right now. And that's what excites me. Um, how how everything else is tied in is another thing I learned of acid, the bachelor experience was that, um, I also didn't know who I was after that, it was like, okay, who am I? Who am I supposed to be now like, now I'm on TV, people know who I am, um, I, I've got to change myself, right. And so what I actually learned was that what I needed to find was a purpose. You know, you're, you're, you're out there, you're in the public eye, people are looking to you to say something. So I had to decide what I wanted to say. And so that's how the motivational speaking ties into that. Because if people are going to look to me, and they're gonna want to ask me questions, I want to have a purpose for, for what I'm saying and why I'm saying it. And so that's how the motivational speaking ties into that too. Because when you are in the public eye, people do want to hear the things you talk about, and I want those things to be helpful.
Paul Zelizer 36:44
No, I've never been on The Bachelor or anything, you know. But there's a lot they're looking for. Yeah, I'm actually very happily, it's got a great girlfriend, I'm really happy. What I would, what I was thinking about the nice is that there is a Seth Godin calls it this phenomenon of being a micro celebrity, right. So like, I've never been on The Bachelor, but I have this podcast and you know, 160 plus episodes, by the time this one goes live, and we have this community of 300 plus social entrepreneurs, and, you know, like, in a certain in this sort of intersection of conscious business and social impact, at least some people know that I have some influence, right? So Seth Godin calls that being a micro celebrity, right? I'm not I'm not in a Hollywood movie, but like in this space, there are people who look to us, and what would you say? You've really thought about this a lot. There's a lot of micro celebrities who listen to our show, who people look to our listeners and you know, care about what they have to say, and see them as somebody who's established and has done some personal work like you have, right, I made some changes starting at 17 years old and started learning about meditation and personal development and yoga and all these practices, right, it's been a long time. So we do some of that work. And if we stay with it for a while, certain people are going to start looking to us and you know, our opinion matters and no spaces that we move in. Yeah. Would you say to somebody who has a platform and is wanting to think about, you know, using it for good, that maybe just doesn't think about? Well, I'm not Oprah or I'm not fill in the blank, right? Like maybe haven't thought about it. But in fact, we actually do have a lot of impact. And how do we use that impact skillfully?
LaNease Adams 38:41
Right. Well, I think that everyone, no matter what level of influence you have, I think we should all think about our purpose. I think that was one of the ways in which I mean, I love my mom, I love my family. But I think had when I was being raised, had they been more intentional about what they were doing, then I would have been stronger when I when I became an adult. And I'm tying that into everyone if we live our lives with intention, you know, that helps guide what you say, and what you do. It helps you have more important interactions. So if you, you just find your purpose, and you find your intention for why you do the work you do. I think that will help guide everything that you do. It's like even when I speak to my niece, who's five, she doesn't realize when I say some of the things that I say to her That what I'm doing is I'm helping build her self esteem. And I'm helping her love her herself. And she doesn't even realize that but I am operating with intention. So I think it's important as we move through our day. And as we move through our life, to be aware of what our intentions are, with our interactions with one another, all the human beings that we we run into, you know, are we trying to make the world a better place, and, you know, smile so that the next person can, can have a warm thought. So I'd say just be focused on your intentions and your purpose.
Paul Zelizer 40:46
Great suggestion, the nice, really appreciate that. And one of the things I'm thinking about if I'm a listener, you know, we have listeners who are very, you're paying attention. And there's a lot of conversation among our listeners, about this poignant moment we're in right now, between the COVID-19 crisis and what's happening in terms of racism being more exposed, and the Black Lives Matter movement. And we've got a selection coming up in the UI, like there's a lot, we got fires, the whole western US is burning, like, Yeah, we got a lot going on right now
41:21
we do,
Paul Zelizer 41:24
How has that impacted what you're doing and your work, whether that's, you know, using your social media accounts, in certain ways, what you're doing with your film and your film, work, what you're doing, and you're speaking, like, how is this moment with these confluence of incredibly poignant issues coming together, impacting how you show up when you go to work every day?
LaNease Adams 41:51
Well, what I have found in this, these tough times that we're all going through right now, collectively, I found it to be even more important now, to be positive. You know, when I'm on my social media, I tried to talk about exercise. Last week, I just shared a video about some weight loss tips, because I know that there's people out there who might want to lose a little weight and could use a little help with just tips. So I'm really just trying to put positivity out there. Because there's just, you know, there's so much negative things that are just easy to see. easy to find. So I have tried to really double down on the positivity because, as you mentioned, people look to us people who have gone through things and come out the other side, and we now have this wisdom to share, I find people looking to us for how how we're getting through our day, and you know, what coping mechanisms we're using. So I have just really tried to share those positive things on my social media, at this time, and with my friends I have, I have friends who are really Uber successful, and you would never think that, that they needed a kind word, or they needed some, you know, positive affirmations I've been sharing that with with those friends as well. Because right now with the state of the world, really, you know, even the best of us can have even more bad days. So I think it's important for us all to try to, to be positive. And I've also tried to, um, you know, I've also tried to, to look at both sides of the Black Lives Matter, protests. And, you know, we've got the trumpers. And we've got the there's just so much, I really try to keep the dialogue to not make it one sided. I really try to, to show both sides a little bit so we can have more of a conversation, as opposed to an argument. So those are the things that I've been trying to do. You know, that's the best really I could do.
Paul Zelizer 44:35
If there was something when he say you were hoping we'd get to, and we haven't yet gotten to it about using your platform for good, or there's just a thought you want to leave our listeners with on this topic. Who would that be?
LaNease Adams 44:51
Well, you know, I think this was a great topic, using your platform for good I think that it brings me back to one of the quotes, I go something like, you know, when I was young, I wanted to change the world. But now that I'm older, I just want to change myself are something along the lines of that. I think that if we all take personal responsibility of using our platform for good, then then the world just be a much better place. So I would just say that, if we can all look at ourselves, look within figure out how we can be better, then we're doing the best we can and and we're on our way somewhere.
Paul Zelizer 45:47
LeNease, thank you so much for being on the show. It's been fabulous to talk to you today.
LaNease Adams 45:52
Thank you so much for having me. This is a wonderful conversation. I really appreciate it.
Paul Zelizer 45:57
So that's all the time we have for today's interview. Just a couple things before we go. First of all, thank you so much for listening. Second of all, we are now publishing episodes twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday, a new episode drops in if you have an idea for a topic or a guest, we love listener suggested topics and guests. So go to the aware printers website and use our contact form and tell us your idea. For now I just want to say thank you so much for listening, please take really good care in these poignant times. And thank you for all the positive impact that you're having.