Special Guest Expert - Christelle Biiga The Mind Body Business.mp4: Video automatically transcribed by Sonix

Special Guest Expert - Christelle Biiga The Mind Body Business.mp4: this mp4 video file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Brian Kelly:
So here's the big question. How are entrepreneurs like us who have been hustling and struggling to make it to success, who seem to make it one step forward only to fall two steps back? Who are dedicated?

Announcer:
And driven. How do we finally break through and win?

Brian Kelly:
That is the question. And this podcast will give you the answers. My name is Brian Kelly. This. Is the mind body business show. Hello everyone and welcome, welcome, welcome to the Mind Body Business show. Oh my goodness. I cannot wait for you to meet my next guest Christelle Bega. Oh my goodness, what a story this young woman has to tell. And you are going to actually you're going to be so enthralled. You're going to go, why? Gosh, if she can do it, I can do it and it'll be true. You can do it, everyone can do it. And you will know that for certain after you hear Crystal's story. It is amazing. She is amazing and I am so blessed to have her on the show. Not so much for myself, but for you, the viewers and the listeners of this very show because you are going to get some incredible nuggets of wisdom, of experience, of perseverance, of fortitude that will compel you and propel you farther and for, um, deeper into your business. And that is what this show is all about. The Mind Body Business Show is literally a show that I put together with you and mind. I am here to help bring successful entrepreneurs on the show and extract their wisdom, their values, their their strategies, their tips, their secrets so that you can take notes and then you can take action. Because I found over life the the quickest way to success is by modeling it. And that's just a fancy word for copying model success. Just do what someone else has done before you guarantee it's been done before you, and there's no reason for you to try to figure it out on your own. Just come here, sit back, relax. Well, don't relax too much. Take some serious notes and then take action, like I said. And so yes, the Mind Body Business show is a show about what I call the three pillars of success. And these came about in my course of about a ten year span of where I just studied, only successful people. I was just deeply curious what makes someone else perhaps more successful than me?

Brian Kelly:
What do they do that's different? You know? Do they run and jump and land into their pants or shorts with both feet at the same time, instead of going one leg at a time? I mean, what is it about them that is so amazing? And, uh, of course I kid there, but I did want to find out what was going on. And so I found by studying mentors, by studying authors and influencers and people that were always on stage speaking at entrepreneurial events, uh, people that I knew personally, people that I never met because they were authors. Maybe they had passed on before I even, uh, read their book. But all of these people had these three common things in, in, uh, in play. And that was they kept bubbling up to the top as I was studying them. And that's the very namesake of this show. So mind literally means mindset. And so to a person, each of these very successful individuals, oh my gosh, this is I just thought this is Crystal. Uh, to a tee has a very powerful, very positive and most importantly, a very flexible mindset. That's where Crystal she comes in through all those my goodness. And uh, body, body literally means that they took care of themselves physically and, and nutritionally. They would exercise on a regular basis and they would eat and drink the proper foods and liquids. And then business business is multi multifaceted. And what these individuals had done was they had mastered the skill sets, of which there are many that are necessary to build a successful business and then to continue to scale and grow it. Skill sets like marketing, team building, systematizing, leadership. I could go on for sales. I could go on and on and on, uh, with different skill sets. And the really good news is you're probably going, oh my God, if I have to master every one of those. And that was just a small set. This could take me my entire life. It probably could. The good news is you don't have to yourself master every single one of them. In fact, if you master just one of them, and it was one of those few that I just rattled off, if you just master one, you can use that skill set to leverage the remaining skill sets, and we'll want to know what that one is.

Brian Kelly:
Anyone curious at all? Yes, we do take comments. Go ahead. I'll wait for you. No, I won't wait. I'm going to tell you what it is. It is the skill set of leadership. Yes, once you have mastered, or even if you're in the process of mastering that skill set, you can bring on others into your team who have already or are also in the process of mastering the other skill sets you have yet to, or may never have the time to master yourself. Other skill sets like sales, marketing, whatever those skill sets are that you have not mastered, isn't that good news? You can master one and leverage it into many more. And that is what we do as entrepreneurs. We we solve issues. That's what Crystal Bega does. She solves not just problems, but she solves situations and helps entrepreneurs get the exposure they want and deserve. And that's why I am so excited to have her on and real quick she is coming on. I'm telling you, she's she's in there. I can see her in the in the green room. She's actually scratching at the monitor saying, Brian, let me in, let me in. I'm ready, I'm ready. Yes. You're coming. It's soon, crystal, I promise. Uh, real quick, I want to also mention that very successful individuals are also, to a person, very astute readers of books. I mean, they're continually reading books. And with that, I want to segue into a little segment I affectionately call bookmarks.

Announcer:
Bookmarks. Born to read. Bookmarks. Ready. Steady. Read. Bookmarks brought to you by Reach your Peak Library.com.

Brian Kelly:
Yes. There you see it reach your peak. Library.com. And a very quick word of advice to all watching, even if you're listening, and I hope you're watching live, because everyone who stays with us live until the end can enter to win a five night stay at a five star luxury resort, compliments of Reach Your Peak. We do this every evening or every show. I cannot wait to see who wins that next. You definitely want to stick around for that. And if you're not watching live next time, you can do so by going to the Mind Body Business Show. Yes, it's a long one, the Mind Body Business show.com, and then click on any of the buttons you see there that say how and where to watch and fill out your information. We give you a free hotel discount, or a hotel car discount card and a high value. And they actually work because I've actually used them myself just for opting in. And then, um, you will then get announced, you'll know when the next live show goes live. That's what we do. We send out an automated notice the moment we air and you'll get a link. You click it and you're here, you're with us and you can win that prize yourself. Pretty cool. So what I wanted to give you advice on is this is you are going to be given a lot of resources. This happens every show without fail, whether it's website URLs, books, uh, people to get in touch with authors and instead of, you know, scratching that itch where you say, oh, I want to go and research that. And instead of going off clicking away and typing it in and researching while you're listening or watching, instead, I want to implore upon you to write it down. So this is where we can start your practice with that. Get a get something to write with. Get a piece of paper. Do it on your computer. However, whatever your favorite method is and put down, reach your peak library.com. You may not even want to go there once I'm done describing it, but write everything down and go back and scratch it out. Circle it, highlight it.

Brian Kelly:
Whatever you do, reach your peak. Library.com is a site that I had built with you in mind because I myself was not a voracious reader until about the age of 47, when I started reading voraciously. And that was, uh, gosh, 12 years ago. Yeah, I'm pausing so you can do the math. And, uh, the thing I found out was, oh my gosh, it is so unbelievably powerful to read the right books, to read books that are in alignment with what I want to achieve in my life. And so they are books that have these are books on this site that have, um, really had a profound impact on my business life, my personal life, and sometimes even both. It's usually both. And that's what I started doing. I said as soon as I finished reading a book, if it fit that criteria, I had my team put it on this website. If you want to go buy these at a bookstore, go do that. Look at this list. Look at the book. Find the first one that resonates with you. They are not in here in any rhyme or reason. They're just. As I read them, I had my team drop them in and so look for the first one that resonates with you. If you want to go buy it at a Barnes and Noble, go buy it. Wherever you love to buy your books, there's a buy here button here. This isn't for making money, but it will take you to Amazon if you want to get your ebook right away. Um, but the whole point of this is to start reading or continue reading if you already are. And this is a list of books I've personally vetted, so at least you'll know that one other successful person has actually promoted or or vetted these books once again that says, yep, these are books I would recommend that you read. That is that that's to help you to make more efficient use of your time and not waste it on reading the wrong books. The ones that may waste your time can't guarantee these won't in your case, but they sure as heck had a great impact on me. Speaking of having a great impact on people, it's time to do just that with not myself.

Brian Kelly:
No no no with Crystal Bega. She is coming on right now. Here we go.

Announcer:
It's time for the guest expert. Spotlight. Savvy. Skillful. Professional. Adept. Trained. Big league qualified.

Brian Kelly:
Go. There we are. Oh, good parade wave. I like that you've learned it already. That's awesome. Andy LaRusso says good stuff, Brian. Thank you. Andy. Yeah. Wait till you listen to Crystal. Oh, you think what I had to say was good? No, no, no. All right. Yes. Crystal, you are an amazing young woman. And what I want to do is introduce you in the way that would be respectful and proper, because it it embeds a wonderful story about you that we want to dig a little deeper into as well. Would that be okay?

Christelle Biiga:
Yes. Let's do it.

Brian Kelly:
All right. Crystal is a former corporate manager who is now an expert speaker and CEO of Exposure Maven, an agency that helps entrepreneurs, coaches, and authors boost their visibility and growth by booking them on top tier podcasts. This is a phenomenal service, ladies and gentlemen. Born and raised in Africa, Crystal embarked on a daring journey for the American dream, battling language barriers and unjust accusations. She endured nine months in detention before emerging victorious. There is a unbelievable story behind that, with a remarkable career, um, and transitioning from corporate management to motivational speaking, Crystal's compelling story of triumph over adversity has captivated audiences globally. And I know it will you too. As a sought after expert speaker, she has graced countless podcasts around the world and earned features and earned features in several magazines as well. Phenomenal. Drawing from her own experiences, Crystal recognized the transformative power of strategic exposure in elevating brands and propelling entrepreneurs toward success. This realization fueled her vision to establish Exposure Maven, where she empowers clients by strategically connecting them with relevant podcasts to share their expertise and reach their target audiences effectively. Yes. And with that, ladies and gentlemen, officially, formally the amazing Crystal Vega. She is here on our stage. Can you believe it? This is awesome.

Christelle Biiga:
Thank you. Brian.

Brian Kelly:
So, Crystal, I know when we first met, uh, literally like half an hour ago, 36 minutes ago or so, I was so, like, intrigued by that. What? I just read the part about adversity and the part that you were in a detention center, I'm like, what the heck happened? And then you went on to tell me what happened. And my jaw, I still haven't lifted it off the ground. It was just open and broken the whole time. Like, are you kidding me? If you wouldn't mind, I know you've probably told this story hundreds of times. It's a powerful story that will help everyone realize that. Look, if someone can do it, like after going through what Crystal has been through, then who am I to say I can't do it as well? It's so inspiring. Would you mind telling us what happened, crystal? Like you were in you were in Cameroon, in Africa, and then you decided to follow your dream as a as a little girl, to come to America to to help lives, improve lives. And then you landed in LAX. And then what happened from there?

Christelle Biiga:
Yes, I landed at LAX. Uh, at the time, I could barely speak English, so maybe I said something that triggered the immigration officer who accused me of coming here to work as a prostitute, and he tried to get me deported. I remember him, he was a big, tall guy. So the moment he wanted to break the news to me, he had to go with his hands on the table to be eye level with me. And he told me straight up, you know what? I think you came here to work as a prostitute. Okay, that was interesting. And before I know it, he had called two female officers to perform a body search on me. And that's when I started knowing that, okay, I'm in L.A., but this is not a movie. This is happening. I'm getting a body search, so I guess I'm getting arrested. And yes, they put handcuffs on me and I was transferred to another office where they decided to send me a detention center until a judge finally makes a decision to. I agree with him and get me deported because I was coming here to work as a prostitute or let me stay. So that's how I ended up in the detention center, where I spent nine months before winning my case. So yeah.

Brian Kelly:
I mean, I mean, think about this. Everyone watching, everyone listening. You come to another country, you don't know the language, you don't speak it. You're being accused of of something that. Like what? Where did that come from? Uh, there was no reason. Uh, they they found nothing. Uh, that was out of sorts in your luggage. Didn't look like you had. You had normal clothes according to what you told me earlier. And there was nothing there. Like, I wonder.

Christelle Biiga:
Like a proof that I'm a prostitute because my clothes were too normal.

Brian Kelly:
So this guy had it out for you for some reason. I mean, um, how how like, I mean, unbelievable, unbelievable. And so you're here. You can't speak the language. You probably don't understand them saying what they're saying, right? Very much.

Christelle Biiga:
Not very well know very well. Because if, again, it was the first time for me to really be with Americans because, you know, we learn English at school, but the accent is different. So yeah, it wasn't clear for me what was actually happening.

Brian Kelly:
Oh my gosh. And you, do you mind if I ask how old you were when this happened?

Christelle Biiga:
I need to do the math. Let's see. 2015. How old? How old was I in 2015? They said, okay, uh, I was born in 1983. Whoever wants to help me with the math. And that was in 2015. Yes. Uh, let me just put it out there.

Brian Kelly:
You are a very young woman. You're here with nobody else. There's no family with you, no friends. You're 100% by yourself. You don't speak the language. And now you're being put into what they call a detention center. What would you call it?

Christelle Biiga:
It was a prison. Listen, that was just a fancy name to say, oh, we are different than actual criminals because we are in immigration proceedings, so it's not the same. But. It was the same, right? We were wearing uniforms. Ugly uniforms, I should say. We had limited time outside of the building, outside of our. Because we're all sleeping on bed bunks in a big room, all the immigrants that were there waiting to be processed. So we had two hours a day to take fresh air. We had specific times in the day to get in the shower and it was for a limited time. We have one hour to watch TV. We were being counted at 5 a.m. in the morning, just to make sure that no one ran away in the night. And yeah, I mean, I haven't been in prison yet, but I'm not sure it's too different. So yeah, they called it detention. They didn't want us to be called prisoners. But again, I mean different names, same things. Yeah.

Brian Kelly:
And you also described that you there were two buildings where you were at. You were in one with the immigrant detainees and the other one was for actual criminals. And you were saying they were actually given more freedoms than you guys were?

Christelle Biiga:
Yes. That was interesting. They had longer yard time, right? We just had two hours a day. They probably had five hours a day, you know, outside. Sometimes we'd be in our building looking at them, enjoying themselves outside, and they'd be like, who is a prisoner here? And they could, you know, participate to activities like maybe go cook in the kitchen or help with laundry. We wanted to be used to to perform those chores because that will give us something to do. They could do those things. We couldn't. So we were sitting in the room the whole time doing nothing or just, yeah, just waiting to be given the two hours to go. I would fresh air or go crazy. Yeah. So the prisoners had have more freedom and movements than we did so and this.

Brian Kelly:
Went on for nine months. So you got your first court date and what happened then, when you went to see the judge for the first time?

Christelle Biiga:
When I went to see the judge. Okay, first of all. I want people to understand that sometimes people say, oh, you were so brave. I wasn't. I was crying like a baby. Okay, let's just put it out there. But the people, the other detainees that I met, they're kind of prepped me. They try their best to tell me what to expect, because, again, I didn't know what to expect. So I want to go to court. They tell me how it works. They tell me you go to court for the judge first, to even decide if you are even allowed to say, stay in the immigration proceedings. Because if you go there and you don't make sense, they will just send you back. So they prepared me. I went there, told my story how everything happened at LAX, and they said, okay, we're going to open your case and see how it goes. So that was the first encounter. I had to first even deserve to stay in detention. That was the first court about, are you even allowed to waste our time here being in detention? Or you should just go back now. So I passed that part and I was supposed after that to because again, there was no case. So unlike the other detainees that were there that, you know, cross the border or whatever, however they came here, I was different. I had a visa, so I was legally supposed to be here. It was. Wow. So it didn't make sense for me to be with them. So they were giving me a lot of hope, saying, you know what? You shouldn't even be here. So after the first court, because when you go to court, they assign you an immigration officer that now is in charge of your case. They say, well, your officer will just maybe require documents from you to have a sponsor, someone that you can stay with until you know the continue your case. There's no reason for you to be here. So I was full of hope and thinking, okay. I didn't do anything wrong, so it should be fine. They should release me. So contacted my family.

Christelle Biiga:
My brother found a friend here who said, yeah, of course I will, uh, you know, be her sponsor so that she can really be released on parole. He sent all the documents they were asking. He was a nurse, so had a good job. So he said, no problem. He sent all the documents and they denied my parole. And I was dying. I was like, this is not happening. I'm not staying in jail. There is no way. And the reason I asked my officer what happened, what went wrong, I provided everything and he said, I can't tell you, but it is based on what was put in your file from LAX. I was like, what did they put in my file? And nobody was. Nobody could tell me. I found that eight months in. Why they couldn't give me release me on parole. That's when finally, one day in court, the judge told me that that officer put in my file that I came here with, uh, an illegal visa or something. And then I had to tell the judge, this is not even. I don't even know what it is about. I was given a visa in an American consulate in my country. So the judge was like, so if we call the consulate in your country, they will confirm. They give you a visa, say, yep, please go ahead, call them please. So he said okay. That was the only time they gave me an appointment after two weeks. Okay. We're going to contact them and get the information. Come back in two weeks. So I was happy. I was like, oh, finally. Now that I know why exactly I'm in jail because of whatever that officer put in my file. Once they find out my visa is legit, I'll be out. That wasn't happening. So I came back two weeks later. The judge said, well, you were right. We contacted, you know, the consulate in your country. They confirmed they gave you a visa. And now, well, it's kind of tricky because you had a one year visa and you're already eight months ins in, so we don't know.

Christelle Biiga:
What do you think? What do you think we should do now? Right. So, um, if we we I can't release you right now. It's just that, well, you just have four months left on your visa. I don't think it's really fair for you. And the other option will be to continue with your case. And if you win, you will get your green card right away. Like. Okay, that's option sounds more appealing because I already spent eight months in jail. Okay, might as well make it make sense. So I said okay. In that case, I will just finish my case. Okay? Come back next month. That's when I went back to court. Luckily I won my case. And yeah, that's why I'm here today. So yeah, it was fun.

Brian Kelly:
Here, here's something I think that's going to floor. A lot of people that you shared with me is anytime during that nine month stint of sitting there, having nothing to do, going, I'm, I'm imagining going mad. You could have at any point decided, you know what, just deport me and they will let me. They would let you go immediately and they would send you back home and you decided, no, I'm going to stick it out. And so if you wouldn't mind sharing the story about what? What the heck drove you to say, I still want to. I still want to pursue my dream here in America, even though this first experience of America wasn't all that great. And now I'm here for Up, and you didn't know it was going to be nine months. At the time, you had no idea. But at the same time, you could have at any moment said, I'm done. I'm going to go back home. Why didn't. You?

Christelle Biiga:
Yes, yes. And first of all, we need to come go back to the reason why I decided to come here in the first place. As I was sharing with you, you know, before we came live, that was just, uh, a dream from a little girl that I was, you know, I was that strange little girl who will see adults on the street and wonder, is this person happy? Did it make sense? Because adults should worry about kids? But I was a kid that was worrying about adults being happy. So that question was always in my heart. Even though my brain will kick in. And I know your listeners can relate, sometimes you have something that is coming and your brain tries to make it make sense, so bring you valid reasons to not even pursue it. And the my brain will tell me, Crystal, you don't even know them. Why do you care? So I will try to move on. And then I grew up with that question, always in the back of my mind. And in my late teens, I started noticing the influence of people like Rihanna. Of course, Oprah was already big, but Rihanna, especially on my generation. Because anytime Rihanna will have a new hairstyle, we will all have to have that hairstyle. Okay, so when I will go to bed at night, I will think about those things and just ask, say, say to myself, if I had that level of influence, if I had could be seen by people like that around the world, I could actually help them improve the quality of their lives and be happy. And again, my brain will kick in and remind me that I don't think so. I'm not the next reader. And there is only one Oprah, so I will sleep on that. But eventually I say to myself, you know what? If I have if I, I want to give it a shot. If I want to give myself a chance to actually impact people's lives at the level that Rihanna in the US is impacting us in Cameroon, I need to go to the place where it's happening, where they said, anyone can become anything. Where is that the United States, right?

Christelle Biiga:
So I said, okay, I'm moving to the US. That's what brought me. So when I got arrested and I ended up in a detention center, that's one of the reasons why I couldn't just sign that deportation paper. Because my vision, I was closer to my vision even though I was in detention center. Then go back. And I want you, the listeners that you have. I know your audience. You have entrepreneurs there that can relate to this, where you have this big goal, that big vision for yourself. You start a business, you have all these great things you want to make happen and you face challenges. Sometimes you even have people around you telling you, just go, get back, go, just go back and get a job. Why are you putting yourself through this? And that's the conversation that was going on in my mind. Why do you go through this? You can't just go back to your country, continue whatever you were doing. You were doing there being around your friends and family. Why are you going through this and the. Temptation was there to sign that paper to go for the easy route. But again, my vision was strong enough for me to keep going. And that's why it's so important to be following something that's coming from your heart, instead of copying what other people around you are doing. Because when it's your vision, when it's your dream, when it's your desire, whenever whatever happens, you have more. You are more determined to see it through whatever challenge you have to go through. And that's where I was. That's what made me, even though I had that option on the table, to just say, you know what? This is my only shot because if I get deported, I will not only be able to apply for another visa after ten years. So this is the closest that I am to achieving my my vision. So that's what kept me going. My vision.

Brian Kelly:
Holy moly, how inspirational. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I want you to really let that sink in. She. My God, you had. No, you had you. It didn't matter what you did. If you stayed, you suffered. If you went home, you knew that your dream was shattered for at least ten years. You were like. And you're there alone, literally alone. Nobody. And you could barely speak the language. And you're a young woman by yourself, I can't imagine I, I don't even want to know what you had to go through. And I'm sure and thank you for being open to going back and revisiting these times, because you are very astute and you know that what your story does is help others. It gives them hope. It gives them, um, just yeah, it gives them a lot of hope and the and desire to say, look, you know, I do have a compelling why I have a compelling reason. So if you just stick to it no matter what. And that's what Crystal has done everyone she's stuck. I know nobody that went through anything like this and and was so determined because her why was so absolutely strong, so absolutely clear in her mind. You know, she was saying the little girl in her was telling her, uh, you know, that's her when she was younger. I mean, yeah, what little girl is looking at adults wondering if they're happy? I mean, that told me a lot right there. What makes you, uh, unique and what makes you you and your desire really stems from wanting to help other people to become happier, even as you are going through a literal hell here on earth, you are still sticking it out so you can help others. What does that say to people, I wonder out there watching and listening about this young woman. It speaks volumes to me personally. And I don't, you know, I would say I don't know and I don't or I wouldn't say, I don't know. I don't care what she does for a business, if she has anything that would solve an issue that I need, I'm going to her first. If there are two or 5 or 10 or 15 or 20 of them, because of what she's been through and her desire to help others, it's it's amazing because if that's what drives her, how do you think she's going to treat you when you become her client?

Brian Kelly:
I mean, it's this important. Uh. She's authentic. And that. See, I'm everything I'm saying about her is you should be taking notes and saying, this is what I need to do. So if you're living a different life, if you're living a life that you think others want you to live, if you're being somebody that you think other people want you to be. Maybe take a step back and look at that and go, you know, you're gonna ruffle some feathers. Some people that you've run with are not going to run, run with you anymore, because now you're changed to the real you. And that that can be a little bit painful. But think about Crystal, think about nine months and just do it. Oh man this is awesome. Woo oh this is this is amazing. And you are amazing. And I want to now um say you're very welcome. It's so deserving. Yes. Oh amen. Powerful lady. Lady Andy LaRusso is saying thank you Andy. Thank you Andy. Yes. So agree. So agree. And you know you're going not going to you're already are changing lives because you are helping entrepreneurs to get greater exposure. That's one of the reasons I do this show is for you to get exposure. It's the same exact type of approach and you are your business. And correct me if I'm wrong and I'm going to actually turn it over to you to let you describe it. But in a nutshell, what your business is, is, um, one of the things you offer is a service of getting entrepreneurs on other podcasts that suit them, that are strategically correct, that will get them seen by other individuals, that they potentially didn't have the reach to be seen by and help them to further their, you know, sprout their wings and grow their business by doing that kind of thing. Is that is that in a nutshell? Correct? My close.

Christelle Biiga:
Yes. Yes. You're pretty close and I really. Love how you were talking about, you know, how maybe someone listening to my story right now could look back. Because sometimes. I hope people don't have the same story of being in jail or in detention as they were calling it, but. I just want you to know. Understand why today it's so easy for me to talk about it, and I'm even. I'm even intentionally sharing that story over and over again. It's because after I left, as you can imagine, it was traumatic enough, so I didn't even want anybody to know about it. Maybe someone in the in the audience can relate to that. Sometimes you are a victim of something, but someway, somehow you have shame around it. It feels like you did something wrong even though you didn't. In my case, I checked all the boxes. I thought having a visa was enough and I ended up in jail. So the first I didn't want to talk about it until when I decided to leave my corporate job and start my coaching business. I decided to promote it as a speaker and getting on podcasts. And when I was going on podcasts, I was just talking about how about how my coaching works. And I was on a show on a podcast April or May 2020. If you remember anything about 2020, you know, that's the time where we were getting our feet wet with all the lockdowns and the people losing their jobs. So it was scary time. So a lot of people and during that interview, I found myself sharing that story for the first time. I was the first surprised that it was happening, but it was such a perfect timing to remind people that yes, this is scary. No one saw this coming, especially in 2020. People had big dreams for 2020. It was like a special year. People had 2020 as the year where it's going to happen and then the pandemic hit. So I use that story to remind people that, yes, sometimes life happens. You might do everything right, check all the boxes, follow all the steps, have the perfect strategy, and life can still happen.

Christelle Biiga:
And when life does happen, it's your invitation to show up stronger. It's your invitation to just power up, not give up. And my story was that perfect reminder of look, I checked all the boxes, I got my visa and I came here legally, yet I was put in jail just like I came here illegally. Life happened and now it was up to me at that moment to decide what was going to happen, give up or see it through. So that's why I love, you know, not only being on podcast, but also giving that exposure to other experts, because I know from that show how many people were encouraged, how many people just got that boost of, you know, inspiration to be like, there is a way out of this and I will find it, right? So that's what allowed me to connect the dots, being on podcasts and sharing my story on on stages and hearing the feedback, I realized that, oh my gosh, this is a way for my little girl to make strangers happy. And eventually I'll realize that my story can be inspiring, can motivate people, can help people in a certain way, but I cannot help them with their finances. I cannot help them improve the quality of their relationships. It cannot help them improve their health if that's what they need. But there are other experts out there with those skills who can do those things. And how can I make those people happy is by putting those experts in front of them so they can help them with those things that they need in their lives. So that's why my agency for me is, again, sometimes I tell people, yeah, this is my little girl's dream, right? Even when I was coming here and had no clue how I was going to make it happen. But this is the answer to that, and I feel so happy to have the opportunity and the privilege to showcase those experts. And sometimes people ask me, who do you who is your ideal client? And I say, heart centered people. Mhm. I don't care what you don't want to know, that you have it in your heart to help people. Because when I give you that exposure, when I book you on those, those big podcasts with a large enough audience, I know I'm putting you in front of people who need help.

Christelle Biiga:
So I want to know that you are heart centered, that you really care about providing the best, about providing the right support, and so that together we can just help as many people as possible be happier. So yeah, that's what Exposure Maven is all about, giving that visibility to heart centered experts so that we can help as many people as possible.

Brian Kelly:
Uh, absolutely love all of that. And I can't imagine, um, you know, the, the people that you are helping as a result of this and, you know, it's it's so refreshing to hear things like that. My avatar, my, my client, my ideal clients are those that are heart centered, expert's, heart centered, being everything, the center of everything you do. And, you know, think about what would not have happened had you not gone through that horrifying nine month experience. You know, there are so many people that they seem to, um, create massive success for themselves. By building upon a tragedy that happened in their life. And I'll kid you not, I'm not going to ask for a tragedy. But there are times I'm thinking maybe I need a tragedy to happen in my life for. Something to happen. You know, all these people that are like, crushing it had something horrible or difficult to overcome. And then I look back and go, man, I can think of a couple, actually. Yeah. But, you know, and there's no way to compare, right, to nine months detention, wrongful detention and what you went through to anything anyone else is experiencing. But it is a you know, it's like, uh oh, I can't think I'm trying to think of the guy's name, but he wrote a book, many books, and he said a setback is a setup for a comeback. And it's just genius. And that's the way it is. And you said a very, um, oh my gosh, a very powerful world word. And it started with a D said, I can decide. And that's what it usually comes down to for entrepreneurs is, you know, we're always faced every single day with issues. Um, and there are times where there are things that like knock us backward and yeah, we can get upset. We are humans. We have emotions. We're not robots. But how long are you going to hold on to that negative emotion? When are you going to make that decision to move on and away and forward from it, learn from it and move on versus embrace it and cry about it and and then let it take you down. The thing is, is we have the power to decide our own destiny.

Brian Kelly:
It is absolutely true. And people think, oh, you're it's a bunch of woo woo stuff, Brian. It's not it's really not. It's really simple. It's the decisions we make every day. And those pebbles get stacked and which, which, which pile are you stacking onto? You know, the ones that are empowering, that are going to lift you and others around you or the other ones are just going to say, woe is me and I'm a victim. And I mean, yes, my gosh, Krystal was a victim. Holy moly. Uh, absolutely no denying she was a victim. But listen, look at her. Watch her now and notice that she is not worried about it at all. Um, she is using it to her advantage. She's not saying, look, uh, woe is me at all. I don't I don't get that at all. She's almost coming off saying without saying it out loud. I'm kind of glad this happened, because now I can use this to help more people, because this story resonates with so many people. Because it's over with now. Thank God, thank God.

Christelle Biiga:
Thank goodness. Yeah, but you're right. I'm glad. Because sometimes, of course, when you are in the fire, you don't really appreciate it. But when you look back, that's what all the lessons are. And you need you need an experience, not a traumatic one. Always. Hopefully you will not have to have that. But you always have those experiences, those challenging moments in your life to have the tools that you need for the next steps. That's the only reason. Sometimes I say we don't give ourselves enough credit. If, for example, someone would have told me when I was planning to move to the US, okay, sit down, let me tell you. Or even at the consulate that day when they were giving me my visa, they said, okay, we're giving you the visa, but this is what's going to happen. We're going to land at LAX. You'll be arrested, put in jail for nine months before I be like, well, wait a minute, wait a minute now. Thank you. I'm out. Right. Because I would have said nine months in jail. There is no way I would survive one night in jail. And that's what we think of ourselves sometimes we think we are not capable of. We can't do it. We don't have what it takes. We are not equipped enough. We are not skilled enough. Whatever story you have, you are entertaining right now. Let me just tell you that you don't. You're not giving yourself enough credit. And that's why sometimes life has to step in and put you in a situation where you have to see your power. And that's where I was put. I was put in that situation for me to see my power, not just think about it, but actually experience it. Because again, if they had asked me, I would have said, there's no way, cannot do it. I will not survive. But when I was put in that situation, I made it, I survived that, I won. So when you are, if you are going, I hope you're not. But if you're listening to this and you are going through a challenging time, I have hearing people saying this year has been really difficult.

Christelle Biiga:
If that's your experience, I just want to encourage you that this is your opportunity to see your real power. Don't take it as a way for life to break you down because that's what's happening. Life is just opening your eyes to your potential. Life is just opening your eyes to what you are really capable of. And if you just make a decision to see it through, you'll be amazed. You will look back one day and say, I am glad I was given this opportunity. Yes you might. That might sound insane for me to say I'm glad I went through that, but I am actually glad because there are so many things to up to. Because, for example, I didn't mention that to you, Brian, but when I was there, one of the things I mentioned, how the other detainees were kind of briefing me to what was, you know, what to expect. One of the things they told me was nobody wins. Their case here doesn't happen. Even when they have a lawyer, they can't. So I knew, okay, they told me nobody wins their case. That doesn't happen. So of course, who am I? But because I had to win, they had denied my parole, remember? So there was no other way for me to get out. They gave me a fine. I went for a bond hearing once. I was like, okay, if they give me a reasonable amount, I can get my family to maybe send some money to pay. They charge me. They ask me to pay a $20,000 bond to be released. Okay. Well, what else. Was I supposed to get $20,000 from? Right? So I had no other way than to win. That's why all the other doors were closed. So at that moment, even the story of nobody wins here couldn't be enough for me anymore. So when I went to court that day, it was, I have to win because I have no other other option to be released. If I didn't win and I won, which was a surprise for everyone else there. But it also opened their eyes because the moment I win, I won my case.

Christelle Biiga:
When they said it was impossible, people who started going to court afterwards started winning. Mhm. So I don't know what you think right now is impossible. All you have been told maybe the start. Sometimes I talk with people who say well the stats say this based on this, based on my background really my forget about it. Just give it a shot. Because if I had listened to the stats Yeah, if I had looked to the past experience of other people, I would have not won my case. And the impact that started after that was testimony that people just sometimes need one person to do it. So maybe no one else has ever done it before. But how? How about you do it? And that today, when I say I'm grateful for that experience that has set up something in my brain, when someone tells me you can't do this, in the back of my mind, I think you watch me. Yeah, you watch me. I have to make this happen now just for the sake of it.

Brian Kelly:
And that creates yet another internal, powerful drive. I mean, beliefs can be so powerful, whether correct or incorrect, you know, limiting beliefs. Uh, there was a, you know, for, for a long, long, long time, runners could not break the six minute barrier of running a mile because the outstanding belief by experts were if you ever ran that hard, the human body couldn't withstand it and your heart would literally explode. Until one day a gentleman by the name of Richard Bannister, he broke the six minute barrier and shortly after he did it, a multitude of additional people did win for decades. No one did because of that internal stinking thinking. I like to call it, telling them that, you know, something bad's going to happen, like with you, and they're telling you no one ever has one, and you're not going to win either. Uh, and my gosh, you know, no different. You didn't see any success stories to put Ley onto, but you had to you had no choice. It's either I win or I or God. I don't even know what the alternative would be. What if you lost? I mean, yeah, what.

Christelle Biiga:
If I lost? I would that would mean I'm going back to Cameroon after nine months in jail. So what was the use? So I was that rage of does it. I cannot spend nine months in jail for no reason, right? Right. If it was to go back, I should have just gone back the next week. So after nine months, I can't. It cannot go to waste. It's not an option. I didn't come this far to come this far.

Brian Kelly:
That's right. So this is so, um, powerful because. And you've already related it so well and so beautifully to business and entrepreneurship that, you know, that's what it takes to succeed you. You just have to not accept defeat. It doesn't mean you won't hit those bumps in the road, the setbacks that the failures, even though people don't like to say the word failure, they're micro failures. You learn from what didn't work and you just know to move on and fail faster, do more things, and do it with um without worrying about succeeding at every turn. That's what held me back for forever. Crystal was I was this perfectionist and I wanted a winning record with zero losses. You know, everything I ever did. And if I had a loss, man, that really knocked me back and I felt horrible. And then I finally got great coaching and realized I should be losing every single day, multiple times a day, learning from it and getting closer to that prize. It's like, get over the ego. That's what it is. It's ego. And oh my gosh. So you have helped a numerous entrepreneurs to get their word out. Spread the word by getting them placed on podcasts. Is there is there a story that sticks out to you of any of those? Maybe there's more than one story that you would like to share about a client who came in and said, this is my situation, Crystal, can you help me? And then, well, you would you would know the story, not me. But does anything stick out?

Christelle Biiga:
Yeah. My favorite story. Not not as you. Just in case I have clients listening. Don't think your story is not good enough, but. The one that I like to share is the story of one client who had never been on a podcast before. And the reason why I like to share that story is because sometimes people think, oh, because I've never done it, I cannot do it. And I hear that a lot. I'm not ready. My story is not good enough. My message is not on point yet. So I had this client who came in, never been on a podcast before, but knew it was going to help their business. So we started working together, and the very first podcast that I got them booked on was a top 2.5% podcast, and they went there. The interview, they did so great during the interview, first time ever on a podcast. They did so great that the host kept them after the interview and they discussed collaboration. So that was that's just a story that I love to share, because it just to encourage anyone listening and thinking, I'm not ready. I promise you, you're ready. Whatever you know right now is good enough for you to put it out there in the world.

Brian Kelly:
Yeah, it's like the old adage there is, you know, it's not the right time. It's not the right time to have a baby. It's not the right time to start a business. It's not the right time to get married. You know what? There's never the right time. So you just have to do it. You have to just take action and get past it. And, uh, you know, when you go through something like Crystal has been through, where winning is the only option, there is no you can't fail. It's flat out not going to happen then. Then it becomes, you know, there's only one option. From that point forward, I'm going to succeed no matter what. And you did it. You succeeded. And I'm sure that, like you said, that triggers something in your brain that said, hey, I did it once. Now the rest of these are going to be like, you know, give me a break. I got this one. Oh my goodness. And so, uh, real quick, I want to say it out loud for those listening on, on podcasts uh, only or listening on audio exposure maven.com. So that's exposure maven Maven. Com and so what is we're not done yet. What is one of the best ways for folks to get in touch with you. Crystal. So that they can start down the journey of getting more exposure for their business?

Christelle Biiga:
Yes. The best way to get in touch with me is to find me. If you're watching me now on LinkedIn or Facebook, just DM me and let's have a conversation. If you decide to visit my website that Brian just, uh, named for you, go there and send an inquiry to the website and let and let's connect. That's those are the easiest way to do that. And also I have a workshop. When you look at the home page of the website, you will see a button there where you can sign up to attend the free workshop that I host, where I teach people how to, you know, secure podcast appearances because I just want you to put yourself out there. So if you want to do it yourself, fine, I want to I invite you to sign up to attend that workshop where I teach you all the steps that you need to take to secure podcast appearances and start promoting your business.

Brian Kelly:
I love it, I'm going to leave that page up, so I'll sign up here after we sign off. And that's what I love about what I get to do is, you know, meet amazing individuals like yourself. And I just I also want to make a quick point to everyone watching and listening. Uh, Crystal is not a solopreneur. She has an entire team. She's not a fake it til you make it. She's a bonafide. And I'm not. I'm not saying bad things about anyone who is a solopreneur. We've all been there at one point in time for sure. Uh, and to see that she has a team, that means she has to develop systems and training and leadership skills and all the things that people don't realize that being an entrepreneur takes a lot of energy. It takes a lot of self personal development and your own business development. It takes getting coaches. It takes shedding your ego. It takes being told no multitude of times and still getting up and going after it. It takes a lot. And Crystal, you are so impressive because I can tell you've been through that process and you are now.

Christelle Biiga:
And that's why I usually tell people entrepreneurship is the biggest personal development journey.

Brian Kelly:
Oh baby, is it ever? Yes.

Christelle Biiga:
Because yep, you have to. You learn so much about yourself. You have to get over yourself so many times that you grow. You have no option than grow. Personally when you're an entrepreneur.

Brian Kelly:
It couldn't have said it better. Yeah. There. Yeah it is. That's why there aren't as as many of us out there, there aren't a larger percentage. It is not for everybody. And and it's okay if it's not for you that you're watching or listening. Don't don't let that, uh, guilt you out of anything. But if you have if you're adverse to taking risks and I'm not talking about, you know, getting, you know, losing your home kind of risk or losing your job kind of risk, but risk little micro risk as you go along. Uh, and sometimes the bigger ones are the ones that help pay off, because when you have more skin in the game, you do a lot more to make it happen. Like if you're sitting in a detention center for nine months and you have no other choice but to get out. And so yeah, it is a wonderful journey, though I love it. I love it every day. There's always a different challenge, whether it be with a client, whether it be with building out a new system or a product, or whether it be with working with my team, you know, things happen and now it's like, okay, now I got to focus on leadership. I got to correct this action. Okay. Now the product. Okay. There's something not working. I got to figure that out. Okay. Now there's a client has an issue or I want to improve their it just I love that because there's so much going on all the time. Others are like no, I just want to sit down and do my 9 to 5 and go straight and do the straight and narrow, do what I'm told and and get my paycheck every week. You get a paycheck on a regular basis. Nothing wrong with that at all. But, um, goodness, I'm looking at the time. So we do have a gift to give away. And that's at five night stay at a five star luxury resort. Uh, and I cannot wait to give that away. We still have folks watching. Excuse me? Losing my voice. That means I'm talking too much. And, uh, there's always that sign, you know, when you're, uh, leading the podcast, like.

Brian Kelly:
Relax, Brian, take it easy. Uh, so, um, I have a question that I ask at the end of every show. Crystal. Uh, and it came about in an interesting way. I've been doing this show now for over five years, which I it blows my mind that it's been going that long in a, in a good way. And I asked this question on a rare occasion, uh, or on occasion, not rare, but, um, I started. Taking note of the answers. The responses like, wow, they were profound. And I thought, you know what? That's such a good question because of the answers that I'm going to close every show going forward with that one question. And it's it's wonderful. It's a doozy. You're going to love it. Um, let's see what we got going on. All right. I was looking at another, uh, message from a listener. Uh, viewer. Andy LaRusso is also on LinkedIn. He's watching us from two different areas at the same time. I love it. And so this question is very profound because, well, you'll find out in a minute. And so before we do that, though, I did promise everyone who stayed on with us live till the end that they could enter to win a five night stay at a five star luxury resort, compliments of Reach Your Peak. And so I'm going to bring that up on the screen right now. And here's the thing. Remember when I started the show I said, write things down. Don't go to websites. Don't go looking for books. Don't do any of that until after the show is over. And the same holds true here. Write this down when I give it to you. And then once we actually finish the show and you see we're no longer live, that's the time to enter. We have a team. We'll be monitoring those entries as they come in. Sound good? So be sure to write this down. I'll put it up on the screen for those of you watching live, if you're not watching live, you should be, because then you could enter to win. And here it is.

Brian Kelly:
Oh excuse me, here's the URL rip.im/vacation as the voice continues to fade. Rip dot I'm forward slash vacation. A little squirt there and uh, I can't wait to see who wins. Going to recover the throat a little bit because I want to get this question in. It's a big. Now here's a cool a couple cool things about this question, crystal. One is there is no such thing as a wrong answer. It's not a quiz, it's not a test, and none of that. In fact, the exact opposite is is the case. And that is the only correct answer is yours because it will be unique to you. And oh my gosh, you're such a unique individual in such a beautiful way. This is going to be I cannot wait, I cannot wait, this is going to be good. Um, and the other thing is you might have the answer like instantly. Some get it instantly, some ponder for a bit even. That is absolutely perfect because it's your answer once again. So there's absolutely no pressure. I know there's been a lot of build up to it though, and you're like going, oh my God, what is this question going to be? Because everyone's like, just ask the question already, Brian. Let's be over with it. So with that, are you ready, crystal? Yes. Here we. Go. Crystal. How do you. Define success.

Christelle Biiga:
I will say success is, um. Living a happy life. Because when you are able to leave happy relationships beginning with the one with yourself. You do a job or a business that makes you happy. You are happy with your achievements. I think you are successful. You're not successful because you are hitting someone else's marks or goals. You are not successful in my opinion, because you are doing the things that people expect you to do. But you are successful because you're doing the things that make you happy. So that's my definition of success. Living a life that makes you happy.

Brian Kelly:
Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. You know one of the greatest things about that question is to date and I've been doing this, this ending the show this way for several years now. No two people have answered that exactly the same way yet. It's amazing. And the cool thing is what your definition is today of success. I guarantee six months to a year from now it will be a different answer. That's the beauty of this question because it's a living, breathing, uh, answer. It's always changing and ebbing and flowing as we ebb and flow and grow. So oh my gosh, Crystal, I cannot tell you how grateful I am for you coming on and gracing our stage here tonight. You've been amazing. Like, oh my gosh, I'm going to jump on and see what your, uh, workshop is all about. I love learning from others. I learn a ton from my guests and, uh, you are just a gem. I don't know how else to say it. You are. You are the bright light in the room that. Thank you for enduring. Thank you for making that decision to stick it out. Thank you for suffering for nine months so that you could then land here, be here and serve others the way you are doing it. You are just amazing. I don't I don't have enough adjectives for you. So thank you so very much for coming on. You're you're just ah yeah. I if we, if we could bottle up a person and and just say here, here's a piece of crystal. You need some of this, you know, just pour them, pour you into them and say, okay, now now we're doing good. Oh, that. Would be. But the best.

Christelle Biiga:
Thing. Thank you Brian, thank you. You made this experience wonderful. You know, the whole process of being on this show is so thought about and just makes things easy for the guests. And it shows how much you care about delivering quality, um, content for your audience. So they should be happy they are part of your audience for sure. Whoever's listening. If you're not a subscriber yet, I don't know what you're thinking about. But yeah, Brian really puts a lot of intention to make this a great experience, both for the host, for the guests, but also for you, the viewers and the listeners. So thank you, Brian, for that. And thank you for allowing me to discuss have this conversation with your audience.

Brian Kelly:
Oh, Crystal, you are just my gosh. I mean, look, this shows for me to give you the exposure, lift you up and you just did. So that's exactly you know, we both do the same thing, don't we? You do it for your your clients. I do it for mine. And that's what drives us, um, heart centered, loving to help others. Ah, I could go on for another three hours with you, Crystal. And I know you're on the West coast. I'm on the East coast, so it's later here, but I could still keep going, so we'll just go another couple of hours. I'm kidding. Or we're going to, um, basically we're going to sign off. We're going to respect everyone's time. They knew it was an hour show. And I want to respect Crystal, and I want to respect your time. And thank you once again for coming on. That is it. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the amazing Crystal Vega, I am your host, Brian Kelly of the Mind Body Business Show, and we will be back again one week from today with another amazing guest. They have a lot to live up to, to, to follow up on Crystal. So that's going to be a big, big order to follow. But that is it. Until next time, please do just two things. That's all I ask. Two things. Number one, go out and crush it even more in your business so you can serve more people. And number two, above everything else, please be blessed. So long everybody have a great one. Thank you for tuning in to the Mind Body Business Show podcast at the Mind Body Business Show.com. My name is Brian Kelly.

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