Brigette Panetta shares her inspiring and deeply personal account through a harrowing legal battle that began just days before the birth of her daughter. Caught off guard by a lawsuit from the Australian Securities Investment Commission, Brigette was thrust into a whirlwind of uncertainty, fear, and resentment as she prepared to embrace motherhood. The emotional strain of the legal fight compounded the challenges of navigating new parenthood, leading her to question her identity and future. Throughout this ordeal, Brigette reflects on the immense pressure she felt to uphold her roles as a partner and mother while also dealing with the fallout from the lawsuit.

A significant aspect of Brigette's journey is her profound realization of the power of forgiveness. After struggling with anger directed toward those involved in her legal situation, she encountered a kinesiologist who guided her through a transformative meditation experience. This pivotal moment allowed her to let go of resentment and reclaim her emotional well-being. Brigette's newfound perspective illuminated the importance of self-compassion and understanding, allowing her to break free from the shackles of her past and embrace her present reality. This evolution empowered her to navigate her challenges more effectively and set a positive example for her daughter, instilling the values of emotional resilience and self-awareness.

As Brigette looks to the future, she expresses hope for resolving her ongoing legal struggles, but more importantly, she focuses on the lessons learned throughout this tumultuous period. Her story is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the capacity for growth amidst adversity. By sharing her experiences, Brigette aims to inspire others to confront their own challenges with courage and to recognize that healing often begins with the willingness to forgive and embrace vulnerability. Her journey serves as a reminder that even in the face of overwhelming obstacles, there is always the potential for regeneration and renewal.

Takeaways:

• Brigette Panetta discusses how her identity was tied to her career and possessions.
• The unexpected legal battle forced Brigette to confront her fears and limitations as a mother.
• Brigette emphasizes the importance of forgiveness for personal healing and empowerment.
• Through vulnerability, Brigette discovered the power of embracing emotions over perfectionism.

Guest Bio:

Brigette Panetta has emerged as a powerful advocate for individuals facing social injustice and adversity. As the partner of James Mawhinney, founder of Media.com, Brigette has personally experienced the profound challenges of fighting against a government body. Over the past four years, she has witnessed the severe impact of Australia's corporate regulator, ASIC's false allegations on her family's investment business, Mayfair 101. This ordeal has deeply affected Brigette, her young family, and the lives of nearly 600 Australians.

Connect with Brigette:

LinkedIn | Instagram

http://media.com/brigettepanetta

http://www.youtube.com/@brigettepanetta

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Brigette Panetta: 00:00:34

I think the moment like that I was trying to look for was when I realized that I have linked my whole identity to my things, to my career, which went. Because I worked in a business and that, you know, it was in the media and everything, so the business was getting labelled as all these things.

So I was thinking, oh, who's going to want to hire me? No one's going to want to hire me after this. So in my mind, my career was done.

My whole life had changed because I'm now a mother and I can't just go work in the workplace. We were in Covid, in lockdown, so I couldn't get any support or help for barbs. And we'd lost our home, which was beautiful home.

We worked really hard for it. And that was now gone, along with most of our possessions. They sold them as well as part of the sale, which is another shocking thing on itself.

So when that all happened, I just felt like I didn't know who I was. I wore hats all the time. Like, I was just.

I was just scared of the world and, like, really angry as well, and just really was struggling to understand why I had to live in this place where this can happen, you know, to people who were just doing, getting on with their lives, minding their own business. Like, I just was bitter. I was very bitter and I was just more like, I was very heartbroken.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:01:58

Today's guest is Bridget Panetta. In this episode, Bridget opens up about this unexpected legal battle that has turned her world upside down.

And it did it just days before becoming a mother.

She candidly shares the emotional and financial challenges that ensued, highlighting the resilience and really, the determination that is needed to fight against these powerful adversaries. Bridget's story is one of strength, vulnerability and, of course, growth.

We talk about how these experiences have shaped her into this passionate advocate for, really, social justice and empowerment.

She shares her journey of transformation, the importance of embracing vulnerability, and the profound impact of believing in yourself when trying to overcome these crazy hurdles that life can throw us.

Whether you're facing your own challenges or seeking inspiration, I think this episode will give you some of Bridget's heartfelt insights and you'll leave with a belief in the power of the human spirit. So I hope this episode leaves you feeling empowered and ready to conquer anything. Without further ado, here is my conversation with Bridget Panetta.

I'm Matt Gil Hooley, and this is the life shift. Candid conversations about the pivotal moments that have changed lives forever. Hello, my friends. Welcome to the Life Shift podcast.

I am here with Bridget. Hello, Bridget.

Brigette Panetta: 00:03:34

Hello, Matt. How are you?

Matt Gilhooly: 00:03:36

So good. And we were talking a little bit before we started recording. And you are currently in the future?

Brigette Panetta: 00:03:42

I am. I'm in Melbourne, Australia.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:03:45

09:00 a.m. it's so interesting to me when we talk time zones, and usually I mostly speak to people here in America, so it's not like, too different.

But speaking to someone on the other side of the world, probably as far as I can go from here, probably where you are. Well, thank you for wanting to be a part of the Life shift podcast.

It is a journey that I never knew that I needed, and it's been such a fulfilling journey. I've talked to over 150 people now about these pivotal moments that have. Have really changed their lives forever.

And just for anyone listening that has never listened before, because maybe this is their first time, because you're on this show really stems from my own personal experience. When I was eight years old, my dad sat me down.

I was visiting him in Georgia, and he sat me down, and he had to tell me that my mom had died in a motorcycle accident. And at that moment, everything in my life changed. Like nothing was ever going to be the same. My parents were divorced. They lived states apartheid.

You know, I was just going to visit my dad every once in a while, and now, all of a sudden, he was going to have to be a full time parent, and I was going to have to navigate life without my mother. And growing up, it was like the late eighties, early nineties, nobody was really talking about grief or mental health.

And so I just thought everyone needed to know I was going to be okay. So I pushed everything down. Felt very alone in that circumstance. Nobody's fault. But I felt so alone.

And so I just always wondered if other people had these line in the sand moments or these things that happened to them that just changed everything. And it turns out, as an adult now, I know that lots of people have many of them.

And so I just have this honor now of talking to people about these moments that have changed everything, whether it's good, bad, indifferent, and just see how we as humans can adapt and change and move through things and create new versions of our lives because of that. So little backstory on the show. But just thank you for wanting to do this with a stranger.

Brigette Panetta: 00:05:41

Yes, of course. And that's such a touching story.

It would have been so difficult in those times to be able to process those kinds of emotions when emotions weren't talked about back then. We're really lucky that now we can do those things with our kids, and it's really, really encouraged to talk about emotions with children.

So it's helping adults be more emotionally mature and, you know, have those.

The universe kind of brings in those experiences, I think, to help propel that maturity in emotions and help you really overcome those challenges that we've had a lot in our lives, which at the time, they do seem quite shocking, and you just don't understand why it's happening to you. But there always comes a time, I think, through the journey that you realize why I.

And I think us just having this conversation and connecting is just so special because I feel it will help a lot of people who do listen to this and help them to understand the silver lining, I guess, in their own journey.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:06:42

It's hard to say that sometimes some of these journeys, you're like, how can I find the good in that? But it's not that we're finding the good in it. We're just finding the good in what came after and how we process that and how we learn that.

And, you know, for me, it took 20 years to, like, really grieve my mom.

But when I got there, I looked back on those experiences and go, oh, well, all of those really hard experiences made this version of me, and therefore, I wouldn't be me without that. And so, to your point of these silver linings, it's, like, a weird thing to say, but also, I know. I know what it feels like. So thank you.

Brigette Panetta: 00:07:20

Yes, yes.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:07:22

So, before we get into your story, which, full disclosure to everyone listening, I don't do any research on my guests.

ttle bit about who you are in: 2024

Brigette Panetta: 00:07:53

In: 2024

At the same time, I've definitely evolved so much in terms of how I live my day to day life in the version of the mother that I am, in the version of the partner that I am, in the person I show up as in the outside world. I have a lot more boundaries. I understand myself a lot more. I'm a lot more introspective.

And, yeah, I'm still growing, you know, just this week, I've had a bit of a regression, and I'm. But I'm a lot more aware of that now, and I'm a lot more understanding and self compassionate.

And there's so many layers and tools that I've learned and been able to use to be able to pull myself out of certain situations and things like that. And I'm definitely an advocate for social injustice, which I never thought I would be before.

I'm an advocate for women or just empowerment people and reconnection of self. Definitely something I wasn't doing before. And I was an accountant in my feels like previous life, which was five years ago.

So, so many things have changed and evolved and, yeah, it's all thanks to this journey that I've been on over the past five years.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:09:01

Yeah. And it's. It's.

Again, one of those things is, like, how lucky are we to get to a point where we can reflect on just in your moment of saying, like, this. Last week it was. Had a little bit of a regression, or I had something like, I'm not feeling great, or something feels off.

And to have that awareness that we know we're going to be okay, we know we're going to move through it, but we also know what's happening, right. And maybe the previous versions of us would have spiraled.

Brigette Panetta: 00:09:28

I would have canceled this call. I wouldn't have gone ahead with it. I would have thought, I'm not myself, I'm not ready or this, you know, I'm not my bubbly, happy self.

But it's like having this understanding of trust is something I never felt or knew before.

And I think having that allows me to just push through any kind of fear or any kind of adversity that's sitting, you know, after this call, I'll have to face it again, which is, I can handle it in such a better way and not feel like my life is ending and I can't do anything, and I'm frozen until that's resolved.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:10:02

In a weird way, it makes us, like, more fully formed humans in a way where it's like, yeah, it's okay to not be okay. It's okay to have a bad day. Like, before. Like you mentioned, you know, when I was growing up, it was like I could only be happy or sad.

I mean, I couldn't be sad. I could only be happy or, like, mad. Cause I was a boy, right.

And then the girls can only be sad or happy because, you know, like, we were just assigning these things, and now we can be whatever we want to be however we want to be and know we're going to be okay if we are.

Brigette Panetta: 00:10:32

Exactly. And also be vulnerable. I feel like for years, I was such a perfectionist, everything had to be perfect, or I couldn't do it, or zero.

And if I'm not 100, it's I can't live. I can't be happy in myself. I can't show up. And it's like, being vulnerable is amazing because you're actually able to connect better with people.

And you don't need to put on a facade and only go to events when you feel you can be that version of you, because that's not real. That's just who you want to be. But you need to love who you are regardless.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:11:05

Don't you find that you connect more with others through, like, maybe the valleys in their lives and not necessarily their high highs, but, like, the harder moments, the things that they overcame. Like, I feel like those are the things that bind us together.

So, you know, for those of us that are maybe former perfectionists or maybe still have some of those tendencies, it's like, those aren't the moments that people are connecting with us when we're at our tip top, you know, pretending to be amazing. So, yeah, you're right. Vulnerability is just. It's a really beautiful thing.

And I think your point earlier, like, we're coming more into it now, I think more people are embracing vulnerability.

Brigette Panetta: 00:11:42

Yes.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:11:43

In a. In a nice way.

Brigette Panetta: 00:11:45

Exactly. Yeah.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:11:46

Not like a performative way or anything.

Brigette Panetta: 00:11:48

Finding the healing in it and the connection that I feel like since COVID a lot of people have lost that connection or that ability to connect just because everything's gone quite digital. But you need to then try harder to connect because it is digital, you know, meeting people out as much as you were before.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:12:05

Well, lucky me, I get this conversation with you, and we get to be as vulnerable as we want to be or as we are comfortable being.

So maybe in that vein, maybe you can kind of paint the picture of what your life was like leading up to the moment that we're going to be really centering this conversation around. And you can go back however far you need to.

Brigette Panetta: 00:12:24

Sure. So before everything happened, my life was pretty. I was very content with my life. It was going well.

I met my partner, but before that, I was living in Sydney on Bondi beach. Just. I wasn't living the life, but I was studying and working full time. I was really putting in the effort for my career. That was my priority.

Really sacrificing a lot of my, you know, my social life and things like that because I could, you know, I was putting all the effort in to try and create a life that I wanted to live, did all of that. Then I was able to meet James.

We actually started working together and then things eventuated through work and the business was completely thriving, doing amazing, amazing things, especially for Australia. And it was just rapidly growing and we were able to travel and work and really put in that effort.

But also I finally felt like I had a job that I felt valued in, also felt I had a job that I was able to travel with because I sacrificed so much of that, like girls trips and holidays and things because I had exams. So I was really putting in that sacrifice time and I felt like I was getting that reward after all of that sacrifice. So things were just amazing.

I had gotten into the cryptocurrency space and I was able to find a job in that area as well because I was just super passionate about it and I put in all my effort and that job just kind of came to my lap, basically.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:13:56

Didn't exist when you first started studying.

Brigette Panetta: 00:13:58

No, no.

booming at that time. It was: 2017

I then obviously, James and I, we eventually, or like, gravitated to each other, but as much as I was trying to resist it because I loved my job so much, I didn't want to jeopardize my role. I'd had very bad taste in the past and I didn't want to jeopardize anything that I had going on here.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:14:35

No hasty decisions for you.

Brigette Panetta: 00:14:38

And even though he ticked every box and he was just incredible, incredible businessman.

Very humble, very, just easy to talk to, all of those things, eventually we decided to drop the walls and, you know, we were then engaged and I was pregnant in the next eight months. Like, everything just happened quite quickly once.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:15:00

You drop those walls, you know?

Brigette Panetta: 00:15:01

Exactly.

And all my friends have said that they're like, you haven't met someone, but I bet you when you do, it's all going to just happen really, really quick. And that's, that's what happened. It was a fairy tale. It was absolutely amazing. So then the business was going really well.

We'd done some massive projects up in far north Queensland and put ourselves quite on the map in Australia. We bought an island and all of these ten properties, it was like a really dilapidated area. It had been hit by a cyclone.

It was a very good investment opportunity and it put James in a bit of a target kind of situation because I think in Australia you can't do things too big. People just can't process that. There's a bit of a tall poppy syndrome. I'm not sure if you've heard of that before.

It's like where you've got a field of poppies and if one sticks out, they have to cut them to size so they stay interesting there.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:15:55

So is that like a cultural thing?

Brigette Panetta: 00:15:57

It is a cultural thing.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:15:58

Okay.

Brigette Panetta: 00:15:59

It's like, you don't encourage people.

Like, in America, you go and you tell people about your opportunities and your investments and things, and everyone's so encouraging and they're like, oh, I can introduce you to this person, or it's very collaborative and very supportive. Whereas here it's like, who does he think he is?

Matt Gilhooly: 00:16:14

You know, interesting.

Brigette Panetta: 00:16:16

Very, very competitive, and no one can wish anyone well. It's very. Yeah, it's not very good.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:16:22

That's a challenge.

Brigette Panetta: 00:16:23

Yeah. Especially, like, my partner, he's a very much a visionary, but he's also very humble and capable. And those who know James would know that about him.

But if you just hear of him, you kind of think, who? Like, he's never done something like this before. How could he achieve something like that? You know, there's this commentary around.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:16:43

Sound very nice.

Brigette Panetta: 00:16:44

Yeah. So we put ourselves in a vulnerable situation. Like, things were getting slow about just trying to achieve.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:16:52

Right?

Brigette Panetta: 00:16:53

Just trying to achieve doing. We're going to create, you know, 10,000 jobs for far north Queensland. We're creating, like this tourism mecca.

You know, it had been one before the cyclone. It was like one of Australia's kind of hotspots. And then it was vacant for years and the town was crying out for, you know, development.

And that was quite, you know, every people, so many people wanted to sell their house because there was nothing going on there. So we just saw that opportunity to build something out. We got a great team in there.

We had people that had worked on islands before and helped develop one of Australia's other amazing islands in Hamilton island. So we had like a really established team that we built. And my brother was even working there, had relocated there.

So we were really putting all this effort in and building out, doing all the due diligence, everything kind of that needed to be done surveying.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:17:43

Sounds like people would celebrate that. Exactly. Like you're helping.

Brigette Panetta: 00:17:47

Exactly, yeah. So that was going really well. And then come March, the pandemic hithenne and April.

I was two days out from giving birth to our first daughter, our first child, and we were sued by the Australian Securities Investment Commission for marketing misleading and deceptive conduct with our marketing for our financial products.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:18:15

So related to the cryptocurrency stuff?

Brigette Panetta: 00:18:18

No. We had. We were offering notes to lenders, so we're borrowing money, effectively investing, and offering a fixed and interest rate of return.

And we had everything signed off by legal teams. We had everything signed off by accounting firms. All of these fun, all the things that you need to do were done.

And so when it happened, my mind wasn't in shock, but my body had gone into shock because my mind was thinking, I've worked in the business. I've seen everything happen. I've overheard conversations. I've been in on meetings. Like, I've seen the compliance of it.

Just let them have a sticky beak, and then they'll realize that they're on to the wrong people and just let us get on with what we're doing. But that just didn't happen. They defunded us, and we weren't able to defend our cases.

And there's been a trail of 26 lawsuits since then, over the last five years, all while. So I had my baby two days later. That was absolute nightmare because my body, I think, was in such a state of stress that there was so much going on.

We had to refinance our home to try and pay for legal costs because we couldn't find. We couldn't run our business the way we were before because of the orders and things like that. So that was just shocking to watch.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:19:37

Was it out of nowhere?

Brigette Panetta: 00:19:38

It was out of nowhere. Like, there was just. I think they were just kind of maybe watching us for a while. I don't know. But there was no interview.

There was no due diligence done. Like, they hadn't seen our financials. They hadn't seen anything under the. In the business.

They just lodged the proceeding, and we just worked out that it was done in four days. So they. They made up their mind, and they lodged the proceeding in four days, whereas most investigations go for, like, 14 months.

You know, they do all the proper.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:20:06

Box checking exercises, and then you might have some kind of awareness that it was coming.

Brigette Panetta: 00:20:11

So it's not like, yeah, you can have a meeting and say, oh, okay, what are your concerns? Okay, these are your answers to your concerns.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:20:18

Right. You know, these are the things we did. These are the things that this is.

Brigette Panetta: 00:20:21

All of the legal advice.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:20:22

Right, exactly.

Brigette Panetta: 00:20:22

Tax advice, structuring advice, all those fun things, you know? So that was my moment of what.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:20:31

Happened to me when it dropped on you. Or was it. Do you think it was right then, or was it like.

Brigette Panetta: 00:20:36

It wasn't then it was dragged out? It was for sure, like, over two years, because I was still thinking that this was all a big misunderstanding because I still know what it is.

It's still going on now. We've got a retrial happening in October, but we. I think we kept fighting as much as we could.

And my partner, bless him, is the most resilient person you'll ever meet. And he's still fighting because he knows what's right and what's wrong, and he'll continue. But they have gone hard because now they've gone too far.

They can't show they were wrong.

And we have to keep trying to find the funds and do all those things to be able to continue the fight against someone who has endless resources, which is not the best situation.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:21:22

Yeah, no, but I asked that question because I think you said it dropped on you out of nowhere. So I can imagine that's a shock. But also, you're about to start another part of your family.

You're about to go through something very hard for a human to do. Right. And then all the time that comes after that.

So I can imagine how something like that can be a shock, but also, like, prolonged because you're like, this is also really important because there's a baby now that I have to, like, take care of.

Brigette Panetta: 00:21:50

Yeah. And so that safe foundation that I built and, like, spent years, you know, back to my studying days, you know, I built.

I was very strategic on my life. You know, I'm very thought through on what I'm doing all the time.

You know, I made sure that I waited to have a child in a great situation, you know, to create a safe foundation for this child. And all of these things, they had meaning.

And it's like it got completely ripped from me, out of my control, and I had to then start working straight away because we couldn't afford to pay everyone. And most of the sales and marketing team resigned because it was a marketing thing. So they didn't want to be attached to that, which is fine.

None of the finance team resigned because they didn't. They were like, what's going on? But we can then afford to keep everyone.

So I had to keep working, which was fine, but I went into survival mode to try and overcome this and just thought I remember vividly saying to myself, you need to go in. You need to just have a breakdown later. Right now, you need to make sure James is safe, healthy, able to continue doing the hours he's working.

And Emerald is your priority, because she needs to be loved and feel safe. So I just.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:23:04

How do you do that? How do you balance that, though? Like, how do you give this safe environment to this kind of helpless being? Right?

Because babies can't do much by themselves for a while. So how do you do that but also protect yourself, but also protect your partner and all, and all the people, you know, like, how do you do that?

Brigette Panetta: 00:23:24

So I went.

So I just got emeriled, my daughter, into a really strict sleep routine, which I probably wouldn't have if I didn't have to work and have time to myself. So I was able to do that.

So she was getting certain sleeps during the day, when she would sleep during the day, I'd either cry or work one of the two, but when she was with me, or both, just try and be.

Yeah, I would try and be with her and just feed her because she just needed milk at that time, which was not too bad, but I just was very regimented with that.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:24:00

You mentioned that you're growing up, or at least from school time, you were very driven, maybe checklist oriented, maybe society was like, well, the only way to get to this is by doing X, Y and Z.

Brigette Panetta: 00:24:15

Yes.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:24:15

And so it sounds like you had all your boxes in the right place. You had, you were very structured, kind of perfectionist, probably, of some. So I can imagine how that.

Right, and I can imagine how that crumbles, because now what? You don't really have that structure anymore, right? You have to create a new version.

Brigette Panetta: 00:24:31

No foundation, no money, like, no house. It was. Everything was gone and it was just. Yeah.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:24:39

How do you maintain life? Like, how do you. Like you like, what happens to you? Do you go into depression?

Brigette Panetta: 00:24:45

I think the moment like that I was trying to look for was when I realized that I have linked my whole identity to my things, to my career, which went, because I worked in a business and that, you know, it was in the media and everything, so the business was getting labeled as all these things. So I was thinking, oh, who's going to want to hire me? No one's going to want to hire me after this. In my mind, my career was done.

My whole life had changed because I'm now a mother and I can't just go work in the workplace. We were in Covid, in lockdown, so I couldn't get any support or help for barbs, and we'd lost our home, which was beautiful home.

We worked really hard for it, and that was now gone, along with most of our possessions. They sold them as well as part of the sale, which is another shocking thing on itself.

So when that all happened, I just felt like I didn't know who I was. I wore hats all the time. Like, I was just. I.

I was just scared of the world and, like, really angry as well, and just really was struggling to understand why I had to live in this place where this can happen, you know, to people who were just doing, getting on with their lives, minding their own business. Like, I just was bitter. I was very bitter. And I was just more. Like, I was very heartbroken.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:26:08

Do you feel empty in those senses because you said you attached everything?

Brigette Panetta: 00:26:11

Yeah. I just felt so lost. I felt like I couldn't speak to anyone. I felt like I didn't know who I could relate to. I felt like I didn't have.

Like, I had a lot of support from family and friends, but when I'd speak to them, this was such a beast. And how do you say that you are up against the government and you think they're wrong? Like, that's just not even something people would believe.

But I. I knew in my gut, and that's another thing that I was able to.

Once I started my healing journey, I was really able to connect with that intuition, which I've always had, but I know it's strong because there was something telling me, like, just keep going, because I could have left. I could have walked out that door and said, this is your mess. I'm out of here. You know that there was something. I know James, and I know his heart.

I know his intentions, his integrity. And I just knew that we hadn't done anything wrong. I just knew that this was some kind of misunderstanding that had gone too far. And now it's just.

It's just blown out of proportion. So the moment I think I had was just when I was in a really, really low state and I found a kinesiologist.

I was just randomly on Facebook, and a kinesiologist ad popped up on my Facebook, and she was around the corner. We were in an Airbnb at the time because we. That we jumped around from Airbnbs at the time when we didn't have a home.

And I went to her and I told her the situation. She was actually a previous lawyer, so she kind of. I could talk to her.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:27:46

Interesting switch she had a life shift, too.

Brigette Panetta: 00:27:49

Exactly. Right? Yeah. And she. This was just after we lost our house and our belongings, and our house was actually bought by our neighbors and friends as well.

So our friends bought our house and have all of our furniture.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:28:04

Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. That's just terrible.

Brigette Panetta: 00:28:06

I don't. You have to. Right? Because I just think these were our friends. Imagine, you know, who needs friends or enemies if you have friends like this?

It was just everyone could see we're in a dire situation. It's like when greed and money get involved, everyone's like, oh, let's just take what we can. It was just shocking.

So she actually made me sit down and forgive, which I never thought I would be able to do because I'm italian and I've always been a grudge holder, and I can't let them get away with it, you know, because then that means that I've forgiven them. And I just never knew that concept before. And once I did that, I felt so light.

She did this beautiful meditation practice with me, and we visualize the people and. And I was able to forgive them because that's just their journey, and, you know, they have to sleep with what they've done. I haven't done anything.

I can sleep well at night. And, you know, I have to trust that there will be their karma. And it's not up to me to give them that karma. It's up to, like, their journey.

They'll come across that karma. And I think since then, the couple who bought the house, they've divorced. Like, there's all these things that are happening that I think, you know.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:29:18

Yeah, life is playing itself out. Yeah. Interesting. How did she get you to forgive, though?

Like, was there, like, was there a lot of convincing needed, or were you finally at a place where you're just like, I can't do anything else?

Brigette Panetta: 00:29:29

Yeah. I was just so broken and I just. My body was so hot.

Like, I had this fire inside because I was so angry, but I couldn't take it out on anyone, and I didn't want to take it out at home because it's not James's fault. It's definitely not my baby's fault. And I'm thinking, I'm not the mum I want to be. I'm not the person I want to be.

Like, I'm so far from who I was before this. I was so happy and bubbly and positive and grateful for everything. And I thought, I'm going to get really sick if I keep this inside.

And I just thought it was just great timing that this had popped up, and then she suggested this practice, so I was open to anything at that point.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:30:10

Yeah, well, you said that you had always been kind of intuitive, and now you're leaning into that more. Is that something that maybe you felt like in your earlier life, you pushed down more because you needed to make sure everything was in its.

In its row, or is that something you played with a little bit, too?

Brigette Panetta: 00:30:26

I definitely think I led a lot more with my head before because I was very analytical and very, you know, I lived in Sydney on my own. I didn't have any family close by.

Everyone was in Western Australia, so I kind of went into a bit of a survival state there, just trying to make sure I get from a to b without anyone to really rely on.

So I did live a lot in my head, but it's like this whole practice and this whole journey's allowed me to really drop into my body, which I haven't done a lot of it before. I was intuitive, but I felt like I did work more with my head. That's why I kept getting into bad relationships and things like that.

And then when I finally met James and I got out of my head and into my body, that's when I was like, okay, because my head was pushing him away, I think because he was too good to be true. Body's like, oh, be, protect, protect you. But once I allowed it, that's when things started to flow.

So he kind of started that journey for me as well.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:31:24

Were you an overthinker?

Brigette Panetta: 00:31:26

Yes, very much.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:31:27

Same. Me too. I think it's just very much like. I think mine was fear based, and mine is obviously probably trauma based.

Like, I thought at eight years old, my mom abandoned me. Right, because she died in a small brain. That's kind of abandonment, or it is abandonment, technically. And so I thought I had to be perfect.

And so if I wasn't perfect, my dad was going to leave. And so my whole life, that's why I became that perfectionist and put all the boxes in a row and over thought everything.

So I can totally relate to that. We're also not taught to. We're not really taught to listen to our hearts, to follow our hearts. Like, people say it.

Yeah, but nobody's like, yeah, it's a.

Brigette Panetta: 00:32:12

Process because there's so many layers on top of it, because every time you get hurt, you just close it that little bit more. But you don't realize until you really need to get to it. And then you notice how many things just fall off. Like, I did a lot of breath work as well.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:32:27

Not sure.

Brigette Panetta: 00:32:28

Yeah, that really, really helped me to just release a lot of the memories I'd stored within the body, which I.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:32:36

That's interesting. No, to go from an overthinker, to lean into that, because I'm still, like, in this space of, like, I would overthink the breath work, you know?

Like, I would overthink the. The meditation part. I would overthink, like, oh, I'm supposed to be this at this moment, and I'm supposed to do this.

So I'm glad that you were able to embrace that, though, because it sounds like it helped.

Brigette Panetta: 00:33:00

I loved it. My auntie actually told me about it, and she said, you've got to go. You've got to go. You've just got to just trust me. I'm like, okay.

And at that point, again, I was just so, so tired of being so sad. And just, like, I could react. I had to stop drinking, because every time I'd have a drink, like, I would just react. And I thought, I just.

There was so much anger in there still. Like, I'd forgiven, but I. And I felt lighter. But still, any kind of event or any kind of news that I would be told would just shake me.

And because I was in such a state of stress that I couldn't handle any extra information, even the smallest thing would just flip me over the edge. And I thought, I really need to just release a lot of this anger I'm carrying. And I was grieving.

All of these experiences that had happened years ago that I didn't even notice had just changed or formed me into who I was. That's like, wow, it was just fascinating to just let that go.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:34:01

Well, you said that first forgiveness session, if you will, and that meditation and that peace made you feel lighter. Like, when you walked out of there, did life feel any different to you? I mean, I know you said you felt lighter, but, like, how do you.

How do you move through life differently from walking in that door and then when you walked out?

Brigette Panetta: 00:34:21

So when I walked in, I was, you know, hat on, like, on the verge of tears, you know, just wanting someone to speak to, just holding all of this sadness in. And, you know, I was so scared as well. Like, what's happening to my life? And when I walked out, I just felt. I felt seen, I felt heard.

I felt free, you know, because I had taken my power back by forgiving them. I was the bigger person, and I felt like I had regained a bit of strength, and I thought okay, I can actually. I have the power to change my thoughts.

I have the power to change how I'm feeling. And I didn't know that before. I thought because we weren't just hurting as a family, we had other people involved in our business hurting.

So I was carrying a lot of that pain and I felt I had to be sad because our business was hurting others.

And if I didn't feel, if I laughed, then, you know, then I'm guilty, you know, I just felt this heaviness and I thought, I don't need to feel like that, because if I'm not okay, James isn't okay, and Emerald's not okay, and I can actually change that myself. I don't need anyone else to help me.

And so as I started realizing I had this power, I was just getting a bit excited and thought, okay, I can transmute this. Like, this is actually happening to me to maybe help others, you know?

And once I started shredding all the, and releasing all the pain, it turned into a gratitude because I thought I felt, started to see the silver lining, like we were just talking about earlier, that maybe this is happening to me because I am strong enough to handle it and I am able to then turn it into something positive and help others. And that's what led me to want to be speaking to people like yourself, because maybe there is someone that might be going through something similar.

I hope not. But there will be someone who's suffering from someone they need to forgive. And just this practice in itself was so life changing for me.

So, yeah, there's a lot that's helped.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:36:29

That's very big of you, by the way. I mean, it's a. It's. I can imagine how hard it is to start building a new future, building things without any kind of end in sight.

You might think there's an end, but you keep getting shot down in certain places and things keep re energizing on the wrong side. And how do you start building a future in the middle of something that seems like it's never gonna end?

Brigette Panetta: 00:36:57

Yeah. So that's exactly how I felt the whole time, because I needed a conclusion. I need to be able to conclude you're an overthinker.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:37:05

You need an answer.

Brigette Panetta: 00:37:06

Yeah, I'm like, I can't talk to my friends until there's a resolution because no one's going to believe me at the moment until we have a win. But the thing was, the wins weren't happening because we weren't able to defend a lot of our cases.

So the judge was just getting their side and that was it. And so we were just continuously losing, losing, losing the media. Were you reporting on the losing?

So I just started to look delusional because no one was going to believe me if the courts are saying the opposite to me.

We did then have a few wins in a appeals court and it went to the full court and one of the cases was overturned based on a fundamental denial of procedural fairness. So that was a win. But then they've said, oh, let's do a retrial, because we can't just let him off the hook if it's right.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:37:53

Naturally, you can't admit that we did anything wrong. No.

Brigette Panetta: 00:37:56

And they all support each other as well, which is.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:37:59

That's really challenging.

Brigette Panetta: 00:38:00

So we've got that coming up in October. But what I think I realized the whole time, and I wasn't building anything for myself, which was hard because I've always been an overachiever.

So I'm like, I've always attached my achievement to money and I wasn't making any because I was being a mother full time and I couldn't go to work because we were moving so frequently. We've moved so many times that I just didn't have that foundation.

So what I realized is this was my time to actually just work on myself and be the best mum that I could be for my daughter.

And in doing that, that's when I've, like, really found what I feel I meant to do, which is learn how to be just yourself and just be happy being yourself. Not attaching to your job and not attaching to your identity, but helping others to reconnect with self through that way.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:38:58

That's a big, tall order, I think, for.

Especially for someone that comes from overachievement and perfectionism and overthinking, that's really hard because we're so much of our lives, we're attached to the next biggest thing, the next promotion, the next whatever it might be. Like, the next success and not celebrating the moments.

Maybe this is for me speaking, like, I would get a great job and then it would just be like, cool, what's next?

Brigette Panetta: 00:39:24

Not celebrating that.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:39:26

Right, exactly.

So that's a really tall order to be able to live in each moment and live inside yourself, to know that, like, you're celebrating who you are, what you're doing as a human and not as a business owner or as a.

Brigette Panetta: 00:39:41

That's exactly right. Yeah.

And even when I would hear bad news and things like that, like, I was able to really just brush that off and not actually attach to it like I usually would. So that attachment style, I was learning how to not allow it consume me. And my partner would always tell me something.

He'd say, when something happens, you look at the situation in front of you, it's not you. You need to not realize and not attach to it as if it is you.

You look at it and watch it like a movie kind of thing, and then you just move on to the next scene and move on and find the solution. Move on to the next scene.

And so watching him overcome these challenges, you know, it was a lot harder for him because it was actually him it was happening to. And so I'm like, if he can flow through this, then surely I can flow through this. Like, he's very stoic in that way.

Like, nothing touches him, which is, you know, why this happened to him as well, because it's something, again, he can handle and overcome, but it is a challenge.

But once you master that, and like I said, this week's been a massive eye opener for me in terms of regression, because we've had some news and things like that that have been quite tough to swallow.

And I could see those dark thoughts coming in, and I could see them coming through, and I thought I was just observing how it worked because I've been so positive and, like, nothing's being able to really rock me. The last probably six to eight months, I've been really, really good in flow.

And so when you do notice these things come in and you have had a break, I guess it's amazing to see how easily you can go back to those old defaults, which I'll always have. I'm never going to be perfect, but, yeah, once you can see them, do.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:41:32

You want to be perfect, though?

Brigette Panetta: 00:41:34

No.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:41:34

No, because, yeah, you probably did when you were younger.

Brigette Panetta: 00:41:37

Oh, 100%. I thought I was perfect.

I was like, I'm doing everything perfectly, you know, like, you just think you are, but then you get angry at the world if things don't work your way, because you think you, you think you're deserving of things, but you just get what the universe feels you're ready for.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:41:52

It's a hard lesson. It is. Well, you mentioned this week has been challenging, and you mentioned noticing it, and you mentioned noticing old tendencies.

How does this version of you approach that now? How are you moving through it? How are you kind to yourself? What is your process now in this version of you?

Brigette Panetta: 00:42:12

So there's definitely tools that I use. I use a lot of shadow work tools. So whenever something I can feel myself reacting to, especially when it comes to my daughter. She's my mirror.

So if she does something, they're just born to trigger you. They're born to bring out any kind of weakness or something you need to work on or any shadow you've got. So I'd write it down.

Even if I don't have the time to focus on it, I'll put it in my notes and I will write down what happened and what triggered me and how I felt at that time. And so then when I've got time to myself, I'll sit back and I'll try and work back to where I feel like that trigger started.

So was it something that happened when I was a kid? Did I not feel heard when I was a child? Was there a situation where I was told to not speak?

And so therefore, I feel like I have to suppress myself, was there a. And I would really just dive into those thoughts and see where it took me. Sometimes I don't get anywhere.

Sometimes I'm like, oh, that's something that maybe my mum does or something that my dad does that maybe I'm meant to clear for all of us. Or there's all of this ancestral work that I feel like ties into it.

And it comes back from generations before you that has been brought to your plate to maybe try and work on and make sure I don't pass it down.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:43:32

Yeah. I've heard a lot of people talk about epigenetics in that way and how things are deep seated in the DNA that just gets passed through us.

And maybe my grandmother's trauma is part of mine now, and those are the things that we need to work on. But it's interesting to hear you say what you do now and then think of the Sydney version of you. What would that version of you say?

Brigette Panetta: 00:43:57

Put a show on and just zoned out. Escapism was my thing. Always. Always escaping.

Like, even if I was cooking or doing anything, I'd always have something in my ears, like a show or something. That's, like, completely taking me out of the situation, because I was numbing what I was thinking, and I did not want to face it. I was not ready.

And I just slowly had to work my way out of that, you know, and think, okay, my mind's telling me to put something on. What am I running? What am I running from? What is it that I'm getting through, that I'm trying to bury?

And so now it's like I face it head on all the time with.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:44:40

That younger version of you, if she heard someone talking about what you do now for yourself, would you have been like, why?

Brigette Panetta: 00:44:47

Yeah. Yeah. No. Just absolutely, totally would not have made sense to me at the time.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:44:53

Yeah. It's so interesting how these life moments, as yours is continuing these things that challenge us in ways that we never could have imagined.

Cause I bet even that younger version of you faced challenges before that she overcame and conquered and achieved, and then it's like, well, life is gonna throw you a real crazy curveball right now.

Brigette Panetta: 00:45:16

Exactly. Yeah.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:45:18

To your point earlier, as terrible as this is, and as much as you would not wish this on any other person, let alone yourself, tiny silver lining of the ability to find yourself really, truly and connect with yourself, I can imagine what that's doing for your daughter to see you find you.

Brigette Panetta: 00:45:41

Yes.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:45:41

You know, like, that's such a different kind of inspiration. I think when I grew up, it was always like, that person's so rich and doing all these things. That's my inspiration.

But, like, to see a parent really feel whole.

Brigette Panetta: 00:45:54

Yeah. And I'm really vocal with her on a lot of the things I'm doing because I feel like emotions weren't spoken about in my house.

It was bury them or, you know, snap out of it kind of thing. You know, there wasn't. You didn't really sit and discuss things. Cause no one really did that.

So I'm really open with her about what I'm going through and the tools that I'm using and. Cause she's obviously feeling what I'm feeling, too. Our household, you know, that has that energy that she's gonna be absorbing.

So I try and teach her about anger and if she's carrying anything to give it back to that person. And we do little practices and things like that. So she always can tell if she's.

She can explain what emotion she's feeling, which I think is really amazing.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:46:36

That is. I mean, kudos to you for that. And imagining the pregnant version of Brigitte, like, you wouldn't have even thought of probably doing that with her.

Brigette Panetta: 00:46:48

I thought I was gonna sit on my lily pad and enjoy my life.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:46:51

Yeah, well, you're not, but I think you're doing something super valuable. And it's just, you know, I think your daughter's gonna be really.

She's gonna benefit from that a lot, because I can't imagine having the power to feel like a full human at four or five years old, you know, like.

Brigette Panetta: 00:47:09

Yeah, yeah.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:47:10

Like, it just felt like when we were kids, it was just like, whatever mom and dad say, exactly. We do.

Brigette Panetta: 00:47:17

Yes, exactly. Yeah. And you just lose your.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:47:21

What are you sad about? I don't know. You know, like. And now your daughter can actually tell you what she's sad about.

Brigette Panetta: 00:47:27

Exactly. Yeah. She's very articulate. Like, I've got a.

I've definitely raised a strong woman, which sometimes is very difficult as a mother, to, like, to lead because she wants to lead, which I don't want to take that away from her. But, yeah, she's definitely very emotionally intelligent for her age, which I'm very proud of.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:47:48

I mean, I applaud that because I think of myself, and, you know, at the time, I think most parents were like, stop crying. Stop. You know? Like, whatever it was, it wasn't like, let's process this. Let's figure out why you're crying or why you're mad or.

Brigette Panetta: 00:48:02

Exactly.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:48:03

You know? And I just think of how different maybe I would be if I had that. But then again, I look back at that, and maybe that's what I needed at the.

You know, like, at the time. Yeah, maybe that's why I'm this version of me.

Brigette Panetta: 00:48:15

Exactly right. And that's. It's all part of the journey. It's all.

You chose your parents, and then you've been able to maybe, like, transmute something that they carried, and now you're able to speak vulnerably about yourself, which you probably wouldn't have been able to do before.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:48:31

I mean, look at us former perfectionists talking about our feelings like, you're right. Here we are. This is.

You know, it's so interesting to me to think back on these moments, and I'm wondering if you feel like the moment where you were able to do the forgiveness meditation component was more pivotal in the journey of Bridget than the actual lawsuit drop on your lap. Which one do you feel has more, like, changed you as a person?

Brigette Panetta: 00:49:02

Oh, the forgiveness, 100%. Yeah. Because it's that again. It gave me that feeling of power. Like, I can.

I can control how I choose to feel, and I don't need to carry other people's feelings and worries.

I've always been a people pleaser and a yes girl before all of this, and so I always thought about others before myself, and now I'm like, I was able to even forgive myself for being like that. You know, your parents did the best you've been able to.

You know, you've grown as a person, and now you can choose who you put your effort into, who you put your energy into. Whereas before, I felt like I had to pour it into others to get that acceptance or to make them feel good and at my own expense.

So I'd always feel depleted of energy when I'd be around certain people, but I felt like I meant to pour into their cup, you know, I didn't know how to pour into my own cup, but just doing that practice allowed me to refill, and then I can still do it all the time now. If someone upsets me or something happens, I can forgive them and know that it's nothing personal.

It's just their journey, and they're deflecting onto me.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:50:13

That's a big journey. That's a lesson that only life can teach us, I think.

Brigette Panetta: 00:50:18

Exactly right.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:50:21

I'm sorry that you had to go through that, but I am, you know, same with you.

Brigette Panetta: 00:50:26

But I just feel like the universe gives us what we can handle and, you know, there will come a point where you see the positive in it, and hopefully more of us can connect and share our tools and things like.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:50:40

That, you know, and that's. That's the important.

And just knowing that there's, like, another version, there's another opportunity for us, there's another, you know, like, I think in those moments, we feel so helpless. Like we, especially those that used to be controlling of things and, like, we can't control the outcome now.

And everything feels like I have the world spinning and I don't know where to stand and how to stand in it and what to do.

To know that I could hear someone in a podcast like this or whatever, that someone went through it, someone had a hard time, someone gradually made themselves better in the way that made sense for them. Gives us hope, I think.

Brigette Panetta: 00:51:20

Exactly. Exactly, right. Yeah. And that's just what we need to spread more of, I think. Like, you will get through your tough time. There will be a silver lining.

You will need to make tough decisions, and you will need a sacrifice.

But I feel like it's just really going to free you of anything that you've been carrying that doesn't serve you and old ways and old patterns and old, you know, things that you've been conditioned with you didn't even know, you know, I didn't think I could change the way I thought. I thought I was just this person and that's how I was raised to be. But when you realize born this way. Yeah, that's what I would say.

I'm like, oh, that's just me. But it's not like that's how you've been told to be, and you're a pure soul.

You can reprogram anything you want and change the mind however you want it to be.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:52:10

What is this version of you in the way that you feel about yourself, the way you feel about the universe, the way you feel about your family. What do you get excited for? For the future?

Now, it's not necessarily probably promotions or big business, I'm sure this case, but other than that, what do you get excited for in life? This version of you?

Brigette Panetta: 00:52:29

The main thing I get excited for. I do feel like there's justice ahead of us. I don't know when that's going to be.

I just have this really strong feeling of that, and I feel like from there, there's going to be a lot of amazing opportunity for us just to be a family and enjoy life and just building this dynamic and building this family that we really have gone without for the last five years, we haven't been that unit. We've been a really strong team individually, and I feel like that's a really amazing thing.

I didn't see it in that way until I spoke to a mentor one time and I said, I feel like we're really separate. And it makes me really sad because that's not how I want my family to be. And she's like, but you're a team. You're doing that. He's doing this.

Like, that's a massive credit to you both. And it completely changed my perspective. And I thought, oh, my God, how strong are we? We can overcome this individually.

I don't need him showing me what to do. I can. I've been doing this alone. Like, that's independence, and it just completely changed my perspective.

But I would really still love to enjoy family moments and have those, you know, try and make up for lost time.

I think that's what's giving me hope and getting me excited because I do genuinely see us off the back of this, really getting that solid family time and just being completely a healed and better version of myself as well with my daughter. And just seeing me just happy and free of litigation would be amazing.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:54:02

Yeah, free of litigation.

It just feels like the world would be your oyster at this point, because gone are the days of you feeling like you need to achieve exactly right, or at least in the traditional sense of business. Gone are those days.

Now are the days of you, like, really living life in the way you want to, not the way the world told you you had to, not the way your family told you you had to in the way that you want to.

Brigette Panetta: 00:54:33

Yeah. And just being able to make decisions and not feel like, oh, is something bad going to happen? So I better not do that.

You know, just having this fear around and knowing it's there, but not allowing it to affect me too much. But I. In a long distance way, it does still affect me because I am nervous about any.

Because once you back someone into a corner, you're worried about how desperate they get to try and really vary a lot of truths and things like that, which is. It's scary, but, yeah, I know that.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:55:05

And it's been going on for so long that, like, it. It's hard not to have that become ingrained as part of your life and how you, you know, move through it.

So I hope that end comes soon in a way that gives you so much justice so that you can live the exciting version of your life in which now you're fully you and you can do whatever the hell you want to do with your family. Yeah.

Brigette Panetta: 00:55:32

Even for, like, in my business and what I build in the future, I feel like I'm the right version for that now. Whereas before, if I would have built it based on those old conditionings, I probably would have only got so far, you know?

Matt Gilhooly: 00:55:45

And you would have pushed for different things. I think you might push for different things these days.

Brigette Panetta: 00:55:49

Yes. Yeah. So there's a lot of excitement in the future, and I'm looking forward.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:55:54

I feel it for you. I'm excited for you as far as just, like, finding this version of you and this comfort in your own skin and not trying to escape things.

I mean, I think that is a huge win that so many people that aren't facing these hard things will take a while to get to, you know? And I think just hearing you, like, maybe. Maybe you're planting a seed for them by hearing your story. They're not.

Hopefully not facing what you're facing, but maybe can take some of your advice and move forward with it.

Brigette Panetta: 00:56:24

Yeah.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:56:24

You know, of course.

Brigette Panetta: 00:56:25

And anyone that wants to reach out, I'm more than happy to lend an email.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:56:29

She's in the future, guys.

Brigette Panetta: 00:56:30

Yeah.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:56:30

Yeah, she can see the future. I love to kind of wrap up these conversations with a question, and I'm wondering if you could.

If you could go back to the version of you that was in her hat, hiding from. Nobody should see me, how I'm feeling, and I'm angry. And the fire inside of you, that's not really healthy in a good way.

Is there anything that this version of you would want to say to her? Maybe as she's walking into that appointment that changed your life.

Brigette Panetta: 00:57:03

I would say, shoulders back, chest out. Take your hat off. You've got this.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:57:10

Yeah. You just needed that little pep talk. You needed someone to see you, give you a hug, tell you you were still you, you were still that.

You're still valuable.

Brigette Panetta: 00:57:20

Exactly. And just let go and trust, because everything was out of my control. I felt like I'm the solution. I'm the problem. Like, I like to fix things.

You know, I like to get in there and fix things. I like to find solutions, but I just couldn't. And it was destroying me, knowing I had to watch this crumble, and I couldn't do anything.

So, yeah, let go and trust.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:57:44

Kudos to you for finding this version of you.

So many people can get lost in that depression, can get lost in that devastation that you went through and loss of everything, really, and having to build from the ground back up and with not a lot of resources. Right. And really going through this. So kudos to you for finding you in this tumultuous journey, because.

Brigette Panetta: 00:58:10

Thank you so much.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:58:12

I think you're one of the few that would be able to do that, unfortunately. So hopefully more people can hear this and do the same.

Brigette Panetta: 00:58:19

Of course. No, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:58:23

I appreciate you allowing this conversation to go in the way that it did. I think it's, every one of these conversations heals me in some kind of way just by having these, like, vulnerable conversations, if you will.

So thank you for that. If people want to, like, connect with you, learn more about you, get in your circle, like, what's the best way to find you?

Brigette Panetta: 00:58:43

Of course.

So I am on, I've just started a YouTube channel, and I've got my instagram, which I haven't used too much, but maybe I think my best would be bridgetponetta.com. i've got a landing page that I've set up. So Brige double T, Panetta, paneta.com and just reach out to me on there.

And I'd love to hear from anyone who's going through anything and any adversity, any social injustice. Just one more thing I'd mention is my partner and I mainly my partner has created a new platform called Media.com. and I'm sharing my story on there.

So if you look Bridget Panetta on media.com, and it's a new platform that we are establishing to be able to create truth within the media industry and to try and accountability and have your voice be heard on there.

Matt Gilhooly: 00:59:33

Awesome.

So for anyone listening, we'll include the links that you just talked about, make sure you give me those links if I don't have them, but we will put those in the show notes. So if you're listening, easy access, just go in your app and you'll be able to find those links. Click on them. Connect with Bridget.

Tell her your story. Reach out. Maybe you don't have a story to tell her, but you just want to say hi and say thank you for sharing your story.

I'm sure she would love that. Even better.

I mean, that's great, but even better if you know someone in your life that's going through a hard moment and that would benefit from hearing Bridget's story, we would love it if you share this episode with them because I think, you know, the more we can help each other out, whether that's by sharing stories, whether that's by just sharing resources or tools or whatever that might be, I think the world would be a better place. So please do that. Just reach out. Connect with me if you'd like to.

If you like this episode, leave a rating and review all the things that we're supposed to say as podcasters. It's just, I just love having these conversations. And thank you for allowing me to do it by listening. All of you listening.

And also, Bridget, thank you for just letting me do this.

Brigette Panetta: 01:00:38

Yeah, thank you so much. I feel so amazing just having this chat with you. So I'm really grateful for you having me on.

Matt Gilhooly: 01:00:45

I accept that compliment. Thank you very much for that and anyone listening. I will be back next week with a brand new episode of the Life Shift podcast. Thanks again, Bridget.

Brigette Panetta: 01:00:54

Thank you.

Matt Gilhooly: 01:01:06

For more information, please visit www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com.