Motivational Millennial | Passion | Dreams | Overcome Challenges | Purpose | Fulfillment | Motivation Co-hosted by Ivy LaClair and Blake Brandes

We’re back for final episode of the Motivational Millennial podcast. Yes, it’s true … it’s time to say goodbye.
If you’ve been a listener of the show for a while now, it’s very clear that we believe in a growth mindset. It’s because of this belief that we feel it’s time to end our Motivational Millennial journey and begin new ones.
This was a bittersweet episode to record because we’ll miss this podcast, the inspiring interviewees, and our amazing listeners, however, we’re incredibly excited about the directions we’re heading with our careers and personal lives.
Take a listen to this farewell episode so we can express our gratitude for the love you’ve shown us over the life of this podcast and find out what we’ll be up to next and how we can continue to support you.
What you’ll hear in this episode:
Our gratitude for the listeners, interviewees, and everyone who’s participated in the podcast in any way over the years An announcement about Ivy’s new project, the Mind Climate podcast What’s next for Blake in his motivational speaking journey Details on where you can listen to all our previous episodes of Motivational Millennial from this point forward Blake’s biggest takeaway from doing Motivational Millennial Ivy’s favorite moments of the Motivational Millennial podcast Ivy’s wishes for you, the listener, as you move forward in your life How you can continue to stay in touch with Blake and Ivy Follow Us On:
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The time has come for us to officially wrap up this season of the Motivational Millennial podcast. In this special finale episode, we talk about how we’ve grown this past season; with an eye towards how we can help other people through their own growth process, of course.
In the Motivational Millennial season two finale, we’ll discuss the importance of remembering that our sacrifices are a choice we’ve made and not something people force upon us, how taking ownership of our choices can empower us to feel happier and less anxious, the long-term benefits that come from investing in your personal growth and development, and so much more!
What you’ll hear in this episode:
How Blake learned he doesn’t always have to lose for others around him to win The importance of remembering our sacrifices are a choice The ways Blake’s life has changed since realizing he doesn’t have to sacrifice to make others happy How Ivy learned to take ownership of her decisions What if the story we tell ourselves about our lives isn’t entirely accurate? The long-term benefits that come from investing in your personal growth and development The profound impact Blake and Ivy’s hairstyle changes this season have had on them What playing a video game helped Ivy realize about her own growth mindset Why Blake and Ivy refuse to be pessimistic about the possibility for people to transform their lives Follow Us On:
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In this week’s inspired conversation, we reflect on our powerful interview with Jackie Rotman. Jackie is the Founder of Everybody Dance Now! which is a national youth development organization. Jackie also served as the Executive Director of Spark, a philanthropic network of millennials focused on gender equality, and she is currently helping survivors of sexual harm and advocating for sexual empowerment for women.
During our conversation, Jackie talked about the idea of restorative justice and how it can be used to not only heal the survivors of sexual harm, but also to heal the offenders. It’s this idea of healing that really stood out us and that’s why we’re diving more into this topic today. Enjoy!
What you’ll hear in this episode:
The difference between healing and punishment when it comes to individuals who inflict damage upon others Why Ivy finds the idea of restorative justice so valuable How restorative justice can help in a parent-child relationship The importance of releasing shame and how it can help reduce the desire to harm others What a video game taught Ivy about harmful societal norms How a healing perspective is helping Ivy adjust after moving back to a conservative part of the country Follow Us On:
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This episode involves a frank conversation about sexuality and sexual harm. While we feel it’s an amazing, and incredibly important conversation, listener discretion is advised.
 
Jackie Rotman is the Founder of Everybody Dance Now!; a national youth development organization. At age 14, she began using hip hop dancing culture as a tool for self-empowerment for young people. Jackie also served as the Executive Director of Spark; a philanthropic network of millennials focused on gender equality. She frequently speaks about social entrepreneurship, women's rights, and how to effectively engage millennials in philanthropy and social impact. Currently, Jackie is a concurrent MBA student at Stanford and an NPA student at Harvard Kennedy School.
After a traumatic event, Jackie shifted her focus to helping survivors of sexual harm and advocating for sexual empowerment for women. It’s those topics we’ll be discussing in detail today.
What you’ll hear in this episode:
The two recent projects Jackie’s been working on related to sexual empowerment for women and surviving sexual harm What is restorative justice? How Jackie is working to close the orgasm gap and help women feel empowered in their sexuality The correlation between rape culture and female sexual empowerment The events that led Jackie to eventually begin her work around sexual harm, female sexual empowerment Jackie’s belief that we can’t rely on external factors to help us heal from sexual harm What sexual empowerment means to Jackie and how it’s been a part of her personal journey Jackie’s thoughts on the #MeToo Movement Why we need to destigmatize sex Follow Us On:
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In last week’s episode, we spoke with Lily Fontas; a wellness coach and educator who is on a mission to help women get strong, healthy, and happy on their own terms.
While there were a few things that stood out to us from our conversation with Lily, the theme we’ve decided to center this inspired conversation around is the idea of a marathon versus a sprint.
What you’ll hear in this episode:
How Lily’s motto of “never diet again”, and the tension behind it, is the perfect example of the struggle between our actions being a marathon or a sprint How Ivy uses the concept of marathon versus sprint when creating systems for her business Why Ivy believes the idea of marathon versus sprint can be connected to self-care and compassion What the levels of stress we put on ourselves might say about how we perceive our self-worth How changing our perspective of the process can help us sustain a marathon pace Are we using the stress of sprinting to distract ourselves from the underlying issues that causes us to sprint? Follow Us On:
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Lily Fontas is a wellness coach and educator who is on a mission to help women get strong, healthy, and happy on their own terms. After struggling with a binge eating disorder and nearly burning out as a classroom teacher, she turned to bodybuilding for stress relief by combining strength training and positive reinforcement. She found a way to live a healthy life without dieting or deprivation and now she shares her expertise with women worldwide as an online coach.
In this episode, we talk about Lily’s personal journey, the importance of finding a balance between paying attention to what you put into your body but not paying so much attention that it becomes an obsession, why the diet mentality needs to go, and so much more. Enjoy!
What you’ll hear in this episode:
What Lily loves about what she’s up to now Lily’s transition from being a kindergarten teacher to becoming a professional body builder Why Lily feared losing her job when she took control of her health Why it’s so important for Lily to help others become more fit How the health and fitness industry isn’t designed to help people lose weight and keep it off Finding the balance between focusing on the details of getting fit but not becoming too obsessive and adding extra pressure on yourself Why the diet mentality needs to go What Lily considers to be her biggest achievement and how she accomplished it The biggest challenge Lily has faced while building her business The importance of focusing on what you do want rather than what you don’t want How weight lifting has reframed Lily’s view of failure Follow Us On:
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