9 to 5 Faith Podcast: Episode 12

Paige C. Clark 0:36
You’re listening to the Nine-to-five Faith podcast. Hello, everyone. Welcome to the podcast. I’m here with my friend Tanya. Tanya, can you say hello to everyone listening?

Tanya Tenica 0:47
Hello, what’s going on, guys?

Paige C. Clark 0:50
How’s it going?

Tanya Tenica 0:52
It’s fantabulous.

Paige C. Clark 0:54
Good. So can you tell our audience just a little bit about you right off the job? Yeah, yeah, sure.

Tanya Tenica 1:01
Um, my name is Tanya Tenica. I have been in business and ministry for over 20 years. And I am equipped to train and unite a lot of what you would call, we call them fivefold, but you can look at it as leaders in the industry, whether they’re mentors, whether they’re coaches, ministry, leaders, whatever that looks like. So I help them understand, you know, get clear, become productive. And so that way, they can see the results and take action.

Paige C. Clark 1:33
Oh, that’s awesome. And how long have you been doing that?

Tanya Tenica 1:36
It’s been over 20 years?

Paige C. Clark 1:38
And how did you fall into that? Did you like decide to do it? Or, like, was there a journey path that you just like decided to take? I don’t get

Tanya Tenica 1:48
I heard anybody that actually is in a level of influence or leadership say, I jumped right in because of all that comes with it. Essentially, my high school sweetheart, we got married, and we had our first son. And then I got pregnant with my daughter. And the day that I got pregnant, I was able to he came home from work, and I was actually able to tell him, we’re pregnant. And at that point, I never saw him again; he got killed in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident. And at that point, it’s like I became psychologically unemployable. And I saw how my the job cheated me and how all that journey and the unrealistic ability to heal in a lot of areas before I went back to work, and so I started doing photography, because I was like, you know, I wanted more memories, and I didn’t get enough pictures. And photography was something I was; I’m such a creative, and I’m really good at, so it just snowballed. And then, lo and behold, how God works. A lady came to me from a networking company or networking place; it was like BNI. And she’s like, I would really love to sit with you. And I’m like, okay, and I’m an activator. So I don’t just like to speak on certain things; I should actually show you how to get it done. Right. And so she’s like, I’d really, really love to speak with you. And I said, Okay, so we had lunch, and lunch became another lunch with three more women, and then 15 men and women, and then it grew and grew. And I was like, yeah, there might be something here. And I started meeting with them monthly, training them, and then having them come up and start coaching them through some areas biblically because I got to see the word of God. Like, I always see it through business and biblical and building. And then, lo and behold, it just never stopped. Wow, that’s awesome.

Paige C. Clark 3:57
Group. Now, I actually, like, if you’re comfortable talking about it, you said something, and I’m like, Ooh, I want to like to dig into that more of, like, you said, I was psychologically unemployable, which I totally understand what you mean by that. But, like thinking of people who are going through that as the employee’s side and the employer’s side, okay, what is something that would have made that more manageable or net-like, easier to navigate from your perspective of someone who might be going through either a tragic death like you did, or even something that they feel psychologically unemployable?

Tanya Tenica 4:45
What do you mean like, how, how they can identify that or Yeah, and if I bet, How could they jump out? Or yeah,

Paige C. Clark 4:55
if they want to, if they wanted to work through it and stay in the workforce, or either if you want to talk about it from an employer perspective of, like, what could employers do to help kind of ease that burden and to help their employees better navigate like a tragedy like that.

Tanya Tenica 5:16
So what I’ve realized, God has blessed me to be able to see through Ephesians four that there are different functions there are different profiles. One of the things we see the apostle, prophet, evangelist, teacher, pastor, but what we don’t also see in there that we also have, in general, we have what the deacons and we have the elders, well, what does that look like, in the workforce? Well, you have those, I would say; the elders would be the intrapreneurs. So if you want to stay in the workforce, you want to stay where you want, agree with the vision, and that you can be able to come and collaborate and that that employer honors your beautiful creative brain and all of the attributes and the way that you want to distribute that right. And so that would be like, you have an employee. And they love that I’d say, oh, my gosh, do you like marketing? Do you like communication? Do you like this? I want to make you the director of this because I know that you’re your brain; you don’t want to. Actually, you’re still entrepreneurial. But you don’t want to actually be the entrepreneur; you want to be able to come along, still have all the benefits, but not take on some of those things; you can be a multimillionaire as an employee just the same. It depends on where your employer caps you out. So what I would probably say is, look at a company, a, somebody who is in business, that is in an area that you absolutely love, you want to start to follow them, you want to start to do that and make sure that they’re making, I’m gonna say anywhere between 250 to 500k, you really want them in a different space, and start going there and saying, Hey, this is what I’m looking at. Because you have to yield to your creative brain, you have to yield to the fact that you want structure because there is safety in that; you want that you like that. But you don’t want to have the structure of prison; you want to know that you could and piece together this and, you know, reestablish and say, Okay, I’m going to take down this wall. And I’m not going to take away the prime part of peace. But I want to add that I want to make the living room more spacious. You want to be able to have that. So that’s honestly that that’s what I would say you want to collaborate and be wherever you are. That’s going to help you do that. So let’s just say you’re even working for Geico. Well, if you are just taking calls, that’s not really where you’re going to be; we’ll see if you can get into the marketing department, see if you can, you know, explore and do something that would be more creative. So it’s really just yielding to how you operate. If you’re evangelistic, you’re going to want to be on the communications. So then climb up the communications ladder. Yeah. Makes sense. And again, the innovative ideas, but just make sure that they’re not going to cap you out, which is why I essentially say, you can rub elbows a little bit more with someone other than GEICO because you can only go right. You can’t like to say hey, what’s up, GEICO owner all-rounder.

Paige C. Clark 8:33
work. Right. Hopefully

Tanya Tenica 8:34
that answered that question. It’s, yeah, being where you are. And that you’re entrepreneurial. But it doesn’t mean you have to own a business.

Paige C. Clark 8:42
Yeah, who. I like that. I like that a lot. Because honestly, that is a little bit of, like, where I fall because I have many side hustles, but I also work very full-time. And you know, work for a different company. But I have those elements that I can not get fulfilled in my job. But I have found other creative outlets to be able to kind of foster my strengths. So nail on the head right on. So talk about kind of what your day-to-day looks like and how you incorporate, like, your time with God, your time with a community, your time with the church, in the midst of a crazy work schedule.

Tanya Tenica 9:35
So for me, then I don’t separate them. That’s number one. Yeah, a lot of times, what we do is separate God’s relationship and everything from what we do. So I’m not religious about it. So, for instance, if I wake up at four in the morning, and I’m feeling I need to go work out. I’ll go work out, right? I’m not going to freak out because I didn’t read three scriptures and chant five things. And it’s just not what I’m going to do. Right. But I’m always acknowledging God. So what I got to do in my life was always acknowledge His presence and be in gratitude for his presence. So while I’m working out, believe it or not, I’m talking. I’m like, Father, God, I thank you, I am mighty, I am strong. Oh, my gosh, you know what I just want to get, but I’m going to put this first. I know, I can do this. God, I know I can put my health first. You have so much for me. You know, and I’m literally this is how I’m talking to God in my workout. Right? So it’s like, we think that we have to be, like, right here with a pen and paper. So in this little person, right, oh, it’s not that. There are times that I’m like, I incorporate going for a walk. I just keep my phone off. And I literally just talk to God on the way; I’ll be in silence. And I’ll just be like, Lord, just just speak to me. Just pour out your love. And I just want to acknowledge who you are right now. And I’m grateful for everything. So what I’ve done is I’ve incorporated him in everything I do. I don’t care if I’m washing the dishes, I’m talking to the Lord, or praying in the Spirit. I, I’m doing a marketing campaign. God would put this here. I don’t know. Does this even sound? Right? Okay, let me read it again. Like, what’s your thought process on that? And literally, Holy Spirit will just like, change this. I’m like, Oh, my God. Great idea. What do you think about that? I’m literally talking to God like this right away.

Paige C. Clark 11:45
Right away.

Tanya Tenica 11:47
I don’t just pick up my Bible and flip and then just say, What am I going to read? I’m like, Father, God, what do you have to speak to me too? Or what’s going on? Or where are we at? What do I need to heal from what is this looking like, and then I go find what that looks like. Community, I’ll be an honest community, and I incorporate rest, a lot of rest. I’m a creative person. So I changed my environment a lot. I know that I need to get out of my environment of sitting at a desk in order for me to be creative. And in order for me to be present, I need to have rest and family time, alone time, and self-care; I need to feel good and look sexy like I need that in order to really be present for anyone. Yeah. And even present for myself. And so when it comes down to that’s like the rest, so I don’t get caught up with a lot of the volunteering at church and community stuff because it is always there. So I’m not going to convict myself. I’m a wealth builder. And I know my place. And so I am actually more effective in certain areas than to be volunteering. I have gotten into that place where I worked almost 80 to 6080 hours in a week. Okay, volunteering, doing all that while my family went to crap, my marriage was going to crap, and my business was pretty much nonexistent. My lights were shut off, my food and my kids were not being paid, and nothing happened from it. It’s not like I was supported or helped. Yeah. So I would say be careful because I don’t want you prostituted either. Yeah. So if there’s something that you know you’re gifted in, and your heart is like, oh, my gosh, and you want to do that every other week or something? Go for it. Yeah. If you know that you’re supposed to be in the church. That’s a different thing. I get it, but Right.

Paige C. Clark 13:51
Yeah. And I think that I think you hit on something to have, like, you know, going, going to where your strengths are. If you do feel like you’re, you’re kind of limited for bandwidth because one thing that I do is like I volunteer in my church is like a production crew, but I monitor their social media live streams. But I do social media for work. So for me, it’s like not a huge like leap to take that next step. And just like, hey, like, Yeah, sure. I’ll sit, you know, on I’ll watch some streams for a few hours, a couple of weekends a month, and that will be the

Tanya Tenica 14:30
feel how to do you this is the key? Do you feel like you’ve fulfilled something for God, and you’re excited to do it? Because you’re like, it’s like an extension. You really already love what you do. Yeah. And then it’s just like, God, I’m doing it for the kingdom, and you feel refreshed. It’s not like, right, you just want to like, yeah, you’re not because yeah, you’re pulled every which way and guilted into that, not trying to speak badly. Right. But I think that if we are right, If we could stay in this place that’s going to stay, God is always going to rejuvenate. And Phil, and yeah, he’s going to stretch us, and things will be uncomfortable. And we’ll go into those places that are a little bit uncomfy. But you’ll have the grace for it. That’s how you know; even if you don’t want to do it, you’ll be graced for it. Yeah.

Paige C. Clark 15:17
Yeah, for sure. And I think, I think one other thing that that you hit on, and I’m curious because I think he’s looking into like the Bible, you see this kind of theme reflected. And I’m, like, curious if it’s going to come out in my conversations because so far with the women, I haven’t talked to any men yet on this podcast, but with the women, they just say, Yeah, I incorporate God into my life every day. And I don’t have to, you know, set aside a specific time and as, as I work through which, like, is a theme in the Bible, where you see the women just kind of going about their day and encountering Jesus, where the men, they always have to retreat. And so I’m really curious when you’re like, oh, yeah, I just go to the gym, and I and I just pray to God, I’m like, Yes, like, absolutely. But I’m curious to see, like, in future conversations with the men if, like, they’re like, No, I have to lock myself away to, like, be able to spend that time with God.

Tanya Tenica 16:16
Well, you see that this is, I think, this is also the beauty of how God made men and women. Yeah. And women because we are responsible in that home. And we have a little bit we have, you know, you’re really, let’s just leave a look at the Proverbs 31 woman because she’s an entrepreneur, right? And so she, you know, she, you can tell she cooks, she cleans, she made her husband’s name great. And she, you know, sold her kid’s clothes and all that. And it was seasonal. So ladies, don’t go straight to do all that at one time. But, you know, then you look at it. And the men, yes, they always went away because they’re very focused, they have to be very focused, they have to pull distractions. Women can have a lot of different distractions naturally around. And I wouldn’t say it’s multitasking, but we can have little things around us. And we can zone things out. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I think it just really just attributed to how God speaks differently to men and women and how we are created. Yeah. Which is, which is actually, you know, it’s it is it’s great. Because it doesn’t mean that I don’t need to retreat either to go away. Yeah. It just means that you know, I’ve learned to adapt.

Paige C. Clark 17:29
Yeah, yeah. And I find myself if I want a lot of depth and insight and wisdom, I do have to retreat because I’m a little bit like shiny object syndrome. But my every day, everyday encounter and relationship with God does look like incorporating him into them. Like I work out to like worship music, like straight-up worship music, my sister works out to Christmas music like that’s for, and I wish out workouts. Right. And I work out to worship music. And so I think I think it’s kind of interesting to see, like, just the different facets that that it does show up for men and women.

Tanya Tenica 18:14
Just do what works for you. And, like, I’ll be really honest, I’m not; I like to expose you to new things, but I don’t want; I would rather you find your own thing. Yeah. You know, what works for you.

Paige C. Clark 18:29
Yeah, well, and if something doesn’t work for someone, they’re not going to keep up with it. Right? Like, that’s where we’re talking about working out. That’s diet mentality. One-on-one, if you don’t like something and it’s not working for you, you’re less likely to keep up with it than something that you do like and something that fits into your lifestyle and your workflow and all that good stuff.

Tanya Tenica 18:52
Unless, and I’ve seen this happen, where you’re this like people pleaser, Oh, you are trying to fit into this cookie cutter, or you know that this is the road to success. And so you just want to make sure that you follow that thing. And so it’s like, you know that this is what needs to be done. That’s why I tell her I’m like, Okay, if I give you like these different steps, still do them, but modify them to see what works for you. Right? If your time is in the evening, okay, fine. I’m not gonna like shooting you because of it. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, it’s like, you know, like, I know, some, like, want to be a part of that 5am club and, and, and be able to grow in that area. And I’m like, Okay, that’s great. But that doesn’t mean waking up. 5am your first day. That means set your alarm clock to 10 minutes, a little earlier, right? Every three, four days, and then eventually in the next three months, you’re gonna get there. It’s like,

Paige C. Clark 19:45
right, it’s a given. Yeah, it’s like do what works for you, like yeah, I also think too, and this is like completely a little bit of a side topic. But I think that when you’re saying like, Oh, when when I work out and when I who, when I, you know, just go on walks with God. I just keep thinking like, you know, that we were driven in a very like image-based society, and like how people perceive us and how we’re perceived, I think of like social media just because that’s what I do all day of like, what if people were just like, I’m like, bent over, like heaving at the gym dripping in sweat. And I’m like, worshipping God, like, hashtag bless, like, what was the experience versus like, I’m injured and like, the lights are dim, and my hands are raised. Like, what if it looks like me dying on the gym floor and set up like in a church?

Tanya Tenica 20:43
I look. I like it. I like the

Paige C. Clark 20:46
idea. I like the idea. It should definitely be a thing. Yeah, I

Tanya Tenica 20:50
mean, honestly, I’ve had those moments. I’ve had those moments. Yeah, cuz I haven’t seen this lake right behind where this pond is right behind. And I’ve had those moments where I just sat there. And I was about to go for a speaking engagement. And so I always take about 24 hours to 48 hours before the engagement and then after the engagement to completely, like, draw away. And I literally was, like, snot dripping. You know, those ones that come up? I mean, the whole gamut. Okay, I was not cute. And, um, and I’m outside on the park bench, you know, outside, but I couldn’t control what that looked like. And the Lord hit me. It’s not like, Hey, can you come back later? Because I don’t want to, you know, not look cute. While I’m outside. Like, it’s right. You know, I think when it really looked, when it really came down to it, and God showed me the walk is going to just be between him and me, people are going to come and go, there’s going to be people you think you’re going to be in your life forever. And they were in their first season. I stopped caring about what that looked like. And just, if anything was left behind, it would be just the pure genuineness of who I am. Yeah.

Paige C. Clark 22:12
I love that. I love that. So you work with ministry leaders, but is there anything that you see is what, like, I mean, I’m curious of like your clients, but also yourself of like, what what are some of the biggest struggles that you see when it comes to practicing faith and like everyday life?

Tanya Tenica 22:35
Um, um, so I work with. Yes, I work with ministry leaders and entrepreneurs the same. I’m going to say incorporating God. And I know this sounds crazy, because I’m just like, Dude, you’re a minister like Hello. We’ve been taught. I think a lot of times in church, we’ve been spoken at. And we haven’t actually been shown how to activate and apply these principles into our lives and what this actually looks like. And so you’ll see, and I say, ministry leaders and entrepreneurs as the same because you still have bills to pay, okay, you still have to market, you still have to, you know, you’re still hiring people, you’re still this is what we’re looking at. And they don’t know how to incorporate them. They’re taking principles that they learned. But it’s like, That’s not biblical. That’s a Babylonian system. I love, like, why are you doing that? Why are you marketing this way? Why are you? Why do your sales look like this? Why does this look like that? You know, and they’ve really just copied. They’re like, who they are. But they’ve copied false systems that are not going to work. They’re not either biblical; they’re manipulative. So that’s been big, they don’t operate. It’s like, there’s no partnership with God. The witch then now breeds into every believer who feels like they’re going to run a business feels like they need to have to speak to believers. And I’m like, yeah, no, that’s not the case. You can still have; I just started teaching believers four years ago, okay, four years ago. All the other years out of the 20 I was teaching nonbelievers, now you would see believers be like, um, what you’re saying sounds like this scripture. I’m like, and lo and behold, it is, you know, yeah. And so they would see that the, like, I would describe marketing like, Okay, here’s your out your ad or your inner and, you know, like that holy place. And they had no idea that I was equipped, you know, right, right. There are foundational things. So a lot of them are distracted by thinking that when they build a business, they have to build it, and they’re not going to glorify God if they’re covert. Mm. They feel like they have to be over. And I’m like, No, sometimes God wants you to penetrate some spheres of influence now. So I really have to say the biggest issue that I see is being able to incorporate God into your business and the biblical principles. When I say incorporate God, I mean partnering with him, asking him if this is the direction, and not getting caught up? And when you get a coach, a lot of times, we’re like, yeah, I just got this coach. I’m like, Yeah, but they’re mastering Facebook, and you’re called to Instagram; what is this going to do for you? Right? Right, or like, you get an evangelistic coach, and then it’s just like, and you’re really like, apostolic builder, and it’s like, it’s not helping you at all because they don’t understand you. Yeah. Um, so yeah, that’s what I would have to say. Like, yeah, there’s not a lot of understanding in that.

Paige C. Clark 25:52
Yeah. And I think too, like, I look at some of like, the businesses who we now know, are, you know, Jesus-loving businesses, such as, like, Hobby Lobby and Chick fil A, right like to have like, the big ones and, and they don’t sell Christianity. Right. Like, like, their ministry is not to be over in that way. But it’s things like having a really good workforce at Chick-fil-A, they’re, they’re known for their kindness. They’re closed on Sunday to respect, you know, employees, either, you know, either way, you want to look at it, they respect employees’ time off, or they’re respecting the Sabbath. But, but it doesn’t have to be, you know, we’re not selling Jesus isn’t carved into the chicken sandwiches like,

Tanya Tenica 26:48
yeah, like, I think that when people say, hey, you know what, I have a Christian business. I’m like, what, what is that? Like, what is a Christian business? You have a Christian owner who reflects Christianity, or the right will ever be within, but there is not a Christian business? That doesn’t make sense. Yeah, a business cannot be Christian, and Christian is a physical being like it’s a, you know, so when we’re looking at that aspect, and I think that’s, that’s really this disconnect here. Yeah. And then, you know, you have those that are so used to the ministry aspect, where everything has to be free, right? Everything has to be this, and then all of a sudden, now, I’m prostituting God because I’m charging for consultation or this or that. I’m not charging you for prayer. I’m not charging you for prophetic words. I’m not charging you for that. I’m charging you for your wisdom and understanding. It just so happens that in my consultations, I’m gonna give you some prophetic words. Okay, just so happens. Gonna happen, and I’m going to,

Paige C. Clark 27:48
yeah, also, this is, this is another, like, out there Christian company that, like, people don’t really realize in and out if you’re a West coaster. They’re so right. Perfect. You wouldn’t think of it, but you flip the little flip fry container on the bottom, and there are Bible verses; you look underneath the cup, and there are Bible verses.

Tanya Tenica 28:12
get out; I never heard you.

Paige C. Clark 28:16
Yeah, they are on the bags,

Tanya Tenica 28:18
so that it’s holy, we’re not going to gain weight, we can go to

Paige C. Clark 28:22
doesn’t count those. Those are, are only calories.

Tanya Tenica 28:26
There’s a holy gallery folk are a holy cow, oh, my gosh, I did not know that I have that.

Paige C. Clark 28:31
So it’s, it’s those little touches that can show up. And, you know, demonstrate faith where you don’t have to be, you know, selling prayer, for

Tanya Tenica 28:42
example. Now I’m gonna go like, into, in and out, and I’m going to be looking for all.

Paige C. Clark 28:47
these. So if anyone’s listening to this, and they’re on, like, the West Coast and have access to in and out, this is your justification for going get in and out and go prove mine, my asportation True. I love it. So I want to circle back on one thing that you said of like, you know, sales and marketing practices, specifically, because I feel like that those are mostly the most public or like forward-facing practices that can be manipulative, and that can be kind of unethical and unbiblical. If we have listeners listening to this, and they’re like, well, two parts of that question one, how do I know that I’m involved in, you know, practices that might be, you know, less than savory? And also, like, what can I do about it? Like, I just work for a company, and this is how they told me taught me to sell. What can I do about that?

Tanya Tenica 29:47
Yeah, so you’re gonna want to test every Spirit, right? And we look at it from that perspective. So let’s just say I’m giving you this. I’m selling you This product. And in the end, how do you feel? You know that you feel some kind of way when you’re not only giving and selling the product, but then you’re making your people feel a certain way too. So when you’re looking at it, like fear-based marketing, right, that manipulation, the gate is closing this, and then you look back three days later, and the price never went up. They lied. Okay, and then you know that the door did not close. And then all of a sudden, you know, afterward, it’s like, you know, a week into the program. Oh, they reopened the gate for their last people. I’m like, Dude, that is so manipulative, right? Yeah. But manipulation. That’s a form of witchcraft. And so this is a worldly system. But if God is one, it’s by the goodness of God that people get caught on to repentance, that God is the foundation of your business. If he is, you’re operating in love. Foundation. Yeah. So my marketing is going to be different. It’s not going to be all this fear base that’s going to make you actually activate a spirit of fear or pass on a spirit of fear, any of that, right? It’s actually going to make you feel hopeful. It’s going to make you feel amazing. It’s going to make you feel connected, it’s going to make you feel like, oh, my gosh, familiar, like, Okay, this is good. Right? So we’re talking about all of the positive things. Right? So it’s not like, oh, my gosh, are you constantly stuck in this and constantly can’t get out of this? That’s all fear-based. That’s all drawn off of the Woe is Me. victim mentality. Think about it, guys. Yeah. Right. I mean, it’s all victim; you’re teaching and confirming and affirming a victim mentality. Right. But if you’re like, you know, get excited to spend time with your family, go on the trips that you want to be able to go on, learn how to be more productive, and get your message to the four corners of the earth. Now that’s exciting to me. Because now you’re I can see that you’re going to come with me and collaborate and push things forward. Right?

Paige C. Clark 32:13
Yeah. Yeah. And I think I think one thing that is kind of, maybe not hit on as much in the corporate world is like providing a good or service to actually better your customer or your client, and not just create, like, a line item or like, like, check, I hit my sales numbers for the week, but like, actually wanting to like to provide them some relief. And I think that starts with producing a product or a service that is actually helping people.

Tanya Tenica 32:54
I can agree with that. And I think it also has individuals that so you have to be convicted, buy that product, like oh my gosh, it’s a great product. And you know, hopefully, use it because that’s kind of weird if you’re selling something you’re not using. But I think the other thing is to make sure you have the right people there. So if you look at the evangelistic model, whether they’re commissioned as an evangelist, or they have that edge, I call it, they want, they’re good at sales, they’re good at connecting, they’re good at drawing people in, they’re good at the building have enough relationship to be trusted enough to then resource them. Yeah. But a lot of times, you’ll find those that operate in different functions, right? They might be more creative, a builder, which is a reference to an apostle or a prophet, more detail-oriented, like a teacher, so you’ll have these different things, right. And we’ve like forced them to learn sales. So they’re, like, grueling, and instead of helping them understand sales, in there, the way that will help them right, I adapted into their natural speech, I realized when I would sell it would be in my live streams, I could close like 10k 15k in a live stream. And I knew that when it was if it was a live event or lived in general like that, it was my anointing that everything happened. So for me to do these ones on one call with everybody to try to do closing would be grueling. Yeah, it wasn’t at my highest point of activation. But I think it also matters. Knowing how you operate, how God created you to function, and being okay with that. It’s absolutely beautiful, and you have a place.

Paige C. Clark 34:53
Yeah, man. I think that that last part that you said of, like, operating like within yourself and like within your capabilities, I feel like we try to force ourselves to be like one trick or an all trick pony, where it’s like we can do what is the masked? Master of None. What’s the first part of that?

Tanya Tenica 35:16
The All Trades master of none.

Paige C. Clark 35:18
There you go, jack of all trades, Master of None in our culture, because just because of everything that is going on, and really like we can, I love to reference this quote because I feel like it not only like spiritually, but like, culturally, it’s like really appropriate and fitting, but it’s just, you can’t be anything you want to be. You can only be more of what you already are.

Tanya Tenica 35:43
I do, like, okay, so I love this quote. And I love what you just said. Yeah, I like that. Can I share my part? Yes,

Paige C. Clark 35:52
absolutely. Push back on it.

Tanya Tenica 35:54
Yes, this quote jacked me up for years. Because when you speak to a creative, remember, you would say that to a Proverbs 31 woman, and you read that scripture, and you’d be like that she’s a jack of all trades, she needs to just master one thing. Here’s the key. We try to master everything all at the same time. Yeah. So I remember my mentor, this is actually how I got in, my mentor said to me, you’re a jack of all trades and a master of none. Do you know that that shook me? And I actually closed off the areas of that God; I would start, I would finish, I wouldn’t finish, I would self-sabotage. It wrecked me. Until one day, I went to go teach that. And I had no conviction on it. It was just; it was so detrimental to my growth. And he said, Can you go read that again? And um, I literally, like, heard it. I was like, I’m gonna go, Okay, let me go look at the script, this phrase again, yeah, the actual phrase was a jack of all trades. And a Master of None is oftentimes better than a Master of One. And what that showed me was that there are some individuals that are going to master different things in their life. And because I mastered different things in different parts of my journey, I am able to be the most versatile midwife to entrepreneurs and ministry leaders because I have been around the block in many areas, and I’m able to see, and it actually makes me a better builder. Yeah. But I love what you’re saying. Because there’s, there’s that part too, yeah. Where, you know, just stay within your zone of that zone of genius. But you can explore other areas to see if you can bring an additional skill set or elevate that or bring a different mastery. But don’t dive so deep into something that the minute that you feel that it’s stressful and it’s not what it is that we can just continue on.

Paige C. Clark 38:08
Yeah. And I’ll give you an example of, like, very recently, where I saw that in my life, like, I love to cook. I am, I am proud to be a millennial who can cook really well. Because we have a really bad rap for just going to get takeout all the time. I love to cook, and I love to be in the kitchen. And I’m, you know, on my own health journey. And it just got to the point where cooking my healthy meals every week was so draining. So like, like, emotionally like, I was just like, no, like, I’d rather not eat than go in the kitchen and cook.

Tanya Tenica 38:48
And really, so you went from loving cooking to then. Yeah. And it

Paige C. Clark 38:53
like took away this huge piece of joy. And I was really wrestling with it one day, and I was talking with my husband. He’s like, Well, like, can’t you like, pay someone to do that? And I was like, Yeah, but like, I can do it. Like I can cook. Like why would I go pay someone to like to make me some grilled chicken when I can do it. And he’s like because it’s stressing you out. And it’s like taking away this joy you had in your life. And that was like a really big point of, like, just because I can do something doesn’t mean that I am meant to do it. And that man there’s so like,

Tanya Tenica 39:29
they’re like, well, but you know what, in your brain, it’s so interesting because, like, it’s like, what happened? Yeah, what happened? It could be like, you know, this, this one lady I had five years ago and a similar situation. And she was just like, she said the first thing she did with the money that she had, which changed my life. Instead of putting it into marketing advertising, whatever. You put it into a chef that would make her five meals a week. And it was they did all the vegan that like they did for Whole Health thing and allows you to do is pop it in the oven, they throw that for her. And in that time, that hour and a half, two hours, five hours of grocery shopping prep and roll that out of the week. She spent with her sons. Yeah. And it was common sense for her. And it was like, Well, that was not common sense. Do you want to know why? Because a wife cooks and she cleans, and she doesn’t ask, and she does that. Right? Are you gonna eat? Okay, whether I go get it delivered or whether or not I will have big family dinners for Sunday, you can eat all of my cooking. But yeah. And love how your husband said that? Yeah, he

Paige C. Clark 40:42
was just like, like, what? Like, he’s so pragmatic. He’s, like, the pragmatic soul to my heart. But it was just like, why wouldn’t you like it if this is stressing you out? Like, this is something, and I was like, but I can’t do it. And like by me, you know, in my head by me like accepting like someone else cooking for me. That was me admitting that, like, that was my weakness and that, like, I couldn’t do it. But I was like, No, it’s not that it’s that. This is something that is outside of my zone of, like, where my focus is right now. And guess what? Now I’m cooking more than ever new foods that I’ve never tried and that are delicious. So now I have lunches taken care of for the week because I work from home. My lunches are taken care of, and I have the energy at the end of the day to like go make some like pork steamed Bao buns. And guess what? They’re delicious.

Tanya Tenica 41:39
That’s great. So that’s what I’m saying. Like, you were like, Okay, it’s not fun for me; can I do it? But I want it to be fun again. So what can I do? Well, when you went and had some hired somebody to do the dinners, or whatever, you know, actually released you back to having fun.

Paige C. Clark 41:57
Yeah. And I feel like with entrepreneurs and people who are working, they like the kind of get, they kind of get stuck in this mentality of like, but I can do it. Like, that’s not where my zone of genius is; that’s something I said was used a lot in my old job. Like, where’s your zone of genius? Like, where? Where is it? There’s a book called The. I haven’t read it yet. But the premise is like your blue flame of like, where’s the hottest part of like on a matchstick, the blue flame, the part in the very middle, where it’s the hottest, where’s your blue flame? And that’s what I always think of, like, okay, this isn’t in my blue flame; I need to go do something else.

Tanya Tenica 42:40
And be totally okay with it. Yeah. But that’s where we have to relinquish all of the status quo. And other things, what works for you, and your family is not going to work for others, but your husband is still the head of your home. You know, it’s kind of like, let’s, you know, grow with this. Yes.

Paige C. Clark 42:58
And, and also, like, one thing that was like, a really big mantra for me in the past few years is like, two things can be true at once. Like, I can be a really good cook, and I can also outsource my meals, like, those things are true. And you know,

Tanya Tenica 43:15
that stewardship. Yeah, that’s showing that you are mature enough to have to just like your stewardship. Like, I remember when I would get individually come and clean my home. And, you know, I have, like, high fans and all that stuff. And it’s just like, well, you know, I’m a woman; I’m supposed to be doing that. That’s my duty. That’s, like, you know, and I was like, no, no, no, no, no, that’s, it’s taking it started taking away from my femininity, because I started like, I was stressed all the time. And it’s just like, No, I could be there. While somebody’s playing. I could go practice basketball with my son, I could do, you know, I could be more present. That’s actually just stewardship. Yeah. I feel guilty because we’re stewarding our family and what works.

Paige C. Clark 44:01
Yeah. And also, like, I think that when we acknowledged those things, like we’re not getting them for free, right, like, we’re also paying and providing business service for all the other businesses that are out there that we’re utilizing.

Tanya Tenica 44:21
Yeah, it’s like, it’s almost like we were okay. God’s giving us this wealth transference and all that, and then now we feel guilty. Yeah, because we’re looking, we’re using these things to simplify our life so we could multiply our presence and be more Omni, you know, Omni pro, like they call it now Omni marketing, where you’re kind of like on all the like, you’re a little bit everywhere all at once and all that and it’s like the channel Yeah, yeah, it’s like that Omni and I are just like, you know, I look at it as I could be more if I have some if I hire certain individuals to do certain things, not that I’m not capable, but I have more ability now to free myself. Earl, Stewart, my health, my time, and my life are way better. And I can actually show up even more than that 100%. For not only my family but for my students are those that, you know, are connected to me?

Paige C. Clark 45:14
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And I think that’s like, one of the things that I’ve really been like, noodling on and having these conversations for this, for this podcast, and, like, God is giving us the opportunity in our work life, so that so like, our purpose might not be within our work life, our purpose might be what our work life allows us to have outside of our work life, that might be the blessing that might be the ministry that might be the purpose is outside of what we do every day, not to say that he can’t work in what we do every day. But that might not be the sole inclination of why we’re doing what we’re doing. Yeah,

Tanya Tenica 45:59
I mean, he, he might be saying, Hey, you’re doing your work, the job you’re doing, whichever. And, you know, I want you to take that, and I want you to bless this organization. Right? You know, there are all different types of things, you know, we have domestic violence and foster care and human trafficking, we have all these things, it could be a part of something else, sometimes people want it like they it’s like, it’s really weird. It’s like, I think the church has, has done this where they’ve put people in fear. So they feel like they have to build everything they can’t work for, man, they can’t do this, they can’t do that. And it’s because they’re like, you’re going to miss God, you’re going to miss the move of God, if you don’t do this, right now, if you don’t build this right now, and it’s like, and this big way, this weird thing of just because you have a conviction. Like, why I don’t need to build it. Like I’m with human trafficking. And instead of me going to build this organization and trying to do all this and build a nonprofit, I just went sat on a board of human trafficking and decided to be able to speak and maybe invite them to do an open seminar where in my building at the time that you know, they can come and speak and do teaching and invited everybody and then shared like, where, you know, where some of the money that people pay me in business for consulting or however where that goes. Yeah, you know, it was just something simple like that. I didn’t need to go build. Yeah, but guess what, if I couldn’t sit on that board and do those different things and volunteer and make an impact in the community or do anything if I didn’t hire some, if I didn’t, like, go get HelloFresh to cook? Or, you know, like, have, you know, my house cleaned or whatever? So yeah, I totally agree. Like, it’s, Yeah, everybody boxes everything in to be

Paige C. Clark 47:47
like this end all? Yeah. And I think too, like, at the end of the day, like, it’s, it’s what is, like, God’s gonna make his plan happen whether or not we want to be a part of that, like, like, it’s an honor and a pleasure and that we get to be a part of it. But also, if we miss the bus, there’s going to be another one coming. Like, I think one thing that I found myself getting stuck in, especially at the beginning of my college years, is that I have to know what God has planned for me. And while he might, and for some, he might have specific plans of like, this is where you’re supposed to be. I’m like, I’m limited God, if if I say like, if I take the job, or I don’t take the job if I take the job, is that really God’s will? Well, guess what? He’s gonna work through me whether or not I take the job. If I take the job, he’s gonna set a plan there. If I don’t take the job, then he’s gonna set a plan there. Either way, he is sovereign over that.

Tanya Tenica 48:51
I just look at it as God will course correct you. Yeah. If you’re at the job and like six months, and you’re like, oh, man, I’m supposed to be doing this. All right. Well, God, show me how I’m supposed to release and let go, and I’m good. Yeah. Right. And do it that way. It’s, I think that we just get to this point where we don’t realize that we are in so much control, so much control, that we don’t let things flow and then know and trust that God will course correct us. Yeah. Like, like, there are some times that you might have felt like you miss the bus, right? But guess what? God knew that you were going to be going through a traumatic exposure or you were going to make a decision or whatever. So did you technically miss the bus? I don’t know. Because I bet you if you look back, you see a little bus stop sign, and the bus ain’t even go by because why would he send the bus if he knew? He knows? Yeah, he knows that you’re not now, you know what I mean? Like it, nobody’s going to do like what we talked about how many times when you told me before, about the podcast about nobody really talking about some of the stuff. Yeah, many times have you seen it? And here’s the bus. Right? You’re thinking the bus is passing, the bus is passing. Yeah. And in all reality? No, it didn’t pass. He was like, I already know, on February 22, 2003, she’s gonna be talking to Tanya and yes, other station, and this is what she’s going to be doing, even working full time and all of that. Like, the bus is yours, girl, I, you know, I’m like, Hey, nobody’s taking nobody’s riding my bus away. Right? So there is not like, if you look at that, there can only be one health coach in the world. Yeah, one. Like, you know, one activator in the world, one social media person in the world. Nobody’s gonna have your beautiful brain and the way that you see it.

Paige C. Clark 50:50
Yeah. And also, there’s a lot of people, I always get myself caught up of like, okay, like, Are people really gonna buy my things? And then I, like, look at how many houses are in a specific neighborhood like, okay, there’s a community going in, that’s going to have 5000 houses, how many people are living in those five that probably 10,000, maybe 15,000 people will live in those 5000 houses. Exactly. And that’s a lot of people.

Tanya Tenica 51:16
But I also look at it as if I could listen to the same podcast, right? Somebody can do the same thing that you’re doing, St. Tim talk about, whatever. But guess what, because you told me about how you released cooking, and that you can still do it and all that. You helped me out in such a way that changed me. It was positive. It wasn’t fear-based, but it just did something to me. And then it’s a bonus that, you know, you got your curly hair. And you know, and I love it, you know? So it’s like, Guess what, now? I just want to work with you. Yeah, I’m almost like, okay, like, what else do you have, girl-like? What can I get something from you? I’ve had people purchase things from me and connect with me because I have a pit bull. All right, okay. Because, right, because I love my pinball. And you know, and they’re just like, yeah. Because they feel like they’re misunderstood. And all that. I mean, it’s the weirdest thing. Okay. Well, well, but yeah, and I will, I will list. I’ll have other podcasts I can listen to, but I’m gonna listen to you beat your heart. It can’t be duplicated.

Paige C. Clark 52:28
Thank you so much, Tanya. Oh, this conversation has been so good. So as I like to wrap up every single episode. As you said, you’re an activator. So let’s go activate some people. What can people do this week? To help them implement a faith-building discipline or practice into their life?

Tanya Tenica 52:50
I’m gonna say start small. What is practical that you can stick with? And I want you to time-block it. Right? So if it’s not in your schedule, you probably won’t do it. Yeah. What do you need to do? There were times that I had to literally put it in my phone; I had to put an alarm on my phone. I put a sticky pad saying a quote or something on my bathroom mirror and on the side of my watch, and we’ll call it my nightstand. I had three or four alarms throughout the day when I was trying to remember to keep conscious that God is present and that he can be in everything that I do. So do what works for you. What is going to work for you? What time of day is that going to work for you? Take one thing and just play around with it. But here’s the key time block give yourself the block of time. If you look at my schedule, my schedule is completely time blocked. Right now, that means a lot, and I’ll share with you a lot each and every time block. There’s not one thing that you can go on here. You know what I’m doing when I’m doing it means that I completely shut off Media; I’m not going to miss anything. And I literally focus unconditionally on that.

Paige C. Clark 54:15
That reminds me a lot of Dave Ramsey’s every dollar so like account, every dollar in your budget, whether or not you like Dave Ramsey, but account for every minute, and his app is cool. I know. I like it too. But some people are, like, do not like Dave Ramsey. So I wanted to add that caveat, but like, added like blocking in accounting for every hour of your day to make room for God and even if it’s setting your alarm five minutes earlier, a couple days a week, so you can wake up at 5am.

Tanya Tenica 54:50
Yeah, it’s, it’s literally saying, okay, this hasn’t worked for me before. What can work for me at this time, right? I laugh at God because I’m like, I wish I could be a part of the 5am club because he thinks it’s funny. I’m up at four. And I’m like, can I be a part of the 5am. Um, but you know, there was a season that I was not feeling well and certain stuff, and I had to not kick myself because I had to wake up at 630 or seven. Now, I will be up at four. And then I would be like Tanya, you’re not feeling well. Stop being controlled and feel bad. Just rest. So then I started getting certain things done in the evening, time to prepare for the morning to make myself. So when your time is blocked, just make sure that you’re flexible. If you are like, Hey, I’m going to do this project, this project in this project, and it doesn’t work out. Because you’re feeling off, you didn’t drink enough water, or something happened to where you just need to be with God. And you’re, you’re moving too much, be okay with it. Yeah, because what I would do is, whenever I would go back to look at my schedule, I would look back at the prior weeks. And I would actually see that there were some really big areas that I could actually say, Oh, I know what was going on, and why I didn’t finish what I was supposed to finish. Yeah. And I could see when I went to bed when I did it. It was it’s so interesting to be able to do that. But like I said, just make it simple. Pick one thing, just put it in your schedule, and then put it everywhere you can see it. I mean, put why you’re doing it, like write a scripture, put all the wonderful benefits, how you’re excited about something, whatever that looks like, plastered everywhere, on your bed, on your mirror, change your phone picture, I don’t care what you got to do, but literally live it and breathe it. Yeah. Even if it’s just drinking more water cares.

Unknown Speaker 56:49
I love it.

Paige C. Clark 56:50
Thank you so much. Tanya, what a great takeaway. I will probably be setting my alarm back five minutes to get my butt out of bed a little bit earlier. So

Tanya Tenica 57:02
I know and then ask God, what what what is he? What does he want you to do with the time?

Paige C. Clark 57:06
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Anytime I wake up earlier, I’m like, Okay, God woke me up for some reason. Like, let’s go spend some time with him and figure it out. So where can people find you and your brilliance?

Tanya Tenica 57:18
You can just go to Tong to nika.com makes it really easy. You’ll be able to find all the stuff that I’m doing.

Paige C. Clark 57:26
Awesome. Awesome. Tanya, thank you so much. I appreciate you joining us today.