Gurus & Game Changers
Gurus and Game Changers is a weekly lifestyle podcast featuring a range of guests, from those who’ve endured adversity to entertainers, entrepreneurs, and others with remarkable personal journeys. Co-hosted by Mark Lubragge and Stacey Grant, the show focuses on people with unique insights and solutions. A video version of the podcast airs on YouTube and DBtv.
Sample guests: Brandon Novak shared his story of going from a young skateboarder to a star in the Jackass and Viva La Bam world, where his life spiraled into a relentless struggle with substance abuse. Another recent guest was Tarra Stubbins, a celebrity personal assistant-turned-entrepreneur. She took listeners behind-the-scenes and into the world of fulfilling outrageous celebrity requests and then shared her transformation into a leading figure in the concierge industry.
PLEASE NOTE: **The views expressed by participants, including hosts and guests, are their own and not necessarily endorsed by the podcast. Reference to any specific individual, product, or entity is not an endorsement. The podcast does not provide professional advice, and listeners are urged to consult a physician before making any significant lifestyle or health changes.**
Gurus & Game Changers
How to be a Swimsuit Model | Ep 024
When NoorJehan Tourte decided to chase a childhood dream, she had no idea it would lead to such profound realizations about success, resilience, and the electric charge of joy that comes from facing life's challenges head-on. Her tale isn't just about modeling aspirations; it's a beacon for anyone who's ever been held back by the fear of failure or the weight of cultural expectations.
NoorJehan's story is a testament to the power of embracing failure, as she recounts her spontaneous decision to chase a childhood dream of becoming a Sports Illustrated model. Though she didn't land the cover, her experience became a catalyst for empowering others to find the courage to face their own challenges and embrace the lessons that come with them. Her philosophy on life's trials and the importance of going for it, despite the odds, is sure to leave you inspired.
This episode takes you through the intimate narrative of self-discovery and cultural navigation, as told by a Southern Californian with Indian roots. She discusses the tension between fulfilling community expectations and personal dreams, like her pursuit of modeling that challenged conservative norms. The support of her husband becomes a focal point, emphasizing the crucial role of empowerment in relationships. Our guest's journey towards autonomy and happiness serves as a powerful reminder that choosing your own path can lead to profound contentment and fulfillment.
We pay homage to the legendary Indian composer Naushad Ali through the eyes of his granddaughter, who honors his legacy by writing a biopic. This heartfelt chapter highlights the deep connection between family bonds and creative pursuits, and the redemption found in storytelling. Moreover, we tackle the destructive nature of self-pity and comparison, advocating for confidence-building activities and a mindset geared towards joy.
Finally, we speak about her plant based protein bar company, FGP Bar, that she has created with her husband. After an exhaustive search, she and her husband & co-founder couldn't find the right protein bar that was plant-based, low in sugar and most importantly delicious. So the Fiber Greens Protein bar was born! She's offering a special deal for our audience if you use promo code FGPGG20 for 20% off any purchase.
Join us for an episode filled with rich narratives and life lessons that promise to engage, enlighten, and encourage you to embrace your own journey with enthusiasm.
About Gurus and Game Changers:
The Gurus and Game Changers Podcast focuses on individuals with unique insights and solutions based on their life experiences.
Listen and you will find:
- Life insights
- Overcoming obstacles
- Unconventional success
- Personal growth stories
- Unique life journeys
- Self-discovery
- Inspirational life lessons
- Authentic success
- Niche expertise
- Non-traditional success stories
Inspirational journeys abound when you listen to some of our guests as they describe their personal transformation with unconventional wisdom with real-life stories. Their
empowering narratives and life-changing experiences showcase triumph over adversity, resilience and perseverance.
At Gurus and Game Changers we thrive on authentic storytelling and non-traditional paths to success described with empowering voices. These motivational insights
laden with turning points, lessons learned and a testament to inner growth will lead to your own journey to self-discovery.
These inspirational role models or 'Wild Ducks' as they've been described always come with a positive mindset in describing transformative experiences and evolving perspectives.
#InspirationalStories
#PersonalGrowth
#LifeLessons
#SuccessStories
#Motivational
00:02 - Mark (Co-host)
Have you ever met anybody like NoorJehan Tourte?
00:06 - Stacey (Co-host)
I have never met anyone quite like NoorJehan Tourte Right.
00:11 - Mark (Co-host)
She seemingly has it all. She has it all.
00:15 - Stacey (Co-host)
She has it all, she has everything.
00:17 - Mark (Co-host)
And she works like somebody who doesn't and she has this incredible positive mindset.
00:22 - Stacey (Co-host)
But she's down to earth. Like you know, she has it all, but she's not one of those people that knows it and acts like it.
00:27 - Mark (Co-host)
She's down to earth and she wants to help and empower young women so that they can feel like she does.
00:35 - Stacey (Co-host)
But I think the biggest thing about Norjehantort is her joy. That just emanates from her. We talk about it. We talk about her joy and the fact that being joyful is work. Sometimes you have to really do your work together.
00:51 - Mark (Co-host)
You've got to fight your way to be joyful. You've got to make the decision to be joyful. You have to be empathetic, to have other people to maintain your own joy and help them with their joy. There's so much about her that is serving and service and that's sort of an epiphany she had.
01:06 - Stacey (Co-host)
I, oh sorry, were you going to finish that? Did I just totally interrupt you Like without interrupting, would you have the hand up. No, I'm the mom Italian, but I want to say, like who wakes up the day after Christmas and says I want to be a sports illustrated model, wait now, I want to and I'm going to go for it.
01:21 - Mark (Co-host)
I'm going to be Right.
01:25 - Stacey (Co-host)
I am going to be a sports illustrated. On a whim, but it's not because she's like full of herself.
01:30 - Mark (Co-host)
No.
01:31 - Stacey (Co-host)
Or think you know, like it wasn't, that it was, that it was a goal of hers from when she was a kid and she decided that's what was going to happen and she went for it and guess what?
01:40 - Mark (Co-host)
She got pretty darned.
01:41 - Stacey (Co-host)
She got pretty darned close yeah right On a whim.
01:44 - Mark (Co-host)
Yeah, she decided it was time because she in her words she was it came from a place of contentment. She was so happy that she wanted to experience life doing the things she loved. And one of her best pieces of advice is you want to be happy to do the things you love, and you don't have to be as good as that other person at that, but you can be good for you and that's where you get the joy. And there's just a tiny piece of all the stuff that she shares you guys are going to love. She's just great. She's articulate, she's smart. There's everything about her and she has so much great energy to share she does. I think you guys are going to love it. Enjoy Noi Chihantou.
02:19 - Stacey (Co-host)
Hi, I'm Stacy.
02:20 - Mark (Co-host)
And I am Mark, and this is the Guru's Game Changers Podcast. Welcome everybody. If you have ever looked at failure, you probably heard all the phrases I'm going to fail forward. There's no such thing as failing, only learning. You're going to take lessons from it, all of that. But what you probably haven't heard is how the process of failing, of coming up short, can actually change you for the better, if you embrace the process and not the outcome. I'm going to tell you what I mean In 2022. Our guest today, noi Chihantou. I love this story. She woke up one day and said I think I'm going to be a sports illustrated swimsuit model. It's what childhood dream of hers.
02:59
We all say that Right, don't we?
03:01 - Stacey (Co-host)
all say that Sure, but she did it. She walked up to her husband and she said, guess what?
03:05 - Mark (Co-host)
And you know, broke the news. So and that's a very public thing for what? Someone who is a very private, private person? And she got further than she had expected. She got past the semifinals unexpectedly and while she came up short on her childhood dream of becoming a cover model, what came from this experience was something even more unexpected. It ignited a fire in her to help other people experience the joy and experience the power that she felt going through that entire process. And now she's dedicated herself to helping people get excited about failing because they tried, about excited about falling on your face over and over and over again to maximize your one go round on this planet.
03:50
So hers is a message of mindset. It's a message of embracing the power to say I'm going to go for it, even when your brain immediately says you can't go. You have no business going for it. Doubt it immediately, because she knows that the going for it itself, that that can be transformational. So, in her words, wouldn't you rather stumble living life than squander it standing still? We love that, love that quote. So she's out there changing the game for everybody and we are thrilled to have her here to share that mindset and her experiences with all of us. Norjahan, nice to see you again.
04:26 - NoorJehan (Guest)
Thanks for coming Nice to talk to you again. Welcome to the show. Thank you, I'm so excited. I know this is a long time in the making. Yeah, I'm just so excited to be talking to both of you.
04:37 - Stacey (Co-host)
Thanks for having me, we are too. So wait, let me address the elephant in the room.
04:40 - Mark (Co-host)
Yeah, go, wait me. No, I've been dying.
04:43 - Stacey (Co-host)
There are no actual elephants. Norjahan decided that she wanted to try to be a sports illustrated model, so I want to find out from you why. How? Just give me a little bit of the story, just to kind of, you know, set the stage for what Mark was saying.
04:57 - NoorJehan (Guest)
The story behind it. It truly was a childhood dream. It still is. I guess it really is something I can't. I think everyone has one of those. I remember distinctly sitting in my best friend's bedroom and like we're just like you know, reading our teen beat magazines, and I just looked over at her and I'm like gosh, I just really want to be a sports illustrated swimsuit model and we both just start laughing because there's no way on earth that.
05:24
You know myself, coming from a conservative Indian family background, I could have possibly imagined that. But I grew up in Southern California. I was, you know, a complete Southern California girl, even though I was born to immigrant parents. I just had that, you know, sunny SoCal 90s childhood and Baywatch and Sports Illustrated are a big part of that. And I I did feel like other right Because of the color of my skin and knowing that I was different. I didn't feel marginalized, I just knew I was different.
05:57
But then, as I kept getting into my teen years and college, the expectation of following a certain lifestyle based on the Indian culture or my parents' faith just became so much more of a pressure and it felt like, where does my sports illustrated child to dream fit into that? And so I did retire that dream for a bit and then, yes, at the end of 2021, I just resurrected it and Mark's absolutely right. I just woke up the day after Christmas and I turned over to my husband and I said, hey, I got to tell you something, and he's, I think he thought it was going to be really big news and I said I want to be a sports illustrated swimsuit model.
06:36 - Stacey (Co-host)
So, oh my God, well, so I'm going to go, try to be one the day after Christmas. Most of us are our take our unbuttoning, our pants, you know, because we've just eaten and drank too much and, you know, celebrated so much. So where did this confidence come from? You know, obviously you're beautiful and you know, you knew that in your soul and you know so. So that was one thing. But to have that dream, how do you think that confidence came to you?
07:04 - NoorJehan (Guest)
Thank you for saying that. I don't know that I've ever known my soul, that I'm beautiful, but I think it wasn't confidence that I felt the day after Christmas. It was contentment, and that's what pushed me, because I don't think I've experienced that kind of contentment. And I remember feeling as though I just need to remember this moment, because every struggle, every life's failure, every step back was me envisioning getting to this moment of contentment. And once I got there and felt that, I think that it just resurged this desire, I got to go pursue everything that I want to, because I wanted to sustain that contentment and I can't explain it. But I don't want to lose this feeling of contentment that I finally attained after so many years. And part of what helps keep me content is knowing that I'm waking up every day and trying to pursue these dreams that I have. I don't care how lofty they sound, or I don't even care if I achieve them, or not I know that can be very triggering for people.
08:10
I don't care if I just care that I'm trying to Wow.
08:13 - Mark (Co-host)
That actually feeds right into something you said to me when we were talking that you have a relentless pursuit of living, and that stayed with me as well. And it's not a relentless pursuit, like many of us, of for success, it's just a relentless pursuit of living. And so where did that come from? Is it stemming from how comfortable you were in your life, or did it stem from finally stepping into who you knew you would be?
08:37 - NoorJehan (Guest)
The latter. I think and I've said this before that, on different scales, when you feel like a choice is being taken away from you or there's the threat of someone making a choice for you or taking something away from you, whether it's a person or a decision or something that's out of your control that feeling is what drives me to relentlessly pursue life, like when I look back and think, oh my gosh, there could have been choices I made that would have not been mine, but would have been done to please a community or please a person or please my parents. And the thought of giving up the freedom of my choices of life is why I continue to just relentlessly pursue it if that hopefully makes sense.
09:34 - Stacey (Co-host)
What was that experience that you had? That someone was trying to take something away from you.
09:39 - NoorJehan (Guest)
And it's not anyone person. I think it was the expectations of being born into an Indian family and a family that followed a very conservative faith. And I just knew early on that I had so much love and respect for the community and I'm just unconditional love and respect for my parents as human beings and as my mom and dad but I just couldn't find my footing in that conservative community. And it wasn't because I was critical of anything that they were thinking or doing. It was more so because I just felt like I knew, I just knew deep in my heart I was like this is not, this is not going to be. I'm not going to one day wake up and be happy living this kind of lifestyle. I'm not trying to rebel for the sake of oh, this is a boring lifestyle. I just, I just knew that I didn't.
10:31
You know, as we got older, as girls, right, once you hit puberty, once you became older than all the restrictions, you can't date, you can't wear a certain type of out, you can't show your legs, you can't, can't show your shoulders. Heaven, you know, forbid. We're showing our shoulders and I respect it. I don't mean to make the joke about it. I'm sorry, but I could not wrap my head around ever waking up one day and being like yes, I get this, I understand why all, and I just couldn't right, like so that's what it was, and and. And I think back to oh, my gosh, if I, if I gave into everyone else meaning my own peers to just telling me, like no, no, it's fine, like we can just like do things behind our parents backs, but we're all going to fall into step here and all want to be like this as we get older.
11:15
I was like I don't want to be like that when I'm older.
11:17 - Stacey (Co-host)
When you looked at your husband and said I want to do this, what did he say?
11:24 - NoorJehan (Guest)
He was like Okay, well, how does?
11:25 - Mark (Co-host)
one go about, and that's what I had to explain to him.
11:28 - NoorJehan (Guest)
I always knew there was an open search competition and that's yeah. I think I should have given him more of that context. I wasn't planning to like move back to LA and trying to get signed by modeling agency.
11:40
What I was doing was hoping to reenter their, their amateur search competition.
11:45
It's like always, like listen to your gut, listen to your intuition. If I hadn't pursued that that particular year, I don't know that I would even be here talking to both of you, because that was the first year that they decided that they were going to take submissions open submissions off of social media. Because they were taking open you know, they used to do open casting calls in Miami, so girls were coming in person and just standing for hours to be seen and then they moved it to Instagram. So then they were taking people's open submission videos through DMs. I mean, I don't like, how on earth would you ever get noticed? This was the first year where they actually created their own app and that's how the editors got to know you is because you're continuing to post and give them content. And then, ultimately, you filmed a submission video and you put that on the app as well as a private person who wasn't very active on public social media. If they hadn't done it that way, I don't know that I would have ever gotten noticed. Wow.
12:46 - Mark (Co-host)
Yeah, I'm going to go back to what you were just talking about with your, your family, your upbringing, the demands on you as you were growing up, because you do talk about stepping into figuring out who you are right, figuring who you are and I know you felt you had different pressures. You're not American enough, you're not Muslim enough, you're not Indian enough, you're not all these things. Just not enough is the message you got for so long. How did you get past that? Because they're people listening, people watching right now. They have their doubts, they have their obstacles. They're not enough. They're probably saying it to themselves. We all do. How do you get past that to say you know what I am, exactly what I should be, and that from there you get the confidence and the power to move forward? How did that work for you and what advice do you have for them?
13:29 - NoorJehan (Guest)
When I kept being told all of those things, I was very mindful of what direction that was pushing me in, right. So because because I, I definitely I mean, if I think about who I ultimately ended up marrying, I believe I married my soulmate. You know, I when you're not feeling Indian enough or Muslim enough, I was dating white men, right, and so I found that I was like seeking that place where being different was was mesmerizing to someone, versus, you know, being different being a reason to be outcast. And I think I was trying to figure out if my emotions were pushing me to a place where I was seeking, you know, being enough for someone or something. How can I channel that into my strengths? So what I mean by that is that I started having to figure out, like, what am I good at and what do I like doing, because I'm not going to be able to be all things to all people. I think that's the other part that comes with. That's like the subtext that comes from or hopefully the positive subtext that comes from feeling like you're not enough. And then I suddenly got to a place of like, well, I just can't be all things to all people, clearly. And then I just started focusing and pursuing all the things that I like.
14:52
So once I started, you know like little things, like I went to school and I wanted to do the right thing and follow the right educational path and then get the good, responsible, big girl job. And then one day I was there sitting at this new desk and I did it and I'm like okay, I didn't hate it, but I was like okay, now what? That night I went and enrolled in screenwriting classes because I've always wanted to be a writer and I started to just focus. And then, and then, you know, and this is all like in my late twenties and early thirties, when I'd finished school and I was on this corporate path, and then one day I realized I said, you know, I had been a singer for so much of my childhood life and I hadn't sang in nine years because I'd moved to New York and just got caught up in business school, in that world. And that's one day I just said, you know, I'm going to start singing again. And I found a voice coach and I just started singing and I so all the things that I loved doing.
15:46
I just pursued them, whether I was good at them or not, and that's what helped me overcome feeling like I'm not enough, because everyone has like things you like doing, that you have interest in. And that's where my advice is is that, to overcome that feeling, just focus on doing the things that you enjoy doing, because likely the things you enjoy doing are things you're good at doing. And that positive feedback loop when you like I can't gosh, like when I can hit those high C's, like nothing feels better than that I am not at all thinking I'm not enough, I'm thinking I'm damn good. You know what I saw? I feel like that's like just go find the things that you really enjoy doing and just do them, because then inherently you're probably doing them well, or well enough that you feel good about yourself.
16:33 - Mark (Co-host)
That's great advice. That's fantastic advice.
16:36 - Stacey (Co-host)
I hope everyone's listening. That's fantastic.
16:38 - Mark (Co-host)
So you just mentioned the screenplay. Um, you wanted the right one. I saw somewhere that you wanted the right one, I believe, about your grandfather.
16:47 - Stacey (Co-host)
Was I right or?
16:48 - NoorJehan (Guest)
yes, and yeah is he a big influence or mentor to you. Huge, huge influence, like I mean, if we're talking about gurus and game changers, he's both of them. Um, he was both of them. Um, yeah, he's. He's. My biggest inspiration will always be and we just had this wonderful bond because he was never, first and foremost, my grandfather. In my minds, he was always no. Shadali, the most famous Indian music composer, have to have ever lived and I'm not being biased, that's truly who he was.
17:24
And he was Nana, my grandfather, so he was never just either one to me and I think that created such a beautiful dynamic and relationship between us. So, um, I've just always been inspired by his life, his drive, his talent and um. I wanted to honor that by writing a biopic based on his life and his life is very well known, I think you can, everyone can Google and find out his um, his trajectory of his career. But I wanted to write a story that felt more personal, about a relationship between a granddaughter and a grandfather and drawing parallels between you know, his life in the 1930s through the India independence and trying to become this music composer, and then maybe parallel to the life of a granddaughter who's trying to figure out her identity in the US.
18:18 - Stacey (Co-host)
I love this relationship that you have with your grandfather, and I love and I would read this book or watch this movie or whatever it is. Um, what do you think he would say about you now, like if you saw all of your success and what you've been up to recently?
18:33 - NoorJehan (Guest)
Oh my gosh, that's such a good question. It gave me chills. No one's ever asked me that hey guys, thanks for listening.
18:39 - Mark (Co-host)
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review, give us a follow, subscribe, subscribe all those things, all those things. We love it because we read each and every comment and it helped shape the show, so we would appreciate it.
18:51 - Stacey (Co-host)
Please, and back to the show.
18:54 - NoorJehan (Guest)
And maybe it's. It maybe goes back to I gosh, that's such a good question, Stacy, you stumped me. But my, the last thing my grandfather had said to me before he passed away, um, you know was and he had said this in Urdu, which is our, which is the, is his native tongue, and so it was very. He was a poet, right, Most music composers are also tend to be poets.
19:18
So he was very poetic, very articulate, and he had said you know, for most people, life is extraordinarily simple, but for you, I wish a simply extraordinary life. And whether he said that to all my grand, all my cousins, maybe, and I think that's what drove me, I would just go back to that thought. And I was like gosh, 20 or 21, when he passed away, and I was so lost, and I was so not in a good place, and I felt like I had lost, like my best friend, like, just, even though I was rebelling and doing all these things that were completely disappointing my parents in the community, I always thought I just had to. I'm not disappointing him Like he. He rebelled, you know. So I'm so losing him, and that being his words to me, I I hope that he'd be saying that my life is simply extraordinary.
20:10 - Mark (Co-host)
You at one point said life's not a movie, but everyone still deserves an act three. What does that mean?
20:18 - NoorJehan (Guest)
I love this. Thank you for asking Um right In in a. In a screenplay structure, it's three acts and, um, you're following a hero right the structure of a movie, there's always the hero and she or he is always on a journey right, and so you, as the audience, are meant to root for them on their journey. That's the whole intent, right, of a book and a screenplay. And when it's broken down by acts, at the end of act one, it's the first turning point and at that first turning point something bad has happened, a setback for your heroine. At the end of act two, it's an even worse setback and it's like oh my gosh, is she going to make it to her journey? Is she going to make it to the end? And then the turn and they're called turning points Is that that turning point, that second turning point?
21:14
When things look awful, like they're at the lowest of lows, act three starts and act three is the beginning of her redemption, or the beginning of like, all of the misunderstandings being rectified and clarified and her finding herself, or, you know, coming to terms with who she is, or finding out who she is, and that that turn is what gets her then to the end of her journey and so by that, by the top of act three, you are rooting for her.
21:45
You may not have been rooting for at the beginning, but you're rooting for her at the top act three and that's why I feel like everyone deserves an act three and everyone deserves a sequel and a trilogy, because you're going to keep facing new journeys and you just got it. Everyone deserves to get to act three, because act three means, even if you're flawed, even if you made mistakes, you're, you know you deserve that like ability to get redemption and like then to go to go achieve whatever it is you had wanted and I don't, I just think we all deserve it and when you find it, it feels good.
22:19 - Stacey (Co-host)
So what do you think is the biggest misconception of Norjahan?
22:28 - NoorJehan (Guest)
I feel like there's so many. No, I don't have to take a misconception. Well, there's one that's a misconception, I think. And then there's one that maybe it falls into that category, but it surprises people about me. I think there's a misconception that I am so nice, that, like a lot of people are like she's just so nice.
22:56 - Mark (Co-host)
Are you not nice? Is that what you're saying? You're announcing that you're not nice.
23:00 - NoorJehan (Guest)
Yeah, it's not crazy. I'm like I'm not that nice. No, I am. I think if you asked me 10 or 15 years ago I would have loved that. It's been like oh my gosh, people think I'm so nice, everyone likes me and the reality is like the demands of trying to climb the corporate ladder and being a female adult and being true to yourself and friendships, changing and going through different phases of life. I am so. My heart is so open to the people that I love and that are my people and I will give everyone a fair shot when I meet them. But if something happens that rubs me the wrong way or it doesn't sit with my energy, I'm not so nice. Definitely, maybe I'm like nice. Maybe that's one misconception.
23:56
I think people are like oh we can't imagine nor being mean, and I'm like I don't know if I mean, but if our energies aren't aligning, I would be lying to you if I said that people couldn't feel it.
24:07 - Mark (Co-host)
At one point I heard you reference that it was self pity and self righteousness are like the thieves of joy, which is kind of a heady statement. So break that apart for us.
24:21 - NoorJehan (Guest)
We always say that comparison is a thief of joy, and I work in advertising as a brand strategist. Our entire job is to compare our clients to their competitors and figure out how we can help them succeed. So comparison to me is something that I give people grace around. We are going to compare. That's how you make choices. Sometimes I get that I don't know if that's the thief of joy versus what comparison does to you. If that sends you down a path of self pity. That is what's stealing your joy, because you feel for yourself that you don't have what that person has or that they got something that they don't deserve. That's a thief of joy. But another thief of joy is if you compare yourself to someone and you start feeling real good about yourself and that's how you make yourself feel better, because you've compared yourself to someone else and that's your barometer. That's where that self righteousness talk comes in, mark and Stacy, and I think that ultimately becomes a thief of joy. What would you say to people who compare themselves to you?
25:42 - Stacey (Co-host)
Because I quite obviously you kind of have it all and I think and obviously that is stealing their own joy. But what's the advice you give to people? To find their own joy and not look at someone like you or compare yourself to someone else, compare themselves to anyone else.
25:59 - NoorJehan (Guest)
What I believe in is a mindset, and it's one that I have to work on every day. Like, so that mindset of you. Know, don't compare yourself to others. I'm doing that every single day. So, yes, please don't compare yourself to me and I have to rely on myself of the same thing.
26:18
And this goes back to whatever energy that I might be giving off to you, stacy, or Mark, or to anyone else, like, oh my gosh, like she clearly has it all, or she you know, okay. Well, it's easy for her to say this that all came from. Going back to the very beginning question you had, that all came from. That energy is coming from the fact that, like, I focus on the things that I think I enjoy and that I have confidence in, and so that is where that comes from. Like I would be I wouldn't be talking to other people about these things if I was pursuing things that I wasn't feeling confident about but I love speaking, I love writing, I enjoy my singing right, I enjoy being a brand strategist. I'm just focusing on those things. And if that, in and of itself, is building an aura of someone who's giving out joy and who's feeling a strong sense of self, then, yeah, like can I cuss here, fuck yeah.
27:19
And that's what I'm happy, but I think that that's attainable for everyone, because we're all, even if you don't think you're good at something, there's things you enjoy doing, so just keep doing those things, and whatever they may be. So that's, and I also think too like and this is maybe the other part too If that's your reaction when hearing someone talk about empowerment that your first thought might be okay, well, I clearly don't have what you have, or I'm never gonna have what you have. They might not be ready, they're not there yet. They're not ready for their life to start being their own, or they're not ready to stop the negative self-talk or the self pity, and I don't fault them. You gotta be ready, like I was not ready for a really long time.
28:15 - Stacey (Co-host)
What do you think your third act will be? Norjahan?
28:19 - NoorJehan (Guest)
I hope I'm living it. I truly believe entering the Sports Illustrated Swim Search Competition and being in that interview that's where I had first said that whole comment about everyone deserving their third act and whether it was the day I woke up after Christmas in 2021, if that was the turning point and the start of my third act. I hope it just keeps continuing, because I love being here, but if I had to talk to you about my sequel, Okay, how about the sequel?
29:00 - Stacey (Co-host)
The sequel.
29:02 - NoorJehan (Guest)
And I've actually never talked about this yet, but I think that that next sequel is gonna be about my family and pursuing being a mom, and we've talked about it for a while and it's upon us that we're excited and I think that's just gonna be a whole new adventure and I think that also is what the way for my husband and I our path was. I don't actually think it's unconventional anymore, but it was the unconventional path of pursuing IVF and going through that and figuring out what are ways that we can have children. And since we've been on that path for so long, we've had a lot of time to think about it, and I think that's also why I'm just relentlessly pursuing life are also why I'm figuring out what are the ways to protect my aura and project that joy Cause if I'm projecting it, then I'm feeling it, Because now I'm starting to think about, oh, everything that we do or we are some new little humans gonna absorb that. So that'll be. My next act is figuring out how to truly pass this on to someone.
30:12 - Stacey (Co-host)
You have a protein bar company too? I noticed. Yeah, we do. You can tell me about that?
30:19 - NoorJehan (Guest)
Yeah, it's called FGP Bar and at FGP Bar dot com but it's a plant-based protein bar and it was after our first baby. But when we got engaged, I decided to try a plant-based diet to get healthier and feel better and feel good. And my husband, his roots are in the world of farming, so he comes from a farming background, so he noticed that I was eating all these protein bars that were not plant-based. Yet I was on this plant-based diet for like lunch and dinner and breakfast and he said, oh, let me like try to make you a plant-based bar. So I said, okay, go, if you wanna make me a plant-based protein bar, I'm all for it.
31:01
And that's when we and then me as a former marketer and then as strategist we started looking at what we tried all the current plant-based protein bars that were on the market. We didn't like the taste of them and that's where it started. We said how can we make a plant-based protein bar that actually tastes good and that is very healthy? And that's where it started. And it's been a process because we were. We basically started that as a side project, but then that started growing into something we got really excited about. But it was also around the same time we were planning our wedding.
31:31
So we were on these like parallel track of like okay, like try to try to figure out how to be in the world of CPG while having our full-time job, while planning a wedding during the pandemic. So it's, it's, it's been, it's been a trip, like it is all those like funny stories about being entrepreneurs and what happened and what doesn't happen. They're so true and it's actually brought us really close together because we're living something and we're so different. We are so different in personality. So to be in business together is really funny. It's comical, like even we laugh about how we approach things so differently, but it's awesome. It's a it's a great bar. I'll send you guys some samples.
32:08
I'd love for you guys to try them, expect things to go wrong, because something will go wrong. And I think, like and like you, just like that you have to accept that that's the norm so that it doesn't rattle you. And I, just because, like things rattle me, like I run a little bit more high anxiety than he does, and you know it's a perfect example. Like we're, we're on a surfer treat for the holidays and trying to reset and find our zen before coming back to crazy corporate jobs. But we've got this side project.
32:37
Suddenly, our you know website got hacked into and if we didn't figure out and shut down the bug, I mean it was like a movie. If we didn't shut down the bug in 15 minutes, we would have been out $45,000. Because they got hacked into it and was like sending orders to our fulfillment center and we'd have to be paying for that. I mean, you know it's like, and we're like out of the country and he's trying to do it on his phone because we're nowhere near our you know, our our Airbnb and and it was. It was very stressful, but it's kind of comical, but then, at the same time, it was stressful, but you have to expect that things are going to go wrong.
33:14
Just reality right, and then that way you just deal with the stress. You don't throw in the towel. But, you just, you just handle the stress. That is great advice.
33:20 - Mark (Co-host)
So, speaking of advice, I want you to finish the sentence. The best advice, based on where I've been, what I've seen, the best advice I can give to somebody, say, in their 20s, who's on the verge of trying to figure out who they are, is Based on what I've seen and where I've been, my best advice to you is practice writing.
33:42 - NoorJehan (Guest)
Written communication is one of the most powerful, most powerful tools that you can have in your pocket. I don't care what industry you're going into, I don't care what you're pursuing. If you're a creative, if you're in business, it doesn't matter. The ability to effectively communicate through writing Again, I'm not just saying this because I'm a aspiring screenwriter the ability to communicate through writing in emails and in your texts and in letters is so powerful and I think that it changes the way people perceive you.
34:19 - Stacey (Co-host)
So, norja Han, how can we help you? We have a bit of a platform. We're getting thousands of views in these videos, and is there anything that you want to promote or put out in the world that we can help you get out there?
34:30 - NoorJehan (Guest)
I want to reach more people, so hopefully people can reach out and say, hey, yeah, we'd love for you to talk, we'd love for you to come and connect with folks and meaningful meaningful ways that we're all talking. And you can find me at my Instagram handle right now, and I was a very private person before the sports illustrated swim search competition. So I am venturing into something new and finding my voice and finding myself.
34:54 - Mark (Co-host)
Thank you so much for joining us.
34:55 - NoorJehan (Guest)
It's been great, thank you. Thank you so much. ["the Gourds and Game.
35:00 - Stacey (Co-host)
Changers Podcast"]. You're still here. You're still listening. Thanks for listening to the Gourds and Game Changers Podcast While you're here. If you enjoyed it, please take a minute to rate this episode and leave us a quick review. We want to know what you thought of the show and what you took from it and how it might have helped you. We read and appreciate every comment. Thanks, See you next week.