Julie Vincent is the founder of The Gifted Life, a movement and podcast redefining giftedness as every human’s birthright. After 12 years in corporate marketing, Julie became a coach and began noticing how many people had achieved traditional success on paper but still felt disconnected from their worth, meaning, and gifts. Then motherhood deepened that work in a way she never could have expected. Her son was labeled gifted in the traditional sense. Her daughter, born after what had been a normal pregnancy, spent time in the NICU before eventually being diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, myotonic dystrophy. Julie shares the grief of letting go of the “mini me” daughter she had imagined, while also learning to see and celebrate the extraordinary child in front of her. In this conversation, we talk about how society uses the wrong ruler for our children and ourselves. We discuss giftedness, labels, IEPs, advocacy, emotional intelligence, and the difference between measuring children by metrics versus meaning. We also talk about the ways our children trigger us and teach us. From the birthday party where my daughter retreated back to me after I thought I was finally free to mingle, to Julie realizing her daughter’s “no fancy dresses” comment was showing her where she was over-controlling, we explore how our kids reflect back the places where we still equate their behavior, clothing, temperament, or success with our own worth. This episode is about parenting the child in front of you, not the child you imagined, feared, or thought you were supposed to have. It is about advocacy, acceptance, repair, and learning to see every child’s gifts especially when they don’t look the way the world taught us to recognize them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices