¶ Evoke Greatness
Welcome to Evoke Greatness . We are officially entering year three of this podcast and I am filled with so much gratitude for each and every one of you who've joined me on this incredible journey of growth and self-discovery . I'm Sunny , your host and fellow traveler on this path of personal evolution .
This podcast is a sanctuary for the curious , the ambitious and the introspective . It's for those of you who , like me , are captivated by the champion mindset and driven by an insatiable hunger for growth and knowledge .
Whether you're just beginning your journey or you're well along your path , you're going to find stories here that resonate with your experiences and aspirations . Over the last two years , we've shared countless stories of triumph and challenge , of resilience and transformation . We've laughed , we've reflected and we've grown together .
And as we've evolved , so too has this podcast . Remember , no matter what chapter you're on in your own story , you belong here . This community we've built together is a place of support , inspiration and shared growth . Where intention goes , energy flows , and the energy you bring to this space elevates us all .
So , whether you're listening while commuting , working out or enjoying your morning coffee , perhaps from one of those motivational mugs I'm so fond of , know that you're a part of something special . Thank you for being here . Thank you for your curiosity , your openness and your commitment to personal growth .
As we embark on year three , I invite you to lean in , to listen deeply and to let these stories resonate with your soul . I believe that a rising tide raises all ships and I invite you along in this journey to evoke greatness . Welcome back to part two of the episode Rock Bottom to Record Breaker with my amazing guest , tia Banks .
In this episode , we're going to dive into challenging familial and cultural expectations , creating psychological safety and educational spaces , recognizing and addressing burnout in ourselves and in others , and understanding behavior as a form of communication .
And if you haven't yet , make sure you check out part one , where Tia talks about the evolution of identity beyond athletics , navigating depression and finding purpose after career-ending injuries , and the power of asking for help and building supportive communities . I hope you've enjoyed this so far , so let's go ahead and hop on into it .
What do your friends and family think ? Do they think this is just wild ? Oh my gosh .
I was talking to my dad last week . He was like I don't know why you climb mountains . What do your friends and family think ? I think it's just now it's become , they've adapted to it , and you just want to show that you can be more than what your generation says , that you have to be .
Generation says that you have to be , and I think that's what I'm after now . I'm not after just being an athlete , I'm after the belief . When my nieces and nephews grow up , they can say dang , I don't have to just be an athlete , I can be a CEO , I can be an entrepreneur , I can go speak and empower kids too .
Like my nanny that's what they call me , nanny I can do more than what is expected of me .
Yeah , you're showing people what's possible by doing this . Yeah , we have some people who are listening , who are educators , and they see students who are struggling with a lot of the same things that you've talked about , from someone who's been that struggling student and now helps transform school communities .
What do you believe these students need most from their teachers ?
They need to feel safe , psychologically safe . They need to feel like they can express their emotions in a healthy way . They need a lot of teachers ask me , like , how are you able to relate to these kids ? It's because I don't go in and just speak at them .
I will , literally after I'm speaking on stage , I'll go to the lunchroom and I'll sit right next to them and I'll ask them how are you , how are you feeling , like , treating them like they're human ? And there's so many educators that are amazing at this .
I'm definitely not taking away from those educators , but they're burned out too and I would say , before they can step into a classroom and think they can change the life , they got to make sure that they're good .
They got to take care of them at home , take care of their hearts , their minds , their bodies , their spirits , so that they can go in and operate in the purpose that they've been called to operate in as an educator and transform lives .
¶ Embracing Perseverance Through Self-Care
Yeah and it's no . It's no like newsflash that when we take care of our physical health , it improves our mental health . And we , in whatever capacity we're in be it a boardroom , be it being a leader of a team , mid-level management , an educator we are modeling to others how they should do it right .
We're mirroring things , and so when we're taking care of ourselves , that's what we're showing them , that's the mirror effect we're giving them . A hundred percent . There's a powerful intersection in your work between the physical challenge and that mental health . Right Again , like those two are interconnected .
For those listening who feel disconnected from their own strength , whether it's physical or mental , how do you help them find their way back to themselves ? And that's a great question .
I think sometimes we have to first have the self-awareness to know when we're not back to ourself , having the self-awareness to say I don't normally operate this way . I say this because I know there's a lot of people that are probably burned out .
They're burned out as a parent , they're burned out through their job , they're burned out as teachers or educators , or they're just burned out in life because they've been thrown so much . You have to acknowledge your burnout . Or they're just burned out in life because they've been thrown so much . You have to acknowledge your burnout .
Some people are walking around burned out and they don't even realize it . So pay attention to certain signs . Are you exhausted ? Are you exhausted all the time ? Are you sleeping enough ? Are you sleeping too much ? Like go online Google has so many like stress management and burnout surveys . Take a survey and identify if you are burned out .
A lot of times you can discover that if there are things that you used to love doing and you don't do them anymore and you don't know why . So I would say first start there . Have the self-awareness to say how am I feeling ? And now that I know how I'm feeling , what's my plan to feel ? Well , because as a human being . It's your right Matter of fact .
It's not a reward for self-care , it's not a reward for this . It's your responsibility to yourself , to your family , to feel well . So how do I get there Back that ?
up about a minute , minute and a half . Listen to that over again , because there's power in what you just said , in us claiming responsibility . It's different than feeling compelled that it's the right thing to do . It brings it to a whole nother level when we have a sense of responsibility around it .
In working with thousands of students , you've likely seen many versions of your own story play out right . What's the most transformative realization that you've witnessed in a young person who had that self-belief that , like I'm just another ?
I'm just average . I'm just that person who falls under the radar . Positive behavioral intervention support resilient skills . We focus on resilient skills but it helps them regulate their emotions . And I have these two , these two I don't want to say their name these two misunderstood young men , and the way that they need attention is through talking .
When I'm talking , the way that they need attention is to make fun of their classmates . And I've found that I'm like , while I'm trying to teach you on self-regulation , I'm having to regulate my own emotions . There was Kelson , my guy . I'm going to say his name , Kelson Saw something special in Kelson , but he liked the attention .
Sometimes he would just yell in the classroom and make fun of everybody , but I realized it was because he was broken on the inside . I found out that he lost his father and so his hurt is a cry , for I need love and attention to feel this void that I'm feeling from the loss of my father .
And I gave him different responsibilities Instead of I made him a leader , because I realized he is a leader even though he tries to get attention in different ways . So he was my appointed assistant every single day and I saw a change when I gave him that role . He owned it . And when I tell you I'm talking , dude is a completely different person .
When he walks into my class he's like hey , miss Tia , he has good energy , he's cheering for his classmates with the activities and exercises that we do . He's a completely different person in eight weeks . So that's special because that's one of the most recent of many .
But it's special to see that sometimes it's it's not the first emotion that they're showing the anger or the disruptive behavior . If you can go past that and look at the heart like it's hurt , it's broken , and what they need is something different so that they can bring out the person that they're supposed to really be .
And that's a beautiful example , because from the educator lens alone there are kids in everybody's class who have that kind of energy right .
But I love what you said .
I knew they were trying to get attention through what they were doing , because you can't be disconnected and understand that and pick up on that energy . You have to be connected with a desire to see the good in our kids .
If you wouldn't have done that , though , it would have been just kids who are causing disruptions in class , and that would have been a missed opportunity for him to step in to his greater self , and how is that going to go on to impact his life ? And so I implore people , pay attention , be connected .
When people are desiring attention in a certain way , like tap them , see what it is that they need , understand their circumstances and what's fundamentally important to them . That right there can change the course of somebody's life .
I could not agree more with that , and I think it's the people . If we're looking at adults , we really need to pay special attention to the people that when you ask how are you , they always say fine and good , fine , I'm fine , I'm good . That's just a default response . Sometimes I'll be like , okay , now , how are you really feeling ?
I am working through some things , okay , cool . Those are the people that need extra attention .
Yeah , and now more than ever and again , I don't know whether it's because we're talking about it more , whether it has been all that we've gone through over the course of the last handful of years , but we've had a shift , a societal shift , in talking more about mental health and shining the light on that and trying to figure out where can we get some solutions
to help people navigate some really hard roads . And so I love that you said that , because we should be checking in on people and we should be paying attention , intricately , paying attention to what they say when they respond , because a fine isn't fine . Totally agree with that . Sunny , you talk about moving from valley moments to peak experiences .
What about that climb in between ? You talked a little bit about this earlier , but it's those long stretches , and this can be anywhere .
This can be in school , this can be in your career , this can be in personal relationships , but those long stretches where progress feels slow or invisible , how do you help people get present in those moments and find purpose in them ?
Wow , I think it's just embracing what perseverance is all about Perseverance and being able to push and continue to taking steps . Because climbing any mountain , an invisible mountain , the mountain of grief or the mountain of depression or anxiety , like you started in a dark place and sometimes you don't see , you don't really see the light until you're at the light .
So the in-between phase requires this perseverance muscle . It requires the self-talk , it requires more emotional support and sometimes it may require just resting , Like one of the most important parts of climbing these mountains is saying all right , we've been hiking for eight hours , this is a good time to stop and get some rest .
Eat , pour into our physical , eat well . So if you have a Sunday I like to call Sunday self-care , Sunday pour back into yourself . Get your nails done like , get a massage or just lay in bed and Netflix all day , if that's what's going to pour back into you . So be willing to rest , because we live in a go go , go , go , go .
Be willing to rest so that you can go further .
Being a lover of hiking myself . Here in Arizona we have some amazing mountains and I know what it takes for me to do my four mile hike . That's like it's the most beautiful place to like have mental clarity and have like a creative flow . But that's one thing right . What do you do when you're talking about the biggest mountains and volcanoes to climb ?
What do you do to prepare ahead of time ? What does that routine look like ? And , even more so , like what are your ahead of time ? What does that routine look like ? And , even more so , what are your non-negotiable routines and habits each day that you're unwilling to miss ?
So when I'm in training season , I set very I have boundaries for sure I will wake up very early at like maybe four o'clock in the morning and I'll hike for about four hours . So I'm very disciplined with that .
And I also set boundaries with when I do have time to rest , like who can access me my mom and my nieces and nephews if they need me because they make me feel good , my non-negotiables for sure .
Setting clear boundaries , being disciplined with the way that I train , how many times I train , training five days a week , making sure that , as I'm telling you and everybody watching , to have that rest period , I have a rest period . So Sunday , do not disturb let's use the power of do not disturb .
And then the prep period also looks like doing a lot of research . I want to research what's the best way for me to successfully get to the summit of this mountain , and safely . So I'm doing a lot of research on the countries . There is a mountain that I was supposed to climb this month . It's called Mount Gili .
It's the highest volcano out in Australia , but it's in a very dangerous location and I had to re-strategize because I don't think we're ready quite yet to climb this mountain . So it's on the list for next year . But doing the research necessary to make sure it's safe for me to climb , who I'm climbing with , what kind of routes can I take ?
What are the logistics ? A lot of research , planning in place . And then mentally . So a couple of ways that I mentally prepare is I watch a lot of amazing podcasts , evoke greatness . I watch a lot of amazing podcasts that pour into my self-belief , because it's not just the physicality of these mountains In life , it's not just the physicality . I truly mean it .
Your mind has to expand beyond your physical capability if you are in uncharted waters . So pouring into I believe in myself , self-efficacy , I can do this , because those are the main things that you have to apply when you're actually on that mountain .
Get and keep your body right , but your mind too , because we , our dreams , our beliefs , will never exceed what we feel like we are capable of . You are doing something exciting that I'd love for you to talk about , and that is the Summit Saturday Initiative . Who is that for ? Who is that meant to impact ? Thank you for asking that .
So a few years ago we did a Summit Sunday Initiative where it brought people in nature , so families , friends . So we created a nonprofit called Summit Saturday which is geared towards at-risk students . It's a youth development program . It gets these kids in nature where they hike to enhance their mental health . We have mental performance coaching sessions .
We focus on those resilient skills so that they can apply it not just in classrooms but apply it in their lives , in their family lives , in their relationships , impacting students nationwide to help them climb higher . And we do an annual hike , a Mind Over Mountains hike , where we take them in a real mountain .
Now , it's not going to be like Kilimanjaro or anything like that , you know it'll be a smaller mountain for sure , but it's just to boost their self-efficacy , their belief and get them to climbing to the top of that mountain where they can reach confidence .
That is so awesome and , like you said , what you do , it's with the intent to actually serve others . You're doing this and it's awesome , but you're doing it with a purpose and a mission and I absolutely love that .
Last question that I love to ask is if it were your last day on earth and you could only impart one piece of advice to the world what would that be ?
climbing a mountain isn't for you , it's for others , it's for who you can inspire , it's for who you can encourage , so that others , when they see you do it , they can climb . And I mean this in not just a literal sense , but in all mountains that we face .
Boom it reminds me of that quote . May we plant trees under whose shade we shall never sit .
Oh my gosh , that's real , that one .
Yeah , Hmm . Well , that is one heck of a way to end an interview . Let's make sure I'll put everything in show notes , but where can people find you and follow you ? Get get to be a part of some of this .
Yeah , so we have a community , but you can easily go to the website , which is wwwtiabankscom . We're in schools all across the country helping students and educators be resilient to overcome anxiety , depression . We've got burnout prevention programs and we've got customized programs to help your students , your staff , your school .
You can also find me on social media YouTube , tia Banks . You can find me on Instagram , tia Banks . It's the Tia Banks , and so we're everywhere on social media and our website .
And definitely go to TikTok , because we're really intentional every Sunday posting about self-care Sunday to help you manage and better , have improved self-care so that you can combat the week with a mind over mountains mentality .
Well , tia man , you have shown up . You have just given so much throughout this interview and of just your experience and how , what you're doing in life as a mission , you're just pouring out to others , and this is a perfect example of that . So thank you for fully showing up .
Thank you so much for having me , sunny . This was an incredible podcast interview and I'm so thankful .
Thank you so much for listening and for being here on this journey with me . I hope you'll stick around If you liked this episode
¶ Rate, Review, Share for Greatness
. It would mean the world for me if you would rate and review the podcast or share it with someone you know may need to hear this message . I love to hear from you all and want you to know that you can leave me a voicemail directly .
If you go to my website , evokegreatnesscom , and go to the contact me tab , you'll just hit the big old orange button and record your message . I love the feedback and comments that I've been getting , so please keep them coming . I'll leave you with the wise words of author Robin Sharma Greatness comes by doing a few small and smart things each and every day .
It comes from taking little steps consistently . It comes from making a few small chips against everything in your professional and personal life that is ordinary , so that a day eventually arrives when all that's left is the extraordinary .