WEBVTT
00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:07.839
Hi, and welcome to Megan's Place Conversations on Healing.
00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:12.880
I'm your host, Megan, and today we are going to be joined by AJ Crutcher.
00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:20.160
She is an author, an entrepreneur, a motivational speaker, a TV host, and a toy inventor.
00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:25.280
She has built a career around empowering others to grow, learn, and reach their potential.
00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:39.840
So in this conversation, we're going to be exploring the experiences that shaped your journey, the role resilience plays in personal growth, and how creativity, purpose, and healing can help us build better futures for ourselves and for those around us.
00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:43.600
And AJ, we are so excited to have you on today.
00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:51.039
Is there anything that you'd like to share with the audience or anything that you want to tell us about yourself before we get started?
00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:52.719
Well, hello, everyone.
00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:55.280
Thank you so much for having me today, Megan.
00:00:55.359 --> 00:01:04.319
And yeah, just I am very passionate about just um families and children and just rebuilding that family dynamic.
00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:12.319
And that's one thing that I share not only in my stories, but in the projects that I do and then the connection even with here with Avent.
00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:14.079
So I'm happy to be here.
00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:17.120
Oh, well, we are so happy to have you on.
00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:20.480
And, you know, it kind of brings me into my first question.
00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:26.480
You wear many hats, being an author, an entrepreneur, a speaker, and an inventor.
00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:32.959
Um, and so looking back, I'm curious what experiences most shaped the person that you've become today.
00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:38.319
Well, I will say um just my upbringing.
00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:49.599
Um, and the reason why I say that is because I was around the family dynamic and around children at a young age because my mom owned her her own daycare.
00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:54.400
And so we had a lot of kids coming off the bus to come to her home daycare.
00:01:54.480 --> 00:02:05.760
And I was always around a lot of people, and I think that sparked, well, I know that sparked my love for people and children and growth and family in that whole dynamic.
00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:12.479
So I would say bringing that in in my foundation helped sparked me for generations to come.
00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:15.039
Oh, that's so special.
00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:26.400
And um, you know, I know that a lot of people who are listening might be working to overcome some challenges or maybe break unhealthy patterns in their lives.
00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:32.960
So it makes me wonder what lessons about resilience have helped you navigate setbacks and continue moving forward?
00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:35.840
Because I'm sure we've all experienced setbacks here and there.
00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:37.280
Absolutely.
00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:40.960
Um, I will say keep the faith.
00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:44.639
Um, whatever you have, just keep your eye on it.
00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:48.080
Um, I will say that will never let you go.
00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:54.080
Um, if you have that focal point of, okay, who do I need to call and talk to?
00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:56.080
And they may not answer, right?
00:02:56.400 --> 00:03:05.680
So you have to have your faith-based, something that you can lean on that will help you get by and that will help sustain you in every aspect of your life.
00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:06.879
Absolutely.
00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:19.840
I think um, you know, your faith and or your support system um are so important in everything because, you know, they always say it takes a village, and it does.
00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:29.759
You can't really get through life without having those people around you that will push you and that will help you stand up when you've fallen down.
00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:32.240
Um, it's really hard to go through that alone.
00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:39.680
And so it sounds like for you, um, your faith and um the people around you have been would have helped you get back up.
00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:41.199
Yes.
00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:47.919
And you know, that kind of brings me into my next question, which is around the idea of creativity.
00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:54.960
So creativity really seems to be a common thread throughout the work that you do, um, from writing books to inventing toys.
00:03:55.120 --> 00:04:02.479
And I'm curious how that creativity contributed to, you know, your own healing, growth, or even sense of purpose.
00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:08.560
How oh wow, that's a loaded question.
00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:27.759
Um again, of course, the foundation of family, friends, and things around can spark creativity, but found finding that balance in life um when it comes to because I still work full-time, I still doing things, of course, to um have make my living here.
00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:37.759
Um, however, just creating that balance because you want to make sure you're rested and you have um a space where you can have those creative moments.
00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:42.959
Maybe take a walk, maybe go for coffee, maybe change your scenery when you're writing.
00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:45.839
Sometimes I can change up the scenery when I'm writing.
00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:50.240
However, I always try to keep a notepad or something in my phone for notes.
00:04:50.399 --> 00:05:00.079
So when I have those sporadic um ideas that may come to me, like, you know, maybe while driving, when I pull over or something, I'll write it down or I text it down.
00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:16.319
So just being in a place of receiving creativity, um, but allowing yourself to have the open availability to do so because create creatives, it you can you can see a show or you can probably see a dog barking and it just, oh, I got an idea, right?
00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:21.839
You like you just have those spar those moments, and everybody has a little piece of creativity in them.
00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:24.639
You just have to know it and apply it.
00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:26.959
Absolutely.
00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:37.199
I think that's so important because a lot of people might have these thoughts, but then might not know how to apply them, or might not know, oh, maybe I should jot this down so I remember it so I can use it.
00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:38.639
Yeah, absolutely.
00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:40.240
Absolutely.
00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:46.480
And you know, it brings me into my last question.
00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:55.759
If there's one message of hope that you'd like for listeners to remember after today's conversation, what would it be?
00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:09.759
There's one thing for hope that I would love you guys to remember is always stay true to yourself and your mission.
00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:24.720
Um I know sometimes that we see other things happening or we see how maybe somebody may have made it um and you are still not there yet, right?
00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:25.759
Just not there yet.
00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:27.120
You're probably not there, right?
00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:31.839
So trying not to compare and just know that your time is coming, but never give up hope.
00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:32.800
Keep going.
00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:39.279
Um, hope looks different on everyone, but how you apply it is like, oh man, I got this.
00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:40.319
Let me keep the faith.
00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:45.120
Let me keep, you know, sustaining that I know I'm gonna get through this.
00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:48.879
Cause um, if it was done before, it will be done again.
00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:54.319
So just say keep the hope, um, keep the faith, and you can do this.
00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:55.360
Don't give up.
00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:56.879
Don't give up.
00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:00.399
Well, I see why you can be a motivational speaker.
00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:02.959
Um, that was certainly motivating.
00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:06.399
Um my goodness, yeah.
00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:10.560
Uh, you know, I'm just so grateful that you came on today.
00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:17.040
Um, and I am, you know, there's a little bit more, it sounds like that you have going on.
00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:18.480
You mentioned being an author.
00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:19.360
Um, yeah.
00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:21.680
And do you want to share a little bit about that?
00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:22.000
Yeah.
00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:25.920
So um I've written but since I was 15 years old.
00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:29.279
And not to give away my age, I'm just gonna say how long I've been writing.
00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:36.879
Since I was 15 years old, and in that, um, I write I was able to create a series called To Grandma's House I Go.
00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:44.639
And in that series, it talks about the special moments and times where this main character named Tanner is on her way to her grandmother's house.
00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:53.120
Um, whether she's meeting her cousins for Christmas dinner, playing cards, or outside for the summer, um, it tells a story of her life.
00:07:53.279 --> 00:08:05.360
And a lot of kids and also parents say they love the book, especially parents, because it reminds them of their childhood and upbringing with their own stories at their grandparents' house.
00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:07.120
And that's something that I wanted to do.
00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:09.279
I wanted to bring in the essence of family back.
00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:10.959
I wanted to bring the love back.
00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:19.360
I wanted to bring that that that wholeness because without family, without love, then sometimes we we miss something, right?
00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:21.759
And so that's the storyline.
00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:25.199
And we have um, I have a the doll is created.
00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:29.199
It's an 18-inch um toy doll, um, the Tanner doll.
00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:39.200
It was created out of the book series with detachable accessories, and she's beautiful, and um, and it it's it's it's moving forward.
00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:44.159
It's it's one of those things where it was a process to create as an entrepreneur.
00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:52.159
Um, and I will love to sit down another time to express how that process is and help other entrepreneurs who will love to invent or create things on their own.
00:08:52.399 --> 00:09:06.639
Um, and then now out of the To Grandma's House I Go series, we have another book where we are introducing a a boy character for all our young boys who, you know, and we also have um toys for boys as well.
00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:09.759
So we now we cater to girls and boys, which is amazing.
00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:10.879
We're still growing.
00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:25.120
So it's it's something that started off as a passion for mine because I remember the time that I spent over my grandmother's house to something that I want to share with others so they can help heal and restore their families.
00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:27.279
I love that.
00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:39.039
And, you know, I think it's such a special industry of entrepreneurship to be in, especially in a way that supports children in the same way that um, you know, we do at Advent.
00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:42.320
You know, it's all about being there for the kids and the youth.
00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:47.360
And I think it's so special that you found other creative ways to do that work too.
00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:48.799
Oh, thank you.
00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:50.320
Thank you.
00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:51.519
Of course.
00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:54.799
And, you know, thank you for sharing all that you do.
00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:58.480
Um, I'll go ahead and link your books in the caption.
00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:01.519
So if anyone's interested, um, they can check that out.
00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:06.639
And as always, to our listeners, thank you so much for tuning into Megan's place.
00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:12.559
You can join us again the Monday after next, and we'll continue the conversation about mental health.
00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:07.839
Hi, and welcome to Megan's Place Conversations on Healing.
00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:12.880
I'm your host, Megan, and today we are going to be joined by AJ Crutcher.
00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:20.160
She is an author, an entrepreneur, a motivational speaker, a TV host, and a toy inventor.
00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:25.280
She has built a career around empowering others to grow, learn, and reach their potential.
00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:39.840
So in this conversation, we're going to be exploring the experiences that shaped your journey, the role resilience plays in personal growth, and how creativity, purpose, and healing can help us build better futures for ourselves and for those around us.
00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:43.600
And AJ, we are so excited to have you on today.
00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:51.039
Is there anything that you'd like to share with the audience or anything that you want to tell us about yourself before we get started?
00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:52.719
Well, hello, everyone.
00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:55.280
Thank you so much for having me today, Megan.
00:00:55.359 --> 00:01:04.319
And yeah, just I am very passionate about just um families and children and just rebuilding that family dynamic.
00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:12.319
And that's one thing that I share not only in my stories, but in the projects that I do and then the connection even with here with Avent.
00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:14.079
So I'm happy to be here.
00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:17.120
Oh, well, we are so happy to have you on.
00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:20.480
And, you know, it kind of brings me into my first question.
00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:26.480
You wear many hats, being an author, an entrepreneur, a speaker, and an inventor.
00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:32.959
Um, and so looking back, I'm curious what experiences most shaped the person that you've become today.
00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:38.319
Well, I will say um just my upbringing.
00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:49.599
Um, and the reason why I say that is because I was around the family dynamic and around children at a young age because my mom owned her her own daycare.
00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:54.400
And so we had a lot of kids coming off the bus to come to her home daycare.
00:01:54.480 --> 00:02:05.760
And I was always around a lot of people, and I think that sparked, well, I know that sparked my love for people and children and growth and family in that whole dynamic.
00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:12.479
So I would say bringing that in in my foundation helped sparked me for generations to come.
00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:15.039
Oh, that's so special.
00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:26.400
And um, you know, I know that a lot of people who are listening might be working to overcome some challenges or maybe break unhealthy patterns in their lives.
00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:32.960
So it makes me wonder what lessons about resilience have helped you navigate setbacks and continue moving forward?
00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:35.840
Because I'm sure we've all experienced setbacks here and there.
00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:37.280
Absolutely.
00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:40.960
Um, I will say keep the faith.
00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:44.639
Um, whatever you have, just keep your eye on it.
00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:48.080
Um, I will say that will never let you go.
00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:54.080
Um, if you have that focal point of, okay, who do I need to call and talk to?
00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:56.080
And they may not answer, right?
00:02:56.400 --> 00:03:05.680
So you have to have your faith-based, something that you can lean on that will help you get by and that will help sustain you in every aspect of your life.
00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:06.879
Absolutely.
00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:19.840
I think um, you know, your faith and or your support system um are so important in everything because, you know, they always say it takes a village, and it does.
00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:29.759
You can't really get through life without having those people around you that will push you and that will help you stand up when you've fallen down.
00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:32.240
Um, it's really hard to go through that alone.
00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:39.680
And so it sounds like for you, um, your faith and um the people around you have been would have helped you get back up.
00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:41.199
Yes.
00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:47.919
And you know, that kind of brings me into my next question, which is around the idea of creativity.
00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:54.960
So creativity really seems to be a common thread throughout the work that you do, um, from writing books to inventing toys.
00:03:55.120 --> 00:04:02.479
And I'm curious how that creativity contributed to, you know, your own healing, growth, or even sense of purpose.
00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:08.560
How oh wow, that's a loaded question.
00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:27.759
Um again, of course, the foundation of family, friends, and things around can spark creativity, but found finding that balance in life um when it comes to because I still work full-time, I still doing things, of course, to um have make my living here.
00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:37.759
Um, however, just creating that balance because you want to make sure you're rested and you have um a space where you can have those creative moments.
00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:42.959
Maybe take a walk, maybe go for coffee, maybe change your scenery when you're writing.
00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:45.839
Sometimes I can change up the scenery when I'm writing.
00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:50.240
However, I always try to keep a notepad or something in my phone for notes.
00:04:50.399 --> 00:05:00.079
So when I have those sporadic um ideas that may come to me, like, you know, maybe while driving, when I pull over or something, I'll write it down or I text it down.
00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:16.319
So just being in a place of receiving creativity, um, but allowing yourself to have the open availability to do so because create creatives, it you can you can see a show or you can probably see a dog barking and it just, oh, I got an idea, right?
00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:21.839
You like you just have those spar those moments, and everybody has a little piece of creativity in them.
00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:24.639
You just have to know it and apply it.
00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:26.959
Absolutely.
00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:37.199
I think that's so important because a lot of people might have these thoughts, but then might not know how to apply them, or might not know, oh, maybe I should jot this down so I remember it so I can use it.
00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:38.639
Yeah, absolutely.
00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:40.240
Absolutely.
00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:46.480
And you know, it brings me into my last question.
00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:55.759
If there's one message of hope that you'd like for listeners to remember after today's conversation, what would it be?
00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:09.759
There's one thing for hope that I would love you guys to remember is always stay true to yourself and your mission.
00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:24.720
Um I know sometimes that we see other things happening or we see how maybe somebody may have made it um and you are still not there yet, right?
00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:25.759
Just not there yet.
00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:27.120
You're probably not there, right?
00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:31.839
So trying not to compare and just know that your time is coming, but never give up hope.
00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:32.800
Keep going.
00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:39.279
Um, hope looks different on everyone, but how you apply it is like, oh man, I got this.
00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:40.319
Let me keep the faith.
00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:45.120
Let me keep, you know, sustaining that I know I'm gonna get through this.
00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:48.879
Cause um, if it was done before, it will be done again.
00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:54.319
So just say keep the hope, um, keep the faith, and you can do this.
00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:55.360
Don't give up.
00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:56.879
Don't give up.
00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:00.399
Well, I see why you can be a motivational speaker.
00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:02.959
Um, that was certainly motivating.
00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:06.399
Um my goodness, yeah.
00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:10.560
Uh, you know, I'm just so grateful that you came on today.
00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:17.040
Um, and I am, you know, there's a little bit more, it sounds like that you have going on.
00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:18.480
You mentioned being an author.
00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:19.360
Um, yeah.
00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:21.680
And do you want to share a little bit about that?
00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:22.000
Yeah.
00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:25.920
So um I've written but since I was 15 years old.
00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:29.279
And not to give away my age, I'm just gonna say how long I've been writing.
00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:36.879
Since I was 15 years old, and in that, um, I write I was able to create a series called To Grandma's House I Go.
00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:44.639
And in that series, it talks about the special moments and times where this main character named Tanner is on her way to her grandmother's house.
00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:53.120
Um, whether she's meeting her cousins for Christmas dinner, playing cards, or outside for the summer, um, it tells a story of her life.
00:07:53.279 --> 00:08:05.360
And a lot of kids and also parents say they love the book, especially parents, because it reminds them of their childhood and upbringing with their own stories at their grandparents' house.
00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:07.120
And that's something that I wanted to do.
00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:09.279
I wanted to bring in the essence of family back.
00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:10.959
I wanted to bring the love back.
00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:19.360
I wanted to bring that that that wholeness because without family, without love, then sometimes we we miss something, right?
00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:21.759
And so that's the storyline.
00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:25.199
And we have um, I have a the doll is created.
00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:29.199
It's an 18-inch um toy doll, um, the Tanner doll.
00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:39.200
It was created out of the book series with detachable accessories, and she's beautiful, and um, and it it's it's it's moving forward.
00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:44.159
It's it's one of those things where it was a process to create as an entrepreneur.
00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:52.159
Um, and I will love to sit down another time to express how that process is and help other entrepreneurs who will love to invent or create things on their own.
00:08:52.399 --> 00:09:06.639
Um, and then now out of the To Grandma's House I Go series, we have another book where we are introducing a a boy character for all our young boys who, you know, and we also have um toys for boys as well.
00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:09.759
So we now we cater to girls and boys, which is amazing.
00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:10.879
We're still growing.
00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:25.120
So it's it's something that started off as a passion for mine because I remember the time that I spent over my grandmother's house to something that I want to share with others so they can help heal and restore their families.
00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:27.279
I love that.
00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:39.039
And, you know, I think it's such a special industry of entrepreneurship to be in, especially in a way that supports children in the same way that um, you know, we do at Advent.
00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:42.320
You know, it's all about being there for the kids and the youth.
00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:47.360
And I think it's so special that you found other creative ways to do that work too.
00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:48.799
Oh, thank you.
00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:50.320
Thank you.
00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:51.519
Of course.
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And, you know, thank you for sharing all that you do.
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Um, I'll go ahead and link your books in the caption.
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So if anyone's interested, um, they can check that out.
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And as always, to our listeners, thank you so much for tuning into Megan's place.
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You can join us again the Monday after next, and we'll continue the conversation about mental health.
