Mahara Wayman [00:00:05]:
Welcome to the art of badassery where I explore what it takes to live life on your own terms. Break free from the status quo and unleash your inner badass. Whether you're a rebel at heart or simply seeking inspiration to step outside your comfort zone, this podcast is for you. I'm your host, Mahara Wayman. And each week, I dive into the stories, insights, and strategies of those who've mastered the art of badassery and are living life to the fullest. They smile when no one is lucky.
Mahara Wayman [00:00:44]:
Welcome to the Art of Badassery podcast. I'm your host, Mahara Wayman, And today's guest is Cindy Whitman, a San Antonio, Texas based business owner, best selling author, TV show host, entrepreneur, nonprofit startup coach, and more. As a former single parent and stepmom with a big family, She knows the challenges and the joys of parenting. Cindy is passionate about helping others find positivity in life And is the founder of Driving Single Parents Inc, a nonprofit that provides reliable vehicles to single parents, Changing their lives for the better. Join us as we talk about her journey and all of the things that she went through that brought her to where she is today. You're gonna love her story. We'll also talk about her dedication to empowering single parents.
Mahara Wayman [00:01:40]:
Cindy, welcome to the show. I'm so pleased to have you here today.
Cindy Witteman [00:01:44]:
Hello. Thank you so much for having me. I can't wait to share all the things with you.
Mahara Wayman [00:01:48]:
Wonderful. Well, I guess the first thing I wanna ask you is because it came up twice in your bio was this This deep desire to help single parents. Where did that stem from?
Cindy Witteman [00:02:04]:
Well, it actually goes way back to my childhood. So I was raised by a single mom who was disabled. And so for most of my life, we had my mom had a disability check and she couldn't work, so So we lived on the disability checks, some government assistance, and, some child support in there, a little splash of that too. But a lot Times we struggled. You know, we didn't have running water sometimes. Sometimes we didn't have electricity. Sometimes we didn't have food. And a lot of times we didn't have transportation.
Cindy Witteman [00:02:28]:
And so that was my early years. And and it was generations of, you know, poverty that I had kind of seen go on in my life. And so growing up, I would always try to figure out how to get to a better place. You know, how was I gonna get to a better place? And, of course, I had the rule. I was never gonna be a single parent ever. So, of course, the way to escape all these problems was to get married to the love of my life, the man who was gonna be my knight in shining armor. So at a very young age, I ended up getting married and we had some kiddos and, unfortunately, took a turn for the worst and ended up being a severely Bad situation. It was a lot of domestic violence, a lot of mental abuse, and, but, again, determined to never be a single parent and never have any of those struggles.
Cindy Witteman [00:03:12]:
I I stuck it out for quite some time. I would always tell myself the abuse was happening to me and he wasn't actually abusing my daughters. And so it was okay and I could just cook better. I could just clean better. I could just do better. I could just shut my mouth more because I love to talk. So I I had all of these grand ways of fixing the situation. You know? But what I ultimately realized was I was Pretty much putting a Band Aid on a gaping wound and it was never going to get better and and things were never gonna be a white picket fence and a shiny Beautiful life.
Cindy Witteman [00:03:45]:
And so one day, I was actually folding clothes and I was a stay at home mom and listening to doctor Phil, of course, And doctor Phil said something that day that changed my life. And what he said was, it's better to come from a broken home than it is to grow up in 1. And, literally, the minute I heard those words, I got up, I got a basket of clothes, a bag of diapers, and me and my daughters left. And we built a new life for ourselves. And it was really just in that moment that I realized that although I was avoiding single parenthood and although I was avoiding a lot of other things that I had gone through in my life, I was dragging my daughters along this journey, teaching them how people are supposed to treat them and teaching them that that was okay. And I just knew in that moment that that I just I had to get out of there. So going through and I know I'm long winded here, but I'm getting to my point. I Going through all of that, I ended up working 2 jobs for myself through college.
Cindy Witteman [00:04:38]:
Just really trying to make sure that I wasn't gonna be any of the things he told me I was gonna be, which was gonna be Stupid. Nobody wanted me. I was never gonna get anywhere. I was gonna be on government assistance like my mama. The girls were gonna suffer because of my choices. And I was bound to determine that I was gonna prove him wrong and I was gonna prove to myself and my daughters that we could do this. And so I, like, got through all of that Hard time. I got myself into a little bit of a better place.
Cindy Witteman [00:05:03]:
And all the while, I'm going through this single parent journey. I'm thinking to myself, like, I had this tug that was just telling me, like, You need to do something. You've got to do something to help other single parents when you get to a better place. So when I did, I initially really wanted to do childcare because I I thought That was my biggest need as a single parent. You know, you can't do anything to get to a better place without that childcare. But I ran a poll here in San Antonio, And nobody could get excited about a nonprofit focused on that, and they just assume government assistance handles it already. There's all these grants and all kind of stuff. And unfortunately, There's a lot of long waiting lists and lack of funding and even though those programs exist, and I'm glad that they do, they're hard to really utilize.
Cindy Witteman [00:05:46]:
But, again, what is a good nonprofit if nobody wants to donate? Right? So I specifically remember that moment whenever I was gonna do something for single parents, which was I ended up founding that nonprofit, driving single parents, to give away cars because I wanted to make sure that whatever I did, it wasn't gonna be something small that was just gonna get them to tomorrow or something small that was gonna get into next week. I really wanted to do something that was gonna be more than what I said earlier, which is that Band Aid on that gaping wound and that's how At dinner 1 night, I ended up having the idea. I stood up and I said, that's it. I'm gonna give away cars to single parents. And that night, I went home. I built the website. I appeal with a business plan. I gave away a card less than a month later.
Mahara Wayman [00:06:33]:
Okay. Amazing point. I wanted to break in and go kind of like Oprah, and you get a car and you get a car. But I I do wanna jump I wanna dive in a little bit more to the actual nonprofit. But at this point, I'm curious, and I I'm sure our listeners are curious too. Take us back. You're a little girl. You mentioned generational poverty, Growing up with a single mom, disabled, lots of struggles there.
Cindy Witteman [00:07:02]:
Lots.
Mahara Wayman [00:07:03]:
What do you think Was what was it that gave you the impetus to say, I'm gonna do something different? Because I think there's a lot of people that wouldn't have gone that route. They would have said, hey. This is my life. This is the best I can get. This is the best I can do. Can you can you take us back to a time when you maybe first realized that you did have a choice?
Cindy Witteman [00:07:28]:
Yes. Well, Honestly, I don't know the moment, but I I remember as a kid constantly seeing, like, other people weren't, You know, dumpster diving for their belongings because they just got evicted. People's cars weren't getting towed away with their mom in it because it was being repossessed. You know, other people had food and clothes and clean hair. And I I started to realize that, like, hey. Like, something's not right here. How did they do that? And my mom would always say, oh, those are the rich people. You know, those those people over there are the rich people.
Cindy Witteman [00:07:56]:
So I've got to thinking, like, how am I gonna figure out how to get get to that? And so I would ask people. I would just walk up to random strangers and say, hey. How did you get those nice shoes? How did you get that nice car? How'd you get that nice house? How how did you do that? And each and every one of them said something very significant, which was, I have a good job. And I kept thinking, man, I might be only 8 years old, but I gotta get me one of those as soon as I possibly can. And so that's kind of where the the the spark kinda started.
Mahara Wayman [00:08:23]:
You know what I love about that story is it's telling me that even at the tender age of 8, You were willing to ask and be observant. And for all of us, You know, would be badasses or already badasses, those are key. Will being willing to ask for help or just Ask for clarity, for clarification. Like, what does this mean? How did you get that? And, also, when every time I think, Every time you ask for help or show interest, you're telling the world that you matter. And to me, those many of our listeners will know that this already. That's the backbone of being a badass is recognizing That regardless of our circumstances, I'm here. I matter. So I love that you were able to capture that Even if you couldn't articulate it at 8 and how why would you be able to articulate it? But it sounds like that was a really powerful beginning To your journey out of generational poverty.
Mahara Wayman [00:09:27]:
Yeah. Definitely. Okay.
Cindy Witteman [00:09:29]:
Definitely. Yeah. I think it's also in the taking action. You know, you see something and then taking action. And I I know a lot of people I've come across, you know, have a hard time with that bridge into action because For whatever reason, they're a little, you know, hesitant to to take that step, you know, to ask the questions that are needed.
Mahara Wayman [00:09:45]:
It can be really scary to take action. What I've learned is action is great, but if it's not aligned action, then it can be a bit of a A time I don't wanna say time waster because we learn from everything. But action is great, but when you can align that action with your ultimate goal and have it be, You know, close to your heart and have it be part of your core values, then it's even more powerful. It's even better. So
Cindy Witteman [00:10:12]:
So true.
Mahara Wayman [00:10:13]:
Yeah. That's that's really exciting. I'm curious. How was your mom as she watched you progress into a different lifestyle than she was able to offer you growing up.
Cindy Witteman [00:10:29]:
Well, I believe that, you know, she's been she's always she was always very proud of me, very proud of everything that I did and all that I accomplished, and, I I don't think she understood that she also had the power. I feel like she laid down a lot to to the world and felt like the power was outside of her. And instead of her looking inside of herself and how she could better her life and her circumstances, she always believed that It was outside of her. She was always looking for external circumstances to fix her, change her life, and her position in life. And so I don't think she ever really knew that she had that power. So she would tell me a lot, you know, well, we're not all like you, Cindy. We're not all like you. She passed away from COVID at age 61, which was a hard hit.
Cindy Witteman [00:11:15]:
But, you know, she was always such a wonderful mom as far as Being loving and caring and kind, and I never had any problems with violence or anything like that in my my childhood. It's just just bad with money and didn't have a lot of it.
Mahara Wayman [00:11:28]:
So first of all, I'm sorry for your loss. 61 seems very, very young.
Cindy Witteman [00:11:33]:
Very young.
Mahara Wayman [00:11:34]:
I do believe that we I'm going into woo woo land here, but I do believe that our spirits choose the families that we are born into for lessons and and learning. Your mom's no longer with us. What would you say, in retrospect, she taught you? Like, why did you choose her to be your mom?
Cindy Witteman [00:11:55]:
I think a lot of moms teach you how to be, and my mom taught me how not to be in a lot of ways. In a lot of ways, you know, the kindness and compassion is there, that that my mom is was very kind and compassionate. But I think that in a lot of ways, she really taught me All the ways to not be. I I would literally watch her make mistake after mistake after mistake financially, and I would think, like I would even tell her, like, mom, you know, I know I'm only 10 years old, but I'm telling you if you do this, we're not gonna have money for groceries at the end of the month. Like, we have to Do make these other choices, and so, I don't really know why, why am I chose her, or why we ended up together. But I do know that I did learn a lot of valuable lessons that I feel like have carried me through Well, what some tough situations.
Mahara Wayman [00:12:42]:
It's it's a totally tough situation. What was coming through my mind was, wow. You your goal now, you've talked about it already, is to help single parents. Your mom was a single parent. And sometimes our lessons are the back end, like it's the flip. And I totally appreciate the appreciate you're saying, hey. It's not so much what I learned that I wanted more of. I learned what I didn't want.
Mahara Wayman [00:13:04]:
And that's also very powerful. Right?
Cindy Witteman [00:13:06]:
Very Yeah. Sometimes we learn the most from the mistakes we make. We learn less from the good times and more from the bad times.
Mahara Wayman [00:13:13]:
I agree a 100%. I mean, one of my favorite sayings is it stops being a mistake the minute you learn from it. Mhmm. Not the easiest lesson, But if you if you can change your mindset and sort of have that thought that, you know what? Yeah. That really sucked what I did or what happened to me. However, I now know, You know, not to do that or not to put myself in that situation or I now know how better to handle that. So
Cindy Witteman [00:13:37]:
Yeah. This is what I learned, and this is how I grew. You know? And that's You know, you either learn or you grow. So what's the example?
Mahara Wayman [00:13:45]:
Can you share with us another example of this either learn or grow from your past?
Cindy Witteman [00:13:50]:
Well, I would say one of my big mottos is always to say, when nothing goes right, go left. And I've done a lot of lefts in my life. Done a lot of lefts, and so I never have seen a situation as an end all, be all. I've always seen it as, Darn, that sucked, but when nothing goes right, go left. You know, I just go the opposite way and find another way. And sometimes the left turns out better than the right ever could have.
Mahara Wayman [00:14:15]:
Do you remember you may be too young for this, but do you remember the Seinfeld episode where George Costanza says to Jerry, That's it. I'm just gonna do the opposite of what I wanted to originally do because nothing I do works out. So whatever my initial instinct is, I'm gonna do the opposite. Have you seen that episode, or have you heard of it?
Cindy Witteman [00:14:33]:
I haven't seen that episode, but I did watch Seinfeld, and I do like it. That's funny.
Mahara Wayman [00:14:37]:
Brilliant. Because And, of course, by the end of it, George got the girl, got a new job. He got you know, all of these amazing things happen because he went against what he initially wanted to do. So I I love this idea of when nothing goes right, go left. That's beautiful. When I was reading your bio, I was kind of blown away by how much you have accomplished. Can you tell us a little bit more about the TV show that you host? What's that all about?
Cindy Witteman [00:15:05]:
Yeah. Let me give you the nitty gritty. So I actually didn't know until I was much older. I didn't realize That I have a fear of public speaking, but when I every I became the founder and CEO of Driving Single Parents, of course, I had to speak every chance I could, And I hated it. And I would I just hated it. I would try so hard to avoid or or, you know, shift that off to somebody else. Well, I made a commitment to myself in September of last year that I was gonna get over this fear of public speaking. And I was just gonna say yes to interviews, and I was just gonna do it afraid.
Cindy Witteman [00:15:37]:
And so I had decided that's what I was gonna do. So very short order after that, I was offered, a book deal to, write in this book called is shattering, shattering the stigma of single motherhood. And at first, what I say, no. I'm an author. Really, I'm no author. There's no way I could do that. But then I remembered, I said I was gonna say yes to everything and I really am passionate about shattering the stigma of single parenthood because guess what? None of us wake up in the morning and say, guess what I'd love to be today? A single parent. Heck no.
Cindy Witteman [00:16:06]:
It's one of the hardest jobs you can have. So I end up writing in that book And it was such a cool experience. I really enjoyed it. And then I just kept telling myself every opportunity that was presented for me to speak or or talk or whatever, I would do it. Well, I was offered another book. And, again, I said, no. I'm not an author. I just did the last one because, You know, I felt like, you know, I I had to say yes.
Cindy Witteman [00:16:27]:
Don't ask again. So I ended up doing another book called How to Overcome Self Sabotage. Because, again, I am passionate about overcoming self sabotage. I feel like it's something we all have in us and it's a constant, a very conscious decision every day to not let it take over for me at least, and I know a lot of other people have that same experience. So I said yes again. Well, then, the same people that I wrote the books with, the She Rises Studios, which they are a mommy daughter duo who have actually birthed this Beautiful publishing company through COVID together, which is such a beautiful story. They decided their goal their manifestation goal was to start their own network. And so they came to me and they said, Cindy, you know, hey.
Cindy Witteman [00:17:10]:
We're doing this thing. We're gonna start, you know, be having a network. We're looking for a host. Would you be interested? And, And, of course, they said, no. Are you crazy? I don't do public speaking. I'm terrified of public speaking and I darn sure don't have any hosting abilities or TV or Or any knowledge or understanding of even what that would take to do, like, forget it. But again, once again, I decided I said I was gonna say yes. I'm just gonna do it afraid.
Cindy Witteman [00:17:34]:
I took the leap and I've been doing it ever since. They really laid it out for me in a very simple way, which was you get to pick your own title to your show. You get to pick what you want the premise to be, what the show is gonna be about. You get to pick your own guests. You get to pick everything about the show if you'll just do it. So they removed all obstacles and so I had no choice but to say yes. And I really just sat down with myself and was like, well, if I was gonna do a TV show, what would I do? What would it be about? And immediately, it came to me. It was like, If I could highlight ordinary people doing extraordinary things to help others, shine a light on all of these incredible people who are out there everyday making this world a better place, That would be worth swallowing my fear and doing it afraid.
Cindy Witteman [00:18:17]:
So that's what I've been doing, and I love it.
Mahara Wayman [00:18:20]:
I feel like we need to have T shirts that say I'm doing this afraid.
Cindy Witteman [00:18:24]:
Yeah.
Mahara Wayman [00:18:26]:
What a beautiful story. What is the name of the show?
Cindy Witteman [00:18:30]:
It's called Little Give. So Little Give with Cindy, And it's on, Apple TV, Roku, Fire Stick. You can do it any you can get it anywhere where Internet is available. You can find it on phoenix tv.app. It airs in over a 127 countries, and I also spun it off into a podcast so we could get the good message out to other people, more people. And I think that's so important because I feel like in today's day and age, there's, you know, bad news sales. And so there's so much bad news and we're constantly inundated with all this bad news that some people can start to feel like Scared of this world. And so I think that my show's mission is really to show people that, hey.
Cindy Witteman [00:19:10]:
You know what? All that bad news, that's over there. We're over here. We're over here spreading kindness. We're over here helping each other. We're over here lifting each other as we climb. This is what it's all about.
Mahara Wayman [00:19:22]:
So beautiful. I I'm excited. I can't wait to check it out. I would love to know a little bit more about how you actually and I'm sure our listeners would like to know this as well. It's once you've done it, it's pretty easy to say, yeah. Just do it scared. But how do you in that moment when you've got that clutch in your tummy, I'm assuming that it it's there, How do you actually get over that? Because so many of us stifle our lives because of that fear, Because of the limiting beliefs, because of, you know, this this idea of impostor syndrome or I'm just not good enough. So what are you actually doing to talk your way through that? Is there something is there a specific modality that you're using? I'm just super curious.
Cindy Witteman [00:20:11]:
Yeah. So there's 2 things, and I guess the first one would be that nobody was ever good the 1st time they did anything. 1st podcast I ever did, I was terrible at it. 1st interview ever gave, I didn't do too well. Most everything is practice makes perfect. And so if you could just swallow it and tell yourself that, you know what? I'm not gonna be great Upfront and neither was any of the greats out there. They didn't show up one day and just be great. It took intention.
Cindy Witteman [00:20:35]:
It took time. It took action. It took You've taken a lot of yourself and putting yourself into it and doing the work to make it happen. So, it's okay. It's only temporary. It's not forever. But the big one I always use in my everyday life, just like I told you a moment ago about when nothing goes right, go left, my other one is, whether you think you can or you think you can't, You're right. And that's by Henry Ford.
Cindy Witteman [00:20:58]:
And it really is exactly life in my opinion because if you think you can't do something, you can't. And if I had said, I I really am not ever gonna be able to be a TV show host, I wouldn't be. And if I ever said, you know, I'm definitely never doing that. I know I can't Write a book. I never would have written 3 international bestsellers. You know, all the things I've done, start a nonprofit. If I didn't convince myself that I could, I would be right, and I would never have been able to do it.
Mahara Wayman [00:21:28]:
So we're gonna take a short break right now, but I'll be back with my guest within 60 fckens. Ladies, unlock your inner badass and transform your life with my monthly subscription workshop. For just $47 a month, You'll have exclusive access to work closely with me, Mahara Wayman, as we dive deep into all things badass from personal development moment to conquering your goals. Imagine waking up every day with confidence, purpose, and a smile that radiates your newfound strength. Take advantage of this badass opportunity and join us today at www.mindfulnesswithmahara.com and start your journey toward a happier, more confident you. Smile when no one is looking. You've earned it.
Mahara Wayman [00:22:17]:
So I mentioned that you're a nonprofit startup coach. I'm curious. Are you also a mindset coach? Because what you're talking about is classic mindset work. You know, You know, you can have a mindset or you can have a growth mindset. You can recognize that everything is an opportunity, and you can recognize the power and the energy of The universe, how things how things work. I'm curious. Do you do that as well in your coaching practice?
Cindy Witteman [00:22:42]:
So I do do, life in confidence coaching, And then, I also help people with manifesting.
Mahara Wayman [00:22:48]:
Let's talk about manifesting because Mhmm. Cindy has a brand new book, and I I love the title. Tell us about your new book
Cindy Witteman [00:22:58]:
and the Okay. So
Mahara Wayman [00:23:00]:
of why you wrote this particular book.
Cindy Witteman [00:23:03]:
Okay. So, the title of the book is called is manifesting bullshit. And so the the funny part about the book is is My I had already written 2 bestsellers, and one of my older daughters, like I said like, I might have mentioned earlier, I have 6 kids and 3 grandkids. Whenever my daughter said, hey, mom. You know it'd be cool if we write a book together. I was like, you want to? She said, yes. So then we talked to my other daughter. Hey.
Cindy Witteman [00:23:24]:
You want to too? Okay. Great. So So we decided to do this book project together. And and Kimberly had initially said, you know, I have this title I picked out I really wanna use. And so we were gonna try to use it, but then it was already taken. So we went, you know, back and forth manifesting our new book idea and, came up with that. Like, our very first, all 3 of us, Very first thing we thought about manifesting was, is that bullshit? And so we just were like, hey. That's a perfect title.
Cindy Witteman [00:23:49]:
Is manifesting bullshit? Let's try to answer the question And so that's kind of how it all came to be. Back whenever I talked to you first about, you know, I escaped that domestic violence situation and I You know, working your jobs for myself through college, and I was really once again, you know, like I did when I was a kid going, how did you get those nice clothes? How do you you know? And trying to learn how to Get myself from level to better. And, I had heard about The Secret, which is, I don't know if you've heard of it, a movie or a show that Came out in a book and, I heard her Oprah Winfrey was the first one to ever say it where I heard her and, I thought Who in the world would believe that crap? That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Well, fast forward, when I was in that struggling state and I was selling plasma twice a week just to put food on the table, I'm working those 2 jobs. When in college, I was doing all of those things. And I just was like, how am I gonna get myself out of the situation? I'm pretty desperate. Not a problem. Let me just try that secret thing.
Cindy Witteman [00:24:45]:
So I did. So I watched the movie again. I I read the book, and I thought, I'm just gonna do it. I'm gonna do a vision board. I'm gonna do all of the the things that this thing recommends. So I did that for months. Nothing happened. Not one thing.
Cindy Witteman [00:24:58]:
So I'd had that gratitude rock. I skipped it off into a pond on side of the highway. I tore up that Stupid check I'd written out to myself. I ripped down that vision board and thought, man, I can't believe I wasted my time on this crap. Well, fast forward a little bit more, I was there, like, I really have got to do something. So I ended up listening to Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill on an audible version, and I started to get it. Oh, I get it now. It's about taking action.
Cindy Witteman [00:25:24]:
Nothing's going no purple elephant is landing in your living room. You know, no brand new car is Gonna pop into your driveway because you're now manifesting. No. No. No. No. No. You have to figure out what you want and then you have to set your intentions and then you have to take actionable steps towards it actually make it manifest into your life.
Cindy Witteman [00:25:40]:
It's not a sit back and wait for them to deliver your, you know, medal from running a beautiful marathon. No. No. No. You have to actually go out and run that marathon. So once I got that part, I I listened to the secret again. I read the book again, and I was like, okay. I think I got it.
Cindy Witteman [00:25:55]:
It's all about gratitude. That's what that's what's one of the main components in my opinion is. And so I started just you know what? This time, I'm not going to try to get that new car in the driveway. What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna be grateful for everything I already have. Once I started to feel that gratitude, I really started to see, Oh, like if people open the door for me all of a sudden. It just this feeling of you start to see the good. It didn't happen right away. And in fact, I had a little bit of An issue with my brain still wanting to go back to those negative thoughts.
Cindy Witteman [00:26:25]:
And so I actually took a simple rubber band and put it on my wrist. And every time I'd have a negative thought, I'd snap that rubber band. And And, eventually, it triggered my brain. They're like, hey. We don't like that. So it would just stick with that positive. And it really started to make a big change in my life and really shifted. And I started to show it to my daughters and they they really rolled their eyes and thought I was crazy.
Cindy Witteman [00:26:45]:
But then now we all 3 of us, them as grown women and mothers themselves, have gotten together to write the book about how manifesting work for us, how we first came to know about it, and the way we ended up using it in our lives to better our situations.
Mahara Wayman [00:27:00]:
Well, that's so much fun. It's such a great title. And we were talking earlier. I remember I grew up with Oprah and doctor Phil. I'm a lot older than you, but I I'm I'm part of that generation. I have been on a journey of personal growth for over 30 years. And the 1st book I read was from Louise Hay, who was like the grandmother of affirmations. You can heal your life was the book that I read.
Mahara Wayman [00:27:24]:
I grew up in a family where my dad was always telling me that's not your business. That's the universe's business. You know, be careful what you say. Be careful what you think, Mahara, because You'll create it. I didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but that's how I grew up. So I grew up as a teenager with my dad. We're going for a drive, and he would say, Remember, think good parking spot, and I'm like, yes, dad. Parking, parking, parking, great parking spot.
Cindy Witteman [00:27:47]:
And, of
Mahara Wayman [00:27:48]:
course, we'd get a great parking spot. So I'm very familiar with this with this idea of manifesting, but the real when it really hit home was when I had a a coach Say to me, yes, people. I have my own coach. She said to me, Mahar, look around your world right now. What do you see? And I'm like, well, I'm in my you know, I described I described my home. What else do you see? And I sort of talked about my life. She goes, that life is one that you've manifested Based on your thoughts from years ago. The good, the bad, the indifferent.
Mahara Wayman [00:28:22]:
Whatever you have in your world, you've actually manifested it. And And that was just such a different way of looking at things. I'm like, but wait a second. I'm really struggling right now, which is why I have a coach. Like, how did I manifest that? So it was the beginning of the understanding that we are what we think. Mhmm. Our thoughts have power. Our language has power.
Mahara Wayman [00:28:45]:
And what I love about this idea of gratitude is that we raise our vibe when we're happy. Everybody knows that. Right? It takes Yeah. The minute you think of something, every your face lights up, energy goes up, and there is some And
Cindy Witteman [00:28:59]:
your chemicals in your body release To tell you that you're safe and you're happy and everything is good. The challenge,
Mahara Wayman [00:29:06]:
I think, for most of us or many of us is that because of life circumstances, dances because we're spiritual beings having a human existence. Tough things happen, and it is it can be very easy to forget that there's a lot of beauty and joy and things in the world for it to be grateful for. So I love that you've reminded us that being grateful, having an attitude of gratitude is, like, one of the first things in manifestation. You wanna focus on what's on what's good versus what's not. You always wanna focus on what you want more of in your life versus what you don't because a friend said this to me the other day, actually, on a podcast as well. She's like, the universe doesn't have a sense of humor. It just it just does what you say. It does it gives you what you ask for.
Mahara Wayman [00:29:51]:
So be really careful on what you're what you're asking for. And having an attitude of gratitude makes it that much easier. Okay. We've talked about the name of the book. When can we expect this book to come out if it hasn't already?
Cindy Witteman [00:30:03]:
So the ebook came out on October 10th, but the paperback is gonna come out on November 21st. And we're actually Already hit bestseller, and we've already hit international bestseller for the ebook so far. So it's doing really well, but what we're trying to do is hit the New York Times bestseller list, And that is a campaign where we have to sell 10,000 books in that 1st 7 days. So starting on 21st, In 7 days, we have to sell 10,000 actual paperback copies. So that's what we're working towards right now. So you'll be able to see it out in Amazon, major retailers, Anywhere you buy books, on November 21st.
Mahara Wayman [00:30:39]:
Well, congratulations for that. That is a huge accomplishment, And I can't wait to get my copy because I don't think manifesting is bullshit. I believe in it, and I'm working on it myself To manifest this beautiful business, this podcast. I had an idea for this podcast, like, about 5 years ago. I just put it on the back burner. I wasn't ready for it. And then in the spring, all of a sudden, I had a download. It's time.
Mahara Wayman [00:31:03]:
And I, you know, I just knew it was easy to put together. I got the name, got the artwork, put it all together. So When it's right, it's right. But for those of you who think, if you're interested, the secret is a classic book. But there's lots and lots of books on the subject, but it does start with having an attitude of gratitude. You mentioned that you're a grandma. What the heck? I cannot even believe that. But
Cindy Witteman [00:31:29]:
Yes. What I have 4.
Mahara Wayman [00:31:32]:
You've got 4 grandkids?
Cindy Witteman [00:31:33]:
No. I have 3 and 1 on the way.
Mahara Wayman [00:31:35]:
Oh my god. That's amazing. What do you like most about yourself today?
Cindy Witteman [00:31:41]:
I think that One of the things I really like about myself is that I have this desire, like this it's it's not even a want. It is a burning desire to help other people. It's just it's just something in me. I don't know where I got it or why it's there, but it really fires me up every day to keep going, keep growing, and keep doing what I need to do to to continue to lift others who are ready to be lifted.
Mahara Wayman [00:32:08]:
Beautiful. Another question that's popping into my mind, because if you haven't already figured this out, peeps, I do everything by the seat of my pants. But I wanna go back to your nonprofit. You started this as all about transportation. Can you share with us some some stories that really prove to your Your point that transportation is key in helping a single parent.
Cindy Witteman [00:32:31]:
Absolutely. I give you a couple. So one is gonna be that, the very first car we gave away, like I said, it was a little bit less than a month after I had the idea. It went to a gentleman who actually was hit by a drunk driver. And in that accident, he actually lost his wife, his car, and his right leg. Suddenly, he became a single dad overnight and suddenly, he became, You know, stuck with a lot of really major handicap needs. He lost his independence with all of that, and it it was such a difficult struggle for him. But When I gave him that car, it gave him back that sense of hope.
Cindy Witteman [00:33:06]:
And and I know it sounds kinda silly, but it also gave him that sense of, Like independence again. Like, I can do this. I can take care of my kids. I can get them to appointments. I can and still to this day, six and a half years later, he still drives that SUV I bought him six and a half years ago. So such a great story. Hardworking man. Wonderful.
Cindy Witteman [00:33:27]:
One of my favorite parts about this nonprofit is The the the pictures I get. I get pictures of a selfie of them in the car with it raining outside saying, look, Cindy. We'd be at the bus stop right now waiting in this it wasn't for you and your organization or them at the grocery store for the 1st time after they got their car. Like, we're at the grocery store by ourselves, and we don't have to beg anybody to bring us here. I've gotten pictures of the 1st day of school where the kids are are grateful and then given a video. Hey, Cindy. We're so thankful for you and the organization because today, I normally would have had to be dropped off by a family member, but because my mom had to take the bus to get, you know, where she needed to go. So today, I'm riding with my mom and she's able to drop me at school.
Cindy Witteman [00:34:07]:
Things like that. The college graduations I get invited to where these single parents, they don't just take this car and run off. We actually have 4, board members who are previous recipients who help us give back, through the nonprofit. We have another one who's joining, in January and so That's another brief story I'll share with you that is just for me I mean, what a what a wonderful story for all around. But for me as a person, this was, like, one of the highlights of my life And my time, you know, with this nonprofit. Back in 2020 during COVID, we gave away a car to a young lady named Latika. And Latika Got that car and she was in college and she ends up doing wonderful things. Well, she joins our board right away because she wants to give back.
Cindy Witteman [00:34:49]:
Even though she has her own single parent struggles and she's, You know, trying to get through the day like a lot of us, she wanted to get back. So she hops on the board, helps us with fundraising. She ends up becoming the vice President of philanthropy on our board of directors. Fast forward to this year in July. Well, she before July, but she ends up telling me, hey, Cindy. Guess what? I've graduated college now. I've gotten married. I'm in a much better place.
Cindy Witteman [00:35:13]:
I bought myself a car, and now I wanna donate the car back to driving single parents that you gave me. So she donated. She could've traded it in. She could've sold it. She could've done anything. She donated that car back to driving single parents and we blessed another single parent family with the very same car On July 8th this year. So talk about a full circle moment. Talk about how the power of the ripple effect.
Cindy Witteman [00:35:37]:
You know, we Gave to her and she gave back to driving single parents in so many different ways, and then she gave back the very same car and then Bless another family who is one of the families who sent me that picture on the 1st day of school with gratitude that mom was able to take her.
Mahara Wayman [00:35:54]:
What a fantastic story. Yeah. Now is this only in San Antonio, or is it has it branched out to be a little bit bigger?
Cindy Witteman [00:36:02]:
We're only in San Antonio for now, but, boy, am I working hard to expand. I really want to expand as much as we possibly can. I know that and a lot of people think that a car is a luxury item, but in San Antonio, Texas, it's not a luxury item. And in fact, it can be quite the opposite. It can make single parents Be late to work where they lose their employment. It can make it impossible for them to, join, boards or go to the PTA or get their kid to curriculars or go see family out of town or in, go to college, you know, all the things that can really uplevel their lives without that transportation. Oftentimes, friends and family just stop answering the phone because they're tired of carting you around. So it's really a need and and all of the single parents we've helped so far have used it as a tool To take their life and their family to the next level.
Mahara Wayman [00:36:50]:
Oh my goodness. This is such a great feel good story. I wanna go back though to I had asked you what it is that you love about yourself, and thank you for sharing. I'm curious though, is there Anything that you are still working on that you are that you, you know, you're willing to share with us because sometimes I worry that And and I'm speaking from my own experience. People have looked at me and gone, well, you're you're so lucky. You got a great life. And they have no clue that I've had insecurities or struggle with anything. And I think it's a real You know, even now, mental health has really become a a topic.
Mahara Wayman [00:37:31]:
We're realizing how many of us really need support. So I'm just curious. Is there anything that you are still working on? And I don't use the word struggling because that's that's a bit of a judgment, but, you know, just curious because there's so many great badass things in your life right now. Do you notice that as you grow your your world and your impact, Is there anything that's popping up that you're kinda like, oh, is that popping up again?
Cindy Witteman [00:37:57]:
I don't know about again, but every day. Yeah. Everyday. I mean, everyday, it is a conscious effort for me to do all the things that I do with a smile. I mean, I am not perfect. I've I've Had a car accident recently. I mean, I've had flat tires. I'm just like everybody else.
Cindy Witteman [00:38:12]:
We all have our struggles. And I think that the thing that I'm able to do the best is to pivot. And when nothing goes right, go left, and it's not perfect, and it's not easy all the time. And sometimes there's a struggle. Sometimes there's a challenge. Sometimes I, you know, have my own self limiting beliefs, like, can I really do this? Am I really doing this? When somebody reads the intro about me like you did a moment ago, I think, Are they talking about me? Sometimes I'll read a magazine I got covered in and I'm like, I wanna meet this person. Oh, wait. That's me.
Cindy Witteman [00:38:42]:
And it's so outside of myself. It feels so Weird, and it feels like imposter syndrome big time a lot of times. And so, no, I'm not perfect. No, I don't have it all figured out. And when things go wrong, sometimes it's not Always that easy to just switch it to, okay, everything's gonna be okay like sunshine and rainbows, but I know that by making a conscious effort To to see the positive, to have the gratitude that doesn't stick around as long as it would if I didn't.
Mahara Wayman [00:39:10]:
Thank you for saying that. And those of you, you know, that can appreciate what it's like to sometimes we have to pretend. Right? Sometimes we we pretend that we're happy or we pretend that we get what's going on in the world In our world. So I thank you for sharing that, you know. And then it ain't always easy. But what I'm hearing from everything that you've shared, Cindy, and I think this is really key, is We all have choices. You know, we can choose to insist on going right even when it doesn't go right. You know? Or Goddamn.
Mahara Wayman [00:39:42]:
We're gonna do it this way, or we can give ourselves permission to pivot. You used that word just recently. And I think pivoting is another key Component to being badass is recognizing and giving yourself permission to okay. That didn't work, but that doesn't make me a bad person. I
Cindy Witteman [00:40:00]:
screwed up
Mahara Wayman [00:40:01]:
doesn't make me a bad person. Going right, going right, going right, that's actually I kinda wanna go left now, And it's okay to pivot. It's okay to change. It's okay to ask for help. I think, to me, that's that's key. So thank you for for sharing that.
Cindy Witteman [00:40:15]:
What Of course. And, yeah, it's sometimes that's so much more fun to go left because, you know, get a little off roading under your belt. Sometimes, like I said earlier, it's like More it turns out to be a more beautiful story than I ever thought it would because I learned so much along the way.
Mahara Wayman [00:40:29]:
And that's what this journey is all about. Right? It's all about learning as we go. It's not really Yeah. You mentioned it earlier that you felt your mom really focused on When I get this, then I'll be happy on the inside. I just need all that outside stuff. And what I'm hearing, Cindy, is that you learned from a very early age that it's actually the opposite. When you recognize your greatness first, and you can be appreciative and, recognize You know, you do need to know what it is that you want, and you do need to to work towards it. Aligned action is key.
Mahara Wayman [00:41:02]:
But when you can do that, then the outside stuff comes now. It just comes.
Cindy Witteman [00:41:06]:
It does. And recognizing your own power is something that I know that a lot of people, including myself, have struggled with is realizing that everything that you ever wanted It's all inside of you. It's not outside. It's everything is inside of you, and you get the opportunity to create the experience you wanna have. So many people are disempowered and feel like they give that control to somebody else. Like you said a moment ago, you know, when I get that car or when I get that nice house Oh, yeah. It's easy whenever you have all the money. When you have those attitudes and those thoughts that something outside of you is going to make you feel a certain way, Those are very short lived.
Cindy Witteman [00:41:43]:
If you can harness your own power and go within and realize you are far more badass and far more powerful than you even know Even on your best day, when you can figure that out and when you can go within yourself and go deep, that's whenever you start to experience the life that you wanna have.
Mahara Wayman [00:42:02]:
Couldn't have said it better myself. Alright. What is next for you? You've done you've got a TV show. You've written a couple best selling books. Well, outside of Making manifest is manifesting bullshit a number one bestseller on with on the New York Times bestseller list. Is there anything else that We have to look forward to with with you in the coming year.
Cindy Witteman [00:42:23]:
Yeah. I have a few things going on. So, obviously, I'm growing that TV show. I'm having so much fun with that. I have another podcast called is manifesting bullshit because how fun is it to interview people from around the world about manifesting and hear All the different sides, the skeptics, the people who are believers, the people who have stories to say it doesn't work or it does. It's a super fun thing. So I'm growing that. Love it.
Cindy Witteman [00:42:46]:
Of course, I have my business, CFUs, that I, do all kinds of great things. I do a lot of speaking events, a lot of, engagement. I love doing that because I really feel like I want to help others. I love to empower people. So that and then the the 3 things that are coming up in the next year, I'm in addition to all that is I'm writing another I'm I'm writing another book that's gonna come out in February. I'm part of a a thing called A 100 voices. And, it's a a a baby of She Rises Studios, which I mentioned earlier, the publishing company, the mommy daughter duo. They are doing this 100 voices, which is all about showing people's voices from women around the world.
Cindy Witteman [00:43:24]:
You write your own independent book, And they're gonna turn into a docuseries and, so I'm part of that collaboration. It's gonna be so much fun really shining a light on All the different stories and all the different voices out there that can make an impact. So there's that. And then I am also a beekeeper, which you may not know about me, But I'm a beekeeper, and it's so much fun. So in mid, 2024, I am releasing a children's book that's all about bees. So that's my second thing, and then the third thing is I have another book that's coming out that's gonna be basically like a manifesting is manifesting bullshit 2.0 or busted.
Mahara Wayman [00:44:03]:
I am not sure that you're doing enough. Honestly, Cindy, we gotta chat. Amazing. And I folks, I hope you realize that about 20 minutes ago, she said, oh, no. I'm not an author. I don't write.
Cindy Witteman [00:44:15]:
Yeah. And that's how I go.
Mahara Wayman [00:44:17]:
That are coming up in for you in 2024 all include writing. Cindy, thank you so much For all that you are doing to make a difference in the world, your nonprofit sounds amazing, and I'm so impressed that you chose to think outside of the box and found something that you knew from experience would really make a difference to single parents' lives. That's really that's that's just pretty darn smart. So yay for you. Best of luck on all of your endeavors, the book, a TV show. And I just wanna thank you for sharing your story with us today because you are absolutely badass. To recap people, the number one thing that she said about being badass Was this understanding of being grateful for whatever it is that you have in the moment. She also talked about Recognizing that you when you know what you want, you do need to take a aligned action towards it.
Mahara Wayman [00:45:13]:
And if that means asking for help, Go for it. And the third thing she said about being badass, which I love and I mentioned maybe getting a T shirt was, when everything when you can't go what was it? Something Going right
Cindy Witteman [00:45:26]:
Nothing goes right, go left.
Mahara Wayman [00:45:27]:
When nothing goes right, go left. Okay. You heard it here. Not first because she's been saying it for ages, but Three great tips on how to develop badassery in your life. Cindy, thank you for joining me today. Folks, my name is Mahar. This has been the art of badassery. Check the show notes for all of the great things that she's doing and how you can connect with Cindy, and I will see you next week on the art of badassery.
Cindy Witteman [00:45:52]:
Thank you for having me on.
Mahara Wayman [00:45:59]:
Thank you for tuning in to The Art of Badassery. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and gained valuable insights to help unleash your inner badass. If you found this podcast helpful, please leave a rating or review on your favorite platform. Your feedback not only helps me improve the show, but it also helps others like yourself discover the podcast. Until next time, keep embracing your and living life on your terms. Here's to you.
