Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan - You’ve Been Taught Wrong: Why You Need To Share Your Wins! with Heather! Episode 212

Episode Date: April 27, 2022

In This Episode You Will Learn About:  Making an impact   Embracing your most authentic self   Creating your own narrative Resources: Overcome Your Villains is Available NOW! Order here: https://overcomeyourvillains.com  If you haven't yet, get my first book Confidence Creator Show Notes:  There is nobody else like you! When you can embrace who you are and write your own narrative, you inspire others to do the same. Plus, life can change when you allow your true self to shine. The fact is, you can make a difference in the world by just being YOU, so don’t be afraid to lean into who you really are. When you courageously create your OWN path, success is guaranteed to find you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, it's me, Food! If I know one thing, it's freshness. Go to Randalls. You'll see, from the hand-cut fresh meats to the fresh produce. There's a reason I call Randalls home. They know fresh. Sincerely food. Sincerely Randalls. When there's a penalty on the field, referees are there to sort it out. When there's an accident on the road. Sergeant Lindros, I'm glad you're okay. That's where USAA steps in. When there's an accident on the road Sergeant Lindros, I'm glad you're okay

That's where USAA steps in We help make the claims process easy So drivers can get back on the road fast Making the right calls, that's what we're made for Membership eligibility and product restrictions apply in our subject to change USAA means United Services Automobile Association and its affiliates San Antonio, Texas I'm on this journey with me. Each week when you join me, we are going to chase down our goals.

The firm at diversity is at you up for a better tomorrow. That's a no-sweet update. I'm ready for my close time. I, and welcome back. I'm so excited you're back here with me today. Okay, so I'm a big fan that stories sell facts tell, right? So we can sit and look at data and tell people, you know, my product works and here's why. Look at the facts. And it's true, right? And it's great to have data and it's great to have facts. But sometimes when you hear a

story, it really allows you to imagine what's possible for you. It allows you to put yourself in the shoes of the person telling the story and relate to it. So, first and foremost, you know, I tell you this all the time. Get testimonials of your work. Get your client's stories. You want to hear about their success stories and what role you and your products and services played in allowing them to achieve their goals or accomplish whatever it is they're trying to do.

For me, I'm very lucky. And you're probably lucky too if you look on social media, we get DMs, we get messages, we get emails, and queries to our website where people are offering their feedback for us. They're sharing their stories and testimonials. Hopefully you're creating an environment like that. If not, start asking for that feedback and those stories today. I want to share with you too. I'm just so proud of. I also want you to know that one of the people that is sending the feedback,

I know, one I've never met before. The point of this is you can impact and touch people's lives. You don't even know because of the content you create. That's pretty mind-blowing. Hello, you can make a difference in the world by just being you and showing up and sharing your message. And you may never understand how many people you impact or help or even it's just one person, you made the world a better place.

So don't hold back, create content, put yourself out there, shine that light on who you are. Start holding the pen when telling the story of your life instead of allowing others to talk about you and build your brand for you, build your own, create your own narrative, and have an intention when you do it. I'm so glad I started doing that. I started my personal brand five years ago before I got fired. Basically why I got fired. But that's okay because it all happened for a reason.

I didn't know it at the time. That's important to know. I was a disaster beyond stressed out and scared. But here we are years later and I'm so grateful that finally, having gotten through a global pandemic, now things are really starting to come together and I'm super, super proud of that. None of it would have happened if I hadn't made the move

or and or had gotten fired. So those low moments that you have in your life, even though you don't know it yet, those could be the most pivotal moments, life changing moments of your life, setting you free for a trajectory that's so much greater than you had ever imagined. Okay, so I want to share two stories that I received in the last week that made me so

happy. Okay, this one is someone who I've known, I've done some work with personally. As you know, I do some one-on-one executive coaching and earlier on, I also did a group coaching program and then of course, my podcast, hello, you're familiar, you're here with me right now, and my books and my courses, et cetera. Okay, so I got an email from this person. I have not heard from this person in six months maybe, right? So I had no idea what was going on with her.

Hey, I know it's been a while, but I wanted to reach out and let you know how much you have changed my life, which first of all, never underestimate the impact your words have on someone else. I literally teared up reading this message because it just reminded me, number one, it told me this, Heather, you're on the right path.

Right, this is a sign to say, okay, you're doing good work. I don't always recognize it or see it, you know, day in and day out. I get stressed out and struggle and frustrated with revenue and frustrated with how things are not progressing at the rate I think they should. But I get messages like this and it just reminds me, this is what life is about. Life is about making the world a better place. Life is about impacting another person in a positive way because of the things you've learned and how you have a chance to pay it forward. And it truly, I'm so grateful this woman took the time to write me this note because it meant, I'm so grateful this woman took the time

to write me this note, because it meant the world to me, and it reminded me that I am on that right path. Okay, but it's been a while since we've connected, I wanted to let you know how you've changed my life. Okay, since that time, since last time I've seen her, she told her leadership she wanted to be promoted, and although they recently said no, which made her really mad because her work

is exceptional. She goes on to detail a little bit more about that, you know, that all the feedback she's ever gotten has been so positive. She has skills that other people don't even come close to, but she's been told she makes leadership nervous because they think she's rogue, which she says, I have corrected and I now call innovative. I love that. Word choices are powerful. I have them now building me a roadmap, extending my coaching and finding me leadership to advocate for me.

So this is so good. She faced a challenge and she found a way to make it into an opportunity. We all have that chance. Because Heather, if you forgive me, honestly, F that. Okay, she's pissed. I have amazing reviews from everyone at work. Listen, this happens sometimes when you're in corporate America. People are telling you you're doing a great job, but when push comes to shove, you haven't been asking what for what you want, when you go in and put that asking place, they kick back and say no. Right?

And that's our chance and opportunity to hold people accountable and say something like this. I'm confused. Every review I've received of my work thus far that I have a folder on is exceptional and constantly notes the job that I'm doing. If that's the case, then why wouldn't we be advancing me? Right, and put it back on that other person again

because you're just getting a blow off. Okay, she goes on to say she's actually been pursued by another bigger and better company, and now she's gonna been pursued by another bigger and better company, and now she's gonna start interviewing with them, so smart, never pass up an opportunity to interview with another company and see what's out there. Right, let me tell you, companies move through people

so quickly, they're always looking at the bottom line and business, you should be looking at your bottom line. What are the best potentials and opportunities out there? Don't make it personal, keep it business, and look at business opportunity and be willing to hear how other people perceive you. There may be a better fit for you somewhere else. She's starting to launch a teachable school,

which is a whole side hustle and it's so cool. And if you're not launching a side hustle yet, start thinking about what problem you can solve that is unique to you, that you could potentially earn income from, because you never know what could happen in your industry, and you want to empower yourself to have options. Options are really important. She goes on to say how she just needed a little push

to do it, and now she's editing it, and she's going to publish it. She's a one-woman shop, and she's doing this after she puts her kids to sleep at night, and she's so proud of herself, and she's launched personal branding initiatives on social media, and she said doing this after she puts her kids to sleep at night and she's so proud of herself. And she's launched personal branding initiatives on social media. And she said, it's messy, but it's a start. And I'm so proud of her, right? So many people that I work with will talk about all they're going to do. But when I catch up with them a year later, they haven't done it. And this woman is doing it on her own and holding herself accountable, which is incredibly impressive. But if she can do it, so can you, that is truth.

Okay, she's accepted a LinkedIn live account and she's held three live sessions, which had made her nervous, right to do. She's stepping into the unknown, but she keeps showing up and she talks about how it's not huge yet, but she's working on it. She's committed to being consistent with it. That is the key. When I joined

LinkedIn, I didn't have 250,000 followers. I had zero. Right? I've been on LinkedIn for seven years now. You need to show up, be consistent, and be in it for the long game. That's how you get results. Okay. She set some big picture goals. She wrote the numbers down that she's going after. If you have not done that in your life, you're constantly writing down the grocery list, you're constantly writing down what your boss wants you to achieve. Take the time today, after you listen to this podcast, and go write down what are your specific goals for the rest of this year? What do you want to achieve for you, not for anybody else?

That can be health and wellness for yourself. That can be fun times with your friends. That can be making yourself a priority with your workout or meditation or spending more time with your family. That could be selling your condo. That could be asking for a promotion, whatever it is. Write it down. Give yourself a deadline and hold yourself accountable, just like this woman did here on her own.

I'm so flippin' proud of her. And her life is changing. That was the subject line of her email. Her life's changing for the better. Okay, the personal branding book that I wrote is coming along and she goes on to say that, you know, she's in the final edits now. She had no idea how much rewriting it was going to take. It's been a lot more work than she thought, but she doesn't want to rush it because she knows it's gonna be so good.

This woman not only is she pushing herself for advancement at work and doing all the right things a long way, she's open to new opportunities outside of her current employer and she's exploring those. She's launching a side hustle. She's written a book. She's launched a personal branding initiative. I mean, this lady is done so much in six months' time. When I met this woman, she did not verbalize aspirations for any of these things. Then she just goes on to say,

so anyway, these are just a handful of things that your work has encouraged me to achieve. I thought you should know. So this was really impactful to me. If you have positive feedback to give to someone who's touched your life, don't hold it within you, don't wait to give that feedback. That made a huge difference in my life the day I read that email. It made my day.

And it really said to me, no matter how frustrated I was with my business that day, no matter how frustrated I was, the failed businesses that I've launched that haven't come to fruition, that note reminded me that I was on the right path. So if you have some feedback to give someone in your life, do it now, do it when you get off this podcast, send the note, send the text, send the email, make the call, and let them know the impact that they are having on you, because you can make a difference in their life, and that is paying it forward. National security experts are warning. Our aging power grid is more vulnerable than ever.

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Slash Monahan to take your business to the next level today. Shopify.com. Slash Monahan. Okay, this is a person I've never met before, but thankfully because of social media, I get amazing DMs from people that I don't know yet, and then I know them. I know their whole story right after I get the message, which is so cool. Yet again, this woman took the time to send me this amazing note, how my book Overcome

Your Villains impacted her life. And same thing, it told me I'm on the right path. Don't give up Heather. It gave me that encouragement and push that I need Everybody thinks that oh that person has it all set and figured out and they're motivated all the time No, no one is that way We all feel the same way discouraged down We have up moments and great moments, right? If every day was great then no day ever would be great

So there's highs and lows in everybody's life and that's what allows us to grow and change and evolve and celebrate and feel sad and live, right? So when you send a note to someone, you could be catching them at just the right time, which her note caught me in an amazing time, her note made my day. And I'm sharing it with you. I hope it makes your day.

And I hope you share a note with someone that's impacting you and a positive way. Okay, her subject line was overcoming your villains. Amazing. Okay, that just, I just smile when I hear that. When you write a book, by the way, it's like having another little baby, you put this little work of you,

representing you into the world and you're so proud of it and you have so many hopes for it and you're so excited for it. So when I get notes like this, oh my gosh, it makes me so happy. Cause just FYI, I get lots of negative notes too, right? There's always going to be haters for contrast, which is great. It means you're reaching beyond your little circle of fans, which is good,

but it's also great to get the nice notes too. Cause it tells you your work is worthwhile, right? And you're here for a reason. Dear Heather, I recently resigned from my position. I won't say the name of our company. And I started a new position on Monday. I've always been successful, have amazing mentors. The past almost two years at the company I was working in have been pure hell to say the least.

Working 16-hour days, leadership not having time for one-on-ones, not having time for real conversations, saying one thing and doing another. Okay, I completely understand this. It's called a toxic work environment. She goes on to say, I was always a glassful kind of person, super positive, but after the past year, I'm one of those people that I can't even deal

with the challenges I'm facing anymore. I've found myself down, unmotivated, doing seven jobs and continuing to feel like I can't take care of myself or anything else. You know, this is what happens. It's like over time very slowly, you chip away your confidence because you're allowing all these negative things to happen.

And then before you know it, you're immersed so deep in it, you don't know how to get out. And that was definitely me at my old company. A few weeks back, I even told my husband that I would quit and just go get a job at Starbucks because yes it is that bad. I get it. Okay, I feel you. When you get to that point, okay, that's breaking point where you have to do something. And breaking point is good, right? Even though it doesn't feel like it in the moment, that's the thing that's going to get your attention to say,

no more. I deserve better than this. And today is the day it stops. I'm going to go for a change. I'm gonna go for a change. I'm gonna find another job. Okay, luckily I had reached out to my network. She had asked for help. She raised her hand. I did the same thing when I got fired. And she said, and I landed a great job

that starts next week. Hello, if you are not happy where you are right now, raise your hand, ask for help, and start finding out what is available for you in the world. There will be lots of opportunity. You just have to go find it. And like this woman, it didn't even take her long, right? Right away, she found a great job, which is amazing, and I'm so excited for her. She had to tell the universe in herself, I am worth more than this. The minute she did that, an opportunity that was equal to her showed up for her,

think about that, think about that for you. Okay, I'm going to be working with people I know, people who understand me, encourage me, and respect me. They know my superpower. Most importantly, I know the culture that they have, and I know how positive it is. Super excited. So proud of her, so excited of her. You know, she got a couple of weeks off in between. She said, I've purged, I've rested, and I read your book Overcome Your Billions. It was recommended to me by one of my mentors

and came at such a critical time in my life. In the past year, especially, I lost my voice. I stopped speaking up, and I didn't stand up for myself or my team anymore. I had never been mediocre, and then I started feeling mediocre every day. Oh my gosh, I still relate to this woman, guys, I just, I've been through that. I don't know if you've ever felt that way, but if you do,

just know this, it is so possible to get out of it, turn it around just like this woman did. You would just have to say, this is enough. This stops here. This is my past, but this is not my present, and it absolutely is not my future. And you can completely change your life. Okay, your book has been amazing and helping me prioritize me. Yes! Know my worth and the value I bring. It is helping me think through letting go of this last work experience, the villain that I had in my life and embrace this positive future with all that I am bringing to it. And that is so right. That is the right attitude. That bad situation was yesterday. That is gone. That is dead. That is over. And we let it go. We step into our power today. And the minute we start doing that, we start creating these amazing

opportunities for tomorrow. Keep shining. Heather, keep sharing. Next up in my book, Docket. Of course, confidence creator. So this made me again, happy if you have something encouraging and positive to say to someone, please share it with them today. You never know what they could be going through, what hardship they could have in their life and how much your words could impact them. I'm so grateful for these women sending me these beautiful notes and encouraging me and reminding me, I am on the right path. And yes, anytime I get a beautiful note, I take a screenshot of it

and I put it into a file on my phone called fan love. I encourage you to do the same. Basically, you go to that file folder anytime you're having a bad day and remind yourself you are making a difference. You do have a positive impact. There is a why behind everything you're doing. Sometimes we just have to be reminded of it, but we've got to empower ourselves to have a file or a folder or something to go to to say, I can do this right now. I've received positive feedback before. I'm going to reconnect with it. I'm going to immerse myself in it.

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Hey, it's me, Food. If I know one thing, it's freshness. Go to Randalls. You'll see from the hand-cut fresh meats to the fresh produce. There's a reason I call Randalls home. They know fresh. Sincerely food. Sincerely Randalls. Okay, so that was reviews testimonials part that I wanted to share with you. Next, this is so crazy.

A couple of crazy things. First of all, I want to talk about progression and how it doesn't happen, necessarily the way we think it will, right? So here's a couple of different situations. First of all, in 2018, I think it was, is when confidence creator came out. And when I started finding out about the speaking business, and that, you know, you should get a speaker agent. I knew nothing about the speaking business. I didn't even know it was a business in 2018.

And so I googled it. I figured out there were speaker bureaus. So I started pitching myself to different speaker bureaus. And they told me I wasn't unique I wasn't different and to come back when I was special and unique and different and then my book Trump Donald Trump's book on Amazon the business and motivation and autobiography list on Amazon. I was number one and he was number two at the time He was president. I took that screenshot I sent it to the president of a speaker bureau and I said, I'm unique, I'm different.

You don't have any authors on your roster that have trumped the president. And he laughed and said, oh, Tuchet, well done, they're messy. Okay, I'm gonna add to my roster, but I don't know how much business we'll get for you, but it was more, I just wanted to be, the more I could see myself next to whoever it was, Bill Clinton or any of these other huge speakers

that garnered massive amounts of money for their speaking, it put me in another league. And I wanted to see myself in that league, right? For me to believe it first and foremost, but then for other people to say, oh wow, Heather's at the next level already in good company, good for you Heather, right? Okay, so I then leverage that getting

that one speaker bureau, I started pitching myself to all the speaker bureaus saying, oh, hey, I'm with APB speakers, GDA, Harry Walker. And then, you know, I thought you should know, maybe you'd want to add me to right, I was trying to create this FOMO for these other bureaus. It worked the majority of them, not all, but the majority, instead of adding me. Okay. So from the end of 2018, I was with a number of speaker bureaus and it's so crazy. For me, Harry Walker speaker agency was always just one of this,

the really elite of the elite. Just in my mind, right, I don't know why, speaker bureaus and so I thought, oh, I can't wait to the day. I get booked by a Harry Walker speaker agency. They have a lot of presidents on know, presidents on their line. I mean, really impressive speakers. Not that all the speaker bureaus don't they do.

But this one, for whatever reason, it just kind of struck me. It was one of the first ones I discovered when I was researching and I had no idea about the business. Okay, so I was with the speaker bureaus since 2018. Nothing. Crickets, right? Then the pandemic hits.

Everything disappeared. The speaking business for a while just completely shut down. There were so many layoffs in the speaking business. It was awful. And then slowly things started coming back in 2021 and a lot of virtual speaking was going on, but still nothing like how it had been. So during these times, I just was primarily landing speaking business because of my social media, right?

People would reach out to me on LinkedIn, the place where business gets done. If you are not active on LinkedIn, get active. Whether you're B2B or B2C, that is the place to be. Pull business towards you so you don't always have to chase after it. So the majority of my business was coming from my LinkedIn feed and I was getting booked a lot and booked with amazing companies.

Amazon, Google, you know, so many crazy huge companies. And starting to enjoy some success, I was named top 40 keynote speaker in 2020. I was named top 50 overall keynote speaker in 2022. Shout out real leaders. Okay, so things were getting better, but I still in in the back of my mind, right, I was still kind of bummed that, wow, you know, those really elite speaker bureaus, they just had never booked me. Now I remember when I first started out in the speaking business, someone who was, had

30 years experience, said to me, here's the best thing I can teach you how there. You'll want a speaker agent, you're gonna want a speaker bureau until the day you've hit it, you've made it want a speaker bureau until the day you've hit it. You've made it, right? And everybody knows you. And then you won't want to speak your bureau. You won't want an agent because everyone and every opportunity will be coming to you. And it was frustrating to hear that at the time, right? Because when you need an agent, is when you haven't hit it yet, you haven't made it yet. That's when you need someone pitching and selling you, someone who knows how good you are that cares that says, no, this woman might not be known like Oprah Winfrey, but

she can have a massive impact on your audience and you need to see her and that person didn't exist, right? So I knew in the back of my head that, you know, the way that everybody says they're going to start showing up when you really started making it. But wouldn't you know what a surreal moment this week I received an email from Harry Walker speaker agency reaching out as if it was, you know, they had just signed me yesterday. Hey, Heather, we have a firm deal for you for two different speaking engagements. One, to send you both the offers. Let us know if you have any feedback changes.

And then let's go ahead and get the contract set up. And it was just this crazy moment. Remember, I told you I signed with them in 2018. And here we are, it's 2022, and I'm getting my first couple of pieces of business from them, which I'm so proud of, so grateful for. And I'm thinking about that conversation I had

with that gentleman that when you really start making it, that's when you won't be so desperate for wanting the age anymore And they're just gonna start showing up and I'm starting I'm not there yet I'm starting to see how that's playing out and as my business has picked up Because of my LinkedIn because of all the content I'm creating and putting myself out there and talking about my speaking business and And getting recognized obviously by real leaders twice was a huge deal, right? So that was in good company and headlining the event Expo with Damon John was huge. I've had a couple of really surreal big moments along the way

that I understand how it's happening, but nonetheless, it's surreal. This is not the way I ever expected it to happen. By the way, I thought all the stuff would have happened back in 2019. It's the latest 2020, but no one could have predicted the things that were going to happen. And the reason I share that story with you is just because you have a big goal and it doesn't happen for a while, in this case four years, right? Doesn't mean it's not going to happen. Things don't always happen in the timeline we think they should. They happen as they're meant to be. I can tell you this, I am so much of a better,

more powerful, deliberate, intentional, successful speaker today than I was in 2018. And maybe that's why I didn't get book back then. Maybe that's a gift because imagine if the biggest speaking bureaus in the world started booking me back then and I wasn't as good as I had the potential to be. The difference is over the last four years, I have spoken for, I mean, literally a thousand, at least different events, companies, summits. I can't even tell you how many.

That's what I've been doing now for four years. So maybe this window of time in this waiting period was allowing me to build up my competence and put the reps in and put the time in to really refine my craft and become the best that I could be. So that's how I'm choosing choosing to see it. So if you're waiting on some big goal and you're starting to forget about it, don't forget about it. Even if it is four years or six years or whatever it is, keep putting the reps in, keep putting the work in, don't give up. It could be right around the corner because it literally just happened for me this week, which is so crazy. Okay, here's another progression one that I want to share with you and then I promise I'll let you go. Okay, so back in, I don't know if it was 2018 or 2019, I don't remember, a

professor from Harvard sent me a DM on LinkedIn in response to a video I created about sales. So I created content which started the domino effect. He responded to that content I created and said, hey, you'd be a great guest speaker for my class. At Harvard, would you come in and teach a class for me? And I was beyond overwhelmed. I was so nervous. I had Harvard on a pedestal,

I put him on a pedestal, I put me beneath everyone, right? The minute we put others on a pedestal, we're putting ourselves beneath them. So it's super important, especially in this day and age, we want everyone to be seen as equal. That means ourselves too, right? So we have to stop putting people on pedestals, just because they had better SAT scores than I did,

and they could get into Harvard, doesn't mean that I'm not equal to them. When I ended up finding out when I taught that class, is I'm a lot better at sales than they are. That doesn't make me better than them. Right, remember, they have better SAT scores. Everybody has different things, they're better at, or different at,

or unique about them, and that's okay. But we all belong on a level playing field. So I had been so nervous to teach that class. I walked away with this amazing feeling of I added so much value. These kids were so book smart, but I'm real life smart and real life savvy, right? So I was able to they had read every textbook in the world about sales, but they didn't understand how to apply that in real life. I come at everything from a real life, you know, business, acumen type experience. I've lived it.

I've done it. Here's what it's really like. And here's how you really can apply it, you know, to leverage your success. And they got so much value from it. So that experience taught me that, yes, I had to channel my inner Beyonce to get myself in front of the class that day. Yes, I was completely nervous. I practiced so much. I was sweating, right? The whole thing, but I did it. And when you move through those moments of fear and self-doubt, you build confidence

in yourself. And the more you do that, the easier it gets, right? So in 2020, when the pandemic hit, that same professor reached out to me and said, hey, I'm teaching a class professional selling and sales leadership at Harvard. Would you be willing to be my teacher's assistant? I just got funded to have an assistant on this year, because the class is so big. I said yes. Of course, I was nervous again, right? It was one thing for me to teach one class, but now for me to teach a whole semester. I didn't know what I was getting into, but anytime I feel fear, I know that is the green light that I need to go and go faster and step into it

to create confidence within myself and go to that next level. That's my chance to grow. And I'm so glad I did. I had a great experience. It was way too much work, way more than I thought, and the money was too small, right? The professors get paid well,

but not a first time teachers assistant, which is fine. I did it for the life experience. I made great contacts. I learned a lot about myself, but I became incredibly comfortable about Harvard, right? Because now every Monday, I was teaching a class at Harvard.

So it wasn't as scary as it had been before. Then that same professor does a lot of workshops for Harvard and speaking engagements. And so he started wrapping me into all these different things. So, you know, I have an app on my phone from Harvard and just crazy. It became very normal. Like anything, the more you do something, the more normal it becomes. At one point, it was really scary.

And now it's fine. You put the reps in, you know, you became competent. Now you're confident. So it was funny. Harvard Graduate Program, which was led it was funny Harvard graduate program, which was led by a recent Harvard graduate student who happened to be one of my former students, reached out to me and they wanted to bring me in

for a speaking engagement for women in leadership and an open Q&A, and I was not scared at all. Right, I hadn't been working with Harvard now in over a year, but it was cool to be picked to feature my book and have me with the group. It's so funny how in a really short period of time, things can change dramatically. If you keep stepping into that beer, keep putting the reps in. You will become competent, which will essentially mean you're going to become confident.

I showed up for the event. I wasn't nervous at all, and I just laughed to myself at how much that same school had changed in... Well, the school had changed, let me redress your eye had changed so much. I changed in regards to the way I saw it. I used to have them on a pedestal. I've now taken them off the pedestal. Doesn't mean I don't appreciate them. I think they're amazing. I think the students are amazing. I'm grateful for the opportunities, but I appreciate me just as much. Right? So there's no longer this fear. Instead, there's an appreciation and gratitude. And it's just, it's been such a wild ride to know how quickly things can change, like in this instance, versus within the other instance, with my

speaking bureaus, that one was a lot slower. So you never know the speed at which things are going to happen. Okay, and then this is the final thing I'm going to say. Sometimes I think, oh gosh, how they're why are you putting all this time and doing all these events, going to so many things. You know, I'm always trying to put myself out there and show up for something if I can.

And the Chamber of Commerce had reached out to me maybe six months ago, and they'd want me to do an event with them. And the key thing that got my attention was it was with books and books, which is a partner of mine. If you ever want an autograph book from me, competence creator, or overcoming your villains, go to booksandbooks.com, Google Books and Books Miami. They have cases and cases of autograph books. They will sell you autograph books.

You want it personalized. They'll do that too. I go in there once a month and write out books for people all the time. So they've been a great partner for me for years now since my first book since 2018. And so when I saw their involvement, I'm like, I'm counting me in. This is something I'm going to do. But when I do some of these things, even though it's with partners and whatnot, which is the right thing to do, you wonder, right, I had to do this pre-called, whatever. Like it just takes your time and you're saying to yourself, was this valuable?

Was this worth it? I don't know. I did it for my partner. So then to me, it's worth it. I move on. I forgot about it, frankly. But I do often ask myself, gosh, I wonder if I'm wasting time, you know, running around like a maniac doing all these different things, trying to see if I can connect

some dots somewhere. Well, wouldn't you know I get a message a couple of weeks ago at my website from a woman saying, I've read your books, I've seen you speak, you've literally changed my life. Such an amazing message. Similar to the ones we were reading earlier and she's details what's changed in our life. Anyhow, I had no idea. Find out she works for this huge company, which has huge speaking engagements, huge programs that I could potentially lead.

I mean, there was so much opportunity and it was just serendipitous that the way she originally found me was through that chamber of commerce event that I had wondered would anyone, would this ever lead to anything? Oh well, chalk it up. I'm just doing it for my partner and move on. But in fact, it did. It led to this woman. And then once she saw me speak at this event, she went and bought my book, started listening to the podcast. And then it had to direct impact on her life in an extremely positive way, which is amazing. I'm so proud of him. I'm so proud of her.

But then she said, I want to pay it forward. I want to bring you into my company and expose you to the highest leadership in my company and see what doors we can open for you so you can impact and help more people. And so this domino effect was crazy that I never would have been able to partake in if I hadn't showed up just to show up for, you know, something that I didn't know if it would have impact. Really, I showed up for my partner and, you know, I share that story with you because so often we'll say like, oh, I'm too tired I don't want to try to you know go to one more thing

I never know if it's actually going to result anything. Yeah, it might not and I there's plenty of things that I've gone to that I don't know if it ever result anything maybe it did maybe it didn't but I know if I'm gonna put my best put forward I'm gonna create more opportunity for myself and the more opportunity that you create, the more potential there is for whatever that dream is that you have inside or that big stage that you want to take or the big partnership you're trying to land, you know, it's a numbers game. And yes, we all get tired and we need to rest, but success isn't easy if it was everybody would have it. There are moments you also have to put in the work. And I'm so glad I did.

Not only because I got to have this impact on this woman, but because of the opportunities she's now, opening doors for me. So wherever you are on your journey, make sure that you realize the timing is not always our own. But good things still can come. Even if it's a little late, right? Good things take time, great things,

sometimes take a little bit longer. Okay, until next week, please share the show. If you love it, if you like it, if you want a free copy of my audible version of Confidence Creator or an audio version of Overcome Your Villains, post about this episode, tag me and you will win a copy. This is your girl, come it at ya.

If you love the podcast, you will so love my books on Audible. By the way, they're both best sellers on Audible. Super, super proud of them. I narrate both of them and on Overcome Your Villains. I actually give you, I go rogue at the end of every chapter and give you complete behind the scenes that is not in the actual book.

So it's pretty cool. Shout out to David Goggins. That's where I got that idea from his book. You can't hurt me. OK, so share the show. Tag me in it and you get to win an audio version of either one of my books. I can't wait for you to hear it. And until next week, keep creating your confidence.

You know I will be. I'm going to go over here. I decided to change that tiny amount. And I'm going to go around. I decided to change that dynamic. I could have been more excited for what you're getting here and start learning and growing. And inevitably something will happen. No one succeeds alone. You don't stop and look around once in a while.

You can miss it. I'm on this journey with me. I hope you're enjoying this episode so far. I'm Jennifer Cohen, host the top ranking business and entrepreneur podcast, Habits and Hustle, apart the YAP media network, the number one business and self-improvement podcast network. So, most people live the life they get

and not the life they want. And I'm here to change all that. My goal with each episode is to give you the habit and hustle tips you need to show up to your life better, bigger, and bolder. Tune in now, and I'll not only help you answer the questions like what do you want most in life and why don't you have it, but we'll also help you make it a reality. I also picked the brains of top thought leaders on how they've gone to the top, and the advice they have to help you get there too. Head over to Happets and Hussle once you've done listening to this episode and get

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