Creating a Legacy Through Literature: Lisa Caparelli's Impact on Education
Lisa Caparelli’s journey from a shy girl in a large family in El Paso, Texas, to a successful author and speaker exemplifies the profound impact of family, heritage, and faith on personal development. Residing in Orange County, California, she emphasizes the significance of her Hispanic roots and how they have shaped her identity and work, particularly in the realm of children's literature. Her faith-based series, "In His Image," alongside her Social Emotional Learning books, has reached an impressive audience of over 800,000 students and educators, highlighting her commitment to fostering emotional growth and social connection among young readers. Lisa draws upon her extensive background in social psychology and communications to craft narratives that resonate deeply with both children and their families, ultimately encouraging curiosity, empathy, and self-discovery. In this conversation, we explore the essence of her mission, the lessons she imparts, and the legacy she aspires to leave through her literary contributions.
In this compelling episode, Lisa Caparelli shares her profound journey from her childhood in El Paso, Texas, to her current role as a celebrated author and advocate for emotional intelligence in children. Her upbringing in a large Hispanic family instilled in her a deep sense of community and cultural pride, which continues to influence her work today. Now, as a resident of Orange County, California, Lisa cherishes her close-knit family, including her husband and children, as integral components of her life and creative pursuits. Through her faith-based series, 'In His Image', she endeavors to inspire young readers to explore themes of empathy, self-discovery, and emotional growth.
Caparelli's dedication to Social Emotional Learning (SEL) has allowed her to impact the lives of over 800,000 students and educators, while her background in social psychology and communications enriches her storytelling. Her books are carefully crafted to assist children in navigating their emotions and building meaningful connections with others. In the podcast, Lisa poignantly discusses her transformation from a shy girl to a confident speaker and writer, attributing her success to the invaluable lessons of humility and the encouragement she received from mentors and family members.
The conversation further delves into the significance of Lisa’s characters, particularly Unicorn Jazz, who embodies individuality and the quest for belonging. Her narratives serve as a mirror for children, reflecting their own experiences of feeling different and fostering a sense of acceptance and self-worth. Lisa's heartfelt reflections on loss, particularly regarding her late cousin, highlight the importance of community and collaboration in her creative journey. The episode encapsulates Lisa Caparelli's mission to empower the next generation through literature, emphasizing that every child deserves to feel valued and understood in their unique identity.
Takeaways:
- Lisa Caparelli's journey from a shy girl in El Paso, Texas to a successful author and speaker exemplifies the importance of resilience and connection to family and heritage.
- Through her faith-based series and Social Emotional Learning books, Lisa has significantly impacted over 800,000 students and educators, emphasizing the vital role of emotional growth in children's education.
- Lisa's emphasis on humility, as taught by her mentor, highlights the significance of prioritizing others and cultivating a teachable spirit in both personal and professional spheres.
- The themes of belonging and self-acceptance permeate Lisa's work, encouraging children to embrace their unique identities while fostering empathy and understanding in their relationships.
Links referenced in this episode:
Transcript
Yesterday is Lisa Caparelli.
Speaker A:Lisa started as a shy girl in a large and loving family in El Paso, Texas.
Speaker A:Now married to James, Lisa values her close knit family which includes Matthew, Lori, Trey and many others who bring love and joy into her life.
Speaker A:Today she and her children live in Orange County, California.
Speaker A:Her journey reflects a strong connection to her family, Hispanic heritage, capturing the essence of their roots and humble beginnings.
Speaker A:Lisa's faith based series in His Image extends beyond her heritage.
Speaker A:Combined with her Social Emotional Learning books, she has reached over 800,000 students and educators along with inspired ed school author visits.
Speaker A:As author for both children and adults, she has a background in social psychology, entrepreneurship and communications.
Speaker A:Lisa draws upon a lifetime of study of human behavior to create stories that resonate with young readers and their families.
Speaker A:Her work explores themes of emotional growth, relationships and social connection, assisting children in navigating their feelings.
Speaker A:Through her book, she inspires curiosity, empathy and self discovery.
Speaker A:She reflects a deep understanding of God's love and how we learn and grow in our connections.
Speaker A:We welcome Lisa to the podcast.
Speaker A:Well Lisa, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker A:How are you doing today?
Speaker B:Good, how are you?
Speaker B:Keith, thanks for having me on your show.
Speaker A:I am doing phenomenal surprisingly enough.
Speaker A:But it's good.
Speaker A:It's a good day.
Speaker B:Yay.
Speaker A:So I'm going to ask you my favorite question.
Speaker A:I ask all my podcast guests, what is the best piece of advice you've ever received?
Speaker B:Oh, the best piece of advice I have received.
Speaker B:I was creating my book Skip a Step and it's about teaching young minds which we all should have.
Speaker B:Young minds, right.
Speaker B:And it I wanted in my background was working with CEOs and entrepreneurs for over 26 years and I asked one of my friends who had done some great work in his lifetime, what would you tell your younger self?
Speaker B:It's a question I often ask people and he said was to always stay humble.
Speaker B:So I think the greatest piece of advice is to have humility.
Speaker B:And you know the Bible calls us to have humility.
Speaker B:I think it's important.
Speaker B:And I even have an acronym for humility if you want me to share it.
Speaker A:Oh sure, that'd be great.
Speaker B:And I know that not everyone will be watching that, but maybe we could put it up or so humility.
Speaker B:So H stands for honor God first put God before yourself and trust his plan.
Speaker B:U is understand your limits.
Speaker B:We are not in control.
Speaker B:God is the M in Humility is to make others a priority, serve and lift up others without seeking credit.
Speaker B:And then the I is to invite connection, be teachable, open to learning and willing to grow.
Speaker B:The L is to let go of pride.
Speaker B:The I is to identify with Jesus.
Speaker B:He humbles himself to serve and we should follow his example.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:And then the T is to trust God's timing.
Speaker B:He will lift you up when the time is right.
Speaker B:And then the wise to yield to God's will.
Speaker B:Surrender your plans, anxieties and trust in his care.
Speaker A:Oh, that's so nice.
Speaker A:I like that.
Speaker A:I'm have to remember that.
Speaker A:That's really interesting.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker A:I'm always curious of people like yourself who've had a long and storied career.
Speaker A:Um, who are some people in your life who served as an inspiration for you or even a mentor along your journey?
Speaker B:I've had so many.
Speaker B:I grew up really shy like my character in my children's book series, Unicorn Jazz.
Speaker B:And I say that to children and to adults because when they see me up speaking at a school with, you know, hundreds or thousands of people or being on a show like yours, I have to remind people that I was very introverted and shy.
Speaker B:So this was not my natural born tendency.
Speaker B:And so I've had many people important to me, including my early childhood teachers, my grandmother.
Speaker B:I always give those people credit and then enter when I became my 21 year old self in the workforce.
Speaker B:I always give credit to a good friend of mine, Cindy, and so many people.
Speaker B:And I think I know that we are here to help pour into one another.
Speaker B:My sisters, my mom, you know, present day I have an amazing husband and family, just so many people.
Speaker B:So I always say like, I'm just the spokesperson, but I come with an army of people that have helped and listened to my passions and dreams.
Speaker B:And it's always good to listen to other people's dreams and desires and help them fulfill where they want to go in life.
Speaker A:That's amazing.
Speaker A:You, in your bio, you talk about your Hispanic heritage and how it shaped your identity and your work as an author.
Speaker A:Tell us a little bit about your upbringing.
Speaker B:Yeah, so I grew up in El Paso, Texas and it's a border town and big Hispanic family.
Speaker B:And if you know someone that's Hispanic, you'll know that mostly good food we have, we're known for good food and you won't leave without being fed and very passionate people.
Speaker B:So I, I, I like to say that that would be us.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And my mom was a single mom.
Speaker B:She had five children to raise on her own, God bless her.
Speaker B:And so we, even though we grew up with humble beginnings, I say AKA poor, we had a lot of laughter and love in our Family and you know, when I, I've been to Brazil, like on mission trips and I love serving and being, you know, when I go to food pantries here in Los Angeles or, or being able to be around, you know, the really the poorest of the poor.
Speaker B:I, I'm taking it back to my childhood because we were once those children that sometimes got hand me outs and in, in one of my books like Help and Give Back and I have a children's page of, you know, helping others and it says food pantry.
Speaker B:Now, you know, some young children may not know what that means, but when I, when I am serving, I, it's, it's very ironic to then think that your life can change and that you, when you do help others that, you know, I feel like we're called to give back, you know, and not take it for granted again.
Speaker B:Having that humble self, I love that.
Speaker A:I'm curious.
Speaker A:So what's inspired you to start writing and how did you transition that little shy girl to being this successful author and speaker?
Speaker B:Oh, gosh, it's kind of, it's a big journey.
Speaker B:I, my growing up, you and I, we didn't have Google and YouTube like these young children did.
Speaker B:We're older than Google and YouTube.
Speaker B:And I tell those kids in elementary school that.
Speaker B:And I, my only voice was on paper because I was shy.
Speaker B:So it.
Speaker B:Journaling and having that self expression was very important to me.
Speaker B:And I, so I tell students it's important that we're all unique.
Speaker B:We're supposed to be.
Speaker B:That's why my character's unicorn unique.
Speaker B:It was, it's kind of close playing on words.
Speaker B:And so I, I remind them that we are all supposed to be different.
Speaker B:And what would happen if I wasn't that shy girl?
Speaker B:I, and if I was not writing, I wouldn't become who I am today, which is the greatest gift God's given me.
Speaker B:And I think that we are all, we are all God's masterpiece.
Speaker B:It's in scripture, it's in the Bible.
Speaker B:And we all have our own gifts and talents.
Speaker B:So, you know, I like to inspire children and adults to, you know, whatever that God given talent of yours is and, and you could be sharing it with the world already, obviously with this amazing podcast you have and the work that you are doing, Keith, in your community, you, you can tell that you're igniting that passion and, and sharing and connecting with others.
Speaker B:The fact that you connected with me before we got on the show, we were strangers.
Speaker B:But you know that we probably have something in common, right?
Speaker B:And so to be able to bring out people's gifts and talents and passions and purpose.
Speaker B:It's why we are here.
Speaker B:It's one of the reasons we're here.
Speaker B:And I like that, what my church said, you know that another reason we're here.
Speaker B:Again, many reasons.
Speaker B:We're here to leave a multi generational legacy to others.
Speaker B:So having all these books that I've created, over 22 books in English and Spanish, and I have songs I've written, I have a homegrown TV show, a YouTube show, a show on Amazon TV that I created during the pandemic to bring happiness to kids and families.
Speaker B:And, and I, I'm fueled by all this because we are limited.
Speaker B:Our time on Earth as we know.
Speaker B:We don't know when we get that, that last day on Earth, we know our time is promised to no one.
Speaker B:And I thank God every day for another day.
Speaker B:He gives me my illustrator, who happened to be my cousin from El Paso, Texas, David Villalogos.
Speaker B:He passed away in December, just a few months ago.
Speaker B:Sorry to hear that.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:And I'm having to learn how, how to hold those emotions inside.
Speaker B:Two days before he passed away, we had this book coming out, Butterfly Whispers.
Speaker B:It's a book about grief and loss.
Speaker B:Isn't that ironic that.
Speaker B:And so he's the butterfly in our own book.
Speaker B:And this book was like all of them were so special to us.
Speaker B:And again, he was only 51 years old when he passed away.
Speaker B:And every day now, as I wake up, I say, thank you, God, give me another day.
Speaker B:What are my marching orders?
Speaker B:What am I supposed to do?
Speaker B:Because all around me, all around my office, here is all the work of art that he has created by listening to my, as I said early on, my passions, my visions and dreams that were ours.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:And, and he drew tirelessly.
Speaker B:I want to tell you that during the day, he was the baker for Target.
Speaker B:He worked at Target Bakery, like when you go to Target and you see the bakery.
Speaker B:And at night he drew art for people.
Speaker B:I was one of them.
Speaker B:And he, he, he probably hardly watched TV because I don't know how this guy did this all.
Speaker B:And I'm.
Speaker B:Again, I'm grateful that he is my cousin.
Speaker B:And he, he knew that this was going to be someday bigger than himself.
Speaker B:I don't think he knew his last day was going to be in December, just a few months ago.
Speaker B:And at his eulogy, I, I was so honored and to be able to say something so beautiful that his work is going to live on.
Speaker B:I rewrote a song for him called Colors in Heaven.
Speaker B:And I just talk about being able to live a multi general legacy.
Speaker B:Davey has done that and I get to leave each day honoring him.
Speaker A:That's so, that's so special.
Speaker A:I just, on Sunday I was preaching about the passage about Jesus going and getting fishermen, Luke and Simon, Peter, James and John.
Speaker A:And I was telling the congregation about God always gives us a calling, but he also equips us to live out that calling.
Speaker A:As you think about your calling to be a writer, author, speaker, how did you discover this is what God was leading you to do?
Speaker A:And the second part of that is knowing that that was what God was calling you to do.
Speaker A:Wasn't easy.
Speaker A:I'm sure you had to overcome some things on this journey.
Speaker A:What was that like to overcome those hurdles to get to where you are today?
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:That's a great question.
Speaker B:One, it's against trusting in God as we know, right?
Speaker B:As my mom said, Lisa, or before all of this, my mom like Lisa, there you are trying to do your will, writing on the chalkboard and God's erasing that.
Speaker B:Nope, that's not the will I want for you.
Speaker B:And that's the metaphor that many of us, I think can have.
Speaker B:I didn't start having a relationship with God until right around, I'm gonna say five or going on four or five years ago.
Speaker B:So I always believed in God having a relationship with God.
Speaker B:We both know that difference.
Speaker B:And my sisters, all Christian, really helped me walk through that.
Speaker B:I was going through a rock bottom in my life, not having a reason to live, not, not what I'm here I hear on earth for questions that I think many of us in life go through.
Speaker B:When we go through rock bottoms, right, and, and suffering.
Speaker B:And we are, we know we're going to have suffering in this lifetime.
Speaker B:It's in scripture.
Speaker B:And we know that God is closest to the brokenhearted.
Speaker B:I never really read the Bible and read it to with heart.
Speaker B:You know, going to church and having it and not applying it is different than today doing devotionals, being all in, right.
Speaker B:And so I was already a author of the Unicorn Jess book series, which has been labeled as a social emotional series, which teaches us about feelings and emotions.
Speaker B:Mental health today as we know, is necessary so that, so God created that for me.
Speaker B:And when I became Christian, I, I said, well, I want to make books now for the little girl, Lisa, or the little boy, you know, the little boy, the, the children in us that I, that I wish I would have had.
Speaker B:And I feel like God's given me A gift to give back to the youth, the children.
Speaker B:I'm a mom.
Speaker B:And to leave that legacy as we talked about.
Speaker B:And then I wanted to create a faith based series.
Speaker B:So if I didn't go to that immense pain and suffering that we all go through, I wouldn't have had that, that fervitude, that passion to create this and then bring along Davey and say we have something else to create Davey.
Speaker B:We have.
Speaker B:I know it's a new series and I know it's a lot of work and I don't know why God's gifted us, but he knows we can handle it.
Speaker B:And there was Davey doing it, knowing because Davey's a really hard, fast worker as, as I am and, and to work with me, you got to be able to work faster.
Speaker B:And so Davey was.
Speaker B:So God identified those two characters traits in us and we happen to be family.
Speaker B:And I have other family working with me by the way.
Speaker B:And so I feel now looking back that sometimes in our pain and suffering, we don't know why, why did, why are we suffering?
Speaker B:Why, why are we going through this?
Speaker B:We all question and you know, as scripture says, trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Speaker B:Do not lead on your own understanding, right?
Speaker B:And I can look back and say if I didn't go through this long suffering, I wouldn't have had this determination to do it, to do it fast.
Speaker B:Because look, I lost Davey.
Speaker B:Like I can look back on time, right?
Speaker B:You can look back on your chronological time if, if I didn't have X, Y, Z.
Speaker B:And you know, you, someone listening can apply this when you look back at your life, you know, the, the things that happen to you, they're not a mistake.
Speaker B:Sometimes we have to go through mistakes and, and a lot of them as we know God gives us free will.
Speaker B:So we can choose him or not.
Speaker B:And we all can look back at our life when we knew there's a fork in the road.
Speaker B:Did we choose that or did we not?
Speaker B:But because we're all human and we live in a fallen world and we do have sin, this life isn't perfect.
Speaker B:And we can live in the understanding with people and live in our brokenness knowing that we can receive the goodness, knowing that God loves us and God forgives us and that we are called to help and serve.
Speaker B:Love, love others the way God loves us.
Speaker B:Does that make sense?
Speaker A:It does.
Speaker A:It does.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker A:I love the the title of youf Faith Based Series in his image.
Speaker A:Today, so many kids are struggling with identity.
Speaker A:So tell us about your faith based series.
Speaker A:In his image.
Speaker A:And what inspired you to create that?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I have to give credit to my son, Matthew Vasquez.
Speaker B:He's been a co author with me along the way with the art design as well.
Speaker B:And we have other books we're making.
Speaker B:My sister Suzanne Funk.
Speaker B:So many people, like I said, I come with an army of people and if they're listening to this, I'm gonna, it's kind of like one of those at the end we need scrolling credits.
Speaker B:A lot of people, I love you all for helping they know who they are.
Speaker B:So when we were creating a, a a series for this because we again we have the Butterfly Whispers, the grief and loss book and then we have a book, God willing, by the end of this year called where is God Coming out for?
Speaker B:And I, I it's called where is God?
Speaker B:Because a lot of times we question where is God?
Speaker B:And so we wanted in his image to be something that's short and memorable.
Speaker B:But we all are made in his image and we all are made in God's image and we're, we're told that it's in scripture.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker A:I am curious.
Speaker A:Your books are designed for children and it's hard to find good Christian children's books today.
Speaker A:But I've also known as I worked a lot with education, the idea of social emotional learning is really important as we talk about kids today and sometimes it's become controversial in some circles.
Speaker A:Tell us why that is so important in today's, for today's school children.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean I think of social emotional learning, it's the same thing I think of as understanding feelings and emotional feelings and emotions.
Speaker B:And ever since the pandemic, the topic of mental health is always an important subject and that's not going to go away.
Speaker B:So social emotional learning is understanding as it's a lot of schools, it's just mandated that their curriculum is taught that and of course they want to find it in books.
Speaker B:And I have faith based schools like reaching out to me because my books are social emotional learning Sel and so the science says that we cannot teach children normal.
Speaker B:You know, the teachers are not going to be able to teach if, if their feelings and emotions are not squared away, if they are not healthy, emotionally healthy, you're not going to be able to be taught anything.
Speaker B:And I mean I think for us as grownups think of times, if you have had a crisis in your life, can I teach you anything on that day?
Speaker B:Probably not.
Speaker A:Probably not.
Speaker B:So I'm exaggerating.
Speaker B:So again, my sister in early childhood teacher Suzanne.
Speaker B:She would say that in the beginning of the school year that she would spend four to six weeks teaching behavior before she could teach.
Speaker B:You know, and every school year, she had to start over with the new class.
Speaker B:And she said, if I did not have, you know, and I'm.
Speaker B:I'm butchering her words.
Speaker B:But my interpretation was if she didn't have the command of the classroom or the.
Speaker B:The leadership, knowing that she was going to be able to teach with, you know, new students wherever they're coming from, sometimes broken homes, different circumstances, if she did, didn't have an understanding of who they were and understanding the emotions and feelings that went into that, she was not going to be able to teach.
Speaker B:And so that's what it is broken down.
Speaker B:So we children, we want to teach them when they're young how to recognize our.
Speaker B:Our friends and emotions and feelings and how we can cope with them versus not talking about it at all.
Speaker B:The day of not talking about it at all is gone.
Speaker A:I wonder, as I look at your books, your books have a lot of themes of emotional growth and social connection.
Speaker A:Does that come.
Speaker A:Does that grow out of your being part of a big family and trying to find your voice?
Speaker A:Maybe in such a big family, that kind of plays into your writing, you.
Speaker B:Know, I didn't know my books were going to be sel until a best friend principal told me my very first book.
Speaker B:So that's.
Speaker B:Again, God gave me something amazing.
Speaker B:My very first children's book I'm holding up here is Unicorn Jazz.
Speaker B:So she's a shy unicorn, like I was shy.
Speaker B:She moves to a new land in search of new friends, and she feels.
Speaker B:It's like she doesn't belong.
Speaker B:And I often say, how many times do we feel like we don't belong?
Speaker B:All of us.
Speaker B:I have not met someone that's at one time in their life didn't feel like they belong.
Speaker B:So I did that on purpose because, again, yes, it was a way to revisit my upbringing, how I didn't feel like I belonged because I felt different.
Speaker B:I felt like being shy was not the cool kid I wanted to.
Speaker B:Why wasn't I like the popular kid?
Speaker B:They got recognized.
Speaker B:And so at the end of the story, everyone, all the friends recognize that she has a special talent.
Speaker B:She sings.
Speaker B:That's why she has a music note for a tail.
Speaker B:And everyone wants to play with her, you know, and so she.
Speaker B:They recognize that she was different.
Speaker B:She's not like a horse that has two horns.
Speaker B:She's not tall like a giraffe.
Speaker B:And of course, yes, it's very fictionalized and that it's supposed to be.
Speaker B:That's why we like children's books with, you know, animals and silly and.
Speaker B:But still, there's a lesson in there.
Speaker B:And at the end of the story, whether you're a first grader or an adult, I identify as people.
Speaker B:And then I put a special character in there, a crow named Wolf, named after my cat.
Speaker B:And so I do things like that to show kids that you can use silly names or names of your pets and things when they're writing too, as I have.
Speaker B:And so the character Wolf the crow is someone that believes in her and tells her he.
Speaker B:She should show off her talent.
Speaker B:And so I say, how many times do we need that wolf, the Crow in our life to believe in us?
Speaker B:All of us at one time need someone to believe in us.
Speaker B:And hey, maybe one day you're going to be Wolf's approach to someone.
Speaker B:You're going to need to believe in someone because they need you.
Speaker B:And, and so those are, those were.
Speaker B:That was the.
Speaker B:The first story that there was all kinds of meaning in that for me.
Speaker B:And then in creating the subsequent stories, being happy was simple.
Speaker B:It was about happiness.
Speaker B:And happiness could be found in all kinds of things.
Speaker B:Happiness is free.
Speaker B:And I wanted to show students that this was all kinds of ways to be happy, whether it's, you know, blowing out a birthday cake and whether you're giving someone a balloon, you're making camp s'mores at your campfire, you're having someone cook for you, enjoying nature.
Speaker B:And so then they get to make their own being happy.
Speaker B:Adult adults do this too.
Speaker B:And, and so this one is really, really popular because it's very simple.
Speaker B:And I love.
Speaker B:This one is in English, Spanish and French.
Speaker B:And I pray one day that this one takes me around the world because again, happiness is so easy and free and that you could be happy is do is holding the door for someone.
Speaker B:It's for others.
Speaker B:And so kids actually will make what makes them happy.
Speaker B:Thousands of them I get to see from when I go to schools.
Speaker B:That's my happiness.
Speaker B:I have a kid that said happiness is eating food.
Speaker B:And then he writes, duh, you know, or, you know, the number one that makes happiness is family.
Speaker B:Being with family, playing games.
Speaker B:And I, when I get these and I collect what makes kids happy, I like, I have them everywhere.
Speaker B:I will.
Speaker B:I always want them back.
Speaker B:I mean, I.
Speaker B:Those are such treasures for me.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And again, I like going back to the Christian series because God made us super busy.
Speaker B:What I love about joy.
Speaker B:Joy is found in the body.
Speaker B:Joy is a permanent state.
Speaker B:Happiness is kind of is.
Speaker B:It could be a temporary state, but joy, Joy is found in the Bible many times.
Speaker B:So I made the character in my In His Image series, her name is Joy.
Speaker B:So I have happiness and joy and I love that.
Speaker B:So yeah, I wanted to show that up on the screen and I wanted to share.
Speaker B:You shared with me before we got on the show that you have many friends that are educators and teachers and my happiness is to giving all kinds of resources.
Speaker B:So if you are a teacher educator and you want some free resources or read aloud, you can get a hold of me through your show.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:I'm curious.
Speaker A:I'm sure your books have had impact on so many kids lives.
Speaker A:Can you just share an example of how your books have made a difference in a particular child's life that that stands out in your mind?
Speaker B:Yes, I've had so many.
Speaker B:I, I had recently a fifth grader raised his hand after my passionate explanation of all this joy I get to do.
Speaker B:And he said, do you like to play?
Speaker B:And I said, of course I like to play.
Speaker B:I think all of us like to play.
Speaker B:And then I give this statistic that the average American child laughs a hundred times a day as opposed to the average American adult, which is 17 times a day.
Speaker B:So I'm like, who wants to play?
Speaker B:And you know, everyone raises their hand.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:Unicorn Jazz is a popular one among, you know, girls and boys.
Speaker B:I have them come up and give me a hug sometimes.
Speaker B:I often say, I have the shy ones come and say I'm shy too.
Speaker B:And then they get proud of their being shy and then.
Speaker B:And I always love those hugs.
Speaker B:I love when, you know, I have boys come and say I love who Unicorn Jazz is and they get like, who her heart is.
Speaker B:And again, it's a made up fictional character.
Speaker B:But you know, there's all kinds of made up fictional characters in movies and storytelling.
Speaker B:And I feel like, you know, music is something that connects us all.
Speaker B:That's why I created songs with almost all my books and music videos because I grew up.
Speaker B:Did you grow up with Sesame Street?
Speaker A:I did, yeah.
Speaker B:A lot of us did.
Speaker B:And did you find that you could remember probably to this day some of your favorite lessons because of the puppets and the music, right?
Speaker A:I did.
Speaker A:And I also loved the, if you remember, the series used to come on Saturday morning, the Schoolhouse Rock.
Speaker A:I learned so much from Schoolhouse Rock.
Speaker B:A lot of us do.
Speaker B:That's what we have.
Speaker B:I think our parents are Tapped out like we need something else.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So with that said, I turned my characters into puppets again.
Speaker B:I, there's this joy, a plush puppet still, still.
Speaker B:A lot of stuff is still in the early infancy of my creation as I keep going into schools or, or going to conferences and speaking.
Speaker B:But again it, it came from my childhood and the impressionable lessons that I was taught, they came from the puppets and the music.
Speaker B:And now I get to be silly.
Speaker B:My, my son Matthew plays the character Trey Zeke.
Speaker B:That's a Trey named after my son Trey.
Speaker B:And it's a puppet.
Speaker B:And if you Google, you could see all over the Internet, he sometimes goes to school with me.
Speaker B:So my son's this big guy.
Speaker B:He actually, he was born extroverted, natural born actor, super funny.
Speaker B:And he, we have so much fun.
Speaker B:Again, I got, I did not know that I was going to get to work with my son sometimes.
Speaker B:He's a nurse.
Speaker B:That's his main career and, but he goes with me when he can and they, my kids see the passion behind the work I do and in the beginning I think they didn't know what I was doing and, and, but they, now they, they believe in it and they, they ultimately.
Speaker B:Oh, I said look, this is going to be for you one day and, and your kids and their kids.
Speaker B:So they, they help as much as they can, you know, and they've, they support this God given dream.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:If you had a piece of advice to give to a young aspiring author writer who wants to write for children and make a positive impact, what would you say?
Speaker B:I would say you should do the things that you love to do and not let anyone stop you.
Speaker B:I would say to get a mentor.
Speaker B:I would say find someone who, depending on what you want to write, if you want to write a picture book or children's book, find someone who's done that.
Speaker B:If you want to write chapter book or book for adults, you know, get, be.
Speaker B:Find someone who can help mentor you and make it happen.
Speaker B:There's no today because of technology.
Speaker B:There's no reason, even if you have a shoestring budget that you can't not make many of your things happen.
Speaker B:Especially now with YouTube videos and tutorials.
Speaker B:Again, things that you and I didn't grow up with.
Speaker A:Keith, as you look back at your journey, what would you say has been God's greatest accomplishment through you?
Speaker B:That I, that I became Christian and that I've been able to have a voice and share the positive messages and, and to be able to live a life by example and, and now that I am married to a Christian man and.
Speaker B:And have a foundation I did not know happen and.
Speaker B:And to.
Speaker B:And whatever days and years that God blesses me with to be able to live out all of this and to be able to have peace and joy.
Speaker B:And a lot of people don't get to have that.
Speaker B:And I don't take it for granted.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:Sometimes I say, God, I am not worthy.
Speaker B:I don't know why you chose me, but.
Speaker B:Because you have.
Speaker B:Because I, you know, I am your child.
Speaker B:And you have taught me so much because of my incredible community, sisters, and so many people that have helped to change me, that have taken the time, as if I was the child, to teach me like a child.
Speaker B:And we could do that with anybody, by the way.
Speaker B:And I have made a vow.
Speaker B:I made a vow to God when he got me out of my long suffering that I will never not help someone in need.
Speaker B:I will never not be there when.
Speaker B:When you know that you can, whether it's through words, whether it's through storytelling, you know, I.
Speaker B:God's gifted me every single day to have a platform like this, to have.
Speaker B:Even say this to.
Speaker B:To go in front of students, and it's the best day ever.
Speaker B:I recently went with my son.
Speaker B:Last week, we went to school in Northern California, and we went to a conference.
Speaker B:We're there for librarians.
Speaker B:And again, going to conferences and meeting, you know, leaders, leaders of schools and wherever we can get our great work out there.
Speaker B:We love doing that.
Speaker B:Of course, it's a lot of work.
Speaker B:Filling your car with stuff, planning, you know, it's a lot of work.
Speaker B:I don't.
Speaker B:We zero complaint.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:Neither of us complain because we know what the.
Speaker B:The end goal is.
Speaker B:But then we had an author visit at the end and that in the morning, I texted him.
Speaker B:I was, of course, excited.
Speaker B:I'm in Cloud nine every.
Speaker B:Any day that I could speak to one child or hundreds of children.
Speaker B:And I texted him, today's our.
Speaker B:Why, today's our wife.
Speaker B:And I'm like, God, give me many days of wine, and, you know, I could do it every single day.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:And so I know now why, like, like, I.
Speaker B:I love music, and God did not give me the voice to sing, and that's okay.
Speaker B:He made me a writer.
Speaker B:But I think that people that are, like, musicians and professional singers, you know, whoever your famous.
Speaker B:Your favorite famous singer is, you know, when you see them, they're.
Speaker B:They're really old and they're still performing and they're singing and they don't have to, but it's what they love to do.
Speaker B:It's the thing they do.
Speaker B:And I can understand why they like doing that.
Speaker B:That's their why.
Speaker B:So when you figure out your why, what, how, why God has given you your purpose and you get to do that, I feel that's one of the greatest things in life that you can have.
Speaker A:That's amazing.
Speaker A:You kind of segued into my.
Speaker A:My favorite, other favorite question.
Speaker A:What do you want your legacy to be?
Speaker B:That I helped as many children, babies and adults as I could to.
Speaker B:To live a purposeful life to.
Speaker B:Through storytelling, through art, through music, and by example, even when it wasn't easy.
Speaker B:And that even though life is hard and even though we're gonna fall, that I.
Speaker B:I pray that people learn how to find a relationship, their own relationship with God and that they know that they are loved.
Speaker A:Great.
Speaker A:Where can people find your books and connect with you on social media?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:It's very easy.
Speaker B:Lisa Capelli C A P R E L L I It's easy to find me on social media.
Speaker B:My website for Unicorn Jazz is Unicorn jazz dot com.
Speaker B:My website for my faith based work blog is in Is Love in His image.
Speaker B:Com.
Speaker B:Love in his image.
Speaker B:Com.
Speaker B:But Lisa could probably kind of find everything.
Speaker B:And I am so grateful to be on your show.
Speaker B:Keith and I have reverse the question to you.
Speaker A:All right, Fire away.
Speaker B:Okay, so I used to be a podcast host.
Speaker B:I used to be a podcast host.
Speaker B:So I told Keith before we started that I was going to reverse interview him a little bit.
Speaker B:Okay, so Keith, tell us, why do you do what you do?
Speaker B:Why do you love having a podcast?
Speaker A:First of all, I love the podcast because for one, I get to chance.
Speaker A:Chance to meet people like you who are just amazing guests who God's doing incredible things through.
Speaker A:And for me to be able to give them a platform and a voice to voice what God is doing gives me such great joy.
Speaker A:So I just love being able to pour into people and lifting up other people and how God is using them.
Speaker B:And how did you get into having this kind of voice and mission?
Speaker A: So I started out back in: Speaker A:I wrote a book on healing race in America.
Speaker A:And it kind of was kind of dormant until the George Floyd incident happened.
Speaker A:All of a sudden, people wanted to talk more about how do you heal race in America.
Speaker A:But I knew the conversation about bringing about healing was a much deeper conversation in a book.
Speaker A:And so the podcast got started to kind of lift up people who God is using to build bridges across a lot of different areas.
Speaker A:Education, social justice across in the church, in the business world.
Speaker A:So it's kind of how is God using individuals to accomplish his mission is kind of what got me into doing this and why I do it, to be able to share that with other people.
Speaker B:So what's been some of the greatest lessons that you have learned so far in your young life?
Speaker A:What I've learned so far is that I don't know everything.
Speaker A:And it makes me.
Speaker A:It keeps me curious because we can get caught up in our own echo chambers where we only hear people who agree with us.
Speaker A:I didn't want to be that, so I wanted to have a podcast space where I could bring people on I didn't also agree with, but we could have a good discussion about topics that impact all of us.
Speaker A:I have some guests on that.
Speaker A:We don't necessarily have to share the same views, but I hope they learn from me and I always learn from them.
Speaker B:And what do you want to be known for?
Speaker B:My last question.
Speaker A:I want to be known for someone who shared Jesus with those who don't know him, because that's my greatest passion, is to share Christ with those who don't know and to help people who do know to know him better.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:I love this.
Speaker B:I love our time together.
Speaker B:And I can't wait to meet you in person one day.
Speaker B:God willing.
Speaker A:You never know.
Speaker A:I just got my degree from Irvine, so I may be in the Southern California area.
Speaker A:Never know.
Speaker B:Yay.
Speaker B:Or maybe I'll be out in your area someday.
Speaker A:If you're in Iowa and you're looking for some good pork, you give me a call.
Speaker B:I will.
Speaker A:Lisa, thanks so much for being on.
Speaker A:As we wrap this up, I want to give you a chance to kind of, if you want to kind of leave with the audience some closing thoughts, some best practices from what we got from our conversation.
Speaker A:What words of wisdom do you have to leave with the audience?
Speaker B:Yeah, I just.
Speaker B:I pray that you, if you are going through a challenging time in your life and you do not know your purpose or your why, because that's something that we talked about and that I pray that you ask God that you find that I find.
Speaker B:I pray that you learn how to serve others.
Speaker B:And even if it's not the first time you, you.
Speaker B:It makes you happy in that service that you keep finding that.
Speaker B:And, and sometimes service could be to animals.
Speaker B:If you're an animal lover, you know, there's service that can be found in all kinds of ways.
Speaker B:I find that when you are helping and serving others, that it takes the, the light off of you.
Speaker B:And there's an automatic love and happiness that I promise you will come from that.
Speaker B:And I pray that in your service to others, that you are lifted up and have so much joy and happiness, and that it changes your life in so many new ways, so many unimaginable ways.
Speaker B:And I pray that you are able to find that.
Speaker B:Why?
Speaker B:So that you, too, can leave a multi generational legacy before you leave this earth.
Speaker A:Well, Lisa, thanks so much for what you do and for what you pour into others with, with your books and your joy and your music and your presentation, because it's so important for kids to have some positive, God based, faith based curriculum to kind of have in their life.
Speaker A:So thank you for what you do.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:It's my honor and pleasure.
Speaker B:Thank you so much for our time together.
