How to Beat Self-Doubt and Think Like a CHAMPION Every Day - With Laila Ali

25:30That is a sign that maybe you need to change the people that you've been around because the way that I'm talking resonates with everybody in my circle. You know what I mean? But it's like, and I can listen to someone and think, man, what are they saying? Like that doesn't resonate with me at all. But then they have a group of hot people with them going, yeah, yeah, yeah. So we all have our people. You know what I mean? So it's like, what are you going to allow your experience to be because you really do get to choose in this life. You get to choose all of that. So I like to focus, like I said, I know I went off on a tangent, but I like to focus on the things that I can control because otherwise I'll lose my mind.

26:10And a lot of people have lost their mind, you know, and they have because they just, they don't have that grounding in life, you know and you got to have that basic grounding where you don't feel like you don't have anything to hold on to you know and as if you do and if you feel that way then you do need to try to find a community of people who can help uplift support you and help you see

26:35Shawn Stevenson:things for as they really are yeah yeah absolutely you know i would identify growing up being more you know a lone wolf type energy you know i could you know i could catch a vibe with different people different groups or whatever, but I was just more so to myself. And little did I know how impactful it was, you know, for the, you know, the calling that I had on my life and my spirit, my intentions, I had no idea that it would be with and through other people, you know? And so I had to make that change in my life and my mindset and be very intentional about the people that I was around, especially when it comes to my family right and so this is another thing I see with you is like you don't mess with a lot of people you're very intentional of who you are around who your family is around but you are one of the most generous people I've ever met as well just like you want to give you want to love on people you want to uplift and pour into people like you just said I've seen it in firsthand in the real world.

27:42Shawn Stevenson:And also the same thing. It's an exchange. You know what I mean? And so you qualify people and you're very good at it. And I love this. And it just speaks to your wisdom and your experience, you know, because we grew up both with this kind of tagline that would be said that you're a product of your environment. We're a product of our environment, but it always seemed to come in a negative context, you know? But us being aware, we're also creators of our environment. We get to choose. We have so much power to choose. And oftentimes we just either we don't realize it or we're giving that power away.

28:21Shawn Stevenson:And so this is just one of the many lessons that I'm grateful to be able to pass along to parents and also to, I'm very passionate about children's education as well. and so when I was reading your book and I immediately had this feeling of being back in elementary school in the school library picking this book up off the shelf is that kind of vibe and in the beauty of it as well you know the the the um design of the book the layout the artwork oh my god and also the messages and so I just want to ask you what inspired you to write this new children's book, A Spark of Greatness is the name of the book, by the way.

29:08Yes. Well, as I mentioned, I had one book that I wrote that went a lot deeper on, you know, my journey to becoming a fighter when I talked about getting in trouble and going to juvenile hall and going to a group home and just why I was angry. I'm not going to put all that in a book for four to eight year olds. This book is more so like a biography, like you would pick it up and say, oh, Muhammad Ali's daughter is a boxer and how she became a boxer. So that story is there. And it was really, we'd be really careful about how we were going to keep it honest, right? And really teach a lesson within the book where a child at four to eight doesn't feel like that's what they're getting out of it.

29:49But I really want children to close the book and feel excited about discovering what makes them uniquely them because I discovered it. And I I think it's surprising to a lot of people when they learn that, no, I didn't become a boxer simply because my father was Muhammad Ali. I remember when I started boxing, I was like, I'm not following his footsteps. It was like because it didn't feel like I was. But it's like, girl, please, your daddy's the greatest of all time. You're following his footsteps. So I can say that now. But it was because when I saw women's boxing on television. And so I remember, you know, that moment and how I was inspired by those two women and how powerful that is to see someone who looks like you or who has something in common with you that, you know, something about them resonates with you to see them doing it and to spark something in you, which is why I'm so conscious of how I carry myself for young girls.

30:37I mean, I would act a whole nother kind of way if I could, if I didn't have to worry about, you know, children watching me because I don't want to put that out there for kids, you know. So I'm always very conscious of that because I'm still a fighter is what I'm saying. So you might catch me on a certain day and you'll hear a whole different conversation. Right. But for children, I want them to know that they have something special in them. Everyone has something unique. And I showed the work that it took. You know, when that's why we ask the question in the book, are fighters born or made? Because, yeah, I was Muhammad Ali's daughter, but I was not an athlete.

31:10I didn't participate in sports. I didn't know that I had it in me until I saw women's boxing. And I did it on my own. My father didn't even want me to do it. In fact, he told me not to do it. So that was a very beautiful scene in the book as well. And so much of the story is told by the illustrations. Cosby Cabrera is an amazing artist. I handpicked her to do the book. And there's so much warmth and so much detail. And we work together so closely to bring that all to life because I wasn't even aware when I started the project that there will be so few words on the page. So we kept having to dwindle it down smaller.

31:52I mean, less and less and less words. And I was like, how are we going to tell this story? So she was able to help me really, you know, bring the words that I ended up with on the page to life with her illustrations. And it was really beautiful. So, you know, but for parents, because parents are the ones that are going to buy the children, the book. and like for my audience, you know, I've been offering my activity guide because I want them to have affirmations and conversation starters to, you know, help, you know, recognize that spark in their children and not that they have to get into trouble like I did or anything like that.

32:30But I know for my own daughter that she's still trying to figure out what she wants to do in life. And then she's nervous about that. She's like, well, what if I don't go to college? Well, what if I don't? I don't know what I want to do. I'm like, sweetie, you don't have to have it all figured it out. Just be open to try new things. Just know that you can do it. Like she says to me, oh my, this new AP class that I have, she has an AP class for the first time. And I didn't do that well in school. So thank God for Curtis, my husband, because I'm like, don't ask me, ask him. But she's like, I have an AP class and it's so hard and I don't know if I'm going to be able to do it.

33:04I said, well, are the other kids doing it? Yes. I said, well, then you can do it. Okay. You're not the first one to do it. You're not discovering something for the first time. And even then you could do it, but you know it can be done. So we're just going to have to drill down. So I just try to redirect her mind away from I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't. It doesn't mean you're going to be perfect at it, right? Just be open to discovering new things. So I hope to inspire children. I hope to inspire parents because we learn a lot through our children, as we know. And I didn't have, like I said, that foundation of, and my dad was all fighting the world, fighting and freeing hostages from Saddam Hussein, you know, and doing everything that he was doing.

33:46I'm not ever going to complain, but you do suffer in the sense of just not having dad home. But there's men who work corporate jobs and work, work, work, work, work, and they're not there. And they feel like they're providing for their family. Right. So there's a lot of reasons why sometimes parents aren't tuned in. And I wish, Sean, I wish that I participated in sports at a younger age. I so wish, like if I could go back and do life again, I wouldn't be playing sports because I was so busy being bad and trying to cut school. And I didn't have parents encouraging me. I didn't have parents saying, let's sign up.

34:30I didn't have anyone saying, you know, because you know how it is with sports. Parents got a lot of work to do. I know because I do it now. We got to take them to practice. We got to sign them up. We got to be at the game. It becomes your life. But I didn't have that. And I would have been such an amazing athlete, like whether it was tennis. I like one-on-one sports, but I'm saying whether I want to play tennis or soccer or just pretty much anything I wanted to do, because boxing is like crazy. You know what I mean? Boxing, it was perfect for me. But I'm saying I recognized that I was an athlete and I didn't realize that until boxing.

35:06And I wish I could go back and participate in sports now. And I'm encouraging my children to do it. I encourage other parents not to necessarily become a professional, but it's so much that you learn for life that gives you this resilience, the strength, this mindset, this discipline that comes from sports that a lot of people are missing a lot of times. And that's why we appreciate sports. I didn't play. So we never can say, oh man, you know, I can't, you can still grasp these things. It just comes more naturally in a foundational way as a child, which is great to play when you're young, you know, but you can still get the things that you get from sports, but you have to be real intentional about it as you know, right?

35:47When you listen and people come to your podcast or come to the information that you're giving, is so appreciated because you take the time to find the people that have the best books or the best knowledge or the best information. And then I can just come turn on your podcast and soak it all in, you know, so we're living, but I'm not going to do that unless I'm being intentional about wanting to better myself. So that's another, um, just example of I'm still, I got about five friends. Okay. I can count y 'all. Okay. Maybe 10. I used to be able to say five, but maybe 10. I'm talking about that. I really consider friends.

36:30We don't have to talk every day. We don't have to be around each other all the time, but we can connect and there's no messy stuff and we can pour into one another. You know what I'm saying? We know we're there for one another, But I like to listen to podcasts. Right. So. What I'm trying to say here is when we talk about surrounding yourself with the right people, it doesn't always have to be physically people. It's just what information is going in. Yes. How are you starting your day? How are you setting your mindset? The more you push out the trash and listen to something that is going to make you better in some kind of way, then it's going to strengthen you as a person.

37:14So, you know, we just have to pay attention to all those things. So in a start so young with kids, which is why I want to do the book for four to eight year olds, because I was like, I'm getting older now. I'll be, you know, I'll be 49 this year. I know I look good.

37:26Shawn Stevenson:Come on now. No, look at that skin. Look at that skin. No, but that comes from a healthy lifestyle. But I will say that I'll be 49 this year. So, you know, when we get to that halfway point, you're like, dang. And I have my children. They're going to be coming out. My daughter's 15. My son's 18. He's turning 18. And you start. I'm like, wow, I've come a long way. I remember when I was like that lost girl trying to figure life out and got locked up. Okay, Muhammad Ali's daughter, three months locked up. Nobody could do anything for me when that freedom got taken away from me. And I had to go through it and I had to figure some things out.

38:06And I think now like, man, what happened? What could have been done differently, right? And how I parent my own kids. And that's what made me want to speak to kids at a young age because it starts so young to build this foundation of confidence and resilience and a positive mindset that really helps build, you know, build children up for the rest of their lives.

38:30Shawn Stevenson:I want to share with you something that's transformational for not just our appearance and beauty, but for our healing and performance. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial published in the Journal of Phytochemistry and Phytobiology took 76 patients with notable wrinkles and treated half of their face with red light therapy, near-infrared therapy, or both, while other patients received a fake light treatment that was used as a placebo. Participants received two light therapy treatments each week for four weeks. Here's what happened. Within just four weeks of treatment, participants had up to a 36 % reduction in wrinkles and up to a 20 % increase in skin elasticity.

39:12Shawn Stevenson:Phenomenal in just four weeks. Obviously, red light therapy is changing the game right now when it comes to beauty and appearance, but it is so good for reducing pain and healing. A meta-analysis published in the BMJ sought to see if red light therapy could reduce pain in people with osteoarthritis versus a placebo. The study included over a thousand people and found that red light therapy significantly reduced knee pain in study participants. But not only that, the results appeared to have lasting effects with benefits seen up to three months after the treatment. The researcher stated, quote, The positive effect from red light therapy seems to last longer than those of widely recommended painkiller drugs, unquote.

39:57Shawn Stevenson:Yes, red light therapy is phenomenal, but it's critical to make sure that we're getting our devices from a reputable FDA-registered source to make sure that we have both red, which is the 660 nanometers light, and near-infrared, which is the 850 nanometers light. This is the same irradiance seen in these studies. and this is something that we can do from the comfort of our own homes. The wavelength and irradiant needs to be verified in third-party labs and the red light therapy devices that I use meet IEC safety standards and EMF safety standards. The only red light therapy devices that I use meet the key IEC safety standards for electrical and EMF safety.

40:43Shawn Stevenson:They have the number one red light therapy mask in the world. And I'm talking about the incredible team at Bond Charge. Go to bondcharge.com forward slash model and you're going to get an exclusive 15 % off all of their red light therapy devices. I personally prefer the Max and Super Max red light therapy panels to do more of a whole body treatment. because if I'm going to get the treatment for my skin health, for my face, why not get some healing when it comes to my recovery from exercise or pain or injuries, things like that, just really helping a stacked condition. So they have these large panels as well, and also small portable handheld red light therapy devices too.

41:30Shawn Stevenson:They've got so many different iterations that can fit our lifestyles. So head over there, check them out. Again, all FDA registered and really checking off those boxes for performance and irradiance and safety go to bondcharge.com forward slash model that's b-o-n-c-h-a-r-g-e dot com forward slash model and use the code model at checkout for 15 off now back to the show absolutely you know i i'm just gonna tell you i wish i had this book for you know my kids when they were when they were little you know like we it was a part of our evening routines, we read the book. And my youngest son, Braden, he would memorize, before he could read, he would memorize all the words in a book, right?

42:14Shawn Stevenson:Because we read it so many times. I just wish that this was available for him, you know? But now I get to, again, bless and gift this book, you know, to parents. Like, we were just talking about, you know, our friend Louis, and he's got two baby girls, you know? And Louis is a, he's about that life when it comes to competition, you know? It's crazy. So he's definitely gonna want his daughters to be athletes. And, but just to be able to, beyond the athlete piece, and I'm so grateful that you said this, we don't talk about this enough. Because our world today is so, we got a lot of the bumpers around danger, right?

42:54Shawn Stevenson:There's a lot of curation to everything that most of our children are exposed to. And if we're going to become a complete human being, a resilient human being capable of problem solving, we have to go through things. And also, of course, have access to wisdom so we can learn from people who've been through things as well. But sports, accessibility to competition and sports, it's like a microcosm of developing these qualities, right? Whether this is perseverance, whether this is acceptance, you know, whether this is struggle, whether this is, but it's all the mental stuff. It's the physical stuff is a huge bonus.

43:41Shawn Stevenson:And we need that too. Our kids need to be active. Yes. But it's the mental stuff and it's the relationship stuff. You know, it's the ability to relate with our teammates, coaches, but also with our parents. And there's a growing guild of parents who are becoming much more conscious in the way that they're interacting with their kids who are in sports, especially if they're competitive themselves, because it's not about us, right? It's about our kids and developing these qualities. And not to say it's very rare that we're the parent of that kid that's going to be that MVP, NBA player, or heavyweight champion.

44:19Shawn Stevenson:That's a rare thing. is just creating a child who's resilient and well-rounded and has character traits that can help them to succeed in life. And again, sports and putting our kids into different sports is like a microcosm for that. And just a really quick sidebar, we were a baseball family for many years. And this was led by my kids. My oldest son, Jordan, asked to play baseball and then we just got into it, right? and once my youngest kid you know was kind of coming of age t-ball soccer the huge but one day he came home from school he asked like dad is it okay if i join the basketball team in my school like i really i really like basketball and we didn't we never did the basketball thing never so it was like a whole new thing for us but he again we put him in stuff right and he was active and again, these qualities, but then he attached to something that he wanted to do.

45:18Shawn Stevenson:And so this could be seen, this even outside the domain of just athletics, of course. You know, this could be chess club. This could be, you know, whatever, but it's competition, challenge, and all those character traits that it brings out about you. I want to ask you about something specific from the book. This is probably my favorite line in the book. And it's on the last page. You say, I'm a champion because I use it for good. It's my very own superpower. It makes me stronger, fearless, confident, unstoppable, driven, empowered and complete. The highlight of that sentence is I'm a champion because I use it for good.

45:58Shawn Stevenson:What do you mean by that? Because I think about the decisions I make and the thought process that goes into them. A lot of the time I'm thinking about others. I'm thinking about, you know, how it will be perceived by children or by people who look up to me. There's a lot of deals and things that have come my way just being Muhammad Ali's daughter or being on television, being an athlete that I've turned down because I'm like, nah, that's not good. That's not going to make me look good to the community. There's a whole lot of things I could have done to have a bigger name or a bigger social media following or to be I'll be a slave to the system.

46:40right which i'm never gonna be you know so people don't even realize to the extent at which you

46:46Shawn Stevenson:haven't sold out for them for them they have no idea they don't have any idea because you know it so it just goes unsaid a lot of the things i could have done i didn't do because i was i wanted to make sure i was being a positive role model for the young children coming behind me for the young girls coming behind me. A lot of times girls feel like they have to over-sexualize themselves, right? They want that nowadays, especially you just want to get likes and take your clothes off. I like to be able to show, no, you can be a confident, strong, attractive, if that's how you want to be seen woman and still be respected and still carry yourself with respect.

47:29You don't have to do what everyone else is doing, right? You don't have to be going out of your way and doing any and everything for money, right? Now, some people are more comfortable doing those things. Okay. I'm not going to judge you. I'm not, that's not who I am. So if I did it, that would mean that I'm doing it just for money or just for likes or to be seen a certain way. So, um, you know, and just making sure that I put this positive message out in, in different ways that I can, you know, whether it be through my first book, reach through, um, this book, through the public speaking that I'm doing.

48:06You know, my focus is about helping people become the strongest version of themselves through their health, their mindset, and their purpose. So when I was building my brand, Lay Lolly Lifestyle, I was like, okay, what's most important to me? So that it could resonate. Everything is actually transparent, resonates with who I really am as a person. It doesn't feel like work because this is who I really am. So it's going to be consistent, Right. So I'm never going. And you also have to be willing to be vulnerable sometimes. Right. And share things about yourself that can be a challenge or areas that you need to grow or areas that you need to change.

48:42It doesn't help anybody to make them think, oh, no, I'm perfect. You know, I'm you know, I just woke up like this. That doesn't help. Right. So I think that because to answer your question, because of the time, attention and intentionality, I put into pouring into others, I feel like it makes me a champion for that purpose. Because my father was the greatest example of someone who can be a champion in the ring, but he was a bigger champion outside of the ring. How he used his platform. You got money, so what? A lot of people have money. You got championship titles, so what? There's a lot of other athletes.

49:19They call you the greatest, so what? Everybody's calling themselves the GOAT now. Everybody's the GOAT, okay? The GOAT. the goat, the goat, everywhere you look in every sport. I'm like, man, y 'all just going to water it down like that? It doesn't even mean anything anymore. Now it just means one of the best. No, the goat, when my daddy said it was the greatest of all time, meaning there ain't going to be another one. So again, I say all that to say, but what can they never take away from him is what he did outside of the ring. There will never be another. There will never be another. And he's his own person.

49:56And you know what? He put God first. He put himself and people before everything else. And he would never sell out the people. So that was my example growing up. So whether people know it or not, I kind of move the same way, even though we were so different. That's just some foundational stuff. And that's the same thing that I teach my children, you know, being a good person. Because at the end of the day, that is all that really matters. Right. It's like, how did we make this world a better place while we were here? And if you're not going to make it a better place, because we're not all going to be a Muhammad Ali.

50:32Right. I get that. But everyone can do their part. So I want to tell you a story real quick. So when my dad was young and real Muhammad Ali followers or fans that know his story would probably already know the story. But some people may not. My dad started boxing because when he was young, he was riding his bicycle and he left it outside and it got stolen. And he was like, oh, man, I'm going to get those boys that stole his tricycle. Right. And then there's a gentleman who ran the local amateur boxing program and he heard him. He's like, young man, well, do you know how to fight? You want to go get them?

51:06He's like, no, why don't you come in here? I'm gonna teach you how to fight. Really, he was just trying to keep him out of trouble. So that's how he got brought into the boxing gym. Right. And started training and fell in love with boxing and became an Olympic champion, gold medalist. But that man did have he had no idea that he was bringing Muhammad Ali, who was now Muhammad Ali into the gym, but he cared enough. Right. And it was a Caucasian man that cared enough about this kid. Right. To keep him out of trouble, bring him in the gym. So that little piece of the puzzle was so important. So whether you're making a difference in the lives of your own children.

51:42Right. Right. My grandma and my grandpa didn't know what my dad was going to become, you know, their own children or your niece, your nephew, your coach, your, you know, whatever it is, you know, or that child in your neighborhood. We need to just take the time to pour in because you never know what they're going to become. And sometimes we put negativity into them and it also shapes who they're going to become. So we all just need to do our part. You know, and like you said, we had a conversation before with with strengthening our boys will help keep our girls safer for people who are worried about the girls.

52:17Well, guess what? We need to pour into our boys and teach them respect. Right. Teach them how to how what not to do, what things are not OK. And then you have less people running around doing the wrong thing and they're more focused on doing the right thing. So I try to do my part, you know, as much as I can and every way that I can. And that's why I call myself a champion for good. I know that was a long winded, but hey.

52:39Shawn Stevenson:No, no, no, no. There's no, no, not with you. No, we want all the wind. We want all of it. Listen, something also, I can't let you go. Because I get to see you, you know, and I can't let you go without asking you about the beauty tea. I got to know what, like, you got to share some of these secrets because, you know what I'm saying? Like, listen, we're changing the paradigm of what this looks like. You know, now there's this big conversation about the biological age, you know, like, the thing about you is, well, it's not like you're not running from being 49, right? It's quite the opposite. You are, you know, you're just making it look so gorgeous, you know, because you are stacking conditions and doing certain things to really maximize, you know, the beauty that's already within.

53:35So share it.

53:37Shawn Stevenson:What are your secrets? Because people, yeah, we want to know. I'm proud. Okay. I'm proud to tell people my age. I'm like, oh yeah, I'm almost 50 because I know I don't look like I am to most people. To me, I've aged. Obviously I can tell. but I will tell you, you know, it has made a really big difference. And I'm sure you, you already know about this fasting has really made a big difference in my life. So let me just start by saying this. I've always had skin that people thought was, was beautiful, right? That's natural. I think it just runs in the family. And, um, I think that came from just, like I said, genetics, but also sweating a lot, exercising, eating the right foods, right?

54:20Because that, that can change. You can be born with it, but then you, I've seen myself go through some stages, especially when I was younger and eating a lot of junk. My skin wasn't even as, as, as it is now. So that makes a big difference. I also use the infrared sauna. Um, I use red light therapy. Um, you know, I have a little, a little unit and, but even having all of those things, What made the biggest difference that literally took like 10 years off of my face was fasting, long term fasting. I'm talking about like the longest I've done is five days. And I started I read Fast Like a Girl with Dr.

55:02Mindy Pels and her book really inspired me. I had a couple of different guides, but I did the five day fast. And then after the fast, that next two weeks, when your body's growing all these new cells, and I did it for that purpose, for the therapeutic effect of it, because I'm like with boxing in my brain and my memory and all these things. And I learned that you can actually grow new brain cells and get rid of inflammation. I was like, I got to do this. but it was a nice little, you know, cherry on top to be able to get weight off because I also have hyperthyroidism I've had since I was a kid.

55:42I have what they call Graves disease. So I have, I don't really have a metabolism anymore. My weight, like I would just get stuck with like 20 pounds on, I couldn't get off and nothing worked for me except the fasting. So it gave me a lot of control. It's not easy to do, right? A lot of people go fast and starve yourself, but I worked my way up, right? So I started with the 18 hours and 24 hours and 36 hours and 48 and 72, and then end up at the five days. And after that first two days, you're not even hungry because then you're in the ketosis and you got autophagy going and I feel great. I also got used to the way I feel.

56:22I feel amazing when I fast. I have so much energy and I think so clearly. And I used to think people were crazy when they said that. Like, yeah, right. I didn't believe it. I'm like, how are you not eating, but you have energy, but you're, you're, you're not starving. Your body's eating its own fat. Right. So it's amazing. It's something that sounds really crazy. If you've never done it before, people who've done it are like, yeah, absolutely. But I'm telling you the way you break your fast is so important because that's something I had to learn too. You can't just be like, ah, I'm gonna eat a piece of cake.

56:51I deserve this because I fasted for five days. No, because what you eat is what's going to help you grow those cells. The cells don't start growing back until you break your fast. So now you want to get all the most nutritious, nutritious superfoods and supplements and things. And you know, you're man, I'm telling you, I love it. I will never, ever stop. In fact, I'm getting ready to start another one. I'm like, you know, it's like hopscotch, getting ready to jump in, like to get my mind right over the next couple of days, I'm going to do like another four day fast. And I intermittent fast, but the long fast, I like to do like maybe like at least quarterly, like a five day fast.

57:28So, yeah, it's great. I love it.

57:30Shawn Stevenson:She's giving the secret. That's not a secret they want. They want to hear some kind of cream or something. Trust me, they want something easy. It's nothing topical. I got this yak. I got this yak cream, you know, like, wait, wait, wait, get the yak. No, this is it's a process, you know, it's not a secret. it's a process, right? The magic is in the process. But anybody would love to take 10 years off. And I'm telling you, I'm not the only one that says it. I mean, I literally had friends come over and go, did you do something? Like, did you do something? Like they really thought I snuck and did something.

58:04I'm like, no, I literally, it's the fasting.

58:08Shawn Stevenson:Come on. She's giving the secrets. I'm writing it all down. We have a list. Yep, yep. You know, by the way, Dr. Mindy Pels, you know, I coordinated conversation with you guys back in the day, by the way. Yes, you sure did. Yeah. You sure did. See, come on. We love on each other. You see that? Look, look, look. That slipped. You know what? You know what? You know why I forgot? Because I actually asked someone before you to reach out to her, but they didn't get through. Then you got through. Of course. So I couldn't really remember who it was. But yes, you connected me with her. And I recently just did her podcast.

58:43and yeah, I recently did her podcast. That episode is up now. We had a great conversation. I've been seeing a lot of great feedback because, you know, I'm gonna tell the truth. So I kind of, so if anyone's interested, I talk about my fasting journey in more detail. And she's amazing. You know, she's amazing. Thank you for that connect. But yeah, I've continued with it. I've continued with it. And she was so proud of me. She's like, you're like the star fasting student because I take it seriously, you know, because I'm an athlete. So I'm like, tell me what to do. I'm gonna do it. Because I had a goal and Sean, my goal is this therapeutic effect of it.

59:16Right. So I want to keep doing it now. I found something that works. You know, it's amazing. And I brought friends along with me. You talk about the circle. I've brought friends along and they've been doing better. You know, they've lost weight. They feel more energetic. They've gotten rid of some of their illnesses and medications. It's amazing.

59:34Shawn Stevenson:I love this so much. Such a blessing. You see how, you know, it's sharing truly is caring. for real, you know? And like, we can just continue to expand this spark, you know, passing it along. And obviously you're doing that for our kids now with this new book. And so if you could, can you share with everybody where they could pick up a copy or copies of A Spark of Greatness? This is the book. And I'm definitely gonna be sending you a copy. And this is my advanced copy. It's a beautiful book. So A Spark of Greatness is, we were talking about some of the artwork. A Spark of Greatness is sold everywhere books are available.

1:00:15It's available now on pre-order, depending on when this podcast comes out. But it's launching September 8th, where it will be actually shipped to you September 8th. It's such a beautiful book. And I'm actually going to be giving away 10 ,000 books. books so I've been just kind of gathering like friends and partners to help me you know get the book so that you know I can donate them to schools and children and um it's just amazing so I love it I'm looking for this one photo this is this is a photo in the book that I love yeah this is like that conversation with my dad when I was telling him that I wanted a box and he was telling me he didn't want me to do it and you know I was so determined and found a gym found the trainers found everything on my own.

1:01:02People think my dad like walk, you know, give my daughter the best of everything. It wasn't that at all. I literally had to go. When you talk about surrounding yourself, I literally had to go find my team. And I made some, you know, wrong moves along the way, but I had to learn, you know, but yeah, it was a, it was an amazing journey. And you see how it ended 24 and 0, 21 knockouts. I'm in the same hall of fame as my father. And Muhammad Ali told me it's not for you. It's not for women. It's a man's sport. And God bless him. May he rest in peace. And he was trying to protect his baby. And he wasn't aware because women's boxing isn't where it is now.

1:01:39So I understand that. But imagine if I would have listened and didn't follow my own heart. So it took a lot of courage to go against my own father and never have any experience playing sports. I didn't know what to expect and I did it, you know, so it was a great, all of that is in here and it's a great moment at the end. And it's one of those books, like you mentioned that you talk to your children about, it's the conversations after the story and you're dealing with a four and eight year old to really, you know, get into their mindset and really drill it in all of the things that were important in the book.

1:02:13So I think it makes it really easy for parents to do here. And even if they didn't, the feeling that they get from it is going to be a very inspirational feelings. So I'm super proud of it.

1:02:22Shawn Stevenson:You should be. You absolutely should be. It's a beautiful book. Like I said, the artwork, the illustrations, the layout of the book itself, it just feels right. It just feels right. And I appreciate you so much. I can't even put it into words. And if you could also, where can people connect with you, follow you, just get more into your universe? so everything leila ali is on leila ali.com including there's a link for the book there that would take you to you know the different websites where it's available just go to leila ali.com but it's on amazon it's on barnes and nobles all those places my spice blends which you have you know you got some in your kitchen because anybody who's cooking good food they need to have my spice blends but hey even if you're not cooking good food you probably really need my my organic spice blends but all of that is on my website um and then of course i'm the real leila Ali on Instagram and Leila Ali on Facebook if you're on social media.

1:03:17Yeah. But my website, I'll take you there.

1:03:21Shawn Stevenson:Amazing. Well, like I said, I appreciate you so much. And this is an amazing time. Amazing project, a spark of greatness. Everybody pick up a copy or copies. And I can't wait to do this again. I appreciate you so much. Thank you. Can't wait to see you guys in person so I can get a hug. Coming soon for sure. I know, right? Thank you, Sean. Of course. the one and only Layla Ali, everybody. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode today. I hope that you got a lot of value out of this. You already know what to do. Let's keep this conversation going. Share your voice. You can leave a comment for this episode.

1:03:57Shawn Stevenson:If you're watching on Spotify, you can leave a comment now, which is a really cool addition to the Spotify medium. By the way, Spotify, we have video episodes on Spotify, which is incredible. We're already in the top 5 % of all videos watched on Spotify, which is amazing. Of course, you can send this podcast to somebody that you care about today. Keep this conversation going that way as well. Take a screenshot of the episode, share it on social media, share your voice there. Let's infuse the interwebs with some positivity today. And I hope that this, again, added some value to your day, added some insights, added some inspiration.

1:04:37Shawn Stevenson:Definitely check out A Spark of Greatness, new children's book, get your copy or get a bunch of copies and share that goodness as well. I appreciate you so much. We've got some epic masterclasses and world-leading experts coming your way very, very soon. So make sure to stay tuned. Take care, have an amazing day, and I'll talk with you soon.