On Pursuing Ivey Gaskin Baker

Friends, I wish you could see my face in this conversation with Heath. I am smiling from ear to ear and holding back laughter almost the entire time. Listening to his story, I just imagine this incredibly entertaining documentary that would be his life. The simultaneous innocence and rowdiness of teenage boys in a small town, the vulnerable connection and codependence between a single mom and her son, and the wild ride as a young man in the world of professional wrestling. I’ll let you wait and hear the story in his voice. This is a fun and full conversation. Heath gets vulnerable with us and I’m grateful for his willingness to share.

Heath wrestled professionally with WWE for 15 years and was let go in the middle of COVID 19, which turned out to be just the pivot in his career that he didn’t know he needed until it happened. I cannot imagine doing Heath’s job or watching my husband take punches the way Heath has for his 16 year wrestling career. He has also recently undergone surgery on his abdomen to repair years worth of injuries and is currently on a road to recovery.

Heath has an infectious enthusiasm for life, a kindness unlike anything I’ve seen in a man that throws humans around for a living, a deep love for his wife and two daughters, a level head and a resilient spirit. Today we talk about taking punches. Getting knocked on your ass and the value of getting back up. For many of us out there, this feels like our soundtrack to life. I personally prefer a life that knocks me down from time to time, keeps me humble.

Heath is in the middle of all kinds of change and rebuilding. Change in his career and building back his body after surgery. He is a go-go-go kind of guy, so sitting still is not something he’s accustomed to, but it’s taught him a lot.

We recorded this conversation in Spring of 2021 and I’ve waited until now, October 2021 to release it as Heath is back in the ring with a big fight coming up later this month. I’m excited to see what is next for him, and I know he has a new internal drive and fight unlike ever before. In the words of Heath Miller, “Let’s go baby.”

Resources & Links to Further Connect with Heath Miller: 

Heath on Instagram 

Heath on Twitter 

If you would like to connect with Ivey and continue the conversation, please feel free to connect on social media.  

When I was a kid, maybe 7 years old, our family hosted a young woman from Belarus. It was years after the disaster at the nuclear plant in Chernobyl. A nuclear disaster with massive human and environmental health impact that has lingered on for generations. I can still remember her stoic face the day she arrived. She was 13, thin, quiet and scared. Her name was Natasha and she changed my family’s lives forever. Anytime we meet someone from Belarus or hear news out of Belarus, it’s impossible not to think of Natasha, wonder about the life she is currently living, and think about how wonderful it would be to see her today.

Last year I met a bright, young man named Dzmitry and later, his wife, Anna. They had recently started a business and were doing really well, but Dzmitry had some financial questions.  He quickly shared where he was from. I could almost see my dad’s heart skip and eyes tear up. After the re-election of Lukashenko, 2020 was a really rough year in Belarus. The moment we met Dzmitry, we couldn’t help but ask questions, about everything. He was generous enough to volunteer what’s happening today in Belarus and why he chose to leave a few years ago. In those few minutes together, it was easy for me to gather, he wanted the most out of this life and that Dzmitry and Anna were building something special.

In working through financial questions with Dzmitry and as a client of Anna, I’ve since had many conversations with these two. I requested that they share their story on On Pursuing podcast and they kindly said yes.

Their story is one of those great American immigrant stories that makes me so incredibly proud to be American. In their early 20’s Dzmitry and Anna left Belarus with nothing but a dream. The details you will learn more about in our conversation. You will also understand why staying in Belarus was untenable for dreamers like these two. Upon arrival to the U.S. they worked hard at odd jobs to stay fed and keep a roof over their heads. Lying in bed at night they would dream and imagine something bigger than their current reality.

They eventually built that reality. Each of them used their own personal skills to build something truly beautiful, learning a skill and providing a valuable service to men and women, not currently very common in the US, permanent make-up. They have thoughtfully built a three pronged business model through client service, a product line and an academy teaching other artists this artistic skill.

The name of their business is Mara Cosmetic Studio and Academy. Evidently, Mara means “dream” in their spoken language. Their business brand is on par with something you’d experience at the Ritz Carlton and I’m proud to say that I know them and would recommend them to anyone.

America is the Land of Opportunity. When you hear their story, it is obvious that this is the truth. May we never forget it.

See link below for show notes:

On Pursuing - Episode 11 - On Opportunity with Mara Cosmetic Studio and Academy

Resources & Links to Further Connect with Anna and Dzmitry

Mara Studio Website 

Anna Bokhan on Instagram 

Mara Studio on Instagram 

If you would like to connect with Ivey and continue the conversation, please feel free to connect on social media.  

Ideas or theories have brought us to where we are today. Economic Theory. Gravity. Human psychology and neuroscience. Ideas are evolutionary and need to be challenged. Ideas require discourse. Sometimes they are proven to be good and right, sometimes they are damaging and wrong. But all ideas seeking to solve problems require discussion around the varying possible outcomes.

To restate one of my favorite sentiments, “Beware of unintended consequences.” And my second favorite, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

In today’s environment, I’d like to believe that the people that are working to bring justice to those in need are doing something good. I’d like to believe that the intent and the desired outcome is good. If that’s the case, then you’d think that people would be openly discussing the various outcomes or consequences to the debated ideas. But they’re really not. What we see happening today is a very loud minority seeking to effectively silence a very curious and questioning majority.

This current method of ridicule that we are seeing in the streets and on social media, belittling someone because they don’t understand a concept, because they would like to dialogue an idea or because they just don’t agree - This is not producing desired outcomes of a better life for humanity. It’s just dividing humanity and even harming some. Mostly ridicule there is little discourse and basically no progress.

I’d like to share someone that I think is doing this dialogue thing right. Will Reusch is one of my favorite accounts on social media right now. Will is a high school teacher in Los Angeles, a father of three boys, a debate coach, a host of his podcast Cylinder radio, a seeker of truth and an ever increasing voice of productive discourse and idea enlightenment (for lack of better phrasing) on social media. Will is courageously trying to create space for productive dialogue around real issues. He has been ridiculed countless times and simply uses this negative energy to learn more. He offers up grace, curiosity and compassion. For his presence on this noisy and divisive platform, I am so grateful.

In our conversation, we talk about his role as a teacher. Social justice concepts in universities. Debate versus conversation. Critical race theory. The human mind. The positive influence he currently sees from religious ritual. The Chinese Communist Party and their influence on Americans. The value of discussing ideas and allowing your own ideas to be challenged. We navigate through a lot.

See link below for show notes:

On Pursuing - Episode 10 - Will Reusch, On Discourse 

Resources & Links to Further Connect with Will

Will Reusch Instagram 

Cylinder Radio Podcast 

If you would like to connect with Ivey and continue the conversation, please feel free to connect on social media.  

One of my best friends is Cuban American. Her mom is like an Aunt to me. We were born two days apart in a military hospital in early September, with her mom’s birthday wedged between us. Cuban culture is an undeniable part of their story. I love these women and their whole family, wildly. They are my people. My tenacious, resilient, beautiful, Cuban American people. When all of the news started to come out of Cuba this summer, I followed along with some of the stories that my friend’s family and their friends out of Miami were sharing. Knowing the truth, I then watched the news and fellow American citizens get the story just so incredibly wrong. It was upsetting, to say the least. A denialism of sorts. A denialism of the truth in Cuba, seemingly to protect an agenda that I have felt for some time, creeping into the US. 

I wanted to learn more. 

In seeking the truth, I came across another beautiful, honest and courageous Cuban American woman who was boldly telling Cuban stories and explaining Cuban history on her platform on social media. I was sucked in. 

Bertha Leal was kind enough to spend two hours with me, guiding me through Cuban history, her story coming to the U.S. and pursuing her American Dream and what comes next for Cuban people. It is so incredibly important that we continue to hear stories of people facing true oppression. What I learned is that, maybe more than anything, Cubans face oppression of their spirits. 

When Americans look up to the stars to dream and design a life of greatness, we are free to do just that. We can stay right here and focus our minds and our energy on whatever we want. There are hurdles, sure. And for some, those hurdles are much higher than others. But we don’t face the threat of death or prison. We are also free to speak, to criticize and vote to remove the leaders who stand in our way. That simply isn’t possible on the island of Cuba. There are actual governmental and militaristic forces working against them. Under a communist and dictatorial regime, Cubans are not free. Over the past 12 months, I think Americans, for the first time in a long time, have come face to face with Freedom, liberty, personal responsibility and trust. I think that we frequently forget what we have in America and how special it truly is. 

Today, Bertha discusses freedom with me. She describes a Cuban reality currently void of basic human rights and her hopes for Cubans. We discuss what freedom is to us and why it’s so important to the human spirit, in fully realizing our potential and purpose. It’s a powerful conversation. Highlights from our conversation: History of Cuba and the Cuban experience for so man Bertha’s experience both in Cuba and migrating to the U.S.  What she’s currently busy pursuing in the U.S. What’s truly going on in Cuba right now, why this is important and what needs to be done. 

See link below for show notes:  

On Pursuing - Episode 9 - Bertha Leal, On Freedom  

Resources & links to further connect with Bertha: 

Cuba Decide - Organization looking to bring change peacefully to country 

ADN Cuba - For News and Updates 

Bertha Leal Instagram 

The Amparo Experience  

If you would like to connect with Ivey and continue the conversation, please feel free to connect on social media. 

I spent about 5 years writing a book. Unlike Ariel’s mine is not getting published anytime soon, but we’ll get there. The first main chapter that really solidified my desire to actually write this book was about confidence and self awareness. To me, confidence is one of the most important assets we can all have in this highly competitive and often judgmental world we live in.

High school and growing up is hard. You have no clue who you are and are constantly being challenged to be something or someone. I am a very different person today than I was 15 years ago and I, like many high schoolers, lacked confidence in self and direction in life. It can be hard to decide what we’re going to do with our lives. But I have always felt that if you know yourself and find ways to expose yourself to as many people or careers as possible, you eventually find your fit. It’s a dance between what we can give and what other people want from us. You find something that affirms what you can offer the world. This journey can be fun, overwhelming and heartbreaking at times.

One of the central themes to this podcast is my desire to talk to people that have elected to devote their lives to something that lights them up. People who have found their spot where they really shine. Ariel is one of those people.

I’ve been watching Ariel for over a year now, as a photographer, capturing the essence of her high school seniors and branding clients and elevating the most radiant and human aspects of their existence. Being seen is important. We all want to be seen for who we truly are. Photos are a beautiful way to do that when done right.

Anyone with a camera can, in theory, take a photo. But it takes a special person with great skill and self-awareness to create an environment where someone feels comfortable being photographed. Ariel is the perfect person for this job. She creates an environment and energy that enables her clients to feel confident in their skin allowing her to capture their true essence, to be seen.

I love watching Ariel confidently step into her own purpose and elevate others as they seek to explore their own. Today we talk about her career path, who guided her in making certain decisions, why she’s special in her industry, finding her own confidence and what is on the horizon for her business. I highly encourage you to check out the show notes and check out Ariel’s work. She is so talented and her work is something special.

Show Notes & Links:

On Pursuing - On Confidence - Episode 9

Find information about Ariel's senior photography, branding & portrait photography, mentoring and more!

Instagram 

Ariel Perry Website 

If you'd like to connect with Ivey and continue the conversation, please feel free to connect on social media.

Today I talk to Kenny Xu, a young Asian American journalist that is working to confront discrimination happening in Ivy League schools in efforts to make the school population more diverse. He has done a lot of research on the topic and we discuss his findings in his recent publication, An Inconvenient Minority: The Attack on Asian American Excellence and the Fight for Meritocracy.

The concern, stated by Kenny in this conversation, is that meritocracy is under attack on school campuses, specifically Ivy Leagues, giving preferences to individuals based on race and discriminating against Asian Americans who have met the standards on merit alone.

This is a complex issue - One that I personally am currently removed from, but have great interest in as I believe deeply in competition via merit, performance and ability.

Our American history is flawed and systems were put in place preventing some, fully capable and worthy opponents, from even entering the arena to compete. This artificially allowed some of us to rise and squelched the potential of others. Yes, there were systems in our past that present problems today. These issues are now embedded in our culture and what we prioritize. Kenny’s concern is that we are unknowingly creating new problems, squeezing out another group, Asian Americans.

But like our Declaration of Independence states, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - we Americans are always pursuing something greater. A greater version of ourselves.

We should appreciate something really beautiful about American culture and that is the idea that anyone can succeed here, if they work hard enough, if they have access to quality education, if they have the tenacity to keep going and the support to keep them in the fight.

As we see with so many immigrating from all over the world to find success here in America, much is possible. I found this to be a very interesting conversation that educated me both on Chinese culture, what is happening in elite circles and Ivy League schools and the negative impact it can have on Asian Americans and those they are attempting to help. I hope that you take from it, what you feel valuable.

This conversation was originally recorded on April 22, 2021. 

Show Notes & Links:

On Pursuing - On Merit - Episode 8

Social Media for Kenny & Book

Instagram 

Twitter

An Inconvenient Minority Podcast

An Inconvenient Minority Book on Amazon - Available on July 13, 2021

If you'd like to connect with Ivey and continue the conversation, please feel free to connect on social media.