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Speech Transcript (very little editing so not exact)

Unknown Speaker  0:00  

Hey, this is Simone Knego author of The Extraordinary Unordinary You and if you really want to learn how to level up your life you should be listening to the Time To Shine Today Podcast with my good friend Scott Ferguson time to

Unknown Speaker  0:14  

shine today podcast varsity squad. This is Scott Ferguson with episode 252 With my awesome sauce friend Simone Cunego a fellow Floridian also so this is the wintertime and we’re kind of enjoying this nice a sunny weather. She’s talking about following your path and discovering your own journey. She is just amazing. So well spoken so humble yet so curious. She will help you level up I have literally three pages of notes just from our conversation. And I hope that you sit back relax and break out your notebooks as well. So here comes my good friend, coach and author Simone Cunego let’s level up

Unknown Speaker  0:59  

time to shine today podcast varsity squad. This is Scott Ferguson and I got myself a little bit of a home girl here in Florida we’re both transplants but we’re just enjoying the flip flop and tank top and board short weather here and I got somebody that is very well traveled huge heart has three kids of her own adopted three as well. And I’m adopted which I’m sure the squad out there of listeners knows my story with adoption, which was just crazy. And I just love love love my good friend here Simone Cunego she’s a best selling author of the extraordinary and ordinary you and stick around to the end of the podcast because I have a book giveaway where someones gonna John Hancock that book, and we’re gonna get it out to you if you’re the one that actually went. She’s a speaker, entrepreneur and again mother of six children shares her journey of adopting three of her children her climb of Mount Kilimanjaro and all the funny scary inspiring stories that come came along the way that’s on her book. So stick around cuz I got some questions to pull out of her as well as that she instills in her audience and powerful lessons. That what you do matters and small thank you for coming on. Please introduce yourself the time to shine today podcast varsity squad. But first, what’s your favorite color and why? Green? Okay.

Unknown Speaker  2:16  

It just reminds me of the outdoors and makes me happy.

Unknown Speaker  2:19  

And it’s like it springs a turtle right? It’s like in here, Florida. You know, not rubbing it in people’s faces as it’s cold now because by the time this drops in my friends up north, it’s cold. It’s it’s like a rebirth. It’s it’s green. And it’s lovely, right? I mean, that fits your profile and your color wheel. She’s a beautiful woman, if you’re watching on YouTube, green would be undercover will be perfect. So somehow, you’ve did a lot, let’s maybe get to the roots and kind of tell where we started to get where you’re getting with being an author and rockin stages and helping people level up.

Unknown Speaker  2:55  

I started in a way different place than I am now. So let’s hear it. I’m a big believer, and it’s okay to change your mind. So I started off as a CPA, that was my went to college, I have a master’s in accounting, passed my CPA exam. And I said to myself, if I, if I pass it, I have to work a little bit in the field. And I did. And, and I didn’t love it. And what I realized it took me many years, I’m going to I’m going to be 50 this year. Yeah. That is what I like is the human connection piece. I love talking to people sharing my stories, hearing other people’s stories. So that’s kind of how I ended up where I am now. Yes, many bumps in the road between where I started and where I ended. But I love this. And this is you know, I, it took me it was a nonlinear path to find what I was passionate about.

Unknown Speaker  3:49  

Tell us about one of those bumps.

Unknown Speaker  3:53  

So maybe one of the bumps was I went into and it’s not really a bump. But I actually went back to school to be a teacher after I had six kids. And I honestly I’d love doing that because I kinda already have a classroom at home, right? So why not get paid for what I was doing that and the bump was that I basically had to pay my babysitter more than I was making because of the the hours and everything that it just wasn’t financially the right decision, even though I love doing it. And it kind of tells us that teachers need to make more money.

Unknown Speaker  4:29  

So no way really so much. A lot of my family are educators and I’m kind of like I don’t call a black sheep. I’m the one that’s an entrepreneur and gets out there and goes and gets it. I mean, I push so hard for teachers, firefighters, medical personnel to actually you know, get paid more because they are they’re the front lines I call heroes actually have a website here called Palm Beach heroes where I raise money for those people to put on events for stuff like that. And that’s that’s fantastic. If anyone So it’s Palumbi. cheerios.com. But anyways, that’s my shameless plugs. But no someone like let’s talk about this nonlinear path. Okay? And let’s talk about people that are wanting to go down this nonlinear path in when they pick up your book, which we’ll talk about in just a little bit. The external unordinary. You, what do you suggest that they do to maybe recognize their blind spot?

Unknown Speaker  5:24  

I think we get so stuck in a situation where we don’t know how to pull ourselves out. And we say, well, this is, this is what we’re supposed to be doing. So we need to keep doing it. Instead of asking ourselves, is this what we want to do? Are we really passionate about what we’re doing right now? And yeah, I mean, we all have to start with the first job, right? We all have those things, we got to put food on the table. So figuring out how you can do both. And yeah, it’s not it’s not the easiest thing. But it, I think it’s so important that we realize that we have one life, and we should really love what we’re doing. And there’s a way to love what you’re doing and be able to support yourself at the same time.

Unknown Speaker  6:03  

I’m going to give that his love is the most influential word to me, period. You know, I’m a student of Steve Farber, he wrote radical leave radical edge love is just damn good business. Great Books, by the way, actually, I keep loving, damn good business right here in front of me. And he tells us to do what you love in the service of people that love what you do. And I’m hearing that, you know, coming from you just oozing out of you in that that’s just amazing. So when you write this book, you’re getting it out to the people that you’re getting out to do that people actually reach out to you and want to talk to you about it.

Unknown Speaker  6:38  

Yeah, I’ve had plenty of people reach out and ask me more questions. And I think sometimes people feel uncomfortable that like, who should I ask her about this, and I put my life out there. So go ahead and ask me. You know, I want people to if my answering questions, if my speaking can affect one person in a positive way, then please ask away.

Unknown Speaker  7:00  

Thank you for opening this door. Okay, so is there any good question that you wish they would ask you, but never do?

Unknown Speaker  7:09  

I think people pretty much asked me, I mean, I think that, you know, people will ask me, why did you adopt kids? You could give birth tomorrow? Why? You know, what, you know, they do their, you know, is your fair? Do you feel uncomfortable? When you walk out with your family? No, not at all. So I think people are getting used to the fact that I am you asked me a question, I’m going to answer it to the best of my abilities. So I really think that I haven’t thought to myself, Oh, there’s not a question that people haven’t asked me. I think they pretty much asked me.

Unknown Speaker  7:39  

Gotcha. So let’s talk about that. Like, adopting children from different different ethnicities, okay, I am, you know, my dad is I love him, Dad, you’re my best friend in the world. But he’s a redneck from Alabama. Right? Where like, sometimes when I go out with him, they’re where he lives now. Because he worked in the industrial north at General Motors in Detroit, and move back to his hometown. They’re in Alabama, but like, kind of get a get get those looks. And I have to say one kin to the Ferguson. So they call your Larry’s adopted, what you know, kind of stuff like that. So how do you handle that?

Unknown Speaker  8:13  

Again, just totally open and honest about stuff. When people ask questions. And I teach my kids the same things that you know, people, people are curious, and it’s okay to be curious. Obviously, when you lead with negativity, that’s a different story. But most of the time, people just kind of want to know, like, we’ll be sitting at a restaurant, and we do every year. Now that the kids are older, a couple of them probably won’t be here. But for we do a graduation dinner. And so we take the kids out to I don’t know, some fancy Steak House each year. And we’ll be sitting there and you know, we’re all dressed. People will be staring at us. And, and the kids are like, should we go say something? And like, if they want to ask a question, they’ll come over, like just most of the time. People come by and say you have the most beautiful family or

Unknown Speaker  9:05  

you can picture behind you. That’s amazing. That’s all six of them. There. That’s all six of them. Gotcha. So the decision between i May I say you still married? Yeah. 28 years. Wow. That’s 28 laps around the sun. That’s amazing. That’s fantastic. How does that work? Like, what? And our age cuz I’ll be 50 in February. And you know, I’m not proud to say I went through two divorces. Okay. How does it how do you make it work?

Unknown Speaker  9:31  

So I heard this one time and I always joke about it you the way that marriage should work is that you both don’t want to get divorced at the same time. Yeah, no, I mean, I think that yeah, you have to it’s the the biggest kind of test in patience, right. I mean, kids are a test and patience, but also you have to be pliable. You have to be willing to at the end of the day, The our relationship will go through ups and downs. But our relationship is built on a solid foundation, which we were you know, we’re best friends like he’s the guy I want to call when something happens or when something great happens when something crappy happens. And I think that’s kind of held us in place not to mention when you have six kids, and they’re constantly like, you know, my, my friend’s parents just got divorced or do you know where one of two families that their parents aren’t divorced? Like there’s a lot of pressure. They’re like, Oh, man, we can’t get divorced. We got to stay in those, you know, the two families that aren’t so you know, I joke about it. But, you know, I understand that it’s serious. But still, yeah, we just, we still make time for each other. We still we have great conversations. And we remind ourselves of that constantly that we’re really lucky.

Unknown Speaker  10:50  

Yeah, that’s that’s amazing that that and I followed my forever with my girl now. And it’s, it’s amazing. We basically say we don’t go to bed mad, we might be mad, but we make sure that there’s a resolution at least started from when we wake up. And I actually put on, you know, our nightstand that mirror. It was from John Wooden. He was a big coach back in the 70s. He wrote a fantastic book for the US UCLA basketball team. And he said, marriage and relationships, you must be interested in finding the best way not having your own way. And we put that right there. It’s like, because I can be narcissistic and I can be stubborn. I’m a Ferguson, you know what, you know, she’s so different. You know, she’ll just let things pass. But I just, you know, the best way is the way to go in. And that’s what I’m hearing in 28 years. So let me ask you something, then. Have you seen the movie Back to the Future? Yes. Okay. Let’s get in that DeLorean with Marty McFly. Alright, let’s go back to say that 22 year old Simone, I don’t know, you would have been Cunego then. Let’s go back to the 22 year old Simone. What kind of knowledge nuggets so we come here timeshare. Today, what kind of knowledge I guess we could be dropping on her to maybe help her level up last year and shorten that learning curve just a little bit about life.

Unknown Speaker  12:11  

Really about it would the conversation would be about believing in herself and realizing what she’s capable of. I think for a long time and this started in high school, I really struggled with self doubt. And I struggled until a few years ago where I finally finally had that realization of what matters is that I’m happy. What matters is that I’m surrounded by love. And I don’t care what anybody else weighs what anybody else has in their bank account. So I think that if I could go back in time and talk to myself about that, I think that would have been really, really helpful.

Unknown Speaker  12:49  

I love it that you say that because, you know, I live by the credos, as long as I haven’t hurt you disrespected you in any way I could give to flying, you know, what’s what you think of me, right? Because I’m going to show the love and serve as many people as I can. And then I that’s what you’re doing with your book and your message. And I absolutely love that. So how does Simone want her dash remembered that little line in between your incarnation day in your expiration date, your life date and your death date? How do you want your dash remembered smile?

Unknown Speaker  13:20  

She was a good human. That said, I love it. Simple as that.

Unknown Speaker  13:25  

You know what, I’m going to add to it a little bit because I use a lot of sports metaphors. I grew up around it, but you’re going to slide across home plate bumps and bruises. But feeling your best too, because you’re just a good human you give. So I just added to that you have to do it had to do it. So

Unknown Speaker  13:41  

I like that because actually what my husband and I say all the time is when we get to the end, we want to slide into home plate. We don’t we don’t want to leave anything behind. So that’s something that we say,

Unknown Speaker  13:52  

I love that I love it. So what do people must misunderstand about smoke?

Unknown Speaker  13:59  

That I struggle that I think a lot of times people look at me and say, Oh, she has to have everything together. Right? She’s got six kids, she must be so organized. She you know, and I’m tough like I am. I am a tough person. But I still have my struggles I still write Yeah, I have that voice inside my head. We all do. Right? Like I think that’s part of life. And I think sometimes people make these assumptions that Oh, love life must be perfect. Because it looks like that. Well, okay, social media. Hello. Like it life is not perfect, like life is, you know, again, ups and downs and understanding that you can’t just make these assumptions. Oh, you know, everything’s great. Well, yeah, we all struggle. So

Unknown Speaker  14:44  

yeah, we do. I just believe in that in my coaching clients and stuff like that. You’re going to have negative times that’s fine. You know, be neutral as you can. But just don’t give a voice to those negatives, you know, because the second you give a voice verbally it’s like it becomes 40 to 60% more possible for that negative to happen actually happen. And so I love that you are vulnerable enough in transparent enough to be able to say, hey, you know, you have negative problems, but you have an awesome support system, you know, and that you’re happy and surround by loved ones. I absolutely love that you said that. So then what? Other than the obvious with your kids? What keeps them up at night?

Unknown Speaker  15:28  

Oh, that’s that’s a tough one. Lots of things. You know, it probably all centers around the kids though, like thinking about, you know, racism and thinking about the Asian hate that was happening this year at all. All of it. Like it’s, these are things and we’re Jewish to top it off, so you mix it all together? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  15:53  

I love it. I didn’t know Okay, yeah, that’s, I’m from like the Bloomfield Hills area of Detroit. It’s a second biggest Jewish community in the United States outside of New York. Yeah. And, you know, like all my friends. And luckily, I was raised financially educated by Jewish people. And I’m not trying to stereotype or anything, but it was just I was blessed to where I lived and, and I dated Jewish women I was she gets and stuff like that. Um, but it was just the love and the the outpouring and you guys have just the awesome holidays are fantastic. You’re been awesome to share all this with me. Thank you so much. So let’s take a cell phone, computer tablet out of this equation, other than your family. Awesome. But what’s three things that someone can’t live without?

Unknown Speaker  16:49  

You know, what’s really funny is the first thing that came to mind was wine, but then that sounds bad.

Unknown Speaker  16:54  

Chicken wings, and I’m not lying. I’m a snob. You know, so thank you for saying being honest. You’re transparent as I love Yes.

Unknown Speaker  17:00  

Okay, so three things wine, leggings and jeans.

Unknown Speaker  17:06  

Right. Awesome. Vegans like the Pat Benatar kind of our style?

Unknown Speaker  17:13  

My like, yeah, that’s pretty funny, though.

Unknown Speaker  17:15  

I love it. I love it. So what is someones definition of a life well lived?

Unknown Speaker  17:25  

It’s happening for me right now. Right? Like, it’s, it’s having an amazing family. That is, I guess, different than the norm for me that that kind of makes it really even more elevated, and just living each day, trying to do good things, right? Like really realizing that you don’t have to make huge changes. It’s the little things that you do every day, the way you interact with strangers. When you walk into a store, and you have a conversation with the clerk. They’re not just a clerk, they’re a person, right? They have customer service. Same thing, when you call customer service, they’re not customer service. They’re a person behind it. And so when you get upset about something, it’s really tough. So understanding that, that I had a conversation the other day with someone and he was complaining about something and he’s like, Well, that’s not my kid. I said, but that’s somebody’s kid. And that’s what matters. If somebody can we need to remember that every time we have a conversation.

Unknown Speaker  18:26  

You have to and like you said it everybody has that heartbeat. Everybody might have a bad some people might have a bad day and it isn’t a great just to be the person to kind of listen sometimes, you know, when they’re having it. Hey, time to shine today, podcast. First you spot we are back with my good friend fantastic author, Simone Cunego. And again, she’s the author of the extraordinary unordinary you and we’ll get to that in just a little bit. But first, Simone, you and I can talk 1520 minutes about each one of these questions. You got five seconds with no explanations. You’re ready. Okay, can all be done? I promise you Okay. All right. Let’s do it. Let’s level up. Simone. What is the best leveling up advice you’ve ever received?

Unknown Speaker  19:12  

Behind? Yes,

Unknown Speaker  19:13  

sure. One of your personal habits that contributes to your success.

Unknown Speaker  19:17  

daily affirmations.

Unknown Speaker  19:19  

Love it. Other than that, let’s just go this way. What? What website do you like to go to to level up? Outside of, you know, smoke cunego.com. And of course, time to shine today back on my shameless plug. What website do you like to go to?

Unknown Speaker  19:40  

Hmm, I’m blanking.

Unknown Speaker  19:43  

I don’t like to Google. Google.

Unknown Speaker  19:46  

Thank you. That in five seconds. See I failed. There we go.

Unknown Speaker  19:50  

See me walking down the street. And Fergie looks like isn’t he’s in his doldrums a little bit other than your book. What book are you handing me and maybe help me level up

Unknown Speaker  20:01  

So it’s a book that is it. Well, it’s called cutting for stone. And it’s just a great story about a physician in Ethiopia. And so it just kind of gives us perspective.

Unknown Speaker  20:14  

Got it done. You look that up show notes, please. What’s your most commonly used emoji?

Unknown Speaker  20:21  

Smiley face.

Unknown Speaker  20:22  

Love it. What was your New Year’s resolution?

Unknown Speaker  20:26  

To just be me not to make another new year’s resolution that I can’t hold on to love it.

Unknown Speaker  20:32  

chess or checkers? Chess, okay. And don’t lie to me on this one. Okay, but if you can stay one age, physically, physically, for the rest of your life, keep the analogy of garnered and still continue to gain wisdom. When he’s physically would you stay for the rest of your life?

Unknown Speaker  20:51  

45

Unknown Speaker  20:52  

All right, fair enough. Love it. I always say 32 because it was a heck of a lot easier to get a bed for me. favorite charity and organization like to give your time or money to

Unknown Speaker  21:02  

Jewish Federations of North America.

Unknown Speaker  21:04  

Love it. Thank you for saying that. Last question. You can elaborate on this a little bit smell but what is the best decade of music 6070s 80s or 90s?

Unknown Speaker  21:12  

I like the 80s

Unknown Speaker  21:14  

the two big hair don’t do 80s was the most transformative musical decade. I mean, we kind of came out of that disco stuff that we were watching our parents dance to right but then you have like the old school kind of rap, right? You had hairbands glam bands, metal bands, the Irish invasion with YouTube Duran Duran, you had all these invasions that kind of came the United States, Beastie Boys, I mean, all kinds of stuff. And it’s just the best decade of soccer. It’s so changed you you listen to songs today, Simone, I’m sure you can agree with me. There’s hooks from those songs from the 80s. Like they are actually taking the background of an 80 song, right? Like, aha Take on me was the one of the best songs ever written, I think in the best video of its time. But you hear it in like people’s music, you hear it in all these, like 80s is the best. Thank you for saying that. They say that.

Unknown Speaker  22:06  

And what’s funny is that my kids love listening to 80s music as well. I was like, this is really cool. They’re like real humans. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  22:15  

And you know, other than Porsche Jenner 162, where the inspirational channel and XM radio where it’s time to shine today can be found the 80s channel is it? You know, so it’s, it’s beautiful. Um, so let’s talk a little bit about your book. Okay, and what got you to write it? And the stories in it. And unfortunately, squad with me getting a little bit that you know, about the people out there when I was under the weather I was unable to read, I like to read my guest books, at least some of it? Well, let’s get into a little bit what got you to write it in, in what is your favorite part about it?

Unknown Speaker  22:52  

So what got me to read it was that I was doing some public speaking. And when I would speak and share my stories, people would say, Do you have a book? We’d like to read more? And no, I don’t have a book. I’m not a writer. And then I said to myself, why don’t keep Why don’t we keep on saying I’m not a writer, again, limiting myself with a title. And so I decided to write a book and share my stories because I just like I feel with speaking that if I can reach that one person, if I can change that one person’s mind about something in a positive way. Yeah. And it’s absolutely worth sharing. Even you know, it’s not just about sharing our shiny moments and sharing the tough stuff, because that’s where we really connect with people.

Unknown Speaker  23:33  

Yes, they love that superhero comeback moment. And that’s, that’s beautiful. So where can we find the book?

Unknown Speaker  23:41  

You can find it on Amazon basically any online. Okay, place where you can find boxes is it has it so

Unknown Speaker  23:47  

awesome. So squad, I want to do a free giveaway where I’m going to purchase a paperback copy of the book. And I’m gonna actually have it sent to Simone. And hopefully she’ll Hancock can maybe mail it out to your the postage. If not, I can send you some money there. But let’s say the first person that puts in any comment, whether it’s on LinkedIn, whether it’s on Pinterest, or Twitter or Facebook, Instagram puts an unordinary just put the word in there. I know that you have listened to the end of this show. And we will get that free autographed book out to you, courtesy of my friend Simone Cunego and of course time to shine today. And some please do us one last favor. Leave us with one last Knowledge Nugget you want us to take with us internalize it take action.

Unknown Speaker  24:33  

I’m a big believer and that we don’t need to change who we are. We need to change the way we see ourselves. And I think that we all have we’re all unordinary we’re all unique. And we all have extraordinary things within us. We just need to realize it

Unknown Speaker  24:47  

Yes. Yeah, I love that. That’s amazing squad we have just had free masterclass with my good friend, author speaker Simone Cunego, the author of extreme unordinary you follow your own path, discover your own journey. And she says it’s okay to change your mind. You know, it’s the nonlinear path is okay. I mean, she went from a CPA to a rock star, speaker and author and it’s like, you know that that’s from like introvert to a total extrovert and she made that job and look at her now, you know, she wants you to share your stories, because people do want to hear your stories. You know, if you’re stuck where you’re at, we’re going to steal from my good friend Leah Woodford to get your asking here. Okay, it’s okay to make the changes. You want to live from a place of love. And like we say, do what you love in the service of people that love what you love what you do. You know, if you’re in a marriage, she made a funny statement that just really stood out to me, it says like, you just both don’t want to get divorced at the same time. So there’s a lot of that give and take, you know, there’s a lot of good measures. You know, I thought that that was funny. She would tell her younger self and anybody out there that might be younger, even rebirthing yourself, to believe in recognizing your capabilities, be happy and genuinely happy and surround yourself with people that’s going to help you level up. You know, she always is trying to do the good things and taken off a bite at that time or like we like to say here at time to shine today inch by inch, it’s a cinch by the yard. It’s hard. You know, she doesn’t want you to limit yourself. And lastly, you know, we don’t want to change who we are. But how we see ourselves in the stories that you tell. You know, so really dig in deep pick up this book. My good friend Simone levels up her house, she loves up her wealth. She’s earned a varsity squad level or letter here. And thank you so much for coming on smart. I can’t wait to collaborate with you in the future, my friend.

Unknown Speaker  26:42  

Thanks so much for having me here. I really enjoyed it.

Unknown Speaker  26:44  

Awesome. Talk soon love your guts. Thanks. Hey, thanks so much for listening to this episode of time to shine today podcast. proudly brought to you by Sutter in New Jersey real estate real estate excellence who can be reached at 561-249-7266 and online at www dot Sutter in nugent.com. If you’re a business owner or professional who would like to be interviewed on time to shine today, please visit time to shine today.com Flash gust if you’d like this up, so please subscribe on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, I Heart Radio or wherever you get your podcast. There’s a link in the show notes to our website. Also there you will see a recommended resources. We hope that you will support our show by supporting them. If you like what you’ve been listening to, it’d be great if you could just give us a five star rating and tell your friends to subscribe while you’re at it. I’m your host Scott Ferguson. And until next time, let’s level up it’s our time to shine

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