Category: Featured

Women In Wellness: Allison Jackson on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Be grateful. It’s hard to be in a bad mood when you list all of the things that you are grateful for in your life. Having a positive mindset every day can be difficult. Keeping a gratitude journal can help ensure your head stays in a good place.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Allison Jackson.

Allison Jackson is the founder of Allison Jackson Fitness. She is an NASM-certified personal trainer, Precision Nutrition-certified coach and ANBF pro masters figure competitor. She has a crystal-clear picture of what it takes to get to your ideal weight and stay there.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

A born and raised Jersey Girl, I was always interested in sports and fitness. I played field hockey in high school and college. But I can distinctly remember during my teens, reading my dad’s Muscle & Fitness magazines, and imagining what it would be like to transform my body through weight training. I would frequently use his weight bench in our unfinished basement.

In college, I taught fitness classes and was a personal trainer. I had always thought I would pursue a career in fitness, but then ended up in corporate communications. Not long after entering the working world, I got married and had two kids. While I still worked out regularly, it was more about just trying to get my pre-baby body back. I’ve run marathons, completed triathlons, did a Tough Mudder and other obstacle-course competitions, but I could never seem to get my body to where I felt good about how I looked. It wasn’t until I started competing in natural bodybuilding in 2012, also known as figure competitions. Not only did it completely transform my body, it’s transformed my confidence and helped launch my business, Allison Jackson Fitness.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

Since I started my online fitness/nutrition business, I’ve been really embracing public speaking. Even with the pandemic, I made it my mission to do 20 speaking events in 2020. I actually surpassed that goal! The main takeaway is: don’t assume you won’t reach a goal because of any given obstacle. In addition, I’ve found a new passion — public speaking!

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I remember launching a new program on a Facebook Live and providing the incorrect price. I couldn’t believe I had done that! But I’m a woman of my word and stuck to the price I had publicly announced. Surprisingly, I actually doubled the number of people who signed up. I guess the price was right!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

As a coach, I strongly believe in the value of coaches. Whether it’s a business, career, marathon, financial — there’s a coach for any goal you’re working towards and they will fast-track your success. I was lucky enough to find a coach that helped me elevate my business and really look at things differently.

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

My daily mantra is: “Inspire people to live healthier lives.” I think about that no matter what I’m doing, whether it’s my own nutrition and workouts or creating programs for others. My goal is help people understand and prioritize their health. Healthy is wealthy. Without good health, all the money in the world doesn’t matter.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. Track your food. This means grabbing a free app like MyFitnessPal and consciously logging your food. This will give you a clear understanding of how much or how little you are consuming and what that food is made up of (protein, carbs, fat, sodium, fiber).
2. Get 10k steps. Get some daily movement whether it’s walking, biking, yoga, dance, weight training, or something else. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as you enjoy it and look forward to doing it each day.
3. Be mindful. Whether you meditate or consciously try to be more mindful or present (such as not multi-tasking while eating or talking to others), these efforts will help your stress levels. Studies have shown that regular meditation physically alters your brain matter in a good way.
4. Be grateful. It’s hard to be in a bad mood when you list all of the things that you are grateful for in your life. Having a positive mindset every day can be difficult. Keeping a gratitude journal can help ensure your head stays in a good place.
5. Get enough sleep. Rest and recovery are just as important as a good workout or a healthy meal. For our bodies and minds to operate best, getting a minimum of 7- 9 hours of sleep each night is essential. Having a routine to wind down before bed can help you with falling asleep. A bedroom that is dark and cool without electronics, like your phone or tablet, can often help you to stay asleep.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Educating women on the importance of prioritizing their health to be a good a role model for their children. In addition, ensuring that health and gym classes in schools also focus on the importance of good nutrition. While movement is critical, nutrition is so vital and frequently misunderstood due to all of the “diets-of-the-week” and quick fixes.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. When it comes to changing your body, nutrition is 80% of the equation.
2. You don’t need to kill yourself with workouts to change your body. (See #1)
3. Meditating for 10 minutes each day will do wonders for your ability to manage stress.
4. Sleep is more important than you think when it comes to your overall health and wellbeing.
5. Gratitude and self-care top the list when it comes to having a positive mindset and outlook.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

I would say mental health is the dearest to me because I think it’s so prevalent, so disregarded, so misunderstood and so dangerous. If we could help those with mental illness, it would solve so many problems in the world today, including addictions to food, alcohol and drugs.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

I’m on Instagram and Facebook @allisonjacksonfitness

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

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Women In Wellness: Allison Jackson on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The importance of health has been emphasized now more than ever in history. It would be great to start a movement focused on radical self-care. More people need to focus on the quality of life instead of being so busy that self-neglect is considered normal.

As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cassandra Hill.

Cassandra Hill is a Holistic Wellness Coach, Life Coach, Author, and Speaker. After overcoming systemic lupus with a regimen she developed; Cassandra birthed Holistic Living Consulting. Her mission is to empower women by renewing their mind, body, and soul utilizing an all-natural approach.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?

Born and raised in the small town of Osceola, Arkansas I come from humble beginnings. My early years of education was not the greatest as I was retained in the fourth grade. After that setback I became a better student graduating high school with a scholarship to a local community college. Eventually I transferred to a university and received a Bachelor’s degree then later a Master’s degree. This blessing made me a first-generation college graduate.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

There have been many doors of opportunities extended in my life. Currently I am writing preparing to release a recipe book and an inspirational work later this year. These books will serve as a guide to live healthier with recipes that are healthy and convenient. The inspirational book will cater to women to maintain a closer relationship with God.

In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

Holistic Living Consulting started as a thought like many businesses. After entering remission from systemic lupus, I realized my healing was to empower other women to heal their bodies. What makes Holistic Living Consulting unique is the fact that I am passionate about my mission. The vision that I have for my business is from God and it shows as a practice my expertise as a Holistic Wellness Coach, Author, and Speaker.

Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?

As a graduate student I was told not to pursue Gerontology as a major. According to the naysayer it would be too difficult, and I would have problems finding a company for my practicum. Despite the challenges I pursued the degree and found a practicum that turned out to be a great experience.

In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? 🙂

My personality has never been to brag about the opportunities God has allowed in my life. At various junctures in my life, I was counted out. Many people who counted me out would be surprised to see how I have been blessed with attaining Bachelor and Master degrees along with many certifications. Garnering media exposure from NBC, CBS, and FOX and being highlighted in various magazines like WE Magazine for Women, Glambitious, and many more. One of my proudest accomplishments is birthing my company Holistic Living Consulting where I am empowering women to renew their physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

One person who had a tremendous impact in my life was my grandmother Gladys Hill. My grandmother believed in me and valued my intelligence. One story that I recall with my grandmother was in her later years in life. This particular weekend I came home from college and spent the weekend with grandmother. When I thought she was asleep I began working on writing papers. Unbeknownst to me my grandmother watched me working and years later after I graduated college, she shared with me how I could accomplish many things because of willingness to work hard.

It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us? My childhood was full of rich memories.

For a young black girl to have hair down her back and talk differently than most of her peers at a young age I learned how to ignore opinions that do not matter. Some people would tease me and in the beginning it would hurt my feelings but eventually I learned to not care about someone else’s insecurities being deflected towards me.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)

What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?

One of my favorite quotes is by Maya Angelou. We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

The importance of health has been emphasized now more than ever in history. It would be great to start a movement focused on radical self-care. More people need to focus on the quality of life instead of being so busy that self-neglect is considered normal.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

www.facebook.com/livehealthyforlife

www.instagram.com/livehealthyforlife

www.pinterest.com/cassandrah2415

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Cassandra Hill of ‘Holistic Living Consulting’: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women Leading The Cannabis Industry: “Why we need to stop using slang words for cannabis” With Christina DiArcangelo of Affinity Bio Partners

The utilization of slang words for cannabis needs to stop. This makes it difficult for society to remove the outdated, incorrect information about the plant attached to negative stigmas. This also slows down the process of legalization and acceptance by larger organizations that play a critical role in the advancement of cannabis as a therapeutic.

As a part of my series about strong women leaders in the cannabis industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Christina DiArcangelo

Christina DiArcangelo, CEO and Founder of Affinity Bio Partners, CEO, Board President of Affinity Patient Advocacy, CEO, the Christina DiArcangelo brand. CEO and Co-Founder of AI Health Outcomes, CannaBot™ and DRBot™, has forged a world-class reputation in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry over the past 22 years. Her engagements have led to numerous industry awards, keynote speaking engagements, multitude of global clinical trials as well as working on several drugs that have received FDA approval. Throughout the course of Christina’s career, she has acted in various capacities for Global Clinical Research Organizations, Pharmaceutical Companies, Biotechnology Companies, Medical Cannabis Patients and Companies.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis industry?

I have been working globally in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and nutraceutical industries for 22 years. I have also worked on 25 approved FDA biologics and devices throughout my career. My cannabis industry journey started when I became interested in medical cannabis and CBD as a therapeutic treatment about four years ago. A Grower/Processor/Dispensary reached out to my non-profit, Affinity Patient Advocacy, to handle their research. They reached out to me because of a keynote speech I gave for Relay for Life about being a patient advocate for my father, Albert J DiArcangelo. Unfortunately, he passed away from liver, lung, and stomach cancers at age 62. After becoming his advocate, I decided to start Affinity Patient Advocacy in 2015, and here I am today.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I believe the most interesting story since I have been in the medical cannabis industry is the launching of our Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis patient research study. I developed a patient questionnaire with Compassionate Certification Centers and Dr. Bryan Doner, and deployed the questionnaire with the AI Bot, CannaBot. For the first time in the history of the Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis program, this type of information was gathered. We also wrote a white paper as a result and have decimated this to help other countries and states that are looking to revise their programs or launch them.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I used to wear suits to every event that I attended when representing my companies due to my corporate background, so I assumed the same was required within cannabis. I learned quickly that I don’t need to wear a suit to every cannabis industry event I participate in. Since then, I loosened my attire when going to events.

Do you have a funny story about how someone you knew reacted when they first heard you were getting into the cannabis industry?

Most of my pharmaceutical colleagues thought that I was losing my mind by getting into medical cannabis and CBD clinical research based on the stigma associated with the industry. Interestingly, fast forward to today, most of these colleagues want to get into this space now.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I attribute my foundation and my career development skills to my Father. He was a blue collar, union man (President of the Steelworkers union and a Teamster) his entire life. I feel blessed to have received so many life and career lessons from him. He has impressed upon me to never give up, and in the medical cannabis industry, you can’t give up — ever!

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes, Spectral Analytics TeleMonitoring. By launching this platform, for the first time in medical patient history, we’ll be helping patients be treated for their health issues by meeting them where they are with their illness, rather than just treating a patient based on their condition.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. Despite great progress that has been made we still have a lot more work to do to achieve gender parity in this industry. According to this report in Entrepreneur, less than 25 percent of cannabis businesses are run by women. In your opinion or experience, what 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society to support greater gender parity moving forward?

1) Individuals: Be more aware of reaching out to qualified women to be involved in initiatives that are important to you.

2) Companies: Look purposely to hire women for leadership roles within your organization.

3) Society: Host more female influencer events to inspire and empower women while creating awareness.

You are a “Cannabis Insider”. If you had to advise someone about 5 non intuitive things one should know to succeed in the cannabis industry, what would you say? Can you please give a story or an example for each.

1. Make sure you backdoor new people that you run into within the industry.

2. Learn acronyms’ and terminology.

3. Pre-establish your goal of the meeting or what you are trying to achieve.

4. Learn patients’ true needs.

5. Find mentors that are qualified in the industry.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the cannabis industry?

1. Ensuring that medical cannabis is a recognized therapeutic treatment by healthcare professionals, the FDA, and Government bodies worldwide.

2. Contributing to science back research for the benefit of patients.

3. Developing transdermal patches and customized nutraceutical products to truly help patients.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

1) The utilization of slang words for cannabis needs to stop. This makes it difficult for society to remove the outdated, incorrect information about the plant attached to negative stigmas. This also slows down the process of legalization and acceptance by larger organizations that play a critical role in the advancement of cannabis as a therapeutic.

2) We need to raise the bar from a professionalism standpoint

3)Stop making false claims regarding products

What are your thoughts about federal legalization of cannabis? If you could speak to your Senator, what would be your most persuasive argument regarding why they should or should not pursue federal legalization?

I am working on a federal bill with colleagues down at the hill. Allowing clinical research to occur with out securing a DEA license to move THC products for research purposes would make things a lot easier for us!

Today, cigarettes are legal, but they are heavily regulated, highly taxed, and they are somewhat socially marginalized. Would you like cannabis to have a similar status to cigarettes or different? Can you explain?

Cigarettes are not medicine. Medical cannabis and CBD should not be taxed.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it.” Maya Angelou

The reason that so many people are successful beyond the mind’s comprehension is not necessarily that they’re exceptionally great at what they do. It is that they are passionate about it. It is that they want to do what they are doing so badly that they are willing to give up life’s little conveniences in order to do it.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Medical cannabis and CBD is a medical treatment for all! As a society, we need to continue digging deeper into the power of the plant and collecting more data to better help patients.

Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you only continued success!

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Women Leading The Cannabis Industry: “Why we need to stop using slang words for cannabis” With… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women Leading The Cannabis Industry: “Being in the cannabis industry is a political statement” With Brooke Burgstahler of Budding Mind

Being in the cannabis industry is a political statement, whether you see it as one or not. My work forces me to be informed in a multitude of avenues of life and government that intersect with cannabis and what a blessing that is! Weed people are well-read and woke!

As a part of my series about strong women leaders in the cannabis industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Brooke Burgstahler, Creative, Actress, Founder of Budding Mind.

Brooke Burgstahler is a writer, producer, host, and actress in television, online media, and film. A specialist in high quality educational and entertaining content she calls “edutainment,” Brooke is the star of BigMike + Advanced Nutrients’ show Marijuana Morning News which she develops, produces, and hosts daily. An in-demand creator in cannabis, Brooke scours for stories and conceptualizes unique topics to explore, covering everything from pop culture to politics, history, hot new brands, celebrity interviews, and progress in social justice reform. On the acting side, Brooke’s appeared on MTV (Greatest Party Story Ever), ABC (General Hospital, Black-ish), TBS (TBS Shorts), AMC (Mad Men), the Oxygen Network (Speak For The Dead), Covergirl, and more. In cannabis media she’s the creative visionary behind numerous campaigns with several premiere media outlets. In 2018, Brooke was awarded a Golden Telly for her Docu-Series Prisoners of Prohibition produced for Merry Jane Media. To date, Brooke’s online content has reached millions of viewers. Brooke is also a 500 hour certified yoga instructor and holds a Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Journalism and Bachelor of Arts in Theater from The University of Miami. Brooke’s cannabis and wellness startup Budding Mind is designed to expand the mind and heart through the exploration of plant medicine, alternative healing, science, and spirituality. The multi-channel online platform features podcasts, video, long form education content and e-commerce for Brooke’s favorite products and brands.

To learn more about Brooke Burgstahler and Budding Mind, visit online at Brooke Burgstahler

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis industry?

Since the first time I smoked weed, I knew we were going to be great friends. But, I had NO idea that I would end up having a career in cannabis. For much of my relationship with her, she was very much illegal, so I never even dreamed of working with weed for a profession.

However, about four years ago I began working as a cannabis journalist, writing and talking about my love for the plant. At first, I was met with pushback from my parents, and even my own self at times, worried that I was doing something “bad.”

But after realizing the effects the stigmatization of a plant had on even ME — I let go. I made an agreement with Mary Jane that I would represent her in the best possible light I could if she guided me on my way, and I truly believe she has.

I have worked with several cannabis media companies such as Merry Jane, and Civilized. I created a docu-series, Prisoners of Prohibition, about real stories of the men and women serving life sentences for nonviolent cannabis convictions. Two years ago I was able to co-host The Next Marijuana Millionaire, a cannabis business reality show. Now I am writing, producing, and hosting my own daily cannabis news show for @BigMike called Marijuana Morning News, to an Instagram audience of 2.7 million. And through it all, I’ve been running my company Budding Mind, a cannabis and wellness content creation platform, designed to expand the heart and soul.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The most interesting thing that has happened to me since working in cannabis was my trepidation in “coming out of the cannabis closet.” When I was first working in the industry, I had a fear that if people knew what I was doing it would potentially damage other opportunities for me. I was nervous to put my truth out into the world for fear of shame. BUT I had to get over that, didn’t I? So, I had a sit with cannabis, putting some beautiful buds on my altar, and I talked to her. Humbled, I asked her to show me a sign if I was on the right path, and if she wanted me to work with her — and wouldn’t you know it, the next day I booked The Next Marijuana Millionaire.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

One of the funniest things that has happened more times than I’d like to admit is people getting too high on productions. I was covering an event one time when my camera man got too high from the free weed and forgot to check if our audio was recording — all of our footage for the night was a wash. I’ve also had interviewees get too high before shooting and then are unable to answer questions…. like, so often. LOL. I actually don’t smoke before going on camera, or on stage, so that I can make sure everything is running smoothly and everyone is speaking coherently.

Do you have a funny story about how someone you knew reacted when they first heard you were getting into the cannabis industry?

When I first got involved in the cannabis industry my parents didn’t approve. They were not keen on my new career and I didn’t share much of my work with them for a while! Flash forward to today, and now my parents ask me to share my edibles. And, when we’re in the same place together, not only do we smoke, but they can handle SO much more weed than me. Honestly, I’m not even mad about the past, smoking weed with my parents is such a full circle gift.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I’m super excited for the content that I am creating for Budding Mind! I’m launching a podcast January 2021 with an eclectic array of guests: scientists, shamans, cannabis convicts, wellness gurus, biohackers, UFOlogists, etc. My approach towards content is “edutainment.” I want people to learn while laughing and this podcast is going to be the perfect alignment of education and entertainment.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. Despite great progress that has been made we still have a lot more work to do to achieve gender parity in this industry. According to this report in Entrepreneur, less than 25 percent of cannabis businesses are run by women. In your opinion or experience, what 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society to support greater gender parity moving forward?

Women make up half the global population and thus half the leadership roles of all industries should be held by women. Though the dust seems like it’s beginning to settle, women have been on the grind for decades proving their worth in the workfield. Despite the cannabis industry being a newly emerging industry with its whole own bag of troubles, we’ve still got to fight for our proper place in the system. Women are particularly valuable to the cannabis industry due to our progressive perspectives, strength in managing dozens of tasks at once, and our sensitive nature that mirrors the sweet softness of the cannabis plant.

I believe women who have found success in the cannabis industry mentoring and networking with less-experienced-hopefuls is an incredible force for progress and inspiration for women to stay the course in the cannabis field. I’m a part of an adorable organization called Cannaboss, which is a group of ladies in weed who meet monthly to smoke and discuss what’s going on in our work. It’s an extremely inviting community that has opened my eyes to the numerous pathways available to someone looking for a career in cannabis, as well as connecting dots for me when I’m looking for something or someone specific to help move my own mission forward.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the cannabis industry?

1. The fact that the industry I work in is federally illegal is devastating, but also exciting because, surely in my lifetime, I will see an entire industry become legitimized, and the consciousness shift that comes with that will be invaluable, legendary, and historic!
2. Being in the cannabis industry is a political statement, whether you see it as one or not. My work forces me to be informed in a multitude of avenues of life and government that intersect with cannabis and what a blessing that is! Weed people are well-read and woke!
3. The continual stream of cannabis discoveries and studies are absolutely fascinating! Nearly every day a new cannabinoid, terpene, or mode of healing is found out about cannabis. And the more we learn about weed, the more we learn about our own ECS and our bodies’ functionality on a deeper level. Cannabis is a multi-faceted wonder and we are just at the tip of the iceberg in understanding her true potentiality for healing both people and the planet.

You are a “Cannabis Insider.” If you had to advise someone about 5 things one should know to succeed in the cannabis industry, what would you say?

1). The federal legalization of cannabis, and plant medicines, is critical to the evolution of humankind. To say that any plant is forbidden, much less one that has been revered since ancient times, is twisted and a hindrance to our species’ growth.

2). Cannabis is first, above all things, a medicine. Countless global studies have confirmed that cannabis and its chemical constituencies aid in the healing of diseases, health conditions, and mental issues.

3). Furthermore, cannabis and hemp are medicine for the planet — with the plant’s materials capable of creating sustainable fabric, building materials, and fuel with the potential to revolutionize these industries so desperately in need of an upgrade to meet the times.

4) Cannabis is a plant that is literally giving us what we need in so many different directions, and our legislators are afraid to allow its abundance to heal and metamorphosize our agriculture, energy, and recreational lifestyle industries, like alcohol and tobacco. But good things and true change are worth fighting for, which is why there are literally millions of people on Earth committed to forging the path for the legalization and legitimization of cannabis. It’s all happening and she’s guiding us on our way!

5). Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu is a favorite Sanskrit mantra of mine that translates to “May all beings everywhere be happy and free.” If I could instill any kind of shift in the human experience right now it would be for all plants, animals, and people to be liberated…. for true freedom of expression and exploration to be granted to all living things, and with that, respect for the living things around you. With this total liberation and genuine respect for the world around comes happiness, ease, and a natural way of being that is without conflict or comparison. We all deserve to return to the state of happiness which is our birthright — the true joy of living and reveling in our sensory experiences, free of limitation and judgment.

Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you only continued success!

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Women Leading The Cannabis Industry: “Being in the cannabis industry is a political statement” With was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women Of The C-Suite: Taylor Morrison’s Stephanie McCarty On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive

You are deserving of every good thing that comes your way. So often women feel guilty about their successes or are too afraid to celebrate them. Nonsense! Celebrate your successes. Do not downplay them for others. And when those around you deserve to be celebrated, celebrate them big, too.

As a part of our series about strong women leaders, we had the pleasure of interviewing Stephanie McCarty.

Stephanie McCarty is chief marketing and communications officer for Taylor Morrison, the nation’s fifth largest homebuilder. In her role, Ms. McCarty leads consumer marketing, executive and employee communications, media and public relations, and crisis and issues management.

Ms. McCarty joined Taylor Morrison as the vice president of corporate communications in 2015, and during her first years she transformed the company culture and nationwide branding position. During her time with the company, she has led Taylor Morrison in becoming the nation’s fifth largest homebuilder through a series of mergers and acquisitions, and to earning notable accolades — like America’s Most Trusted Home Builder by Lifestory Research five years running and a ‘Best Places to Work’ Award by Glassdoor. Ms. McCarty’s forte and the cornerstone of her communications strategy at Taylor Morrison is delivering “corpsumer” (corporate + consumer) communications that enrich emotional connections between team members, customers and consumers.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

Taylor Morrison’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheryl Palmer recruited me to join the company as vice president of corporate communications in 2015. At the time, I was a pregnant millennial executive, and couldn’t pass up the offer! Since then, I’ve been able to climb the corporate ladder now serving as chief marketing and communications officer for Taylor Morrison, the nation’s fifth largest homebuilder.

In my role, I lead consumer marketing, executive and employee communications, media and public relations, and crisis and issues management. Upon my arrival to Taylor Morrison, I built a communications team, elevated visibility of key leaders through major media placements, earned trust and credibility from team members through creative communications channels, and increased employee engagement scores around transparent communications.

I also helped lead Taylor Morrison in becoming the nation’s fifth largest homebuilder through a series of mergers and acquisitions, and to earning notable accolades — like America’s Most Trusted® Home Builder by Lifestory Research five years running and a ‘Best Places to Work’ Award by Glassdoor. My forte and the cornerstone of my communications strategy at Taylor Morrison is delivering “corpsumer” (corporate + consumer) communications that enrich emotional connections between team members, customers and consumers.

During my career prior to joining Taylor Morrison, I successfully led communications functions for the University of Phoenix, Insight, ON Semiconductor and McMurry, Inc. I’m an active member in the communications field, receiving a ‘Top Women in Communications’ Award by Ragan, a ‘Top Women in PR’ award from PR News, serving on the board for the International Association of Business Communicators in multiple capacities and guest lecturing for collegiate journalism and mass communication courses. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

At the onset, I led many successful initiatives, including building an entire communications team, merging a MarComm department into one, facilitating three acquisitions in my first nine months at Taylor Morrison, increasing employee engagement scores on transparent communications from 79 percent to 91 percent through diverse strategies and launching a media relations strategy that helped expand operations from $3 billion to $4 billion in less than two years.

But while those were all very proud moments, the most interesting and eye-opening thing I learned was to not assume just because something had successfully worked at the Fortune 500 companies where I had previously worked, it would also work at Taylor Morrison.

Each company has a unique dynamic, structure and culture. Taylor Morrison, now a $6 billion dollar business operating with approximately 3,000 team members, is run more de-centrally than the larger Fortune 500 companies where I had worked. Coming from organizations that employed more than 22,000 employees and operated globally, that was an interesting learning curve for me to acknowledge and overcome.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I was 22 years-old working at my first “professional” job at ON Semiconductor. The CEO was in-studio reading off a teleprompter while wearing his glasses. I was standing off to the side with my boss when I yelled, “stop!” I ran over to my CEO, took his glasses off his face, cleaned the lenses, put them back on his face and walked out of the shot.

It seems funny and yet fearless now when I recall that memory! I just did not see this multi-million-dollar, powerful executive who was in front of me. Instead, I saw someone who was communicating a message to his employees with smudged glasses, and it was my job to make him look good. And that is what I do now for Taylor Morrison’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheryl Palmer. I interrupt her if need be, course correct and give her advice.

The lesson I learned at that young age was if I am doing the right thing, I need to be comfortable and confident with my decisions that help others see things differently — even if the actions might cause a sense of uncomfortableness.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I am very grateful for Taylor Morrison’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheryl Palmer who, after a two-hour breakfast meeting in 2015, recruited me to join the company as vice president of corporate communications. At the time, I was five months pregnant. I do not know many people who would hire someone who was planning on taking a leave of absence so soon after starting, but I’m lucky to work for another woman and mother herself.

In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?

The best way to relieve stress is to be kind to yourself. Get a good night’s rest. I cannot overemphasize the importance of sleep. Our culture tends to look at resting as a weakness and boasts the concept of going, going, going. That is not sustainable and it’s important to take time to recharge. Making time for ample sleep, eating healthy and trying to incorporate daily physical movement is all good for reducing stress. For me, a 20–30-minute ride on the Peloton is my best stressbuster. Just a little sweat goes a long way!

Also, when prepping for an important meeting, I make time to prepare, but I do not over prepare. Over-preparation increases my nerves. For me, it is best to go with my intuition — to follow my gut — and show up my best.

As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?

Having an executive team that mirrors your organization’s customer base is extremely important to be able to accurately position your business. Taylor Morrison serves every demographic, age group and walk of life, so it is only appropriate that our leadership team resemble that. Construction and homebuilding tend to be a male-dominated industry, and we are proud of how organic our women population has grown over the years. Today, women represent more than 40 percent of our executive team.

As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.

We need to become wildly aware of our own unconscious biases. Bringing awareness to unconscious biases is the only way to truly “unlearn” and reapproach each interaction — whether it be personal or professional — with a complete open mind and heart.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?

From my seat, a CEO or executive’s sole purpose is to lead and inspire. To rally a group of individuals to follow you in whatever pursuit you are on. Influencing, convincing, persuading, motivating is a never-ending task. And it takes a very particular individual to do it well and authentically. A graduate degree and a title does not make you a leader. Having individuals openly and enthusiastically willing to follow you in an endeavor is true leadership.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive. Can you explain what you mean?

The “myth” is that it is all glamorous with the travel, dinners and high-profile meetings. It is all work, just in different settings. There are many sacrifices made to do your job well in the demanding environment that often comes along.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Unfortunately, there are many. In many instances, working women are also mothers. And in our society, often working mothers are looked at as less than working fathers — especially when it comes to performing at the executive level. You can be a good executive and a good mother. They do not have to be mutually exclusive. There is also a perception that women are soft, or too emotional. But to have the ability to be empathetic is one incredible quality that makes women extraordinary leaders. And lastly, equal pay for equal work. It is a topic that bleeds across all sectors in corporate America.

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

Bigger titles really do bring bigger responsibility, but with it also brings more power and influence. The most important power it brings, and responsibility that I do not take lightly, is the impact on others’ livelihoods. Your decisions and actions impact those around you and your teams. It makes every hire, every promotion, every unfortunate layoff, or structure decision more personal. There is an individual and a family’s future your decisions are impacting.

Communicating to various stakeholders on behalf of the department is a significant part of my job. I am constantly connecting dots, creating buy-in, influencing, sharing next steps, re-evaluating what is working, what isn’t and what’s ahead, and constantly reiterating our vision. Most importantly, I am continuing to lead my teams in the right direction for our unified mission that maps back to the company’s goals.

Certainly, not everyone is cut out to be an executive. In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?

I often wonder if leaders are born or made. And I do think it is likely a combination of the two. It takes a high degree of passion and drive to become a successful executive. At the same time, having the curiosity and tenacity to keep going, to keep asking questions, is what propels you even further.

For me, being able to operate in the ‘gray’ is important. Often, I need to entrust my teams for information and couple their input with my own intuition to make the right decision.

I also think that someone striving for an executive role is willing to take pragmatic risks. And while book smarts may help someone land the interview, some of the most crucial skills will include how to understand and interact with others.

What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?

Trust your gut. If you think it is impactful, it probably is. Stop the cycle of self-doubt. Your worst enemy can be yourself. Be the leader you wish you had. Be vulnerable and open. Be true to yourself.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

When I first started with Taylor Morrison, I had the opportunity to lead the company’s annual holiday giving campaign — ‘Build Joy’ — to highlight team members’ intrinsic desire to give back to their local communities. It was a ‘passion project’ of mine that continues on each year.

Four holiday seasons later and Taylor Morrison is still asking its employees, “If you were given $1,000 to ‘Build Joy’ in your community, how would you spend it?” After submissions are reviewed, Taylor Morrison provides $1,000 grants to individuals who are looking to “support local causes near and dear to their hearts.”

This year after nearly 100 heartwarming ideas poured in centered around pandemic relief, 20 were selected and funded by Taylor Morrison. Team members across the country went to work building joy. Additionally, the company elevated its philanthropic efforts this year by making a $60,000 company donation, dispersed between HomeAid and Feeding America.

Here is a glimpse of past Build Joy efforts and a snapshot of the work happening this holiday season:

Tampa is supporting the Friends of Strays Animal Shelter’s Safer at Home program that is helping families affected by the pandemic to keep their pets home instead of having to surrender them.

Charlotte is purchasing materials to build and provide school desks to children learning from home after learning about a child who did their schoolwork from the floor on account of limited resources. The desks will be adorned with decorative materials to make students’ days brighter.

Atlanta is also purchasing materials to build desks for young students attending virtual school and in need of desks at home. Once the desks are built, the team will work with local schools to deliver them to select students’ homes

Las Vegas is working with the local Veteran’s hospital to provide items that bring small but necessary comforts, such as lap blankets and games, given that many patients are unable to see their loved ones right now.

Phoenix is helping to pay outstanding bills for a member of the community who lost her husband to COVID-19 earlier this year. As someone who’s dedicated her life to volunteering and helping others, the division is hoping to help her get back on her feet.

It has been incredibly heartwarming to see this effort come into fruition each year, and to feel the magic of the season as we come together to truly build joy for others in our communities. You can watch the 2020 #BuildJoy video and learn about their inspirational stories here: www.taylormorrison.com/build-joy.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

You are deserving of every good thing that comes your way. So often women feel guilty about their successes or are too afraid to celebrate them. Nonsense! Celebrate your successes. Do not downplay them for others. And when those around you deserve to be celebrated, celebrate them big, too.

Do not skip the negotiating course in college. This is very important when advocating for yourself. It is easier when negotiating for your team members and others. But you are the only person looking out for you. And you need to negotiate as well as your male counterparts.

Give yourself grace along the way. Each season and phase comes with its own transition phase. Some will come more naturally than others.

Discomfort is a good thing — it is not a sign of weakness. When you are the most terrified of something it’s likely because you’re onto something great. Growth is happening.

Not everyone will like you or want to see you succeed. And that is OK. That is just life. Rise above the noise and keep climbing.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

On a national scale, I have been spearheading Taylor Morrison’s Build Joy campaign, among other efforts. For Build Joy, I was able to influence the executive leadership at Taylor Morrison to give back to its communities by donating to those in need in a meaningful way each holiday season. This year, in addition to honoring 20 $1,000 grants, we also gave a $60,000 company donation that was dispersed between HomeAid and Feeding America.

As a homebuilder, I think we have a huge responsibility to be good stewards of the environment and showcase, in measurable metrics, how we are driving really sustainable improvements in the communities we build and work in. This is a large focus of mine going into the new year.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“This is your life. You are responsible for it. You will not live forever. Don’t wait.”

― Natalie Goldberg

To me, in this quote Natalie is asking us to be in love with our own life. To take action. Say what you want to say. Do the thing that you are longing to do. When you go fearlessly in the direction you want to, you build confidence, you build trust in yourself.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Michelle Obama. Goldie Hawn. Arianna Huffington. Kamala Harris. I admire each for their character — they are strong, passionate and inspirational women.

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Women Of The C-Suite: Taylor Morrison’s Stephanie McCarty On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women Of The C-Suite: Krista Endsley of LINQ On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive

Communicate, communicate, communicate.
As leaders, we sometimes feel like we communicate a lot. We have all-hands meetings, newsletters, meetings, etc… What I didn’t realize is that, no matter how much we communicate, people digest communication in different ways. Some like the written word. Others prefer video or live broadcasts — some weekly and others quarterly. It always seemed as if I was communicating enough, but it never failed that communication was never ranked as successful as I thought it should on the quarterly employee survey. Lesson learned: communicate early, often and in different ways.

As a part of our series about strong women leaders, we had the pleasure of interviewing Krista Endsley.

Krista Endsley is the CEO of LINQ, the fastest growing software solution and support provider that enables K-12 school administrators with an advanced suite of financial, administration, and nutrition solutions. With Krista’s leadership, the dedicated LINQ team is making schools stronger across the U.S. through a common commitment to the success of school district professionals and the families they serve.

Prior to taking the helm at LINQ, Krista served as the CEO for Abila and Cantata Health. She has over 20 years of experience in successfully leading teams through building and enhancing brands in the software industry. Krista’s leadership blends analytical acuity with a warmth and determination to foster emergent talent, leadership and creativity in every individual.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

Thank you, Candice. It’s great to be with you. Backstory… Well, that goes back a bit! I actually decided at the age of 12 that I wanted to be a CEO…someday… And, since experiencing that revelation, I always strived to make leadership decisions and take actions that keep me and my teammates on a successful trajectory.

Professionally, I believe it is more powerful to focus on a goal by sharing the vision with a team of trusted people — build the team, vest the vision, and empower individuals to achieve what we need to. I was fortunate to join a little company called Best Software in 2001 after spending about 10 years in the software industry. That decision was pivotal.

Best Software was owned by Sage Software, a large, public company based in the U.K. During my first seven years there, we grew in the US to over $1B as I built a portfolio of product lines into a successful division, and my career accelerated. While at Best Software, I enjoyed strong mentors, had numerous opportunities to prove my capabilities, and was given exposure to some of the most talented software leaders in the world.

After running larger divisions and becoming a Sr. VP and GM, it was then a natural career progression that my next responsibilities would lead me to serve as a CEO. I realized this opportunity when I helped to divest a division that I was running to a private equity investor. That division became Abila, where I spent the next four years.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Hmm… Well, I recently started my journey with LINQ and, I have to say, starting a new job during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic has been very interesting. Beginning a leadership role at an organization is exhilarating and challenging in the best of times, but those feelings are magnified in the current business climate.

The LINQ home office is based in Wilmington, NC and I work remotely from Austin, TX, so it was extremely important to me that the entire organization aligned around a company culture of inclusivity, transparency and accountability. While I have led remote teams in the past, working from home is a new concept for many at LINQ. So, I push myself and the company’s leadership team to lead by example. This includes things like staying offline when using PTO, over communicating at all times, and really owning your work.

Since I joined the company, we’ve had two huge mergers that have led to incredible growth. LINQ works with school districts all across the U.S. Because of the pandemic, we have truly had to innovate our solution to meet the needs of schools today and beyond. It has been an eye-opening experience leading a company of talented, hardworking individuals through scary and uncharted territory. School districts are our greatest inspiration; they strive to care, educate, and feed students on a daily basis regardless. We owe it to them as a software provider to make their lives easier.

Under normal circumstances, my best stories involve customers.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I am the first person to recognize that I couldn’t accomplish any success without help, guidance and encouragement. I have had many supporters, mentors and people that have guided and encouraged me throughout my career.

One remarkable person stands out: Himanshu Palsule, an executive at Sage. Himanshu insisted on hiring me even though the hiring manager told him, “Krista has a lack of relevant experience.”

Yet, from that day on I believe Himanshu saw something in me. He gave me opportunities to grow, and I worked as hard as I could to justify his confidence. I learned so many valuable things about leadership from him, but the most important is a well-advised requirement to connect with everyone, regardless of who they are and always to be a humble servant.

Twenty years later, Himanshu is now the President of a large software company, and we are still friends and colleagues. I will always be grateful for the opportunities he gave me and the lessons I learned from him.

In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?

Yes, get moving! I am not a marathon runner, power lifter or competitive athlete, nor will I ever be. However, the mental release of a daily workout, whether it is a ride to awesome music on my Peloton or lifting weights, is enough of a release to keep me mentally balanced, alert and ready for anything. Exercise has pulled me out of some dark times, and I am grateful I have the ability to move every day.

As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?

First and foremost, leadership is about leading by example and being a role model. By providing this at the executive team level, the rest of the organization is more likely to feel included, heard and represented. This makes for a more engaged workforce, longer tenures and better results.

Secondly, it has been proven that organizations with diverse leadership teams bring better collaboration, communication and ultimately better results. Diverse thinking, experiences and approaches make a team stronger, able to solve more complex problems and innovate.

There have been multiple studies that have proven that companies with diverse teams produce, on average, higher revenue growth and profitability. Even knowing this, there is still work that needs to be done to help close the diversity gap in leadership, particularly in technology.

As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.

Again, at LINQ we do our best to lead by example. And as an example of this, we are pleased to be the exclusive sponsor of the School Nutrition Association’s inaugural “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Series” of seminars.

Our team continues to grow by bringing together and integrating the best brands serving the K-12 industry, and those brands are defined by the people behind them. We are the K12 industry’s best friend, because our diverse team and corporate culture reflect the community that we serve.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?

Executives should inspire, empower and create an environment in which a broad and diverse group of team members thrive.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive. Can you explain what you mean?

As a CEO, one of the biggest myths is that you have all the right answers. I commonly tell people that I don’t have a magic answer book — this isn’t me testing you.

The core of my job as CEO is to create an environment where the smartest, most ambitious people in the industry want to work. Software companies make intellectual property — not cars or widgets. Our biggest asset is the talent we have on the team. And if I can attract and retain the most talented people who do have the answers, we will be successful.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Unconscious (and sometimes conscious) bias. The fact is that both the technology and private equity sectors are dominated by men. It is human nature to identify with what is familiar to you, and I have seen this manifested throughout my career.

Once in the past, a firm reached out to me for a role and noted they had trouble finding qualified women to fill positions. They put me through twelve interviews in two different states only to call me a week later to say they were going to “stick with the model they already had in place.” It was well-known internally that this so-called model was not working for them as the lack of diversity was preventing them from expanding their portfolio.

Unconscious bias changes the lens through which people view strengths, weaknesses and capabilities. Bias makes one commonly lean toward what is familiar or what has worked in the past without considering how important differences are in the workplace.

Different types of communication styles, viewpoints and experiences are all incredibly valuable in creating a successful team and organization.

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

I thought my actual job would put me in control, there is nothing further from the truth. The most important job I have is to create a place where smart, ambitions, innovative and creative people want to work. Then, I must give them the inspiration and empowerment to reach our goals while getting out of the way to let them do what they were hired to do.

Certainly, not everyone is cut out to be an executive. In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?

Three things come to mind when I think about successful executives that I know: curiosity, emotional intelligence, and being authentic.

As an executive you don’t have all of the answers, so the most important qualities to have is curiosity. Ask questions, explore options, and view issues, solutions and opportunities from different perspectives.

Secondly, be self-aware and develop emotional intelligence. As an executive, your team looks to you when something happens, bad news is delivered, or a tough decision needs to be made. You must be able to process your thoughts and respond appropriately and thoughtfully, not viscerally, which is often the first instinct. Also, exploring emotional intelligence allows us to understand our triggers, the things that bother us as individuals and keep us up at night; by understanding these emotions we find more peace when handling stress.

Being your authentic self is critical as an executive. You will never do everything right in everyone’s eyes. There will be people you can’t win over no matter how hard you try. However, if you are being your authentic self and being transparent about who you are, you and others will recognize that you are being the best leader you can be.

Someone who is over emotional, not willing to be curious and listen — someone who feels like they have the answer already — won’t make a great executive in my experience. When I think back to the managers that I learned the most from, it was the ones that I didn’t want to be anything like. And these managers all had similar qualities: they were over emotional, insecure, and felt the need to micromanage. Each of them thought they had the right answers and didn’t need to explore someone else’s opinions.

What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?

I would and do tell other women leaders that they deserve to be a leader as much or more than anyone else. Female leaders work harder to climb the ladder and any self-doubt is normal and natural — don’t succumb to it.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I have two daughters, and sometimes it feels as if they get to walk through every door I had to push open.

Someone once told me that as I become more influential in my role, it is my duty to use that influence to make the world a better place. I have never forgotten that advice and try to make a difference every day. I never turn down the opportunity to mentor, guide or listen to someone who is seeking advice. I love to give opportunities to others, just as I was afforded, to prove one can thrive in a new role.

I also have a passion for nonprofits. I have volunteered and given to nonprofits my entire career. In the past few years, I have done this more formally, as part of Social Venture Partners and Mission Capital, helping nonprofits have a bigger impact in the world. Last year I joined the board of Allies Against Slavery, a nonprofit using technology to provide dignity and freedom to everyone by identifying victims of sex trafficking and stopping sex trafficking. This has been incredibly rewarding.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Bad news doesn’t get better with age.
   During my second board meeting as a first-time CEO, I sprang it on my board that we were going to miss our revenue number by a great deal, something not so unusual after being acquired. However, what was unusual was having a CEO that waited until it was too late for the board to step in, prepare, or help the situation. I learned in that moment that we were on the same team and trying to accomplish the same goal. It wasn’t up to me to hold out important information — such a huge rookie mistake. I now share often and transparently.
2. Words are important.
   Shortly after taking over a large division, I walked into the company holiday party and innocently mentioned that I wish people had on name tags. This statement was, of course, overheard and was noted in an employee survey months later. An employee commented that “the new GM didn’t even want to learn our names.” As executives, CEOs and leaders, we often forget that we are not just colleagues. Our words have weight and that the words we use are important.
3. Transparency is powerful.
   Providing transparency to employees is critical in closing the communication gap. At LINQ, we hold an all-hands meeting every Monday. During the meeting we share updates, news, wins and the status of the business. This is a great way to continually connect and engage the teams, and close a gap. This is especially paramount during a time when we need to find new ways to interact with each other and collaborate as a team.
4. Doing the right thing isn’t always easy, but it’s right.
   Leaders have to make critical and tough decisions that aren’t always easy, but often necessary. Understanding that doing the right thing for the larger team and company is the right thing to do, even if results in a single person or product line is being impacted.
5. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
   As leaders, we sometimes feel like we communicate a lot. We have all-hands meetings, newsletters, meetings, etc… What I didn’t realize is that, no matter how much we communicate, people digest communication in different ways. Some like the written word. Others prefer video or live broadcasts — some weekly and others quarterly. It always seemed as if I was communicating enough, but it never failed that communication was never ranked as successful as I thought it should on the quarterly employee survey. Lesson learned: communicate early, often and in different ways.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I would want everyone to share positivity and to assume positive intent from others. We all have our unique perspectives, and one of the hardest things to do is put yourself in someone else’s situation. Imagine if we simply assumed that everyone we interact with in a single day had good reason for acting as they do. Our partners, children, family, strangers, a reckless driver, a rude shopper. Having empathy for everyone who crosses your path and turning negativity into positivity just for a moment…all those moments will add up to a more positive world.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Always ask for what you want and don’t assume the people around you know your aspirations.” I have lived this my entire life, but it hasn’t always been easy. Asking for what you want is scary sometimes. I had a situation in 2005 when I was given the opportunity to be the general manager for a $20M division of Sage. Prior to that I had been running smaller divisions and I was not given the title of VP, like my colleagues in similar positions.

I took a deep breath and said accepted, taking the position under one condition: that I was given the promotion to a VP. The job warranted it and I felt that I deserved it. Most importantly though, had I taken the job and remained a Director, I would have felt taken advantage of and I could only blame myself if I let that happen. As scary as it was to take this stand, it was important and these small steps over time add up to changes that make a big difference.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them

Barack Obama. He is a thoughtful leader that stepped into a role as the first black man to be the President of the US. This took courage for himself and his family to break ground that had never been broken before. He did this with kindness and grace, despite the hate he had to contend with. He showed the world what true leadership could look like. For this, I admire him greatly and could learn so much from him.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

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Women Of The C-Suite: Krista Endsley of LINQ On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women Of The C-Suite: Author Bonnie Marcus On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive

…We need to self-reflect and identify what biased beliefs and assumptions we hold and how these beliefs affect our relationships and leadership. Without that self-knowledge, we can’t stand in our own authentic place in society or business. We need to challenge these beliefs and not continually look for validation that we’re right and others are wrong.

As a part of our series about strong women leaders, we had the pleasure of interviewing Bonnie Marcus.

Bonnie Marcus M.Ed., is an award-winning entrepreneur, Forbes contributing writer, and executive coach, who assists professional women to successfully navigate the workplace and position and promote themselves to advance their careers. With 20+ years of sales and management experience, her extensive business background includes CEO of a ServiceMaster company and VP of Sales at Medical Staffing Network and two others national companies in the healthcare and software industries. She has also held executive positions in startup companies and Fortune 500 companies.

Marcus shares her message globally through speaking engagements, live and virtual workshops, blogging, and her popular podcast, Badass Women at Any Age. A certified coach, she has been honored by Global Gurus as one of the world’s top 30 coaches in 2015–2020. She has been acknowledged as one of the top 100 keynote speakers in 2018 by Databird Research Journal.

Marcus helps women identify the ways they’re holding themselves back while giving them a strategic plan to move forward. Whether it’s networking with key leaders in your organization or navigating underlying biases, she helps you own who you are and finally earn the recognition you deserve — even when coming out of a pandemic.

In her new pivotal book for women facing a remade economy, Not Done Yet! How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power (March 6, 2021, Page Two), Marcus shows how to find your power, own your path, and tap into the deep experience that only age can bring. By digging deep into her own reinvention, making no excuses, and sharing the stories of other women over 50, Marcus provides concrete practices, tips, tactics and journaling exercises to that help women claim the late-stage career success they deserve.

Her first book, The Politics of Promotion: How High Achieving Women Get Ahead and Stay Ahead, provides a roadmap for women to navigate the complexities of the workplace and position themselves for success.

Marcus received a BA from Connecticut College and a M.Ed. from New York University.

Connect with Bonnie Marcus on Twitter @selfpromote, Instagram @self_promote_, Facebook @bonnie.marcus, LinkedIn, and use #NotDoneYet, and visit BonnieMarcusLeadership.com.

Not Done Yet! How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power will be released March 6, 2021 and is available for pre-order on Amazon and wherever fine books are sold.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I’ve had a very successful business career but I learned business on the job. I was a kindergarten teacher with two small children when I got a divorce and needed to find a job that paid the bills. I answered an ad in the local paper for a medical secretary position for a large physician practice. They interviewed me but told me I was over qualified and didn’t offer me the job. Two weeks later, however, they called me back and asked me if I would be interested in a position as administrator for a cardiac rehab center that they were opening with 30 doctors and a healthcare management company. I had zero qualifications for the job at the time but I must have impressed them because despite a lack of experience or skills, they hired me, and trained me. In a year and a half, I was running 11 cardiac rehab centers for them on the east coast. That was my surprising entry into business.

I had no ambition or strategic plan to be in the C-Suite and run a national company, but as different opportunities presented themselves, I never said no and I worked my way up by doing my best work and building strong relationships. Over time those people advocated on my behalf and opened up doors for me that led to the C-Suite.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I inherited the leadership team from the previous CEO, who left to pursue another opportunity. Understanding that this can be somewhat awkward and unnerving at first for an existing team, I wanted to establish my leadership and build relationships with each of them. But I could tell from the get go, that something was amiss. My instincts proved correct. After doing my due diligence about the current state of the company, I began to realize that it was, in fact, not a viable business. None of the contracts were valid. Clients had no trust in the organization and the previous CEO had inflated the revenue. It took me about six months to complete a deep dive into the business and then another couple of months to convince the Board and parent company that this business wasn’t sustainable. I put a plan in place for divestiture. I then had to let over 200 employees go. I created a new scaled down business model to take the company forward but I resigned and spent the next year doing some consulting which led to my next engagement.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Early in my career, I had two female managers, Kathy V. and Judy J., who helped me by example. They were great role models for how to be authentic, stand in your power, and get results, as a woman in a male dominated space. They were unapologetic about their boldness and confidence and had no problem whatsoever challenging the status quo. I watched the way they spoke directly to the CEO. I observed how they presented their business case to key stakeholders in meetings and how they refused to back down when confronted. They relied on numbers and data and often won the point as a result. Their refusal to bow to the convention that women need to be timid and agreeable earned them respect from the CEO and other leaders across the organization.

In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?

It’s funny, but sometimes I do my best thinking in the shower. Somehow, metaphorically, the water washes away all the distracting thoughts which can not only stress me, but sabotage my efforts to be clear and decisive. I have some of my most creative ideas in the shower.

But also mediate daily and wouldn’t be able to get much done if I didn’t have an early morning exercise routine.

As CEO, when I was super stressed and confused, I would leave my office and take a walk outside. That physical distancing allowed me to collect my thoughts.

As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?

One of the major downfalls of executives is a lack of diversity of thought on their leadership team. When we only hire like-minded homogeneous teams, creativity is stifled. Subsequently, we run the risk that our competitors will win more market share and our business will fail. We emerge as a weak and flawed leader who doesn’t drive innovation and increased revenue. Good leaders always look for new data and new ideas that might offer strategies that their companies can benefit from next, even if it challenges their own opinions. Our self-protection harms our leadership and the viability of our business.

As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.

First, we need to self-reflect and identify what biased beliefs and assumptions we hold and how these beliefs affect our relationships and leadership. Without that self-knowledge, we can’t stand in our own authentic place in society or business. We need to challenge these beliefs and not continually look for validation that we’re right and others are wrong.

In my second book, Not Done Yet! How Women Over 50 Defy Ageist Assumptions and Claim Their Workplace Power, I tackle gendered ageism and how that affects professional women today. The first part of the book, highlights some commonly held beliefs that we, as women over 50, have internalized. These stereotypes hold us back. We’re too old to get promoted. We need to look young and pretty to succeed. When we believe ageist assumptions, we pull back and don’t do what’s necessary to stay marketable and keep our jobs. In writing this book, I needed to first examine my personal beliefs and biased messages I myself buy into before I could offer advice. I share my own struggle with aging and fighting these beliefs so that others can learn from my example. Honest self-reflection is critical for all of us if we are to move forward to a more inclusive and equitable society.

We need to look at where the inequity has the most impact and organize and legislate against it. We need to build consensus and influence for our ideas to counter the bias in our society. My passion is focused on bringing more balance to the unlevel playing field and inequality in the workplace. In my first book, The Politics of Promotion: How High Achieving Women Get Ahead and Stay Ahead, I provide a roadmap for women to navigate the complexities of the workplace to get ahead.

Giving organizations and women the tools to build a more inclusive workplace is important. Holding companies who lack fair workplace practices accountable is also important. Leaders need to understand the business case for diversity and inclusion and why it’s critical for the future of their business to reflect the demographics of our society.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?

Here’s an important distinction: to be leader you need to be more of a strategic thinker and less of a doer. Many executives are promoted based on their technical skills and achievements. They worked hard and received acknowledgement for their commitment and effort. But, we, as leaders, need to recognize that technical skills have less relevance in an executive role and relational skills take precedence. We need to leave the comfort of keeping busy and move to empowering our team to take on more responsibility. It is then that we have the opportunity to think more strategically about the business matters at hand and how we can leverage our talent, our team’s talent, and the business results to secure our market presence and continued success.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive. Can you explain what you mean?

The myth I’d like to dispel is that a CEO holds all the power in an organization. If you look at the organizational chart, the CEO obviously has a powerful position over the business. But the most effective CEO’s aren’t autocratic. The use their power differently. They’re the ones who empower their team and build influence across the organization. They have power by holding a vision for the future and building consensus for their ideas.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Women face many challenges that their male counterparts don’t. One of the biggest challenges they have is managing the ‘double bind’. For women to be considered effective leaders, they need to have direct and clear communication. Yet this manner of communication, expected and acceptable for men, is often met with criticism for women, for it challenges society’s gender stereotype of how a woman should behave. Society expects women to be nurturing and compassionate. If they don’t exhibit these softer qualities, they are labeled unlikable and nasty. Likeability is necessary for advancement. The conundrum for women leaders is how can I be effective as a leader and still show my more feminine side which is required to advance my career? How do I do that and when is it appropriate without compromising my message and authority?

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

When I accepted the position as CEO, I did so with the belief in the future potential of the business. I brought my years of experience and expertise to the job and was excited about growing the business by drawing from that experience and the many business relationships I had built over time.

My actual experience on the job, however, was much different. Business development was not important. I had to draw more from my business acumen and operational skills than anticipated. I spent hours combing through the existing contracts and consulting with legal. I spent hours looking through P&L’s to assess the viability of the business. And then I had to learn a new skill. How to take a company through divestiture; how to manage a $40 million write off in a public company without damaging relationships with key stakeholders.

Certainly, not everyone is cut out to be an executive. In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?

I believe business acumen is important for leadership but people skills, the ability to communicate and build influence trumps all other necessary traits for executive success. I learned the business on the job and that was the easy part. But you can’t run a business on your own. It takes a village and you need the trust and commitment from your team to move your initiatives forward.

You need an ongoing curiosity and growth mindset to be successful; open to learning from others. You need to be a good listener who is willing to be challenged by others.

Anyone who is intelligent but close minded and lacks good communication skills should avoid aspiring to be an executive.

What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?

Women leaders can help their team thrive by building strong relationships with them individually. It’s important to push aside any assumptions we may have about our team members and relate to them one on one.

What are their career goals? What’s important to them and how can you help them achieve their goals? How can you help them leverage their skills and talent for the benefit of the business and for their personal success? How can you best advocate for them? When you demonstrate that you are invested in your team, they will not only thrive, but your business will as well.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I now draw from my corporate success and lessons learned over the course of my career to help professional women overcome their personal barriers as well as the obstacles in their workplace to emerge as leaders in business and society. I use my expertise as a coach, author and speaker to empower women to stop playing small and step into their full potential and power.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

It’s ok to advocate for yourself.

We’re told to be humble and not brag so we stay silent, hoping others will automatically recognize our contributions. Over the course of my corporate career and now coaching professional women since 2007, I see the consequence of this. Too many talented women are being passed over because they don’t know how to build visibility and credibility for themselves. Women need to better understand their value proposition and be able to articulate that authentically and effectively so it doesn’t come across as bragging. Self-promotion has become a dirty word. We’re so sensitive about it that I’ve been asked in the past when doing workshops on this topic, to take self-promotion out of the title. We can’t stop advocating for ourselves. We just need to learn how to do it more effectively.

Pay attention to office politics.

I learned my lesson about the importance of paying attention to office politics the hard way. After an eight-year tenure at a company with a great record of performance, I was passed over for a promotion I rightfully deserved because I wasn’t paying attention. My belief that my work would speak for itself blindsided me. I failed to build a relationship with my new boss, who was a decision maker. I failed to understand how the decision was being made and didn’t have a network of champions to call on. I was blindsided by the politics. They brought in someone from outside my department and offered me a lateral move. I declined and moved on to another company.

Understand how your limiting beliefs can sabotage you.

Our negative beliefs and thoughts can be a powerful force in our life and career, especially if we give them energy and attention. It wasn’t until I started my coaching practice that I learned the importance of understanding how I was holding myself back by listening to the negative chatter in my head. Now I challenge my own voices and help other women to identify and move beyond their personal barriers to success.

Be strategic about networking.

We understand how important it is to network but we don’t know how to do it effectively. In the beginning of my career, I didn’t have the relationships across the organization that would help me perform better and gain visibility. We expend a lot of energy networking but we don’t think strategically about who we know and who we need to know to help us reach our career goal. It sometimes requires that we step out of our comfort zone to make connections with people we don’t know well. Over the course of my career, I learned the importance of having a solid network. In fact, every position and opportunity I’ve had was from someone in my network who knew my value and opened up a door.

It takes more than hard work and great performance to get ahead.

This is the myth of the meritocracy. I was successful in school because I worked hard and got good grades. I put in the effort to achieve good grades. I thought that same formula for success would apply in the workplace and it doesn’t. You need to do the hard work and get results but you also need to advocate for yourself, build relationships of trust, and pay attention to the workplace dynamics.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I’m now very involved in fighting ageism and are working on a virtual Age March that will take place March 20, 2021. The mission is to celebrate and own your age wherever you are in your life. Ageism is prevalent in our society and affects people of all ages, race, and gender. I want to build awareness around this topic and the necessity for having ageism included in diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I love Shirley Chisholm’s quote, “”If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” As an ambitious woman in male dominated workplaces, I found this quote to be empowering. I’ve encountered gender bias most of my career. They’re weren’t chairs at the table. I didn’t have the same opportunities as my male colleagues so I knew that I needed to create them myself. This quote is a mantra for all ambitious women who need to find a path to own their ambition and talent.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them

Brene Brown. I admire her wisdom and how she powerfully and authentically communicates her message. I feel I know her personally from listening to her podcasts but would love the opportunity to chat about anything and everything related to some of the topics I’m passionate about. I’d love to know her point of view about gendered ageism and discuss my new book, Not Done Yet! with her one on one.

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Women Of The C-Suite: Author Bonnie Marcus On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Katie Utterback of ‘elevated aura’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Embrace What Makes You Weird

The thing that makes you different or weird or unique is your superpower. I have always been told I’m very kind and a good listener, which makes sense since I identify as an empath, an intuitive feeler. When I was growing up, I resisted these characteristics, these superpowers because I didn’t think they were flashy, cool, or sexy. But now I recognize that it’s my kindness that makes me approachable. And because I’m a good listener, people are not afraid to share their deepest, darkest secrets with me, and that’s how I became successful as a coach. By just being who I am at my core. The same is true for every one of us. Your superpowers may look different than mine, but you have them. Embrace them.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Katie Utterback, CLC.

Katie Utterback, CLC, is the founder and lead healer at elevated aura, an international holistic coaching firm specializing in helping individuals learn to love and accept themselves especially after experiencing narcissistic abuse or other toxic relationships. Katie has been a featured guest on several health and wellness podcasts and is a frequent source on how to recover from narcissistic abuse. Her first book, Ripping Off Rose-Colored Glasses: A Narcissistic Abuse Survivor’s Memoir will be published in the Fall of 2021.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

Yes, happy to! My name is Katie Utterback, CLC, I am a certified life coach specializing in narcissistic abuse recovery. I live in San Diego with my wonderfully supportive husband, AJ, and my fur baby Jagger.

Prior to becoming a certified life coach, I attended the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minn., where I majored in Communications and Journalism and received a minor in Psychology. For more than 10 years I worked in journalism, marketing, public relations, and even dabbled as a podcast host, producer, and working side-by-side with private investigators. My work was interesting, but I always felt like I was missing something in life. I couldn’t exactly put my finger on what it was that I was lacking, until that is, my world forever changed.

A few years ago, I had a life-changing experience in which I essentially was forced to realize I had grown up in a toxic household where I had been playing the role of black sheep/scapegoat for most of my life. Heartbroken and confused why previous generations on both sides of my family had not felt the need to address the alcoholism, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, mental health disorders, and more, I believed I had two options: Spend the rest of my life blaming others for my ‘bad luck’ or turn inward, work on healing the bruises on my heart, and get clear on what it is I wanted out of life.

During my healing journey, I connected with myself and was able to fully accept myself as I am who I am for the first time. As I shared my experience with others, I discovered my natural talents as a coach seemed to fill the ‘what’s missing’ void and began my journey to become a certified life coach.

My hope is that by becoming a resource, a confidante for others who have experienced narcissistic abuse, codependency, or toxic relationships, I can help you heal some of the toxic tics you may have picked up along the way and reconnect with what makes you happy. To help you rediscover what ignites a fire in your belly and what makes your soul sing.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

When I initially started my healing journey, I had no intention of working in the wellness space. As much as I loved the topics, I just felt it was a little too “woo woo” to make a career out of without going back to school and becoming a licensed therapist. I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously. But when I decided to estrange myself from my family of origin to protect my self-love, my mental health, my spiritual self, my relationship with my husband, I realized that my self-care tool belt that I had created to help myself heal was not “woo woo” at all and it, in fact, could be beneficial to others.

I started sharing positive affirmations, healing techniques, breathwork practices, meditations, and journal prompts on social media and the feedback was just unbelievable. I had people telling me that I was more effective in a 20-minute Facebook conversation than their therapist had been over the past five years. Even people I worked with in my day job started coming up to me and saying that I had made a comment and they decided to go to therapy after all. I was so flattered, I felt like I was creating good, so I kept going. I kept sharing my story and healing techniques, and that’s when I realized I had made a career out of the thing that I didn’t think was possible.

I’m still learning more and more every day about spirituality and the mind and the power we have inside ourselves to heal from trauma if we so choose. And let me tell you — this is not “woo woo” at all. This is tough stuff we’re dealing with, I just never realized it before because THIS is my calling. To help others heal and learn to recognize their self-worth.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Working as a coach has been incredibly humbling. I’m learning to take things less personally as well as how to meet people where they are, not where I think they should be.

When I first started helping others heal and learn to love themselves, I made the mistake of believing their success or lack thereof was dependent on me and how much work and energy I was pouring into them. But I later realized when I have a client who successfully completes my narcissistic abuse recovery program and learns how to better love themselves, that’s all because they did the work. It’s not because I did anything unique or different or magical. They took the time to invest in themselves. They showed up for themselves, and that’s why they saw healing progress.

But the same is true when I have a client who doesn’t progress or doesn’t show up for every session. It’s not a reflection of me or my coaching abilities; it’s a reflection of that individual’s healing process and where they are in that healing journey during that moment.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I was isolated for a lot of my life, that’s what happens with narcissistic abuse, so I know it sounds corny, but I really have to credit Christina Aguilera for helping me push through my self-doubt to get to where I am today.

I’ve been listening to her music since “Reflection” was first released in the late 90s and I watched her respond through music to her own ups and downs in life, from childhood abuse to divorce to being taken advantage of in the music industry. I’m usually a few albums behind her in terms of my own explorations of sexuality and spirituality, but her messages continue to resonate with me today.

Some of my favorite Christina Aguilera songs to help me feel re-charged or pull myself out of a funk include:

• “Lotus Intro”
• “Fighter”
• “Beautiful”
• “Fall in Line”
• “Twice”
• “Telepathy”
• “Make the World Move”
• “Birds of Prey”
• “Dreamers”
• “Army of Me”
• “Circles”
• “Empty Words”

The other “person” in my life that inspires me is the character “Elle Woods” from Legally Blonde. Before I start a new project, interview, call, or even meet with a client, I listen to “Perfect Day” by Hoku, which is the song that plays at the beginning of the movie. And as I listen, I try to channel the energy Elle had when she was bound and determined to get into Harvard Law School. I created a little meme and shared it on Instagram and it went viral.

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

What a lot of people don’t necessarily realize is that when we experience trauma in our lives, it alters our DNA, our cellular structure, our being. There are studies that show that descendants of the Holocaust had PTSD passed down to them and we’ve been able to scientifically replicate this trauma phenomenon in lab mice, in which we can see the trauma-altered DNA six generations down the line. This is what is referred to as generational trauma.

Now the good news is that when we take the time to love ourselves to heal our wounds, we can actually be the cycle breaker. We have a choice to not carry these toxic attitudes and behaviors into the future. We can start pumping our cells and DNA with healing, care, and self-love, not more of the same abusive, toxic, or dysfunctional tendencies that we learned from our parents, who likely learned those behaviors from their parents, etc. And when we take the time to heal, we show up differently in the world. We have more awareness, more of an abundance mindset.

Hurt people hurt people. If we prioritize our healing and self-care instead of worrying about impressing people we may not even like in real life, we could see a tremendous ripple of goodness throughout our planet. And that’s why I started coaching. I really want to be part of the team that helps our planet come together and heal, community by community, person by person.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. Cut Toxic People from Your Life. I hear a lot of people say whenever I’m around “X” person they make me feel bad about myself. They make me feel less than or unattractive, how can I change that?

The way to change that is to surround yourself with people who inspire you to be the best version of yourself, people who recognize your worth just as you are and celebrate you for you. It’s easier said than done, but just because someone was in our lives in the past doesn’t mean they will be with us in the future. And the same applies to toxic family members. Ask yourself: If I wasn’t related to these people would I have anything to do with them? If the answer is no, act accordingly.

When we let go of the toxic people in our lives, the people we have outgrown, the people that don’t encourage us to love ourselves as we are, to have the confidence to try new things, we’re not making space for new people to come into our lives. We’re not creating the room for new friends, a chosen family, or to evolve on any level. It’s that stagnation that kills our soul and spirit and turns us into a person we don’t recognize. So, if you notice that’s you, start spending less and less time with people you suspect are making you feel less than and see how your energy shifts without them around. Watch how you bloom.

2. Say ‘No’ to Anything and Everything that Doesn’t Excite You

Burnout is real. As adults, we tend to ignore our burnout feelings because we think we have to do x, y, and z for a variety of reasons. Sometimes we don’t say ‘no’ at work because we believe if we continue to give and give, we’ll get a raise or a promotion. We don’t say ‘no’ to our friends because we are desperate to have excitement and go back to a time when we felt carefree. We may even say ‘yes’ to a date we’re not that interested in because it’s better than being alone. But when we say ‘yes’ to things we kind of want or things we don’t want at all, we’re not making the space for the things we do want. So, I highly encourage you to politely decline those events, parties, networking events, opportunities, and relationships you’re not interested in, and I dare you to say ‘yes’ to everything that excites you.

3. Move Your Body

Our emotions get trapped in our body: fear, anxiety, stress. And unless we move that energy out, it can flare up inside of us and make us feel like we’re in fight or flight mode. It can make us doubt ourselves and it can make us act in ways we wouldn’t normally behave. The key is to move your body every day. One of my favorite ways to move my body is by putting on some music and dancing, moving my body as she feels the rhythm of the music. I don’t judge or criticize or choreograph; I just listen and respond to where she wants me to move.

4. Hydrate

Just as the Earth is mostly composed of water so are the human body and the human brain. When we don’t drink enough water, the first place our body grabs its new water source is our brain. The impact is one that most of us have experienced before: we act out of character, we can’t think clearly, it’s all foggy. When we hydrate, we are nurturing our minds. Just like a plant needs water to thrive, our brains need water too. When we care for and nourish our body and mind, our body responds with gratitude. She moves easier, she’s able to rest and relax, and she can come alive with creativity.

5. Embrace What Makes You Weird

The thing that makes you different or weird or unique is your superpower. I have always been told I’m very kind and a good listener, which makes sense since I identify as an empath, an intuitive feeler. When I was growing up, I resisted these characteristics, these superpowers because I didn’t think they were flashy, cool, or sexy. But now I recognize that it’s my kindness that makes me approachable. And because I’m a good listener, people are not afraid to share their deepest, darkest secrets with me, and that’s how I became successful as a coach. By just being who I am at my core. The same is true for every one of us. Your superpowers may look different than mine, but you have them. Embrace them.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

My dream is for everyone to spend time healing their inner child wounds. Inner child wounds are how we refer to those traumatic memories or events that are burned into our conscious or more often, subconscious. What that trauma looks like is unique to each one of us. Some have more inner child healing to do than others, but it’s all equally important.

Even if you don’t remember most of your childhood, which I didn’t remember most of mine at the beginning of my healing journey, these memories stay with you. It’s why we get a funny feeling or become emotional when we hear a certain song, a name, or smell a familiar scent, even if we’re not entirely sure why. These memories get triggered time and time again if we don’t take the time to understand our pain and heal our wounds.

Think of it this way: When you get into a car accident as an adult, do you get a little nervous when you have to pass through the intersection where your accident occurred? Do you maybe drive a little slower and panic if a car seems to be too close? A similar phenomenon happens when we encounter people and places who remind us of times in our childhood when our needs were not met. And for most of our lives, we allow this dysfunction to continue by ignoring it.

Instead of recognizing we have a hurt 3-year-old or 15-year-old inside of us throwing a tantrum and running the show when we get triggered, we turn to substances to comfort ourselves and shut up the sad voice that wants to be comforted. We stuff our feelings with tobacco, alcohol, over-the-counter medications, exercise, television, eating too much, eating too little, and sometimes, we even harm ourselves physically, instead of doing the work to learn how to love and heal ourselves.

Think about it: if you were driving through the intersection where you had previously had an accident and started to get panicked, would you want someone to offer you a piece of chocolate cake or help you remember you’ve already survived the accident and listen to your fears? Maybe come up with a plan to reduce the power of that memory? I’m guessing most of us would want the latter. So why don’t we show up for ourselves in this way?

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. The Healing Journey is a Cha-Cha

The wellness space, specifically self-care, has this reputation of being very light-hearted, you may picture bubble baths, yoga, and smiling all the time, but there’s a very dark, depressive side to our healing journey. Especially when we are doing the very important work of healing our inner child, we must face a lot of dark demons. So, our healing journey doesn’t look linear, it’s more of a cha-cha, two steps forward, one step back. This is true not just in the beginning stages of your healing journey, but throughout your entire life. And sometimes, you end up taking more than one step back. Sometimes you can’t even figure out how to move forward. But the important part is to get back up and keep trying, keep dancing — even if you have to freestyle.

2. Self-Care Involves Only You

In my head, I imagined that I was going to graduate from my life coaching certification program with five new best friends who had the same morals, political views, and goals as me and that everyone I knew would be so inspired by my life improvements that I would have an endless stream of clients looking to heal their relationship with themselves. Well, that didn’t happen.

I’ve spent more time alone on my spiritual journey than I thought I would. But spending time alone is normal when we’re on a healing or spiritual journey. I’ve had conversations with other female coaches in the spirituality, manifestation, healing space that had similar experiences. We all spend a lot of time alone because we’re meditating, we’re working on strengthening our physical bodies, nurturing ourselves with plant medicines and foods, but we crave that close, tight-knit female friendship to share this magic with. And the same is true for my clients.

Many of my clients hope that their boyfriend or sister or whoever will be inspired by their awakening and want to join them, but that often doesn’t happen. So, if you are interested in healing or working on yourself, the lesson here is to go after what you want and not wait for others to join you. This is a bit of an individual journey. The only person we’re with for our entire lives is ourselves so start creating a version of you that you love and are happy with. Once you do that, you’ll find your tribe of like-minded souls.

3. Journaling is Cathartic and Healing

When I was growing up, I had a lot of empty diaries and journals because I was too nervous to get the words out of my head and on to paper. I had a younger sister who would do anything and everything to break into these journals and I wasn’t confident my mother hadn’t read an entry or two either. So, needless to say, I kept everything inside. What I didn’t realize was just how toxic it was to keep things inside. Not only was I swallowing pains and hurts when my boundaries were violated, but I was also ruminating on everything and anything that hurt or embarrassed me in the past.

I was like a cow chewing on grass, only it was my critical thoughts that were doing the relentless chewing, and it wasn’t on grass; my inner critic was chewing on my self-worth.

As a young adult when I moved out on my own, I began to journal and let out my thoughts, wants, needs, and feelings, regardless of how pretty they were. As I got it out of my head, on to paper, it was like the thought had been heard and left me alone. It wasn’t until I started going back and re-reading some of the past journals that I realized how much I had grown, how much I had evolved. And it was because I gave myself a chance to feel what I felt. I gave myself a chance to honor my emotions just as they are without judging them.

The same is true for you. If you can’t talk to someone or if you have a problem that is bothering you, get it out of your head onto paper.

4. Stand Confident in Your Truth

There are always going to be people who make you feel like you’re doing it wrong whatever “it” may be. But if it feels right or authentic to you, you’re doing just fine.

At the beginning of my coaching career, I was comparing myself to a lot of other people and I would panic when they would say something I disagreed with wholeheartedly. I started feeling like a fraud in this space, until I realized my words, my perspective was resonating with a whole lot of other people. What I realized is that this is one of my healing journey lessons, that black and white thinking is not only inaccurate, it’s not healthy to view things so harshly through the lens of good vs evil. Now I worry a lot less about whether my message is one that resonates with the masses because I know what I’m saying means something to someone, even if it’s just me.

5. Take Time to Play

One thing that disconnects us from ourselves is this belief that we must act a certain way once we’ve reached a certain age. But I want you to challenge that idea that having fun or taking time to play is only for kids. For me personally, I’ve started coloring and rollerblading — two activities I loved during childhood, and you know what? I feel more connected to myself. I feel more authentic in who I am which allows me to show up differently in all parts of my life.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

I initially wanted to say mental health is a topic that touches my heart, but it’s hard to look at any of these big topics on their own because they’re all so interwoven and connected. I’m not a vegan (yet) but I’m moving in that direction because of the benefits that it has not just for physical health, but mental health, the environment, and sustainability. When I eat meat, I worry about the energy I’m introducing into my body. I worry about the environmental stress meat puts on our planet, and I worry about how sustainable our current lifestyles are, especially when it comes to consumerism. So, I’m working on reducing my meat consumption, reducing my consumption of single-use items, as well as those that are harmful or toxic to animals.

Part of working in wellness is recognizing the truth, as hard as it may be to swallow. And one of those inconvenient truths is that our man-made environment of concrete and buildings and shops has absolutely created havoc on our mental health. It has put us in a vulnerable position when it comes to sustainability too because we know we can’t continue at the pace we’re going.

As someone who has studied psychology too, I’m also aware that taking a child for a 20–30-minute walk in nature has the same effect on their brain as Ritalin; calms them down. So, in that sense, it’s hard to separate environmental changes from our mental health. We are all connected to one another and the planet. It’s time we start acting like it.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

I’m happy to connect on Instagram, my handle is @katieutterback

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Thank you for this fun opportunity!

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Women In Wellness: Katie Utterback of ‘elevated aura’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.