Too many of dreams end up in the proverbial graveyard simply because we don’t get to say them out loud. That’s right; if we just holler at our dreams, we can will them into existence! Judi Holler knows this to be true, and she believes she has been called to help other people come to the same realization. In fact, she believes he has been given that very verb – “holler” – for a surname for that very purpose! Now in her late 40s, Judi inspires us to age ambitiously with her twin passions of speaking and, wait for it, hip-hop. Find out how Judi is making it work and why she is a badass for doing so. And more importantly, find out how you can manifest the life you deserve by hollering at your dreams. Tune in!

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Watch the episode here

 

Listen to the podcast here

 

Holler At Your Dreams: Reinventing Yourself At Any Age with Judi Holler

Welcome to the show. I have a special guest at the most divine timing, and I’ll tell you later why, that is joining us. I’m so excited to share Judi Holler with you. Judi Holler is a professional keynote speaker and entertainer. I am watching her. I’ve been following her. I’m so inspired by her. I’m so honored to have her on my show.

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Judi, welcome.

It is so good to be here. Thanks for that love. I cannot wait to get into it with you.

Instead of a professional bio, everyone, I’m going to read a couple of lines from her website that I love that sum you up. It says, “I was born with the last name Holler, so it’s no coincidence that my life’s work has been using my voice to move people into massive action so they, too, can find the courage to age ambitiously and holler at their dreams. Now, here I am at the age of 47, a hot pink-wearing, graffiti-loving, hip-hop-obsessed, slam poetry-performing, and hype woman on a mission to help others age ambitiously and holler at their own dreams so they can kill it in life and business.

If I had a mic that I could drop, I would do it. I love that that’s what you picked up and pulled out. You may not know. What she read came out into the world on December 1st, 2023. It’s a brand-new website and a brand-new “brand reveal”, but in truth, it is me finally coming back home to myself. To hear you say that I was born with the last name Holler on purpose, I don’t think God gave me that verb by accident. I’m able to sit on shows like yours and hear that reflected back to me. It’s another reminder of the power we have always inside of us. We are enough.

Many times, we look for things outside of us to validate us and make us worthy when truly, what makes you unique is, was, and always will be you. You are always the secret ingredient. What is that thing about you? No one can take you. Nobody can take my holler out of me. I feel so proud of it when at 47 years old, I’ve come back home to myself. I’m on a mission to help people shave some of the time off that. I wish I would’ve done this at 40.

What makes you unique is you. You are always the secret ingredient.

I do understand because I’m the exact same age. I’m 47 as well. My name is not a verb. It’s a noun. Cassetta in Italian means small box.

With a loud voice and a bad sss energy,

A cassette tape player or something like that.

You’re a mixtape. That’s what you are.

At 47, I am doing the remix again. I’ve been watching you with this remix over the last few years. Judi and I shared an event where we crisscrossed each other. I was already heading to the airport. She was somewhere else. I don’t know, but we were speaking at the same event. This is the first time I’m getting to connect with Judi in person. You can see already why I love this woman.

I read your book, Fear is My Homeboy. Everyone, you must check it out. It is chock-full of actionable tips. It’s inspirational with the tools too, so I love that. If you’re an avid audience of this show, you know I say this every time. Why I invite people on this show is because, in my eyes, you’re a black belt in badassery. What that means is that you have overcome some major challenges to get to where you are. You share that with others. You share your gifts with so many others to help them rise as well.

With that said, what I noticed in the book, which is something that you didn’t talk a lot about, is your past or your upbringing. Can you share a little bit about having a difficult parent? How much or how little you want to share is all good. Bring us on the trajectory of how you are this incredible keynote speaker traveling the country and doing so well professionally. I want to hear it all.

Growing Up With A Difficult Parent

Let’s start with the mommy issues. Fear is My Homeboy dropped in 2019. It’s interesting, this book. We were talking about this before we went on the air. I don’t believe there is a coincidence in anything. If you think about what happened and then when you trust the divine timing of your life, and certainly lean into the faith you have, whatever your faith is, you can start to go, “This is interesting. This is a divine realignment. This is a divine assignment. This was meant to happen right at this time.” If you look at what happened in 2020, everything changed. Life as we know it changed.

O ne of the things I talk about in my book, coming back to badass, is you can either be a victim or a badass. You can’t be both. We are badasses. We are not victims. Victim thinking would’ve been like, “It’s not fair. My book came out in 2019 and then the world shut down.” The badass goes, “My book came out in 2019 and the world shut down. People have never been more afraid. People have never been more ready to confront their fears. People have never been more ready to step into who they were born to be. People are ready to make moves and take chances. Maybe this is when God needed my book because it is on its own assignment.” That alignment is what sets one free. This is the little book that could, and she continues to do big things in the world.

I’m working on book number two. When I was writing that book, I knew that my mother had to have a place in the book. If you too have mommy issues, holler at your girl. Let me know. The more I share these stories on stage, even if I allude to them in small subtle ways, it’s amazing. I’ll say, “Is there anybody else in the room who has mommy issues?”

As a speaker, you can talk about something hard on stage until you’re fully healed from it. I can talk about my mom because I have done trauma work. I am reading books. I have gone through therapy. I have laid down my sword. I have healed what I’ve needed to heal in myself to be able to move forward, so I can talk about her on stage in playful ways. I say, “Is there anybody else who has mommy issues?” It’s amazing the hands that go up sadly but also comfortingly because then, I’m like, “Maybe I’m meant to be speaking about this.”

When I wrote Homeboy, I didn’t give it too much airplay because I was still really afraid of my mom. If I’m being honest, I still am. I probably always will be, but I’m healed. When I wrote Fear is My Homeboy, I was not this version of myself. I was a bit more unhealed. I knew I needed to talk about it and be honest in that way because it’s a big achievement to be able to come out of the dark and into the light.

It’s a big achievement to be able to come out of the dark and into the light and lay down your sword.

When you were able to lay down your sword, that was so powerful.

I didn’t want to give away my power too much to the monster. That is the relationship I have with my mom. My mom has a lot of unhealed demons. My mom is an unhealed human who had and parented four kids. I was the oldest, and I was the girl. I represented and still represent everything she could not do for herself, everything she wished she could be in this world. Instead of loving me for it, she hates me for it.

For so long, as a woman or as a female, I haven’t had kids. This is a big reason. I got married at 39. I made a lot of life choices because I did not want to. I don’t think everybody should have kids, and I don’t think everybody needs to have kids. For me, I knew I wanted to break the cycle. I knew I couldn’t. I needed to shut it down. Good or bad, it’s the choice I made.

I knew that if I didn’t do the deep, dark, dope work on myself, I was going to end up with disease. Disease in your mind, your soul, and your heart manifests as disease in your body. I love myself too much to let that happen, so I have read all the PTSD books, the childhood trauma books, and all this stuff and worked through a lot of therapy over the last few years. I can more confidently and courageously talk about that.

That’s jacked up when the first female role model in your life is like, “I’m going to make you miserable. Every time you shine, I’m going to ruin that day so big and bad for you.” That happened from homecoming to when I would be in pageants to performances. Anything she could do to put a lid on my light, she would do it. It’s interesting because look at what I do in the world.

It’s the complete opposite.

I don’t think I was a mom on purpose because I wouldn’t be able to do this work, but I’m a mama in so many ways. I’m able to mother myself, mother other women who may have mommy issues, and mother the women and the people who make up my community, who see me on keynote stages, come into my course, and whatever it may be. That’s a long answer to also how that played a role in my life because I would be a completely different Judi Holler. My mom is my mom. I’m so grateful for it because it’s given me every gift that I have. I’m not a victim. She’s the victim.

It’s made you exactly who you are. Who you are from an outsider is a bright shining light that shines on others. You are making this world a better place.

Thank you.

I want to acknowledge you for that. I hope you read the book out there, Fear is My Homeboy. You’ll get a little taste of what Judi had to deal with as a young girl. It’s not easy. The whole point of this show is to show folks that most successful people, and when we say successful, whatever that means in society, the bright shiny lights, which you look very successful, and I know you are from your social media, your brand, and all of it, it’s almost always the case that those are the folks that have gone through such rough times.

Fear Is My Homeboy

That’s what I want to bring to light. Normalize that. That’s what your whole book was about. I know you’re on a new mission now with Holler as a verb. We’re going to talk about that. Fear is My Homeboy is about normalizing fear. We’re all afraid of things. I don’t love this inspirational quote, “I am fearless.”

I hate that word.

Nobody is fearless. You can’t live a life in this day and age and be fearless.

You can’t live a life in this day and age and be fearless.

It’s bad advice. If you’re afraid, you’re probably doing it right. Think about your work. E specially as women, we get these intuitive hits that are gifts. They are divine little pieces of data that we can either ignore or use to our advantage. Fear is going to keep you safe in truly dangerous situations, but also, it can be a clue.

For me, if I’m afraid it’s probably something that I need to do. The fear means I’m going to grow. The fear means, “What if I mess up?” The fear means, “What if people judge me?” The fear means, “I’m not ready. I’m not worthy.” Every single time I step on stage, every single time I send a pitch email, or every single time I jump on a podcast interview, there is that flicker of, “God.” I’m then like, “That’s good. I’m in the right rooms doing the right things.” That’s the whole point.

Fear, for me, is like a big clue. It is one of my best friends, my ride or die. Fear keeps me safe. It also keeps me moving in the direction of my dreams because we have to keep moving. We have to keep trying new things. You follow me on Instagram. You’re going to see me rapping, trying custom beads, and doing my poetry. I’m like, “Do it in public. That’s great. Let’s go.”

I’m so impressed by it. Getting to know Judi, I know that we’re the same age. Both of us don’t have children. Our lives are our career. We love what we do so much. I feel you so much on so many things. I am a huge fan of ‘90s hip-hop. Judi is a rapper, a poet, and an entertainer. Follow her on Instagram and LinkedIn. She’s posting it everywhere. You’re on stage entertaining and performing. You’re not just a keynote speaker. You are a performer. There is a difference.

Thank you. I started working with a new creative director. I’ve been praying over this. I was like, “Send me the person.” It was interesting. On January 4th, 2023, the person who had been my right-hand person in business resigned after 5 years very unexpectedly. I say unexpectedly, but I knew it was coming. I blurred a lot of lines. I learned so much as a leader.

Change is hard. I knew I was changing. I was changing out of her. She was growing out of me. I don’t think anybody wanted to have the conversation, so we were covering up the conversation. One day, she’s like, “I got a job. I’m leaving.” I’m like, “Okay.” Here I am on January 4th, 2023.  It’s me, myself, and I. I’ve got some contractors that work for me and people that make up the larger scope of my team, but it’s that internal person or that one person that’s your right-hand woman. I was like, “Let me pray over this because there is someone I have my eye on.”

This is a pretty interesting story. This will come back to hollering at your dreams and doing it on stage. Sometimes, we need people from the outside to help us pick up what’s lying dormant on the inside. I don’t know about you, but introducing yourself, writing about yourself, doing your own website, or editing your videos, you’re like, “I can’t stand myself. Can someone please help?”

Sometimes we need people from the outside to help us pick up what’s lying dormant on the inside.

I’m looking for that person, so I know.

She resigned on January 4th, 2023, but all of December 2022, I was like, “Here’s what it’s going to cost to bring this person on.” I had already opened the door. I knew what the fee was per month, the monthly stipend. I was like, “If it is meant to be, bring it into my life.” I was praying to crystals and the source. I live in Arizona. I was like, “Give me all the woo.” I was deeply connected to my face, so I’m praying over this number.

Lo and behold, that person resigned on January 4th, 2023. Her base was the exact amount I had been praying over. I say, “This is an interesting way of catching my attention and giving me what I want. This is not how I thought it was going to look out,” because I had no one. I was on my own. My old person was the person I had handed over the keys to my kingdom. She ran my business.

Here I am on the ground floor. The woman I brought into the business was the same amount per month. I said, “Now I got my answer.” I finally aligned.

This group comes in and we start getting to know each other. We’re here in my office at my house. They were like, “Tell me about Judi as a kid. What were you doing when you were eight?” All this opening of files, folders, and books and getting to know me so much as a person. They’re like, “You mean to tell me your last name is Holler. You love to rap. You can rap, do poetry, and perform spoken word and you aren’t doing that in public anywhere? We might need to change that.”

Were you doing it in your bedroom?

It was this secret thing. She was starting to come out a little bit in 2019 and maybe early 2020, but the world changed so much. I got so afraid of the cancel culture. I thought, “How dare I? How could I? I’m going to sit here, hide, and keep my little virtual bookings and this corporate machine going. I make my living as a keynote speaker. I have to play the game right. How dare I ever say what I wanted to say, do what I wanted to say, and be who I wanted to be? Could I holler at this dream? I don’t know. No way. I’d get canceled in five seconds.”

I hid. Fear was not my homeboy for a few years. Fear had me in a chokehold, and not in a good way. I was bringing these women who are from the fashion space completely outside of the keynote-speaking world. These were real, true creatives and artists. I work with graffiti artists. Bringing these people from the outside helped me wake up where I am. That is how the work I’m doing got onto a keynote stage because this group of women, one specifically, and shout out to Saige, pushed me to do it in public. This was April 2023. She goes, “I’m going to need you to rap on your Instagram.”

Talk about pushing you out of your comfort zone.

Talk about pressure being a good thing. I talk about this in my keynote. It’s this notion of how you think diamonds are made. Diamonds are made because pressure is applied. Many of us want to avoid pressure. We think it’s supposed to be easy. It doesn’t mean you can’t have ease in your life. I have a girlfriend who’s going through a deep trauma and a deep loss. The pressure that a high achiever needs to apply in her life is to rest and turn off the noise. That is pressure for a high achiever. Sometimes, for me, taking a walk, turning it off, and taking a day off is pressure. I’m holding myself to the discipline of being in my life. That is still pressure.

Dreams need deadlines. They started giving me deadlines for all of my dreams and saying, “By Friday, you’re going to post a rap. By Saturday, you’re going to the poetry slam. By Sunday, you’re going to do this.’ We don’t have to do it alone. Looking around you and investing in the right people to help you bring it all together is a beautiful thing to be able to do. That’s how it started. A really big loss of a team member turned into one of the biggest gifts I ever got in my life, ever.

I love this, listening to the backstory.

This is the behind-the-music interview with Judy Holler.

Exactly. I want to know how people do it. How do you do this? While you started telling that story, I  want everyone to know that I was shedding a tear here because you said January 4th, 2023. Today is January 8th, 2024, the day that we are filming this. I shared with Judi that 20 minutes before we got on this call, I got 1 of the scariest calls that I’ve gotten in a while that me and my husband are going to be kicked out of the home that we’ve been living in for 8 years

 I am partially devastated. At the same time, the work I’ve been doing that I know Judi’s on the same path is aligning with a higher vibration. If that fear is maybe trying to hijack my brain, I’m only giving it a little bit of space. I’m giving it 10% space because 90% of the space is having to tune into how this is going to be even better on the other side.

Jenn tells me this. We were not even recording yet and she told me this. She goes, “I got to tell you something.” I was like, “First of all, are you okay? You don’t have a disease or a diagnosis?” She goes, “No. It’s not that, but still, this is a life shift.” I got full-bodied chills and was like, “I cannot wait to see where you go.” I instantly got so excited for you. That January 4th, 2023 story was the biggest lesson for me losing that team member. You could take any loss in your life. We cannot avoid pain. We are going to lose people we love. We are all dying. Nobody gets out of this alive. We will all face a potential disease, diagnosis, death, or disruption.

We will face heartache, disappointment, and failure.

None of us are getting out of this. The question is, how are you going to rock with it when it comes your way? I can’t control this. You got to go. My person left. My mom hates me. What are we going to do about it? I want to start rapping on stage. What are we going to do about it?

Manifesting A Better Thing

You’re doing it. You said you prayed. I like to, on this show, get the hows. How do people overcome? How do you manifest? You have manifested a whole better thing. You said pray, but tell me. Can you go a little deeper into that?

I have some deeply divine dope thoughts on this because I am in it. Number one, let’s get clear on what manifestation is because it’s very pop culture. It’s trendy bendy. Everybody’s talking about the flow and the manifestation, the candles, the vision boards, and all the things. I am here for it, but let’s be clear on what it is.

Manifestation is setting an intention and getting clear on what you want. Never forget, and write this down, that your fortune, whatever it is that you want, lives in your ability to get focused. Fortune lives in focus. We have to get clear on what we want. We set an intention. Here’s how you manifest. You give that intention attention. You holler at it. You go be the verb.

If I looked back at my life as I worked with this team and did all the inner work, I had a whole full-blown spiritual awakening. Go Google it. Somebody came into my DMs. She’s a DJ I love in Chicago. She goes, “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way.” She’s spiritual, almost shaman-like. She goes, “Have you had an awakening?” I go, “What do you mean? She goes, “A spiritual awakening.” I pause and Google, “What is a spiritual awakening?” There are seven steps to a spiritual awakening. I kid you not. Go Google it. It’s profound. I had one. All these people who have been with me on that spiritual awakening journey are all a part of the verb that is me taking action aligned with what I want for myself.

Whether you’re trying to find yourself again, maybe you’re bored, you’re in a rut, you’re stuck in stale conversations, or maybe you don’t like your spouse, your partner, your friend group, the house you’re living in, the apartment, or the way you look like, all of this is changeable. You have the power to holler at it. That is why I believe so much in this verb, the verb that is manifestation. T hat’s number one. Give your intentions attention. We have to be the verb.

Number two, so many of us don’t slow down enough to hear the whispers of wisdom to hear God, whatever God is for you. We are so stacked up. As I’m talking to Jenn, I have five planners here off to my side. My list for this day is insane. We’re so bogged down by other people’s priorities, emails, invoices, and contracts. Especially as entrepreneurs, it’s insane. We stack our schedules so tall with other people’s priorities and so thick with other people’s to-do lists that we lose our own.

I stopped doing that. I was like, “This Midwestern people-pleasing-don’t-want-to-hurt-anybody-else’s feelings-God-forbid-someone-doesn’t-like-me is gone.” I have to check myself before I wreck myself because I cannot be responsible for other people’s opinions of me. The only thing I can be responsible for is the intentions I set and the actions I give them.

Those intentions can be personal. It could be to spend more time with my husband or be nicer to my husband. It could be like, “I want to scale my businesses in this way. I need a new team member.” They can be personal and professional. That’s how you manifest. That’s how I did it. I slowed down enough to listen to God. I started talking to God. I was like, “It’s me, Holler.” I’m not kidding you. I can’t even believe I’m telling you this, but this is true. I do a lot of praying. I am a very spiritual person. I have the right team around me. I sought a lot of advice outside of the keynote-speaking world.

That’s smart.

I catch a lot of inspiration from graffiti artists, tap dancers, poets, art, and fashion designers. I lead with design strategy in my business because I’m so visual. That’s my Gemini brain. I date my creativity almost every week and I take myself somewhere once a week. This is The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I give her credit for it. I try to date myself and go see the world. That’s me slowing down to catch things from the outside. That’s how all this began. When you see something on a wall, I’m like, “What if I made graffiti soon? What if I did this?” We got to slow down a little bit to listen. I schedule it.

It’s like my scale sales calls. I have golden hours on my calendar. We’re traveling. If I’m booked on a keynote, my travel gets flux. There are certain things every week that I’m doing. The workout is critical. The sales efforts are critical. I let that slip for the last few years. I’m paying dearly for it because I handed over the keys to the kingdom to someone else, and then they left. What do you do again? I will never again give away my power, ever.

I love that. I’ve learned that lesson multiple times. I want to say a couple of things that came to me while I was listening. One, manifestation, you were talking about that. I’m giving a digital vision board workshop. I’m sorry. If you’re reading this, it has already passed.

You’re going to have to do it again.

 I do it every year. I started in 2023. I’ll be doing it every year because I love it so much. I take a vision board. I make it in Canva, and then I plaster it on my phone screen or on my laptop screen. It’s not magic. It’s telling your brain, “These are the experiences that are important. These are the experiences that I want to create in my life.” All of a sudden, you’re going to hear these whispers.

For example, in January 2023, I put a picture of the Dolomite Mountains on my vision board. I didn’t think it was going to happen anytime soon. Six months later, I have a picture of myself at the top of the DolOmite Mountains a year from the date of my hip replacement surgery. It’s not magic. What happened was someone I knew, and I spoke on her podcast, I saw she had a hiking trip to the Dolomites, the Italian Alps. I was like, “That’s weird. That’s on my vision board.”

It’s really interesting because we have some things on the board that are out there and some things that you know you’re going to make happen. That was an out-there one. My brain picked it up as, “That’s interesting. Let me ask more questions. I see it’s sold out.” She’s like, “I could make more room.” I was like, “That’s interesting. How much is it?” Instead of saying, “How can I make this happen one day?” All of a sudden, the opportunity was there and I said, “How can I make this happen now?”

That is the essence of hollering at a dream. You can have it on a vision board, but where is it on your calendar? Many times, things will come. Lyrics will drop in. Ideas will drop in. Opportunities will drop in. People will drop in. It will be standing right in front of us but we don’t catch it. Most people don’t catch it. It’s those of us who catch it that change our lives and manifest the life.

Opportunities will drop in. Most people don’t catch it. It’s those of us who catch it that change our lives.

These are the people you’re looking at that are like, “Jenn’s so lucky. Judi is so lucky.” I’m not lucky. I’m really focused and brave. I have a high tolerance for no. I have a high tolerance for pain. I have full-bodied chills. That is a perfect example. You were putting it on your phone and having it on your computer. You are looking at it every day. Also, to give you credit, you had to catch it. You had to be brave. You had to be the badass. You had to say, “I’m going to talk about this.”

It was terrible timing financially and all of that. I should not have gone on that trip.

I love that story.

At the same time, it was like, how could I not have? I would’ve let that dream pass me by.

There is no coincidence. I love it. It’s possible for anyone. For anyone reading, if you are reading this, you were meant to be. If you’re still with us, you were meant to be tuning in to this show. You were meant to have Jenn and Judi Booty Holler in your ear. There is something big in your heart. You know what it is. We all have that thing where we’re like, “I wish I could. Could I ever do that?” That is crazy. Could you ever? Let me be living proof that it’s possible.

The Power Of Saying It Out Loud

Will you do me a favor, everyone? Will you find us on Instagram?

I would love it.

I will be posting reels. I want you to holler your dream at us. You never know who’s listening.

This is the thing. You have to put it out. One of the things I talk about on the keynote stage, the signature story I end with and sometimes begin with, depending on the room, is the notion that several years ago, I had a whole other career. I was in hospitality, sales, and marketing. I was selling hotels, ballrooms, and convention centers for a living. Now, I speak. I’m still in the events business, but I speak on those stages. I had a whole other career.

I found myself sitting in a ballroom off Michigan Avenue. There was a speaker hired to talk about finding your passion and your purpose. There were 500 people in this ballroom. At the very end of his talk, he looks out at the audience and is like, “Who in this room is ready to stand up and tell me what their passion is?” I kid you not. I shoot up out of my seat like a cannon. I was the first to stand up. All my friends at the round of ten were so embarrassed. They were like, “Sit down.” Some of the girls were bridesmaids at my wedding. We became very best friends.

This is a famous story in my circle, considering what I do. Several years ago, I stood up in this ballroom off Michigan Avenue. I shoot up out of my seat like a cannon. I stand up, point at him, and go, “You.” He goes, “Me what? I was like, “ I want to do what you’re doing. I want to be a keynote speaker.” When I said it out loud, when I hollered at that dream, and when I used the power of my spoken word to bring that goal and that dream, it was born that day. She came to life that day. That speaker is still in my life. She helps me to this day.

Think of the people in the room. They were meeting planners. I didn’t say this. I was at an event professional association meeting for all meeting planners and hotel and hospitality people. They were the first people to hire me, forward me contract examples, and pass my name on. To Jenn’s point, holler around us on social and tell us a dream because you don’t know who’s watching. If I don’t know what you need, what you want, what you have to say, or what you sell, how can I help you?

Exactly. Sometimes, it’s the power of saying it out loud.

It feels so good.

I remember the seed planted in me about speaking when you were telling your story. It brings me right back. It was a Tony Robbins event. There were hundreds of people in this massive stadium clapping and hollering. We were on our chairs dancing. I’ve been obsessed with him for so long.

He’s the GOAT.

My dad would listen to his cassette tapes when I was a kid. It was implanted in me. I’m at the events and I’m like, “Oh my God.” I’m looking around this room of people mesmerized and transforming in the moment. They were cracking open. Let’s say that for some people.

He is such a gift.

I said, “If I could do that, affect a sliver amount of people in my own small world here, I would live such a fulfilling life.” That was several years ago as well.

I love it. I know it’s your show, but what’s a dream that you want to holler at? Do you have a dream you want to holler at? I’ll give you one. I’ll say it out loud. I want to be a motivational rapper. Speaking is the love of my life, but to be able to turn up the volume on that and do that on stage. I write custom pieces as it is, but to be able to do more music would be dope. I’m hollering at that dream. If you know anybody, holler at your girl. What about you?

This is a dream. It’s a vision. I don’t even know why yet. I know that I’ve had so many whispers in the past. I see myself speaking in the Middle East. I know it’s so random, but my book got one foreign rights deal. Guess what language? It’s Arabic. I wound up traveling.

Me too. That is so weird. The one language I’m published in is Arabic. It’s at my PO box because a girl I know up here went and did a TED Talk over there. That is really weird.

I’m waiting for mine.

It’s amazing. There might be something calling you there.

There have been so many others. I’ve been on Arabic TV. I’ve had a client in Saudi that I traveled around the world with. There are so many examples of that coming up for me in my life that I know that there’s something there for me. I don’t know why.

You never know. You have to shout this stuff out. That’s good to know. I did not know that about you. That’s awesome.

Who knows? I feel like I could write a whole book on traveling around the world as a health coach. I was a private health coach for this one client, his family, and his coworkers. It was an amazing year and a half pretty much all over.

Tons of stories. That probably serves the work you do on stage so much. That’s amazing. This is why we holler at our dreams. You never know who’s listening. You never know what door could open. The seed is planted.

Also, if you’re listening, how about a house in Santa Monica?

I’m hollering at this dream. I need to. Do you want a dream I’m chasing? You’re like, “I need a place to live.”

It’s an amazing place. By the time this comes out, I’m hoping I have more developments for everybody. You’re the first to know, for sure.

It’s going to be a disruption that divinely realigns you in some exciting ways. I’m excited for you.

You’re here, and I’m sure everyone is still riding the wave of the new year and how exciting it is. You’re going to make all these plans. You’re going to create all these visions and dreams, and then something lands in your lap like a bomb and we got to figure it out.

Aging doesn’t scare me so bad. There are some frustrating things about it because you’re like, “That has never hurt before,” or, “I have to work a little harder to make these jeans fit.” When you’re younger, you’re not as around death and loss as much. M y husband’s nine years older than me, so his parents are already gone. Things are starting to move like that in our world.

I don’t know about you, but I’m very positive and pretty joy-filled and faith-filled, but I’m always bracing for impact. You pray and you hope for the best, but you’re always preparing for the rain. I don’t mean that in a negative way. That can give you an edge so you’re prepared. You know the phone call’s coming. You know that things are going to happen. You know you’re not getting out of this life scratch-free. It’s also a big old permission slip to every healthy, beautiful, and happy moment you have to not waste it.

This was one of my questions. You talk about fear so much and hollering at our dreams. What happens if we don’t? What’s going to happen? Many people let their dreams pass them by. What’s the result of that?

Les Brown calls it the graveyard of dreams. Please go Google this quote. It is spectacular. It’s above my computer, reminding me to not allow my dreams to ever end up in the graveyard of dreams again. Les Brown, I paraphrase, talks about the graveyard of dreams. There is a place somewhere with so many unwritten songs, uncomposed orchestras, inventions that were never invented, medicines that were never made, all these be books that were never written, and songs that were never sung all because someone was too afraid to take the first step.

I got chills.

I don’t need you to take all the steps, but someone is too afraid to take the effort to holler at it. Sometimes, the first step is what we did here. It’s saying it, speaking it, writing it down, and putting it into existence. It’s then like, “What is the next brave thing I can do here? I don’t need to do all the things.” I have no knowledge of how to make music or produce real music, but I can pick up my phone and I can write.

I can start making some beats. I can play with music that’s already been produced by the Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg, and some of my favorite rappers and performers. These guys have already paid all the big bucks to produce the beats, so maybe I can start taking instrumentals, playing with them, and writing my own original lyrics. I can do that, and then maybe next time, I find something new I could do.

The point is for all this stuff, that’s the answer. It’s regret. All of this stuff, these dreams, these goals, these inventions, these designs, and these beautiful things that can change and shape our world end up in the graveyard of dreams all because someone was afraid to take the next brave step. We should be on a mission to stop that from happening.

The graveyard of dreams. It makes my chest tight when I think of it. It makes me sad. I want to holler at one more dream. I don’t know how I didn’t say this. I also see this happening. I don’t know how. If anyone is a Mike Dooley fan, it’s the cursed hows. You have this dream, but you get stuck in the cursed hows. Sometimes, you don’t know it’s going to happen. Don’t get stuck in the cursed hows.

I don’t know how this is going to happen, but I know that my book is going to be a creative media project, like a TV series or something like that, where we go through white belt to black belt. We follow a woman’s story and all that she’s overcoming and using the dojo wisdom to overcome them. I know that’s happening.

For example, what are baby steps that you can take? I started contacting folks that I know in the entertainment industry. No one’s doing it for me yet, but maybe they’re going to introduce me to someone else who might be interested. Maybe there’s someone else out there who loves martial arts and thinks it’s an awesome idea. Planting little baby seeds and taking even baby steps in the direction of your dreams gets you closer.

It still matters. It’s still a touchdown in my books. What happens when a touchdown happens on any football field or a goal happens? It’s that momentum. That’s what you want. I don’t know about you, but when you send an email like that on behalf of this dream you have or I pitch myself, or go to the gym and lift weights, I’m so proud of myself. That is an energetic transfer. You are sending big signals to God’s source, universe, and all of it that you are serious. We open doors for people who are serious. Dreams need deadlines. We need some pressure. Hollering at our dreams is the way to apply some pressure so we can be as lucky as everyone else seems to be. Luck is courage.

We need some pressure, and hollering at our dreams is the way to apply some pressure so we can be as lucky as everyone else seems to be.

I love that.

I don’t know a lot. I have months where I’m like, “I should have saved more money. What was I thinking? What was I doing? Never again will I give away my power.” Things can look shiny on the outside, but at the end of the day, we’re all humans. We can either learn from our mistakes or we can be held hostage to them. I know in your world and in your community, that’s not acceptable. We are badasses.

To everyone reading, I have chills. I have had chills throughout this entire episode. I hope you come away with so many golden nuggets because I know I have. Remember. I said in the beginning this was divine timing for me. Do you know why? It’s because I got that call twenty minutes before I said hello to Judi. Here we are an hour later and I am filled with hope and inspiration, but not in a woo-woo way. It’s in a very tangible way. I know what to do now. I need to make fear my homeboy. I know I need to do it anyway. I know I need to take the baby steps and have deadlines.

Holler at your dreams, most importantly. Speak it. Call your shot.

Please, everyone, do that. Let us know what your dreams are. Before we wrap, there are a couple of things. I want to do these Rapid-fire questions.

That’s fun. This is improv, my old world. I’m still an improviser at heart. As keynote speakers, we always have to be able to think on our feet. This is fun. I have no idea what she’s about to ask me.

They’re fun. Are you ready?

Yeah.

One, what was your favorite food when you were a kid?

It still is. Mexican everything and anything. Hispanic food. I love tacos. All of it.

In Ohio? Do they have good Mexican food?

I grew up in St. Louis. I worked at a Mexican restaurant. I don’t care if it was Taco Bell. My dad was making tacos from Old El Paso. Anytime I got to pick dinner, it was either breakfast or Mexican. It’s probably a tie between breakfast food and Mexican, but if I could pick, it’s always going to be fajitas and margaritas.

I’m glad you’re in Arizona because I’m sure you have better Mexican food there.

This is my dream. My poor husband is like, “Can we stop with it?” For my workout, I lift weights to be able to eat Mexican food.

I hear you on that. Number two, if you could have a drink with anyone dead or alive, who would it be and what would the drink be? The first thing that comes to mind.

The drink would be a skinny Cadillac margarita or a really good glass of champagne. We are both, and any woman reading, are our grandmother’s dreams. We are what they fought for. My grandma would be rolling in her grave every time I sat at a fancy hotel and I was sipping champagne. I’ve been paid to be there. I flew first class there. I stay in a beautiful hotel room sometimes.

In these beautiful places and these opportunities, I’m always thinking about my Grammy. I’m like, “She would be about women’s rights and voting.” It’s not that she’s not excited. That’s not what I mean. She went through the Depression. She would be rolling in her grave going, “Go get up.” I would have a glass of champagne with my grammy.

I love that so much. What’s your favorite personal growth slash self-help book?

The War of Art. That’s so hard because equal to that is Big Magic.

I love that. I did read Big Magic. Last but not least, what’s your favorite hype song?

That changes every five seconds, but nothing beats a good Lose Yourself by Eminem if you need to get it going and remind yourself of your power. If you need to get it and remember who you are, put that on blast and go make it happen.

I’m creating a Spotify list with all of the guests so far and their songs. That’ll go on there, everyone. Last but not least, tell everyone where they can find you, where they can listen to you, and where they can see you rap, speak, and all the things.

Instagram is the social media place I love to play on. That’s my little playground. I am @JudiHoller. You can find me on LinkedIn. Search me up. My website is JudiHoller.com. Those are the mothership places right now. I do have a podcast called HOLLER AT YOUR DREAMS. We’re on a small pause, so coming onto my newsletter and finding my Instagram is the place to be.

If you want to do any speaking, like me and Jenn, I have an online course that is available. I could be your mentor. That’s called Speaker School. That’s on my website. Those are the most popular. My podcast, my Instagram, my newsletter, and my online course are the places people come to play the most. DM me. I’m the one in my DMs. If you’ve read this and found any value or want to connect, let me know you found me through this show and I’ll give you a big old shout-out.

Thank you so much.

Thanks. This was fun.

From the bottom of my heart. I’m so excited to share this. To everyone out there, thank you so much for tuning in. You know where to find me on Instagram. It is @JennCassetta. You can tell us your dreams. I really would love to hear your comments on this episode because this was truly a good one. Thank you so much, everyone, and have a wonderful day.

Holler.

 

Important Links

• Judi Holler
• Fear is My Homeboy
• Instagram – Judi Holler
• LinkedIn – Judi Holler
• The Artist’s Way
• The War of Art
• Big Magic
• HOLLER AT YOUR DREAMS
• Newsletter – The Vibe Check
• Speaker School
• @JennCassetta – Instagram

 

About Judi Holler

Judi Holler is a fire starter, an energy shifter, and the ultimate hype woman, moving audiences worldwide to take massive action in their lives and businesses. Judi empowers people to face their fears and shut down self-doubt to age ambitiously and continue HOLLERING AT THEIR DREAMS!
For the last decade, Judi has built an enterprise that includes a robust keynote speaking business, a top 1% podcast on iTunes, Speaker Training, and a best-selling book, all of which have earned her praise with Forbes and Success Magazine mentions while also getting the attention of clients like Four Seasons, Calendly, L’Oreal, Ford Motor Company, Marriott, Bank of America, T-Mobile, Avon, The Boston Red Sox, The Ritz Carlton, and more.

Each year, Judi shifts energy in convention centers and ballrooms around the United States and beyond to audiences of 50 – 50,000 with her motivational, inspiring, and transformational keynote experiences.