SPEAKER_02 0:05

University Personal.

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Welcome to University Personal, the podcast where we explore individual stories to uncover the truths that connect us all. I'm your host, Greg Allen. Before we dive into today's episode, I want to take a moment to thank you. Whether you're listening from right around the corner or one of our listeners tuning in across 15 countries over five continents, thank you for making our very first season so incredible. This is our season one finale. We'll be taking a brief hiatus as we relocate the studio to our nation's capital. But don't go anywhere because season two is already in the works. To close out this chapter, our guest today is Leah Sager. In our community, Leah is well known for her deep hospitality, her incredible expertise in the coffee world, and her gifted leadership and worship. Today she's sharing some of her most intimate personal adventures and dreams, and her story serves as the perfect bridge into what's next. Looking back, the defining theme of season one has been the journey from point A to point B. Our guests have vulnerably shared the pain, the hope, the obstacles, and the messy process of change. We've learned about stepping into the uncomfortable, making adjustments mid-flight, pivoting entirely, or sometimes just plain slowing down. As we look ahead to season two, we're going to look closely at the invisible forces behind so many of those moves. One of those is fear. Is it a motivator? Is it a restraint? Do we even recognize how it operates in our daily choices? Leah's experiences beautifully illustrate how fear shows up differently depending on the situation. We want to know why, and more importantly, we want to know how to channel it into something positive. So let's find out where this pass takes us. Here is Leah Sager.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

I can only do what I can do, but it's gonna be okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:25

University personality.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

So it's like I can't let people hold me back anymore. I'm just gonna go. I'm okay. Like, I can I can do this by myself. So I bought a new car, and then that next day packed it up and got my dog with me, and we drove off to Colorado for like almost two weeks. I'm okay. Like, I can I can do this by myself. I can't let people hold me back anymore. I'm just gonna go.

unknown 3:19

It's gonna be okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

And about halfway in the trip, I just like broke down and I was like, I feel so alone. I don't know what I'm doing, I'm stressed. I'm an emotional wreck right now. And um, then that was just that like that cathartic release, and I was just like, I'm okay, like I can I can do this by myself. I'm gonna be fine. Like, I'm okay. Like, I can I can do this by myself. What I broke down about during that trip was that like I didn't do enough plotting or planning, like I didn't have everything come I had my route, but that was about it. I I didn't have anything booked, I didn't have um hikes entirely planned, so it was like I don't have enough time to do all the things that I want to do. And it was like, you know, so that was like I'm I'm gonna miss out. Like, how do how do I manage my time? How do I do this? And it was like just kind of realizing I can come back. Like, I don't have to do it all right now. It's okay. I don't have to do it all right now. It's okay. Just like realizing that accepting, like, I'm not gonna be able to do it all now. And even if I never like make it back, that's fine. Like, I can I can I can only do what I can do. I can only see what I can see.

unknown 4:50

But it's gonna be okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

I don't have to do it all right now. It's okay. I can I can I can only do what I can do. I can only see what I can see. A lot of that trip was learning that I'm okay. Like if I'm alone, I'm not like just because I'm alone doesn't mean I'm lonely. I can I can do this by myself, but also like I can only do so much, and like I'm gonna fail at some things, but it's gonna be okay. Like it's okay, but it's gonna be okay. And so I definitely learned a lot on that trip.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

Well, as a young lady, Leah managed well through that solo trip to Colorado. Let's take a look now at some of her early days and what might have shaped her.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

Even now, as I'm talking about it, like I feel my chest can like tighten that I'm like universally personal. Probably most of my family, at least my immediate family, has never had a great relationship with money. Like, mom was a single mom living paycheck to paycheck. I was always just like a saver, but then would go in fits of spending. My version of financial um literacy was just not letting my savings go below a certain amount. No, I'm like thinking about money. I did the Dave Ramsey thing, you know, took some stuff, left some stuff, but just things don't all like fully click for me with numbers all the time, especially money. It's probably more of a fear with money, with my relationship to money than there is like comfortability with it. It's probably more of a fear with money. Even now as I'm talking about it, like I feel my chest can like tighten. It's probably more of a fear with my relationship to money than there is like comfortability with it. Yeah, I mean, I think in this season of life and in marriage and in family, um my primary like focus or desire is to just be able to, I guess, just have stability for like our family. Stability for like our family. I guess to yeah, to to hold that balance in our family of not feeling in the insecurity, like not being able to have snacks for an afternoon snack and a full breakfast and robust dinners. Like, I love cooking. I want to have a big kitchen with an island and um lots of chairs around the table and have good meals on an almost daily basis. But also, like groceries are expensive, and so like I just I want to be able in our family to hold that balance of not having a fear of of not having enough money coming in and not feeling insecurity while also not on the other end of that. Again, not raising spoiled entitled children and ourselves not becoming so focused on on money and just wanting things and having all that we can have. It's probably more of a fear with money, even now as I'm talking about it, like I feel my chest can like tighten. Growing up, I was the youngest. I didn't hear no a lot. I got pretty well whatever I wanted. I got a I weasel my way in one way or another. But there was always this, like, there was this feeling of insecurity. Even now as I'm talking about it, like I feel my chest can like tighten that I'm like just like can we afford it, you know? Like, I just remember my mom always being stressed about like she she always somehow found a way, um, and rarely had credit cards, but there was always just this anxiety around it. So um I don't want that for our family. I don't want that for our family. I love cooking. I want to have a big kitchen with an island and lots of chairs around the table and have good meals shared together.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

Thanks, Leah, for sharing that intimate story. Let's look now at dreams Leah has for her near future.

SPEAKER_02 10:27

Universally personal.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Somewhere in the mix, I would love to have an outlet for my own passions that maybe does bring in some income. I really do enjoy being able to provide just delight and pleasures for others. Oftentimes I find myself providing that for people by the means of coffee, you know, that um by serving a cup of coffee that's a really good cup of coffee. I enjoy that. I think that I can exercise that passion even just in my home. You know, it doesn't have to be in a coffee shop, but maybe, you know, this catering craft espresso bar business like really takes off. Um, I've done some events of like downtown then when there was an apartment, a new apartment building opened up, they did like a ribbon cutting and they had um some food, some some various vendors, and some live music, and um I was doing a just serving espresso, like serving small lattes. Um, and it was just so lively and so energetic, and I just really like came alive. I remember for the like week after I was just like that was so fun. Like I loved that. I really come alive when I do like espresso pop-up bars. Like that was so fun. I've never been a business owner. Um, it'll it'll be like us, but he still has his full-time job, and so it'll primarily be me like leading the the charge of that and often doing a lot of the events and definitely yeah, cool to be an entrepreneur for the first time. We can do what we can to like you know, um not dig ourselves in a hole and and have some safeguards, but if it blows up and if it fails, like that's okay. I I know, I know my whole life has proven to me up until this point that like I will still learn some great things along the way and I will be a better person because of it. If it blows up and if it fails, like that's okay. Yeah, I mean obviously I am aware that it's gonna be new and anything new is hard. I'll feel that like stress and that nervousness of this of new and anything new is hard. Yeah, I'm just like, I don't know, I can't, I can't let that stop me. And I think it may the whole thing may fail. I hope that it doesn't send us into bankruptcy or financial crisis. I'm holding the reality that like it could fail and that'll be okay. I can't let that stop me. My whole life has proven to me up until this point that like I will still learn some great things along the way and I will be a better person because of it.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

Well, I know I certainly don't see a lady who is afraid, but I do see where fear can sometimes attach itself to our core decision-making process. I want to thank Leah for being with us today and thank all of our guests throughout the entire season one, and thank all of our listeners for staying with us. Stay tuned for season two. Until then, be fit, stay sharp, and listen closely.

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Universally personal.