LeaderImpact Podcast
LeaderImpact Podcast
Ep. 82 - Elenee - Success Beyond the Awards
A captivating conversation with Elenee reveals the soul behind the ethereal voice that earned her a Juno nomination in contemporary Christian gospel.
Elenee's perspective on success challenges conventional thinking. She deliberately separates metrics-based definitions from artistic fulfillment, finding joy in creating authentic music while balancing family life and running her family's restaurant.
Drawing wisdom from biblical examples, she emphasizes putting spiritual disciplines first in both personal and professional decisions. Her pastor's advice resonates deeply: "Don't let the light that's on you shine brighter than the light that's in you." This philosophy helps her navigate the music industry while maintaining integrity and finding joy in creative expression across multiple domains.
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Welcome to the Leader Impact Podcast. We are a community of leaders with a network in over 350 cities around the world, dedicated to optimizing our personal, professional and spiritual lives to have impact. This show is where we have a chance to listen and engage with leaders who are living this out. We love talking with leaders, so if you have any questions, comments or suggestions to make this show even better, please let us know. The best way to stay connected in Canada is through our newsletter at leaderimpactca or on social at Leader Impact. If you're listening from outside of Canada anywhere else in the world, check out our website at leaderimpactcom.
Speaker 2:I'm your host, lisa Peters, and our guest today is Eleni. Eleni is a multi-award winning, juno nominated Canadian Christian gospel artist, songwriter and producer based in Lloydminster, saskatchewan. A proud Métis citizen and Greek with Greek heritage, eleni's music journey began at the age of three and her passion for songwriting blossomed at eight. With a sound that blends ethereal textures and powerful emotion, eleni has captivated audiences worldwide. Her 2024 self-titled album earned multiple nominations and she has performed for the Prime Minister at the National Prayer Breakfast. Get ready to dive into her musical journey and what's next for this rising star. Welcome to the show, eleni.
Speaker 1:Hi Lisa. Thank you so much for having me Super happy to be here.
Speaker 2:Well, see, we're filming this a little bit earlier. It gets launched later, but I was just watching you on the Junos. The red dress, Eleni.
Speaker 1:Thank you, it takes a village. Oh my goodness, I felt like I was in glam for like four hours every day. It was just like brushes and hairspray and I was just like what is this even for? Like that?
Speaker 2:is who.
Speaker 1:I am, but it was fun.
Speaker 2:I bet it was a great experience.
Speaker 1:Yes, it was fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, good, I want to thank you for joining us. When I use the word ethereal, that's quite the word that describes you. Ethereal textures that's my first question Ethereal, so?
Speaker 1:it's funny because I'm kind of going through this weird phase. I say weird, it's very cool. I'm tapping into my younger self. So backstory, when I was young. I was very young when the Lord of the Rings movies were coming out and I wanted to watch them so bad I wasn't even allowed to read the books. But yet I thought like please, maybe mom will let me watch the movie. She's like absolutely not over my dead body. I was very young, like understandably.
Speaker 1:So I am just now, as a 31 year old woman, now getting into like Lord of the Rings and so not that this has anything to do with like the word ethereal has just been used for I mean years to describe like how I sing. And now that I've been like in the elf world, I'm just like, oh yeah, I feel like that kind of adds a layer to it. It's very like, it's very light and almost like atmospheric the way that I sing, it's breathy and it kind of lifts you, not in this real, tangible way, but emotionally, and I feel like I owe it all to being obsessed with Zelda as a young kid. Just listening to all the things, I'm such a nerd. This is turning into a nerd cast. So sorry, but ethereal and textury, that's just.
Speaker 2:I don't know, I can't get away from it, even if I try. Well now we know Perfect definition. So for our podcast we're definitely looking at a bit of your professional story, how you got to where you are in the professional sense and if you have any pivotal moments that sort of got you where you are. If you can share those.
Speaker 1:Wow, so many. When I think of a pivotal moment, I think of not so much what elevated or got me to the next level, but it was almost what turned me in a different level of my professional career in the music industry and just doing what I do. But there have been very few, but there have been significant moments that have completely shifted how I've perceived myself as an artist and then moved into a totally different part of my part of my artistry, have tapped into something different. So one example, I would say, in 2016 and 17. So, 2016, I was headed down to Nashville and I was signing up. So there's this conference called the Immerse Conference and it happens at Lipscomb University. It had been happening every year for so many years and I feel like they stopped doing it, maybe during COVID, but during this conference, which is basically this environment where you're absolutely surrounded by label executives, a&r artists, all these people that are coming in to just kind of impart and share specifically in the Christian music genre. Like Kerry Jobe was there. It was huge. I signed up for the competition that was in there and so you could enter into like a stream, and so I signed up for like a songwriter of the year and then an artist songwriter, so you have to also be critiqued for your singing. And I made it to top 12 in the artist songwriter stream and I choked I literally choked. I was so nervous. I was like sitting there singing my song. I was like, oh my God, I'm going to puke. I was so nervous and I got eliminated and so I told myself like I am going to go back the next year. But what was crazy is that year I had connected really well with one of the girls who ended up winning, and so I got to sort of be with her and watch all of the things that took place once she won this I think she won artist writer and a female vocalist and so I got to watch all these opportunities unfold and so in my brain I was like, man, if I go back next year and I win, like obviously I'm going to get these same opportunities and maybe more. So I did what I can for the whole year. I did what I absolutely could to just elevate my ability to sing in front of people and try to be a stronger pianist and all the things I got up there and I ended up winning, which was so cool. It's almost this beautiful story of like she like thought she could, so she did, you know.
Speaker 1:And I was standing at the very end, the top of the stage, and I was waiting for these label and group executives to come up to me and offer these same opportunities that they did for the girl last year. And I just remember sitting there waiting and I was looking around. Everybody was, like you know, talking amongst themselves. Not even very many people were coming up to me, like it was just I was chilling, I had my husband and my one-year-old daughter there, and it was just the three of us hanging out, and I was waiting and no one came up to me.
Speaker 1:One of the details from last year that I didn't mention was that at the end of the, the night, this group that was sort of like wanting to have this girl involved in the group, which was like the dream group at the time they came and invited her out for dinner and she asked if I could come, and so that's when I kind of watched the whole thing unfold, and so I was waiting for someone to come invite me for dinner, basically, and when and when nobody came, I went and found someone and I was like, hey, are you guys going out for dinner? Like what's the plans? And she said, no, I think we're just going to grab pizza and head to the Airbnb. You guys have a good night. Though I remember being like, oh my God, all of that for nothing, like, are you serious? I'm holding this trophy that I worked so freaking hard for and I am feeling all the feelings of rejection and almost failure too, because it was like this sucks.
Speaker 1:And it was then, I think and I say this is pivotal because I had to shift the way that I saw myself as an artist and the way that I pursued a career in music. I knew at that very moment that I was no longer going to chase people. I was no longer going to meet a certain standard of whatever the people want the machine and hope that they come to me. I'm not going to just do the thing, I'm going to authentically create music. That is what I like to make, and if they like it and notice it and want me a part of that, great.
Speaker 1:But if they don't, I'm not hinging my whole career on it. Do you know what I mean? And so I've been an independent artist this whole process. I've never signed to any label. I've had a, I have a distribution deal, but it's not like they don't control anything, except for they put my music out, which takes just a load off of an independent artist. So, um, yeah, I, I feel like that would be one of the main pivotal moments, for sure. I don't know if that answered your question or made new ones.
Speaker 2:That is a brilliant story and I think of so many areas of our life that you know we win, we've presented, we are awesome and we're like waiting for that. We're waiting and I tell my kids, don't wait, make it happen. You know, don't sit there and just wait for people to come to you and go hey, I like you. Or you know, let's be friends, go out Not the same thing, but people listening. You know, we make your story, our story, and how do we do that? So that was a great story.
Speaker 1:I had chills just listening to you, oh man reliving it, in retelling it, I feel like I also get chills. I'm like man that sucked. I hate. I hated feeling that way, you know, but it is what it is.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's in the suck that we learn. It's so true. Oh, I hate that. Yeah, I feel like you. I feel like I'm going to ask you a question about failures, but I'm thinking you have another one that you can share, but we'll come back to that one. I want to talk to you about your principle of success. What is your best principle of success?
Speaker 1:And do you have a story that you can share? My principle of success is not metrics based. I think that you have to divide when you're doing art specifically. So I am also an entrepreneur, I do own a business, and I think that success is very concrete in the business world. Like you either are paying your bills or you're not, and if you're not, then things need to change in order for you to pay your bills. You know whatever that looks like in whatever brick and mortar or e-commerce business you have.
Speaker 1:For myself, and then in the art sector, I feel like there just has to be a time where you just split that up, because there's something about creating from this deep well of creativity and artistry within each and every one of us. We all are creatives. I don't know if you recognize creativity within yourself as a listener, but you are a creative. You have these beautiful creative veins in you, and some people use it for different things. For some people, it's like spreadsheets and numbers. That's creativity, whether you want to call it that or not. For other people, it's like logic, or even infrastructure and architecture, engineering all really beautiful forms of creativity. For me, it is art. So that comes at a cost making art and putting it out there, especially music. So it's not like a tangible thing that people, at a cost, making art and putting it out there, especially music. So it's not like a tangible thing that people can necessarily purchase, like, maybe, the difference with an art piece that you paint or create people can buy it for like $4,000 or whatever. For me it's like I put it out there, I spent a lot of money to put it out there and I hope to make enough revenue in streams which costs, you know, or which pays me 0.0064 cents per stream. I hope to make enough money off of that song to pay off what I've made and created and then to also, like, put more music out there. So it's not a very lucrative business. And so I had to.
Speaker 1:Early on, I had to divide the metrics with the art, and so, to answer your question more specifically and to maybe give you a line or a clip, I would say you have to first separate the metrics out of success altogether and you have to decide what that other side looks like. So for me it's am I making art that is authentic to who I am as an artist, as in, I'm not making art for a person. I'm not making it to fit into a mold or to corner or pigeonhole myself. I'm also not making art for a machine or a label telling me I have to. You know, some people can have monetary success from that, but I don't find that they're artistically successful. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1:Like, the metrics line up but the artistry does not, and so, um for yeah, for me it's very much the simple thing Like do I still get to be a successful mom? Do I still get to spend time with my kids? Do I still get to do what I love, which is my family's restaurant, my family's business, and do I also still get to create art that is authentic and true to myself? If the answer is yes, those are, I'm successful. Oh my gosh, the awards and the, the nods and the Juno stuff like that's, that's not even in there. I can make it happen and not get any of that and still be so fulfilled in what I do. The metrics, though, are important, I think, when you're strategically planning the next step. So not to absolutely like get rid of those altogether, you know, it's just yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I hope that answered your question. That's a great answer. It is inspired me to pick up the book the Artist's Way or it has inspired me to pick up the book the Artist's Way.
Speaker 1:Have you ever?
Speaker 2:heard of it. Oh, I've heard of it. Yes, it's so good. I was thinking of doing a study with our group and just doing it with someone, because I think, just listening to you, I may have questions for you and you may have questions for me. I think, sharing that experience, that's a great answer, though I've never had that answered that way, but, yeah, good. So now I'm going to ask you about we do have a question about your failures and mistakes, cause we know we learn more from being in the suck, as we said earlier, but we learn more than the successes. So I'm wondering, if you haven't, if you have another one, cause your first one was so pivotal, um, if you have one, uh, and share it with us.
Speaker 1:So disregard everything I just said. This was only a couple years ago. I was sitting on the tarmac, I was in the airplane leaving Kitchener, ontario or, I guess, toronto Airport, and I was at the Covenant Awards, which is the Gospel Music Association of Canada. This is their award show. I had been nominated for five awards. I was sure I was certain that I was going to at least leave with one, and I don't know why I thought so highly of myself in that regard, but anyways, I did not. I left completely empty handed and I remember sitting on the tarmac and this is maybe more a nod to the pivotal side of it, but also in metrics land, definitely a failure for sure. So I was thinking like man, am I not good enough? Am I not getting recognized for the art that I'm creating? This sucks. I am sitting on the tarmac and I'm actually talking to the Lord because I'm just like. I'm actually talking to the Lord, because I'm just like what am I even doing? If I can't even earn my community's support in the form of an award which was voter-based, why am I even doing this? Again, ignore everything I just said about the metrics and success, because I was definitely very fulfilled in the other side of success. I was definitely very fulfilled in the other side of success, but sometimes it helps also, like self-esteem wise, to get the odd, you know, acknowledgement of all your hard work. So I was sitting on the tarmac and I was talking to the Lord, having this like introspective moment and reflection, deep reflection, and I told myself and the Lord okay, I am going to take a break from music like artistry, and I'm going to dive headfirst into production. I have always wanted to take production more seriously, like I've produced, but it's like very like garage band and like early, like you know, basic level knowledge and logic. And I was like, okay, if I can just invest the next like six months into producing, then I feel like I could maybe get a better handle on this whole career thing. Maybe I can produce for other artists, maybe I could get a production like a producer, writer deal somewhere, pub deal, I don't know, let's see what happens.
Speaker 1:So I made this like packed with myself on the tarmac, I get home, and I was like, okay, we're sitting in the studio, where do I even begin? Okay, how about, instead of feeling the pressure of producing like my own original music, how about I do covers. So that way the pressure is off for like the content of the music and all I get to focus on is just like the music of the music. So I start with these covers and it's very like beginner level, like I'm just trying to learn how to do stuff, you know, and I thought like how much more fun would this be if I just shared the process on socials. So I did, I started to share these covers and they're 100% self-produced.
Speaker 1:I gave credit to the writers and everything and I started to go viral and these covers started to do really, really well and I was like, okay, and again, this is kind of where the ethereal thing started to take place, because I called them sad pop covers and they were songs like Shout to the Lord and Trading my Sorrows. Better Is One Day, these kind of nostalgic. I even did Dive by Stephen Curtis Chapman Like how fun. And people started to be like your voice is insane, very ethereal, very atmospheric, is insane, very ethereal, very atmospheric, very whisper, but like and beautiful. And I was just like what? Because I have music out and you can listen to it but why are you?
Speaker 2:why now?
Speaker 1:why are you all coming to me now? I didn't even win a covenant award, you know, and the more I would put out, the more I would get viral success and I this was so weird. So I got like all these new followers, like I think I ended up getting like 60,000 new followers like across my platforms and doing really well with it. And it was like that moment where I had people starting to ask about my original music and it was almost like the Lord was telling me okay, you're good, just because you didn't win a covenant award doesn't mean that you're not a good artist. Awards mean nothing in his kingdom. And so I ended up feeling a lot more empowered as an artist to actually go and put more effort into the music I was actually making like originals. So it's kind of a failure story, but more pivotal, but also like it started off with like failure and just being like I suck as an artist, like what am I even doing with myself? You know. So lots of layers to that one, for sure?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, as I listened to you and I think you mentioned, you said about not being good enough, and I think we can all relate to feeling that and why we say that to ourselves. Those negative comments, they're not coming from us, we know where they're coming from. You're not good enough. Why would you even think you could? And whatever you're doing keeping that broad. But so it made me laugh at the Covenant Awards and you said it's a voter base, so it's selling memberships, isn't it? It made me laugh at the Covenant Awards and you said it's a voter base, so it's selling memberships, isn't it? Because those are the people that vote, yeah, yeah, so sell more memberships, eleni, there we go. Yeah, that's what it's about, yeah, so now I'm going to go back to asking, because at the Junos, did you go into the Junos? You were, you were nominated for contemporary Christian gospel album of the year. You didn't win. I did not win. How was the experience different? Cause it still sucks.
Speaker 1:I, I, I think, yeah, I so I didn't even think I was going to get a nomination and I'll I'll give you some backstory. I didn't even think I was going to get a nomination and I'll I'll give you some backstory. I don't know if we've talked about this before, lisa, but forgive me if you've heard this story, but your listeners have not. So they threatened this year um back in early fall they threatened to actually remove that category along with reggae and children's um altogether from the Junos, with reggae and children's all together from the Junos. Of course they worded it like we're reworking things and I had just planned an album release around the Junos, so like I had released it in the window. Of course you can't apply or you can't submit for the Junos unless you have an album. This was my first album, so I was like planning for this to be a thing. So I find out that they're like threatening to get rid of it and my whole community of artists in Canada in the Christian gospel sector are also feeling this like immense pressure. So I don't even know how many submissions there would have been in that category. My guess, like I knew, I knew about 12 to 13 that put in albums that were all like really good albums and there would have been way more because I just don't know everybody. So I already went into the submission process being like, honestly, getting nominated would be fire, like that would be amazing. So when I got nominated, be fire, like that would be amazing. So when I got nominated, that was like I honestly felt like I won, like it was just like I, out of all the albums that got put in and there were so many this year, like because we really wanted to show Karis that our album or our category is very much alive and thriving I got selected in like the top five of those and so I felt so honored.
Speaker 1:And so when I saw the nominees, I had a feeling that Ryan Ofei would have won and my reasoning is metrics. They do it on metrics-based. It is voter and jury, I should say, but it's also based on metrics. And I mean Ryan, he's got like Grammy noms. He's like worked with Maverick City, he's doing really well, like he's collaborated with my dream collaborative artists. So my thought like, right, when I saw his name on there, I was like I feel like it's going to be Ryan.
Speaker 1:So when he did win, I was very much at peace with it. It was the fact that, like I got to go and I got to be a nominee and I'm always going to be a Juno nominated artist, like that title sticks with me forever. So maybe one day I'll be a winner. I don't know if we fought hard enough to keep our category for next year. We'll see. I do have a couple of projects that will be that will be able to submit for next year. So we'll see. But to answer your question, like I don't know I call it, I honestly felt like I won. I it was such a win for me I don't know, I didn't.
Speaker 1:I don't feel, I don't feel discouraged and I thought I would like, because I am very competitive and I I'm very I can want what I want. Don't stand in my way, um, but I'm just, I'm happy for Ryan. I think he's worked really hard and he and just everything is just aligned for him and that's amazing. And maybe my time will come again, like I don't know, but in the meantime we just keep working.
Speaker 2:That's a great answer and I'm, I'm, I'm thankful. I asked you that just to share that experience, because I think we all go into something that we really want to win and when we see the Ryans of the world win, we're like you know what? He's awesome. We can't help but be happy for the Ryans of the world. So I get it. Yeah. So at Leader Impact we want to grow personally, professionally and spiritually for increasing impact. So my question for you is would you be willing to share an example of how the spiritual makes a practical difference in your life as a leader?
Speaker 1:Oh, it's everything. There are so many examples in the Bible that talk about putting God first above all the things. One of the things that comes to me especially in this case is, I think, of Solomon, who had the opportunity to ask God for anything. He had it all. He, of course, sacrificed. To even get to this point, he had to sacrifice, and God said for your sacrifice, I'll give you whatever you want. And he's like I just want wisdom. And from that wisdom not only did he gain the wisdom, but he also got so many more things to go with it. And we learn so much from people who put God first and I'm talking about practical stuff, not to get all hyper spiritual, but people who pay their tithes.
Speaker 1:There is a promise in the Bible for those who do that, for people who serve in their local church. I think it's really important to serve. It doesn't have to be in this massive way that you abandon your family and take on no, no, no, like just serving your community. That's huge. And so, without God being like at the very center and the head of everything that I do, I, I'm doing it for me, and what I do for me doesn't last. Maybe there will be a legacy that I leave behind, but what is it worth if I've lost my family? What is it worth if I've lost out on opportunities to serve my local church and the people that are sitting in the pews beside me every Sunday? What is it worth if people around me hate me because I'm so rude and disrespectful? And so I think the importance of having really strong spiritual disciplines in your life is vital, and it doesn't matter if you're doing the music business, which is very spiritual, by the way.
Speaker 1:The industry is a very, very, very dark place to be, and I stay as far away from it as I can. Just spending the time that I did at the Junos was more than enough for me. For that I met my quota for the year in March. But yeah, just being able to see where you fit in into this world. I heard someone recently tell me it was actually my pastor. He said don't let the light that's on you shine brighter than the light that's in you.
Speaker 1:That was huge, because I think we really have to almost do some reflection or self-reflection and, like I said, not just music industry, not just creative space, I'm talking like in your work and in your relationships with people. God has to come first and it even means like, if you're, you know, a married couple, like picking a couple to you know, go through life together and making sure that you're aligned in how you feel about marriage and your spouse. Like you know, it's the little things, the relationships, your friends, surround yourself with people that are also putting God first, and you literally cannot go wrong. You might miss out on really big opportunities.
Speaker 1:I literally wrote a song called I Don't Want it, and it's about saying no to things that God is not the center of, because there are so many things out there that are grabbing for our attention, they're grabbing for our money, for our involvement in, but they don't honor the Lord, and I just want to encourage listeners right now if God's not in it, if God's not at the center of it, you don't need to be a part of it. God has so many bigger and more important things for you to be putting your head down and working alongside him than any of the opportunities that come to you in so many different areas of the world. Yeah, how do you really roundabout way to say all that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, how do you know when God's not leading or God's not the center of it? Or do you get a gut feeling? Do you get a oh I don't know if this is right like can you, I get like a gut feeling and when I start to question myself, god's not involved. You know?
Speaker 1:yeah, okay, I'm on the wrong track yeah, I honestly think it really goes back to spiritual disciplines like what does your prayer life look like? What does your bible reading look like? And again, not to be ultra spiritual, but I think if you have a relationship with God not just a Sunday and maybe a midweek Bible study relationship with God, I think those things will be very obvious because you lean into what he has for your life, because you're constantly talking to him, you're constantly reading his word, you're constantly, like the Bible says, to pray without ceasing. It's not this like constantly in prayer, but it's like measuring everything in your life up beside the word of God and saying like God, are you in this, and the more you do that, the more you practice this relationship, the more you are likely to listen and hear. It's just like your marriage truly.
Speaker 1:My spouse and I have learned each other so well and we have so much further to go. I mean, we've only been married 10 years this year, but we know each other so well and intimately that I know exactly what he's thinking by just a look on his face, for better or worse. Sometimes I wish I could undo it on his face, for better or worse. Sometimes I wish I could undo it. I know when he gets hungry. I know when he's overstimulated. I know when he is extremely happy, even though he's not a very expressive guy, I could tell when he's really, really excited, even though he doesn't show it on his face. It's these little tiny things between a marriage that reflect, oops, this relationship that we're supposed to have with God that is mirrored by a marriage. So just intimately, getting to know God better is going to help you understand his voice better too.
Speaker 2:Okay, Thank you for answering that other question. You briefly touched on legacy and one of my final questions is I mean, at Leader Impact, we are dedicated to leaders leaving a lasting impact. So, as you continue through this journey that you are on, what faith legacy do you want to leave when you leave this world? A happy question, yeah. A happy question, yeah.
Speaker 1:I as much as I care so deeply about, about the let me see, how do I word this in a tactful way? That's always my struggle, like I just want to say what's on my brain and it doesn't always come out nicely. As much as I care about leaving a lasting legacy on everybody that listens to my music, I actually care a lot more about my family, and my kids especially, and I want them to remember me Talking about a legacy here. So if I croak, what am I leaving behind? I want them to remember me as this mom who advocated for them. I want them to remember me as this mom who advocated for them, who was present, who loved them so much and gave them a spiritual heritage. I can leave them with an RRSP. I can leave them with an inheritance or a trust fund, but as much as I think that those things are also important in stewarding your finances, I care so much more about what kind of spiritual inheritance am I leaving behind for my kids? Are they going to remember me as a mom who was one person at home and then another person at church? Are they going to remember me as someone who was never around because I was always chasing ministry stuff or music stuff. Are they going to remember me as someone who was unfaithful in any capacity? I just I can't. That's that's what I care about the most.
Speaker 1:I want them to remember me as someone who is the opposite of all of those things and just deeply cared about those kids and, as a result, I think that shapes an entire generation that comes after me, and I think that's where we can lose sight.
Speaker 1:I think of of of what is important to us, like there's just another example people are really caught up in like leaving behind money for their kids and like I mean, my grandmother has like a whole chest of like jewelry.
Speaker 1:She she's like whatever you want, like put your name on it, just kidding, but I'm like I value your belongings. But even more than that, I value the fact that you prayed for me every morning when I was like walking away from God and was doing drugs, and you prayed Jeremiah 29, 11, over my life, when I definitely did not have a hope and a future on the outside, you know, and I just want to be able to offer that same thing and I want that to extend to those who listen to my music or those who I get to interact with, like I hope that that also becomes an extension of my interactions with everybody, but I'm at peace with just doing that for my kids and, of course, spouse but my kids yeah, which leads into our final question, and I feel you're headed there, but what brings you the greatest joy?
Speaker 1:yeah, um. Well, you know, I say all that about my kids and I'll say, like I'm not like a natural, I'm not like a naturally maternal person, I really have to dig to be, to be like this nurturing motherly. I know so many of my mom friends are just so naturally gifted with these maternal instincts I still, if I hold a baby, I'm like I don't know what to do with this thing.
Speaker 1:It's by the mercy of God that my kids yeah, they made it this far. I don't know why she is she still crying? They're like she hasn't eaten in like six hours. I'm like, oh, oh, yeah, you know, but like I think, um, I think creating brings me the most joy and, and it could look like anything, it could look like music.
Speaker 1:I'm a creative like through and through. Aka, I'm really bad at admin and scheduling. I'm like a B-brain person. I'm not an A. What is the type A? I'm type frigging Z. I'm sure. I'm just not there. My house, my studio, my house is clean. My studio is just a disaster, because this is my space, and just being in this space of creativity, whether it's with my kids, whether it's with music, whether it's at the restaurant taking pictures of food, or like creating dishes for the seasonal menus, like any form of creativity oh gosh, lisa, it just brings me an incredible amount of joy. I love it so, so much and I love getting other people involved. So, whether it's collaborating, whether it's my children or my spouse, like whatever that looks like in the season I'm in, oh man, it all just makes me so happy.
Speaker 2:Oh, my cheeks hurt. You make me happy Just listening to you. Thank you for sharing the last 35 minutes with us. Eleni, I know that. I think I'm pretty sure you probably just got off a plane from the Junos. Yeah, cause I, I I texted your um, your uh agent and I'm like is Eleni around? Cause I know you're both are flying home. So thank you for taking this time with us. Now, if anyone wants to, number one, just find, find you. But also, where do we find your music?
Speaker 1:so both sort of yeah, okay, so you can always find me on social media, all the places, um, I'm not going to name them, but social media, my handle is the same. It's eleni m, young. Um, I'm assuming you might put that in the show notes, but I can spell it for you because it's kind of complicated. So E-L-E-N-E-E-M, young Y-O-U-N-G. So that's where you can find me on socials. My music is just my first name, so Eleni E-L-E-N-E-E. And again, you could find my music pretty much anywhere that you find music, streaming and all the things.
Speaker 2:I'm going right to Spotify right now.
Speaker 1:Yes, Download it, thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you again, eleni. I hope one day. I have family in Lloydminster, so I'm going to look you up when I'm there.
Speaker 1:Yes, girl, come through, come find me.
Speaker 2:What's the restaurant?
Speaker 1:name, so the restaurant's name is Spiro's Spiro's. I've been in business 55 years this year.
Speaker 2:So it's a big year for us. Yeah, I might need a break. I'm coming to Spiros. Yeah, I love it. Come through All right, Well, thank you again. Thanks for having me All right. Well, if you are part of Leader Impact, you can always discuss or share this podcast with your group. And if you are not yet part of Leader Impact and would like to find out more and grow your leadership, find our podcast page on our website at leaderimp and check out our free leadership assessment. You can also check out groups available in Canada at leaderimpactca or, if you're listening from anywhere else in the world, check out leaderimpactcom or get in touch with us by email info at leaderimpactca and we will connect you. And if you like this podcast, please leave us a comment, give us a rating or review. This will help other global leaders find our podcast. Thank you for engaging with us and remember impact starts with you.
