We recently connected with Lori Gasca and have shared our conversation below.
Lori, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
I was 7 years old at a summer revival and on the 5th stanza of “Just As I Am,” my little feet couldn’t stay still any longer and they took me down that aisle where I openly and willingly professed my love for Jesus and asked Him to be my Lord and Savior. It was the most honest and sincere decision of my little life. From the front porch of my childhood home in a small Texas town, I could see the church where my faith in Jesus took root. My mom lived in that home from the time she was 10 years old and my parents still live there. My greatest blessing in life is having parents who had me in church every time the doors were open…Sunday morning, Sunday night, (Does anyone else remember missing the Sunday night specials on TV?) Wednesdays, week long vacation bible schools and church camps. They were intentional about planting the seeds. That faith is what has seen me through some of the darkest times of my life and has me where I am today.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a small town Texas girl at heart and I have been an entrepreneur for decades. I have been married for 30 years and we have raised 4 amazing young adult children. I pride myself on being an intentional connector and mentor of women. My goal is to take my lifetime of experience in business and life and come alongside women who need a place to talk it out. As a speaker, I authentically share my story, in order to create a safe space to normalize sharing our stories so we can overcome hurts of the past and walk freely in who we were created to be. I have had many successful businesses over the years but, at this stage of life at 54 years of age, my primary goal is to lead with my faith forward. I believe every woman deserves to live a vibrant, passion filled, purposeful life. My heart’s desire is for the woman reading this to see her value and fully step into her calling that lights up her soul. I offer many opportunities for women to connect, be inspired, and grow; The Growth Summit annual conference for women, gatherUP for Growth quarterly faith based gatherings where we openly discuss topics that matter most to the Christian woman, $7 monthly business workshops called First Mondays with Lori Gasca, a weekly newsletter full of heart led, authentic encouragement, and weekly mentoring sessions.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Would you agree every person in this world is unique and different? The way we look, the color of our skin, our marital status, our jobs, our religious beliefs. However, we all have one thing in common. We all have a story! I can guarantee you we all share a time in our lives where someone or something impacted our self worth, our value and our confidence. My story began around the age of 13 with the first unexpected touch in a church van on a youth outing. That is the moment my life became divided right down the middle. I suddenly had a private side I did everything in my power to hide and a public side I did everything in my power to make perfect. Imposter syndrome became deeply rooted. I lived in a defensive mode 24/7 trying to prove my worth in all of the things! It made for miserable relationships and a lot of pain. As I became an adult, the symptoms didn’t get better. They intensified!
As I have peeled back the layers of my story I realize, unfortunately, it is an all too familiar story. It is a story we hush and we shame and we misunderstand. We live in guilt. We play small to keep the past hidden. We stay in the shadows instead of fully stepping into our calling because God forbid the skeletons start rattling. From that woundedness, we make mistakes and decisions we regret.
As part of my healing journey, I got my first tattoo on my 51st birthday and it reads “This is my story”. It is meant as a reminder every time I look at it that my story is mine. My story is special. My story is beautiful. My story is, at times, painful. My story is meant for sharing so others can heal too. There is a woman who will hear my story and her journey to healing will be shortened. There is so much freedom on the other side of pain. Every time we tell our story, the power shifts to our side. Let’s start a revolution of normalizing sharing our stories. We will no longer be prisoners of the past. Tell your story so it stops using you and you start using it.
At the end of the day, I now understand my full value and worth…scars and all! I am no longer a prisoner of my past. This means the sky is the limit!!!
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I fully believe my reputation I have in our community stems from showing up authentically who I am. I have always made an effort to share all the parts of me…the good, the bad and the ugly. Social media has been the cause of so much pain.
We are constantly connected to stimuli, We remain in a constant state of high cortisol, stress hormone, production. We are addicted to the dopamine hit of a like or a comment and God forbid someone gets nasty or disagrees on our page. The cortisol just goes through the roof. The comparison keeps us in a heightened state of I am not good enough. I am not pretty enough. I am not doing enough fun stuff with my family. I am not successful enough… I am not. I am not. I am not. It is exhausting!
I believe my following appreciates the space I create by being authentic because it allows them to breathe and take some of the pressure off.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lorigasca.info
- Instagram: @lorigascainfo
- Facebook: @lorigascainfo