Welcome back to the share my fellow Extraordinary Americans. Today we have our guest, Carol Carpenter. Carol is a really successful entrepreneur. In 2012, she starred in Mojo Vixens LLC, a motorcycle track deal of mezzotint. It was with the Mission to be Inclusive of all riders regardless of their gender, race, and religion, and without discrimination of the type of bikes they ride, motor victims focus on education, safety, and community and ensure the preservation of the sport by championing women in motorcycling and other industries. It is her desire to give access without barriers and provide mentorship to help them succeed. She’s also a TEDx, author, model-actress, stunt woman, voiceover actor, and racer. She’s been in a reality TV show and is a managing partner in Iron Dog Media. 

So, Carol comes from a first-generation child whose parents immigrated from Taiwan. So, she has a very unique perspective when it comes to life, American culture, and entrepreneurship in general. And I thought That you’d be a great interviewee for this show, so let me introduce Carol to us. Carol, are you there?

I am.

Hey, Carol, thank you for coming to this show. We really appreciate it. So, Carol, I know that you’re an entrepreneur. You’ve been to TEDx. You’re a very successful author, a best-selling author actually. Can you tell us? A little bit. More about yourself, your background, and how you got started.

Yeah, about myself. You mentioned I was born in the US, and both my parents are from Taiwan. And you don’t think anything of it obviously, when you’re a kid, right, because you just think, oh, this is normal. But it became really clear when I Was school age That our family was not normal because I didn’t look like all the other kids, and even though I spoke perfect English the way I looked led to a lot of teasing and racism back then We didn’t have, like, the adults, were not willing to stick up for us so principals, teachers, you know that kind of stuff was it was something that We had to deal with.

It either makes you stronger or completely breaks you down, and if anything, I think it made me stronger because there was really nothing at that point anybody could say or do that could harm me because you know, you get a thick skin, and maybe that was my foundation to kind of get that. I don’t know that desire to break out of what they considered was this immigrant kind of racism issue. That they had to show them that we’re no different. We’re all people. And just because, you know, I might have a different skin color. Their eyes look a little bit different. You know, it doesn’t matter. We’re all people, and if we can just treat each other as individuals, right, the world would be a better place because right now I just see so much division and so much negativity. It just upsets me.

Carol, how long…what is like, the length of time in which you have these realizations like an as like the daughter of immigrant parents.

Like what is? Oh gosh, I think elementary school. I mean, don’t you think by the time you hit elementary school because you’re exposed to more people around you and, you know, previously it could just be? You know your neighborhood friends or even you know, your family members like Cousins and stuff like that who look very similar to you. 

So, you don’t think that you’re odd, right? But then you put it into a public school setting. It’s when you really see the differences and You eat differently than they do. So that’s where I think that’s Where they didn’t. And when people don’t understand things, they don’t necessarily accept them. They don’t keep an open mind.

No, totally. So, Carol, when it comes to like these too, like the context of, like, the circumstance that you grew up in and what is the overall arching goal and vision when it comes to your Life and your career.

If anything, because I grew up the way I did and it was so difficult and I’m not sure what it’s like in your culture, but in my culture, males are revered, and for me being female and also the firstborn in my family. I was not. I didn’t know as a child I wasn’t wanted right. Yeah, it wasn’t until later that I found out, even from my own grandmother, that my dad was very short-sighted because of my sex because my gender wasn’t wanted, and it was purely because as a male I would be able to carry on the family line.

OK.

The idea is the female Carries off carries another surname, therefore breaking away from the family right and so. It was hard, it was a hard childhood growing up, knowing that you weren’t wanted. And I think the insult to injury was that my dad could not get rid of me. He made every day of my life excruciating.

I’m really sorry to hear.

That it makes you stronger. It makes you stronger as an individual because You have to realize that maybe their upbringing led them to those biases and those beliefs, right? And maybe that’s the reason I am so open-minded. You know, I wasn’t just raised, you know, with two cultures I was raised with two religions. And while you know religions are similar in having faith, I was raised Buddhist and I was raised Presbyterian. In fact, I was baptized Presbyterian because I spent the majority of my time with my mother’s family after they got divorced. 

So, you know, by the time I was a teenager, I went through confirmation and everything and took my mother’s religion, which was Presbyterian, and which is funny because she’s Taiwanese. You’d expect her to be Buddhist, right? But somehow the missionaries made it all the way to Taiwan. And you know, so here we are. We’re Presbyterian. And yeah, so my dad. And it’s Sad because I wish he didn’t let his limited beliefs from the culture Keep us from getting to know each other, right? And he did. 

He did because it was so ingrained in him. That he couldn’t help it. And I think the hardest part was finding out that you know because he couldn’t get rid of me because I wasn’t born in Taiwan and, we call it a dirty little secret and it is nobody discusses anymore like the practice that was so common. And if you were a first-born female. You know your life is basically going to be… You were left out to die. You were taken to a church in hopes that somebody would adopt you or you would be given to a family member who couldn’t have children and they would adopt you as their own. Or you could take the 4th. One is they could have sold you off to slavery. So, you would become a servant for another person’s family.

That is messed up.

When you know, I think it’s funny when people say, oh my God, my life is So hard and I’m like. OK, so if you. Were given one of those options, of which some of them are not good options, right?

How can you complain about your life right now when You live in this land of Opportunity, and in fact, I think it’s become the land of entitlement? Because everybody’s so freaking lazy now. They won’t do anything right? Whereas before for me to get out of a situation like that I had to prove myself. You know, and maybe that’s the reason why. You know, I was studying to be a doctor because I figured if I could be successful enough, my dad would accept me. I mean I was a very bright student and I got grants to go to Med school, so I couldn’t believe that you know, I would try this hard, and I couldn’t even earn my father’s love or acceptance for that matter. And truthfully, isn’t it, isn’t that what every human being wants is acceptance? So, I think that’s what makes me, or made me foundationally, the person I am now.

Yeah, but it. Yeah, it’s it. so, continue from this is this what drove you to? Is this what motivated you to succeed and like, was this the pushing or elemental factor that pushed you to succeed in your career altogether?

No, I don’t think so. I think the drive was always there. What I never really could get my grasp on in my younger years is what I actually wanted to do because so much of my past was in studying to Be a doctor. And that identity was linked with my family and what they wanted Me to be. Because it was For me… I don’t know. If you have this in your culture but for us as children, it was our duty to do well in school because it reflected well on the family To have an honorable Profession because it would honor the family. Everything we did was. A duty or an honor to the family and I found I found myself completely bound to that. I couldn’t help myself. 

So, I think at the end of the day I didn’t really want to be a doctor. I knew I could be. But if you asked me if that was my dream, no, no, I mean, I did well at school. I could have become a doctor. But the truth is, by the time I was 19, my mom had had terminal cancer for so long, and she lost her battle. And at that point, you know, when she passed away that tie… Because I didn’t have a real relationship with my father, the tie I had with my mother and the responsibilities linked with it in a way faded, faded away. 

And I sat there going Oh my God, what am I going to do because I really. Don’t want to become a doctor? Right. And I end up changing my major to business. I took some, you know, night classes while I worked because of course, you know, back then my mom passed away. I have to make a living in order to You know, feed myself, and support myself and I was taking my school at the time so. You know. Thinking about things that you want to do never comes easy. I mean it comes. With a great deal of sacrifice. Right. So, luckily, we were young, I mean back then I was young. I could do it all. Right, we’re, you know, going to school. Have a life. I mean it. It was pretty overwhelming, but we did it. You know. 

And it wasn’t until. I don’t know.  I worked at a high-tech company for quite a while, and I met my now ex-husband. You know, I should say now he’s an ex-husband and I end up getting married and having two kids. 

And so I have two sons currently aged 24 and 26. And love them to death, you know. And unfortunately, our marriage didn’t work out but my ex-husband is a good individual. A kind man. I think we had too much of a gap between us in the way we saw things. And I think when you go into a relationship, people say things that they believe are true, but when the situation arises. Things don’t work out usually the way they say they’re going to Work out and that caused or split, but you know, and I wrote about this, I think recently in, in an article where you know when I was 20 years old my mother passed away completely, like turning over my world and my life and the way I saw things. 

And then, 20 years later, I’m getting divorced and I’m sitting here going, geez, you know, I thought my purpose, which was to be a parent and everything, they’re growing up. They’re moving out. Of the house. I’ve left here with nothing again and I’m alone and I have no direction. And I just sat there thinking why have I been playing it safe my entire life? 

Like I’ve been so afraid to take risks because the way I was brought up was, oh, you need to, you know, you need to have a job, you need to have, you know, a steady income and… I’m like who made these rules, you know, because we live in a world where it says you go to school, you go to college, you get married, you know, you get a good job, you get married, you have kids, you save for retirement. And then Everything Is awesome. It’s not awesome. What happens if the economy tanks and your retirement goes…

totally

It happens. Well, what are you going to do? I mean, you’re probably at that point, too elderly, and maybe your skills are too obsolete for you to be even hirable. Except for maybe, possibly a Walmart greeter. Come on, let’s be real folks, you know? So, I took a risk, and after raising kids and all the things that happened in my life I figured this is almost my second chapter. This is my time now that I get it. To kind of experience life, because I put my life on hold.

That must have Been a really hard thing to do, taking a risk at The age of Around 40, because like most people would.

Yes, it was scary. It was really scary because I knew taking that risk could financially Kill me. Right. But I just thought, you know, my mom died when she was 47, and I was in my 40s at the time. I was thinking about it, and I was like, OK, well, if I lived till I was 47 years old, can I honestly say I did everything I wanted to do here? And the answer was no. 

So, I chose to just go. I’m going to go down my bucket list, you know, because if I die tomorrow and I’m not guaranteed I’m going to live. I mean, if I’m going to get my ticket punched, it’s Going to get punched. Whether I like it or not, right? And it’s my time. I’ll see. You later, right? But. I can’t. I mean I couldn’t do that. 

So, I was just like, OK. I’m not happy with my life. Let’s do something fun and the first thing on my list was riding motorcycles because it terrified me and because my brother’s a stunt rider and I and he’s actually a stuntman and he works in films a lot in TV shows, movies, commercials, you name it, right? But I just go. Yeah, I want to Do that. I thought that it was going to be a passing whim. Like I’m going to do it. Going to like it, it’ll. Kind of like a hobby on the side. And I’ll you know, I’ll do something else, right? So, I just made a bucket list of things I wanted to do that was on top of the list. Who knew that was going to fall in love?

With it became your passion.

I actually loved it so much that I made it a business.

The Motor Vixens LLC, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So what? What is the biggest lesson you learned over the years? Like when you were doing this business and just like when you started when you started it.

I’ve been accused of being naive and maybe I was, and I’d rather be naive than horribly cynical because in the beginning I truly believed that everybody wanted to do this for the betterment of the sport. And I think the greatest disappointment was that nobody else was doing it for the betterment of the sport. The only thing they were looking for is the almighty dollar. 

Yes, about my vision, my goal, my everything. It was like. It was just it. It dashed my hopes completely. My hopes are in the people that were out there, right? And I sort of wonder, is this my industry? Only that does this or is this? Every industry, like I’m all right and then bushy-tailed and I yeah, I may be in my 40s, but I’m sitting here thinking everybody wants to. Like you know, Save their sport, do good things, and make an impact. 

It never occurred to me that they were going to try to put me out of business. I had No idea and here I was very naive, and I just thought, hey, let’s all work together because I think we can totally do really good things for the sport, you know? No, their interest is more in making the dollar and crushing their competitors. I was a competitor. 

Yeah. 

So, if I tell you it’s going to be easy. It’d be a lie. It’s hard. It’s freaking hard. But I think. I think eventually when people see that. You are genuine. The person you put yourself out to be. Then you start getting people that are very drawn to you and will help You and that’s what changed everything for me in my company. The way I looked at things, perspectives, mindsets, everything changed from that point on because then I met my business advisors. 

And when they came in, I no joke was close to closing my doors and was having a nervous breakdown and. I mean they were literally mandating me to take a vacation because I was taking on way too much. For so much effort for so little reward. Right. And I was also struggling with a failing relationship with a boyfriend’s ex-boyfriend of mine. Right. It was so much pressure on a personal level and on a business level. And even individually, I was struggling. So, I was having Health issues from all the stress. 

So, I don’t know. I don’t know what to tell you, I mean like sometimes. You question your decisions to do things, but I think the. The basis of it is the love of my sport. The passion I have for it knowing that it saved me, and gave me a purpose. Just something it was something I couldn’t let go so Of course, I persevered, and here we are today. You know, and it’s a good thing I think that was… I want to say it was like four or five years ago when I met them. And they changed. They changed the way I’ve done business and showed me ways to do business. 

I couldn’t even get my head wrapped around them when I first met them, and now it’s just a part of me, you know, and it’s something I Get to share with People, when they ask me questions and pick my brain. I guess in a way. You call me a mentor for them, but It’s kind of like Passing it on, you know that knowledge is not for you to keep exclusively, that knowledge is for you to share. So, everybody benefits, you know, and I just think people are, oh, they’re so self-centered and selfish that they don’t do those things, but it is. It is our responsibility to make sure that we teach people the right way to do things. The ethical way to do things.

So, what was the biggest challenge you had to face over all this time? Like starting from when you did the motivations thing to like right now, what is that? What is the biggest challenge? How would you overcome it?

So, the biggest challenge I faced was my competitors. I hate using the word competitor because I didn’t want to treat it as my competitors. I really wanted them to be like, honestly, I would have loved it. If they were my teammates. And we could have all benefited but they saw me as the enemy, and there was a lot of discussion about it. What do we do? How do we make friends with these guys even though we? Know they’re not ethical. But there’s something you have to ask yourself. Like where do you stand? Like for me it. I don’t even want to be friends with these people, because they’re not ethical. I don’t even like these individuals now. And I know you know who they are. 

And oh, God, Cosmos, I wish I could tell you the things and the lengths they went to put me. Business and it. Including messing around with my social media, having me shut down, and doing all kinds of underhanded things. Oh, you have. No. If you, by the way, ever have faced you, we call it Facebook jail. If for any reason you go into Facebook jail, good luck getting out. You can’t get a hold of a person. It’s freaking horrible to try to get yourself reestablished back onto social media. 

But I basically reached out to everybody I could think of. Luckily, one of the members of my staff actually worked within that company and did some research to find out another friend that had a woman that worked in a corporation. And they looked into it too, and they finally got me reinstated. Now that with all the help that I had with connections, it still took me 3 weeks to get back on, so I can only imagine you didn’t have those contacts, what would it take to get back onto social media? 

I mean it Was horrendous. It was my busiest time of the season. That was when I did all my updates. I did all the announcements. All of it for almost a month was wiped.

Out they could have just done a win, win situation with no they it. It’s like a narcissistic kind of thing where they have to bring the other person down to yeah.

Make somebody smaller to make yourselves bigger. It was exactly that. And I was devastated. Like I, you know, cause for me to put on events, it’s a huge expense, and if I can’t even give information out in the avenues and the platforms that I’m accustomed to doing. I mean, think about how. That affects me in terms of revenue, right Yes, we talk About money, not in terms of like it is an evil thing. It is a necessary evil if you want to put it that way, right? We need it in order to survive, right? And truthfully, if we want to make an impact, let’s get into this. We want to make an impact.

How are we going to make an impact, well, you’re not Going to do it. So, in order to make it. Sorry if you. Want to make an impact? It takes money. How are you doing? To do that, you have to make money. Right. So let’s get the whole money issue out of this. The way money is tool money is not the end of all things.

It’s neutral. It’s how you use It that actually matters.

Again, like a gun, right? Who’s the bad person, the gun or the person pulling the trigger?

The person pulling the trigger.

Correct. Same thing. With the motorcycle is a motorcycle really, really dangerous? In your mind, is a motorcycle dangerous?

A person who drives it.

It’s a nut behind the handlebars that’s dangerous, right? Because you’re the one piloting that bike, by the way, that bike does not do any of the thinking you’re the idiot doing the thinking. So, if something goes wrong, it’s not the bike’s fault again. It’s a tool and people misplace its importance Of money and money is just a tool. It’s all dependent on the person that’s driving, right? 

OK, so anyways, yeah, so these guys. We’re making it very, very hard on me and I have tried. I had basically exhausted every avenue I had in order to not know… Try to make my business run with them as allies versus enemies or competition. I remember having a discussion with my business advisors and I was like, I’m not really sure how I’m going to do this. And he goes well, one of them said to me, well, it looks like we’re playing on a fixed. We’re playing a fixed game on their field, and you will never win a game on their field. And I go OK, well, that’s great, I know what we are going to do, right? 

And I remember him saying this and it Has stuck with me since. He said Create or create your own view. You have. You can make the rules. And they can’t play the game. And I thought I like that it’s not going head-to-head with them. I’m removing myself from the equation and starting my own thing over here and that seemed way more positive to me and a better way to do things than to because when you get in these conflicts, you know there’s all these rumors and gossip. And mind you, we have a very small industry because it’s a motorcycle industry, right? Word gets around. So instead of playing that game and. He said she said, Oh my. God, did you hear? I took myself, removed myself, and put myself somewhere else. And I’m going to go build something on this field that they can’t play at because they don’t know how.

That is so Strategic and like it’s a very elegant way of dealing with the situation.

Why do you need to fight? You don’t need to fight. You know you can each have your own things and your own niches, and you can all work collaboratively together. There can be a synergy, and everybody can benefit, but if you’ve chosen to make an enemy of me, OK, you just showed me where I stood with you and that’s fine, but Minds you Cosmos, All the people we’re talking about and all the companies that were run are run by men. I was the only woman, and I am the only woman to run a track day organization in the Pacific Northwest.

That is actually really inspirational for other female entrepreneurs that want to get into this thing.

And I think it’s with me having to Go through hardships. I think it’s my responsibility to kind of pave the path for them to make it easier for them to get through and not have to go through all the hardships that I went through and all the, you know, Oh my God, she’s just a girl. Oh, my God. What’s she going to do? Oh, my God, she Can’t do this or that. You know what? I love it when a man tells me I can’t do something. Because chances are, not only am I going to do it, but I’m also going to do it remarkably well and make you look like an idiot.

It’s kind of like a negative motivation, right? Like the like, I found it out myself, whenever somebody tells me not to, like, I can’t do it like it. Makes me want to prove them wrong.

Oh yeah, that fire Just build up and you’re. Like, oh yeah, watch me. So yeah, that’s part of my mission too, because it was So hard for me, you know, going through this industry and. And nobody. I Want to talk about it, but it is A boy’s club. I mean, this industry is male-dominated. That’s fine and I don’t have a problem fighting for my position, but I don’t like being ridiculed Because I’m a woman, I don’t like being dismissed because I’m a woman. You know, I’m not dumb, so please don’t treat me like I am.

No. Yeah, totally. So, what is the one thing Carol you wish you’d known at the beginning of, like your career? Like in this motorcycle, in this motorcycle industry? And what would you tell me? What would you advise other people, including women, if they’re starting off and pursuing this field? And they’re just, like, starting off.

What I wish I would have known is that. We are our own creators. Of our own limited beliefs. And I think. My idea of risk came from my family and now that I know what I know. I sit here and I think well, I wish I would have been more courageous when I was young. I wish that I hadn’t fallen into the “formula” of, you know, going to, going to school, going to university, you know, getting a job. Having kids, all that kind of stuff. I wish I would have followed. That formula and I would have taken more risks because I’m taking the risk. It is giving me security and I think so many of us think that you know. If we take the safe path. We’re fine. We’ll have this wonderful life. And if you don’t take a risk, how do you know what you’re missing? Because truthfully, it could be what you’re seeking.

Yeah, and regarding the risk, let’s say some, let’s say, women want to go into your field, and they want to go against a male-dominated field. What do you think? How would you advise them about going about it? I’m sure that there are other women out there that want to be interested in that in the street.

Fine, fine individuals like me within the industry that love the sport that has a true passion for the sport, and want to see it survive because, for us, money is not the motivator. I mean the survival of the sport is a motivator.

So, Carol, you know, they’re saying that America is the land of the free and the land where dreams are made, right? The land of freedom and their dreams are made. Do you agree or disagree with that?

I think there’s, gosh, I mean, America is full of so much opportunity and it’s just for you to find it, right? And I think everybody wants to have a purpose. Everybody has passions, not necessarily to the point they want to make a business of it. But you know if You have a passion, and you can make a business. Of it and It’s something that truly drives you, I mean. We live in the freaking land of opportunity, anything and everything can happen. 

It’s just up to you and you have to take the first step. You know, nobody’s going to invite you to start your company, right? That has to be you. And because at the end of the day. You are the one that has to be in there every single day, and you, you’re going to grind in the beginning and it’s going to feel relentless. And if you don’t have a true passion and the desire for the thing that you. Say is your passion. You might end up failing and folding very quickly, you really need to make sure that this is something that you want to do because passion can overcome anything. If you truly love a score, if you truly love A cause, you will withstand all odds. 

They’re totally like passion and then like finding a way to monetize it like that’s, that’s how. We do it, you know.

That’s the entrepreneurial spirit. That’s what we’re doing, you know?

Yeah, totally. So, you know, a lot of Americans right now, like, they, they want to realize the American dream, but they go through a lot of issues like attaining it or whatever. The idea of it is: So what do you think would like? What do you think they should do to Overcome the hurdle to realizing the American dream? Whether it’s for them or would it be ideal for the country?

Well, the for the greater good would be wonderful. If you do something and you’re doing it for the greater good. I have rarely heard an instance where somebody uses that as a main cause. That they actually fail. They have pitfalls. Every business has pitfalls but rarely fails because you always end up finding yourself surrounded by individuals the more you do. It is the most you can do. You start attracting these individuals into your life that that for, and maybe it’s the light within. 

Like I like to call it right, you draw, and you attract these people, and they end up helping support you, mentor you and guide you to the place. You need to go. Not all of us have. A distinct path that we’re going to take. Everybody talks about a plan. You know what plans are great. But I have rarely seen a plan happen exactly the way you plan it. Usually, somewhere along the lines it takes a hard left and then you have to start another plant, right? 

Life is not linear. It’s a lot of ups and downs, you know. And you just gotta take the ride for it and It’s not going to be easy as I said. But at the end of the day, if you really want to do this. Just take the first step. I mean you just gotta take the first step. If you don’t take it. The first step and I call It the “leap of faith”. Believe in yourself if you are true. Want this? And you believe in yourself?

So, Carol, you know, as an entrepreneur. What were what? Your viewpoints and thoughts around the inflation that’s going on right now in the country also what are your thoughts on debt?

Oh gosh, I did not expect that question, OK. Again, ups and downs, right, whenever we have periods of our economy where things are really good, then obviously things have to go the other way. I mean it. Has to be like a pendulum swing. It has to balance everything out. I don’t know if I necessarily agree with what’s going on right now, but I am also not running the nation. So, I will keep my mouth shut. Those political points.

Politics is just like, you know, like as ultra as like we have a cost of, we have a certain cost of production and then like when there’s inflation like a lot of people like they are what?

You just go with it, you adjust, and you have to acclimate and adjust to every new thing. Like, even after COVID’s new normal, right, there are more costs that we’re paying, higher prices for everything. Because the companies aren’t going to absorb the cost. They’re going to, you know, basically, put that out and it’s going to get absorbed by the consumer. It’s what every business has to do. You know, if the costs go up, they have to raise their rates, the cost of products and services have to go up, you know, gas prices cause a lot of issues even with produce ending up on your shelves for you to purchase everything, even delays in. In manufacturing, delays in getting things through customs, all those things play a factor too. 

So, I think as entrepreneurs, I mean depending on what kind of business that You’re in. You know, you are just. You end up having to raise your prices a lot of what I did see. There Were a lot of people in the COVID pivot. 

I’ll give you one story in particular. I do, I have a signature line of vinegar with my gal at Wild heart sipping vinegar, and her husband owns a sandstone distillery and at the time, because COVID shut everything down, they couldn’t ship anything, right? So, they changed everything within the distillery to start making hand sanitizers. That is brilliant. Right. It was a pivot. And so, entrepreneurs that survive can pivot. They acclimate.

Yeah, I think that’s what they like. I think that’s the mindset that most of us as Americans should have instead of, having negativity about, outside conditions, if we have the entrepreneurial spirit, then we can utilize our mindset and actions and through the right action, we just do that.

And it was for the greater good anyways, because the hand sanitizers, you know, they were making it in mass production in the same vats that they used to make, you know, their liquor out of so, it was insane. It was insane to watch and everybody went by and bought 5-gallon jugs like these ridiculous or sorry one-gallon jugs of these hand sanitizers. And if you bought just the spray bottles. You could refill it like crazy. They had it in the schools a lot. A lot of the local businesses supported them. It kept them in business. That’s the entrepreneurial spirit that I love. They took something that. Was negative and made it a positive. And if we could all do that. I think we live. In a much better world.

No, totally. So, Carol, you know like. In the last few years. There has been, like, there’s been a breakdown in the financial sector. And not only that but also in the family unit. And just like the government in general, where do you think America is headed, and should we be optimistic about the future?

Oh, my God, you should always be optimistic. Why wouldn’t you be right, I mean? Let’s take my childhood. And if I had taken a negative spin, you know how easy that could have been for me to become a drug addict? Right. But I’m not wired that way. I’ll take hardships, spin them, and make them positive. You know, I’ll make them work for me and I never… I don’t think I ever became a cynic from it, you know. Why not? Why not have everybody think along those same guidelines?

No, totally like a lot of people, you know, in today’s world, like they are pretty negative. Like they’re playing everything from this, that govern, etcetera. But I like saying that if you could do it as you came from a very difficult circumstance like your family circumstances. Not like we’re not ideal, you know, but you had that mindset, you had, you had that will that drive, and you came out of it, you know, and I think.

And by the way, Cosmos, we’re human beings. We are going to. Have off days. I have sad days. Just like everybody else, you know? And I won’t make excuses for it. I’ll have my sad day and then I’ll have you know, and I’ll just. OK, done. I’m done with my own Little Self-Pity party for one day now. I can go on. Right. We are allowed. To be human. And we don’t have to be Perfect. 

And you know There’s too much pressure in being perfect also, right, so that’s OK. I mean, we’re all going to make mistakes. I mean, how many of us? Haven’t had or said. Something to a friend that we wish we Wouldn’t have said. But do we Make excuses for it? Well, they kind of deserved it. They were being a jerk. Whatever, right? Why not take ownership and responsibility? Accept the mistake you made right and apologize to the individual. If we own and take responsibility for our mistakes, people are a lot more forgiving. 

Nobody wants to hear. You’re the victim. Like I’m in the situation because, you know, like, this happened in my life and. Are you serious? Do you know how many? People have ****** situations in their life. And they’re OK. Some of them are not. But you know, for the ones that could overcome it, yes, they are. So, what makes you so special that your situation is so bad that you couldn’t overcome it? That you have to blame somebody else for it. Accountability is huge these days. I do not believe we live in a society that takes accountability for its actions.

I think that’s one of the root causes. Of why we are where we’re at. But yeah, I agree with you. Accountability is important. So, Carol, I know that you wrote this book called the Elegant Disruptor. Can you tell us a little bit more about this book, the premise, and how it came about?

OH God OK. So, my advisors had literally wanted me to take it. Writing a book for two years and I was unwilling. I probably. Was worse than unwilling. I wouldn’t do it. And I told the flat I Would do it. I and I basically said to her. I go. Nobody’s interested in my story. Right and.

Well, that is. I can’t believe you. Actually, I believed that because your story is really inspirational.

Yeah, but you. Know until you. Say it. To me, it was my life, my Life did not feel inspired. So, I’m being quite honest. Like I told them like, no, no, no. Like it. No, it’s just not. No, I’m nobody. Who’s going to want to read a story about me, right?

I mean, I honestly felt that for several years. And then they came to me again. And year after year, they brought it up year after year. I basically poo-pooed it and then this last oh was like last year or the. Just in the. Beginning of last year, they said it was time. Didn’t give me didn’t ask me a question. They just said it’s time. 

So, I guess maybe I was procrastinating and I started writing and I asked him. Did I say how? How are you? Want me to write this? And he said just write. And we’ll edit and we did. We hired a professional editor. So, I wrote my story. It actually ended up being so long that we broke it into two books. And this is the. The one I wanted to come out with the first kind of gives a lot of the background, like some of the stuff that. You’re hearing about it? I didn’t include it. Into the book that got released. The book that I got released was basically. My journey and some, you know, some lessons I learned along my journey that were very poignant. And so, I built stories around, you know, those lessons. 

But the reason we wrote it was. Once we started talking about it, it was to inspire people. It inspired women, especially women, that were dealing with issues even in relationships because I think there’s a chapter in there about relationships as well. You know you don’t always have to know exactly how to do something. I think as long as you have a very clear vision. Your strategy can change right within that vision and sometimes it takes some adjustments, and it might take longer than you anticipated. 

You know because we all have this. Oh, I want to. Get it done. Now, but you know what? Life doesn’t work that way. You kind of have to earn your stripes to get there, so it’s also an educational process. As you do it right, you’re learning a lot, not just about yourself, but your business too. So yeah, a lot of it had to be built around those lessons. 

We called it the elegant disruptor because I disrupted an industry when I came in here and they were not happy with me. And yeah, they were not happy with it. I don’t think so. They, like me still, but. I think they tolerate me.

That is awesome.

I’m proud of it because my hope is it does help somebody that reads it and goes Oh my God, I went through a situation like that you know, I can get through it if. If you can help. You know one person. To me, that’s a win.

I would. I would totally recommend my audience to basically read your book.

Yeah, yeah.

So, Carol is there any other work that you’re doing right now that you would like us to get a glimpse of? Into your current or are you currently working on?

I actually just finished an article that I submitted for the Premier edition of a magazine. That’s coming out. So that will come out, I think in October, but it has articles based on dreams and following your dreams. Go ahead.

Sorry. All right, go ahead.

You were talking about other projects; I mean I Have another book. That’s the other part of the book. But we’re going to because this one got brought Out the way It did, and there was so much information for it. The other one. I think we’re going to kind of revamp and edit the other book as well. And put in some lessons with the stories because this time it will be reversed. Before it was lessons with the story. This time it’ll be stories with lessons in them.

That’s really cool. So, Carol, where can our audience go to connect with you and get to know more about the work you’re doing and all of that?

Yeah, so my media kit usually tells, you know what? I’m what I’ve done and what might be upcoming. And that’s Carol Carpenter Media is where they Can look for me there and I think my book is there now. I’m not really sure, but you know, if there will be a link, everything is usually linked under that main website.

OK, nice. So well, I mean that that concludes our show for now. Carol, thank you so much for actually coming and doing this with us. You’re actually pretty inspirational. Not only are you like an immigrant. But you’re also. Inspiring female entrepreneurs to go into your field and everything. We would love to have You back into this show and yeah.

OK.

Yeah, I would like to conclude by telling my fellow Extraordinary Americans, there’s an extraordinary within Each one of us. And it’s our job to empower and unleash them.