Hello and welcome to episode 201 of The Entrepreneurial you podcast. I’m your host Heneka Watkis-Porter. I am still reeling from the excitement of last week when I reached the milestone of 200 episodes. To celebrate I interviewed Seth Godin live and what a time that was! If you haven’t listened to it yet, go check it out. Seth is just such a wealth of inspiration.
This week, I am doing a solo episode chronicling my 2020 experience. It is interesting because while this journey makes the COVID-19 pandemic seem like a walkinthe park, it was then that I truly leant how to live (literally and physically).
HERE ARE THREE REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE:
- I elaborate on my top 3 lessons learnt in 2020.
- Learn about my worst 2020 moment
- Hear what my 2020 high points are
EPISODE SOUND BITE
Back to 2019…
In order to go forward, let me go back a little to 2019. If you were listening to episode 147 which was published on January 7, 2020, you will recall it was titled “The Highs and Lows of 2020.”
I shared at the end of 2019 how I was slowing down, how tired I felt because of chronic insomnia and the deep, dark depression that I fell into. I also shared how I had found a cure.
Well, after that, things went downhill from there. What happened next was something I wasn’t prepared for by any stretch of the imagination. I found myself fighting for my life on the night of January 9, 2020. Remember how I told you that I was taking sleeping pills and then I discovered marijuana tea? Well about 10 pm this night in question I drank some marijuana tea. I boiled maybe 1.5 grams for an extended time in milk to get the full THC effect. But I totally forgot that the previous night I had taken Zopiclone to help me to sleep. Apparently, it was still in my system coupled with the very potent THC from the marijuana…a deadly combination!
Somehow (I don’t know how) I made it through the night. The following morning I got 4 bags of drip + valium and injection from the doctor as they did everything to get the drug out of my system. Except being traumatized for days, all went back to normal.
This is How 2020 Started
I continued life as I knew it – finishing up my 5th book, Podcast Power: The Quick-Start Guide To Launching And Leveling-Up Your Brand; I traced to the US to do 3 major speaking engagements (ATD Tech Knowledge, Podcast Movement Evolutions and PodFest multi-Media Expo).
So let’s fast track to April 1, 2020. You see, April 1, 2020, began as an ordinary day. I got up early, said a prayer (I think) and then went on to do a myriad of interviews on both sides of the mic, i.e. being a guest on a few shows and interviewing guests for mine. It was a long day, I felt tired but I knew I would have time to rest after my last interview which was scheduled for 8:00 pm, OR SO I THOUGHT!
I am strong, resilient and determined so I should be able to get through this final live interview. BUT it was not to be. In the middle of the live recording there began the first of many health challenges. I began feeling as though I was passing out. I had to stop immediately. Since it was night and the curfew in Jamaica had begun that very evening, I consulted with a telemedical professional. Based on the symptoms I was experiencing, he promptly made a referral to Andrews Hospital, all this while every breath seems to be leaving my body (and yeah got stopped in the curfew too by the cops).
From there, all went down there from a medical standpoint. I have seen so many doctors within this time, including a Psychiatrist. Some of the symptoms included, but were not limited to the below:
…depression triggered the physical situation which then caused anxiety.
Some of the physical symptoms:
- Extreme fatigue
- feelings of passing out frequently
- Lack of focus
- Stomach issues
- Insomnia
- High white blood cell count
- High pulse rate
- Lack of energy
- Severe hypersensitivity to electromagnetic fields ( so very limited time on electronic devices)
By the way, remember that depression I spoke about in 2019? Well this was 10X worse. As I connect the dots looking back, I realize that the bout of depression that I experienced at the end of 2019 was as a result of taking those sleeping pills belonging to the benzodiazepines class of drugs. Stay away from them.
Take No Thought…
During the time of my illness, I was anxious, fearful and unsure of what my future would look like or whether I would even be around for a future. Truth be told,I think God was preparing me for what was to come in 2020. Here’s why, usually at the end of a year I take 3 days away to goal-set and make plans for the year ahead. I could not find it in me to do that at the end of 2019 and I couldn’t understand why. I also felt strongly in my spirit that I should sell my car and that I did. As I saw 2020 unfold it all made sense to me. I didn’t need to make any new plans because I wouldn’t be able to execute on them anyways (everything that I did in 2020 were already set in motion from 2019(publish book, travel to speak and continued with the podcast) and 2, I didn’t really need a car since for the most part we were on lockdown.
What made me anxious though was the fact that I had no energy to do any work for months. I believe God has a very sense of humour because when I had no energy for work, none was coming in. As I contemplated how much money I had spent on medical bills, depleting my savings and had to turn to investments, panic set in. But one day I decide to hold God accountable to his word in Matthew 6:25-34 that says,
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
I decided to surrender all my anxiety where provision is concerned. Literally the moment I began to do this, everything changed. I began to get new and higher paying clients at the point when I could muster the strength to do work. I continue to heal so I do work on my time based on how my body feels.
In my period of rest, opportunities began to flow my way even without my having to work hard for them such as media features which I hadn’t asked for. I also landed a Distributor for Podcast Power.
Experiencing a health challenge during the period of a pandemic has taught me many things. I am just going to share 3 of those with you today:
- Slow download and live
- Surrender to the process
- I am more resilient than I thought
ABOUT HENEKA WATKIS-PORTER
Heneka Watkis-Porter is an entrepreneur, coach, 5x author, international speaker and host of The Entrepreneurial You Podcast who has interviewed Richard Branson, John Lee Dumas, Paul Carrick Brunson, Seth Godin (2X) and many other influencers. She is the founder and CEO of Patwa Apparel. Heneka is also the creator of the Caribbean’s first virtual conference and expo: The Entrepreneurial You Virtual SME Conference & Expo as well as the Online Health Summit, Slow Down And Live: Health Is Wealth.
Heneka hosts Leadercast events in Jamaica and writes for the Leadercast blog and Thrive Global.
Listen to the episode and let us know what is your biggest takeaway.
RESOURCES
Connect with Heneka Watkis-Porter:
VISIT OUR SPONSOR: Jamaica Stock Exchange
SHOP The Entrepreneurial Store: https://henekawatkisporter.com/store/
BOOKS by Heneka Watkis-Porter: https://henekawatkisporter.com/books/
LEARN Podcasting: https://henekawatkisporter.com/learn/
Book Heneka Watkis-Porter to SPEAK: https://henekawatkisporter.com/speaking/
LISTEN to other podcast episodes: https://henekawatkisporter.com/teypodcast/
READ our blog: https://henekawatkisporter.com/blog/
Looking for spiritual upliftment? Listen to My Daily Devotion. A very short devotional to get you closer to God. Listen on:
ENJOY THIS PODCAST?
Thank you for tuning in to this episode with me going solo. I look forward to connecting with you next week where you will hear from Tom Schwab about Using Podcast Interview Marketing To Turn Listeners Into Customers. In the meantime, I’d like to hear what has been your most important lesson of 2020. Please leave a comment on the show notes page of this episode at henekawatkisporter.com. You may also send me a WhatsApp message from the homepage to connect with me for all things Podcasting – books, coaching, online course, etc.
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Point of Hope: And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:28
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Stay inspired,
Heneka
