The Fit Soul Podcast with Amy Ramsey

146 | Chosen, Crowned, and Changing the World: Her Story with Anna Leah Jolly (Part 2)

Amy Ramsey l High-Performance Faith & Life Coach | Over 40 Healthy Lifestyle Expert Season 2 Episode 146

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Welcome back to Part 2 of this powerful conversation with Miss Mississippi, Anna Leah Jolly. If you missed Part 1, go back and listen to her incredible story,  it’s one that will deepen your faith and remind you of God’s calling on your life.

In today’s episode, we go even deeper as Anna Leah shares how her journey has fueled her mission as an author and creator. Her children’s books, including Limitless and Theodore the Little Bear, are more than stories — they are tools to help children understand their identity, build emotional intelligence, and know they are deeply loved and chosen.

This conversation is a beautiful picture of what it looks like to turn pain into purpose, faith into action, and calling into impact. Whether you’re an aspiring writer, a leader, or simply someone who wants to make a difference, Anna Leah’s story will inspire you to use your gifts to change the world — one story, one heart, and one life at a time.

👉 Ready to take your next step? To apply for faith-fueled, neuroscience-based high-performance coaching with Amy and discover how to achieve your goals while unlocking the next level of growth and success, FAITH-FUELED CLARITY CALL

Visit https://thefitsoul.com

The Walk Worthy Mentorship is a faith-fueled coaching experience for high-capacity midlife women ready to align their habits with their calling and finally follow through on what God’s been stirring in their heart.>>>>> Walk Worthy Mentorship

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SPEAKER_02:

Hey friend, welcome back to the Fit Soul Podcast. Super excited that you are here with me. This is episode 145, and it's part two of my interview with Annalia Jolly. This is such an incredible interview. I'm calling this Chosen Crowned and Changing the World. She is our current Miss Mississippi, and she is an inspiring woman. She is young, but she is an inspiring woman. And in this episode, we're going to talk about her mission. And she is quite the entrepreneur. She's already written two books, and they are beautiful. And you'll hear us talk about it. I'm like, I don't know who did your artwork. And she did the artwork. So she's an artist, she's a dancer, she is um, she's just amazing. She's an entrepreneur, she owns her own dance studio, and we're gonna talk a little bit more about what's in store for her. You're gonna leave, you're gonna, you're gonna be so inspired after listening to her and her story, and just it's gonna make you wanna get up and and live a limitless life. So, with no further ado, let me introduce you to back to the interview with my friend Anna Leah Jolly. So you've got two books, and I don't know who the artist is on your books. Don't tell me it's you. Is it you? No, no, you did that! No, you are kidding me. No, we have another one podcast right here. Are you can did you paint, draw that uh digital?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so I am really good at drawing, it's just kind of like a hidden secret. I don't um tell a lot of people because they'll ask me to draw stuff and I don't have time. And um, but yeah, I was that was like one of the ways that actually a lot of people don't know this about me, but I do like love to sketch, and um, it's just like a way for me to relieve stress sometimes, but I rarely ever ever have time anymore. Um, but yeah, I used to do that before I had friends, and and so yeah, I used to sketch a lot, and um, I have always wanted to write a children's book, and I've always like liked to okay. There's another thing, even though I'm a dancer, when I was in Ukraine, I was a singer, and I've actually always loved like singing, and I know this sounds kind of random, but it goes with this promise. Um, I used to be a singer in Ukraine, and so whenever um I came here, I couldn't speak the language to tell them that I am. So, and I couldn't speak the language, so it'd be random for me to start singing in Russian. Uh, I didn't want to freak people out, so when my parents said, like, hey, do you want to try a ballet? I was like, sure. Um, that's that sounds like a good plan. Um, and I just yeah, just never really told anyone that I was good at that, and um, I guess I like the rhyming and like poems and like songs in general, and that's just kind of like okay, so like drawing came together with like rhymes and I just kind of and like songs in general. And I remember like telling my mom, I was like, I really want to write a children's book one day because she was like asking me, like, what do you want to do in like five or ten years? And she's like, Why don't you do it? And I was like, I have no time, like I don't know if you noticed, but I'm really busy. And God was like, haha. Um, so I'm gonna give you a for the first time ever, I've never had this before. It was like a stomach bug, and I was like thrown out, but I think it was paired paired with COVID. So yeah, I was out for a week. I was in for a week, I was in bed, and I was like, you know what? I know how to use a computer, I know how to draw, and I already have an idea for a book, and I was like, why don't I why don't I just do it? So I literally would stay up throughout the whole night because I wouldn't have to be anywhere the next day, and I think like the medicine was messing with me and keeping me up. Yeah, so I literally I just used how to use can I learned how to use Canva, like I just started doing stuff on Canva. Yep, I sure did, and so I guess like the eye for like drawing and things like came kind of together and um the rhymes, like I already kind of had it figured out, and um, before you know it, then like within a day or two, I had half of it done, and then uh kept working on it, and then by the end of that, I had the whole book done, and then I pitched it to uh Barnes and Noble online, and um they loved it, and I guess because they published it, and um, and then later when I was competing this year, so this was my first year competing as Miss Ranke County, and then this year as Miss Capital City, I was like, I want to do something that was catered towards like adoption, foster care, and helping within emotional intelligence and all that. So then I went with uh Theodore. Theodore took this is gonna sound so bad, but the book only took like two or three days to write. Like I the story was already like in my head. Um once he once you kind of like design your bear that you want, it's not too hard to like make him move, like you know, so that was really easy. Um, so yeah, it just was not that hard. I don't know. That's not true.

SPEAKER_02:

I cannot believe that okay, because they're so beautiful. The the artwork is so you guys, if you're watching this, I mean if you're listening to this podcast, you need to go get her book. Um, go ahead and like throw, I'll put it in the show notes. But what are the names of the two books?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so it's Theodore the Little Bear with Big Feelings. This one is, I would say, for younger children, I would say like anywhere from like five and under, um, maybe six and under. And then this one is Annalea The Limitless Ballerina. Um, people are obsessed with this one because I guess it's I guess it is a pretty this was my first one, and I guess it is a little bit a little bit prettier. It's a little more detailed, it's very girly. So the girls really like this one. Um just because it's a little more intricate and just did all the graphics. Yes, it was all the graph, all graphics on the I'm so blown away right now.

SPEAKER_01:

I can't even with you. Oh my gosh, that's crazy town, crazy town. So talented.

SPEAKER_00:

I want to show you. So, like the one that took the most time was this little scene where she gets adopted and she's jumping on the trampoline, like every flower was done like one by one, and the grass was done like stem by stem. So that took that was the hardest one. But yeah, people the the little girls love this one. This one's a little bit older, I would say, anywhere between like a four-year-old to you know, middle school.

SPEAKER_02:

So okay, okay, that's beautiful. That's beautiful. Um I want to loop back around to your testimony, and it is so interesting how that coach was able to pull that out of you. And um I had a coach very interesting that pulled my story out of me. I've been working with her for a long time with business. It was business coaching. And she was like, let's talk more about your backstory. I'm like, uh, and I don't know about you, so I want to ask you this question. I was hiding from my backstory. I didn't want my backstory to come out. I didn't want that front and center. I didn't want to talk about leaving on a train in the middle of the night with my two children to escape an abusive marriage of 15 years. I didn't want to talk about that and being broke and broken and on food stamps and homeless and all of the things. I was running from that and kind of, you know, front, front face. And did people in my inner circle know? Of course they did. But did I want to share that with the world? Absolutely not. And I had just the most beautiful touch from the Lord one day because I was pent up about all of this. And he finally told me, It's like, I just had this moment. It was a very, it was like a kairos moment. Do you know what a kairos moment is? It's like a moment marked by time. We not chronological time. It is a timestamp forever changed moment. And I had one of those kairos moments, and the Lord spoke to me and said, You will be healed when you can share your story without shame. And here's the truth of the matter is I didn't know I could be healed. I thought I was just too broken and I was had made too many, had too many things happen to me in my life and that I could never amount to anything for the kingdom of God, that I just let God down. Number two, that I had to share my story. That was the thing that I was hiding from. I'm like, okay, so if my healing is on the other side of sharing my story, I gotta figure out how to share my story. Like I was so motivated because I wanted that freedom. I knew my soul was locked up. So let me ask you that kind of on that same way. Was there a part of you that was hiding from the depths and the pain of your story?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, absolutely. I think what you're saying is like your reward is on the other side of obedience, of you know, when God calling you to something, your reward is on the other side, and I did something that happened to me so many times with your reward is on the other side. And it was just constantly in my life. And um, yes, I think at first, okay, so when I became a Christian, everyone was always like, share your testimony, share your testimony. Like everyone has a testimony, and I just remember thinking, like, I don't want to do that. Like, I was like, I want to be normal, and my testimony is not normal. Number one, and then number two, uh, every time I would tell it, I would get very emotional and like cry, and I just couldn't get over it. And I think it was so fresh in my mind. But I think the more um, I think I was so focused on the story of the whole thing that I wasn't focused on like, oh my god, like God did this and God did that. When I started focusing on like all the things that Jesus has done through my story and like all the the miracles, when I started talking about the miracles in my story instead of focusing necessarily like on every you know, on every little detail, then that right there is what brought healing, I think. And then also what sometimes like you don't you don't know it's healing until you share it, and then like you have your own like aha moment of like, oh, okay, I see God, like okay, I should have trusted you a little bit more because I see that you completely like rearranged my whole life and my whole story, and like you can truly do anything, and that's where like limitless is coming from. It's not like oh you can you can do this, you know. You're no, you can't apart from God, like you cannot, but God has such a big plan for you, such a big plan, and he loves you so much that he's not gonna let you. I I will say there's been many times um that I've like disobeyed the Lord, that I knew that like I was not going in the right direction, and I just didn't know what to do about it. Like I I was like, God, I know I'm not going in the right direction, but I don't know, I don't know what to do, and I don't know how how to course correct because you know at a young age you're just kind of just kind of going going through the motions or maybe or whatever. And I just remember thinking, like, wait, I know that like you're not gonna let me down because like you've never have, and a little bit, even if I mess up, you're I feel like God's not gonna let us mess up too much. Like, I know that sounds weird, but it's like there were so many moments in my life where like, oh, that was not going the right direction, and that was not God's plan, and like God's like, it's okay, I got you. And then he like completely like trans, and maybe it doesn't happen to everyone, but it has for me. Like, there's been so many times where like it's almost like God wouldn't let me mess up, like mess up in a way where it wasn't maybe for me it looked like messed up, like, but for him, it was it was not, it was all part of his story, and it was all gonna be for his glory, whether I wanted it or not. Does that make sense? That sounds so bad, but like uh I think there were some teenage moments where like it wasn't for God's glory, and yet it somehow still ended up for God's glory. It's like God's God's not gonna let you um God's always gonna be glorified, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, yeah, all things work together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose, and you love him and you're called according to his purpose, and you're human and you screw up, and that's what is that's the human experience. That's all we do. We, you know, with the best intentions, we can still screw things up. I want to I want to share something with you before we move on, and just the power of you were talking about the power of your testimony and getting to that right place of just like you know, that healing, that healed version. And of course, I mean, I think it just takes time for me. The sharing my testimony, basically, I found a person that I felt led to share it with and I didn't obey. And that's when I had that kairos moment of go do this and you'll be this, go share your testimony without shame, you'll know you're healed. I'm like, I want to be healed, and I was supposed to share it to her. So I found her. I went back to her and I'm like, I was supposed to tell you this, but let me just tell you right now. And I was so nervous, like, oh, I wanted to throw up. I didn't want to do that, but I did. And as I shared my story, she's sobbing, she hugs me so big. It meant the world to her. It was part of her, it was it, it was more than a aha for her, it was an unlocking for her. And I was like, okay, I didn't die. So I just started like slowly sharing my testimony when it was appropriate, just tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny little places here and there. And that process, I became more healed in that process. And so, I mean, you're just talking about your testimony while you're still broken in front of a bunch of people. I don't think that that's I don't think that's wisdom. You know, you you see some people get on like social media and and they they they overshare. And it's like, no, girl, just go get your healing a little bit. You got some work to do. Let's keep that like work on yourself. You got you know, you gotta do the work on yourself. Like, you know what I'm saying? Um, but here's what I wanted to share with you the scripture. When you said that at the um RCW lunch about usually I share my story, but today I'm gonna share my testimony. I'm like, you go, girl. I was like, I'm almost a lamb, I'm gonna lamb at that moment. Is that Revelation 12, 11 says they overcame him, the enemy, by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. The blood they overcame by the blood, the power of the cross, the power of Jesus Christ and their testimony. And as women, and it's not just women, but I see it a lot because I work with women, the enemy wants to take our voice. And our voice is a vessel. And so many of us feel like I'm too much, I'm too much. Nobody wants to hear it. Nobody wants to hear that story, nobody wants to hear what I've got to say. I struggle with that now. I struggle with like, oh, does anybody even care what I've got to say? And it's the enemy who comes to kill, steal, and destroy the kingdom of God moving forward. So I just want to like speak, decree, and declare that over you that your voice is a vessel and it's meant to go forth. And it's through the power of the blood of the lamb. So, girlfriend, you use this platform, the platform of Miss Mississippi, Miss America, Miss Whatever, whatever, whatever, wherever, whatever sphere you're in, you share that testimony.

SPEAKER_00:

No, I want to add on to that because like the more you're like talking about it, the more I'm like, wait. Um, for anyone who's like listening, that it's like feels scared to even share the gospel, not even testimony, but just the gospel itself. Like, I remember having that feeling of like uh of like God's like, hey, go go talk to this girl, and like in this would be a like waffle house, you know, very random. And I'm like, I don't know if this person, yes, yes, and then I was just I remember being scared to share the gospel, and then I remember feeling like oh I didn't die, and this person's probably changed forever. Um, so you kind of have to like that to yourself and just get over it. But I think like this is about to make me sound so unlikable, but the best advice I've ever gotten was so like hard at first to hear, but it was nobody cares, get over yourself and not everybody, not everything's about you. I know that sounds like so so weird, but like I had a dance teacher, I had a dance teacher tell me um I because I would um I would do private lessons with him and and um he was honestly my my only friend for a while because he could speak Russian, it was really nice, but um he would um I would dance and I would like either mess up or like something would go wrong and I would get upset, like physically, like I would like make a face of like oh I can't believe I just did that, you know, and I kept like doing that, and he paused the music and he was like why do you do that? Like nobody like whoever's watching you dance, they don't care that you just messed up, they don't give a rip, like no one cares, only you care that you messed up, like no one else, and and I think that just like stuck with me for like a life lesson of like at the end of the day, if you go up to someone and they don't receive it well, and and they have an opinion of you of like oh this she was weird, she shared her testimony, and she was just like all talking about Jesus or whatever. Nobody cares, like at the end of the day, whatever, like you're either gonna change somebody's life or nobody cares. Like you got you got you got two options. Love that I love that, yeah. It hit me hard of like, oh gosh, you know what? Not everything's about me, and it doesn't matter. And I think to be embarrassed is to be selfish because it's like you're not you, but like I remember thinking that of my my testimony of like to be embarrassed about it or to be scared or whatever is selfish because that is like what the Lord is calling you to do, and to not obey is to make it about yourself, and and I think like that hit me hard, and then and then that's when like life started changing for me a little bit with when it came to sharing.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, okay, so life started changing for you when you shifted the perspective because you're right, it is selfish to you know have it all about yourself, and and I think that your your instructor was so wise beyond his years to just call it out. Here's the thing we all need to be called out on our BS. We all have it, and so many people say stuck. I was there, I was stuck for over a decade. So I'm like, I raised up all of my hands and my piggies and everything. Like, I get it. I was there, I didn't realize it was selfish, but at the end of the day, if you think about it, you're thinking only about yourself and not about the person to whom you might put impact or that um in that it so it is it's an inward turning, which I could go on a whole tangent on that. We won't go there, but no, that's so true. So, you know what? I mean, it's a it's a it's a good point. Check yourself, everybody, as you're listening to this, as you're watching this, check yourself. Nobody cares. Get over yourself. Words from Annalina Jolly. No, I'm teasing. No, words, no, just words to move forward, words to move forward or stay stuck. That's your stuck self, right? Okay, so you're you're in America. Back to your story. You're in America, and tell us a little bit about the journey of dance and why you started dancing and um what that brought forth for you, good and bad.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, dance was kind of an accident. I always wanted to dance actually, because one of my best friends in uh in the orphanage, um, she was a dancer and I was a singer, and that was like how we like I would get like the singer leads, and she would get all the dancer leads. And I used to remember asking her, I'm like, Can you show me how to do a cartwheel? Like, can you teach me? And she would try and it was it just didn't go well for me. But I just remember like being like a in love with the idea of dance, but never like really wanted to pursue it. And when I was here, you know, I couldn't speak the language, and my parents were trying to figure out like what do we do with this child? It is a summer, um, because I came here in May. I was like, what do we do with her? Like, we gotta put her in something. And uh, I remember loving soccer, like that is something that I was good at in Ukraine as well. Like, I just love soccer. That was our football, and that was just the biggest thing in Ukraine. And they tried to put me in that, but the auditions like were already passed and the signups and all that stuff, so that was too late for that. And um, and I remember like trying to do uh they were trying to put me in basketball and all these different things that didn't work out just because I couldn't speak English, and they just like some of the schools were very strict on uh doing sports if you can't speak the language just because you might not give like convey an emergency. And I was just like, look, if I'm like choking or dying, you should be able to like see that. Um, but whatever, we we won't go into it. But basically, like sports were out of the question for some reason, and um, we were at a restaurant, and our waiter was the company member from Baum Nifcot, which was where I ended up dancing. Um, she was one of the company members, and she said um she saw like my parents struggling and like they had all these papers around like on the table, like there is no no room for food or anything. And um, they were like, she was asking them, like, what are y'all doing? And she's like, We're trying to figure out what to put like our daughter in, and like nothing's working, she doesn't speak English, and she's like, Why don't you just do dance? Like, we have a summer dance intensive, it's for one week. She could just try it to see if she likes it, and then during the fall, she can sign up for full-time classes. And I was like, I didn't know what was going on. My parents went and got me this little Leotard that was way too tight on me and tight, and they're just put me in this ballet class. And I remember my first teacher, she was just so sweet and strict all at the same time. And I was with the babies, like I was very beginner, so I was with three-year-olds and four-year-olds that wanted to just run.

SPEAKER_01:

Are you serious?

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, yes, because I was dad beginner, and oh my gosh, never despise humble beginnings, as the Bible says.

SPEAKER_00:

Because I remember like being so mad about that and like, why am I with these little kids? And but then also seeing like though, because there were like windows or whatever in into the classroom. So I also remember seeing like actual dancers, and I'm like, Oh, they're good. So I'm glad, I'm glad I'm not in that class, but I also didn't want to be with these little babies, and I just remember like hating dance, just not liking it because of that, but also kind of loved loving the idea of it. My parents asked me again, could not speak English. They asked me if I would want to apparently sign up for the whole year. Now, I thought they just asked if I wanted to do it one more week because like this was a summer dance intensive, it was just a one-week thing. I was like, Yeah, I can do that again. That sounds like fun, you know. Like, I mean, we did have some fun, we did some arts and crafts. Um, so I was like, Yeah, this is great. And turns out I agreed for the whole year. And my parents are very much up like if you're gonna sign up for something, you're gonna stick with it the whole year. And I ended up like hating it. There were a few other girls that like signed up that were a little bit older as well, they were my age, but they also didn't know how to dance. And we were still with those three-year-olds. It was like three-year-olds and then like four, four of us, and we became really close friends. But I still hated dance just because of like my trauma of being abused. I didn't like the soreness and like building muscle and like stretching was very traumatic for me. And I did not that was another thing of like why I wrote this the children's book. It's like I wanted to share that with my parents, but I didn't know why I was feeling like that. Like, I didn't know why I didn't like the soreness, and like obviously it was because of that, but I just didn't put that two together, the two and two together, and then I was like, just I don't know, I just really didn't like it until it came to recital. Recital came, and something about that recital, it was just like at that point I could speak the language because it was a year later, and I like we were dancing to like a worship song or something, and I just something about the light like in my eyes just made it feel very like God was with me, and it was just something about it that and my dad like always, even though I was awful at dance at that point. My dad was like kept telling me, like, you're a dancer, you're such a dancer, and I was just like, No, I'm not, like, I'm not really good at this. And um, he was like, No, you're a ballerina. There's something about you, like you're gonna be a dancer one day, you're gonna be a ballerina. And he just kind of kept speaking, speaking that over me. I actually did not have the best uh time at dance when I was growing up in the school of the arts, and I um just could never like fit in with the girls for some reason and didn't really love it. And honestly, um, I remember the teachers telling me to quit because I didn't have the body, like I was shorter, so I didn't have like the long legs forward or whatever. And I remember that was kind of like um that that was my dream to go make it into the trainee company, and they said hold your dreams loosely, you know. And I just remember like that was probably the best thing anyone could have said for me, though, because telling me that I can't do something and shouldn't do something just because of like where I am now is the best thing ever. It's the best thing ever. And that happened to me in the pageant world as well. Because when someone told me don't do it, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna show you that I'm gonna be able to do it. I started doing private lessons. Um, I don't know if you know who Catherine Morgan is, but she is the youngest uh ballet girl to, I mean, a girl to make it into the New York City ballet. She was 15 years old, and she has her own YouTube channel. And when she she's huge now, but like back then, um, not too many people knew about her, and she was just making YouTube videos, and my mom um somehow found her email or like maybe DM'd her on like YouTube, like in one of the chats or whatever, and got her to do private lessons with me. And she was yeah, and she was she was in her like later 20s at that point. Um, but she like went through this whole like professional as professional as it gets in ballet with New York City ballet, and um, she already went through all of this and she was from Alabama, so she was living at in Alabama at this time, she moved back, just moved back that year. And so in the Alabama ballet, she I think she was teaching a few classes or something, and she uh I would I would go there for every single weekend for two hours, two hours a week. Uh uh yeah, like two-hour private lesson. So I would go like on a Saturday, and then I'll do two hours on Sunday. I think that's how it went. And then we would drive back. And we did this for like two years straight. We um so from like 14 to 15. Um yeah, my whole like 14 and 15, that's what I did, and we loved it. My parents, like now looking back, wow, like my parents were willing to give up every single weekend and do that. And it that was like our getaway. It was so much fun. We would get a hotel room, and um, yeah, that's literally what they did. They sacrificed a lot for that, and um, and then I started to get really good, I guess, and um just kept like building and um I made it into the trainee company and I danced with them for two years, and then I don't know, it's just kind of like time for me to go. Like, I don't know, something was not not sitting right anymore. And I was like, I really wanted to start a dance studio. So I um started that at 20 years old, started my dance studio within Courthouse Gymnastics. Um, it's called Studio A Dance Company, and I just I don't know, I guess fell in love with the idea of like these little young girls coming in. Some of them are coming in start starting at a later age, uh, as far as dance, kind of like I did, and becoming like you know, really good at it. And now they're we have um little groups that perform in the community called the Christmas Bells and the Elite Team. And um, I uh obviously like the the main goal is to make them competition dancers, maybe one day. But uh my goal with them is to show them that they can share Jesus in all aspects of life, and it's interesting that you know now they go, they always come come up to me and they're like, I shared, I shared um Jesus with this girl in my class, and then the other girl came up to she goes, I gave my Bible to this girl that doesn't have a Bible, and I'm just like, Oh my gosh, this is so sweet! And like I just love their experience with dance and like it to watch it and it be something that I gave them, and and I think that's just like something that just blows my mind. Um, that I have this opportunity now to really push for that's another thing, is like I saw that other companies weren't pushing the little ones as much because it's like gent gentle parenting of like, oh yeah, yeah, no, it's okay, you know. Now I'm like, no, a six-year-old can be just as good as a 20-year-old, and I've seen it because I've seen those competitions, and I'm like, a six-year-old can do everything that the 20-year-old can do, and if not more, because they're more flexible, and I just want to like push them in all areas of life and like in all ages as well. And so it's just been it's been a really fun journey that I've literally started just because I couldn't speak English, and then it ended up to being like a career for me. And I literally wrote this children's book about a girl that started ballet really late in life and became you know good at it. So that was that was just that's just interesting.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it's just such a sending type of a message too, because you uh you were later in life, quote unquote, starting pageantry, you were definitely later in life starting ballet, and you were told you're too old. And I feel like yeah, and I feel like culturally we're told women are told this a lot, and you're you're younger, but as you start to age, it is unspoken. Okay, you're getting wrinkles, your body starts to change, or women that once we have babies, our bodies change, and you know, um, so there's a lot of what you're saying too old, too late. And it is a lie. It is lady, ladies, let's go. Because that holds us back from you.

SPEAKER_00:

I would not be sitting here right now with this on my chest talking to you if I listened to people before Miss Mississippi. Because when I told someone that I wanted to do Miss Mississippi, they were like, and this is like close family and friends. Like they were like, um, why are you not in college? Why are you doing your dance studio? Like, don't you want to go get a degree and do something better? And like all these things. And like, why would you do a pageant? Like that, that's just that's you can't have fun now, you know. And it was not fun. I tell you this. Doing the pageant was not a fun thing. Um, but it was something that grew me. And at the end of the day, now I get to go. Yes, I'm starting from beginner, like a freshman in college, but I get to do it debt-free because now that I won Miss Mississippi, I get a full ride from Bellhaven University. The first ever to win the first girl to have ever won from Bellhaven University to win Miss Mississippi. They gave a free ride because of that, and to everyone who comes after me. And now they also give a free master's to anyone who does a four-year program with them. So I get my master's with them for free, and I get to do my studio, and I'm going to the school of my dreams that is for dance. So I'm just like, you know, don't let people tell you what you can and can't do because my life just completely changed just because I didn't listen to that. And like I there was don't even get me started. I love being the dark.

SPEAKER_02:

Don't even get me started either because I feel a little bit like a late bloomer. I hit my stride with doing what I'm doing, uh, like in my 40s. And I felt I didn't get started for a long time. I felt like I was too old. It was too late. And then it's always that same thing. You you kind of look at others and you see that comparison starts to sneak in. And oh, well, they're doing this. Well, they've been putting in that work for a long time. You got to go do what God's called you to do. And very similar to what you're saying, God laid it on my heart to have an event. Um, it's called the Worthy Woman's Summit. And we had our first ever summit this last March, this year still. Is it 2025? What year is it? Okay, still 2025. And I remember people, like, I just had to go do it. It was an obedience thing. I had to go do it. I didn't know how to do it. I've never held a summit before. I was like, hey, I'm gonna go figure this out. I kind of rolled up my sleeves and I'm a messy starter at whatever. But I had people to tell me, yeah, I mean, you know, things like this don't go in Mississippi, and people don't charge money for like this in Mississippi. And people, you know, you don't, you've never really done this before. And I remember thinking, and it wasn't even a watch me. It wasn't. It was like a who are you? When you know your value and your inherent worth, you know, like I was I thought to myself, who are you to diminish or try to snuff out my light? And and like that expression that says, don't shrink your light because it it, what is that? What is that um expression? Because it makes other people uncomfortable, you know. And so when you shine bright and you're moving forward and you're doing the things, oftentimes people are because they don't take risks, because they're playing it safe, they're playing it like it's supposed to be played, and this is what the textbook says, and this is what's the good way to go. And you're like, but this is God's called me on a different path, and just like to go for so yeah, you go for all that it's all paid for, you got your scholarship paid for. Like, yeah, woohoo!

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I've always told people too, and like no one cares or listens to it, but like think about it, there's more than one way to achieve success. And like, you know, maybe it hasn't been done before, like you said, for you, but like that's why you're the first one to do it. I mean, it's not it's not done until somebody does it. Like, I don't know, yeah, that that did kind of get under my skin a little bit, but you know what? That's okay. I think it's so funny because the first the people that said that to me, as soon as I got top five, or even one Miss Rankin County, um, were like, oh, we were there behind you the whole time and we're so proud of you, and like introduced introduced me as Miss Rankin County, or she was top five last year as Miss Rankin County, or stuff like that, like at Miss Mississippi. They kept doing that like into every little event I went to. So I'm just like, hmm, people become believers whenever you show them that you can do it. But it's your true friends that are actually friends that will believe in you even when you haven't showed them the progress yet.

SPEAKER_02:

And I think well, I wanted to say too, you know, like we can't choose our family, but we can choose our friends. And I think it's really important that we elevate our friend group to places to where they see the goodness in us, and we surround ourselves with uh women that call us higher. You know, it's like you never want to be the smartest person in the room, you never want to be the strongest one at the gym, you never want to be the best dancer at your dance studio because you cannot elevate. And you said something else earlier about um what was it that oh, pushing the six-year-olds. You want to push the six-year-old, you've seen it done differently, maybe than people have here or in general. I don't know. And it doesn't even matter. But once you've been expanded, you can't go back and unsee what you've seen. You're like, nope, there's more. You've got more potential, there's more capacity. Let's go, right? Um, okay, Analia, as we start to wrap this up, what do you see past this the platform of Mississippi Miss Mississippi? But what do you see as next for you in the next decade using your testimony, using the stories? Do you see more books? What what do you feel like is maybe your next met your future?

SPEAKER_00:

As far as specifics, I have no idea, but I do I want to get a degree. Um, I want to get my master's in business. And um, I just want honestly to do what I do, but on the bigger level. Like I I guess I was a little bit sad that I didn't win Miss America just because it's the fastest way to get people to listen when you have a national title. But I also know that I don't need the national title to make a difference nationally, and I think that's like the goal. I'm gonna I'm I'm kind of honestly I have a few ideas running around in my mind just to see of you know what really is next. But I would love to do maybe start my own podcast um about you know just kind of doing what I already do, but on a bigger scale, and then of course growing my studio and um just getting that expanded as well. And um, I don't know, I feel like the future is truly limitless. And that sounds cheesy, but I do think I can go in like so many different directions right now that right now I just gotta I just gotta pray about it and see what's the best choice. Or and uh, you know, that's just like another advice of like you know, speed and how fast you're going towards something is only important if you're going in the right direction. So my my thing now is just choosing that direction and making sure it's the right thing for me.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, I think the future is absolutely limitless for you, and clearly you're an entrepreneur. I love that you're gonna pursue business. Um, I think however you can amplify your voice will is beautiful. Podcast is easy, so easy to get started with. I think you'll love it too. I love my podcast, it's so fine. Um, and I just believe that you're gonna be on so many, you're gonna have a lot of platforms to utilize this testimony that God's given you, and for so many children to be healed earlier with your story. Um, and I think that as you evolve and become and even grow, I just feel like that net is gonna even be wider with the emotional intelligence piece. You can call it a whole bunch of different things, but for so many people to be able to understand that they're not crazy, they might need some resources. It's powerful when you have tools, roadmaps, blueprints, resources to help guide you on that path. Yes, okay, so so excited for you. Thank you so much for your time today. I'm gonna link your books inside in the show notes, and so we've talked about that. You can go to what is your website called?

SPEAKER_00:

Limit Limitless Power2Connect.com. So like with a number two, but limitless power to connect.com.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, so we'll put that in the show notes and then connect with her on social media, which would be um what what is your it's not Analia Jolly, what is it?

SPEAKER_00:

So my social media like Instagram or Facebook is 22 Analyah Jolly, because I think I started it in 2022, and then my um Miss Mississippi is Miss America MS. Um yeah, but you know, honestly, to just kind of like leave, I guess, with something or like to wrap all of this up, I um you know, with everything that I've said, like I guess my advice to like the world, and I hope that this is like the only thing you get out of it, maybe is if you you know if you listen to any of it, it's like don't waste your life. You know, I've been 24, you know, I'm 24 years old, which means I've been alive for if you put it in numbers of days, only about 8,000 days, and but I'm already 24 years old, so we really don't have that much time on this earth, and so shine your light. Um use the God-given gifts that only God has given you, that only you are able to bring people to his kingdom in the way that God has designed you to do it, and go for it. And that is like the if you get anything away from it, like you are limitless with God, and you are limitless in um you're you're walking through an obedience, and of course, your reward, like I said earlier, would be on the other side.

SPEAKER_02:

Right, that's right, that's right. I was gonna ask you. Um, so I'll go ahead and ask you because I think it might be that what you just said, but uh my mission is to walk worthy and to help other women walk worthy of their calling. So, what like just if you could, what would that look like? What how would you still encourage somebody to continue to stay on the path of walking worthy?

SPEAKER_00:

Um, I think for me, I don't know what it your story is and what you've been through in life, but for me, I I would not be walking worthy if I was stuck in my past and if I was stuck in unforgiveness. And I think it's so important that no matter what you've been through in life, that you walk in forgiveness, you walk in grace and beauty, and in like the purpose that God has given you. And I think that's the only way you're gonna be worth walking worthy is when you realize that He has made you to be worthy.

SPEAKER_02:

Wise beyond your years. I love you too. Um, okay, so you guys, y'all go buy this book, buy a whole bunch of copies, send them to your friends, send them to your my cousin has two adopted children from one from China and one from I'm I want to say the Philippines, and I might be wrong now, but she's a huge advocate for adoption. I should connect you too. She's amazing. Um do what?

SPEAKER_00:

I'm about to do a I'm about to do a book signing with Barnes and Noble very soon. So keep like if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you'll see that I'm about to start posting like when that is, uh what the event is. And if you buy my book online now, um I'll do I'll be doing a signing at Barnes and Noble.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, wonderful. Okay, perfect, perfect, I love it. Yeah, okay. So you guys, if you loved this episode, and I know you did, do us a five, do us, do me a favor, download it, leave a five-star review, and then like screenshot it and share it with a friend, throw it in your socials, tag Annalia, tag me, we'll reshare it, we'll do all the things. And we are so girl, we're so grateful. Um, I'm just grateful for uh your your mission, for the mission field that you're in. And I I'm so excited to link arms and just do life with you and just cheer you on along the way. You're amazing. Okay, friends. Well, we will see you back this time next week. All right. Bye, everybody.