This week on The Fire Inside Her, host Diane Schroeder is joined by Christiane Schroeter for a deeply insightful conversation that's sure to ignite your spirit. As we navigate the twists and turns of aging, Christiane is her to illuminate the path with her vibrant expertise on leading a fulfilling life despite the inevitable changes our bodies undergo. From her refreshing take on embracing these shifts to the essential nature of self care routines, this episode is a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone looking to age with grace and joy. Plus, don't miss out on the intriguing origins of the name "Schroeter" and how it weaves into their shared history – a charming interlude you'll absolutely enjoy. Tune in, ignite your inner fire, and revolutionize your journey towards a healthier, happier self with Diane and Christiane.

Health & Happiness Coach Christiane Schroeter started her business as a health and fitness coach in 2013. She has degrees in Foods & Nutrition, a Ph.D. in Health Economics, and 20+ years of experience helping clients transform their daily wellness routines. Christiane has worked as a professor for 15+ years and earned multiple national and international teaching and publication awards. Most of her clients find Christiane through her Happy Healthy Hustle Podcast, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, where she shares how to nurture your health without the overwhelm.

How to connect with Christiane

https://hellohappynest.com

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@hello.happy.nest

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Happy Healthy Hustle Podcast

YouTube

Dr. Christiane Schroeter

Facebook

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www.linkedin.com/in/christianeschroeter/

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www.thefireinsideher.com 

Diane@Thefireinsideher.com 

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@TheRealFireInHer 

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www.linkedin.com/in/dianeschroeder5/

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Welcome to The Fire Inside Her, the podcast where we explore the incredible stories of individuals who have discovered their inner fire on their journey to authenticity. I'm your host, Diane Schroeder, and I am so grateful that you are here.

Hello, fiery soul. Today's episode is the type of energy that you will be able to feel from wherever you are listening. Christiane Schroeter, no relation, is an absolute light in this world. Health and happiness coach, Christiane Schroeter, started her business as a health and fitness coach in 2013. She has degrees in foods and nutrition and a PhD in health economics. Plus, she has over 20 years’ experience helping clients transform their daily wellness routines.

Christiane has worked as a professor for over 15 years and has earned multiple national and international teaching and publication awards. We bounce all over the place in our episode from aging gracefully to how income impacts food choices and, of course, the importance of self-care. But before we get into the episode, I would like to invite you to join The Fire Inside Her email community so that you can receive my mostly regular emails that provide wisdom, tools, laughter, all through my authentic lens on navigating life with intention. Head on over to thefireinsideher.com/list. And now on to my podcast date with Christiane Schroeter.

Excited today to chat with Christiane Schroeter. No relation, just another wonderful kindred spirit in the community. And Christiane, welcome. I'm so excited to have you here today.

Well, thank you so much for having me here today. I hope that all of you have a wonderful day. So far, I'm really excited to be here.

Yes. It's going to be fabulous. So, I always start with an icebreaker question. And my icebreaker question for you today is, what is your favorite coffee drink?

Oh, my favorite coffee drink. So, I actually have to say, I just recently met the famous vanilla latte. I got a coupon. I have a PhD in economics. So, that's what finally got me trying that vanilla latte, and that was the only thing I could purchase with my little coupon. And so, I thought, you know, at worst case, if I don't like it, at least it was free. But then I thought, let's just try it. And it was lovely. I really liked it. And I thought, why didn't I ever try this before in my life? I've been, like, totally on the outside looking in of all these students that always hold their vanilla latte in their hands. And finally, I'm like, part of the club. I mean, wow.

Perfect. Thank you for sharing that. And I guess I'm really curious because you have such a unique background and it's very diverse. And my first question that I have for you is, how do economics and wellness intersect?

Yeah. So, my intersection is somewhat between economics and health. And I guess I was always passionate about health and nutrition, and but I knew that I didn't want to just focus. I don't want to say just. I didn't want to focus on the science aspect only. I actually really wanted to figure out what makes people change their behavior. And if you think about it, just what I went through with my vanilla latte example, at the end of the day, if you were to have a coupon to pick up some meal for free, you would most likely do it, because, as I said, it's free, and why not try something new. So, I was really interested in what do we need to do with regard to prices or even income levels to make people eat healthier or maybe make some foods more expensive, so that people push their behavior to those healthier foods. And that was really the focus of my dissertation.

That's fascinating. You know, I graduated from the Dave Ramsey School of paying off all debt, and I did that several years ago. And I've stuck with, I pay cash when I can, although it's getting more difficult to pay cash for things. And I'm very sticky, or I'm a stickler about groceries. I have a set budget every 2 weeks, and I found that I was really afraid to go to Trader Joe's. I thought Trader Joe's would be so expensive and overpriced, and that has been the best decision I've made to start shopping there. The food is healthier. The produce is much better than anywhere else that I found out here in Colorado, and I save quite a bit of money on my grocery bill, and I feel like we eat healthier.

I didn't know that you don't have Trader Joe's there.

We do. We just got them. I just avoided it because I wasn't sure. I thought it was like, oh, some bougie Trader Joe's thing. And they opened one right up the street from the house, and I'm like, this is amazing. It's small. It has exactly what you need. And I've been very pleased with the produce particularly, and they have really good holiday treats.

I have to say it is actually German owned.

Really?

Yeah. The Aldi brothers, that you might know from the very simplistic food retail chain, Aldi, it's actually, there are 2 brothers. One of them is ruling the north of Germany and the other one in the south. They actually also own Trader Joe's, and they started moving into United States coming in from the East Coast and then slowly moving up from Los Angeles up the West Coast and anywhere in between in the Midwest. So, if you sometimes think, why is there all this fantastic holiday or seasonal goodies from Germany? It's because it is German owned, and many things come actually and are made in Germany.

That is fascinating. You know, my brother lives in Atlanta, and he loves Aldi. And he is always asking why we don't have one, so I can now answer him while we have a Trader Joe's. So, it's similar.

Yep. They're basically like, if you like Frozen, they're like Elsa and Anna. They're just variations of the same fantastic spirit.

I love that. Okay. So, tell me then a little bit about your journey to health and why it became a passion for you to help people make better choices, specifically relates to health. What's your journey? Like, why? What is your why behind what you do?

Yeah. You know, that's actually a great question because I frequently get the questions from my clients where they ask me, oh, I want to eat healthier and how can I do that? That's good. That's step 1. Right? This self-motivation. I would say an even more pressing need I see when people have maybe received from the doctor some type of warning signal. You have high blood pressure, and then they're like, Christiane, can you help me? I have high blood pressure, and I really want to do that switch. So, that's like, the double motivation. For me, I had digestive issues, and I was motivated to eat healthier to prevent stomach issues in the future.

And so, there's a lot of figuring out that happens. Of course, you look at Dr Google, and then you find some fun things, and you're like, I should try this or that. But there's also the what works for me aspect because some people tell you about things and you try it, and then you realize, oh, that didn't work so well for me. Or, you just learn more about yourself as you grow older, you also change. So, some things that might have not bothered you at all, all of a sudden start bugging you. Like, in Germany, we drink a lot of sparkling water, for instance, and I figured out that sparkling water actually really leads to bloating. And if you think about that, with the carbonation in there, you know, you ingest it. The carbonation in your stomach is, in a certain way, expanding. And there's also a lot of acidity in there, which in itself then leads to bloating. So, after a while, you just figure out these small things, and then you start to piece it together and you create your own patchwork of what works for me. And that's basically what I do with my clients, too. We make it your own journey.

So, here's another big AHA moment for me. All that fizzy water that I drink is really making me bloated.

Yes.

Damn it.

Bubbly water is not as bubbly in your stomach.

That completely makes sense too. Okay. So, I guess to drill down a little bit deeper, I'm middle age, and my body is changing in ways that I'm not super thrilled about. You had mentioned that, you know, you got to kind of patchwork what works for you, what I'm learning, and I would love for you to help my listeners understand, is number 1, it's normal. And number 2, like, how do you process that? How can you lean into, it's the privilege of getting older. Your body's going to change. You're going to get hair in places that you no longer want hair. You're going to lose hair in other places. And what you used to be able to eat is going to change, not only because of metabolism, but what are some of the other reasons and what advice can you give my listeners on aging gracefully?

A brilliant question. And I even see this in myself. Sometimes I look at pictures. We just looked at pictures with my children and, you know, like, they're brutally honest. Like, mom, you look so different there. It's like, you mean, also good? And they are like, meh, like, different. I mean, how long is that ago? And then I know, okay. I probably you're younger in that picture. Right? So, I think with regard to aging gracefully, what I really noticed, there's like, there are a few things I can prevent and a few things it just can't. Right? So, I'm a very dramatic and bubbly, using that word again from our soda person. I will probably never stop using my face as much as you already could tell. I do. And I probably should stop that because it will probably keep my face wrinkle free, but that's not who I am. I am a very dramatic person. And so, like, when I'm like, like, raising my eyebrows, I probably got more wrinkles by the minute. And you know what? That's what's going to be alright because people know that when they look at me that I'm a very vibrant individual. So, I can't stop that, and I'm just not going to worry about that. Okay?

On the flip side, what I can stop is, for instance, that I sometimes notice when I walk or when I sit or even when I stand because I stand a lot, that I tend to roll my shoulders forward. And while it didn't bother me as much, I see my children doing the same thing, I noticed that as I grow older, my shoulders start hurting more. And so, now I actually do a lot more stretching to prevent back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain. And I also started a regime to actually every morning when I get up, I have a little stretching routine. And I've been doing it for a long time. My initial goal was you're going to love about this, Diane, was to do the splits. I was like, I should learn how to do the splits. And then I started the stretching routine, and now it's just become so much more than I don't need to do the splits.

Maybe I do at some point. It will take forever. Given, you know, age, it will take a long time. But now I'm really just doing it because I love the stretches that I'm doing, and I noticed that it decreases the amount of stress that I have when I'm waking up. So, my tension in my shoulder is much better in my neck, and it's overall, much better.

Thank you. I think that's a really important message that as we grow older, it just looks a little different of what we have to do to nourish our body and take care of ourselves. And, you know, it might not be running a 5k or a 10k or whatever because it hurts, but it could be gentle stretching. And how important is having a routine, whether it be a morning routine, an evening routine, or both, in order to kind of keep that consistency and take care of yourself?

Some of the things with regard to eating?

Both. Like a morning routine of, like, when you get up, you said, you stretch. So, how important is that to whatever that routine is? Because I assume it's probably different for everyone. How important is that in the scope of taking care of yourself?

Well, so I love the question because I think one part is you have a routine, and it adds that self-care element right there. The other part of course, is that I hope that whatever you choose to do is actually really good for you. So, while I do my little stretching routine, right, my husband I was at the beginning hoping we would do this together, but that's a different story. He doesn't really want to do that. I think that there are some routines and you do it, and then you all of a sudden realize, that really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. So, it's not scary. And I think that sometimes we get, especially now, you know, like, New Year, is going on, and you get sometimes kind of overwhelmed with whatever media or other people are starting to do that you think maybe it's going to be exceptionally changing with regard to my day or what I'm actually adding. And I started, you know, when I did my stretching routine, it's 8 minutes literally.

And sometimes I'm like, you know, I really don't have time for this. And I'm like, this is ridiculous. I don't have 8 minutes? And so, you need to in a certain way, like sometimes, like, it's like the whole angel, devil on the shoulder thing. Like, nearly talk to yourself and say, no. This is good for you. It's only 8 minutes. And then the other thing is like, well but I do really need to stretch today. You could just skip it one day.

And so, in a certain way, the self-care is important, but consistency to me is the number one driver in not only changing your health and your self-care, but in also making you have a gratitude and the awareness and appreciation for following through. That's important in your business and in your life as well. So, it's not only the self-care routine, but it's also I mean, that sounds really dramatic now. But let's say by lunchtime, you feel you really didn't accomplish anything. At least you did your stretching routine. Right? I mean, it's like this little thing, and it adds like this check. I've done that. You know what? The morning was messy, but you had tick off that one thing there. Cool.

Yes. I love that. So, self-care is my jam. I love self-care. I love talking about self-care, and I love talking about it in the way, in a more practical way. Yes. Creating that morning routine, and it's really investing in yourself first, and I believe because that builds capacity in your life so that you can handle the messy mornings, so you can handle the curve balls that life is going to throw at you. While we may not know what those curve balls are going to be, it's going to happen.

And if you have that capacity in your life by prioritizing yourself first and taking that 8 minutes or 10 minutes or, you know, for me, it's a good hour every morning now, and it took me a long time to get there. Because I know that I can give myself an hour a day before I give 23 hours to everyone else. And what are, like, the unintended consequences of doing that? If you consistently invest in yourself, if you consistently take care of yourself, what are the long-term benefits?

Well, so as I said, we sometimes think, oh my gosh. I need to go to the gym every day. I need to work an hour every day. And who really has that time? It's not only the workout time. It's also the driving, there are changing clothing, etcetera time on top of that. I would say the long-term benefits are whether that's in your health and wellness or in your personal life that you realize it's small steps that really lead to a result. It's that compounding effect. It's just like whether you're saving money and you, whatever, put a dollar away every day, you know, like this as an example, or whether you are doing self-care or maybe you're reading books. Right? So, it's basically, I had once a client, and she told me, cannot do push ups. Don't even ask me. And so, I said, you know, that's cool. We're just going to ignore them. I mean, it's hard because it's a pretty great move for your body and pretty important. We're just going to ignore them. And then I said, what about, like, one every so often? And, of course, that one, after a while, is not that horrible anymore. Then maybe the one turns into 2 and 2, 3.

Because, really, if you think about it, you do one thing per day for a little while. You are getting better at this. That's just how we are. So, the important thing about taking the self-care into your day is you could start with 5 minutes or the 8 minutes, and maybe then eventually becomes 10 minutes or 15 minutes. You detect that the self-care actually, in a certain way, creates so much positivity and so much momentum that everything else is just flowing easier. It's creating this beautiful effect. It's really like you have a piece of paper, and you're taking your watercolor, and you're dipping it into paint, and then you're making a little dot in the middle. And this paint is just kind of, like, oozing from the page.

And the page is your life and you've realized, oh my gosh, this self-care is coloring my life and it's beautiful. I love it. You choose favorite color right now. I don't know what that would be, but that's kind of how it is. All of a sudden, anything has a little bit of a nicer color with it because you started it, and it's just like this wonderful snowball effect. You will appreciate the snow there.

That is such a beautiful description of self-care. I may steal that from you and give you all the credit for it, but you're coloring the pages of your life. Yes. Absolutely. So, I'm going to switch gears really quick. Tell me and my listeners a little bit about how you made the journey from Germany to California. What made you leave Germany?

Yeah. So, that's a good question. The kind of also ties in with the drive that I have. So, I call myself an accountability coach. I am a very perseverant and gritty person. And I had it in my mind that I wanted to go abroad and study abroad and just didn't know where. Before I graduated, I knew I had to take care of that particular desire. It's my recommendation to you as well, anybody that's listening right now.

If you feel there's something you really would like to do, don't just leave it on your bucket list. Actually, do it. Otherwise, it's just something you probably never ever going to take care of it. Before I graduated, I looked at programs, chose the United States. Was looking at other countries too, but the cost of study was actually quite expensive. So, I got a scholarship, a Fulbright scholarship to study in the States. And when I came here, actually, I came to the Midwest, I realized that I really adore the university system that's far more school like than in Germany where a university is far more independent, much more removed of the personal interaction with a professor. And that I'm, deep down, I'm an extrovert that's also an introvert person.

So, I like the thoughtful interaction a lot, but I also speaking of self-care, I need my time when I can step away and kind of, soak up my alone time. So, I love the university with everybody. And at the same time, I have my own apartment, and it was just like I designed it all, and it was absolutely heaven.

That is awesome. And do you go back home, and are you still happy living in the United States? I guess that's my, you know, there's just a lot of I don't get too much into politics. There's a lot of kind of gunk, and sometimes it might feel like a dumpster fire here. So, are you still glad you're here?

That's a great question. Actually, and it's a valid question. I talk about this with my husband all the time. So, I came to United States 24 years ago, so 1999. Right? So, we are at the end of 23. And I knew I wanted to get a degree. So, I first stayed a year and 4 months, and then I graduated with my master's degree. Then I came back and got a PhD, earned a PhD degree.

So, I realized I love the education system. And then, of course, I met my husband along the way. But we were always thinking we are not, like, bound by geographic location. We could also move somewhere different. Right? We don't need to necessarily stay in United States. So, what do I love here that I would miss if I were to go to Germany? When I go back to Germany, you know, speaking about the health and self-care, I realized that when people ask you at parties, so what do you do? They don't necessarily expect that you give them a job title. Right? So, it's not necessarily, oh, I'm here. I'm Christiane. I'm a professor. They may be more expect like, oh, I live in the city, and I have 2 children. And I really like going to the beach. So, that's you know, like, it's the life-leisure balance. It's a little different there. At the same time, there is that emphasis. But on the flip side, a lot more people in Europe also smoke. And I'm very privileged where I live right now in California. It's a very low smoking rate. Of course, that's much higher in the Midwest, and I also live in the South.

But I do really notice how much it really is affecting me when I go to areas where there is a much higher incident of that. You just grow used to it. We live in a bubble here in California in this out part. And the other thing that comes on top of that is I live in a salad bowl of the United States. So, there's a lot of produce around me, a lot of health care, hiking, biking, beach. And so, that's kind of like I'm in Peridot.

That's a beautiful way to describe that. I feel the same living in Colorado. It's a healthy state. There are mountains. We don't have the beach, which I really wish we had a beach, too and it's a great lifestyle. And I used to, you know, I grew up here. I'm like, I'm going to leave. I'm going to go do something else. I'm going to go live somewhere else, and I'm traveling. I'm like, man, nothing really beats it here. So, I just, I stayed. Thank you for sharing that part of your story. I also absolutely love the name of your website and your brand, The Happy Nest, and it's a really great play on words. And if you say it fast enough, obviously, it sounds like happiness. Where did you come up with that?

My company name, Hello Happy Nest. So, when I initially got started with my health coaching, I knew that it wasn't, oh, I'm going to make you lose 20 pounds or something. So, I didn't want to be like lose with Christiane because we never want to lose. We always want to gain. Right? And then I thought, would we all actually want to gain? And then I thought, I think we all want to be happy. Don't we? So, I knew it's something with happy. And then I thought that for some people, the happiness is coming from the inside out, really. It's not really like; I need to teach people.

You need to necessarily buy this and this workout equipment or buy this and this pot or this particular, let's say, you know, kitchen appliance to add happiness. Not at all. We can probably figure out a way that we discover and tap into our own self-care and see that the happiness can actually come from the inside. So, it's kind of like, you're feeling more comfortable with who you are, and that sounds like you're cozy in a nest. So, I was like, oh, happy nest. And then I thought and many of us probably forgot that we even were ever happy or that we were cozy and comfortable. So, I was like, hello. Nearly like Adele.

Hello. It's me. You're looking for happiness. So, that's how the story started.

That's fantastic. So, can you give us 3 quick tips if, you know, this time of year is tricky, I think. I think there's a lot of grief that people don't process. There are probably some boundaries that get really tested and pushed, you know, as we record this. But I think in general, what are three tips you could offer for people when they're kind of like, man, I'm just I'm kind of struggling right now. I don't know if I'm unhappy. I don't know if I'm just eating a crap diet. I don't really know what's wrong, but what are three things they can do to maybe start the journey?

That's a brilliant question. You know, and speaking of that you may be down or, like, you're not feeling quite right. What helps me a lot is I kind of, like, think I have to take care of myself, but I also I'm in this whole social network with people around me. And I'm really emphasizing that because wellness really comes down to, like, 5 pillars. Right? And what we're just talking about right now is this little big piece of mental health. So, mental health is maybe even overshadowing the social health, which is, the community that you have around you. But at the end of the day, there's a lot of studies that really emphasize people that tend to be isolated and alone are just not as happy as people that are very plugged in and connected. So, if you feel that frequently you're sad or maybe you tend to withdraw, try to engage with others.

And it could even be that you don't even necessarily talk with them, but maybe just going for walks, and you don't even need to have a deep conversation. But the fact that there is somebody there already makes you appreciate everybody has the junk that they deal with, and it makes you appreciate that others are there for you. So, the mental health, the social health, serving community around you, sleep is exceptionally important, and I really tend to look at that a lot with my children, too. And then we started this whole conversation with the nutrition, by then also the physical movements. So, they're all acting together. That's why we call them 5 pillars of health. And what we're talking about right now, like, 3 quick tips that can get you started is you can look at any of those 5 pillars, and you can see what is maybe like thing today that I want to do from the 5 pillars. Oh, maybe today, I'm going to bed maybe 20 minutes earlier.

Yeah. You. Or maybe today, I'm going to send a quick text message to a friend because I know it's that person's birthday or maybe even writing card. Or maybe today, so that would be your social health right there or maybe mental health. Today, I'm just going to lay on a mat and close my eyes and maybe listen to some super relaxing music. And it does not have to be called meditation because some people are very scared, but that's your own way of relaxing. Or maybe today, I go to the grocery store and I try a new piece of produce that looks so exotic and so different, but I'm only going to buy one because I actually have no idea what to do with it. So, I'm just going to buy it.

And then at the checkout, the person will not know what it's either. And then you try it at home, and it's a journey. You feel like you're in a foreign country. You go to the country where this piece of produce came from and without ever leaving the comfort of your apartment. Right? So, that’s all, like, little things that can get you out of the dumps because none of those are very expensive. And at the same time, they're all kind of fun and different, and they really stimulate the happiness that could come from it.

And what I hear you say when you talk about that is also, like, all of those are a connection of finding joy, doing things that bring you, the individual, joy, and, you know, that feels good and that is connected. And I also hear you like, that sense of adventure, it's so childlike in the best way possible. Make sure you get sleep, and make sure you go try a new piece of fruit that looks really silly and kind of scary. You're feeding your soul as well as maybe getting yourself out of the dumps. So, okay. How can my listeners find you? I will put everything in the show notes, all your links and stuff, but where can they connect with you and why? And you have a podcast that is, you know, as about as old as mine is. And so, just share a little bit about how you connect with people.

Yeah. So, we just I love that question earlier, Diane, when you asked me about my company name. So, my company name is Hello Happy Nest. So, you can find me at hellohappynest.com. On Instagram, hello.happy.nest. And I also have a YouTube channel that's at Hello Happy Nest. And I try to publish fun videos. That's another way that you can maybe, get a smile on your face. In fact, actually, this is a funny story.

When I was stressed out during my PhD, I had this video that I saved to my desktop, and every so often, I would watch it. I can't tell you how many times I've watched it. But I want to emphasize, I had it on my desktop because I didn't want to go to YouTube. I didn't want to be, like, sucked into the warp of YouTube. And I just every so often watched it, or it helps to have as your desktop background, like, maybe nice pictures that bring joy. There are all these small little things, and I'm a very visual learner that really help. So, then my podcast is called, Happy Healthy Hustle because that's quite what I consider myself. I am a hustler in a positive sense that I'm striving for health and happiness.

Fantastic. And it is fun. I did a little stalking on your website, and there's so much joy and happiness, and you just feel that energy from you. You're definitely at a very high vibration, and I think that what a gift, and how cool would it be to take one of your courses, to have you as a professor because that I can only imagine how fun it is for your students to sit in class and receive that energy live and in person.

Yeah. That's definitely the number one comment I get all the time. Oh, the energy. So, sometimes they would schedule me for the 7 o'clock classes just because they knew that I could do it. My fitness classes, I do really have the reputation that I'm bubbly on stage. And, oh my gosh, now that I'm talking about this, it's totally all, like for the listeners, this will all, like, totally make sense. I do sing when I teach my workout classes. And you can appreciate from my earlier Adele impersonation that I am definitely not very talented.

Well, Christiane, thank you so much for sharing your story. I have one last question for you to wrap it up, and I would love to know what it means for you to be authentic. Like, what does authenticity look like for you, and how has that journey to authenticity changed you?

Well, earlier, we talked a little bit about aging. And I think for me, aging and authenticity kind of go hand in hand. And I see this now because I have 2 teenage daughters too to where they're trying to figure out who they are and how they fit in, and do they want to be this person or that person? And, of course, as they grow up, I'm realizing that they are both very different personalities, which is why as a parent now try to say, oh, well, your sister didn't do that when she was that age. You know, that's never good. So, in terms of authenticity, I think it's great to kind of just embrace who you are and then don't hide it. So, for me, when I'm teaching in the classroom, I am Dr Schroeter, and I like to not be called by my first name because it was just so much work to get that degree. But at the same time, there are moments when I say something wrong or when I do something wrong or in my workout classes where I am Christiane in my workout classes or as a health coach, I'm Christiane, too. Sometimes I say something, and that's just purely wrong.

And I think that I'm not shy in saying, you know what? That really was not right. And I think you need to be authentic and humble. So, it shows that you are learning and at the same time, it also shows that you have the guts to say that you're not perfect. And that also makes you unique. And in a certain way, it creates a little bit more of a transparency because nobody feels you're just playing a role, but you're really messing up too. And it actually makes you much more lovable when somebody that wants to be perfect. We do mistakes all the time, but I don't look at them as something negative. I frequently laugh about myself, and then I think that the mistakes are actually there to sometimes just realize, man, I mean, life's, you know, sometimes life sometimes sucks, but at the same time, you can also sometimes laugh about the mistakes because they're pretty funny sometimes. You know?

Well and if you can't laugh at yourself, who are you going to laugh at? Okay. One more question. We have the same last name. Mine's spelled with a D, and yours is with a T. How do you say it again?

Schroeter. Christiane Schroeter.

Okay. And is it in Germany, do they spell it with a D and a T, or was that part of when my ancestors came over, they just spelled it with a D instead of a T?

Good question. We actually used to have a politician, with a D, Schroeder. Right? So, this is, like, a true learning experience now for you, Diane. Schroeter with a T, I mean, you know, maybe Schroeder with the D is more common. But Schroeter with a T actually means that from a restaurant, you're rolling a wine barrel to the river. So, that's a profession. So, if you think about the names and the origin of names frequently, there are professions. So, that's actually a profession, somebody that rolls barrels to the river or harbor or anything like that. And if you Google it, you will see pictures of people doing this physically. In a certain way, it's a fun fact, but that might be somewhere maybe where your family and industries came from, that there was a wine growing area there, maybe some water that transported wine barrels from one location to the other location. And who knows? It's kind of a fun fact.

That is. That is a fun fact. Thank you for sharing so much, and thank you for giving your time to share parts of your story. I really appreciate it. I know my listeners will appreciate it as well.

Another great conversation. Thank you for giving the valuable gift of your time and listening to The Fire Inside Her podcast. Speaking of value, one of the most common potholes we fall into on the journey to authenticity is not recognizing our value. So, I created a workbook. It's all about value. Head on over to thefireinsideher.com/value to get your free workbook that will help you remember your value. Until next time, my friend.