EP:8 - Rising Through the Storm – Marjah on Faith, Growth, and Starting Over

Join Ike Anderson as he welcomes the inspiring Marjah Simon, a bestselling author, speaker, and international attorney. Marjah shares her powerful story of navigating a triple devastation – the loss of her partner, career, and health – and how she not only survived but transformed her life. Discover her journey from heartbreak to hope and the profound lessons she learned about resilience, faith, and the abundance within us all. This episode offers invaluable insights for anyone facing difficult times and seeking to rebuild their life with strength and purpose.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Marjah
• 0:56 Transformation: heartbreak to hope
• 3:09 Key principles for overcoming challenges
• 11:41 Finding a higher purpose
• 13:22 Shifting perspective on suffering
• 30:54 The truth of being love
• 31:51 Advice for reinvention
• 42:48 Final thoughts

Transcript

[00:00:00] Ike Anderson: Welcome back to another episode of The Unmasking Effect, where we dive deep into stories of resilience, transformation, and the incredible potential we all hold within. Today's guest will absolutely inspire and ignite your heart. Meet Marja. A bestselling author sought after speaker, international attorney, and an all around extraordinary entrepreneur.

[00:00:23] But what makes Margie's story truly unforgettable is her journey through a triple devastation, losing the love of her life, her career, and her health. All at the same time. It's the kind of storm that would crush just about anyone. Yet Marja didn't just survive. She transformed. In this episode, Marja shares how she faced the unimaginable, picked up the pieces, and chose to recreate her life on her own terms.

[00:00:56] Her journey from heartbreak to hope, from loss to [00:01:00] abundance is nothing short of remarkable. Now, her mission is to share the lessons she's learned with people searching for answers, looking to rise from their own challenges and ready to discover the amazing abundance that exists within us all. If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or wondered how to begin.

[00:01:21] When life feels shattered, this episode is for you. Marge's Wisdom, courage, and powerful insights will remind you just how resilient and extraordinary the human spirit can be. So let's dive in. Get ready to be inspired as I welcome the incredible marja to the unmasking effect.

[00:01:52] As we go into the conversation, um, have you undergone any. Reinvention in your own [00:02:00] life? 

[00:02:02] Marjah Simon: Oh, I think the, uh, better question is when have I not? So, um, most of us have a default. I. Where we've been taught that we wait until there's severe pain suffering, and this is usually when, how we start our life. Once we are feeling pain, then we make shifts, then we make changes.

[00:02:28] We decide to do something different, and. A habit may develop of waiting for the pain and the suffering, and we think that's the sequence that is necessary always. Mm-hmm. Because that's how we start as children, as young adults, as as teenagers, as young adults. And the truth is, we actually can decide to recreate our life without the pain and [00:03:00] suffering.

[00:03:00] Mm-hmm. This is something that I learned and have been working on, and yes, there's still gonna be pain and challenges and things like that. However, there's a shorter timeframe between feeling the discomfort and making the shift with the mastery over ourselves In this area, life is so much sweeter. It's more playful and more creative and more fun, and we realize that when we are having challenges, things in our life that we don't want, it's not an evil thing.

[00:03:44] It's not a bad thing. It's not something that is meant for our destruction, but merely meant to help us get clarity. Decide what we actually do want [00:04:00] and then shift our focus into what's wanted so that we could move in alignment with our actual desires, with our true vision, with our highest self, with the God intent for us.

[00:04:12] And so I love where I am at this point in my life. Because when I look back over the iterations of me transforming through pain, through suffering, through loss, it was absolutely powerful. And like I say, when I used to speak on stages about this, I wouldn't have chosen it, but I'm very grateful for it.

[00:04:45] Ike Anderson: Yeah. So. What you just explained is, from my perspective, uh, an outcome, like something that you've created for yourself. 

[00:04:55] Marjah Simon: Mm-hmm. 

[00:04:56] Ike Anderson: But maybe something [00:05:00] might have happened at some point before 

[00:05:02] Marjah Simon: mm-hmm. 

[00:05:03] Ike Anderson: That you had a contrasting feeling. 

[00:05:05] Marjah Simon: Oh, yes. 

[00:05:06] Ike Anderson: Or contrasting belief. Mm-hmm. So can you take us back? 

[00:05:11] Marjah Simon: Yes. 

[00:05:12] Ike Anderson: So maybe a time in your life where you didn't have this resignation that you have right now.

[00:05:18] You were going through what, what you would call a significant challenge. 

[00:05:22] Marjah Simon: Yeah, absolutely. 

[00:05:23] Ike Anderson: And that taught you the thoughts and the ideas to express what you just expressed about? 

[00:05:29] Marjah Simon: Yeah. Oh, absolutely. One of the ones that come to mind. I call it my job experience, like job from the Bible, when. Everything seemed to have been lost.

[00:05:40] Almost everything, words matter almost everything was lost from him, but he still had his life. He still had the breath in him. And so in my job, I believe every human, by the way, goes through their job experience. In my job experience, I was three months [00:06:00] pregnant and engaged to the love of my life. He had just gotten back from.

[00:06:07] Fighting in Iraq for a year. Our life was looking amazing. He survived that while many people unfortunately had not. That year was already very challenging for both of us. I was.

[00:06:30] Ready to start my next life with this amazing, positive energy man who supported me and challenged me and was my champion, and I was for him, the same for him. And it was this beautiful symbiotic relationship that we have mistakenly believe it's a once in a lifetime love. And so. Attracting that, experiencing that [00:07:00] at this highest peak, having a great career.

[00:07:05] My house, all of the things seemed to be falling into place. I was practicing as a lawyer. Everything seemed to be going well, and he went away for two weeks with his military unit, uh, in the United States for a training. The night before he was to return home, I woke up out of my sleep screaming. There was I.

[00:07:34] Seemed to be lightning and thunder in my dark bedroom, and I'm just screaming and screaming and lightning and thunder, and I knew something was wrong with him. And I picked up the phone and I called his cell. No answer. I picked up the called and called no answer. He was at the hotel, um, on the military base.

[00:07:55] I called the front desk. It was about two in the morning and they [00:08:00] called his room. No answer. And they said, ma'am, we can't disturb the guests at two in the morning. I said, I just know something is wrong. I just know something is wrong. And long story short, two days. And they, when he didn't show up, they went to look for him and they found him passed away in his bed.

[00:08:21] Oh, and in an instant. The one of the sweetest parts of my life was gone, and there I was with my 8-year-old daughter and three months pregnant and in anguish and in pain, and in short sec succession, my job closed down. My house got foreclosed on, my car got repossessed, and with all of the stress and pain and anguish, my health started to fail.

[00:08:59] They [00:09:00] wanted to, the doctors wanted to do surgery on me while I was pregnant, and this is all within like 60. Less than 90 days, all of this happened. Wow. I always said if I, if I had a dog that ran away, I would've had a hit country Western song 

[00:09:18] and I had to decide to breathe every day. I had to decide to fight back for my life because the pain, the suffering was so overwhelming. One day I got out of bed and I fell on my knees and I said, God, I don't understand this, but I trust you. And the words, his plans are higher than our plans. His ways are higher than our plans, our ways, and that what is meant for our evil, he will use it for our good.

[00:09:58] All of these words [00:10:00] kept flooding back to me. When I said, God, I trust you, the suffering lifted off of me. I was still in pain, but the suffering was gone. One of my coaches, Tony Robbins, he says, pain is inevitable, but suffering is an option, and I chose not to suffer. I heard Nando's voice telling me, mommy, I'm sorry you're going through this, but you got things to do.

[00:10:28] Get up. 

[00:10:29] Ike Anderson: Mm, mm-hmm. 

[00:10:31] Marjah Simon: And I started reading things, listening to things to strengthen my resolve, to strengthen my heart, to strengthen my mind, to strengthen my spirit. I started keeping people around me that I could call at one o'clock, two o'clock, three in the morning when I just wanted to cry, and I knew they would just sit there and let me.

[00:10:55] I kept people around me who loved me enough to [00:11:00] not let me fall. 

[00:11:01] Ike Anderson: Yeah. So how, how did you balance that marja in regards to even finding people to be around you or calling on people for support? Because there's some of us that when we were in a state of suffering, so to speak. We actually close away.

[00:11:23] Mm-hmm. And, um, confine. Yes. When it's actually maybe the opposite that's really needed to pull us out. Yes. How did you balance those bo both dynamics, and how did you decide to reach out versus to constrict and contract? 

[00:11:41] Marjah Simon: Well, I found a purpose higher than myself. I was three months pregnant, and I knew that if I didn't survive this, this baby would not survive, and this was the last thing that Nardo had created on earth, and I could not let his legacy die.

[00:11:59] I knew [00:12:00] that I had this beautiful 8-year-old daughter, Jada, and she just lost at that time, the only dad she ever knew. And that was her stepdad and, and he had been in her life since she was three, and I couldn't let her lose another parent. Mm-hmm. My sister, Jasmine, uh, she was living in, I believe Chicago at the time, and she packed up everything and showed up at my front door without being asked, and she moved in and wheeled me back and.

[00:12:38] She was my best friend and I knew that I couldn't let her lose her best friend, her sister. 

[00:12:44] Ike Anderson: Mm. So, so.

[00:12:51] You didn't internalize it, so to speak, to hold you back, but you started to reach out, okay? 

[00:12:59] Marjah Simon: Yes, yes. [00:13:00] When we are, and I learned again, uh, so much from one of my coaches, Tony Robbins, I have many coaches. And when we think that a per, uh, a, a problem is permanent, pervasive, and personal. We go into such a spiral of suffering that one may even wanna commit suicide.

[00:13:22] Ike Anderson: Mm-hmm. 

[00:13:22] Marjah Simon: But when we shift to the truth that nothing is permanent except our soul, when we shift to, when we shift to the truth that nothing is pervasive. While yes, it may have a, uh, this job experience may have attacked several areas and several fronts of my life. It wasn't everything. I still had breath in my lungs.

[00:13:44] I still had the ability to see and to move and to breathe. I still had two beautiful daughters. I still had friends and family that loved me. I still, although it was being foreclosed on, I still had a roof over my head. I still had a degree and an [00:14:00] opportunity to, to provide for myself. So it wasn't pervasive.

[00:14:03] We lie to ourselves and say, when we are in suffering, that it's everything. 

[00:14:07] Ike Anderson: Mm-hmm. 

[00:14:08] Marjah Simon: And it's never everything. 

[00:14:12] Ike Anderson: Mm. 

[00:14:12] Marjah Simon: And then we say, then we lie and say to ourselves and say that it's personal. This is just me. Nobody else on earth has gone through this, but like I said, everybody has their job experience.

[00:14:25] Yeah. Yeah. This is not unique to us, so that we can then, if it's not unique to us, that means that there are patterns that we can find to model and mirror to move ourselves through. Mm-hmm. 

[00:14:40] Ike Anderson: Was it easy to start moving your way through once you started looking for signs, symbols, reading, getting the information, did you find it easy to, to implement those things as you were getting in, or were you still caught up with figuring out [00:15:00] work and what's next?

[00:15:02] Marjah Simon: I, I wasn't looking for easy. I was looking for through. And I didn't care whether it was easy, whether it was hard. I just knew I wasn't going to stop because I found so many reasons to pull me through that were bigger than myself and my pity party and what I was feeling. And while what I was feeling were legitimate, honest and true feelings, and I acknowledged them and I felt them, and I went through them 

[00:15:29] And there were times when I would spiral back and fall back in, and then I'd have to tap in to. The formula again of this is what I'm doing to pull my, to be pulled out of this because I don't wanna live here. Yeah. Got it. And that story, uh, that job experience, and many others. My co-author, JJ Velar and I, we co-authored a book called Next Life Next because we wanted people to know that [00:16:00] you can create your next life.

[00:16:03] So whatever is happening next life. Next, next life next, next life next. And you allow yourself, yes, to feel it, go through the journey, but there are patterns and there are formulas that you can use. 

[00:16:17] Ike Anderson: Yeah. Give me, give me three things, Hmm. That you think are tools, resources, yes. Key principles, framework that you could look at if someone's in a situation.

[00:16:30] Um, their own job moment Yeah. That you would say someone should look at considering 

[00:16:37] Marjah Simon: number one, don't do it alone. 

[00:16:41] Ike Anderson: Hmm. 

[00:16:41] Marjah Simon: It's so tempting to close off, to go within, to go into a dark space and hide. Um. When we are in community with one another in proximity with people that care about us. And if you think you don't have anybody, find them.[00:17:00] 

[00:17:00] Look for them. Insist whether it's in your family, whether it's in your friends, whether it's in a outreach community, whether it's in a, a group or a a, a church or a synagogue. Whatever it is, find them. And it doesn't matter how long you have, find your tribe, find the people. And it even helps to start to look for that now before you're going through your job experience.

[00:17:29] So, you know, preempt, okay, we're having the formula, you have the form, you have the recipe, start iterating it, start putting it into place. So go find the people that you know you can call on, and also be the person that somebody can call on too. So that's number one. Don't go it alone. Don't allow yourself to close off and go into the pity party and spiral down and down and down where you start to [00:18:00] maybe make poor decisions to mask the suffering and pain, like drugs or alcohol or food or other addictions and things like that 

[00:18:09] But instead, proactively seek out people. Don't go alone. That's number one, 

[00:18:17] Ike Anderson: right? 

[00:18:19] Marjah Simon: Number two says, guard the doors of your mind. What you watch, what you listen to, what you say matters so much. Take the time. To be deliberate with that now, before you're going through your job experience. So you're developing that muscle and that resiliency and that habit of keeping good things around you always.

[00:18:48] Mm-hmm. But when you're going through the storm, that is the most critical time. To make sure that you are doing a thing to fortify you and strengthen your resolve and lift [00:19:00] you up and, and, and help you. I felt guilty when Naro had passed. I felt guilty about laughing. 

[00:19:07] Ike Anderson: Mm. 

[00:19:09] Marjah Simon: I was like, how dare I, I laugh and be happy.

[00:19:11] And I remember the first time that I, I laughed and then I felt guilty and I felt bad, but no. That is not an appropriate reaction. Again, we've been taught that we are required to suffer. 

[00:19:27] Ike Anderson: Yeah. 

[00:19:28] Marjah Simon: And we're not, and I know that he wants me to be happy to continue on in my life, to do the things, and he would've been disappointed if I hadn't.

[00:19:40] Right. And so, again, reasons bigger than myself and. Tapping into those reasons bigger than yourself for everything is so important when you have, uh, your clear outcome. What is the thing I am trying to do here? This is number [00:20:00] three. Have a clear goal. Clear outcome, clear vision. When our life falls apart, it's foggy and scary.

[00:20:13] Because the vision for our life, the path we were going on is suddenly gone. 

[00:20:17] Ike Anderson: Yeah. 

[00:20:18] Marjah Simon: And I had to realize that it never existed. So all of the plans that he and I had made for our future, I was for at first, acting as if I had lost something. But those things, hadn never existed. We hadn't actually lived those yet.

[00:20:38] And even the things that we were living that were no longer. It was gonna change anyway. 

[00:20:45] Ike Anderson: Mm-hmm. 

[00:20:48] Marjah Simon: I even told myself if I had been there, maybe I could have saved him if I had been there. And I started to beat myself up again. Words what we're saying, what we're thinking, [00:21:00] all of this matters. And then I realized, I said, you know what 

[00:21:03] If you're going to blame on one end, 'cause nothing is one sided, you better effectively pull in the other side too. Yeah, because I said, what if I had been there? I could have saved him. Then I said, what if I had been there and I went into shock and lost the baby? 

[00:21:17] Ike Anderson: Mm. 

[00:21:19] Marjah Simon: What if me not being there was the gift?

[00:21:23] Ike Anderson: Mm. So you're reframing everything. 

[00:21:26] Marjah Simon: Reframing everything, how we speak, what we're believing, what we're, what we're thinking, what we're saying, what we're watching, what we're listening to. I surrounded myself with, um, with podcasts and with books, um, to, to, to listen to and to watch and to read and, and everything that would strengthen.

[00:21:49] A resolve to live. A resolve to keep going forward. A resolve to create my next life next. 

[00:21:56] Ike Anderson: Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

[00:21:58] Marjah Simon: And it was intentional. [00:22:00] 

[00:22:00] Ike Anderson: Yeah. Um, yeah, the points you're, you're outlining are spot on. Um, you know, in, in my own dark moments. Unlike you Mm. I to be, uh, be pulled in to the comfort of the darkness. Mm-hmm 

[00:22:28] I'll call it. 

[00:22:29] Marjah Simon: Mm. 

[00:22:29] Ike Anderson: And even though the community is there mm-hmm. That is supportive, I would've, I withdrew and I really didn't trust. 

[00:22:45] Marjah Simon: Yeah. 

[00:22:46] Ike Anderson: And it became lonely. Yeah. And even though we consume the content, it just doesn't become real because there's a sense of numbness. 

[00:22:58] Marjah Simon: Yes. [00:23:00] 

[00:23:01] Ike Anderson: But everything you just outlined, it's almost to the contrary.

[00:23:07] A certain extent, and it's really the, the magnet that's gonna pull you back into a space of balance and alignment. Yes. Yeah. So, so, so I honor what you're sharing and you know, I think for people who are listening as well, like mm-hmm. That's your journey, your story. Mine as well. Mm-hmm. But the, the, the one truth is, is the community plays a big, big, big, big deal.

[00:23:34] Yes. Um, even the ones, even when you said you have to create it before you're in something. 

[00:23:41] Marjah Simon: Yeah, 

[00:23:41] Ike Anderson: you're working through like spot on. 

[00:23:44] Marjah Simon: Yeah. One of my friends, um, Les Brown, motivational speaker, he always says, uh, you're either going into something, coming outta something or was it, you're either in something coming outta something or about to go into something.

[00:23:58] Ike Anderson: Yeah. [00:24:00] That's, that's so true. So tell me a little bit more about. Being of service now. Because the other thing you said that was really key is who you are being for someone else if they're going through the thing. 

[00:24:21] Marjah Simon: Yes. 

[00:24:21] Ike Anderson: It's literally a part of, still the preparation is to serve, to be served in the event that you need it too.

[00:24:28] Right. Yes. So who do you need to be or who did you need to be as you reinvented and mm-hmm. Evolved and prepared yourself to, to serve others as you went through your own journey and growth. 

[00:24:42] Marjah Simon: Yeah. Often when we're looking for the answers, it, we can find it in service. 

[00:24:49] Ike Anderson: Mm-hmm.

[00:24:55] Marjah Simon: I remember when I was going to go to law school, [00:25:00] my oldest daughter, she had just, she was just born, so I had a new baby. I was about to start law school and I didn't know how I was going to do this. I had a husband at the time who didn't support my going to school and was even actively sabotaging my efforts out of his own fears and and challenges that he was facing.

[00:25:36] Ike Anderson: Hmm.

[00:25:37] Marjah Simon: Not that he was a bad person, but we all have our own ways of dealing with things, sometimes not as effectively as we can. But I was determined to take this next step that was calling me even with a new baby and, and the financial challenges and everything else, and I decided [00:26:00] to go up to the school and ask for help.

[00:26:07] I had skills I had. And other degrees. I had, uh, ways to offer something. I just didn't know what or to whom at the time. I met a student who was a couple of years ahead of me and he said, my daughter goes to an amazing daycare. I'll introduce you to the owner. She should go there and. I started going to a church who needed a teacher part-time temporarily.

[00:26:42] It was a private school. I could teach, I could do something. So I showed up and I would teach part-time and, and one of the ladies at the church would take care of my [00:27:00] daughter. I wouldn't have found her had I not said, let me serve, let me see who else needs help. What can I do with what I have? 

[00:27:11] Ike Anderson: Mm. And even to even ask in the first place.

[00:27:16] Yeah. 

[00:27:16] Marjah Simon: Yeah. 

[00:27:17] Ike Anderson: Because a lot of us are also taught not to ask and to go through that.  

[00:27:22] Marjah Simon: Mm-hmm. 

[00:27:23] Ike Anderson: Aloneness again. Yeah. Which is maybe a cultural thing from my perspective. I don't 

[00:27:28] Marjah Simon: think it's a cultural thing. I think it's an economic thing. How so? Because we have been mistaught in the education system that if we. 

[00:27:43] Collaborate. If we ask for help, if we look on the person's paper next to us for the answers, it's called cheating. And we're bad people. And we are punished severely, and we are humiliated, and we are ridiculed, and we are demonized. And [00:28:00] so it gets into our nervous system as children to not ask for help 

[00:28:05] Right, and it is designed to make sure that we play small, that we don't grow our communities, that we don't actually step into our own powers as creators, as entrepreneurs, as, as. Uh, whatever it is that we're here to give and do and be and serve in the world, because as long as we're individuals, we can be picked off.

[00:28:30] But when we come together and strengthen unity, that collective mind, that Mastermind is stronger, is more creative. We find solutions, we find ways, we find answers, and we don't have to. Adopt

[00:28:49] the unwanted solutions of someone else. 

[00:28:52] Ike Anderson: Yeah. So that's very interesting because what you're explaining is, is almost like [00:29:00] a, a branch on the tree where there is the economic piece like you just explained, but. Coming from the Caribbean where I was, you know, raised, um, there's a sense of the right hand should know what the left hand is doing.

[00:29:21] Mm. And you keep things secret because if someone knows you're either gonna lose it or in Jamaica they call it bad mine.  

[00:29:32] Marjah Simon: Yes. 

[00:29:33] Ike Anderson: Or in India they call it the evil eye or it's the same thing. Right? Yeah. We've, we've basically shut away from asking for help. Mm-hmm. 'cause of a proudness of, no one should know that you're going through stuff, 

[00:29:51] you know?

[00:29:51] Uh,  

[00:29:51] Marjah Simon: and I believe it's not even proudness. I believe it's fear. And again, it's a learned fear. What I found, [00:30:00] surprisingly, the parts of ourselves that we are wanting to hide away. Are our most powerful selves. That is actually the things that we're looking to hide. The things that we think that we're gonna be ridiculed for and shunned and, and made an outcast from society over those things are actually our gateway through everything that we want in our life.

[00:30:24] Ike Anderson: I agree. 1000000000%. So on the Tree of Life, you just outlined the an economic. Process of looking at the fair, why we want to be alone to a certain extent. 

[00:30:37] Marjah Simon: Mm-hmm. 

[00:30:38] Ike Anderson: I think I also see it from an ancestral environment, how you were brought up, perspective. Mm-hmm. Ultimately, what would you say is the truth? To summarize it?

[00:30:49] Yes. To get past whatever the branch is, to get to where you need to go. 

[00:30:54] Marjah Simon: The truth is you can never not be loved. Mm, [00:31:00] because you are love, you are the being love, so therefore you cannot not not have what you are. Mm. And so we're looking for external validation and acceptance, but when we come from within and realize we are that which we seek, hmm 

[00:31:28] We can never lose it. And when we come from that place, from the inside out, we see it and we receive it and we tap in and connect to it everywhere in abundance. 

[00:31:39] Ike Anderson: Mm. 

[00:31:40] Marjah Simon: We become a magnet for it. 

[00:31:43] Ike Anderson: Yeah, absolutely. And that's the truth. The truth. What's one advice you would give someone right now? That's going through their own reinvention, um, that's [00:32:00] hearing your voice right now.

[00:32:02] And they're afraid and they're sitting in this space of numbness, non momentum, and they hear the call. 

[00:32:14] Marjah Simon: Yeah. 

[00:32:14] Ike Anderson: Who puts one advice you would give them right now? 

[00:32:19] Marjah Simon: Remember that nothing is wrong with you. Remember that everything you need is within you to get up and to take one more moment, one more hour, one more day, and sometimes it's just one more breath, one more step, and then another.

[00:32:46] When I was going through my job experience. I would be angry when I woke up because when I slept, at least I found some reprieve. And then when I woke up, all of the pain and suffering would come flooding back. [00:33:00] And the memories, the remembrance of what had happened. 

[00:33:04] Ike Anderson: Hmm. 

[00:33:05] Marjah Simon: And I had to assign a new meaning to everything.

[00:33:09] Our emotions come from the meaning that we are giving the situation that we're in when my mom passed away. The meaning I gave to it was that she was no longer in pain and suffering in her body, and she was free and her spirit being eternal. I could communicate with her anytime I want and she would show up and talk with me and me with her, um, in her free bountiful spirit.

[00:33:38] That was the meaning I gave to my mom, passing away and I missed her. Yes. And that became my truth. And then my mom would show up as a little red cardinal, uh, in random places. And I'm like, my mama, red bird, I'd call her. 

[00:33:59] Ike Anderson: [00:34:00] That's, that's beautiful. Um, if you were to look back Marja Yeah. And connect with the 6-year-old version of yourself mm-hmm.

[00:34:15] What's one advice you would give her? 

[00:34:18] Marjah Simon: I have actually gone back and given advice to my 6-year-old self. We think that time is in one direction forward. I. We actually can quantum jump backwards, so-called backwards in time and connect with younger versions of ourselves and give ourselves the love and the support that we needed back then as the person we are now.

[00:34:48] Ike Anderson: Yeah, that's so true. Yeah. And from that same breath. Yeah. If you were to project forward. 

[00:34:56] Marjah Simon: Yeah. 

[00:34:57] Ike Anderson: And connect with the [00:35:00] 90, the nine zero, that elder Yeah. Version of Marja. 

[00:35:04] Marjah Simon: Mm-hmm. 

[00:35:05] Ike Anderson: What's one question you would ask her? Remember that version of, you've already gotten to that point with all the work, the experience in life?

[00:35:18] Marjah Simon: Yeah. 

[00:35:18] Ike Anderson: And it's, it's, yeah. What's one question or what one piece of advice you would ask? 

[00:35:26] Marjah Simon: I've actually spent time visioning and connecting and, and tapping into that future self as well. And so she already exists. The future Marja already has accomplished and moved forward and is powerful in, in love and in business and in finances and contribution and in and in health and in all of the things and in life and in passion and love.

[00:35:50] And she exists so powerfully. I see her, I feel her. I live her. And she lives in my heart and she [00:36:00] says, thank you to me today. She says, thank you to me for getting up every day and doing the things this day so that she can have the life that she has. I. She thanks me. And so when I am deciding in the, in a, maybe a disempowering or weakened moment that I'm just gonna give up, that I'm gonna quit.

[00:36:23] I remember that if I quit now I'm killing her. Mm. And I love her. I cannot stop because she exists. She is real, and it is my responsibility to keep going so that she can live. 

[00:36:39] Ike Anderson: Yeah. Is there anything you would ask her? 

[00:36:43] Marjah Simon: I do, I ask her, uh, am I on the right track? Is uh, uh, is this what you would recommend? Uh, where, how, who, what?[00:37:00] 

[00:37:00] We are so powerful. We are connected to all of the wisdom of the world, past, present, and future. We are connected to all of the wisdom of our ancestors, and we can develop a practice of tapping into that and listening. We are never alone. 

[00:37:25] Ike Anderson: Absolutely. Um, what would you say is the. The best advice you've ever received?

[00:37:34] Marjah Simon: When my grandmother was passing away, she was 80 years old. My sister asked her, what, in the decades of your life, what advice would you give after living so long? And my grandmother said, after a moment's thought. Life is not complicated, so don't make [00:38:00] it complicated. And what that did for me is whenever I feel like life is complicated, I ask myself a better question.

[00:38:12] I say, life is not complicated. So where am I complicating it? And then I can look through a different lens and stop doing those things where I'm getting in my own way, where I'm making it hard, where I'm tripping over my own feet and instead I can actually simplify and move forward. 

[00:38:36] Ike Anderson: That's beautiful.

[00:38:38] Thank you. Awesome way to look at it though, as well.

[00:38:48] Marja, um, from a lot of different ways to look at things, the reframing and you know, clearly. Just [00:39:00] feeling what you went through and, and that journey. Mm-hmm. I can only imagine how difficult that's, you know, that was and mm-hmm. Not just for yourself, but caring for two young, younger kids and mm-hmm. And going through that, that journey.

[00:39:16] Yes. And it's one thing I really sense as a, a never give up attitude. And the epitome of life reinvention is just to keep on adjusting, evolving, and to keep on growing, which is admirable. Thank, thank you. So, um, what's next for you? 

[00:39:36] Marjah Simon: What's next for me is, uh, actually today, right now, this week, uh, my next book, uh, may I share?

[00:39:46] Ike Anderson: Yes, absolutely. 

[00:39:47] Marjah Simon: So this one is Rules of the Game and How to Win God's seven Day Business Plan for Entrepreneurs. Look how thick and beautiful this is not a book, this is actually a living course that [00:40:00] walks you through the seven days of creation from Genesis. And God revealed to me two years ago that it is actually.

[00:40:10] Not just a history lesson or genealogy, but it's a blueprint. It's like, this is how I created the business of life on earth and Earth and all the things in it. And I'm telling you this in such detail so that you, the creators I created to create, can model this and create businesses in this. Mm-hmm. And I actually, this, I, this was revealed to me two years ago and I was afraid to put it out because I'm not.

[00:40:39] They're perfect, yet I'm not doing all the things. I'm still learning. I'm still iterating and changing, uh, how I do things. I'm still making mistakes. And God put it on my heart. This is not about you. 

[00:40:52] Ike Anderson: Mm. 

[00:40:53] Marjah Simon: I said share the message. And so I had to get out of my own fear and my own ego, and, and [00:41:00] again, fear of being ridiculed, of being made fun of fear, fear of being judged.

[00:41:04] So what if I am. It's okay. And I put the book out. It's out this week. I'm so excited about it. I went from fear to excitement once I said yes and stepped in, and then God revealed the next step to me after I obeyed and did what he said. He's like, now take the book. And again, going back to community.

 [00:41:29] Develop a community where you're learning this together. You're elevating growing this together. We're doing this, I'll be doing this with rules of the game. Um, JJ and I will be building a community with the bookers up here next, life next. Mm-hmm. And, and again, all of this, the creation of our life intentionally and the lessons and the stories bringing that community when we are not going through it, is the time to prepare.

[00:41:58] Ike Anderson: Absolutely. [00:42:00] Absolutely. 

[00:42:00] Marjah Simon: So that's what's next for me. 

[00:42:02] Ike Anderson: That's awesome, man. Congratulations on the book, and I'll definitely post the link in the comments for those who are thank you, interested in, in getting, 

[00:42:10] Marjah Simon: um, getting a copy as well. Appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you for this, this was an incredible talk.

[00:42:15] I love your podcast. Uh, I am in love with your book that is coming out very soon as well. Uh, it is. A beautiful, beautiful compilation of lessons and stories and you, it's just you and it's powerful. 

[00:42:37] Ike Anderson: Thank you, Marja. I appreciate you. All right guys. Thank you so much. Thanks for being on Marja, and, uh, good luck with the book and the next step in your reinvention.

[00:42:48] Thank you. What an absolutely powerful conversation with Marja. Her journey of resilience and reinvention is a testament to the human spirit's ability to [00:43:00] rise even from the darkest places. If this conversation resonated with you, don't forget to share it with a friend who might be in need of this inspiration today.

[00:43:10] Together we can spread the ripple effect of transformation far and wide. Finally, I wanna remind you about the Unmasking Effect membership community. This is your space to go deeper, connect with like-minded individuals, and gain access to exclusive resources, live events, and practical tools that can help you on your own journey of growth and awakening.

[00:43:34] It's the perfect way to keep the conversations. We start here going. And to truly unmask your highest potential, you can learn more and join us@theunmaskingeffect.com. Thank you so much for being a part of this community and for showing up for yourself in such a powerful way. Until next time, keep onm masking your true self and stepping into the abundance.

[00:43:59] Life [00:44:00] is here to provide you. Keep on masking, keep growing, and keep believing in what's possible. I will see you next week for another transformative episode of the Unmasking Effect Peace.