In this installment of True Grit and Grace, host Amberly Lago engages in a conversation with Janna Johnson, a Mindset Coach, Holistic Nutritionist, & Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. Janna, the recently acclaimed author of the best-selling book UnF*uck Your Mind, is not only the host of the widely popular Revive with Janna podcast but also a resilient survivor of Lyme disease. The episode delves into the transformative impact of mindset and nutrition on healing and resilience. Janna candidly shares her personal journey of triumph over chronic illness, providing valuable insights and tips for listeners seeking to take charge of their health and well-being. Join in to be inspired by Janna’s story and discover how to revolutionize your life through the power of mindset and nutrition. Don’t overlook this empowering conversation!
Notes:
- Experiencing severe brain fog and disorientation [07:43].
- Struggling with Lyme disease treatment [16:07].
- Facing mental health stigma and judgment [18:30].
- Exploring essential oils and their role in Lyme disease [30:22].
- Living with purpose and authenticity [46:02].
- Implementing social media engagement strategies [54:04].
Links mentioned in this episode:
Follow Janna:
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Transcript:
(00:00 – 01:50) Amberly Lago: Hey there, thank you for tuning in to True Grit and Grace. I’m Amberly Lago, and I have one of my dear, dear friends on with us today. Janna Johnson is here with us. And you guys, I feel like this is such a good time to talk about mindset and talk about nutrition and really how you heal mentally, spiritually, physically, and all the ways so you can be resilient. So this lady has been a part of my mastermind now for, gosh, this is the second year, I believe. Some of you who listened to the show may have been to our event we had in March where she took the stage and was freaking amazing. She is an incredible speaker. She’s also going to be speaking on a panel at the Unstoppable Success Summit that’s coming up in Dallas in April. So I hope y’all join us for that. You guys, she has a top podcast that you should totally listen to because she shares nuggets of gold. It’s so good. She does solo cast and she also does interviews. It’s called Revive with Janna. She’s, I wanted to have her on because number one, she’s helped me so much with healing and nutrition. She’s a nutritionist, but there are some people who have just studied nutrition. There are people that have really lived it and she has done both and she knows so much because I will let her share her story. But there are some people who’ve studied resilience and Janna has lived it. Her story is incredible and I can’t wait for her to share it. And I also cannot wait for her to talk about her new book. So Janna, I love you so much. Welcome to the show.
(01:50 – 02:14) Janna Johnson: Thank you, Amberly. That was an amazing introduction, and I’m absolutely honored to be on True Grit and Grace. I used to listen to this before I even met you. And so to have looked up to you for so long, you know, you’ve always been an inspiration to me. And now to be able to be a dear friend and a part of your mastermind and on this podcast is definitely a dream come true.
(02:14 – 04:29) Amberly Lago: Well, you’re amazing. And I have to say, I have loved seeing all that you have done in the past year. It’s unbelievable. From everything that you share on your social media, to your podcast, to your speaking events, to your book. And I had the pleasure of seeing you speak on my friend Jeff Crilly’s Real News PR radio. He’s got a network here in Dallas and it’s like a beautiful studio. And so you came and you were on his news show and I swear I was just sitting there looking at you like, Oh my God, she’s amazing. And was like, you’ve just like, blown up, stepped into your power. But you help so many people, including me. You’ve got the biggest heart. There have been times when I’ve asked you questions about, gosh, I’ve had COVID. What should I take? There’s been times where I’m like, oh my gosh, I’m having a major flare-up. What should I do? And so you really know your stuff. And it’s nice to have somebody that I trust that has helped me so much. And I’d like to go back to your journey because you’re really a miracle. You went from struggling, really fighting for your life, to now being the superstar and helping so many other people. Can you take us back to the moment, and I know you’ve shared this story on other podcasts and on your own podcast, but I would love the listeners just to know, because there’s a lot of people that listen to the podcast that they actually have chronic illness, chronic pain, and they are looking for solutions. They are looking for ways to feel better. But also I think there’s a lot of people that are right now, it’s, you know, the beginning of the year and they’re like, okay, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired and I need to start taking my health back and feeling better. Can you take us back to the time where you started to notice that you weren’t feeling very good. In fact, you were feeling like death.
(04:29 – 08:24) Janna Johnson: Absolutely. And, you know, this is, this story is, is part of my journey into who and where I am today. And, you know, it never gets old to tell my story and no matter how many times or how many platforms, there’s always someone who hasn’t heard it, someone who needs to hear it. And so for me, April of 2012 was a moment in time where my life was beginning to change, but I didn’t know it. I had woke up with a bullseye rash on my right inner thigh. And at that point, I’d never heard of Lyme disease. And so there was no part of me that was like, oh, that’s a bullseye rash, that’s Lyme disease. It was just a rash to me. And that was the biggest mistake was that I didn’t have, I didn’t have that knowledge. And so I ignored it. I felt fine. It didn’t hurt. It didn’t itch. And it slowly faded away. How long did it take for it to go away? I mean, a few weeks it faded away and it was just kind of slowly. And so as it faded away, you know, I was, we lived out in the Hill country. I was outside all the time. I was exposed to all sorts of different grasses and plants. And so in my mind, it was just something like that that had touched my skin and faded away. And so I just don’t need to do anything about it. Within the six months time, I started to develop symptoms I’d never had before, except like anxiety. Like anxiety is something I always kind of struggled with in my 20s. But it was all of a sudden I just had horrible anxiety. I was getting panic attacks. Oh my goodness. I was starting to experience brain fog. Um, I just, man, I just did. I didn’t feel good at all. Starting to feel a little confused sometimes. Um, and my, my headaches, I started to get these horrible headaches. Um, my body hurt. My body ate. Almost like flu like symptoms. Very much so. And by the time that those symptoms started to like really hit to where it wasn’t just like sprinkled in where I was, you know, chalking it up to my, my period, um, I was kind of like, okay, it was, it was around September when they started to get really bad. And so I thought, well, you know, maybe I had the flu. Um, maybe it was a virus. And then I was like, there’s something else going on. They’re not going away now. Like they, you know, kind of once were when I would feel them sometimes. So I went to a doctor, um, that was, um, a homeopathic doctor and, you know, I was told it was my hormones and, um, went to a holistic doctor, same thing. So it was like, okay, what do I do? I was told it was adrenal fatigue. And so I did the things I was supposed to do. Nothing, nothing made a difference at all. And fast forward to around Thanksgiving, which was about a little almost seven months later. And I was at the grocery store to get the items I needed for my first ever Thanksgiving I was going to host. And I couldn’t remember where anything was. In a grocery store, I’d been to a thousand times. It was the neighborhood I lived in. I felt really lost. I felt very disoriented. And I was just holding onto this list that I had in my hand like it was my lifeline. I was absolutely terrified. And I just had like this out of body experience, which come to find out is called depersonalization or derealization. It’s exactly like what it sounds like. It’s actually caused from severe brain fog and brain fogs inflammation of our brain. So I make it home, I tell my then-husband about what I was feeling, and I just kept thinking, I’m going to go take a bath, I’m going to go to bed, I’m going to wake up, it’s going to be gone. I woke up the next day, which was the day before Thanksgiving. It was not gone. It was all still there.
(08:25 – 08:27) Amberly Lago: So you were just very disoriented.
(08:27 – 08:36) Janna Johnson: Couldn’t remember things disoriented. I felt like I wasn’t even really there on top of like panic attacks, like multiple times an hour.
(08:36 – 08:54) Amberly Lago: Well, I wanted to ask, I wanted to ask you go back real quick. Did you ever look at when you saw that rash, did you ever kind of start Googling what does a tick bite look like or look like, or?
(08:54 – 10:30) Janna Johnson: I didn’t even know I had a tick bite. I mean, there was nothing there but this rash. And I’m just kind of a country girl that just I kind of just grew up with like the mindset of like, no big deal. It’ll go away. I never looked up that rash. And at this point, I had forgotten about the rash. There was no attachment there for me at all. Cause it had been so long. It’d been so long. You know, I had recently had a surgery and had breast augmentation done about three weeks before this started to happen really severe. And I was thinking something had gone wrong with that. I mean, I didn’t know. I went to that doctor, um, ended up having to go home with my parents at the time because I had my, my two oldest, my two of my, my three kids, my oldest ones, they were little, they had two toddlers, two and four. And I needed help with them. And, you know, my husband at the time, he worked all the time. I didn’t have anybody to help there. So I went home with my parents and I went to as many doctors as I could. And these symptoms never let up. In fact, they just got worse and worse. And about three weeks later, I went home, but fast forward that. And after about a year and a half, I mean, I reached a point of like, I got to know what’s going on in my body. I can’t live this way anymore. I’d suffered from a miscarriage. And I mean, I was just at an all time low. So I go to a doctor. I started to learn about functional medicine and it really resonated with me because I knew there was something much deeper going on than imbalanced hormones, which was all I was ever told.
(10:30 – 12:22) Amberly Lago: Yeah. So were they trying to put you on like progesterone, testosterone? And the reason I’m asking that is because like I just had blood work done and the doctor was like, wow, I don’t know how you get out of bed in the morning because you have your hormones are all messed up. Your adrenals are shot. You have no testosterone. You have no progesterone, blah, blah, blah. Like is your hair falling out? He goes, you don’t look overweight, but your thyroid’s not working. So you should be overweight. And it’s like, Oh my God. Yeah. That’s what they’re telling me. And it’s like, okay, so I’ve tried another doctor and I know how that is. And I know that a lot of people listening who have chronic illness or they’re like trying to get healthy and they’re just trying to figure out what is going on with their body, it gets frustrating and very expensive going to doctor, to doctor, to doctor. I mean, I’ve been to the top doctors in the world that are functional doctors that are functional medicine doctors that cost an arm and a leg that tell you and then you leave with a huge box full of supplements and you don’t even know what’s what and what’s this for and what’s that for. And that’s one of the things you actually did is sat down with me in, in your bedroom here, here at my house, that’s your bedroom. And we sat in the floor and you went through every bottle and looked and you’re like, no, this is not near enough. And you’re like, no, this one’s good. Nope. You don’t need this. This one’s good. Nope. This isn’t enough. Like that helped so much. And so was that doctor that was the functional doctor, did he start to help you learn? about what was going on.
(12:22 – 13:11) Janna Johnson: Yeah. That doctor. And you’re so right about what you said. And so I want to just want to hit on that for a moment is that I went to, to about nine different doctors and like a year’s time who just, it was, it was the same thing over and over. It was your adrenals, your reproductive hormones. Um, I had to have a severe hypothyroidism. I was taking medication for that. Didn’t do anything. I mean, these were the things I was told And some of those did include natural paths, functional medicine, holistic, a lot of it. But I found a particular functional medicine doctors, one of the best in our country and in Massachusetts. And I flew there. And why? I don’t know. I just had this belief inside that, you know, that was the person for me.
(13:11 – 13:38) Amberly Lago: And hey, I get that. I just flew to Costa Rica for a medical treatment. So I understand like when you’re desperate to feel better, you’ll get on a plot yet. You will, you will do what you have to do. And I think a lot of people like were worried that I was going to Costa Rica. And I’m like, you don’t understand how living with pain every day will push you to a limit of flying to a different country or for you.
(13:38 – 17:19) Janna Johnson: And there’s no, no insurance covers it. It’s out of pocket. Then you have the expense of going, then you have the expense of the test. They want to run the expense of the supplements. They want you to, to do the expense for, for those people who, who don’t work from home and they got to go clock in somewhere. I mean, it’s a journey. And so I was handed a ton of different band-aids on, on, on my way, right. And from every single doctor and some of those, I turned down, I didn’t want to take the anxiety medication. I didn’t want to take the depression medication. They made me feel worse. And so I go to this doctor in Massachusetts And, you know, for those of you aren’t familiar with Lyme, Lyme disease is rampant up East in that area. And so the first thing they said to me when they looked at everything I was going through and, um, all of this, all of my medical record was, have you been tested? Um, with the functional medicine test, because the standardized test for Lyme is crap. Didn’t work. It was, it tested, it showed negative on me two times. And so lo and behold, I take this test, the functional test for functional medicine for Lyme disease. I was very positive. I had eight different strands of the bacteria. And I mean, it just felt so good. Like, Hey, I got, I know what’s wrong with me right now. Right. And when I looked it up, the first thing I see is that bullseye rash. And I’m like, Oh, man, I just wouldn’t have ignored that. Right. But the next the blow for me was when I started to look up Lyme disease and how to get rid of it. And my doctor started talking to me about it. And I realized there’s no for sure way to get rid of it or if you can. And I mean, that hit me hard. And so that led me on this journey of finding out how to get rid of Lyme. I did the standard treatment for it, the doxycycline. I did that over and over for a few months. I did the Zane protocol. I did a few other herbal protocols. Nothing helped. And it just got to where, you know, I didn’t even want to live anymore because the symptoms were so severe. It’s like trapped in my own personal hell. When I couldn’t remember my kids’ names, when I couldn’t remember my own address or how to get home. Cause the brain fog was so bad. The brain fog and the derealization was so bad. Yeah. I had a full-time nanny. I just looked at my kids and I just felt like. Man, I’m not even there anymore. And that was the day on an overpass. I was by myself in my car. I didn’t get out much, but I was out that day. And I just wanted to just, man, if I just veer off of this, it ends. My kids don’t have to watch me suffer. And I don’t have to feel this anymore. And so when people say that, you know, taking your own life is an easy way out, or you’re a coward, I just want you to think about how difficult and how painful it must be for a person to want to do that, to have those thoughts. because I was going to bed every night and I was praying that Jesus took away my strength and that I didn’t wake up the next morning. That’s where I was. And it wasn’t just the symptoms of the Lyme disease, Amberlee. This is the symptoms of the emotional pain caused by living with an invisible disease. So if you’re listening and you don’t have Lyme disease and you have an invisible disease and you know what I’m talking about, The pain of living with an invisible disease, trying to put a smile on, go through the motions of life, pretend everything’s fine and it’s not.
(17:19 – 17:37) Amberly Lago: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I’m getting emotional right now because it’s like you get it, like you get it on a deeper level and it’s, it’s hard. Like, and, and there’s a lot of people that don’t understand and they say invisible because You know, you, you can’t see it.
(17:37 – 17:55) Janna Johnson: You don’t see it. I’m looking at you, Amberley, you look good, but inside you might not be, you know, someone’s watching this on YouTube. Yeah. I look great right now, but what if inside, I feel like I’m dying. That’s what it’s like living with an invisible disease. You don’t see your scars. You’re not on crutches. I don’t see where you’re hurt.
(17:56 – 18:20) Amberly Lago: You can’t see pain sometimes like that, although my husband can see pain in my eyes. He can always tell. He’ll be like, oh, you’re hurting. They say your eyes are the window to your soul, and he knows me well enough that he can see. Well, Thank you for sharing that about how you had those thoughts.
(18:20 – 19:15) Janna Johnson: Um, and I, I don’t want to talk about mental disease. They don’t want to talk about it. It makes you look weak. You say mental and they go, they go zero to 10. Um, let me tell you something, not talking about it and trying to hide it. It makes it worse. And you know, the reason people don’t want to talk about it is because our society has judged us for it. They put us in this box of like, It’s not okay to look down upon people who feel a certain way, accuse them, tell them they’re complaining, they need to get over it. Like, okay, you’re depressed, stop thinking those thoughts. That’s just not how it works. That is not how depression works at all. And, you know, it’s not okay to look down upon people who feel a certain way, accuse them, tell them they’re complaining, they need to get over it. I knew deep down inside that depression was caused from Lyme disease. I knew there was nothing wrong with me, but it doesn’t make it go away.
(19:16 – 19:23) Amberly Lago: Well, what did you start to do to take your health back mentally and physically?
(19:23 – 22:55) Janna Johnson: Yeah, that day on the overpass was a turning point for me. At that point, it had been almost two years since that bullseye rash and a year and a half of the symptoms, 24-7, every second of the day, no reprieve. And that moment on the overpass, when I realized how close I was, I got home that day and Man, I got on my knees and I prayed and it was a moment of realization of like Maybe, maybe God’s putting me through this because I’m supposed to be the one that helps other people. I searched and I searched for the story of hope where someone had felt as bad as I had, right? And got through it. And I realized maybe I’m meant to be that story, right? And so that’s the day I looked in the mirror and I was just like, screw Lyme. Like, screw you. You’re not going to take my life over anymore. You’re not welcome in my body. It’s time to get out. And I realized I had been going every single day and I had, I had taken the label of, of Lyme disease is my fate. And I just put it on because that’s what the internet said. That’s what the doctor said. You can eradicate it from your body. You’re never going to get well. And I was just like, but, but maybe I can. And so that was a day I told God, if you’re, if I’m put here on this journey, to help others, just one person and send me through it. And I promise, I promise I’m going to try. And so that’s what I did. And that was a turning point for me in realizing the power of the mind, because all I did is I chose to believe different. I chose, I can get well, I’m not going to look up the negative anymore. I’m not going to listen to the naysayers. I’m going to do what I have to do to get well. And so when I did that, I began to approach every day differently. It wasn’t easy because those thoughts from the toxicity in my body and the toxins of the bacteria, they didn’t stop. They didn’t stop unleashing hell on me. But what I did is I started to just say, no, thank you. I started to figure out how I could. And so in that journey, I found essential oils. And I did a lot of studying on that. That’s important to know. No one needs to just go start taking them. There is a way to do it. And there’s only certain ones you can ingest. There’s only certain ones that you can put on your body. And there’s only certain ones that you can just literally smell. And so I found the essential oils that kill Lyme disease. They break through the biofilm. They penetrate the blood brain barrier. They don’t get rid of the good guys in your gut and they kill off the bacteria. And so I went on this journey of using essential oils to kill off Lyme disease, but I also had to work on my lymphatic system and detoxing to get the bacteria out and their toxins. And then I also found food and as my medicine, and I realized that with every bite of food, I’m either feeding that disease or killing it. The one thing people don’t know is sugar in all forms feeds disease. And when I say in all forms, I’m meaning maple syrup, honey, high sugar fruits, all of that, the things you think are just healthy, some of them also are more than just healthy. Some of them also can actually feed diseases and bacteria in our body that aren’t good for us.
(22:55 – 25:36) Amberly Lago: And so- That’s what I don’t understand about, like there was a place that when I lived in LA, that they had these, juice programs where you would pay like a hundred bucks and get six bottles of juice. And I was like, this is just like drinking sugar all day. Like, how is this good for me? I just, I never saw that before. I want to get into the oils more and the food. and like the sugar stuff that you cut out, because you got like radical with it. But before we get into that, I want to go back to something you said. You said, because I think it’s very important. You said, I stopped listening to the naysayers. I think that’s so important And I did the same thing when I was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome. I got out and I want everybody listening to really hear me on this because I think it’s important. Get out of the support groups where all they do is complain and they’re doggy downers and they talk about their symptoms and they just want to be a victim. And I know that might sound harsh, but I was in a support group. Those people were not my friend. And when I was on the doctor’s TV sharing about how I started to change my mindset and it changed my life, They, not everybody, but man, a lot of them came out of me, came after me. They were so mad at me. They didn’t hear me say all the other things that I tried to. And so I made a decision to get off support groups that were naysayers and doggy downers. And I also stopped following accounts where all they did was post pictures that looked like they wanted to die. And I’m sorry that that’s so common. like, harsh of me to say, but I had to get away from the negative part and not like I couldn’t accept where I was, but it was like I had to just focus on the positive. And it was so hard and still sometimes so hard to focus on the positive when you’re in extreme pain or you don’t feel good. So I had to do whatever I could to be around the right people and see the right things. And so you said that. And I was like, yeah, it’s so important. Everything we feed ourself, not just food, not just the oils, but what we’re watching, what we’re consuming, who we’re around. that is all gonna, that’s gonna either help us or hurt us. And so I loved that you said that. I always say cut out those doggy downers and get rid of the naysayers for sure. You have to.
(25:36 – 26:59) Janna Johnson: Here’s the thing is our actions follow our thoughts. And I mean, I did the exact same thing. And really, I was in all the private Facebook groups for Lyme, the people that you begin to follow. And I just I was just like, I that’s not helping me anymore. Yeah. Also, I have to look back and be like, has what I’ve been doing, has my approach, has my thought process, has it been beneficial? Mm hmm. Is it getting me where I want to get? And I just realized, like, Like I’m this close to not wanting to like, to take in my life, honestly. I gotta do something different. And when I did that, I began to do differently. I didn’t realize that at the time, but a few years after later, once I was completely well, I looked back and I realized, man, the moment that I chose to believe differently and every day began to just like, Just stick to that basically I did differently. Yeah, and I did I ended up killing myself 100% Completely eradicated line for my body I even went so far that I healed my killed my gut to where I healed my thyroid and and I haven’t been on thyroid medication and almost oh Gosh, has it been almost 10 years Wow. I nine years.
(26:59 – 27:05) Amberly Lago: So, well, I just had more blood work done last week and I’m going to see what my thyroid’s doing. I’m hoping to heal my thyroid.
(27:05 – 27:29) Janna Johnson: Like something is not, it’s possible. And people tell you, it’s not, they tell you what, if your grandmother had hyperthyroidism, you will too. That’s a bunch of BS. That is a bunch of BS. Your body’s not her body. Stop listening to the crap. But most importantly, people need to stop wanting to accept the crap. Stop accepting mediocrity. Start choosing. Start choosing to win in life.
(27:29 – 27:46) Amberly Lago: Yeah. I couldn’t agree more. I couldn’t agree more. I just think we need to shout that off the rooftops, Janna. Yep. Square. It’s awesome. So I want to know about the, well, I’m sure there’s a lot of people that want to know about the oils that, can you say that over?
(27:46 – 28:57) Janna Johnson: Oh, a hundred percent, a hundred percent. So, um, and I also have this on my, on my website revived by Janna. I share this in an article, exactly what I did. And so, um, you know, I got a lot of naysayers on that within my own family about what I was going to do. Like, Oh, you can’t do that to your body. And I’m like, There’s nothing. Yeah. My life can’t get any worse at this point. Right. I can only go up. And so when I studied them and I did, I read a ton of books. I did a lot of research. And so what I did is I did a cinnamon bark oil, but that’s considered a hot oil, meaning you don’t just put that in your body without a carrier oil. Okay. So I got extra virgin olive oil. And inside of a fourth a cup of that, I did 16 drops of cinnamon bark oil from a very high quality oil as I used to Tara. And then in that mixture, I would, I would take, um, six to eight drops of that. And I put it in a clear veggie cap and I filled that up with that. And then, um, I would also add one to two drops of time or oregano oil to that. So those were the oils I took to kill the actual bacteria.
(28:58 – 29:00) Amberly Lago: What does thyme and oregano oil do?
(29:00 – 29:05) Janna Johnson: Thyme and oregano and cinnamon bark oil, they kill the, they kill the Lyme bacteria.
(29:05 – 29:13) Amberly Lago: Yeah. Does they kill other, they kill other bacteria? Okay. Oh, cause I take oregano actually, when I have.
(29:14 – 29:41) Janna Johnson: I think one of the recommendations for you I gave was maybe that micro defense oregano, that right there. I mean, that helps kill off. So here’s the thing with a lot of oils, especially cinnamon bark oil and thyme oregano, is that they’re antibacterial, antiviral, antimicrobial. So they kill off more than just bacteria. Um, you know, they do the unhealthy microbes viruses.
(29:41 – 29:51) Amberly Lago: Um, but I actually take them when I fly, I take them when I fly and travel and I’m speaking at a lot of events. I, and, and I, I don’t know, I swear since I’ve been taking it,
(29:51 – 30:53) Janna Johnson: Like it makes a huge difference. They also, they also strengthen your immune system. So if anybody out there, if you take a lot of like different herbs and supplements, if you start to look at the ones that you’ll take for like even gut health, your immune system, Um, don’t be alarmed or you’re don’t be surprised when you see clove and cinnamon and time and oregano in those, you know, see garlic a lot. That is, there’s a reason for that. And so I knew that at that point, so I knew I wasn’t putting something like crazy, crazy in my body. I also, though, I took tea tree oil separately. Um, and the reason for that is because it actually penetrates and breaks that biofilm that protects the bacteria. And that’s the reason antibiotics don’t work after a month or so, um, from the initial bite of a tick is because they, they, they form this biofilm around them. And it’s like this shield that protects them from anything penetrating them. So you have to be able to pop that, that biofilm.
(30:53 – 30:55) Amberly Lago: That’s so crazy.
(30:55 – 31:04) Janna Johnson: Yeah. Those are what I took to kill it off. And then on top of that, I took lemon oil for detoxification and also took lavender oil to help my nervous system.
(31:05 – 31:11) Amberly Lago: You still take the lavender oil. You gave me some one time when, yeah, yeah.
(31:11 – 31:26) Janna Johnson: But the lavender oil is very calming to your body. So is chamomile oil. Oils are just honestly, they’re some of nature’s best medicine and learning about them was, I mean, it changed my life. It’s the reason I have my life back.
(31:27 – 31:37) Amberly Lago: you know, there’s no, there’s no magic lemon oil instead of lemon juice. Cause I’ve done like lemon juice for detox, but is doing the oil better.
(31:37 – 32:27) Janna Johnson: It’s just stronger. And the thing is, is that it’s important to know, you know, you can’t just, I don’t even want to just go buy these oils. I want you to read my article I have on my website, look into it, your own self, But also know that whatever you’re going to hold the oils in, right? Like the beaker that I kept my oils in that had the cinnamon bark oil and the olive oil, that mixture, it was in a dark glass beaker. Oils will eat through plastic, has to be in glass. So when I put a lemon oil inside of my water to drink, all throughout my day, it was in a glass bottle I drank out of because if not, then the oils are just getting through the plastic. And then you’re just putting chemicals in your body. Um, but yeah, it’s going to be a lot stronger. You know, that’s, what’s in the, in the rind of the, of the lemon. So just, it’s just stronger.
(32:28 – 32:32) Amberly Lago: Okay. Can they find all these oils on your website too?
(32:32 – 33:06) Janna Johnson: I don’t sell the oils because I just kind of felt like, even though I had a doTERRA account, a wholesale account to do so, I just kind of felt like people thought maybe I was just doing that just so I could sell it. So that’s by no means what I was ever trying to do. So I just share exactly what I did and how I did it. And it is in an article, um, um, my recovery with Lyme disease on my website. And like I said, I use a doTERRA brand young living is also really, really good. It just seems like people have their preference between the two brands.
(33:06 – 35:01) Amberly Lago: That’s a thing. I remember when I started taking a gut health supplement and it, it was really like, I noticed pretty draft, like quickly that the brain fog was lifted. I was like, Oh my God, this is a miracle. And then also I was on another supplement that, I mean, the swelling in my ankle went down like massively. It was huge differences that even my husband was like, what have you been doing? Like I can see your ankle bone for the first time. It was like miraculous. And it was all natural supplements. And so I haven’t shared, I don’t share much unless something really, really works for me. Then I’ve always said, if something really works, I’m going to shout it off the rooftops. And so I remember the first post that I did saying, Hey, this, I felt like I was, being selfish for not sharing it because I shared it with some other people that had CRPS and they were like two of them called me in tears crying because it had helped them so much and I was like why am I not sharing this with more people like Um, and so we think people are going to think we’re trying to sell something that that’s, I think that’s exactly what it is. And I’m like, no, I’m, I’m telling you about this. Cause it really helps me. Um, I have an account now because I get a discount by setting up an account for people to get the product through me, but that’s not why I started my account. I took this for six months before I said anything about it. I was like, Maybe this is just too good to be true. But then the first post I did about what really helped me, so many people reached out and they were like, well, what is it? But I wanted to ask you this. There are some people, I think, That you can say, yeah, this is what it is. This helped me. And yet they still won’t try.
(35:01 – 36:52) Janna Johnson: No, they won’t. And that happened with me. You know, I met a few people along the way when I was really, really sick. Because, you know, when you’re going through something, anything that’s just difficult, Especially when it comes to your health. There’s so much comfort in being able to talk to someone else who’s been in your, in your shoes, or is. And because if not, it’s just really hard for anyone else to relate right like my family. No one understood what I was going through. It was just like. Okay. She sounds crazy and just kind of blew me off. So there was a few people I met that had Lyme disease and, you know, we kind of leaned on each other a little bit, but what was funny is that as I started to get well, they didn’t want to communicate with me as much. And all I want to do is just like share, man, this is what I’m doing. And this was before I was a hundred percent. Well, it was just when I started to take those oils and, and have the die-offs. And I was like, then I would feel better. Right. And then I would have another die-off and I kept getting better. And I’m just like, man, this is working. I’m going to share. And people, people would like, listen, but then they didn’t want to do it. It’s like, I’m going to go check with my doctor. And then the doctors would be like, yeah, I’m not sure about that. And I’m like, Look, I don’t, I understand. I really do get it. But it came to a point for me, Amberlee, and I’m not telling people to not listen to your doctor by all means. There’s got to come a certain time where you are your own wellness advocate and you take your health into your own hands. I mean, my doctor, my own doctor reached out to me for years after I got well to go over everything with me again on how I did it so he could help people. But people, sometimes I just don’t think they want to listen or it won’t work for them. They want the approval of their doctor.
(36:53 – 36:57) Amberly Lago: Or do you think they sometimes get stuck in the victim mentality?
(36:57 – 37:14) Janna Johnson: That’s exactly what I was about to say. They get stuck in the victim mindset. And that victim mindset is the reason I didn’t get well for a long time. When I got out of the victim mindset, that’s the reason I am where I am today. It’s the reason I’m well.
(37:14 – 38:02) Amberly Lago: Yeah, it sure is. And you know, I think that I’m always, I’ve always been willing to try. different things. Like I said, I just flew to Costa Rica to try some pretty radical treatment that was, you know, my family was like, I can’t believe you’re going to a foreign country. Is it safe? Like, it’s crazy. I don’t think you should go. I’m really worried you’re going by yourself. What if you get kidnapped? Like it was like, I mean, I’ve tried so many different kinds of treatments. And I thought I’ve always been open to I’ll try whatever it is. And there’s been some invasive treatments and there’s been some wacky treatments, everything from somebody dripping oil over my head and chanting over me. I mean, I’ve tried it all.
(38:03 – 38:04) Janna Johnson: And you got to do what you got to do.
(38:04 – 39:17) Amberly Lago: And yeah, you got to do what you got to do. But one thing you said is that I want to just repeat, because I think it’s very important. You said you’ve got to be your own advocate. And so I always share with people what works for me. Maybe it won’t work for you, but maybe it will. So I think it’s really important to keep an open mind. And so that’s why I like to share. But but I totally understand where you said when you started to get to feeling better and doing more and all of a sudden you’re doing all these things, those people kind of just maybe drop off a little bit. And I noticed I lost a lot of my friends like on Instagram that when I used to post mainly about chronic pain and CRPS and stuff like that, then all of a sudden I was getting asked to do a TED Talk and I wrote a book. And they started to drop off, you know, because I also didn’t want to post about CRPS every single post, like, because all it did was get me focused on that. I will share and honestly about there are some days that yeah, I still feel pain. Most days actually.
(39:17 – 39:20) Janna Johnson: There’s so much more than that. You’re not defined by your disease.
(39:20 – 40:12) Amberly Lago: Exactly. And that’s one thing that you were not defined by Lyme. You were like, Nope, this is not, I’m not wearing this anymore. I’m choosing to think differently. Taking that label off. Yeah. Taking the label off. So, and I think it’s amazing that even your own doctor was like, saying, so what exactly did you do? How did this work? And, and how generous you are with putting that on your website. And you guys all have the link for her website in the show notes so you can easily find it. But I will tell you that Janna is the most loving, generous, authentic, the real deal, like one of the best humans I’ve ever met in my life. And so If you’re out there suffering, go look at her website and go find all of this information.
(40:12 – 40:16) Janna Johnson: Send me a DM on Instagram. I’ll send it. I’ll tell you.
(40:16 – 40:30) Amberly Lago: Yeah. And I think that what would really, really help people is your new book. Because like we talked about before, it starts with mindset. And I think that your new book
(40:32 – 40:34) Janna Johnson: tell us the name. Un-f your mind.
(40:34 – 40:38) Amberly Lago: I know. I was like, can we, are we going to cuss?
(40:38 – 40:43) Janna Johnson: No, I’m going to keep it. I’ll keep it clean. Un-f your mind.
(40:43 – 41:41) Amberly Lago: Yeah. And that, that goes to everything from, relationships, to building your confidence, to knowing your self-worth, to deciding to be your own advocate, deciding to get out of your own way. You wrote this book that I think is so important for anyone, especially people who are like, yeah, you know what? I want more. I want to level up. I want to do more. And I have to say again, Janna, I have seen you level up even through writing your book. I mean it has been such a beautiful thing to see. all that you’ve done. You are one of the grittiest people that I’ve ever met. I’ll say, Hey, try this, do this, reach out to this person. And you’re like, done, done, done. And I’m like, you’re a badass.
(41:41 – 41:44) Janna Johnson: I didn’t use to be that way.
(41:44 – 41:49) Amberly Lago: You are a badass. Tell us what made you really decide to write your book?
(41:50 – 45:45) Janna Johnson: Well, thank you for that. And I do want to, I do want to make, I do want to make sure that everyone knows that, you know, I, I owe a lot of this to, to Amberlee. I joined her mastermind and, uh, you know, it, it wasn’t just joining that it was her guidance. It was fact that she even offered this mastermind and her, time unselfishly to help other people. But you have really helped me out immensely. You motivate me, you inspire me, and I feel like you’ve carved the path for others to follow. So I just want to make sure that everybody knows that. Thank you. You’re going to make me cry. So yeah, this book originally, I I knew when I got well from Lyme disease, like, man, I got to share this story. I told God I would. If I was meant to be that story, I would be. And so I always knew for the longest time I wanted to write a book about my Lyme journey. But, you know, life happens, right? And at that time, I also didn’t really believe in myself. It was just like I had that burning sensation inside of me of like something I was supposed to do. And, you know, I went through a tumultuous divorce and I got pregnant with my with my third kid, my miracle baby. And, you know, you just get kind of stuck in life a little bit. And, you know, it was it was through that tumultuous divorce and just an earth shattering heartbreak where. I realized I had to pick myself up and live life a little differently. And I was done living it to please other people. And so when I originally approached my publisher, it was just going to be about Lyme. As I went through the, you know, the book mapping process, I started to uncover the book that was really inside of me. And I just realized with all I’d been through in life that our mindset is the key to ultimate success in life. Your mindset, that’s like the foundation that your house is built on top of. And I realized I had been in my own way for way too long. I had limiting beliefs formed from my childhood and by every painful experience I’d ever gone to. And I was too busy for most of my life, living it based upon things in the past. And I wasn’t living my life for myself. And, you know, we only get one life to live. That’s it. And it goes by no matter what. And I just I wanted so much more in life. I was tired of succumbing to the fear, you know, like, you know, I’m going to fail. What if I fail? What if I make a fool of myself? What will others think? And I switch that I switch that mindset around to What if I fly? What if I make it? What if I succeed? And when I did that, everything else just began to fall in place as soon as I chose myself. I think sometimes the universe is just waiting on us to choose ourselves. And when I did that, I made a promise to myself that I would never again say no to myself and that whatever I was scared of doing, that’s probably what I should be doing. So joining your mastermind was the first thing of me choosing myself. And I was like, I want to have my own podcast. And yeah, a lot of people want their own podcast. It wasn’t just because people are doing that. It was because I had this deep burning to to share my story with other people, because I want to reach as many people as possible and share my message of hope. My journey with Lyme disease, I can you can overcome it. You can live the life you’re meant to live. And here’s exactly how you do it. This is the road map. This is what I did. And so that’s what my book is about. It’s just spreading that message and igniting hope and inspiration in others.
(45:47 – 45:51) Amberly Lago: I love that. And who would you say your book is for?
(45:51 – 46:20) Janna Johnson: My book is for anyone who has just, they feel deep down inside that they’re not being authentic to themselves, that they feel inside there’s something so much bigger that you’re supposed to be doing. You know you have a purpose. You’re tired of living in mediocrity. You don’t want to be the hamster on the hamster wheel anymore. My book is for you. My book is for that person who is ready to level up and get out of their way and live the life they’re meant to live.
(46:20 – 46:44) Amberly Lago: Wow. I love that. Sorry, if I looked like a little distracted, Ruby keeps calling me. Oh, hi, Ruby. I’m just, I’m keeping it real. And I’m like, Oh, and it’s switched over. And I have something where it’s on that, uh, that, uh, she can come through. She, it kicks me off.
(46:44 – 46:47) Janna Johnson: You have to, you have to have, you have to have do not disturb except for,
(46:48 – 47:28) Amberly Lago: Except for Miss Ruby. Yeah. Well, I’m super excited about, oh, and by the way, y’all, I just have to say that Janna is like Ruby’s favorite person. Like she loves Janna. My car, my, my daughter’s a car fanatic and she absolutely When she loves Janna’s car, I don’t even know what kind of car it is, but Ruby can tell you what it is, how fast it goes and all that good stuff. It’s an Audi R8. She, yes, that’s what it is. That’s what it is. Yeah. She, she knows all about cars.
(47:28 – 47:31) Janna Johnson: I love Ruby. Taking her to school was a highlight of my year.
(47:31 – 47:56) Amberly Lago: Oh my gosh, that. So y’all, when Janna came down here to be on Jeff Crilly show, she stayed with me and Ruby was so excited to see Janna. And Janna goes, well, do you want me to take her to school? And Ruby was like, oh my gosh, she’s going to take me to school in her car. She still talks about it, by the way.
(47:56 – 47:57) Janna Johnson: I just wish her school was a little further away.
(47:58 – 48:10) Amberly Lago: Oh my goodness. It is fun though. And then when we drove, you’re like, do you want me to drive? Or you, I was like, yeah, I want you to drive. I want to drive in this. I want to ride in this car. This is a fancy car.
(48:10 – 48:57) Janna Johnson: Yeah. I have never, I have always felt bad about like doing something big for myself. And I, you know what? I worked so hard for so much of my life. I mean, just worked hard and built businesses with my ex and I did so much in life and that car was a gift to myself. You know, it’s not something that I brag about, right? It’s just, that was for me. You know, it’s like, sometimes, you know what? You do have to put yourself first. And you know what? You shouldn’t feel bad for that. Don’t feel bad for working hard and being able to provide well for yourself or your family. And so that was just one of those other things where I was just like, I got to get over that mentality. Thank you for sharing that. When you work hard, you deserve that.
(48:58 – 50:24) Amberly Lago: Thank you for sharing that because actually, Janet, man, we are so much alike. I had to get over that too because I have worked hard since I started working when I was eight years old and had like a full time job teaching at the dance studio after school and another job by the time I was 13. have built businesses and, and just worked my ass off too. And I drove the same truck for 12 years, the same old truck. And I finally, I can’t even picture you in a truck. Oh yeah, I was always a truck girl and I had a, you know, an old truck and, and Ruby is the one that convinced me to look into a Tesla because of the auto driver, the self driving. And she goes, mom, it would really help you with your leg because I didn’t have the freedom to even drive far. There’s no way I could drive to Vegas or even an hour away or 45 minutes in traffic or my leg would be, I could do it. then I’d pay for it. My leg would be throbbing just from hitting the pedal. And so Ruby’s the one who told me to get that car. And I remember my husband was like, well, now don’t be flashing that car all over social media. And I’m like, I’m not even a car person really. So I wasn’t planning on that, but I’m like, isn’t that sad how that comes about?
(50:24 – 50:36) Janna Johnson: Like, I don’t know. It’s almost like some people lose like, Oh, I don’t want to follow her anymore. She’s, you know, she’s just into herself. No, I’m into work. We’re into working hard.
(50:36 – 50:37) Amberly Lago: Yeah. I’m into working hard.
(50:37 – 50:39) Janna Johnson: I want to live my life the way I want to live it.
(50:39 – 50:46) Amberly Lago: And then do something that you’re you makes you proud and happy. And I worked hard for that.
(50:46 – 51:02) Janna Johnson: Exactly. And there is nothing wrong with that. And I think as women, sometimes we need to be empowered to to just be able to to live the life we want to live, the way we want to live it. You work hard. You know what? You deserve to get what you want. But it pays off.
(51:02 – 51:13) Amberly Lago: Mm hmm. And it’s interesting because some people will try to shame you. Uh huh. for that, like, Oh, well, must be nice.
(51:13 – 51:17) Janna Johnson: And yeah, it is. It is nice. It’s nice to be able to see the fruits of my labor. A hundred percent.
(51:17 – 51:36) Amberly Lago: That’s the fruit of my labor. I’ve worked hard for that. Yeah. But that’s what I love about you too, is you keep it real and In your book, I love what you share. Share like a couple of tips for somebody to start switching their mindset today.
(51:36 – 53:33) Janna Johnson: Yeah, there’s like, here’s the thing is that there’s always a different lens to look through in life, right? And it’s like some people don’t realize that you don’t have to believe and give life to every little thought that comes your way. And that right there was a huge game changer for me. is I realized like, you know what, maybe I should start to think about life a little bit differently. Like I said earlier, your actions follow your thoughts. So think about what kind of life it is that you want to live and stop worrying so much about what other people are going to think or how they’re going to feel about it and start thinking about how you want to feel about your life because you’re not living your life for anybody else except for yourself. We got to start living life where we’re looking straight ahead instead of in the rearview mirror. Because you’re not going to get to your destination when you’re too busy looking in the back. It can’t happen. Nothing in life good comes easy. It just doesn’t. There’s not like a linear path to your goals. And I think sometimes people just give up a little too easy. Hell, if I’d have given up with Lyme disease after being, you know, defeated many, many times in my path to getting well, I wouldn’t be where I am today. You got to walk to those fires that come your way. The fires that come your way, and when I say that, I’m talking about the adversity, the hard times, the pain. You got to walk through those fires. Let it burn the parts of you that are no longer serving you well, so that you can be the person who you’re meant to be. Because none of us are perfect. We’re all imperfectly perfect. And you know what? It is your imperfections where your gold is. That’s where your uniqueness is We all guys got to stop trying to be like everybody else because that would be really really boring if we were all the same Mm-hmm.
(53:33 – 53:35) Amberly Lago: I always say perfect is boring.
(53:35 – 53:41) Janna Johnson: It is boring. You know, it’s not achievable. You’re never gonna achieve it Yeah, yeah.
(53:41 – 53:54) Amberly Lago: Yeah. Oh, well Janna. I just love you Tell us where people can find your book that is gonna be life-changing to just really learn how to un-F your mind.
(53:54 – 54:16) Janna Johnson: Absolutely. Yeah. You can go to my website, revivebyjanna.com. And, um, there’s going to be links there to it. It’s going to be on Amazon and, um, there’ll be a link in the show notes too on this as well. And then also on Instagram, um, if you don’t follow me, I’d love it. If you clicked follow revived by Janna, I’m going to have my book all over that.
(54:17 – 55:09) Amberly Lago: Oh, well, thank you. And you know what y’all take a screenshot of this, whether you’re watching on YouTube and you you’re seeing me with my workout clothes and like no makeup, air in a bun and still beautiful. Oh, you’re so sweet. Or you’re listening on your favorite, you know, Apple podcast, Spotify, wherever you’re listening, take a screenshot. And tag us on Instagram, Amberley Logo Motivation. I’ll share it. Yeah, revived by Janna. Because when I see that in my story, I like to share it. And Janna’s always, you’re always so generous with sharing. So thank you. And I just am so excited about your book and all you’re doing. And what’s next for you besides this big book. What do you see? Yeah.
(55:09 – 55:32) Janna Johnson: I mean, just curious in my podcast and, um, you know, I’m going to be offering a course on my website as well that people can do to just, you know, shift their mindset to one that serves them well. And I’m going to be speaking. I really want to get on the stage and speak. Oh, you fire inside of me to motivate people and just to help them just break free of those invisible chains, holding them back.
(55:32 – 55:39) Amberly Lago: Yeah, you already are doing that. You’re doing it. You’re doing it more and more and more, doing more and more.
(55:39 – 55:45) Janna Johnson: And, you know, somewhere again in the next few years, I’m going to, I’m going to write another book and another one after that.
(55:45 – 55:53) Amberly Lago: And I’m never going to stop. I think a Ted talk, a Ted talk on what you did on my list. Yeah, for sure.
(55:53 – 55:56) Janna Johnson: Going for it because this is my only life I have to live.
(55:56 – 56:41) Amberly Lago: Yeah. Well, thank you so much for being on the show. We’ve been trying to get this one on the books and we’ve both been doing so much lately. So thank you for taking the time to be on the show. And thank y’all so much for tuning in to the True Grit and Grace show because you’ve made it a top 1% podcast, and that’s because of you listening and downloading and subscribing and reviewing. And I look at those reviews and I appreciate those reviews. So thank you so much. And Janna, thank you again for sharing your experience, your wisdom, your inspiration. I love you so much. I love you too. Love you. And I will see y’all next week.
