Believing the Breakthrough is Coming Your Way

Sometimes it feels like that long-awaited breakthrough is taking its sweet time showing up. But what if the waiting season is actually preparing you for it?

In this episode, Sandy and Lanée share how imagination, prayer, and a few intentional mindset shifts can help you get unstuck and move closer to the success you’ve been hoping for.

A few of the things you’ll learn are how to:
 ⭐ Picture the Win – See your breakthrough clearly—whether it’s peace in your daily routine or a dream project finally taking shape.
⭐ Pray Over the Plan – Bring your goals to God and trust His timing and wisdom to meet you right where you are.
⭐ Flip the Script – Replace self-doubt with faith-filled thoughts that build momentum and open new doors.

Along the way you'll get unfiltered confessions, relatable moments, and the kind of encouragement that helps you believe your breakthrough might be closer than you think!

For more info on IMAGINE YOURSELF, visit imagineyourselfpodcast.com. You'll find blogs, inspirational quotes and of course our podcasts!

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"Imagine Yourself" is hosted by Lanée Blaise and Sandy Kovach—two dynamic voices with a passion for inspiring and uplifting others. Lanée, a TV writer, producer, motivational speaker, and podcaster, brings powerful storytelling and insight. Sandy, a radio personality, voiceover artist, and podcaster, delivers warmth and wisdom with every conversation. Broadcasting from the Detroit Metro area, they welcome guests from around the world to share valuable perspectives on health, career growth, faith, and personal transformation. Tune in and imagine the possibilities for your life!

Transcript

Lanée Blaise [00:00:02]:
Hello everyone in Imagine Yourself Land. This is Lanee here with Sandy. And we always like to do a thing here on the podcast where we like try to find or bring up or give the best advice possible. But then Sandy and I sometimes like to go and try to practice it, like practice what we preach and kind of work it out in our own lives and see how it goes.

Sandy Kovach  [00:00:29]:
Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.

Lanée Blaise [00:00:31]:
Yeah, sometimes we're like, oh, we had a great guest and they gave great information, but it just, we weren't able to buckle down and do it. Or maybe it wasn't for us. But this time we're kind of using it from the last episode, which was all about the power of imagination and how like when you can imagine things and you just give yourself that space and that openness to trust in the desires of your heart and to trust in the way that God, God can open so many doors and opportunities that we might not have thought, but really just imagining some of those great things ahead of time and how it can really benefit and bless our lives. So today we actually are going to give some updates on how we've been able to implement it. We also asked folks online and on social media what they thought. We got a lot of folks kind of dealing with some of the similar things. We did have one that was different than most and then we kind of have some takeaways. So I think we should just have Sandy take it away.

Lanée Blaise [00:01:36]:
Go ahead and let us know what you have discovered with imagination in your own life in the past couple weeks.

Sandy Kovach  [00:01:42]:
Okay. Well, as Linnear and I are going to give our stories and then we'll have time for probably one listener and then we're going to have like five key points on how you can turn this into success in your own life if you haven't tried it or if you have tried it or whatever. So first of all, I have to say that my imagination of success is like the most basic, down to earth, not exciting, boring thing. But it's so important to me and that is getting my day to be less stressful and more organized and more healthy because it's catawampus. And I know that if it comes down to it, yes, I'll take some things off my plate, but I think that there is a way that I can do this without having to do that right now. Every time I imagine myself being successful in that way, not necessarily a certain job or a certain career, anything, just being successful, moving along in my day, I'm always showered and dressed and Working in my studio. And the reason that's important is because I spend half the day because I work at home in my pajamas and I haven't showered yet. And sometimes I don't even wash my face or brush my teeth till like 10 o' clock in the morning.

Sandy Kovach  [00:03:06]:
And it's gross. Okay, See how I'm telling on myself.

Lanée Blaise [00:03:11]:
But a lot of people I know, a lot of people at home like shaking their head like that's me.

Sandy Kovach  [00:03:15]:
That's true. People who work at home can probably relate to this. I get up really early cause I do a morning radio show. And so I don't wanna get up any earlier and take a shower. So here's my compromise. After my first radio show, which is done by like 8:30 or 9:00', clock, I walk the dog. And then I get fresh before I sit down and do any more work. Cause my tendency is I'll walk the dog, I'll maybe eat something, I'll take a minute break, scroll online or something.

Sandy Kovach  [00:03:43]:
And then I'll be like, oh snap, I gotta go do xyz. So so far it's worked and it's been very helpful. And I want it to lead to other things. I want it to lead to figuring out another way to get more exercise in, to eat less on the go. Because my nutritionist says that I should not be eating standing up or at my desk.

Lanée Blaise [00:04:03]:
Yes. Or got a plan ahead.

Sandy Kovach  [00:04:05]:
Walking up the stairs in my studio, eating a banana. Literally eating and walking. I mean, I know that there are people out there eating in their car and I guess it's okay sometimes. But because of my demeanor and the way it's affecting me, I need to calm down, I need to stress less, anxiety less. So that's kind of what I'm doing. And I'm starting with a shower. And I won't give you all my other steps, but I do have them all written down like other things I want to do. But it's one thing at a time.

Sandy Kovach  [00:04:34]:
And I'm starting with a daggone shower after my first radio show.

Lanée Blaise [00:04:39]:
But see, even the power of imagination there, it's like you are dressed. It's like right now you look so adorable. I know people can't see you, but you have on this lilac or lavender colored jacket and you just, and your hair is just cut with that blunt cut just so. And you look so professional and ready and calm and lovely and beautiful. And part of that is, you know, you're welcome. It just is true. But it also, it just brings the professional Level up, you know, of what you're doing and what you're doing it for. And I don't know if it makes you less stressed, but it.

Lanée Blaise [00:05:17]:
It just makes you more lovely.

Sandy Kovach  [00:05:19]:
Well, they do say. And I. It's funny because I saw somebody posting about this online. I mean, back in the. The very old days, even before our time, people used to be a lot more formal, and then they started getting less formal, and now it's super informal. Like, you see folks at the store in their PJs and. And Crocs and stuff like that. And I guess, you know, I'm not judging, but we have, as a society, I don't feel like we need to go and put corsets on or anything like that.

Lanée Blaise [00:05:44]:
Top hats. Get your top hat and your corset.

Sandy Kovach  [00:05:47]:
And your, you know.

Lanée Blaise [00:05:49]:
Oh, my gosh. And that tool slip that you'd wear.

Sandy Kovach  [00:05:52]:
Underneath to make your dress, the hoop thing, the crinoline. I had a bridesmaid dress with crinoline in it once. Have you ever worn that?

Lanée Blaise [00:06:00]:
Back in 19. 1987, I believe that was.

Sandy Kovach  [00:06:04]:
It was around that year. Yes, indeed.

Lanée Blaise [00:06:06]:
Yes. During proms. Yeah. Yes, Sandy, I actually like it. And. But the thing that resonated with me the most was when you said doing one thing at a time. You are pointing to and focusing on one good thing and one good change at a time. And we've talked about that in other episodes, too.

Sandy Kovach  [00:06:29]:
Yeah, I know. Your. Your thing is big, bold, and beautiful. So it's better than taking a shower, isn't it?

Lanée Blaise [00:06:36]:
No, mine went all the way just balls to the wall. Mine is not being afraid to imagine and see all the big things. For example, most of, you know, maybe from before that. I'm a screenwriter for television and film. I have a dual dream, I guess, from all of this. With imagination. I want to stop being afraid, stop playing it small, at least in my imaginary world or in my brain. Imagination.

Lanée Blaise [00:07:13]:
I want to see so many projects being pushed out. Our Christmas movie, Rekindled for Christmas. I want to see it with full success. I want to see the people in the audience watching. I want to see the people at home watching it. On streaming. I imagine. I see.

Lanée Blaise [00:07:31]:
I visualize all of that coming to fruition for the blended television show, which is even harder, you know, because your mind will say, well, logically, Hollywood is having a hard time right now and funding is difficult, and TV shows aren't really in right now. So logically, why even think it? But, Sandy, even as of today, I came on this podcast late. Sandy because as of today, there is a network that is interested and wants to take a meeting with us on this coming Monday to talk about blended. They love the concept. They didn't even ask me if I had an agent or a manager, because I don't. And I know that's tough. You know, they were just like, as long as you sign. It was a very basic form.

Lanée Blaise [00:08:15]:
Just saying, like, that I own the work and that, you know, our company owns the work and that we are. We understand that this is something that we're just submitting for their perusal and then we're going to have the meeting with them. It's starting, right? So I'm going to just go ahead and not be afraid to see it going all the way through to the end to where everybody who's listening to this episode right now and every one of my friends and family and neighbors and everybody is seeing this show unfold episode after episode and like calling me like linnae, you did it finally hit? Yeah, finally. I'm not afraid anymore. That is the imagination piece. I can be logical all day long. I can do all of the practical things, but when I sit and do the imagination piece, I want all the things. And how about this? On top of it, if since I'm just going all the way, I'm kind of like you also, I want to also make sure that none of this stuff stresses me out.

Lanée Blaise [00:09:16]:
Isn't that crazy? Like, I want to think big, but I don't want to be stressed. So I'm just believing that there will be a smoothness to all of this, that the contracts in the future will be nice, easy language, not crazy technical jargon that I don't understand. The compensation and the pay will be wonderful. That we will all win, that everybody wins and that there's joy but not stress and not crunchy problems that get in there. I know that I'm giving a spoiler alert. This is going to be one of our. Our tips later about picture the win. Yeah, I am fully picturing the win.

Sandy Kovach  [00:09:52]:
Yes.

Lanée Blaise [00:09:52]:
Picturing the whole win and the happiness, the work, life balance, the success, being humble throughout it. I don't want the native go around, have big head. You know, all the parts. I'm like really, really picturing the win in its entirety. How it affects me. Mind, body, soul, career, professional, personal, everything.

Sandy Kovach  [00:10:15]:
I love it and I love the extreme difference in our examples, but they're both important.

Lanée Blaise [00:10:21]:
Remember how you said yours is important to you?

Sandy Kovach  [00:10:23]:
It's important to me. Yeah.

Lanée Blaise [00:10:24]:
Didn't want to keep living in A way that, you know, that your health wasn't optimal, that your schedule wasn't optimal, that your. Your stress level versus peace level wasn't optimal.

Sandy Kovach  [00:10:37]:
Yeah. And, you know, and when I'm in that situation, maybe I'll be in more of a position to start thinking bigger. Like, there are definitely things within my career that I could imagine being bigger. But right now, I mean, God just kind of has me focusing in on me. And sometimes God has you in those seasons where it's like, hey, get yourself together before you start. And you're in a different season. And it's funny. Cause one of our listeners, Linda Ramos, we've heard from her before, we love her.

Sandy Kovach  [00:11:10]:
She always has nice things to say about the episodes. And she was saying she is envisioning herself getting a good night's sleep. So obviously she's having sleep issues. I should have sent her the link to our sleep episode because we did do one on sleep.

Lanée Blaise [00:11:26]:
Yes, we did.

Sandy Kovach  [00:11:27]:
A few years ago.

Lanée Blaise [00:11:28]:
This is affecting folks left and right in this country.

Sandy Kovach  [00:11:31]:
Yes, it is. And sleep. So I'm sure she's gotten all the advice and probably talking to her doctor, but sometimes you can do all those things. So she's taking it in her imagination and taking it to God. And hopefully we'll get an update from her on how all that's going. So these little challenges that we face on the daily sometimes can affect our big picture. In fact, what's that quote about? To establish success, you know, you've got to start with your daily habits. And that's.

Sandy Kovach  [00:12:02]:
So that's what you're doing.

Lanée Blaise [00:12:03]:
That's what you're doing. Right? That is what you're doing. And that is. Gosh, now you've got me thinking, too. I do need to maybe incorporate that into my big picture. You know, how am I living each day? Which part of it, too, this is a personal one for me, that is also important is as far as making sure that my calendar, my schedule does not become overwhelming. Like, if you think of a. I love, you know, old school.

Lanée Blaise [00:12:28]:
So if you think of like a paper calendar, like on actual paper, and you write things on it with the pen or whatever, have some blank spaces and blank slots in there to allow for some of these great opportunities to come in. Because just like I was telling you, I was late to the podcast today because of this opportunity and this offer that came up, but I wanted to jump on it right then. Well, what if I had already clogged up my whole day and didn't get a chance to even Turn back in the contract and the time slot. It just. All I'm saying is to make sure that we have an openness in our heart, an openness in our calendar, an open mind. Open. That's the word of the day. Open.

Sandy Kovach  [00:13:11]:
Yeah. Leave what was. We interviewed Josh, who was the entrepreneur that Josh Schneider, and he talked about. How did he put it? We need margin.

Lanée Blaise [00:13:22]:
White space. Margin.

Sandy Kovach  [00:13:23]:
Margin in our day.

Lanée Blaise [00:13:24]:
Yes. Margin.

Sandy Kovach  [00:13:25]:
Margin.

Lanée Blaise [00:13:26]:
Leave that margin.

Sandy Kovach  [00:13:27]:
Yeah. For great things like you're talking about. For. Also, I think we've talked in other podcasts. Leave margin for people that need help or that need you for whatever reason. And you know what? It's not always going to work out. Sometimes your days are going to be crunchalicious, and other days. That's my new word.

Sandy Kovach  [00:13:45]:
That's my word for the day.

Lanée Blaise [00:13:46]:
It makes it more fun than saying, like, crazy hectic. Crunchalicious.

Sandy Kovach  [00:13:51]:
My day is crunchalicious. And so realize that, too. And that's part of life. It's kind of like realizing in your life you're not always going to be happy and successful. That's part of life. Well, some days you're just going to be crunchalicious and just try and go with the flow. But you say, hey, well, thanks for the blessings and I'll deal with it the best I can. And don't get too down on yourself if some things fall through the cracks, because inevitably, crunchalicious days do lead to that, and then you get back to them later.

Sandy Kovach  [00:14:19]:
Make a note, I didn't get a chance to do that. And then maybe the next day. So shall we get to the. You already kind of kicked it off. Let's talk a little bit about it first. Yeah. So picture the win. Go with that a little bit more.

Sandy Kovach  [00:14:30]:
Picture the win.

Lanée Blaise [00:14:31]:
Linnae, I want to share another component. Sometimes we learn a lot from other people and the way that they're doing things. Last night, I was in a meeting with a group of women creatives. We kind of did a roundtable discussion, and they were each talking about some of the things that they implement in their daily life to really get things going. It goes back to something about wanting. I know. I was talking about, I want the big win and I want the things to succeed. But it's also like making sure that there are parts of your life where you're doing what you want to be doing.

Lanée Blaise [00:15:09]:
One of the ladies on there is like, even if I have had, I guess, a crunchalicious day, a tough day, you know, as long as I get to take a few moments and Sip on a cup of tea in my rocking chair, she said, then I feel a sense of completeness. So even if your win for the day ends up being like I am focused on and imagining after I get all of this work done, after I put out all these fires, that I get to sit for two minutes and sip on a cup of tea and rock in my rocking chair, then I can kind of restabilize myself and get back. So the win can be a big win, where it's like, hey, I'm famous. I'm an NFL football player.

Sandy Kovach  [00:15:55]:
You are?

Lanée Blaise [00:15:56]:
Yes, yes. And I. My name is shouted in the stands all over. I'm the first female. You know, I don't know. Yeah, we are Detroit Lions fans all the way, but which is another one. Imagine the Detroit Lions finally going to the Super Bowl.

Sandy Kovach  [00:16:10]:
Yes, yes.

Lanée Blaise [00:16:12]:
Go ahead. Big picture win. Big picture win. But also balance with just that little picture win of just getting through this day of crunchy times and sipping on that tea, praying to God, like you said, being grateful and thanking God there's big wins and little wins, but picture them both in your life to make your life more robust and to get you down the yellow brick road.

Sandy Kovach  [00:16:38]:
Exactly. No, I love that because I loved your story and I just love the way it lined up with the timing of the phone call right before the podcast. That's so God. But. And that's huge. And I'm picturing it for you. I'm praying it for you. Thank you.

Lanée Blaise [00:16:54]:
And just like you said with Linda Ramos, I am picturing and praying for her ability to each night have a wind down routine that is just exceptional and a smoothness and a peace that she drifts off to sleep, that she stays asleep. As women, we often have to wake up at 4am and go to the bathroom, but she goes real quick and then she gets back in the bed and she goes right back to sleep. And that she just. That God just almost like gently touches her forehead and just says, go to sleep, darling. We pray for others too. We can see the big picture for them sometimes too. And that is powerful. Can you imagine, like we're all thinking about her right now, all that good, beautiful God blessed energy and prayers going her way.

Lanée Blaise [00:17:40]:
And let's see how, how it works out for her sleep. And for your routine tomorrow and. And for my football career. Yeah. Yes.

Sandy Kovach  [00:17:49]:
And for the Lions. We'll find out soon enough. Anybody who is from Detroit that's listening.

Lanée Blaise [00:17:56]:
Shout out to you.

Sandy Kovach  [00:17:57]:
Yeah. But join us, Detroit's America's team now. Not that we have any disrespect for the Dallas Cowboys, but they had their time.

Lanée Blaise [00:18:08]:
Yeah. And we were the underdogs. And we are seeing and believing and picturing our time for this town, too.

Sandy Kovach  [00:18:15]:
That's right.

Lanée Blaise [00:18:16]:
Yes.

Sandy Kovach  [00:18:16]:
All right, so number two, pray over the plan. Invite God to confirm and shape your goals so that they are aligned with his will. You could flip this technically with Picture the Wind, or you could combine it. You could say, God help me with this picture. Because a lot of times you'll hear, don't ask God to bless your plans. Ask God for your plans. He directs your steps. So I say we can kind of combine it.

Sandy Kovach  [00:18:44]:
I don't mind having Picture the Wind first, because I think if you are walking with the Lord every day, he's gonna help you have his will in your plan as well. But I will say this. You can flip those two, pray over the plan. Listen for God's voice. Just see what happens. See if you have peace about things. Now, I will ask you this, and I know we've talked about this. How do you know? Because this comes up every time I talk to somebody about hearing from God.

Sandy Kovach  [00:19:16]:
How do you know that God is blessing your plan? Because sometimes you do have peace and sometimes you have to fight against the conflict. How do you know whether to go forward?

Lanée Blaise [00:19:26]:
Kind of like you said, it really is a day by day thing because you have your mind which tries to say, hello, darling, I am here to protect you so that we can stay practical and that we don't get ourselves into any problematic situations for things that are too big for us to handle. But then sometimes God is saying, hello, darling, I am here to make sure that you do understand that you are absolutely stepping into a season or project or a life that is bigger than you and something that you are not able to handle on your own. But because I am holding your hand and being with you and equipping you through this process, you will be fine. But that other brain is really trying its best to, like, do what it knows, which is to be cautious. And so it's very hard, right, because you're thinking this is too much. Or sometimes we even think I'm asking too much of God. And it's probably insulting to God, but.

Sandy Kovach  [00:20:39]:
No, he gets it.

Lanée Blaise [00:20:41]:
Yeah, he knows we're human. But it is no formula. There is no clear answer to that question that could go across the board. Because it really gets down into how do you start really listening and really knowing the way God communicates with you personally? You know, Sandy, a lot of times things come to you in your dreams because your awake mind might really be on that protective mode of like, we're going to make sure that Sandy stays logical. But when you're sleeping and you're dreaming, all that goes out the window. And God can get direct access to you. Many times with mine, I do get the direct access and direct words from God. It always seems like it's phrased in a way that I don't talk like that.

Lanée Blaise [00:21:34]:
I'm not saying that like he says thou and shalt not or not that kind of stuff.

Sandy Kovach  [00:21:38]:
I don't think God spoke King James English. I'm pretty convinced he did back in the day.

Lanée Blaise [00:21:43]:
Back in the day, you know, but. But now it's like it can be modern, but there's something about it that I notice. It's not the way that I speak. It's not even necessarily what I would have wanted, but I begin to feel in my spirit, dang it. This is not the way I really wanted it to go or I expected it to go because here's another one, and I guess there's no formula, but I just had a conversation with a friend last night on the phone. As far as many times God does unexpected, not straightforward, Sometimes doesn't even seem logical. We were talking about how Moses and the Israelites in just wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years, going around in circles, as opposed to a nice straight, direct, easy path, which would make so much sense. God allows things to unfold in ways.

Lanée Blaise [00:22:37]:
God gives you unexpected blessings, Sandy. I go around and I try to talk to all these different TV and film professionals, but just watch. God will have me probably at the grocery store picking out certain types of apples for apple season. And a personal. Who's an apple expert will be talking to me. And then they'll say, oh, what do you do for a living? Oh, I write for TV and film. Oh, My wife is the president of Netflix, CEO of Netflix. And it's all these things.

Lanée Blaise [00:23:10]:
See, God is holding on, expects it. All I'm saying is we have this thing in our mind that things have to go. A plus B equals C straight line. You know, you've got to go meet with the head honchos in order to get ahead. And that is not always the case. That is not necessarily the way God works. God wants us to be kind and humble to every human being and to not use people. And so I feel like that's part of God's strategy to give you the desires of your heart in the most unexpected ways that you would have never thought of for yourself.

Lanée Blaise [00:23:42]:
And to me, that's to your point. As far as praying over the plan, say God, I bet you have an even better way for me to live or to experience the greatness that you have for me. I want to go with your plan. I pick. Boop. I pick God's way. I'm pushing the buzzer for God's way over my own thoughts.

Sandy Kovach  [00:24:04]:
So before we go to take or. I was about to say it, but the next step, which I'll have you start with right now. My son is in a situation where people who've listened to this podcast before know he's a musician and he was touring with a Paul McCartney cover band for a while and they're no longer together. So now he's doing various things and he has another band and he has been offered a tour on a ship cruise. So it's like a four month cruise and gets to go places like New Zealand and Australia. Places I would never even. Well, I can't say I couldn't imagine it, but it's hard to imagine doing that at this point. But you never know.

Sandy Kovach  [00:24:49]:
Anyway, point being my husband would like him to come back to the corporate world and do music part of part time, which, you know, I get it, it's a shaky economy. It makes total sense. It doesn't mean that he won't get another cruise offer. So my thought was like, dang, you gotta take this. You know, this is too cool. But my husband thinks opposite and ultimately it's gonna be Joe's decision and it's gonna be something he's gonna have to pray about. I mean, I spoke to him today. He's on an interview with a company right now.

Sandy Kovach  [00:25:22]:
So he's weighing both options. Right. He's got to see, yeah, this is.

Lanée Blaise [00:25:27]:
Maybe a good problem to have. It's one of those good problems to have. But at the same time, you led with the New Zealand and the.

Sandy Kovach  [00:25:35]:
I know, I led with that. Yeah.

Lanée Blaise [00:25:37]:
And it just makes it so exciting. Like you said, once again, God has these amazing plans for us if we are willing to step into it. So I don't know how it's going to shake out with Joe and what's going to end up being the best thing. But I don't know if this kind of opportunity will come around again. So I don't know. I'm team.

Sandy Kovach  [00:26:02]:
You're team.

Lanée Blaise [00:26:02]:
Cruise.

Sandy Kovach  [00:26:03]:
Yeah.

Lanée Blaise [00:26:03]:
Yes, yes. And travel the world while you're young and do the corporate stuff later.

Sandy Kovach  [00:26:11]:
Yeah.

Lanée Blaise [00:26:12]:
Once you got, you know what you got. Wife and kids and Mortgage and stuff.

Sandy Kovach  [00:26:17]:
I know. I think my husband's just in a hurry for grandkids and Joe to settle down and all the things which I would love grandchildren. But, you know, he's not, you know, he only graduated college a few years ago, I think. I think he's still pretty young, 26 years old.

Lanée Blaise [00:26:31]:
Agreed. I love all of this. Now this one, it almost doesn't quite fit in here because our next tip was kind of about take small steps.

Sandy Kovach  [00:26:41]:
That's more like something that would fit into my shower routine where, you know.

Lanée Blaise [00:26:47]:
Yeah, you're in this case, I guess you take the big dream and you break it into bite size pieces, actions, goals that you can manage. Like, even for your son. Like he is actually. He's been doing all the work all along which has brought him to these opportunities. Now he's at the big crossroads. But I think for people who are trying to get to that space, I want to offer a piece of advice. And see, this was another one God gave me. Direct wording.

Lanée Blaise [00:27:21]:
God tends to say these things to me when I'm half asleep. Also at that 4am right before bathroom break situation. And so I wake up in the morning and I have a notepad right next to my bed and a pen that I try to make sure always has ink because sometimes I've had some notes. And then I realized because I'm writing in the dark, didn't have ink and I didn't get to remember what God told me. I woke up to a note the other day and this was before when I was thinking, I really want to get this blended TV going and. But I hadn't really been doing enough towards it. I've been praying and I've been talking to people about it and we did all the production work, but you have to market and pitch and shop it and talk it and walk it. So in the morning I woke up to some crazy handwriting note that I had written where God had said, be more intentional and pay more attention and run back to me before you go running off to do all the things.

Lanée Blaise [00:28:28]:
So that's when I had to like, I don't want to say target people, but I wanted to specifically hone in on the people on LinkedIn or in different areas that really could make it a benefit, a win win for blended. That was one of the people that I reached out to who reached back. And I've got this contract thing for now.

Sandy Kovach  [00:28:50]:
Wow.

Lanée Blaise [00:28:51]:
You know, paying attention to details. For example, that's why I was late also making sure that everything that I sent in that email, all of the materials I included, setting up the timing, everything was just. I triple checked to make sure that I'm paying attention. I sat and asked God, okay, I'm about to come. Click send. Did I forget anything? Did I misspell anything? Did I not answer something? Because I really want to pay attention, to be the best that I can. And then the last one, which to me is the most important, that direct run to me first before you go running off doing all these other things. Because sometimes if we don't take small steps and we just go and run off in whatever direction we, we might accidentally be going south when we were supposed to be going north, you know, with the plan, it's not that you can't fix it, but you're behind, then you were.

Lanée Blaise [00:29:49]:
You have to retrace your steps and get back on God's path. So just be on God's path first as much as you can. Pause, listen, reflect, ask God for help. Listen for the help. In your case, Sandy, before you go sleep, dear God, please put something in my dream that makes sense or, you know, for me, please, when I get up to go to the bathroom, please have me, give me some message that I can write down and that I can read it in the morning. And many times God doesn't always just say, hey, Sandy, or linnae, I want you to reach out and email this particular person. Sometimes it's a message like, look around your circle that already exists. That might be exactly where your gift and your opportunity comes from.

Lanée Blaise [00:30:33]:
Take a moment, take small steps, take a pause, slow it down sometimes in order to speed up your success.

Sandy Kovach  [00:30:40]:
I love all those things. I love that you just gave a direct example of how God spoke to you and we're sitting here confirming moments after it happened the results.

Lanée Blaise [00:30:52]:
Exactly.

Sandy Kovach  [00:30:53]:
Oh my goodness.

Lanée Blaise [00:30:54]:
Many times, many times, God can work something out within 24 hours if it is his will and his timing for you. God can also let you wander around for 40 years in the wilderness.

Sandy Kovach  [00:31:08]:
That's true. And sometimes it has to do with like the Israelites were not exactly being 100% obedient. So sometimes it has to do with you and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it just has to do with God's plan for other people. And we've had whole podcasts about God sees the big picture and we don't. Being patient isn't always easy. All right, so the next thing is flip the script. I know that sounds very biblical, doesn't it? Yeah.

Sandy Kovach  [00:31:38]:
Replace limiting thoughts with faith filled pictures of what's Possible. And a lot of that is taking captive. As that verse in 2 Corinthians says, we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. A lot of times we're going to think all kinds of crazy things, whether they're temptation things or whether they're just negative stuff. We don't have to entertain it necessarily. But it's not enough to just say, oh, I'm going to stop thinking about that. You got to replace it with something. So replace it with Romans 8:28.

Sandy Kovach  [00:32:15]:
All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Something simple like that, like a scripture you have memorized. Or replace the thought of you failing with the thought of you being successful. A lot of the time when I was trying to get a hold of my schedule and I'm still not there, I'm working through it, but I would just think the way my day is structured and because I have so many interruptions in the morning. I mean, I have my pets, sometimes I have to make my husband. I don't have to, but I choose to make my husband breakfast. And I'm doing all this stuff while I am recording a show. Usually not anything that would take too long.

Sandy Kovach  [00:32:54]:
I don't want to give you the idea that I'm slacking off while I'm supposed to be recording. That's not the case, but I do have a lot to deal with in the morning. And I would just think, well, I can never figure this out. This is too much. Finally, after we did that Imagine episode a couple weeks ago, I said, I'm going to sit and imagine what it would be like. And that's the first thing that came to me, is to be clean and dressed instead of sitting there and. And pajama pants and a coffee stain T shirt with dirty hair.

Lanée Blaise [00:33:23]:
You, I bet somebody right now is listening to this and like, has a little tear popping out the side of their eye because they were probably feeling hopeless just like that too. And now it's like, wait a second, I can imagine it better. And then it can start happening. Sometimes it's just that simple. I will not say always because there's so many things that pop up in life that are far from simple, that are going to be overwhelming regardless. But lots of times there are things just that simple. I know my. I was talking to my sister today.

Lanée Blaise [00:33:57]:
I think this is going off track, but, oh, well, talking about. It's really short, really, really short. My talking my sister today. I was telling her, I said, I haven't spoken to you in so long because my schedule has just been crazy, and I really believe that I was just never going to get out of it. And. And then all of a sudden, I was just like, hey, I'll just not fill in so many things in my calendar. And she's like, do you remember a long time ago, and she reminded me, my son, he was like 5 years old, and my stepmom had had knee surgery, all kinds of things with her legs. He was like, hey, come on upstairs and play with me in the playroom.

Lanée Blaise [00:34:35]:
And she was like, oh, no, I can't. I won't be able to walk up there like that. He's like, it's easy. Just take one step, and then you put it on the step, and then you take the other one, and then you're walking. And she was like, okay. And bless her heart, she took 15 minutes, but she gently got up those stairs. All that to say sometimes if we really like that, other to break it down into smaller steps. And then we see it, we overcome the limiting thoughts, and we see it, and we really just do take one step at a time, and we do it a little differently.

Lanée Blaise [00:35:10]:
If you always do what you always did, you always get what you always got. Switch that up. Flip the script on that. I'm not doing what I always did. I'm doing new things, so I get new things.

Sandy Kovach  [00:35:21]:
Exactly. I mean, willing to try and fail. Because sometimes you're going to try things and they're not going to work out, but they're definitely not going to work out if you don't try. What is it? Michael Scott quoting Wayne Gretzky. You miss all the shots that you never take. Did you remember the episode where he wrote it on the board and then he wrote.

Lanée Blaise [00:35:40]:
And he wrote it wrong?

Sandy Kovach  [00:35:41]:
Yeah, he wrote it. Yeah. Michael. And he said, michael Scott, Wayne Gretzky in parentheses or whatever. Yeah. All right, so what do we got for our last tip?

Lanée Blaise [00:35:49]:
Celebrate. Celebrate your progress. Celebrate.

Sandy Kovach  [00:35:53]:
I thought you were gonna sing who Won the Gang.

Lanée Blaise [00:35:56]:
Oh, celebrate Good times. Come on. That is important. People talk about it a lot. Some people get a little intimidated by the size of the celebration. Doesn't have to be big. You can celebrate with God as well. I truly believe in my heart, which I haven't done today.

Lanée Blaise [00:36:14]:
I need to take some time today and say, thank you, God, even for this possible opportunity that has just come up. What if I go the whole day, Da, da da, da da. And then go to sleep and never thank God. Never celebrate with gratitude to God. What's possibly on the horizon.

Sandy Kovach  [00:36:33]:
I love it. And celebrate even the small progress that you make. Let's say you don't go all the way towards your goal. Let's say your goal for the week was to eat fewer snacks. Let's make it really plain and simple. But on Tuesday and Thursday, you had some potato chips, but the rest of the days you didn't. So celebrate that, you know, instead of hanging yourself up on, well, dang, I can't even go a whole week without potato chips. There's.

Sandy Kovach  [00:36:59]:
Flip the script.

Lanée Blaise [00:37:00]:
Flip the script and give yourself some grace and celebrate what you were able to do and even think about that part again. With my stepmom walking up those stairs to be with her grandson, to play with those dang on toys in the playroom. That was a success. And my, my son, he was not being patronizing, but he was like, see, you did it. It's great.

Sandy Kovach  [00:37:23]:
Well, he was 5. Yeah.

Lanée Blaise [00:37:24]:
Yeah. And she's like, thanks. Got me up here. I don't know how I'm gonna get back down, but okay. But he celebrated it, you know.

Sandy Kovach  [00:37:32]:
Yeah. And so we celebrate each other's wins as well.

Lanée Blaise [00:37:35]:
Yes. And think about it a lot of things. I wonder if biblically, we are supposed to do some things in a childlike manner as far as, you know, believing so many things are possible in a childlike manner, Trusting God as our parent in a childlike manner, celebrating the fact that we, I don't know, little things. Like when kids are little, you celebrate that they made it to the potty chair.

Sandy Kovach  [00:38:03]:
Right.

Lanée Blaise [00:38:03]:
Successfully, like, yay, we got to flush the potty and just celebrate. Celebrate little things all throughout and your life will be blessed. And again, how about this? There are some times when you're in a season where everything is feeling dark and closing in, and it's hard times. I've. I've had some seasons like that where I was not going to be joyfully celebrating at all. But I did at least thank God that I made it through that day and that, like, I got an hour of sleep that night or something, you know, to just give me enough replenishment to make it through the next hard day. And that was a certain season I was in. It didn't last.

Lanée Blaise [00:38:45]:
It was temporary. I just really encourage. Celebrate.

Sandy Kovach  [00:38:50]:
Celebrate. Yeah. Gratitude, celebration, all of it. So those are our five tips and we'll. We'll break them down like this. We have picture the win and pray over the plan, which again, you could flip pray first, but either way, take small steps would be number three. Flip the script number four and celebrate progress or just celebrate the win is number five.

Lanée Blaise [00:39:11]:
Yeah. I tell you, Sandy, I'm enjoying this episode myself. And even the last one that we just had about imagination, because it is a lost art. And once we start talking about it and leaning into really is beautiful. Some people might even take away from this episode, imagining that they finally get to a point where they can feel or hear the communication coming from God on speaking words into them, nudging them in certain ways, and that that is just really what they were looking for. And they will celebrate that because that's another part. Sometimes the win, the goal, the big thing, that opportunity is getting in a place where you are able to be still enough and trusting enough to finally hear or feel God communicating with you, whether it's visually, you know, words in your dreams, through messages, through others, and that you really get in that rhythm of knowing, oh, that is God, and, oh, that is my brain.

Sandy Kovach  [00:40:31]:
That is.

Lanée Blaise [00:40:31]:
That is my. My regular brain and that is God speaking into me.

Sandy Kovach  [00:40:36]:
So, yeah, you know, it makes me think that we should, because we've done a few episodes on speaking, listening for God and there was one especially I was thinking about with Kelly Shelton that we did not. Oh, it must have been like three years ago. She has a ministry called Seek well Ministries and that's part of it. So maybe we should redo or at least play back some of that episode for the folks who might have missed that, because I think that would definitely bless them.

Lanée Blaise [00:41:07]:
I think he would bless us too. I think for us to have it refreshed in our brain and for others, that's actually the whole goal. That is really the whole goal to be able to hear from God, to be able to walk with God and feel God's presence around you in some way, shape or form. Like I said, please understand. It's going to be so different to every person. I truly, I must admit, I feel like I have an advantage because this speaking to God and listening for God's response started with me when I was seven years old. So as a little kid, honestly and truly, I, like little kids are more receptive and open and believing and trusting and less cynical, less skeptical. So I really believe that God would speak back to me.

Lanée Blaise [00:41:58]:
And then my mother had to kind of teach me to catch the difference between when something was coming through that was not God and sometimes not even linnae. Those were some scarier parts that we had to, you know, kind of pray through and go through and had to ask God. I only want to hear from you. I don't want to hear some other kind of echo of something negative or evil or whatever, and you pray for that. But I really think this would be great if we go ahead and we. Yeah, we redo that. Re. Listen to that episode that Kelly Shelton gave because she gives very measurable steps on how to hear from God.

Lanée Blaise [00:42:36]:
And it is likely the most important thing that you'll come to because all these things that we talked about even earlier, about our schedules or about fulfillment of certain career goals and dreams, it is nothing compared to living a life and knowing that you are seen and loved by God and that you are seeing and knowing God.

Sandy Kovach  [00:43:00]:
Yeah. It's back to our scripture. We talk about to lot, seek first the kingdom of God, Matthew 6:33, and then all other things will be added. That's a paraphrase. You'd think as much as I quote that scripture, I'd know it exactly.

Lanée Blaise [00:43:15]:
But no, it's. These are the parts that caught your attention. Even if it's like, seek first the kingdom of God, full stop. I know you're not really supposed to do a full stop in the middle of a scripture, but that's the big takeaway. Seek first God like or even. Yeah. Really distilled down. Seek God first.

Sandy Kovach  [00:43:31]:
Yeah.

Lanée Blaise [00:43:33]:
Stop worrying about everything else.

Sandy Kovach  [00:43:35]:
Yeah.

Lanée Blaise [00:43:36]:
Yeah. Those desires of the heart that God planted in you are the most beautiful ones. Because I guess one last thing that God told me, I was kind of like, okay, what do I do with this? But out of all these things I'm trying to do with TV and film, God told me that the most important one to him in my life is working with the group of young women creatives that we have our discussions with. And one on ones with that is the most important work that he has me doing in this field.

Sandy Kovach  [00:44:11]:
Wow.

Lanée Blaise [00:44:12]:
It's like your little Christmas movie. That's nice. But this is the key. And it was the one thing that God gave me that I didn't really ask for. I had prayed for young people. I prayed for the industry. I prayed for more positive things to be created and produced out of television and film. And God's answer to that prayer was sending young women from all over the country to have them message me on LinkedIn.

Lanée Blaise [00:44:43]:
It's kind of like saying, Lenae, whatever you do with your project over here, one project over there pales in comparison to if you reach out to so many of these young women who will outlive you and outshine you, but they will be the ones who will be pushing these beautiful, positive Hope filled messages and projects into the world. That's the win. That was the answer to your prayer.

Sandy Kovach  [00:45:06]:
Wow.

Lanée Blaise [00:45:07]:
So that's one of those ones where God will say things. And I know it's not me. It doesn't sound like me because I would have been like, the best thing that God thought I did was working on blended God.

Sandy Kovach  [00:45:20]:
Be like, nope, that was nice.

Lanée Blaise [00:45:23]:
But God is like, not in my kingdom where I am trying to influence the landscape, influence the industry. This other path that I put you on is more important. So that kind of speaks to that. Number two, praying over the plan. Anyone out there who has feel like you've been derailed or feel like something that you really wanted to be successful at is not happening the way you want it to. Just try going back to God and getting some reassessment of what's. What's. What.

Sandy Kovach  [00:45:56]:
Yeah. Because you never know. It's his plan. We are supposed to mentor, if we can, our younger generation. That's part of, I think, our responsibility. In your case, in your particular industry, the effect could be really huge. God can make the effect happen in any industry and with any person. Your example of being in the grocery store and running into somebody from Netflix can happen small scale.

Sandy Kovach  [00:46:22]:
But obviously he has you there for a reason and he knows. And maybe one day in eternity you will know. But all we know is that God is always right and perfect and sometimes that's all we need.

Lanée Blaise [00:46:36]:
That's all we need. I guess we've come to the end of our episode and hopefully everyone will be looking forward to the next episode, which I bet will be that one on Hearing from God. But in order to really wrap this one up, imagine yourself taking the time somewhere in your life or in your day to leave room for imagination of what is God's will for your life, of ways that you can see positive, beautiful things stemming from your. Your life and your path. Imagine. Imagine. And imagine some more good things, beautiful things coming from your life, coming from the Lord.