Around LA with TK
Here's Something New: A Bike Ride Interview
[as originally published on aroundlawithtk.com]
What better way to start the day aroundLA than a bike ride of inspiration and wisdom?!
In conversation with me for this ride along the Santa Monica beach bike path is a civic leader invested in her community, a CEO with seasoned business acumen, a super-mommy whose adult son is still her precious baby, and a woman who’s not afraid to reinvent herself, making trying new things a lifestyle.
A Ride with Shonda Scott and Her 12 New Things® Challenge
Shonda Scott’s birthday in 2019 was the birth of her newest baby, 12 New Things®, an initiative challenging those that had become followers of her work over the years to try 12 new things in the course of a year. Initially unplanned, sparked by the outing suggestion of a friend, a karaoke session at Blind Dragon on Sunset in Los Angeles kicked off Shonda Scott’s 12 New Things. Originally, she’d thought it would be a challenge for that year of life, doing one new activity each month for the next 12 months: 12 New Things. Little did she know, years later, she’d not only be still living the 12 New Things lifestyle, she’d also be spreading it through social media content and a budding online club.
Heading out from a bike rental shop in Santa Monica, right off Ocean Ave. with the Pacific visible from its front door, I turn to Ms. Shonda Scott, “you must’ve hit the ground running right from college!” She grins with a giggle, “okay!!* busy,” she emphatically agrees, “I was busy in high school too.” She continues, “I laugh because I always tell people, ‘my first business was selling Girl Scouts' cookies.’” Modestly, Ms. Shonda credits her head start in the length of business experience she holds to her family, as she goes on to tell me how they had businesses of which she was involved since adolescence.
“I’m Aquarian, I like staying busy; I don’t get a lot of sleep,” Shonda Scott tells me as she explains her takeoff into the the business world during the takeoff of our bike ride in Santa Monica.
We hear about the idea of “burnout” — especially if you find yourself on the self-care-centric side of social media, avoiding burnout — “an ongoing state of feeling overwhelmed, fatigued, and emotionally drained,” as defined by WebMD. How is it that Shonda Scott could go from little girl to grown-grown woman all-gas-no-breaks without burning out?
“You’ve never experienced burnout,” I say to Ms. Shonda Scott without intonation at the end, but she knows it’s a question. “Oh no, absolutely, I have,” she responds with no hesitation.
“That’s why I have 12 New Things,” Shonda Scott tells me. The 12 New Things birthday-challenge-turned-lifestyle “helps you get excited about adventures and [gives you something to think about] other than work,” according to the founder and creator.
“Part of of the 12 New Things is about wellness.. taking time for yourself, taking time to do something new and different and exciting that you wouldn’t normally do,” Shonda Scott encourages.
“It’s all about embracing change in fun, exciting ways,” Shonda Scott continues about 12 New Things. A long-time believer in speaking regularly with someone on Earth and in a higher realm, going to counseling to work on oneself, meditating and starting the day with a 6a.m. prayer call, Ms. Shonda Scott has achieved a life of connection and balance to be desired despite her busy schedule… READ MORE