Finding Your Drive: Uncovering Motivation

Are you struggling to find motivation in your daily life? Look no further! In this eposide, we'll explore the secrets to uncovering your drive and reigniting your passion for success. Join us as we delve into practical strategies and powerful mindset shifts that will help you overcome hurdles, set meaningful goals, and tap into your inner motivation. Get ready to unleash your full potential and start living a life fueled by purpose and determination. Don't miss out on this transformative journey with author, wife, and mother Wondra Spencer.  

Website: https://www.wondraspencer.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wondraspencer
Podcast: https://motivationalfuel.buzzsprout.com/?fbclid=IwAR0_-FTpnEFu30pXLPvSOW-PiEtjDGoMr8UpuEVBTtQSD_lKxiO7h37591c

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Transcript

 Welcome to the Off Balance 

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 0:03 

 podcast, where faith, family and business collide with your host, Dr. Brooks 

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 Deming, christian life coach, intercessor and 

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 entrepreneur. 

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 0:24 

 Hello, 

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 0:25 

 everyone. I'm Dr. Brooks. Welcome to Off Balance, a podcast for adults trying to balance life. Thank you for tuning in each week to learn strategies to help you be the better version of yourself. The sponsor of today's episode is clothed by J Christine, a Christian based clothing store offering quality and affordable clothing for the everyday, fashionable, conscious woman. 2s Today's guest is a United States Air Force veteran. Wife and mother. She holds a degree in health information management, and she has over 22 years of experience as a healthcare professional. She is a certified life coach, and she just released a wonderful journal called what is your motivation? Welcome to the show. Wondra Spencer. 

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 1:12 

 Hello, Dr. Brooks. Fellow listeners, it's a pleasure to be here and share an update with you. I definitely give the glory to God. I was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. Now I reside in Ohio, and I've been in the healthcare field for over 22 years. My career is within the revenue cycle management team. I have my associate's degree in health information management with my registered health information technician certification. In December of this year, I will have my bachelor's of science degree in health information management. In addition to being author, I'm a veteran, a mentor, a wife, a mother, and thank you for allowing me to have the opportunity to speak with you today. Listen, 

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 2:06 

 we are so excited to have you and you have so much going on. But the part that stood out to me the most is you said that you were a veteran. Can you kind of give us a little insight on your transition from being into the civilian sector? 

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 2:25 

 Well, the time when I came back to the civilian side, they were not promoting veterans. Now they are doing a great job promoting veterans. Like the Walmart companies, different companies offer certain incentives for veterans. For me it was hard. I had an employer in the Ohio area that gave me an opportunity, 1s did take over for my experience in healthcare. So I was really blessed to have that employer take me on. 

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 3:02 

 That is awesome. And so that's how you started your career because you say you have over 20 plus years in healthcare administration. That is amazing. So that's how you got your start? 

 U1 

 3:12 

 Yes. Health information management. We did the back then we had paper. Now it's fully electronic. I did like the chart prepping, the scanning, birth certificates, anything in health information management. And now I'm on the coding side where we look at the diagnosis, the current procedure, terminology, those codes for inpatient and outpatient. 

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 3:38 

 That is great. 1s I think a lot of the times when we go into medical facilities we kind of take for granted the behind the scene because there are people working hard to make sure that we're billed properly to make sure that our records are just protected and safe. So we do appreciate you for that. But we have you on the show today because you just released an amazing product and want you to tell the listeners about your latest project. 

 U1 

 4:06 

 Well one of my latest projects with the help of family friends of course, God is a motivational journal. I enjoy sharing my personal experiences in my motivational journal so I really took the time to create this journal. The COVID features a black eyed Susan flower symbolizing, encouragement, motivation, the foxtail lily which represents endurance. And the journal, it has like your vibrant colors, your green, your yellow, your purple, your black and white. And definitely one of my hobbies is collecting journals so I said why not even do mine? And it was on my bucket list and I did share it with my late grand mother and she is one of the ones I dedicated the journal to. And I definitely wanted to inspire others to continue regardless of their setbacks and pursue their aspirations, encouraging their loved ones and their friends to do the same. 2s It, 

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 5:10 

 and that is good. I really like the journal because you do have a personal spin on it. But what really got me is the title. What's your motivation? So can you kind of, like, give us a behind the scenes of what made you even choose the title? Because that is so catchy and it is so necessary because I think sometimes we forget our why. 

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 5:34 

 Definitely. When you're in you know, when you're in your transitioning from your childhood to your adulthood, at times you lose yourself. I know for my goal and my dream was to become a doctor, I'm still in a healthcare field, but I'm not a doctor. I'm on the health information management side. So definitely when I was writing this journal, I wanted to encourage others and give them, like, a snippet of things that I share with my experiences, such as your goals, your family, your savings, your health, making your dreams a reality. So that's what I wanted to share with the world. 

 U2 

 6:17 

 It. And so you just recently released a project. What was the experience like? How long did it take you to kind of lay it out and make sure that it flowed? Because you really have a good flow to your journal. 

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 6:32 

 I want it to be original. I definitely try to write like a few sentences every day or a few words that definitely sharing my inner thoughts, my hopes, my aspirations with others, and just trying to get everyone to be in that relaxed mindset. And don't give up on your dreams. 

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 6:56 

 Yes. Not giving up on your dreams is very important. And your journal is a little different because you touch on other areas like finances and different things like that. What made you put that in there? 

 U1 

 7:09 

 Well, with being an African American woman, in our households, we don't touch on savings and being in debt, 1s they tell you, okay, just go to work. So me sharing some experiences with savings and debt and how to get out of debt because you want to save and we want to retire one day and maybe live on the Florida coast or other areas and be happy. So I definitely wanted to share that information in my motivation. 

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 7:43 

 Yes. When I received it, I was kind of shocked because like I said, you are definitely original because it's not your typical journal. And so when I saw that you covered different areas of our life, I was very impressed by that. And then I also like that you give us an actual place to write in journals. Even though, let me just share a secret, I'm not writing in mine because I don't know, I don't like writing in books. And so I actually got like another blank journal that I use to journal in. But I like the font, I like the colors. I like that you gave us space to be able to write in it. And now it all makes sense because you said you love journals, you collect journals, you're all about journals. And so I guess you really did give us the things that you like about a journal, because you did a really good job formulating this journal. And so I just wanted to say that because I was just like, oh my God, I wasn't expecting it. And the reason why, I guess I wasn't expecting it because a lot of the times when you get journals, they do keep it minimum with the words. And so to see that you actually took your time and you gave us a little information and then you gave us a spot to be able to journal, I really like that. Was that kind of a strategy of yours? Or is that just something that you like to do for yourself? 

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 9:09 

 It's a strategy, I think, giving everyone a chance to think about certain things that they're going through in their lifetime. You thinking about your goals and your dreams, and when you need to listen to some upbeat music, you might forget about your favorite artist. So you can write that in your journal. So I just try to do some things that I do daily for myself. 

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 9:38 

 Well, you did a really good job, because I was like, okay, I really like it. And I like also that you gave the option to do 

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 9:49 

 our goals 

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 9:50 

 like you gave an option about yearly goals. 1s You talked about the family in there, about savings, about health. I think the health was very important too, because a lot of the times we don't really journal about our health or even when it comes to maybe goals, like health goals, maybe if you want to lose weight, gain weight, or if you want to sustain. I don't think a lot of people really journal about that. So when I saw that in the journal, I was like, you're really onto something here. Because I know for me personally really considered that to be something that I would even put on my goals or vision board or anything like that. So when it came to the health part, was that just because that's the industry that you in, or is that something that you really take serious when it even comes to setting goals for yourself? 

 U1 

 10:42 

 Well, Dr. Brooks and the audience for me, my health over time, I have been at certain weights and different weights, and I have two beautiful kids. So trying to maintain my weight, I try to do different things. I enjoy going outside, doing some yoga. I even looked at speed walking, which is pretty cool when I'm pushing my daughter in the scroller. So just make it fun. That's what I was trying to get to. Just make it fun, relaxing, do what you need to do for you so you can maintain your weight and get to 1s the relaxation and the meditation, other things that you need to do for yourself. 1s Yeah, that was really good because, like I said, I was just shocked by the areas that you chose to focus on because you even talk about positivity. You talked about surrounding ourselves with positive people and just positive things. And I don't think a lot of the times we even consider that. Just with the hustle and bustle of life and just with trying to stay above water, I don't think people really, really take into consideration that the people that you surround yourself with can play a vital role in your success. And so I like that you touched on positivity. What made you 

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 12:08 

 even think about that? 

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 12:12 

 It definitely goes back to my grandmother. She always, you know, we're southern women so transitioning from the west, the east, different places around the world. She always said to have positive influencers in my life so I wanted to share that with others. And first of have have a section if you don't love yourself, who will love you? So that shines through your positivity. If you're around someone and they're not loving themselves or they're trying to do other things outside of your comfort zone, definitely take a step back and see do you supposed to be around that person and make sure you're loving yourself first. 2s Listen, that's a whole nother show in itself 2s because that is so true. A lot of the times we get complacent with how people treat us and a lot of the older women down south used to tell me all the time are you teach people how to treat you? It's a lot of old sayings that they used to have and that rings true because as know grew up and began to transition into adulthood, the relationships dynamics changed and I just wasn't expecting growing up in Alabama and then moving to different places, I wasn't expecting people 

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 13:41 

 to like manipulative or deceptive. I wasn't used to that. And so to have to transition and to really make sure that vet people make sure that I surround myself with positive people, that was new to me and I had to do it as an adult. And so when I read that part in your journal, I was like wow. 

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 14:04 

 Like, 

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 14:04 

 wow. And I actually went back and I began to look at my friends and look at the people that I'm currently in relation with just to make sure that those are positive relationships. So I do like that you talk about that in this journal because that is so important. And I think it's another area that we may neglect sometimes because we may say, that's just them, that's how they are, and not realizing that that can be detriment ourselves as well as our well being. So I appreciate you for putting that part in there as well. 

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 14:35 

 Thank you. You 

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 14:37 

 did a really great job. And you also talked about dream about it's never too late to stop dreaming. What inspired you to talk about that? 

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 14:49 

 Oh, my goodness. Just 1s trying to make even for me, my bucket list, my different goals, short term, long term goals and sharing with my grandmother. She passed away in 2014. And I kept saying to myself, okay, I'm going to release this, I'm going to do this and do that. So 2s I have my family going, my education. So this has been long term goal and on my bucket list. So I'm saying, why not do it? And I had that dream one night, like, okay, let's write this journal, share with others, put some little snippets in there and things that I do for myself on a daily basis to share with the world. 

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 15:41 

 And you did an amazing job with sharing it with the world. Because when I tell you, although small but impactful, like your journal, you gave us enough information to get us motivated and to get us going and to get us wondering what's next. Because just reading this, I'm like, okay, I know she's going to follow us up with a book. She's going to have to do something. Because the fact that you gave us these topics, a couple of motivational things, a little history about yourself, I'm like, okay, what's next? Because I know she's just not going to leave us here. 

 U1 

 16:20 

 Well, definitely I put my family and friends in perspective. I definitely vary their opinion. Even with my coworkers, I have a really strong support system. The thing is that I'm working on, I do have my Inspire and Drive store. It has a few motivational items on it. And that store is just to help everyone stay on track and motivate themselves and look for different inspiration and encouragement. And it also has the picture of the flower on the website, and they can purchase the journal too. And I am working on my book. Hopefully sometime next year, 2024, I can release it. Just making sure I'm capturing everything. 1s I will graduate this year in December with my bachelor's degree. So I have some things that I'm working on behind the scenes. 

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 17:22 

 And congratulations to you on that, because it's one thing to pursue education, but it's another thing to pursue education as a wife, a mom, and a full time employer. Because, listen, I can remember just being so exhausted and being tired, but when you set those goals, you just have to carve aside time to achieve them. So I just want to congratulate you in advance for that because I been there and done that, and I know what it's like to work multiple hours a week and then still try to do content and try to be the best mom and wife that you could be. So kudos to you for even pursuing it because that's awesome. 

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 18:02 

 Thank you. 

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 18:04 

 And then you recently started your YouTube channel. Can you tell the audience about your 

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 18:10 

 well, it's definitely I want to share different motivational items on there. The first episode I featured my motivational journal. It has a few videos on it. The second episode I released is talking about forgiveness, and everyone can write it in their journal to re access your thoughts from a negative to a positive. So every week I want to release some content that will inspire others and motivate others to do well for themselves. 

 U2 

 18:48 

 And so it's almost like 1s your journal is like a holistic approach to just trying to be better. Like a lot of us, especially raised in the south, we have Christianity, but now you have a lot of people that don't really have a religion or 

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 19:09 

 they don't really have any of that. And so just by your journal, I think they can kind of find their way a little bit. And I say that because it's almost like you're looking at the whole person, like the wholeness of a person, like your whole well being, because you're touching on all of these areas in our lives that can bring stress, that can bring positivity, happiness, all of those things. So if one of these things is off sync for a person, they can maybe find themselves with mental stress or whatever the case is. And so I like the fact that this journal is not excluding anyone. Like, you did a really good job with that. And so I encourage you guys to get this journal because like I said, it is small but it is so impactful. She covered area that we need in our life to just make sure that we are walking in greatness and that we are healthy in our mental health, healthy in our bodies, healthy when it comes to our finances and making sure that we still dream. Like guys, when I got this journal, I was just shocked. 1s Like I 

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 20:23 

 really was shocked know, a lot of times a journal may be focused on one or two things and I just wasn't expecting you to cover so many areas and so I was just like, wow, you did such a good job. So guys, make sure you purchase this journal. So Wandra, where can they get your journal from? You mentioned your website, but where else can they get it from? 

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 20:45 

 They can get it amazon website, Barnes and Noble. They can go to my website wondrouspencer.com 

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 20:58 

 and guys, I'm going to have all of her information as well linked on my website so that you can just jump over and have all of her links. I'll have her social media link, her link to her store as well as the link to her website because I am telling you, I don't think we realize the disservice that we do to ourselves when we don't journal. And it's so interesting because it's 2023 and there are still people that don't journal, but we're not going to judge you, but I'm saying you have to write the vision down. And so a lot of the times when we don't write stuff down, we find ourselves in a procrastinating state and we don't ever get it accomplished. And so that's one of the benefits of journaling. If you begin to write stuff down, you will begin to do the necessary steps to make it happen. So Wondra, what would you say to those people that don't really journal or they don't see the significance of it? 

 U1 

 21:51 

 Well, definitely. Once you start journaling, you can make sure that those dreams come a reality. You can start seeing the positive, being positive flowing around you. You can look at your physical and your mental health and just make sure you achieving those tasks that you need to do every day. 

 U2 

 22:17 

 I like that. And so on your YouTube channel, when you talk about different topics, I like the fact that they can still journal about that and kind of keep up with you in that aspect because I think a lot of the times we can get stuck or we could start something and then lose our fire. So the fact that you are making sure or giving people an opportunity to stay focused, I really like that. That is so good. 

 U1 

 22:47 

 Thank you. 

 U2 

 22:48 

 How do you stay balanced? 

 U1 

 22:52 

 Definitely, god. Like I said, my support system for my husband, my kids, family, friends, surrounding myself with positive people, I do write in my journal myself and doing my to do list, my checkoff list, my short term, long term goals. So definitely being positive to myself and making myself do that little 30 minutes yoga. And I'm tired. My last five day just doing the yoga and going that speed walking, making it exciting for me, and say, hey, did it. Pack yourself on the back. 1s I know that's right. Because I remember sometimes when 1s it's like you are so tired but you know you need to do it so that's the time where you just have to push through. And when you are finished, you are so proud of yourself. Because I can remember not wanting to go to the gym and I'm like, God help me, just give me the strength. God, if you could just get me there, I'll do the workout. And so I can remember those some of the best workouts, the days where you're tired and you don't think you can make it, just push through because that one day or missing or turn into two days to three days and then 2s you're off your agenda. So just make sure you guys are staying focused and that you are getting it done. And make sure you guys go out and purchase this journal. I'm telling you 1s I journal, but I journal in plain journals, guys. Only thing I want on my journal is something on the front. And so this was so different for me, which is probably why I'm not writing in it. Because it's so pretty. I wish you guys could see it is so pretty and I just don't want to write in it. 

 U2 

 24:42 

 I'm not writing in it, but it is so pretty. And what was your motivation for this flower worth? 

 U1 

 24:50 

 Oh, my goodness. I wanted to have something that relates to the journal with the colors, 2s and especially as a shout out to my son. He was like, well, mom, you can do the black eye Susan flower. And I was like, oh, okay. So when I looked it up, encouragement and motivation, endurance and the beautiful colors that is surrounding it, I was like, that's it. I couldn't do anything else with that flower. 

 U2 

 25:22 

 Yeah, that flower is gorgeous. And I've always seen that flower. And so, yeah, shout out to your son, because I had no idea what type of flower this was. 2s When you gave the name of the flower and then you gave the meaning behind the flower, I was like, that in itself is very powerful because we definitely want to be good stewards of the gifts that God has given us. And one of your gift is to make people feel comfortable and to just love on people and to encourage people. And so you definitely lived up to that with this journal and just with how you have been going forth with advertising it, with your follow up videos, you are doing good. So the days when you don't feel like it, even on the days when you feel like you're not making an impact, I want you to continue to go forth because people are watching you, and you are doing such a phenomenal job. 

 U1 

 26:16 

 Thank you. 

 U2 

 26:18 

 So if you had to give the audience words of encouragement, what would they be? 

 U1 

 26:26 

 Well, definitely thank you Dr. Brooks, the listeners, for having me on the podcast and listening to my updates about the motivational journal. I just want everyone to enjoy themselves, 1s making sure that it's not too late to make their dreams a reality, create those positive surroundings, love yourself and always care for your mental and your physical health. 

 U2 

 26:59 

 Listen, that is some good advice. Do you have any upcoming projects or anything like that that you would like to share? 

 U1 

 27:07 

 Well, definitely watch my YouTube channel, subscribe to it. Everyone can follow me on the social media, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok. 1s So yes, that's the things that I have going on and I'll definitely release my book sometime next year for everyone. 

 U2 

 27:29 

 Yes, we are going to be looking forward to that book. Because guys, listen, when you get this journal, she kind of teases us a little bit. 2s And I'm like, yeah, I know she's following this up with the 

 U1 

 27:41 

 book because 

 U2 

 27:43 

 if you wasn't, I was going to put pressure on you to release again. Wandra I am so happy that you came to be a part of the show on Today. You have brought great insight and we are looking forward to see what is next for you. 

 U1 

 27:57 

 Thank you, Dr. Brooks, and thank you, audience. 

 U2 

 28:01 

 This concludes today's episode. Thank you for tuning in. I hope the information presented adds value to your life. Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube at brooksdemming. The sponsor of today's episode was clothed by J Christine, a Christian clothing store offering quality and affordable clothing for the everyday, fashionable, conscious woman. To learn more about today's guests, visit brooksdemming.com. Until next time, be Zillion 

 U1 

 28:32 

 thanks 

 U2 

 28:32 

 for joining. Please rate this episode and share this 

 U1 

 28:36 

 podcast with your family 

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 28:37 

 and friends. To 

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 28:39 

 learn more about your host, visit www.brooksdeming.com.