Life Coaching with Margo DeGange

In this engaging interview, Christy Dragotta chats with her dear friend Margo DeGange about identity, purpose, community, and the power of faith-driven life coaching. They explore how to discover your true self, navigate seasons of change, and build meaningful connections that uplift and empower.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:01

Hey friends, I am so glad you've joined me today. I have one of my dearest friends in the pods with me, and her name is Margot DeGange. She is an amazing woman, has got so many abilities and skills. It's just, I know she doesn't want me to say all this, but it has just blown my mind in the years that I've known her, all of the ways that she has made an impact on the people around her. She has one of the most generous hearts I've ever seen. She is wise beyond her years, and she has studied so many things to help other people and lead other people to freedom. So it is my great delight to have Marg with me. Margo, tell me a little about who you are and what is it that you do, because those are two very different things who you are and what you do. Yeah, wow.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

First of all, thank you for having me on the podcast. I'm really happy to be here. Who am I? I am a crazy little girl who loves to connect with others. If you go in real personal, I'm a cook, I'm a designer, I'm a great cook. A beautiful cook. I'm a friend. Um, you know, I'm just somebody who likes to connect with others in real meaningful ways. And I guess deep down, one of my richest gifts, I think, is hospitality. You know, just really connecting with others and making them feel welcome and making them feel special whenever I connect with them, either in a class or at my home, you know. So that's probably one of the cores of who I am. It's hard to say who you are, especially when God told you who you are. Yeah. Uh, a tower of strength. And I don't take any uh credit for that because I've been a complete ball of weakness, and but God has formed his strength in me and over many, many years. And so I encourage people in that that they are really strong in the Lord and He can bring that out in them, and that's kind of part of who I am, too. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

But I love that you've talked and started that way, Margot, because I did not know that that was one of the names that he has called you, and yes, it makes a lot of sense from college.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

That was a prophecy I had over me in college. Wow, that he's making me a tower of strength, and he sure did it over many years, but it took a lot of I went through a lot of things to get there. For sure, and I haven't arrived, trust me.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

But I affirm that in you as a friend of yours, you have been a tower of strength for me. There have been seasons whenever I've just had overwhelm, really. And I would so affirm that yes, you are a tower of strength. What a beautiful thing.

SPEAKER_00 2:30

And so tell me what you do. What I do, I help women and men um connect with their core self, their true self, their uh aligned self, and we call that identity, knowing who we are at our core, and helping individuals to go out and meet the world in that true identity. Because the only way you can really make progress and connect and create meaning for others and with others, create shared meaning, is if you go out in your true identity and connect with others that way in community. Yeah, and so I help people uh dig in and find out who they are at their core, what gifts and uh skills God has put in their heart for this season, and how they can move in those gifts in this season. And trust me, every season's different.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

That's the truth. Yeah, because you never know. Sometimes you're walking through a season of life where things seem to be happy and going correctly, and everything's kind of flowing the way you want it to go, the way you maybe you even just expect it. Yeah, maybe not the way you want, but the way you expect it at least. And then we have those seasons where life comes and kind of hits us in the face. And it's not what we expect.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Not at all, not not at all. And when you're going through one of those really tough seasons, and some of the people around you are being really successful in their seasons, but you're struggling, uh, you just sometimes you could ask, why? What's going on? Or there are people like um, I'm a widow, but my husband, it didn't seem to me like he ever experienced anything like really severe in his life. He just sort of floated through, he had a good attitude, good disposition, all that. I seem to have been the one to go through all kinds of things, but then he did go through something pretty radical and pretty big, which was colon cancer.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

And it it took his life, but it didn't really take his life. I think he just fulfilled the number of his days.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

But uh but when he went through that, he was still the same person. So, like some of us need to go through some more trials to get to the true self. Yeah, some of us don't need to go through as much.

SPEAKER_01 4:37

Yeah, I love that about Joe that I when I hear you talk about him, he always just you the way that you paint him is just this fun, loving, wonderful, deep man, yeah, but still able to just embrace life and take the punches as they come. Yeah, that's such a beautiful, it's a beautiful gift.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

It was a gift to you, yeah, gift to the world around us. So much. And his one of the things he said often is it's a great day to be alive. And so at his memorial, that of course is what I said to everyone. How many people have knew that he said that to them and hands raised? It's a great day to be alive. Yeah, and it is a great day to be alive. We have so much to offer others, even if we feel stuck and unsure, and we lack confidence, or we're confused, or we're going through a major transition, or you know, we're trying to start something new and we're a little scared because it's real new. Yeah. Um, but still, it's a great day to be alive and it's a great day to pull those things out and try to create a plan with them and go forward.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

Yeah. That's so good. And so that's what you find. Um, a lot of people are coming to you when they are in these seasons where they just kind of either they feel like they can't get on to that, they know something else is ahead, but they just can't break through to it, or maybe they're just in the middle of something they can't even see that far ahead. Um, and so, and then others I know come to you that are just like, I know kind of where I'm headed, I kind of know this, but I just need a little bit more clarity around it. Yeah, so what is your favorite? Um it's hard to say favorite, I know, but when you're working with someone, what are those moments that you're just like, this is why I'm doing what I'm doing? Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

It's not exciting to see somebody uh unclear. Yeah, but well, often we are unclear. But it's very exciting to see someone who's unclear and they just don't know which direction to go or which steps to take, or even if they need to take steps, or if maybe they have a motivation problem, to find out they don't really have a motivation problem, they have a skill set problem, or they have a clarity issue.

SPEAKER_02 6:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

And when when they start taking small actions through a systemized plan, and they start taking these small actions, it is so exciting to see how much momentum comes from those little actions. And how many, many little actions, in the the right actions, in the right direction, all of a sudden it just amps up their confidence. And then they're like, they've got it. Yeah, they've got it, you know, they know what they're doing at that point. They have clarity. And and another thing, you know, and it doesn't mean they they know every step for the next step of every part of their life. Um, but little steps, a lot of the right little steps create huge, huge progress that you can see and that you can measure.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

Yes. And then I'm sure that that gives them more confidence to where they can go. You're right there to help guide them in the direction they already feel like they're supposed to be going, but they have that confidence now, maybe that they didn't have before. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Or the clarity. One of the biggest misconceptions about who it is that needs coaching. Yeah, some people think somebody who's super confused or super scattered or in deep crisis, those are the people who need life coaching. But sometimes the people who need life coaching, they have order and systems and um strategies in some areas. They're being very successful in some areas of life, but in other areas, for some reason, they just can't get the momentum. Yeah, we're not trying to fix people here, we're just trying to help people move forward with intention.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

No, that's so good. I love the way that you say that because it paints a different picture. Yeah, and that's really good. Move forward with intention. Right. That's beautiful, yeah. That's so good. Yeah, this is why she's a life coach, y'all. I just think it's incredible the way that you are intentional with people and that you do have these systems. One of the things that is intriguing to me, you've mentioned working with people who have ADHD. And because I know personally I struggle, I love to start things, but it's harder for me to finish. Right. And I think some of it maybe comes from trauma, little T trauma and big T traumas, right? Like some different types of trauma in my life, but where I just can't stay focused necessarily in one place or another without some serious intention. And so I just am curious if you want to speak on that just a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

I can touch on that. Yeah. You know, some people who seek coaching need help with executive function. Okay. So our executive function is is the way our brain manages our activities. Okay. Some people might need help with organizing, organizing information, organizing their home, organizing um their schedules. They might need help with follow-through. They're not able to follow through and they can't seem to figure out why. So things like time management, organization, follow-through, uh procrastination, regulating our emotions. X happens and our reaction is XYZ instead of an even reaction to what just happened. So people sometimes those kind of things get in the way of where they want to go. Yeah. You know, and I like to try to define success. To me, success is not about how much money you make. It could include that if your goals involve that. But really, success is that you're fulfilling the gifts and callings that are in you in a way that resonates with your true person, and in a way where you feel like you're really contributing to the world. And to me, that's success. And sometimes with executive function issues, these things get in the way of people being able to be successful.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

So, you know, again, it's things like it's just skills that we might need help with.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

That's so good.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

I'm not a psychologist, but I'm a life coach who helps people with some of the skills that maybe their counselor has told them, you know, these are some skills that you could learn, get some help in these areas. Well, I'm the person who would help you in those areas.

SPEAKER_02 10:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:57

So uh with and and a lot of times people, these are also executive function issues. People get distracted, they procrastinate. They don't know why they get distracted. You know, they go in the room to do one thing and they do five other things and come back and say, Wait a minute, I went in the office to do that and I did all this other stuff and I never did that thing. Yes. Creating routines and habits sometimes is hard for people.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

Yeah. So that's kind of some stuff that you will do. Some in the office, do you also send people home with a little bit of homework? Or do you is it kind of a back and forth? You start on it in the office to get them going and then they go home and do more, or tell me a little bit about your process. I'm sure it changes because everybody's different.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

It it depends on the person and what they're asking for life coaching for in what area. Because I also do business coaching. And so if someone needs a life coach because they want to start a business or something, then we're gonna go in a very different direction than someone who has executive function issues.

SPEAKER_02 11:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:52

Right now I'm officing out of AAP, which is Associates of Applied Psychology in College Station, Texas. That's where my office is. Okay. And so, and uh later I can tell you, you know, if you want to contact me or something, how to do that. For sure. And we'll put all of that in the show notes to that.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

If people, if they want to reach out, how to get a hold of you.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Yes, and that's for local people. So in the Bryan College Station area or the surrounding areas, I've had people drive in from Houston and different cities around and coached people that way. But in the past, I've done a lot of my coaching, predominantly like 95% of it on the phone.

SPEAKER_02 12:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Or when I've traveled and then I've lined up my clients to where I'm traveling to. Yes. Like at shows and things like that, business shows and stuff.

SPEAKER_01 12:38

Do you offer a model that would be over Zoom? Like let's just say somebody else. I'm in Florida.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

Absolutely. Okay. Zoom is something we do. But like I said, if they're local, we want to go to the office at AAP, Associates of Applied Psychology, and meet there. It's a beautiful office, it's really cozy and fun. I even have a pillow-shaped, like a ball to try to keep it fun, you know. Yeah. And you know, my background, I started coaching in in the interior design industry, of all things, because I was now we're going back way, my kids are in their 30s now, mid-30s. And we're going back when I was my kids were one and two, and yeah. And I was in the design industry for several years, and I made a name for myself in the design industry, and I began teaching at some of the shows in the areas of interior design and marketing and uh time management, time mastery, I called it back then, and a lot of the personal development things that designers needed. They were they were creative, and a lot of my life coaching clients are creatives. Yes, but they're creative and they are good at doing something, but they're not good at managing and organizing that something. Yes. And so I had a lot of my clients who were in the design industry, and then I merged into other industries over the years, and also into publishing, and I and I'm a book publisher as well.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Yes, and an author, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

And we can talk more about the book publishing later, but a lot of my clients who I've coached have become my authors too. I've yeah, I have over a hundred authors that have come through Splendor Publishing. That's beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

I love that, and it's just such a this is what I say, she's just my friend with like a thousand gifts. I just I look at her and I'm always amazed at the next thing that she's already mastered the skill of. And I know she probably didn't make it calzones. She does. She's a great cook. That's true. And I'm in So is her husband. Oh, that's true too. I'm very, very happy about that. But you know, it's your design. I've seen you do the design because she helped me with my daughter's wedding, and she's helped me in a few pinches when I've just been like, Margo, I don't know what I'm doing. Please come help. Because design is not my deal, but it's a gift of yours. And so I just love how the Lord has He has taken you through your life and He's given you different skills and experiences. And I love that you apply yourself to all of these things, and some of it's for this much of a season, and then some of it's for a longer season, and some of it's kind of like maybe the beginning looked one way and the the end that looks another, but it's just beautiful to see how the Lord has really been clear with you about your identity, and that doesn't mean you've had it perfectly. I know there have probably been seasons where you haven't maybe you've struggled in identity, but that probably contributes to how passionate you are about helping others find out who God created them to be. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

And I think really, I think identity, since we're talking about that now, it unfolds. Like, you know, I always I don't like to talk about the unpeeling of the onion because it's so overused, but it's like the unpeeling of the onion. So through different seasons of your life, when you're when you're going to the Lord and asking him, Who did you create me to be? Who am I at my deepest core? He doesn't just give it to you all at once, he'll give you parts of it. Yeah, he'll give you a real big part of it that you need in this season. But in future seasons, he starts revealing other things to you, and you're like, gosh, I didn't know you made me that way. And it's line upon line and precept upon precept. So you find out little things about yourself too as you go, and that's really beautiful that you can discover. You're not just discovering other people, your friends, you're studying your friends. Yes, hopefully, you are. You're studying your friends in your community and you're learning about them because you're a giver and you're giving and you're giving, but you're also studying yourself, yeah. And God is revealing to you who you are. Yeah, you look at some of the people in the Bible that we admire, Moses and David, and many, many people. Um God revealed things to them in their older years, too, not just when they were young, when David was young, he was a shepherd and a psalmist, but when he was older, God revealed more to him that he didn't know about when he was younger.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

And he was a king, and all of that in the practicing of being a shepherd and being a psalmist took him exactly where he was supposed to be in his identity as king. It was just like you said, line upon line, it was building blocks. And I love too that you pointed out about community because the community piece of this, I feel like is a huge thing. It's huge. People need to be surrounded by others because when we get in that tunnel in our heads, right? Where we're just sitting there, we're hearing our own thoughts bounce back and forth, and there's no outside voice speaking into it. We can lose our identity. We it may actually feel like we're gaining identity, but we're we're not, because we're not having outside input to say, you know, that's not actually true about you. Because for me, at least getting the feedback of others. Yeah, the enemy gets really loud and and starts to tell me, you're not you're not meant to do that, you're not good at that. This is not a gift.

SPEAKER_00 17:51

And who do you think you are? Who do you think you are? You you know, or somebody who's new online, you have five followers. So what? Yeah, so what? You're not doing this unto five followers, you're doing this unto God, and you're doing this because that's the gift that's in you. You're just doing it, you're not doing it to keep score. That's right. And you know, there's a guy named Seth Godin, he wrote a lot of good marketing books, and one time he told me about writing, this was a lot of years ago. He said, just write to write. Write every day just to write. Just to write.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

Not to get something to do something, yeah. Do it because you're a writer.

SPEAKER_01 18:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

And that was really stuck to me. But what I was gonna show you was like, you know, the in terms of our life and our career and our skill sets and who we are in our core and what we like to do. Like some of us, you know, we you know, start off in as a baby, and then we go to elementary school and we do well in school, and it and you know, we do well in in in our career, and then like I don't know, let's pick somebody who became a lawyer, and then they became a judge, and they just had this really straight path.

SPEAKER_01 19:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:08

And they seem to do that for 30 years, and they love it, and they never get tired of it. But then there's the people like me. And me. And this is this is it here. I don't know if you can see that, you know, that God brings you here, then he brings you here, and all over. But I call this the garden path. It's really actually not that scribbly, it's probably more like a little neater, but it still seems like it's all over the place. And you do some of this for a while, and you do some of this for a while, and you do some of this for a while, and you were like, Well, God, I wanted to be that person who just had one thing and they did it their whole life, that one so clear thing. Yeah. But you'd be fighting who you are if you did that and that wasn't you. Right. Because if you're that person of many interests, or who gets bored quickly, and God leads you here and leads you there and leads you there, trust me, it's all gonna come together, and each season you're gonna pull from those many gifts for this season, and you're gonna you have your little ball of gifts for that season, and then the next season you'll pull a few more of those different gifts for this season.

SPEAKER_02 20:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

God knows what he's doing. That's right. And like now, you know, I do life coaching, I work with people who have executive function issues, and many times those people do have ADHD, but not always. I work with people who want to start their own business or a little side gig. I work for people who want to create wellness routines. I work with people who have goals, like maybe they want to write a book. Um, and there's another coaching that I do, it's on my website, it's called interior environment coaching. And this is where we set up the home so that the home becomes our springboard for success outside of the home. So we align our home with our inner goals for this season. Okay, and we make sure the home is supporting those goals in the various departments. Yeah, for all of these gifts that I'm doing in this season in life, I've pulled from different things that I've done in my life. Yeah, I've spent a lot of time in design. I spent a lot of time doing seminars and workshops in the business world. Yeah, because you have a master's in adult education, is that correct? I have a master's degree from Texas AM in adult education. My specialty was adult motivation. I have a bachelor's degree from Texas AM in leadership and communication, is what I studied. And then I have a degree in speech communication. So just a little bit of this one. And I am a speaker, I do go out and speak to audiences, but what I'm getting at is for you, you know, you might have so many different gifts or feel scattered with your gifts, but what you need to do is just find out in this season of your life what is it that you're supposed to be doing right now, and there's a way to decipher that. You might need a support of a coach to help you get there, and then once you do know, then you make your Plan for where you want to go with that, and you pull in your gifts and your skill sets and your experience from your life that will help you in this season, and you focus on that. You don't try to do everything at once. Right.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

That's amazing. And so you mentioned that you are a speaker, and I know I've seen that too. And in fact, I've even spoken at one of my events. I've talked about it here in the podcast. I was mentioning whenever you did Women of Splendor. And I know that's an annual event. And then you also have some throughout the year, you have other smaller events and get togethers. And so speak a little bit just to that for the women in our audience. Although your coaching is for both men and women, this particular part of your ministry is really just for women, this women of Splendor. So tell a little about that.

SPEAKER_00 22:51

Well, Women of Splendor, our mission is to help women focus on who they are at their core, who God created them to be, and to uncover and discover the gifts and callings in them.

unknown 23:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

And use them with intention and purpose for this season of their life. That's the mission of Women of Splendor. To help you uncover your gifts and use them. Yes. Find out what you're what you're supposed to be doing and put it to use. Yes. Out in community. And you know, Christy talked about community, how important community is, not just because community reminds you of what you're good at, reminds you that yeah, you're on the right track. But how else are you going to serve and minister to people if you're not out there doing it in community? Right. And there's nothing worse than isolating yourself. And a lot of times when people go through trials, that something terrible happens in their life, they lose a loved one. You know, we're familiar with that. You've been through some really tough, tough places in your life. Um, or you know, you change careers, or you're in a transition, you go through a divorce, or it could even just be you're in a funk. Yeah, you're in a funk and you don't know why. What was clicking before just it's not clicking anymore.

SPEAKER_01 24:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

Exactly. What worked before isn't working now, and it's so easy to just isolate yourself. And that is the last thing we need to do. The last thing, even if you just can just get with one person who can help you out of a funk.

unknown 24:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:17

A life coach or a mentor or um, you know, a trusted friend, somebody with wisdom. Yes, you know, or a counselor, yes, a counselor, a psychologist, a licensed professional counselor. Don't isolate yourself. And it's real easy with social media to say, I'm not isolated, I'm looking at great videos and great, and you can do that, but you're still isolated because it's not real interaction. Yeah, but I got my A bot and he talks to me and he sounds like Kevin Costner. But guess what? You're still isolated. Because that's not the that's not real creation, that's artificial creation. Yeah, you know, it's got a place, it helps us in our businesses in our life, it helps us do things and get things done. But we need to be flesh and blood near each other, touching each other, getting some pheromones exchanged.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

Yes, you know, face to face. It's really true, and eye to eye, and smiling at each other. You know, they do studies in that in neuroscience. I've heard that they've done studies about, you know, you can watch on a screen and you can laugh and you can laugh at something on the screen, but it's very different when you are in person. Yes, there is a different energy to it and just the laughter with a friend. So it's just it really is important to have somebody else in your life. And I think it was actually just a couple of podcasts ago. I talked about this that if you are alone, that you need to go pay a counselor, pay somebody, or be with a friend, find a friend, get involved in something where you can create a friend group. Yes, because we really need feedback from each other, we really just do because sometimes we just can't see for ourselves what somebody else can see, and they're gonna call out the good. And you need people that are gonna call out the good, and it's gonna stir up something in you, yes, and that was one of the things I loved whenever we first met, and you were telling me about women of splendor, and it's I know I don't know if it's a tagline or not, but you always said women mentoring women. It is our tagline, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:10

Because when I mean I know this podcast is gonna go out to all audiences, not just the Christian audience, but it is a Christian organization. Now, my life coaching is it's not limited to just a Christian base, but yeah, but women of splendor is, and it's not, I mean, anybody can come, but it is it there's Christian teaching.

SPEAKER_02 26:28

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 26:28

Um just like this podcast.

SPEAKER_01 26:29

If you come, you're gonna hear things about Jesus and God and faith, and that's just the way that those things help you in your life, regardless.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

But um, Women of Splendor. When I first formed it, I was in my design studio January 8th, 1988, and I just heard the Holy Spirit in my heart because I wasn't thinking about it, I was rolling fabric up. Yeah. And uh I just heard in my spirit, you're gonna start a women's organization and you're gonna call it women of splendor. And I was like, first of all, I would never call a women's organization women of splendor, so that had to be God, and then I felt like you could say led to go get my thesaurs back then. We didn't have the internet like we have now. You could do a website, but there was no Google or search engines or anything like that.

SPEAKER_02 27:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:15

So I went and got my thesaurs and my dictionary, and I started looking up all these things that I felt to look up. The diamond is our logo, it's part of our logo, and I was looking up the qualities of a diamond and how they related to women. But the tagline that I sensed in my spirit was women mentoring women, and this is what I heard. The doctor is gonna mentor the janitor, and the janitor is gonna mentor the doctor. There's no big eyes and little you's. Yeah, and that really is life in the kingdoms. Yes, there's no big eye and there's no little you. And if you have a degree, you have a doctorate or a master's or whatever, that's great, good for you, big deal. But there's some mother who probably has just as much or more wisdom than you that have never gone to school. Right. You raise children, you know, so we can learn from each other. Yeah, we don't want to put our hope in the credentials, right? But we want to connect and love each other with other humans, and that's the thing that I've really loved about you and about your organization is the building up of others.

SPEAKER_01 28:17

There's so many people out there, and I think y'all probably are familiar with the fact that I'm from the real estate world, and realtors can be so crazy about you know getting their feelings hurt if you don't choose them. And everybody probably knows 15 realtors, so you can't. You have so many realtor friends, you can choose everyone, and so what it always struck me as odd like there's enough business for everybody, but so many people don't operate from that space of there is enough for everyone, and if we just help each other and lift each other up, it becomes such a more beautiful world, a connected space, yes, and it's just more beautiful, and it's how we were supposed to be. Yes, is we're supposed to be connected, we're supposed to be lifting one another up and not like ooh, you know, if I give her this opportunity, then I might lose some opportunity. That's not that's not life in the kingdom, that's life in the empire.

SPEAKER_00 29:11

Yeah, that's fear, and that's about not enough and scarcity, and that's not how we're supposed to be because that's right, could because it's ever increasing, it's ever increasing. If I am successful in something that you deem success, that just proves to you that it's possible. That's right. So we should be really happy. If somebody starts a podcast and they're getting, you know, hundreds of thousands of views, and we wanted to start a podcast and we never did. We should be very, very happy for them because it shows it's possible. That's right. Yeah. And so um, we should be people of the possible. People of the possible.

SPEAKER_01 29:46

I love it. But that's one of the things I really love about you, Marg, specifically, is you've been that kind of a friend to me. We have a lot of similar interests, we have a lot of things that you do that you do that I don't do. Maybe some things that I do that you don't do, but for sure we have a lot of overlap as well.

SPEAKER_02 30:01

We do.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

And it's been beautiful to me. You've just really encouraged me that we can both live in the same space and both have a great impact as long as we're being who God made us to be. And I don't have to try to be who you are, you don't have to try to be who I am, right? And it's just beautiful the way that God has gifted each one of us, made us all different, yeah, but put us together and for purpose.

SPEAKER_00 30:25

And that's the Wimpus Blender logo is it's kind of a stick figure lady holding up a diamond. Yes, with the point at the bottom, she's got the diamond like this, and she's holding it up. And the diamond is the other women. Yes. And the facets on the diamond are all the gifts and callings and purposes in that woman. Yeah, and the flat platform on the top of the diamond is where that woman that she's pushing up is going to um be seen. It's her sphere of influence, you know. But she's there pushing that diamond up. She's not jealous, she's not fearful, she's not in competition with that woman. She's like, You got some gifts, girl? We're gonna push them up. We're gonna you've got some, you want to do this? Okay, how can I help? What can I do? Yeah, can I make dinner while you're setting it all up? Yeah, you know, what can I do to help you come along? Yeah, and that really should be our attitude, regardless of your gifts.

SPEAKER_01 31:22

And it's so beautiful. And so I would just encourage you, if you've kind of been a person in the past that has seen other people and has thought to yourself, maybe it's a little jealousy, or maybe it's just a little bit of a you're happy for them, but maybe you're not as happy as you feel like you should be, because inside you're just like, gosh, I wish that was me. And I'm telling you, I have struggled with this before, even in real estate. I remember early on, this is actually kind of funny. I guess I'm just gonna blast this out there to everybody, but it's kind of what I do and get honest, right? Um, early on in real estate, I I never had trouble with people that didn't use me. Like, of course, if it was somebody that I hoped would, it was a little like, oh, that's sad. Why didn't you call me? Yeah. But there was a there was someone that had a very successful, I would have deemed it a very successful life. And you know, her husband was very successful, and they already had this beautiful life that they had created together, and they loved God, and everything was beautiful. And then she got into real estate, and I remember thinking to myself, like here I am, you know, divorced, just trying to make it, like scraping by. I don't have the money to be a realtor, like you fell months without getting paid anything sometimes, and so it's just like especially in the beginning, yeah, and so I felt that inside of me kind of going up, like, why is she gonna be a realtor? Right? And the funny-for the ones who need it, right? Right. And here's the funniest part about this she doesn't even know. But so now, since I've been not doing real estate over the last couple of years, as the Lord called me out of it and told me I'd be spending my time other ways, I do all referral business, and she's the person I have given the 100% most of my business to. And it's because she's so good in that space.

SPEAKER_00 33:13

And so and God knew that he was thinking of you when she entered into the field. Yes, he was thinking of you.

SPEAKER_01 33:18

Because even in the beginning, I could tell you for sure, my heart was not in the right place about it. Yeah, because you know, you just see some people, and it just feels like everything in their life always goes right. You know, they were raised in a good Christian family, and their parents are still married, and they have a husband that's been with them forever, and he's loved them and supported them, and da-da-da-da. And they could go do anything in the world.

SPEAKER_00 33:41

They've never struggled with anxiety or depression or being broke.

SPEAKER_02 33:47

Like it's just not true, but it's how it felt.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

And so I just think it's a it's a gift of the Lord that He showed that to me. Yes. But then also that just like you said, he knew way back then that she was gonna be one of the people that I was the most confident to hand somebody to because I knew she was gonna love them like Jesus, and I knew she knew what she was doing, and she'd be really good at it.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

You know, this makes me think of something too. Um a lot of times we think we need more friends, and so we pray for friends. But you know, when you're trying to make new friends, you gotta put effort. And you might have to be the one putting all the effort for a long, long time. Don't be like, Well, I did this and they didn't reciprocate, and I did this again, they didn't, and I did this again. Hey, guess what? You might have to do it 20 times before they start kicking in. Yeah, before it it matters enough to them, not be because they're busy or does it matter why? Now, at some point, you know, there there has to be a balance, but but in the beginning of new friendships, uh, a lot of times you're putting in all the efforts, and sometimes you meet somebody and you have resistance there, and it's resistance from your own fears or their fears or who knows what, just fears in the air, or it might be some things just circumstances beyond both of you, but it kind of prevents you, hinders you from locking into that friendship, but you have to keep going. Yeah, you have to keep going. I can't tell you how many friendships I've had that started out like we were not gonna like each other, but you just say, you know what, I'm not gonna let that be my story. Yeah, uh God put us together, obviously. So I'm gonna do as much as I can to go toward that. Yes, and sometimes we have to do that too. Something that you mentioned just a little while ago about sometimes people's lives look, they really do look beautiful on the outside, or your life might look perfect on the outside, and everybody would say, gosh, you've got a great life, you've got a great family, you've got great work, you're successful at every area, but you feel like inside you're not really fulfilling your true purpose, or maybe not in this season, or maybe you never felt like you have. That is another good reason to find a mentor or a coach.

SPEAKER_01 36:07

I feel like that's probably the majority of the people in the world. I mean, like, really, I do feel like because we do live in that kind of scarcity and fear-based society, yeah. I wonder how many people are really doing the thing that they want to do, that they feel called to do, and how many people are doing the thing that they feel like they have to do.

SPEAKER_00 36:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:28

And I understand that there's some responsibility and there's some different things, so you can't just be like, I'm blowing all this behind, and I'm gonna become a you know superstar or something. But there's a time, there's a timing. But I feel like there's so many people held back because of fear. Like, what would you recommend? Somebody that's listening right now, they're just listening right now, and they're like, Well, I don't know if I need a life coach or not, or if I don't, what are some of the things that you would think of that you go? These are the questions that you would ask them or that you would have them ask themselves to measure whether they need a coach or not. It could be beneficial. One of the everybody could benefit from just like everybody could benefit from a counselor, yeah. But I understand some people are not, they don't feel like they're in the place where they can afford that, right? But I also know sometimes you can't afford not to.

SPEAKER_00 37:12

You can't afford not to. And with my coaching, I get you in for a really low amount, and then I have payments and I have packages, I make it doable. But I think one of the things is um if you're saying to yourself, I know what I should be doing, keeps coming back to my heart, keeps coming back to my heart, but I'm not doing it. Yeah, there is a reason you're not doing it, you don't know how to do it, or you don't have the organizational skills to do it, or there are some reasons why you're being roadblocked into not doing it, procrastinating, fear, whatever, mindset. Could be a lot of things, but I know what I want to do, and someday I'll do it, but I'm not doing it now. Yeah, so that's a big one. Um another one is you you feel scattered, you just feel overwhelmed or scattered. You know, think about a mother who has a lot of you know responsibilities, or a father, they have a lot of responsibilities, they have several kids, they need systems at home with the children, yeah, but they feel scattered and they feel like they're not doing a good job with all their responsibilities. And it's not that they're not good people, they just need tools, they need skill sets, yeah, and they probably have some of the skill sets already, they just need a structure or the system, exactly. Yeah, so that's another person. Um people who feel scattered or who feel uh unclear, like they might even have a little clarity or they might not have, or somebody who says, you know, I'm in a new season of life, I've gone through a transition. Again, that transition could be your widow like myself. I went through I went through some things when I became a widow that I went, Oh, this is what my clients were talking about years ago. Yeah, you know, I had some clients who would say, I just I feel lost. And up until that point, I had never really felt lost. I mean, I felt unclear sometimes, but then I was able to go, okay, I get this now in a way that I didn't really get it before. But you might be going through a transition, like you might have a loved one who passed, or you might have retired. Maybe you're a gardener and you love to garden in your free time, but you have an injury now, you cannot do that anymore. You have to shift gears, or you know, anything that caused you to have to shift gears, or you went through a divorce, or you had a demotion or a promotion, and you're feeling disconnected, unclear, scattered, any of those things.

SPEAKER_02 39:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:39

Um, you need you need somebody to support you in taking steps forward, intentional steps that align with where you really want to go. Right. And it could even just be a wellness thing. Some of us do really well in the area of wellness, but then we might go through a season where we drop off, and for five years we're not getting enough sleep, and for five years we're not exercising like we should, and for five years we're not eating the way we know we should. Well, is our home supporting us? That's where that interior environment coaching comes in. Yeah, how's your home supporting the things you say you want? Yeah, you need somebody to help you be accountable to that and to support you and help you and not make you feel so condemned all the time. Yeah, you know, it's like we condemn ourselves, we beat ourselves over the head. Guess what? You're not gonna be motivated if you're beaten over the head. You're gonna be motivated if you have very small tasks to do in the right direction, aligned with where you want to go, yeah, and you do those successfully, and then you do more small steps and more, and all of a sudden you've got momentum, and your steps become leaps and bounds. Yeah, you know. But I'd say people who feel scattered, who feel like you know, uh they're successful in one area of their life but not in another. Maybe they're having issues with some of their relationships with family members, and they're they're not sure how to navigate these new relationships or relationships that are old that have gone bad. Yeah, you know, uh there are many reasons to hire a coach.

SPEAKER_01 41:10

Yeah, so good. That's so good. Well, tell me a little bit about your books and what you've written. And tell me like your I mean it's hard to say what your favorite book is that you have. I don't have a favorite. But what would you say? Um, I don't know, is the book that you've gone back to the most of all the ones that you've written?

SPEAKER_00 41:29

That's a hard, that's a really hard one. Yeah. I guess maybe Discover Your Splendor is one that really means a lot to me. I do a lot of collaborative books. Yes. So for example, when you were in real estate, and say you had your team, and you said, I want my team to write a book, and say there were six people on your team, and you wanted each person to write in that book, and you would be the compiler of that book as a as a lead. Those kind of books I love because you get you get to hear from a lot of different people. So those are some of the books. I have two favorite authors who's who have published with me, but they had good content and they had a good message, yeah, and they've been through some things in their life. So what they were saying was not just kind of fluff, fluffing stuff, yeah. They've been through it, they've been they've been through some hard, hard things. One day we'll talk about all that, but I love going back to their books because uh it reminds me to keep showing up. Yeah, it reminds me to keep staying positive. I have one author whose book's called Positive Times Positive Equals Unlimited. You know, phenomenal people. And I love the collaborative books. Like, for example, I brought a few with me. I would love for you to show. Okay, so this is called uh 25 Brilliant Speakers. Okay. So 25 world-class speakers have contributed to this book. And so if you want to be a speaker, this is a good book to get. I have another one called 25 Brilliant Business Mentors. So if you're trying to get into business, if you're a new entrepreneur, that would be a good book. This is the this one is called Discover Your Splendor, and it's really all about identity and purpose and calling, yeah, and using your gifts. It's it's a really cool book. This is a book on marketing, you know. So I've got a lot of marketing books. Let's see. I love this book: The Art and Science of Loving Yourself First. Oh. This is really a business book that totally applies to life. So this would be a book if you're a creative and you have like a little side business, like you're doing craft shows, or you're a designer, or even if you work in an office for like AM or something, this would be a good book. Cause your business should complete you, not deplete you. And it's all about how to keep that balance so that your personal life is not overridden by your work life. You know, this is a really, really good one. This is our latest book. This is the newest book. It's called The Miracle Power of the Twenty Third Psalm, and it's a co author book with Timothy Grant Carter, one of my favorites. Authors and myself, so we wrote it together. Timothy lives in North Carolina and he is a pastor. For all intents and purposes, this is his book. And I said to him, he wanted me to co-author it with him for years. And I said, Yeah, at first I was like, I wasn't sure if that was really the direction the Lord wanted me to go, but I said, Yeah, okay, after a while, I said, Yeah, I'll co-author it with you. The more time went on, the more I got excited about co-authoring it with him. But he labored over the words in this book. I mean, labored. So the way I contributed, I said, Timothy, I'm gonna put myself as a contributor, not as an author. And he said, No, you're my co-author. So, anyway, I contributed on the left side, wherever a new chapter is, I put something called Margot's Musings, and I have 18 musings in the book, and they're just little stories or little prayers, and they go along with the writing very well, and it's like a nice way to break up the writing. But this book is phenomenal, it's really about how deep and rich the 23rd Psalm is and how it can penetrate our being and penetrate our relationship with the Lord, and how really the gospel is in Psalm 23. Yes, we would never have thought that. But I love this book so much. This is such a great book, and if you want to reach out to Timothy Grant Carter online, he would love it. So this is right now, this is my fave. This is my fave right now, and it's a big one, it's like uh almost 300 pages. Yeah, wow, but it's a fave. And there's there's Jesus with this little sheet. So beautiful. The covers beautiful, all of it. It's so nice.

SPEAKER_01 45:35

I love it. And you know, it just feels like to me, I don't know, but there have been a lot lately over the last couple of years, I have heard a lot of worship songs and music around the 23rd Psalm. Wow. I've heard a lot, I don't remember all the singers right now that are have done it, but there have been two, I mean, really, in the last few years that are specifically the Lord is my shepherd. Like, I shall not want it's beautiful, and it's like so I feel like the breath of the Lord is over the 23rd Psalm.

SPEAKER_00 46:07

Like He's speaking that right now. He's my shepherd. I I shall not want, there's nothing I need to be wanting. Yeah, you know, now if he invites me into something, yeah, then I'll invite him right back into that thing. I can have goals and desires, but we're not lacking. We're not lacking, yeah. We are good the way we are, you know, and I shall not want. He he makes me lie down in in the best of pastures, yeah, even in the presence of my enemies. Yes, that that is of my musings, my 18 musings, that's my favorite musing. The one about the Lord's table in the presence of your enemies, yeah, and what that really looks like in real life, right?

SPEAKER_01 46:47

Yeah, beautiful. Well, this has been so much fun. I'm so glad that you came and have been here and have shared what you're doing right now and just your heart. I love your heart. I know I've said that a thousand times, it's true. I love your heart too, Chris. Lifts people up and and people are better for having been with you. I mean, that's really how it is, and so I just know anybody that would come in and get life coaching would get more than just coaching, they would get a friend, they would get a mentor, and they would get somebody that's really gonna care about them after they walk out the door. Okay. I love that about you. And so anyway, so I want you to be able to find Margo if you want to find her in the show notes. I'm gonna have her email address, I'm gonna have all the contact information that she wants put out there. I'm gonna have her give me all of that information, I'm gonna put that in the show notes. But Margo, if someone was gonna reach out to you, would it be email, would it be call the office, or what's the best room?

SPEAKER_00 47:45

Well, you can email me. That is a good way. Uh M, like Margaret or Margot, and my last name, Degange. D-E-G-A-N-G-E. Mdegange at gmail.com. I've had that one for years, and regardless of which websites I have, I keep my Gmail. And then um you can also reach out to me if you're local, if you're in the Bryan College Station or Houston area, you can reach out to me, Margot Apsychology.com.

SPEAKER_01 48:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 48:15

And that's the Associates of Applied Psychology here in town. Okay. And they'll they'll get that email to me. Okay, and you can reach out that way.

SPEAKER_01 48:23

Yeah, so good. So if you want to come and spend some more time with her, she is delightful, and I know that you would really be blessed to do it. And I know she'll be blessed to meet you as well, because the Lord has such good intentions about bringing people together. Yes, and uh and I love it, kind of like when he brought us together. Yes, so funny. As she was talking about, you know, relationships in the beginning with the two of us. We're both very strong personalities, and there was a lot going on, there was just a lot of of stuff going on in the outside world for both of us. Yes, and so at first I know there were some conversations we had that we were just like, it was beautiful, then it was challenging, then it was beautiful, then it was challenging.

SPEAKER_00 49:04

Yes, and now it's just beautiful. It's beautiful, and I love that because I feel like we did have to fight a little bit. You have to fight for what you want, you have to fight for the right. You know, I mean, you have to fight for value, for what's valuable to you. It doesn't come easy. You have to fight for your marriage, you have to fight for your kids. Yeah, and when I say fight, I don't mean it's all up to you. Right. What I mean is stay in the faith, stay in the game, don't give up, don't walk away. You know, it's too easy to take a walk. But you know, stay in the game. When somebody hurts your feelings, just you know, give that up. Just exchange that for peace and just say, you know, that's not even my business how they hurt my feelings. I'm gonna keep going. Speak a blessing.

SPEAKER_01 49:46

We're just gonna speak to go forward. Yes, and it's so good because I feel like we have such a rich relationship. We can be honest with each other, we can say real things to each other without worrying about am I gonna step on her toes or am I gonna we can just be real, but also in love. Yeah, and that's just what's beautiful is we've had to work in love, yeah, sometimes in a hard way, but then now it's just been easy, easy street.

SPEAKER_00 50:13

It is love, it is easy, and you know, and and it I think that's why the scripture tells, not that we were ever in a place like this at all, but you know, the scripture says, like, don't what are you guys suing each other for? Yeah, you know, don't get that mad. Yeah, yeah, you've lost already if you're going for it. Yeah, yeah. So anyway, it it's take the higher road so much better. It is, and your life will be richer for it. So and then you'll get to be on somebody's podcast.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

Well, we just want to thank you for spending time. I want to thank you for spending time with me today and coming and sharing this, and I'll make sure that everybody can get a hold of you, and maybe there'll be another time that we can get back together again, and you can give us some more life updates and different things.

SPEAKER_00 50:56

And and I thank you for inviting me. I I think this is incredible what you're doing. Yeah, reaching people all over the world.

SPEAKER_01 51:04

I'm having a really good time, so it wouldn't be possible without you guys. And I just thank you for listening and joining in. I pray that you were blessed by this. I know I have been just blessed with my time with Marg, and I really hope that as you walk away, just kind of evaluate some things about where you are, what are you going through, could you benefit? And I know, like I said, I just talked about this on another episode, but make sure you have community. Yes, even if you're not in a position where you're ready to get a life coach or you're ready to go into counseling, get community around you. And the only way you can do that is just to start looking. And I know it can be exhausting. I've been in this town for over 30 years, and I've been to probably almost every church that is in existence here, but I kept looking and kept looking to find a community of people that sticks together and is there and thick and thin, and it can be challenging, it can be really difficult because sometimes when you're the new person coming in, everybody already has the routines, and it's not even that they don't want to invite you into their group, it's just that they're already set in the things that they do, and they don't create extra space to make time for you. And that's where I think what you were talking about. Keep trying, keep trying, keep inviting them for dinner, bring some cookies, inviting them for whatever, do this, invite them to go anywhere, do something, pray for them, and yes, and just fight to get in a community because really the way that Satan gets us the most is when he gets us off isolated by ourselves, and we feel like we are on our own and we're all alone, and there's no one fighting with us, and it's a terrible place to be.

SPEAKER_00 52:47

But if you refuse to give up, that's right, you refuse to give in and you just stay in the faith, he can't touch you.

SPEAKER_01 52:54

That's right, that's right. So find some community, and I just know that you're gonna be you're gonna be blessed once you do that. So thank you guys for being with us today. Thank you very much, and I'll see you next week. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.