SUMMARY: Michelle Adams talks with Kathleen Mills and Phillip Crum about her journey through her drug addiction recovery process and helping other people do the same.
Episode #30 | Michelle Adams, Founder of Recovery Inn.
Speakers:
Kathleen Mills-Proprietor, Counselor at Life Tree Counseling
Phillip Crum-The Content Marketing Coach
Michelle Adams-Founder of Recovery Inn
Phillip Crum: We might as well get started. Do you know why?
Kathleen Mills: Yes, I do.
PC: Do you want to tell me why?
KM: It’s Just Coffee.
PC: That’s right – it’s coffee time. Who’s got the coffee?
KM: I have it. Einstein’s – love this place.
PC: It’s too early for this, or you’ve had too much coffee. We’re both so-
KM: You’ve been up since three, pal.
PC: Well, yes, but I’m coherent and cohesive and all those co-words.
KM: What are you saying?
PC: Codependent.
KM: Are you implying something?
PC: No, we’re not going to go down that road.
KM: No, we’re not. Maybe later.
PC: So, how are you this morning?
KM: I’m great.
PC: Mmm hmm. Sounds like it.
KM: I’m excited.
PC: Good. About what?
KM: A lot of things. I’m going to go down, family time, for two days to San Antonio River Walk and a couple of other things. Celebrate our older son coming back to north Dallas.
PC: Is he now?
KM: Yes.
PC: Really? Why is he coming back?
KM: He is coming back to enter grad school at SMU – master’s in classical guitar performance. And start launching his music, classical guitar career and website and off we go.
PC: So where’s he going to school?
KM: SMU.
PC: Smoo?
KM: Smoo. Southern Methodist University in big Dallas. And he’s home and mommy is happy.
PC: Happy happy.
KM: And so is brother. Little brother is probably more happy than I am. And dad is just thrilled, so we’re all going to be back together again.
PC: So what does a classical guitar player musician do for a living when school’s done?
KM: Teaching, performing, writing music, selling things through his website, stuff like that. He wants to perform and hopefully start a… I think he wants to start a guitar program at a college someday. That’s his goal. He’s got some really hefty goals.
PC: What is his name?
KM: Josh Mills.
PC: And if somebody wants to learn to play classical guitar, where would they find Josh Mills while we’re at it?
KM: Joshmillsmusic.com
PC: Really?
KM: Yes. And he did it all by his little self. He’s got more brain cells than the pope.
PC: Ooooooh. Okay. All right. That’s a little – what do you call it? – private joke there.
KM: I can’t wait for you to meet him when he comes. I know, we should probably edit that out, huh?
PC: Well, the pope can’t play guitar I don’t think. Not classical anyway.
KM: Ah, he is smarter than the pope then.
PC: Maybe he can. I don’t know. All right, I don’t want to offend any pope fans so what else is coming up in the world of Lifetree Counseling?
KM: Well, you know, we’re getting ready to get another six-hour CEU event, fall, at the Hope Center in Plano for mental health professionals.
PC: What’s the date?
KM: October 6th. It’s a Monday. We’re going to have two investigators, two attorneys, one experienced entrepreneur and business owner, and one content marketing coach – all at the same venue.
PC: Sounds interesting.
KM: Yeah, we’re going to talk about the complaint process and then we’re going to talk about business set-up, and then we’re going to talk about how to be successful with your website and content marketing.
PC: And who is this for? Who’s the audience?
KM: This is for LPCs, LCDCs, LMFTs, social workers. Mental health professionals in Texas, and we are a CEU provider. And it’s going to be a great day.
PC: So anybody with that credential, list of
KM: It’s very affordable with the power-packed panel that we’re going to talk about. Actually-
PC: Did you just spit on my spit-guard?
KM: That’s why it’s the guard, right? Anyways, we’re going to have… yeah, we’re excited. And Steve Slough and Champ Kerr are extremely excited. Actually, the morning session was what Steve and I did when we launched our ethics two years ago. And we talked at the Texas Counseling Association and then the TAP Metamorphosis the following year. And this is the program that we did back in 2012 so we haven’t done this since 2012 but it’s going to be very informative because it’s time to tell. And the title of it is, “It takes one to poison the well. It takes many to make fresh.” So when you’re in business, it only takes one unfortunate event and it takes many to put you back together again.
PC: So if I’m an LPC or in the mental health game, why do I need to come to this as far as the business side of it? They told me in school I just hang my shingle up.
KM: Unfortunately, that’s not true anymore. It wasn’t true then, and it’s not true now. And I think in this day in time, I think your business set-up has to be even more tight due to this day in time. So our attorneys are ready to go.
PC: Ready to rock. And the date is again?
KM: Monday, October 6th from about eight o’clock to 4:30. Six CEUs. If I have 50 or more, Lifetree is going to cater lunch and there will be a special presenter during the noon hour and they will get an additional CEU. So it could be up to seven but it depends how many sign up.
PC: Have you decided- the other day, you said if you have 75 or more you were going to do your tap dance with… but that’s part of your show with Steve now, right?
KM: (Laughs) Yeah, I have to teach Champ now because there’s going to be three of us scaring the living daylights out of the audience about this particular one.
PC: Well, he pulled a muscle last time I think, didn’t he? It was ugly.
KM: It was. We had to get the wheelchair out and the whole nine yards.
PC: Okay, so October something, October 6th?
KM: October 6th. Monday. Be there. I really want to meet you.
PC: Find out more on the website.
KM: Yes, I love my profession and I want to keep it strong.
PC: And pure.
KM: And pure, yes.
PC: So, what else is coming up? Events after that, anything else?
KM: Yeah. January we’re getting ready to launch for interns only, college students, and first-year clinicians, a business symposium specifically for first-year, entry level professionals.
PC: Newbies!
KM: Yep. And our speaker panel is most excellent and we’re going to have a lot of people there and high-class speakers to really equip first-year people in the business know and how to be proper and get the sequence set up so at the end of the venue, they have their blueprint established so they know exactly what they need to do for what they want to do.
PC: Excellent. Yeah, I’ve seen your speaker line-up. Not quite complete yet, but we’re still waiting on the pope to respond, aren’t we? It could happen!
KM: It could happen. I don’t take no for an answer.
PC: Asking is free.
KM: Keep your eyes focused on the prize and we’re all good.
PC: All right. So we’re going to San Antonio October 6th and then January something-
KM: 16th I believe.
PC: It is. Find out on the website. Go to the website for sure to find out.
KM: We’re still kind of figuring that out.
PC: All right. Anything else you want to tell me?
KM: No, I’m done.
PC: All right. We went to a Dallas-area meet up, you and I did. Was it Tuesday night?
KM: Yes, we did. You can tell about that. You’re the content-
PC: I’m still sore from that.
KM: You’re sore?
PC: After the meeting when we were walking to the car, do you recall? The lightning and thunder went off?
KM: Oh my gosh, it was terrible.
PC: Directly overhead, and I seized up something fierce.
KM: Did you?
PC: Oh my gosh.
KM: (Laughs) It was pretty wicked out there, wasn’t it? Running to the car.
PC: Oh man. Ever noticed when the lightning or the thunder goes off and cracks right over your head, people duck like it’s going to miss them?
KM: (Laughs) Or it’s less intense.
PC: Missed me! Try again!
KM: That’s pretty… yeah. That wasn’t probably smart to kind of run out there.
PC: No, but it was a good meeting. Learned a lot of good stuff.
KM: Met a lot of great people, didn’t we?
PC: We sure- well, they were interesting, yes. A lot of interesting people. Yes, they were. They’re good people. Very supportive, very helpful and …
KM: You’re part of the podcast conference coming up.
PC: Well, maybe. They called for people to introduce speakers and whatnot, so I’m going to get 10 seconds of the spotlight somewhere.
KM: Oh, you’re a must.
PC: I don’t know.
KM: You were gloating the other night saying that I get to be on stage.
PC: You can’t even spell gloating. Don’t use words you can’t spell.
KM: (Laughs) I can’t spell check if I use it.
PC: Any other events?
KM: No, I’m done.
PC: Okay, so who’s this sitting across from us here?
KM: Michelle Adams. How are you, Michelle?
PC: Looking like she’s wondering what the hell she’s gotten into here.
KM: She’s going, “Why did I get up this early in the morning?”
PC: And she brought her friend with her. Mmm-alory.
KM: Yes. Malory McClay. How are you doing, Malory? Michelle, how are you?
Michelle Adams: I’m doing great this morning.
KM: I would like to introduce you. I really want to read this bio because I’m very glad that you’re here. You provide such a great service and I have referred a client.
PC: Do you still want to do this? Okay.
MA: Absolutely. You guys have only scared me for about one minute.
PC: All right. All right. Just checking.
KM: Yes, she’s like, “Oh my gosh we’re lightweights.” Michelle is a graduate of SMU’s Non-Profit Leadership Program – that’s awesome. Certified Intervention Professional. State-Certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist.
PC: She went to SMU?
KM: Yes.
PC: Do you know Josh Mills?
MA: No.
KM: Not yet.
PC: Okay, go ahead.
MA: I’ve been wanting to play guitar with him.
KM: Oh, he’s awesome. Founding and current board member of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences. You were the past board of City House and you have dedicated your entire career in helping women and men in their recovery from substance abuse disorders, haven’t you.
MA: Yes.
KM: Tell me a little bit about that.
MA: I just woke up one day and decided I wanted to make a difference and an impact in other people’s lives.
KM: So much to the point that you founded Recovery Inn in January of 2008, which is a sober living program for women. And then Bentley Place in 2012?
MA: Mmm hmm.
KM: And that’s a sober living program for men. And then in January of 2014, you opened the doors to intensive integration outpatient programs for both men and women.
MA: Yes.
KM: You have been busy!
MA: I have been busy and there’s more to come.
KM: Excellent! And you’re now the current director of Recovery Inn and the CEO of Bentley Place and intensive integration. You also are a published author in Dare to Be Different, Dare to Be A Difference Maker Volume 2. Tell me about that one.
MA: That was a pretty awesome call to get to be asked to be one of the authors in Dare to Be A Difference Maker. It was where I really came to light in who I am today and what I’m really doing, and it is daring to be a difference maker. And it’s so interesting whenever I hand out books. I always sign them, and when I signed the first one and what I wrote in there became true for every person. So every one I sign, I say, “Thank you for being a difference maker.” Because every one of us are a difference maker in some way.
KM: Yes. And you have dedicated your life to recovery.
MA: Mmm hmm. And I think it’s more than just recovery. I’ve dedicated my life to people. Dedicated my life to helping others understand how fragile people are and that we all matter – from the homeless person on the street to the addict behind bars – that’s someone’s son or daughter, and they matter.
KM: Walk me through that. How does somebody get to you?
MA: So, we get a lot of referrals from treatment centers, hospitals, detox facilities, word-of-mouth is actually our second-biggest referral source. And I take a little bit of pride in that, and online as well.
KM: You should. Very good. Okay, I want you to tell the audience, our listeners, right now so they can go online and look while we’re talking. Website – where do they go just to kind of learn about what we’re talking about today?
MA: So, we have three websites. I’ll give you one. You can find most of it’s there. It’s www.recoveryinn.org.
KM: That’s easy enough – www.recoveryinn.org. And so, click onto that and walk through. Give me the other websites that you have.
MA: www.intensiveintegration.com and then www.bentleyplace.us.
KM: Gotcha. Why three websites?
MA: Three separate companies.
KM: Gotcha.
MA: The Recovery Inn’s a non-profit and so we keep that one separate, raise funds for that one to keep the doors open. And Intensive Integration is a licensed treatment center, so we keep that one separate as well.
KM: Right. So the first thing that you opened was Recovery Inn. Tell me about that.
MA: (Clears throat.) Well, I just woke up one morning and decided I wanted to help women and within three months of making that decision, I had saved up money for a down payment on a home and closed on it and opened it. That was our first home in east Plano. It housed six women, and within four or five months we were turning so many away every day that I decided to move out of my own home and open up that home as a recovery home as well. Then we quickly grew to six homes and I have just…
KM: So these women live at the house? And tell me the structure of it. Once they get there, give me kind of an overview of the expectations that you have for the residents, their recovery program, how do you integrate them back into life?
MA: So integrating them back into life is the biggest thing, like you said. What we do is provide the structure and the accountability through rules, through curfews. They’re not aloud to leave a glass out on the table. We’re teaching them that if they follow the rules, they’ll get the life lesson of no other life lesson. So our life lessons that come on the negative side that seem to them to be negative could be a $10 fine or an early curfew. And our goal in that is to teach them to walk through something that may not be comfortable to the other side. It’s our job to get them raised. And, as you know, if you have kids it’s a difficult job. Well, I have 40 or 50 kids at any given time and have helped raise over 800 kids. And whether they’re 17, 18, or 65, they’re all coming in with a two-year-old mentality. So we’re really trying to work through what that mind is telling them through being home on time, not one minute late, going to work every day. 98% of our residents are employed within the first seven days. We have no alliances with anyone. We simply teach them what they need to do and how they need to do it and hold them accountable to do a minimum of 10 job searches a day. They have to attend spiritual studies, big book studies, life skills development, women’s issues, men’s issues, 101 recovery coaching every week, as well as our intimacy and recovery groups every week.
KM: So this, all that is done within the context of the house?
MA: The homes.
KM: Within the home. And so they’re working and then doing that particular recovery work and being responsible for taking care of the house.
MA: That’s right.
KM: That’s awesome.
MA: And the ones that get upset – and that’s the biggest thing we see – they get upset. We want them to get upset – that’s what separates us from the rest. When they get upset, that’s when we’re really doing our job. That’s where we get in there and begin to shift. And that is my major passion in life is the shifting. Because if they don’t get upset…
KM: That’s your favorite part?
MA: It is! Because if they don’t get upset, then they’re skating under and we really need that stuff to rise to the top because that’s what’s been tripping them up their whole lives.
KM: How long does it – well, this is kind of one of those general questions. How long does it take for them to get…
PC: What’s the average stay?
KM: Well, I was going to ask about that shift – their awareness of like, those are the triggers that they need to have more appropriate responses to. I mean, how long does that usually take for the light bulb to go on and go, “Okay!”?
MA: Well, some are quicker studies than others. However, the majority, I like to look at it like building a house. It takes about five months for the concrete on the foundation to begin to dry. Once we dry that concrete on the foundation, then we can start putting up the frame. Then we can put a roof on. And then we can put the brick on the outside, and then at about months seven, eight, and nine, we can begin to decorate the inside and pick out the interior.
KM: So what’s the average length of stay?
MA: The average length of stay is actually five months.
KM: Wow!
MA: And when you include all of those that leave in the first 30 days, that’s a pretty good average. We do have plenty that stay up to two years.
KM: Right. Talk about the families for a second. When their loved one goes into a sober living home, that in my mind, it seems to be helpful to the families who have been searching for this particular structured living in a house. It makes it easier on the families, or it’s helpful in so many ways.
MA: It is helpful in a lot of ways. We see a lot of stress come out from the families. It hits in all different ranges. Some of them are the helicopter mom. Some of them are the ones that want to ignore. So we deal with all. It seems to be sometimes harder to do with the parents- not harder, but more time-consuming with the families than it is with the actual resident.
KM: That’s interesting.
MA: It is. However, we have a great staff and our stellar staff is one of the things that also separates us. We have beautiful homes and beautiful properties, but what makes us is our programs and our staff. And so the staff deals with the families every week. They get family update calls. We’re walking the family through what they need to do, what they need to look for. Walking the family through, okay you’re daughter or son is saying this, have you thought about this? Have you thought about the fact that they have been dishonest with you for all these years, and how did they suddenly get honest in a week?
KM: You’re really providing a lot of reality check on the family side, giving them new coping skills, setting strong limits from preventing, from being that helicopter kind of mom or dad, or involved or not involved.
MA: Absolutely.
KM: And it’s helpful for both sides, isn’t it?
MA: It is. And it only became possible now that we have as many staff members as we do. We now have eight staff members for the sober living programs, and that has made it possible to now bring in that family role to have weekly communication with them. And we’ve seen an increase in the length of stay with the family updates and with the recovery coaching.
KM: Because the goal is for that individual to be self-sufficient.
MA: Absolutely.
KM: In so many ways.
MA: And we have parents that say, “Well, I’m going to pay their program fees, and they can save their money or spend their money on what they want.” And we say, “That’s not part of our program. I can respect what you want to do, however, it’s my job to raise your kid because they haven’t gotten it yet and so I need you to let me do your job.”
PC: Oh, I bet that goes over well.
KM: Well, I have a story about that. I had a client a couple months ago and he was at the point of no return. Knew a person who was in trouble with the law, jail, incarcerated, stuff like that. She was going to get discharged, etcetera, etcetera. He did not want her coming back to his home, and he was at his wit’s end. And where you guys come in is, since I knew you, met you a couple months ago, it was like this person seems like a perfect candidate – both the family member and the person who is getting discharged from jail – that they need to be hooked up with you. And so he finally called y’all and got the structure in his head. And he was having a hard time letting go. And thinking that he had to fund it, and I’m going, “No, you don’t. You can set it up but you need to listen to what you guys…” and so that was very freeing for him. He was so grateful. I don’t know what happened, but he did everything that he could do with your structure gave him permission to just, “I’m going to set it up, then I have to let go.” And it’s been pretty awesome for him. So that’s the power that I saw.
MA: It is. I mean, we had a resident probably three months ago at the men’s program, and he’s still there. And he had been there about three months when this happened, and he was at a point that I’ve never seen someone turn back from. In 24 hours, he shifted a turn for the worst. He had his car packed. He was headed to go leave. He said he was going to relapse and I’ve never in my life, in my 10 years in recovery, working with thousands, seen someone turn back from that point. And it was like God just kept speaking to me to give me the words to say to him, and I said to him, “You know, it’s really not fair of you to put your family or myself in a position to attend your funeral, and that’s what you’re choosing right now.” And I said, “I need your car keys. I need your phone.” And he actually handed them over.
KM: Wow.
MA: He handed them over. We kept him on a behavior contract for the next two months, and each week he gained a little bit more privilege back. And he began to grow. We gave him some extra step work to do, and he did all of it. And it seemed to be the exact thing that he needed.
PC: You have a way with words.
MA: Obviously.
PC: Like a sledgehammer.
MA: It was just an amazing moment to see someone turn back from that. And to see him gain a new hope for life.
PC: You visualize the outcome for him and he could see it.
MA: Absolutely. And I think bringing the family piece in, too, because he really cares about his family so much. And bringing that visualization of, “Is it really fair to ask them to attend a funeral?”
PC: I’m scared of you.
KM: You should be.
PC: We got six minutes left so.
KM: I know.
PC: All right.
KM: What else? Okay. So the Recovery Inn is for the women. Bentley Place is also a sober living home for men. Same kind of structure, same kind of – okay. And then, talk about the newest piece for you is the intensive integration outpatient program.
MA: Absolutely. So it was kind of a no-brainer with the work that I do with the National Lights for Recovery Residences. We do a lot of research with Bill White, SAMSA, the White House, and really did our research in saying that you increase your chances by 80% when you couple sober living with outpatient treatment. And so it was a no-brainer to step into that industry, to open that up. And in the outpatient treatment center, I knew that one of the biggest components that needed to be there was a family-restructuring plan. And so we have family restructuring. We do it six hours a month where the family comes in. The clients get ten hours a week of treatment, that’s nine in group and one individual. We have an LPC supervisor there and then we just hired an LMFT associate, has her master’s and we’re very excited about that because she’s going to bring even more to that family component, that family piece. We’ve have two rounds of graduates so far and working on our third, and really grateful for that.
KM: That’s awesome. And that office is in Plano. And that’s where you and I went a couple months ago, right?
PC: It’s Phillip, the name is Phillip.
KM: I forgot.
PC: I know, it’s early.
KM: It is early. And so that’s going very well.
MA: It really is. And my mom is my partner in the company, and what a beautiful thing that has been.
KM: It’s congruent with what you’re talking about the recovery person and you’re integrating the family and so it just makes sense for you and mom to do this together.
MA: Absolutely.
KM: Phillip. I see that nametag plastered on you. (Laughing)
MA: Now he’s taping it.
PC: There we go.
KM: You should say, “Hello, my name is Phillip and I am…”
PC: I’m in need of recovery, probably.
KM: I think we’re probably going to cut this part out. (Laughing)
MA: You’re probably going to need recovery from mice after this.
KM: That’s right!
PC: I need something.
KM: You need some coffee, buddy.
PC: I do.
KM: I want to brag on you some more, if I can, Michelle, with the time that we’ve got left, because I think people need to know this. You were named the Texan With Character in 2011 by Channel 11, which is a TV station here. And you were also featured in the Dallas Morning News, Advocate Magazine, Plano Profile magazine, and Plano Star Courier, which is also another newspaper kind of thing. Michelle has also received several awards and national recognition for your work in helping individuals and substance use disorder. With this particular kind of long-term recover program. And then I can’t even say this, and I know it’s spelt correctly. Soroptimist
MA: Perfect.
KM: International Awarded the Ruby Award for the State of Texas, and then the following year you were awarded the regional Ruby Award specifically for the work that you do with women. And there’s more. Just in 2014, Dallas TAP Professional of the Year.
MA: Wow.
KM: And to date, you have worked with over 1,000 recovering individuals in your program venues.
PC: And you said all of that –
KM: That’s tremendous to me.
PC: That was all just last week, wasn’t it?
MA: It was last week, absolutely. They don’t call me Wonder Woman for nothing.
KM: She’s got more than, more golds that I do. I think that’s awesome. See, you always want to hang out with the people that are better than you.
PC: She’s got a bigger wall then you do.
KM: I know she does.
MA: I think the biggest piece I want to say about that, so I’ve come a long way in a very short time.
PC: You skipped the part earlier. You started in the middle. You didn’t just wake up one day and go, “I think I’ll buy a house.”
MA: Yeah, this is really important. This is what tells us that people are important, people are fragile, and that everyone has a gift inside of them. I’m nine years out of prison for three first-degree felony drug charges, and what an amazing gift that was for me was to be sentence to go to prison. It was like a 13-month bible camp for me and that was my saving grace.
KM: And you’ve never looked back.
MA: That was all I had. I’ve never looked back. And my mom said the other day, because her best friend asked her, “I just don’t know how Shelley does it.” And my mom said, “Well I just don’t think anyone ever told her she couldn’t.”
KM: There you go. I like that attitude. What a blessing to have that mindset.
MA: I think God knew I wouldn’t be scared, or I would be scared but I would do it anyway.
PC: I like your mom. I’ve met her.
KM: She’s pretty awesome. Tender hearts. I’m so glad that you do what you do.
PC: She just sits there and smiles while you talk. I like that.
KM: Thanks. I don’t smile usually then, is that what you’re telling me?
PC: Her. Not you.
KM: Oh right.
PC: I’m talking about Michelle, her mom smiles, she talks. It’s all good.
KM: It’s been a long… yeah. I went to bed at one o’clock this morning so.
PC: What I want to know is, if somebody wants to find this young lady, where do we find you?
KM: Yes. Where do we find you, Michelle?
PC: Phone number, emails, text. We need this information.
MA: Alright. 214-341-6000. Recoveryinn.org. Our offices are at the Bank of America Towers in Plano, Texas. 75 and Park.
PC: So I can walk in the front door. I could call you. I could text you. I could go to your websites. One more time – rattle them off.
MA: Recoveryinn.org. Intensiveintegration.com. Bentleyplace.us.
PC: And you never sleep so it’s like a 24/7 thing, right?
MA: Absolutely.
KM: Love her.
PC: And what about you, young lady? Do you have some contact information? You still have that 900 number or?
KM: No, I got rid of it yesterday actually.
PC: Excellent. They cut you off again, did they?
KM: No, I got a metro line now.
PC: Really??
KM: (Laughs) 972-234-6634 ext. 104. And our website is Lifetreecounseling.com. And you can read and listen to this podcast, and all other kind of podcasts in our upcoming events on the events tab.
PC: Metro number, huh? There goes your weekend.
KM: I’ll be in the car, so I’ve got my cell phone on.
PC: All right, give her a call. I’m still Phillip. Phillip Crum, the content marketing coach. It says right there on the wall, the contentmarketingcoach.us. 214-264-6297.
KM: I love the nametag.
PC: Just checking my nametag. Give me a call if marketing your business in your content marketing fashion is of interest to you. Or, if you’re bored and lonely, and I’ll give you Michelle’s number.
KM: You get behind a mic and do a podcast.
PC: We could pretend. We could be rock stars.
KM: We are rock stars.
PC: That’s right. All right, say goodbye, Michelle.
MA: Goodbye, Michelle.
KM: Michelle, thank you so much. Mallory, what a pleasure.
PC: Say goodbye, Mallory.
KM: She said, “Bye.”
PC: Say goodbye, Kathleen.
KM: Goodbye, Kathleen. Say goodbye, Phillip.
PC: Thank you everybody for listening and we’ll see you next week, and on we go.
32:21
PC: All right, Tom. Here’s the meeting after the meeting.
KM: Hi, Tom.
PC: All right. You know what I want to know now, Miss Michelle, is what didn’t you tell us? What are you really passionate about? It’s obviously you’re passionate about most everything, but what are you working on right now? What’s the big thing on your plate that you’re trying to just kick it and get it going?
MA: I think my biggest passion is to be able to speak in front of people, and so I am awaiting the time and working on what I need to do for a national platform.
PC: I think the time is over.
KM: I think the time is right now.
MA: And it’s not just recovery. It’s about people. And it’s about being a child of God. It’s about… it’s about knowing what you don’t know about yourself. It’s about going beyond anything you could ever imagine.
KM: You say you’re waiting for the right time. Can you give me a picture of what the wait is for?
MA: I think the biggest piece that needs to come into place is financially be able to have a director there at Recovery Inn for the day-to-day operations so that we can launch this next piece.
PC: Mallory can do that.
MA: Yeah. Because it’s definitely the day-to-day operations at Recovery Inn that keeps me bogged down most of the time, so I’m really working towards
KM: Freeing you up to do that, finding the right person for the right talent.
PC: So, for the audience, whoever might be listening to this – what is it you need? What do you need? I mean, I know we touched that, but let’s be very specific. What are you looking for? You want the phone to ring and somebody says, “Hey – “
KM: “I’m your new director.”
PC: Well, there’s lots of people who would want that. I’m sure it takes money to do that. So it all comes back to money, doesn’t it?
MA: It does. And with Recovery Inn being a non-profit, we operate on a budget that’s very lean. Even with the program fees that the residents pay, we still have to raise $150-200,000 per year to keep the doors open. So the financial means to be able to do that. You know, and I’m definitely looking for some television spots with some television show host.
PC: Okay. I’m curious – have you done anything in a proactive manner as far as reaching out, as they say, to remind me to strike that off my list. I really don’t like that phrase – that reaching out thing. Have you called anybody? Have you sent them an email? Have you done anything like that?
MA: You know, I haven’t. And what prevents me from doing that is I want to say modesty. And I don’t know if it’s fear. I think its modesty. I think its humility. And waiting for that right time. We’ve definitely spoken about it. We’ve definitely said, “These are the folks we want to reach out to.” It’s just a matter of doing it.
PC: Well, you need to get over that, because you’ve got it, honey. And what you need to do is to sign up for Kathleen’s anti-modesty program.
MA: All right! So I’ll sign up for her anti-modesty program and we will find you an identity anonymous group.
KM: (Laughing) Oh, I love this girl!
PC: Okay. Here we go.
KM: Tada! You’ve met your match, buddy.
PC: Ganging up on me. All right. I can take it. If I can dish it, I can take it.
KM: But I do, I understand the humility because it takes a lot of courage and a lot of guts because you don’t want to be perceived any other way, but you’ve got the heart and you’ve got the passion and it’s about helping outreach. It’s not a self-serving kind of request.
PC: And you’ve got the brains, and you’re easy on the eyes. I mean, it’s all there. It’s all there so get over it.
KM: I say go for it. I’m your accountability partner.
PC: I know somebody who knows how to do it.
MA: Very nice.
KM: I’m shy, Phillip. C’mon.
PC: Yeah. When did that start?
MA: Yesterday when she changed her number to a metro.
KM: (Laughing) Dialing it down, buddy!
PC: I think she’s dialing it up over here. All right, I’m going to have to use both hands here. All right. Interesting. Public speaking, huh?
KM: I think you’d be awesome.
MA: Thank you.
PC: Yes yes yes yes. I think we can help you.
MA: Very nice.
KM: Absolutely.
PC: All right. Anything else? Is there anything else that goes with that? You want to be a public speaker, feel called to do that. And I like that.
MA: The first calling came when I was actually in prison, and I saw a vision of like Joyce Meyers and having a public platform like that. And that spark was lit and it’s never gone away. It’s just continued to grow. And the more that I see when I do work with others, or I do get to speak, the more the impact that I see, the more it fans that flame.
KM: It’s not going away, is it, girl?
MA: It’s not. You know, I just recently presented at Price Waterhouse Cooper’s Women’s board meeting there. And the gentleman that sets that up, he said, “In the 20 years I’ve been doing it, I have never had a presenter have the reaction that you had today. And bring the emotion that you bring.” So.
PC: I believe it. We can get your mother to do an intro. That’d be cool. That’d be really cool.
KM: That would be really fun.
PC: We’d probably have to pull her off the stage though. Talkin’ ‘bout my baby. Talkin’ ‘bout my baby.
KM: Give her a box of Kleenex, we’re all good.
PC: That’d be fun.
MA: You won’t need a box of Kleenex. She doesn’t cry.
KM: Yes, she does. Yes, she does.
PC: All right, you’re going to do this again with us?
MA: Yes, absolutely.
PC: Good.
MA: Thank you for having me here today.
PC: It was easy. Easy, wasn’t it?
MA: It was absolutely great.
KM: Thank you, Michelle.
PC: Well, we’re going to do that. Thank you, Michelle. Thank you, Kathleen. Thank you, Mallory, for hanging around. And we’ll see you next time. On we go!
KM: On we go.
MA: On we go.
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