Summary: Our special guest on this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast is Zana Williams. Zana joined Kimi to talk about what has gone on in her life in the past 2 years and the big milestone that she just achieved. When Zana was on the podcast in 2018, she talked about the journey that she had been on to get into law school in the midst of losing her grandmother and her father and she was beginning law school in San Diego. While she was there, she noticed that her mom’s health began declining, so she made the decision to move back home to Oklahoma City to finish school and take care of her mother. Her mother passed away in September of 2019, a few months before Zana was set to graduate law school. Recognizing the immense losses that she had experienced in the past several years, Zana put herself into counseling to help her work through the grief of losing both of her parents, and she had some self-realizations through the process. Zana had been taking care of others for so long that she had lost herself in her duties which caused her to lose touch with herself and her emotions. She was forced to face herself and to reflect on everything she had been through as well as everything she had accomplished. This is not an uncommon journey for caregivers, high-achievers, and leaders. Zana encapsulates her key takeaways from her self-awareness and self-care as: 1. Face yourself and be your own cheerleader 2. Be wholly present in the moment 3. But for a strong support system who showed up for her 4. Allow yourself to feel emotions Now, if you were to walk into Zana’s house, you would see her core values and purpose plastered across her walls. She has written out her goals, commitments, beliefs, and feelings as daily reminders of who she is and where she is going. She is a huge advocate for putting your goals out into the world and joining together with others who are seeking to live out their purposes to hold each other accountable and encourage one another. Zana’s parting thought is: It is ok to be a work in progress. Topics Covered in this Episode: • Early accountability • Law school • Overcoming hardships • Achieving your goals • Grief and loss Connect with Zana: https://www.facebook.com/zana.l.williams
