On this week’s episode "Flourish or Fold: Stories of Resilience," I had the pleasure of interviewing Jenna Banks, a keynote speaker, social impact entrepreneur, and best-selling author of the book I Love Me More: How To Find Happiness and Success Through Self-Love.Jenna's work is centered around empowering women and promoting self-love, a topic that is often misunderstood and undervalued in our society.

The Misconception of Self-Love

Jenna began our conversation by addressing the common misconception that self-love is selfish or narcissistic, especially for women. She explained that society often conditions women to believe that self-love is selfish. However, Jenna firmly believes that this couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, she argues that self-love empowers women and is a necessary component for achieving true gender equality.

The Role of a Social Impact Entrepreneur

As a social impact entrepreneur, Jenna's focus is on making a positive impact on society through her work. She is currently developing a platform called “Powerful Women,” which aims to empower women worldwide through a social network. When asked to explain what it means to be a social impact entrepreneur, Jenna shared that it involves making an impact on society by helping others through speaking, teaching, coaching, and creating platforms that do good beyond just making a profit.

The Journey to Self-Love and Empowerment

Jenna's focus on women's empowerment stems from her personal journey to self-love. She had to overcome many hurdles, including a strict religious upbringing, abusive relationships, and suicidal thoughts. Despite these hardships, Jenna believes that these experiences shaped her into the resilient person she is today. She emphasizes that it is through facing challenges that we gain wisdom and strength.

Jenna shared a powerful story about a valuable employee who was willing to walk away from a job that didn't value her. This bold move led to her promotion and subsequent success. Jenna encourages women to celebrate their small wins and to prioritize self-love and self-value.

The Power of Choice

Jenna also discussed the power of choice and how it can transform our lives. She emphasized that we have the ability to shift our energy and decide what matters to us. We can choose to not give our thoughts, attention, and care to things that bother us. Jenna believes that conditioning and societal expectations can make us forget that we have a choice. However, she encourages us to remember that choice is our superpower and that we can create our world based on what serves us best.

The Importance of Self-Love

I have the utmost admiration for Jenna's incredible work in the world. I appreciated how Jenna decouples the idea of self-love from selfishness or narcissism, highlighting that it is a pure and foundational aspect of our humanity.

I believe that Jenna's message is timely, especially in a world where it is easy to feel angry, frustrated, and disappointed with oneself and the world. The more we love ourselves, the more we can share love with others. Her message is a reminder that we all have the power to choose what matters to us and to create a world that serves us best.

I'm incredibly grateful for Jenna's contribution to our conversation and the wisdom she shared. Her words are sure to impact many lives, and I hope they resonate with you as well. Remember, the more we love ourselves, the more we can share love with others. So, let's continue to flourish and spread love in our world.

I hope you'll join us in this journey towards resilience. Don't forget to like, comment, download, and share our podcast. We're excited to hear your thoughts and what you've learned from our conversation.

To learn more about Jenna, her work and her book, visit: https://jenna-banks.com/ and http://ilovememorebook.com/

Here are some highlights of the episode to look forward to:

The importance of self-love and women's empowerment [00:04:04 ]: Jenna discusses the societal conditioning that leads women to believe that self-love is selfish and the need for women to empower themselves from within.

Unconscious disempowering social norms [00:07:30 ]: Jenna talks about how women tend to apologize excessively and downplay their achievements, and how these behaviors affect their sense of power and success.

The power of holding boundaries [00:09:35 ]: Jenna highlights the problem of women not setting and enforcing boundaries, and how societal conditioning of being a "nice girl" often prioritizes others' feelings over their own.

The power of speaking up [00:11:46 ]: Jenna shares a story about a woman who finally spoke up about her accomplishments at work and how it led to her getting promoted.

Valuing oneself and walking away [00:12:54 ]: Jenna emphasizes the importance of valuing oneself and being willing to walk away from situations where one's worth is not recognized, using both personal and professional examples.

Overcoming challenges and self-love [00:16:16 ]: Jenna shares her personal journey of overcoming various challenges, including leaving an abusive home, becoming a single mother, and battling with suicidal thoughts, and how it ultimately led her to learn to love herself more.

The power of choice [00:24:05 ]: Jenna discusses the power of choice and how it allows us to decide what matters in our lives.

Learned helplessness [00:28:31 ]: Jenna shares a story about an experiment with dogs that demonstrates how humans can develop learned helplessness and forget that they have a choice.

Unlimited possibilities [00:31:14 ]: Jenna emphasizes the importance of recognizing the unlimited possibilities available to us and how they can drive us forward in navigating challenges.

Creating a Powerful Women Network [00:34:20 ]: Jenna discusses her new platform called Powerful Women, which aims to create a safe space for women to support and empower each other.

Importance of Sisterhood and Support [00:35:27 ]: Jenna emphasizes the need for women to support one another and create a culture of sisterhood instead of competition.