Badass Leaders Podcast: Brave Hearts, Brave Conversations, Badass Leaders

What does it really mean to leave a legacy? In this Badass Leaders Podcast "Best Of" episode, we bring together powerful insights from leaders who are redefining what impact looks like.

Together, these guests offer perspectives that challenge traditional ideas of success and invite us to think bigger about purpose, service, and the mark we leave behind.

If you're ready to build something that lasts longer than your title or tenure, this episode is for you.

Tune in to explore:

  • How today's leaders define and live their legacies

  • Why gratitude and service are at the heart of lasting impact

  • Practical ways to lead with purpose—starting now

Learn more from these guests by watching their full episodes:

Produced by: The AGN Group

Host: Angela Gill Nelms

Producer: Katie Hart

Tagline: Be Brave. Be Badass.

Websites: www.theagngroup.com and www.AngelaGillNelms.com

About The AGN Group: At The AGN Group, we believe every individual, team, and company can unlock their inner badass, one brave step at a time. www.TheAGNGroup.com.

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Want to be a Podcast Guest? If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, email brave@angelagillnelms.com.

What is Badass Leaders Podcast: Brave Hearts, Brave Conversations, Badass Leaders?

Welcome to the Badass Leaders Podcast: Brave Hearts, Brave Conversations, and Badass Leaders. Industry experts join host Angela Gill Nelms for intimate and eye-opening discussions about the challenges and joys facing today's leaders. Listen in, and get ready to scale your company, grow your brand, and unlock your full badass potential. Guests include authors, CEOs, Fortune 500 advisors, serial entrepreneurs, heads of global marketing, nonprofit leaders, and educators. You'll discover new insights in every episode. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out!

If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, email brave@angelagillnelms.com.

You can learn more about The AGN Group and its services on its website: www.TheAGNGroup.com. Learn more about the podcast at www.BadassLeadersPodcast.com.

About Angela:
Angela Gill Nelms is a trailblazer for building exceptional companies and teams. She is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The AGN Group and Recovery Advocate Network. She has held the position of Chief Operations Officer at Aetos Imaging, RenovoRx, and Florence Healthcare. With a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Tech, she has mastered navigating the FDA, leading diverse teams, and ensuring that customers and patients are always the top priority.

Angela is a passionate advocate for mental wellness and diversity. She is the CEO and co-founder of Recovery Advocate Network, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Through this organization, she addresses resource disparities for individuals with mental health disorders, trauma, and identity challenges. In addition, she hosts the Coffee and Conversation Podcast to educate the community and reduce the stigma around mental health and wellness.

She shares her lessons learned around the country in keynote speeches, coaching, and team-building workshops. Learn more about Angela at www.AngelaGillNelms.com.

About The AGN Group:
At The AGN Group, we believe every individual, team, and company can unlock their inner badass, one brave step at a time. We offer keynote and panel speaking, leadership and team-building workshops, fractional and management consulting, brand and storytelling services. Email us at hello@TheAGNGroup.com to connect. Learn more at www.TheAGNGroup.com.

#BeBraveBeBadass #BadassLeadersPodcast #BraveHeartsBraveConversationsBadassLeaders #TheAGNGroup

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I saw so many other people that were like, I could never do this.

And I was like, yes you can.

And I really just wanted them to use my legacy, my legacy to be helping other people be
their best.

Because when I do that, it just brings me so much joy.

Welcome back to the Badass Leaders podcast.

Today we're here with a quick hit mini-sode that looks back at one of the most powerful
questions we've ever asked our guests.

What does legacy mean to you?

Over.

last 40 plus episodes, we've heard incredible leaders share what legacy means in their
lives, their work, and their impact.

Today, we're bringing together some of the most inspiring, thought-provoking answers.

So let's dive into the voices of some truly badass leaders and hear their take on what
legacy really means.

As a reminder, don't forget to hit that subscribe and follow button so that you do not
miss an episode and share

it with the amazing people around you.

Now, together, let's dig in and get ready to scale your company, grow your brand, unlock
your full badass potential.

What does leaving a legacy mean to you?

So So I think of it in a couple of different ways.

I want to have lasting change in organizations.

Lasting sounds way too long because I know things are going to change again.

But I want to see my thumb prints on stuff that made a difference in making a in in in in
in in in making in difference difference difference in a difference in making difference

in a in a

looking for some advice, making a huge decision in their life, or just wanting some
guidance from somebody that's been around the block a few more times.

And those to me are the biggest legacy elements, I think.

And listeners, I know that he's really good at the second one, especially the no BS.

So if you want to hear someone tell you something you want to hear, don't go and ask Bud.

But if you want to hear the truth from someone, then go and ask Bud.

And then family is part of that as well.

We're now trying to have good influence on our grandkids.

Our kids are our kids.

They still ask for advice from time to time, but certainly trying to influence grandkids
as the next generation.

It's so easy to find a place in life and be stuck.

And there was a very particular moment that I'm thinking of several years ago, it was
2019, where I felt stuck.

I was in an amazing role, but I'd been doing it for over nine years and just been there,
done that.

I was kind of tired of training new people to come in and kind of understand everything
that I know.

I was like, well, I'm ready to learn.

I'm ready to grow.

I was sitting on the back porch at my house and I was just in a funk.

I was cynical I was thinking all the negative things like this sucks I don't want to do
this anymore like how many more times do I have to buy these?

team members Christmas presents, you know, like as we celebrate Like all of these mental
thoughts and my daughter

she had come up to the window, she was inside the house, and she blew a raspberry on the
window and she was just being fun and goofy, but listen, I looked at her and I was like,

one day you're gonna be in this seat and you're gonna have a job that you suck, you that
sucks, that you hate and you're gonna go in and just, and I was like, wait a second, I

cannot have these thoughts for her.

She's way too young.

Therefore I need to figure out my life so that if and when she gets into this mental
headspace, I can coach her out of it because I've done it too.

And it was in that moment that was this, most epically depressing moment that also became
like this ray of sunshine and motivation of I need to make a change so that I can show her

she can do amazing and brilliant things in her life and doesn't have to choose to be
stuck.

I'm really big about legacy and I think that also when I heard your beginning story when
you were talking about your conversation and the raspberry with your daughter and you

suddenly said wait I don't want to do this because I'm actually teaching her this and I
want better for her I think of that as a piece of legacy is your you're changing the world

and you're making the world a better place by making action and change now that's gonna
have this lasting impact so tell me

what kind of legacy you're trying to build and not just professionally but also personally
at this stage in your career.

Okay, so what first comes to mind and I'm gonna go with what my Ikigai reason for being
legacy definition is today, right?

What I want my legacy to be at this point is uh I love the book Atomic Habits by James
Clear.

I wanna beat him.

This is my dominator coming out, right?

ah

going after James Clear with the book that I'm writing on how to gamify your goals, gamify
your life intent.

And by all means, please buy his book.

But I want mine right next to him because I want you to buy mine so that you can sustain
those habits and create just lasting fun as you're just creating epic missions and epic

impacts in life.

So watch out, James Clear.

I used to joke that I was silently competing against James.

clear but I tell everyone.

all over.

I tell everybody.

But in one sentence, tell us once again, what does leaving a legacy mean to you?

Epic impacts.

Two words.

Love it.

Perfect.

For you, Andrew, what does leaving a legacy mean to you?

important.

ah You want contacts or not?

Yeah, absolutely.

I was very excited after I retired from a senior VP who came back.

I'm not going to say he doubted my approach.

You know, probably wasn't a hundred percent bought in.

And he sent me a note on LinkedIn who said, you did more in two years than I ever possibly
could imagine and your legacy lives on.

And it came out of nowhere.

I realized, not necessarily that was an objective, but it meant the world to me.

It really made me feel good.

And that the work, the time, and the

effort put into it was well worth it.

Well, one thing I want to say about that, Andrew, is that to listeners, I would just
encourage you to pause and think of an example where someone's legacy has had a positive

impact on you and then reach out to that person and tell them about that.

Because it is, I had a former employee who I moved her, she was in sales at a company and
she was not crushing it.

And I had been observing her and I said, Hey, I actually think you'd be a phenomenal
project manager.

And I moved her over, I mentored her, I funded for her to get project management classes.

And then out of the blue, like five years later, I got a LinkedIn message from her and
she's like, you completely changed my career.

I'm so grateful.

And I just sat there for a moment.

took her, you know, what, 30 seconds to write me that message.

So listeners, pause right now and hit subscribe.

Pause, subscribe, and then also send a message to someone who's made an impact on the
UM-Bolta legacy.

So let's talk about legacy then.

How do you define success now?

You've talked a little bit about it, but how do you define success now and how has that
evolved since the start of your career?

So.

would say two things.

mean, we've talked a lot about this and I do personally define success in m how much time
I have to do the things that I truly want to do.

um And I consider myself very lucky that I have been able to figure out a career where I
can do all the things that I love, still make the same salary that I was making when I was

in a corporate um entity and learning that there is absolutely not one

way to be successful.

um But the other thing that I think is really important and what I've grown into is the
courage to ask for what you want and then

figuring out how to make it happen.

One really tangible example that I'm going through right now, which I'm really excited
about, is that next semester I'm going to be teaching international public relations with

my students.

And as I was building the syllabus, because I lived in Europe for 10 years, I started
thinking.

I would love to bring at least a subset of my class to Europe to give them some
opportunity to understand the nuances of language and culture and geography when it comes

to building your career and figuring out your jobs.

And I knew I wasn't going to be able to take the whole class.

However, I...

I did develop a proposal for um bringing a small group of students to either London or
Switzerland, the two places where I worked.

over spring break and I pitched it and I got advocates and fast forward only a few weeks.

I currently have funding to do this curated program in this upcoming spring break and if
you knew how slowly academia...

I mean, you'd be amazed at, you know, this accomplishment, but it really just goes to show
that I had a good idea and

I got people to listen to it and then we were able to make it happen.

so having the, I could have easily, easily sat on that idea and been like, Oh, well, you
know, it could be fun if someday we, we do something like that.

But instead I turned it into action and I'm now planning a week long trip in March of 2026
where we're going to, I've reached into my personal network and made connections.

We're going to have an experience at the BBC.

We're going to do a corporate day.

We're going to do an agency.

It's going to be really exciting.

What does leaving a legacy mean to you?

That's become clearer for me in the last couple of years more than anything.

To me, leaving a legacy is a daily purpose.

It's positively impacting everybody that comes across my path.

And to me, I'm realizing more and more the legacy is positively impacting them so that
they can positively impact others.

And if I feel like that is having a domino effect and a true effect on people's lives,

legacy hit and that includes my family not just workers or students but I'm realizing more
and more a legacy doesn't have to be so grandiose and and and it can be an avalanche that

starts with something real small and so for me having that ability to really think through
every day whoever comes across my path and I have a lot of platforms to be able to

interact with but whoever comes across that how do I positively impact them

so that I leave them off better and who knows where it goes from there.

So for me, if that works, I'm pumped.

I feel like it's a purpose-driven component of it.

And so I think at the stage where I suddenly said, I don't need to have other people make
other people happy.

I can be myself and I can keep looking forward.

I've made a lot of mistakes, but I'm going to keep looking forward and I can give love to
other people.

And through that find much joy that that really, I mean, that's when we got to be bravely
bad ass.

My whole point wasn't for me in the beginning.

was that.

I saw so many other people that were like, I could never do this.

And I was like, yes, can.

And I really just wanted them to use my legacy, my legacy to be helping other people be
their best.

Because when I do that, it just brings me so much joy.

Sometimes the things that are the hardest are the things we want the most and we work the
hardest towards achieving.

And so I really, I wanted that degree.

I wanted highest honors.

And I also...

I think part, the other part that really made my time at Georgia Tech and Georgia Tech
completely changed my life.

Like I'm so grateful.

And I think it was also, I was coming through at a great time because the program was new
and we didn't have the scholarships, the grants, the awards and stuff that the other

engineering disciplines had.

And it was really quite frustrating because we would go to the women in engineering
banquet and all of these electrical engineering or

chemical engineering, they would get all these scholarships and grants and biomedical
engineering get nothing.

And it was really because oftentimes those are sponsored by alumni with that, right?

And the program was too new for that.

But I was like, this is, no, we can't do this.

And so my happiest moment was starting these annual awards for Georgia Tech biomedical
engineering students.

And I just was showing college with them on Friday.

Now it's a whole wall with plaques.

And I was like, before me, like these were not here.

There was none of this.

And it was just being able to, during that time, give back and also start creating a
legacy of gratitude and appreciation and uh acknowledgement of hard work of other people.

And by doing that, I was really lucky that I got the overall best student award.

It was the category that include research, leadership, community service, and academics.

So I received that award, which I was, I was really shocked because I thought by being the
person who was creating this whole program, no one would ever like nominate and then vote

for me.

So then when my name was announced, I was like, Oh my gosh, this is amazing.

But I will say that I just kept doing the next best thing that I could and trying hard for
the moment and then moving to the next thing and trying hard for the moment and then

moving to the next thing.

I was so fortunate and blessed for my mom and dad to hear me.

uh

recently for the Georgia Tech Black Alumni.

Entrepreneur of the year, which I just received that honor this past March, and my mom and
dad were able to be in the audience.

My two sons, and Kyler, stood on stage with me to receive the award, and it was a moment
that I'll never forget, because I've been blessed to receive some awards, and my mom and

dad have been there to see some of these awards, but this one was very different for me.

Because my mom and dad was able to witness not only the output and the manifestation of
all their hard work, their sacrifice, and what they gave up to produce this young man, but

they were also able to see that with their two grandsons.

So they were able to see all that they have done for me that has helped create the good

part of me because it's all but bad.

But all the good came from my mom and dad and they were able to see their two sons legacy
or their two grandsons staying on stage.

So listeners, I only mention that is because going from sleeping in a car, taking showers
at LA Fitness, even going further back, speech impediment, bully, low self-esteem, low

self-confidence, all of that to get me to that award that I just won last March.

There is a badass package for you and in order for you to reach that level of badass,
you're gonna have to be brave enough.

to maybe relocate some things around and step outside of that.

And that takes a certain amount of, uh, eight.

takes resilience from the past, right?

Because when we have resilience in the past, then we can look back and say, okay, I've,
I've done hard things before.

do hard things again.

It also takes having that boardroom, you know, your a team and all those people, because
you can suddenly say, okay, if I screw up, I have people to reach out to.

And then it takes your confidence in whatever your spiritual nature.

is to say when it's all said and done, if what I've done for my legacy has made the world
a better place, I've won.

Amen.

know, along with that, which you just mentioned, what I forgot to say, because we talk
about the legacy is that when you have somebody that's willing to leave with you, right,

who is willing to go and talk to their husband and make sure from a family structure with
her husband and her little girl, is this what we want to do?

There's a huge amount.

that I shoulder.

That's a lot of stress.

not just me letting down my wife and my little baby that's at the house.

It's me now saying, my God.

And by the way, I said my little baby is because um at the time we had a six year old, one
year old.

So I had a young family.

Right.

Now I'm about to step out and I'm going to do this entrepreneur thing.

Well, it's one thing for me to say, okay, I got my family, but now I got someone else's
family.

And it was just her and I that were stepping out.

So that support of my spiritual advisor, the support of my business partner believing in
me and the fact that Ms.

Mikeisha believed in me.

What I tell people, sometimes I hear lot of entrepreneurs, I mean, I'm sorry, I hear a lot
of motivational speakers that talk about, um I understand why they say it is that you have

to believe in yourself.

You have to believe in yourself.

You have to believe in yourself.

And that sounds really good.

um

but there's a lot of people who don't believe in themselves.

There's a lot of people that don't.

a lot of times he's more...

Every day, right?

So there's gonna be ebbs and flows with that.

So one of things that I learned in that experience is that if you have the right people
around you, then you can believe in them more than you believe in yourself.

And that will create movement.

They gotta be the right people.

They have to be people that you trust.

And if you trust them more than you're trusting yourself at that time, then you move
forward.

What does leaving a legacy mean to you?

For me that means that I've created this entire body of work and it's having it in a form
that if something happened to me tomorrow other people would still benefit from it.

And I'm at a point in my career where I'm starting to do more online things that people
can just go watch.

um And having that, really being able to speak one to many in a different circumstances.

So that for me is a legacy.

And having two daughters that I want to make sure that they really understand who I was.

So, yeah.

you

Thanks for joining me for today's episode of the Badass Leaders podcast.

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This podcast is a production of the AGN Group.

To learn more about the AGN Group, visit our website at theagngroup.com.

There you can discover

more about our services which include hosting workshops, management consulting, brand
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And until next week, be brave and be badass.