ELENA CARDONE - PHILANTHROPIST, AUTHOR, HOST & POWERHOUSE

Elena Cardone is a name synonymous with being a force. Philanthropist, Mother, Host, Wife and Ultimate Powerhouse. Elena Cardone is a dynamic woman who is authentically herself and a wealth of information. I've been a fan of Elena's Instagram videos so I was so excited when she agreed to Conversate with Yhorlife! I'm so happy I got to interview Elena Cardone. - Enjoy!

©ELENACARDONE

Good morning!... Good morning! … I thank you and honored to sit down with you for Yhorlife Conversating series…

How would you introduce yourself to those that are unaware of you? This is for someone that has been living under a rock and do not know you…

Hmmm…how would I introduce myself? I always think it sounds better when it comes from someone else.

I think the question is interesting, because people have this built in DNA structure that they are not to self-promote, to sound humble enough.

I want people to know about me is that my purpose in life is that I want to empower women, protect children, and restore the family unit on the planet. I do think it is under attack.

So, everything about me is going to lead to one of these buckets – either women, children, or family. I work as a philanthropist, and I am an author.

As well I open the doors to behind the scenes of how my husband and I have been on the verge of losing everything financially, to building a multi-billion-dollar empire.

Also, how we help other people along the way. What we had to do, give-up, and what mindsets we had to adjust. Also, what skills we needed to learn, so that we can help the everyday person.

That is how we were raised. I am not a high affluent woman that was born into money, although there is nothing wrong with that at all. I wish sometimes that I had because I think that it would not have taken me this long to figure things out.

That is what I really want to do… help to change the trajectory of the world by helping as many people know about the data that I know that can help them succeed.

Positive you do not look old at all, if you feel old you do not look it. So that is more than half the battle. Nobody wants to get advice from someone that doesn’t look snatched – and you look snatched…  Ahahaha… well thank you!

You said that you love to build up women, and the family unit, and that is your empire. Why are you so passionate about helping women, the value of women, and restoring the value of the family unit? As well why do you think that is crucial to have that type of nucleus and value…

What I believe now more than ever is that women have a power. And the power and ability to influence the behavior of others.

So, women have always had (power) the whole entire history line, and the influence to make a difference. If we don’t recognize our power we are not influencing - ourselves, our partners, our children, our community, and the world.

I see things that are happening on this planet, there is a drug epidemic, high divorce rate, wars, insanities, and criminalities. There is a downward spiral going on.

I believe passionately if we are going to make a difference that women could have a huge impact to actually changing the trajectory of this downward spiral and push it up. That is going to start when every woman learns to understand and recognize their value.

My belief is that it has been depreciated over time (women’s value), and you can see it in women’s confidence levels, their insecurities, their imposter syndrome, and all these other labels that they give themselves to not stand up and stand out. And be that stable guiding force for themselves and their communities.

Where do you see the woman most celebrated, and or devalued… for me I see it in our consumerism. Our values have changed, we care more about a purse than education...

Oh no I agree with you there, that is really smart. Your ROI, rate of return is on yourself, and your self enhancement. Yes, I wish we could get back to more of that and less about a purse.

The purses are nice and good rewards, but they should be rewards. Not something that you need to have an identity, and to feel important.

So, I have noticed in society women rightfully so are valued for their accomplishments in the workplace, and I do not want that taken away.

If you look at the history of women. It was just in 1960 technically that women were allowed to open bank accounts without having a man cosign.

However, most banks throughout America refused to let women have a bank account, own a home, purchase a car, or anything without having the husband cosign. This is what happened with the history of women.

It was not until 1974 that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was passed, approximately forty-nine years ago. When the Act was passed, that was when women could set up a loan. 

Can you imagine the hostility and anger that women felt. We were taught we had to stay with a husband to have a home. We were not allowed to have a divorce, until later. We could not even leave an abusive husband, we had to depend on them. Let’s face it a lot of men are not honorable, and then a lot of them are honorable.  

So, we have a lot of pent-up aggression, hostility for having to deal with those men that were unscrupulous, cheating, and abusive. We felt stuck because where could we go?  We could not have a home and had to kind of suck it up, we were just left out in the cold.

We were not valued in the workplace. When we entered the workplace there was all this sexual harassment because women were not viewed as actually having a brain.

I understand … we should be valued in the workplace. We should be valued for the accomplishments. We are coming from having to prove our worth in the workplace, to be able to have our right to a divorce, and to be able to have bank accounts.

So, I do think we went the other way. Women are devalued when a woman wants to be a wife, or a homemaker, or a mother. We have gone so far in the other direction. We have been given these rights, but now we have not come back to where women that want to be a mother, can, and that will is not devalued. 

You can hear it in society when you ask a woman…’what do you do’? and she says … ‘oh I am just a stay-at-home mom’, ‘I’m just a homemaker’ … ‘I’m just a housewife’. They feel like these jobs are things that they must apologize for. They say (with their words), and feel that they are devalued, and that all these important ladies look down on them.

I know this for a fact because I suffered this myself. I want to say to them – ‘alright you needed to go here, to get here. But now how do we get here to have it all’?

I want to get to where when someone asks … how do we get to be a mother? or what do you do?... and you say I am a mother. And then someone’s response is …’thank you for your contribution to civilization, and mankind’. It is about being a mother and having that role revered.

©ELENACARDONE

So, then women can really have it all, we can excel in our businesses, if we want to transition and become a mother, then we can go back into the workforce, or not. It should be up to the woman, and not judged either way. I love that. To quote Former First Lady Jackie Kennedy… my biggest responsibility is to raise self-sufficient good human beings, and she was referring to her children. And we need that motto in our society.

I feel that as a society… we are like a rubber band… our society’s values and morals have been stretched so far, and we must come back. I feel that we are craving it. We can have different views, but at our core everybody wants these values.

Yes, we do all have to be respectful of all our different viewpoints, and I love your analogy of the rubber band. That is what I am telling myself, as I scroll… I am like we have got to get back to having values. Sometimes I feel like an alien.

No that is the only thing that the media will show you, so that you do feel like an alien, and that there is no one like you out there.

Then you get scared to say anything, because you do not want to get on the hate list of women. There are more people out there like us, since I have the courage to come out and speak my truth and reality.

No-one can make you feel wrong for your observations, because that is what is real to you. So, I am not going to tell you what yours are, but I can speak from experience on what I see. No one can make that wrong because that is my point of view.

Yes, that is so true. We all like ice cream, but we have many different flavors – but it is still ice cream.

What are your tips for a healthy mindset… since you are a public figure, how do you keep a healthy mindset and stay true to yourself…

Well, I am going to fall on my purpose and that is how I introduce myself. That helps me to have a healthy mindset, and to not get distracted by things that are not going to be toward the forward motion to my goal.

It also helps me if I get kicked down, or knocked down … I have a bigger purpose other than myself, Elena Cardone. It is bigger, it is for women, children, and for families. When I have a healthy mindset, I do not have the luxury to feel kicked down for too long. Because I have a bigger purpose.

I must get back up and fight for all of us. Encourage more people to fight for women, to fight for families, and to fight to bring back family values, and to fight for America and what it stands for. That is how I keep a healthy mindset with a purpose.

It is also how you physically take care of yourself, are you taking vitamins? Are you drinking water? Are you doing a little exercise program?

Also, another thing… look who you are hanging out with. Ask yourself if these people are assets, or liabilities; that can drain on you mentally as well.

I am also willing to look at who is around me, who is contributing, pulling from me, who does not have my best interest in mind.

For your mindset you must be able to identify red flags, be protective of your environment, take care of your health, and be committed to your mission and your purpose.

I have watched your show ‘The Elena Cardone Show’ I really enjoy how you ask questions to your guests. Why did you create your show? and what do you love the most about interviewing?

Well, I created my show to start a women’s movement. I want to explore what a new women empowerment movement looked like. I am doing research myself, and I want to interview other successful women. In their areas of success, and I enjoy hearing their successful actions and mindsets.

As well discuss how they get through a challenging moment. I do this also so that I can learn. I am doing the show because I want to know, have my own takeaways, and be a sponge for knowledge.

I like hearing, listening, and learning from their viewpoint and struggles. Also hearing how they feel they can help women, and how women can help them. Bridge this gap between men and women again and get us behaving and collaborating with each other.

So, we can be strength in numbers, as opposed to having the mindset ‘I don’t need you, and I don’t need you’. Become the best and most powerful that we can be together.

How do you define resilience…

I define resilience as the ability to come back, to keep going, and to continue. To figure out how to challenge yourself to solve the problem.  To come up with the solution to be able to pick yourself up when you have been knocked down.

To be able to confront life again and change your approach, or tactic. Learn from the last knockdown, but do not let it hinder you.

Resilience is learning from the knockdown, but still having the courage to face the future. Take responsibility for what you did to create the knockdown. So, you can go forward and prevent the next knockdown, but even get further ahead in the future.

Noone has a smooth journey. What was the most pivotal part in your journey? Did you ever feel like quitting…

Oh, I feel like quitting a lot of the times. I think it is normal for me. I have tried to stop comparing myself to how I think I should be, and how I think other normal people would do it.

I came to the realization that this is me, this is how I process things, this is my way. And I must stop comparing myself to other people.

One of my pivotal moments was when I was 14 years old. I witnessed my best friend die in a fire. It was hard for me. I did not know how to deal with it, and how to express those feelings. I hid that devastation from my parents, and I kept a lot of things inside.

So, to deal with that pain (and to numb the pain) I started drinking excessively and being wild and crazy. I went down a dark path, and I wanted to give up. I did not understand why she died, and I lived.

It caused me years of pain and suffering, but I came back from that stronger and better. I learned a lot from that circumstance in my life. It made me stronger.

Yes, that is amazing … you do not have to wear the trauma. You can still show up every day…and I like to say have the spirit of a child, have that excitement of life. What you are saying is true you can experience it and you do not have to give up a decade of your life wallowing in that misery.

At the same time, it is also okay to feel pain, and to still feel like an empty shell and continue through life. And not to expect to feel happy. Recognize that that circumstance does not require a happy emotion and own that emotion.

Do not have that circumstance with those accompanying emotions stop you. You need to feel and to then move forward. Just understand psychologically that you are going to feel sad, but you can still give a speech.

What are the three staples of clothing that make you feel the most confident …

I love a business suit. I love a white crisp shirt, because it is so versatile, and you can wear it with anything. Oh, and I do like a good pair of heels, I just feel better in heels than in flats. I prefer to be more comfortable, but I just feel more confident in heels.

What are some of the most rewarding parts of your job…

Oh man… the most rewarding part is seeing people’s lives change. When I hear other people that we met success stories’, they have been affected by Grant’s work (Grant Cardone), or mine; and they have applied something and it made a difference in their lives – financially, or with their relationships.

I mean there is no better reward. To know I have hyped somebody else to be better, I made a difference in their lives. It makes my Spiritual Bank full.

What is your favorite way to unwind…

I love to shoot guns on a shooting range, that is like my favorite thing to do. I can focus and be present.

Do you like shopping… Yes! I love shopping with the right people. I don’t like shopping by myself, and I really don’t like shopping with someone that does not like to shop.

Do you like reading books… Reading books… I don’t actually love reading books. I do love listening to books on audio. I wake up before the rest of the family and listen to books on audio. It is a Zen moment for me.

I listen to about thirty to forty books a year on audio. That has really impacted my life in a positive way.

Elena thank you so much for conversating with me… I enjoyed it so much.