My guest today, Shawana Kendrick, is the founder and CEO of The Hiking, Healing and Outdoors Life. H2O, as it’s often called, is a licensed business providing a safe space for Black women to grow personally as they seek to find a sense of self in nature. Since its inception, H2O has curated spaces for just over 500 Black women and girls with programs like Women on Water, the H2O Life Outdoor Girls Leadership Academy, as well as hikes, meditative nature walks, and paddling excursions. Shawana recently got back from the H2O Climbing for a Cause expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. I’m really excited to have Shawana with me. Thank you for being here, Shawana. I’m excited to talk to you.

Shawanna Kendrick
Thank you so much. Yes, thank you so much, Anna. Always a pleasure.

Anna
Yeah, so I like to start off by asking when I say discomfort zone, what comes up for you?

Shawanna Kendrick
Fear of the unknown. Fear of the things that we have not necessarily experienced, but things that we may be interested in learning more about. It’s the uncertainty of what could happen, what could potentially happen on the other side of whatever we’re looking to learn more about or experience.

Anna
Got it. And what is your strategy for facing the unknown or working through or with the unknown and uncertainty?

Shawanna Kendrick
I don’t do too much research.

I don’t. The more research I do, the more experiences I read about, and I want to be very clear about this, it’s not about being unprepared, but I know the impact that other voices can have on my decisions to move forward with certain things, to try new things. And so I try to be really, really careful about…

what I listen to, what I allow to occupy my space so that it does not drive this negative narrative, if you will, and force me to say, well, maybe this isn’t something that I should try or do. Instead, I am just a very stubborn and determined person. So I’m like, let’s just see what happens, right?

And if it’s something I feel like I can accomplish, then I go at it and I push myself within reason, of course, physically and mentally, because I do believe in setting goals and I do believe in getting as close to accomplishing or exceeding those goals as possible.

Anna
Yeah, I really hear you. And with the, I don’t, you said, yeah, I don’t over research. You know, another way I hear that also is I don’t overthink it. And I am, yeah, I can really relate to that. In fact, I often encourage my Whitewater kayaking clients to not go and watch like every YouTube video about the river that we’re going to paddle the next day because again, it really depends who is posting the video, what’s their experience, what is their view and lens. It’s okay to look stuff up for sure. And for some people that really works, they want to watch lots of videos. And so I always recommend or encourage my clients to first know themselves.

Like it sounds like you really know yourself, you know what works for you because then yeah, I’ve had folks who come in and they’ve watched a bunch of videos and it just made them more scared when I know that they have the skill and I’m not gonna take them somewhere where I think that they would get into trouble, at least that I couldn’t handle from a group management or risk management perspective. So I really acknowledge, I really hear what you’re saying that it’s not about, you know, when you say I don’t over research, it’s not, I’m not prepared. It’s like you said, protecting your mental space.

Shawanna Kendrick
Yeah, because so much can get into your head. And I remember very vividly, Anna, the first Women’s Paddle Fest that I attended. And I think I shared this with you. You know, the question was, are you going to come out with us on Sunday on the Nantahala? And I was like, nope. Because I heard some of the stories that the women there had shared about…

Anna
Ha ha ha ha ha!

Shawanna Kendrick
swimming and that last that fall and I was like I’m good. I mean I’m flat water anyway, like this is not and so I had gotten so caught up in What those other women had experienced and that’s not to the to negate what they’ve experienced that I was like, yeah, maybe I don’t need to do this right and of course when I did it I was like, That was it.

Anna
Yeah.

Shawanna Kendrick
Right, but I mean everybody has their own experience their own path and I’m really really cautious about what I share with other women who are looking to do some of the things that I’ve done how I express some of the challenges I faced how I share knowledge how I communicate with them not to discourage but to encourage right, but to also give them just enough to make the decision for themselves. Like I said, I have a crazy mental fortitude about me that just really won’t let me give up. Like I just, I’m wired that way. And not everybody has that and that’s okay. But I want to encourage and not discourage. I don’t want to just negative Nancy the whole thing.

Anna
Yeah. And what I hear you saying too is recognizing that your experience isn’t necessarily going to be someone else’s experience or that just because you had maybe a scary experience doesn’t mean that you have to perpetuate that to others. And that’s another thing that I also encourage folks. In fact, I…

I have a blog post on my website called scary stories and how to face them or something like that. Because again, in whitewater kayaking, there can be a lot, you know, people want to tell their crazy stories because it’s exciting and or scary stories. And I get it because it is important to share what we’ve overcome. And, you know, and like you said, you know, we don’t want to negate those things. And at the same time, I also coach when I’m training instructors.

Like be aware of how you’re framing things, right? We don’t want to sugar coat. I don’t believe in sugar coating things in the outdoors for sure. And at the same time, you know, if you’re on your way to like the put in of the Nana Hale and all the people in the van are talking about or the scary swims they’ve had, then we’re not setting ourselves up for a powerful mindset, you know, for the day.

Shawanna Kendrick
Right, right. Yeah, I mean, and it’s real and I’m so many women like have asked since Kilimanjaro like how was it? I really want to try but I’m scared and I’m nervous and I’m like I was too and it’s okay to be To embrace this healthy fear. I think there is a healthiness to questioning the things and you know Asking yourself the what -if questions

But I don’t believe in allowing that to drive your direction, right? I just don’t believe in that. I believe that you should make healthy decisions and decisions that are best for you, but you’ve got to do that from a lens of…

Anna
Yeah. Love it. Well said. And when we’re, since we’re on the subject of self -awareness and knowing yourself, I have heard you in the last, I guess in the last year, six months say, I don’t even recognize myself. Who am I doing all these adventure things? You just got your, you know, your kayak instructor certification, and you’ve just summited Mount Kilimanjaro. So,

Can you talk a bit about, because there must be some uncertainty. It’s almost like you’re creating yourself anew, is what I hear in that. And it’s really exciting for you. Can you talk a bit about that?

Shawanna Kendrick
Yes, yes. Summit night was hard. And again, I had mentally prepared for the hard, like no matter what, we didn’t come all this way not to make it, or at least that’s my mentality. I’m gonna try until I can’t try anymore, right? Like you know your limitations. You know when you have given.

Done and given and done and there’s nothing left to give or do everyone knows that about themselves whether they want to acknowledge it or not and so we were three hours away from that first peak you could see it and I said I can’t I can’t my goal was to make it to uru peak which is at 19 point what three or four thousand feet

And this peak was Gilman’s Point and it’s right at 18 .6 thousand feet. And I’m like, can I just get there? Right, like can I just get there? Because that’s considered a successful summit. And so we all decided we were in agreement. We were going to make it to Gilman’s Point. We have to.

And so we made it and you know, everyone asked the question before we even left, you know, how do you think you’re going to respond? You know, what are you going to feel? And you know, my initial reaction was, you know, yeah, I might cry because this is not something small. This is a big deal. And I did not do any of that. I was excited that we made it as far as we made it. But my my my my

My drive said, Uhudu Peak is right there. Like we can see Uhudu Peak. I want to try to make it to Uhudu Peak. Now, unfortunately, we were not able to do that, that time, simply because of time. We had already been summiting for 12 hours. We began our summit at 1 .30 AM. And so Kilimanjaro is a national park. And so they, there are rules.

Anna
Wow.

Shawanna Kendrick
Prohibit summiting at night had we attempted to make it to little peak we would have been in violation of those rules and and it’s not I’ll be honest with you. It’s not worth that risk like there are some inherent dangers that you want to be mindful of and so When our guide made us aware of that we were like, okay, we can go back down like this. We’re done. We’re good. We can go back to base camp.

The level of hard that I experienced wasn’t until dissent day. And part of me, because I gave so much to summit, I don’t know that I had what I thought I needed or knew that I needed for dissent day. When they, when the guy…

company and mind you they could put this in writing but Anna you know me well enough I don’t always read all the fine print I’m like I don’t know we’re just gonna do it and everybody don’t be like me just know that I do that sometimes. Descent day was a 19k descent and so you’re talking about 11 to 12 miles to get to the gate.

And I almost cried because I thought I don’t know that I have that in me because I’d given so much to the ascent. And so we started out and I was like, it’s not gonna work out well because my legs are not legging. My body is not bodying. My legs are not legging. I know what you people have said. This is not about energy. This is about my body and it’s not doing what my brain wants it to do. We made it about seven miles down and thank goodness for our guides and the park fees. We did call a park ranger to come and pick us up on one of the main roads that are navigable by vehicle. And I cried when I saw the park ranger. I cried when I saw the vehicle because I knew I had given all that I had to give. I had nothing left to give and very similar to life. And whatever you’re doing, whatever you’re pursuing, whatever your goal is, if you’re not giving it, you’re all.

You know that before anybody else knows that. Right? Like when you lay your head at night, lay your head down at night and you think about your day. Did I give everything I could have given to this day? To the things that I’m looking to accomplish, to my work, to my family, to my rest, my peace. You know that better than anybody else.

And I knew that I had given it all. Of course, lessons learned. I’m going back next year because I got to reach a hootie peak. Like I’m sure Gilman, right? Like Gilman is probably a cool dude. I don’t know Gilman. I mean, Gilman, hey, hats off to you because you were there first. You claimed, hey, do your thing, Gilman. But for me, I equate this to what I’ve seen my parents experience what I’ve experienced in some ways and I think about my my grandparents and my great -grandparents and the things that they may have experienced during their lifetime. Uhudu in Swahili means freedom and so yes, submitting Kilimanjaro is self -imposed. No one is forcing you to do that. No one is

you know, behind you, pushing you to go the extra mile and to dig deep. But I think about those who… dug deep and fought for things that were societally imposed on them. Nobody asked to be born the way that they are born, whether that be gender or race or what have you. But you take what you have and you continue to fight. You fight for what’s right. You fight for the freedom to be and to do, to live.

And sadly, of course, we’re in 2024 and that is not still lost on me and on many people who look like me. And I don’t take that for granted. So if they can do what they did, I can do this little bitty challenge of summiting Mount Kilimanjaro and reaching freedom at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Anna
I was gonna ask you, how do you stay motivated to give your all?

And then I don’t need to ask the question because you just gave the answer, right? Powerful answer.

Shawanna Kendrick
I don’t have a choice, Anna. I don’t have a choice. I am a firm believer on purpose and what it means to live this life. And I am forever grateful for all of the things that I have been blessed to have experienced. Don’t tell my parents I said this, but they did a great job raising me you know, it’ll go to their heads. So you can’t just go and tell them that, but, they, they did the best that they could with what they had. And their goal was to create a better life for me and my sister than they had experienced when they were growing up. My parents are from Mississippi, very small towns in Mississippi and to hear some of the stories that they’ve shared about, you know, what they did from sunup to sundown and what school looked like. And with each generation, I think they, all of them have just tried to make life a little bit better for their children. And so I can’t, it’s not in me not to, be better and do better for those who are coming behind me, whether it’s my own son, my grandson, or any other young lady, African American young lady who’s coming behind me. That’s kind of part of my job to create space, to make it just a little bit easier to navigate. I just, I go back to it’s 2024.

And the fact that we’re still talking about race and we’re still talking about diversity, equity and inclusion, and that there’s still this fight for freedom and justice for all is not lost. And so do I think the fight will be over before I leave this earth? Not at all. But can I make it a little bit better? Can I show, can I live a life that is worthy of admiring.

inspiring, encouraging, yes. None of that is lost on me. So yes, it’s personal, because I’m like, I have a goal, I gotta reach Uhudu to peak, right? But it’s also generational, because we shouldn’t continue to have the first, whether it’s the first woman, whether it’s the first black woman, the first Latinx woman, we shouldn’t still be having firsts.

Anna
Right.

Shawanna Kendrick
This world was not created for us to just have firsts. This world is here and in existence for all of us. So if we could tap into that a little bit more and be more accommodating, be more encouraging, supportive of those who are trying, who may not have access or the same opportunities that other people have, woo, could you imagine? Wow.

Anna
Yeah, whole new world.

Shawanna Kendrick
Yeah. Yeah.

Anna
whole new world.

Does this context also the generational context and fighting for to make the world better for the next generations behind you, does that also help you embrace the hard? Because I know at the beginning of our conversation, you talked about how you embrace the hard fully. And so I was, my question is, does this, I mean, I hear that it does. So, I mean, I hear that it does.

And if you could give advice to others about embracing the hard, what would you say?

Shawanna Kendrick
Expect it, embrace it, push through it.

And I really want to focus on the pushing through piece because I think there’s this inflated sense of super woman -dom. I totally just made that up. And that’s not what I mean by pushing through.

Anna
Okay.

Shawanna Kendrick
One of the things that I…

really gave a lot of thought to while we were on Kilimanjaro was the fact that we rested when it was time to rest, we ate when it was time to eat, we climbed when it was time to climb. Pushing through does not mean you completely disregard the need for rest. Fuel for your body.

And, you know, for many people, there’s a spiritual or religious aspect of that that I do believe, you know, is important to embrace. But there’s a time, there’s a place, there’s a season for all of that.

It doesn’t mean you don’t push through. I had someone call me a trailblazer not too long ago and I was like, I’m not really a trailblazer. Like, I don’t even know. I mean, just considering some of the people I’ve read about and researched, I’m like, I’m not a trailblazer. I’m just doing stuff randomly and it just happens to work. So, but the more I thought about that, I thought, wow, that is a huge compliment.

And in many ways, I may be a trailblazer. And I say that not in a boastful manner, but

Very seldom Anna will I just stop because someone says I can’t do something. I’m not wired that way. I’ve never been wired that way. If anything, that’s more of a motivation. You’re telling me I can’t do something? Okay, watch me. Right, like that’s just kind of, that’s kind of my MO. So I’m like, yeah, tell me more. Tell me what else I can’t do. roadblock, okay, let’s figure it out. Let’s find another pattern. Let’s find another way.

Anna
Mm -hmm.

haha

Yeah.

Shawanna Kendrick
because I still have this goal in mind. I still have this thing that I want to complete or accomplish. And so I’m not willing to let people or things, politics or what have you get in my way. I’m willing to just keep pushing, but I’m also very, very careful about how hard I push, when I push, and to what extent I’m willing to push.

Because my peace is is ten times more important than the push and So I hope that people will understand Life is gonna be hard and It’s gonna let me tell you it’s gonna drain you it’s gonna feel like it’s sucking the life out of you.

Anna
Yeah.

Shawanna Kendrick
But it doesn’t mean that it’s not impossible to get through, right? And what I found is that on the other side of hard is typically some of the most beautiful, serene, like it’s just, I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like, my gosh, I didn’t know this was waiting for me on the other side. This is amazing. I’m so glad I pushed through.

And so if you keep that mindset of, yeah, it’s gonna be hard, challenges are gonna come, obstacles, all the things. But we really are all in this thing together, which is why I love your community, Mind Body Paddle, because it gives space to be vulnerable. It gives space to ask questions. It gives space to be able to find your community, your people who are gonna completely embrace where you are, who aren’t gonna negate what you feel and what you’re saying. That is beautiful. I mean, like that’s what I desire out of the H2O life. Like we can’t keep fighting one another. We gotta find that common ground and we gotta find our safe, trusted space wherever that is. I mean, that is crucial.

Anna
Mm -hmm.

Yeah, and be able to show up as we are.

Shawanna Kendrick
Yes. Yeah.

Anna
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I would definitely say you’re a trailblazer. Even I think on the community paddle sport or the paddle sport leadership academy, that you were one of the first cohort for that program, which is a really awesome program. And you went from that, started leading, women on water, went and got your level one, kayak instructor certification. I mean, you’re doing it, you know, and even, you know, out of that program, I think you’re the first of that cohort to get their instructor certification, you know, to continue on with it. So I think so. Yeah. So, and yeah. And so I, I would hope you would, I mean, I, and I understand we don’t always want to, want to be

Shawanna Kendrick
Am I really?

Anna
What’s what, what am I trying to say?

It’s time for it to be like, yes, there are black women and women out doing these things, like instead of always having to be a trailblazer and, you know, because as a trailblazer also you’re scrutinized. At least that’s been my experience in whitewater kayaking and everyone has an opinion. So there’s that. And, you know, like you said, it’s like time for there to be just

Shawanna Kendrick
we are.

Anna
amazing women, black women doing these things and role models and you know and in our communities and yeah without it having to be like one or two trailblazers and yeah so yeah

Shawanna Kendrick
Yep, I have, and I’ve always said, I don’t have to be at the forefront of it. I don’t, I really don’t. As a matter of fact, I really don’t even desire that. But if I can, by my actions, by my accomplishments, encourage others to do, and to do, to dive into the unknown, fear and all, hey.

Anna
Mm -hmm.

Yeah, you might not have a desire to be, yeah, the first, like that desire to be out in front, like you said, and yet there’s that drive because it’s, yeah, it’s not that, that was never, also my drive in Whitewater Kayaking to be like the first person to put out an instructional DVD for women, for instance. Like my drive was not to be, it just is the drive to make a difference. And here is, here is, who I am and what has, you know, honestly, like helped me, right? Or like, this is my challenge that I’m facing and I’m sure there’s other people out there facing similar challenge. I can speak to them. And like you’re saying, make a difference for the future generations, you know? And so it’s not the desire to be the first or to be the best or what it’s the desire to make a difference is what I’m hearing.

Shawanna Kendrick
Yes.

Anna
Or maybe I’m projecting that because that is how I have approached it.

Shawanna Kendrick
That’s exactly right. I mean you’re you’re absolutely right. It’s the desire to make a difference Like I just it’s so crazy because I feel like you know, there’s so many people who discounted me And what I’m doing with the h2o life and to see like all the people who’ve come out and said my gosh You summited Kilimanjaro. That’s amazing. I’ve never been to that altitude and mostly, you know, I love our men, but mostly men…

Like you’ve gone higher than I have. And I’m like, I didn’t know we were competing.

When we first kind of announced that we were doing this, I can’t tell you, and these are some of these people I know well, and others I don’t know who they are at all. Well, you guys better get fit. Well, what does that mean exactly?

Hmm. I’m curious. Tell me what that means. What does that look like? And I’ll be honest, I probably could have been in better shape. But guess what? I summoned it and you didn’t. So… Right?

Anna
Right? Yeah. Yeah. All the armchair trip leaders, guides, whatever. Yeah. Yeah.

Shawanna Kendrick
Yes Like what I’m confused, but also thank you because that’s motivation for me. I Appreciate it. Thank you

Anna
Yeah. Yeah. Well, like you said in the beginning of our conversation too, is protecting that mental space of…

Yeah, not taking all of that in. It makes me laugh actually sometimes when I see comments and just like, okay.

Shawanna Kendrick
Yes, I mean it was just baffling to me because I’m thinking I’m sorry. I don’t recall asking your opinion on this, right? But we are in an age where everyone is you know, they have their cell phone or they have their laptop whatever device they have and they’re just it’s instant, right? And I’m like, well, thank you for sharing but I’m just gonna completely ignore what you said.

Anna
Right? Yeah, exactly.

Shawanna Kendrick
and I’m gonna do what’s best for me and I wish you well in all of your endeavors. Thank you.

Anna
Yeah, exactly. When I’ve had, yeah, I can relate to like being discounted and criticized and all of that stuff. And I remember actually having a conversation with someone who was critical of what I was doing when empowering women and or doing programs for women in Whitewater. And what I said was, I’m going to do this as long as people

keep coming to me because they get benefit. Again, being of service. As long as there are people who resonate with what I’m saying, who get something out of what I’m saying, who I can make a difference for, and they keep coming to me and asking for that, I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. So you can criticize it all you want. Like waste your time. That’s great. Maybe instead of criticizing, you might want to like go and do your own program.

and run it how you feel like I’m not, which right, I’m not gonna, I am not gonna be for everyone. Not everyone’s gonna resonate with what I do or with what you do. And that’s okay. They can go and maybe invest that time into doing, starting a program and doing their thing.

Shawanna Kendrick
Yes, yes, like go for go forth and prosper There are over 8 million people on this planet. We do not have to serve the same people. Okay? So do you think I wish you well and I’ll keep doing my thing and yeah

Anna
Right? Yeah. Right. That’s right. That’s right. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, that’s great. Do you have anything else right now that you want to share with our listeners about the discomfort zone or Mount Kilimanjaro or?

Shawanna Kendrick
I think the biggest lesson for me, and I hope that this resonates with your audience, is to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. We say that a lot. It’s probably become one of those cliches now, and it’s overutilized, but I can’t tell you how much that helped me on that mountain. And since I’ve returned, it has helped me not grow weary the minutia of what we face and what we experience as we’re trying to accomplish goals. Every day I’m like, all right, it’s time to get up and it’s time to go and it’s time to do. And I gotta keep putting one foot in front of the other. That three hours became two hours. That two hours became one hour. The one hour became 30 minutes pretty soon, I mean, we were there. So…

not focusing on the time it takes to accomplish the goal, but just on doing one thing that’s going to help you get closer to accomplishing that goal. That’s what I mean by putting one foot in front of the other and not stopping unless you have to. Right. And you know what that looks like. Like everyone knows, like it’s, I gotta stop. You know what your stopping point is. You know,

If you’re self -aware enough, you know what that is for you So I don’t want to I don’t even want to give an example of what that might look like for fear of you know giving you an idea, but When you know who you are and how you’re wired What drives you what? Could potentially bring you to a stopping point Gosh the better off you are

the better off you are for you, for your family, for your friends, for your community, and for society as a whole.

Anna
Okay, I have a question for you. What has been most…helpful for you in growing your self -awareness.

Shawanna Kendrick
taking time to self -reflect.

Anna
Do you do that on a daily basis or do you do that on a yearly basis? Do you have like a strategy? Yeah.

Shawanna Kendrick
Yes.

Yep. Yep. And I think I mentioned it earlier. Before I rest at night, I think about my day. And I think about the ways in which I could have been better. And that’s not being harsh. That’s me knowing who I am and what I’m about. I think about ways in which maybe I pushed a little too hard unnecessarily, right?

I look at those pros and cons and I don’t take a ton of time to do it, but I always want to go to bed at night knowing that I’ve done the best that I could have done with what I’ve been given on that day. I don’t always reach the best, but even if I come close, I’m like, okay, I’ll take that.

And so then for the next day, what do I do differently? What can I not necessarily make up for because once the day is done, the day is done. But what can I do differently or better the next day so that again, when I go to rest at night, I can sleep well knowing that this was the best that I could have given today.

Anna
Mm -hmm. Awesome.

Shawanna Kendrick
And it takes a little while to get there. It does because I think in the beginning of me doing that and kind of going through that exercise, I was very harsh on myself. I was very critical. Like this could have been this and blah, blah, blah. And I wasted too much time and blah, blah, blah. Like I was just, and then I began to extend grace to myself. And right?

Anna
Mm. Right.

Mm, it’s huge. Mm -hmm.

Shawanna Kendrick
I’m at a point in life where there are certain times a day when I’m just more productive. And so I try to schedule my day to do the hard things during the times of productivity. Right? So I can just, I can get some things knocked out. And it’s not that the other times of the day I’m just, you know, kind of flailing around or doing nothing. It’s, and honestly, sometimes it’s okay to just flail around and do nothing.

Anna
Yeah. Yeah, me too.

Shawanna Kendrick
Like I’ve done that before and that’s okay, too But it’s finding a good rhythm for me So that again these these goals that I have that can’t be accomplished in one day’s time I’m setting myself up to take steps to accomplish You know, we and we got to get past this notion of time being a limitation Time is not a limitation time is a gift

Right? Like you got to look at time as, man, I’m grateful for this time that I have. And it’s totally okay if I want to take a nap at 2 30 in the afternoon. Cause maybe that nap is going to help rejuvenate me. Maybe I’m up at four or five o ‘clock in the morning and I’m like, Ooh, let’s go. I got it. It’s there. Coffee, water, breakfast. Yup. I got it.

But after I’ve done all of that, okay, then what’s next?

I’m grateful for the 24 hours a day that we have. And I try to make the most of the 24 hours a day that we have, but I also know, hey, that 24 hours wasn’t meant for me to grind for 24 hours straight. The food that we talked about earlier, there’s a time to eat, there’s a time to rest, there’s a time to go and do. There’s a time for all of that.

And all of that time is precious. So I’ve just embraced kind of creating a schedule that works for me. And I encourage folks to do that. I know it’s not easy, especially you got small kids, you got a family, you know, finding time, creating time. That is equally important. I can’t, that is why the H2O life is here. Like you’re not gonna do it, so let me do it and you come tag along.

so that you can disconnect from all the things that are just the things that are driving you, not you driving the things. So I’m, hey, I am an advocate for rest, resetting, disconnecting, rejuvenating, so that you can then go on to be your best self.

Anna
Yeah, well said. Okay, I’ve got some rapid fire questions for you.

You ready? Okay. What’s a morning ritual that sets you up for success?

Shawanna Kendrick
I’m ready.

Shawanna Kendrick
Devotion I I’m a firm believer in God. That’s that’s a Shawanna thing and I respect those who are not it is what it is But for me, I have to spend quality time in prayer in my Bible and in listening Talking I am an anxiety sometimes sufferer

And so I find solace and peace in the Word of God and spending time with Him in the morning.

Anna
Hmm. Beautiful. What’s a non -negotiable self -care practice?

Shawanna Kendrick
Naps.

Anna
Yes. Okay. What’s a favorite motivational book or talk?

Shawanna Kendrick
Ooh, favorite motivational book or talk. I’m a Brene Brown fan. So I will say anything Brene Brown is a good starting place. Yeah.

Anna
Yeah, I’d love Brene Brown too, definitely. What do people get wrong about you?

Shawanna Kendrick
that’s a good question, and I think people…

I think that I have this level of confidence that is unmatched and I don’t. I really don’t. I’m a confident person. I’m confident in what I know and what I do, but I’m not as confident as I think some people think I am. I’m very well spoken and again, this is not me being boastful in any way, but I present well.

I do, I present, hey, I’ve worked on this my entire life, I present well. But that doesn’t mean that I’m always confident about all the things. I’m really not, sometimes I’m winging it. I’m like, I don’t know, but yeah, let’s do it.

Anna
Yeah, I mean you sound human.

Yeah.

Anna
And I think it’s okay to be boastful.

Anna
Well, thanks so much, Shawana, for taking the time to be here. I loved hearing about… I was looking forward to hearing about your Kilimanjaro trips. I’m excited that we got to chat. Thanks for sharing with me and with our listeners. And everyone check out the H2O Life and what Shawana’s up to. I’ll put that in the show notes. And yeah, thank you. I’m just so grateful to have you in my life too. It’s just so fun to be around you.

I look forward to next time we can get on the water.