1 00:00:00,020 --> 00:00:02,180 How can you make opportunities happen? 2 00:00:02,180 --> 00:00:04,370 That's what we talk about with Maria Flynn, 3 00:00:04,370 --> 00:00:06,740 who went from CEO to author to keynote 4 00:00:06,740 --> 00:00:09,080 speaker on this episode of the Speaking Your 5 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:16,010 Brand podcast. More and more women are 6 00:00:16,010 --> 00:00:18,620 making an impact by starting businesses, 7 00:00:18,620 --> 00:00:21,350 running for office and speaking up for what 8 00:00:21,350 --> 00:00:23,900 matters. With my background as a TV 9 00:00:23,900 --> 00:00:26,090 political analyst, entrepreneur, and 10 00:00:26,090 --> 00:00:28,610 speaker, I interview and coach purpose 11 00:00:28,610 --> 00:00:31,330 driven women to shape their brands, grow 12 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:33,640 their companies, and become recognized as 13 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:35,830 influencers in their field. 14 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:39,100 This is speaking your brand, your place to 15 00:00:39,100 --> 00:00:41,950 learn how to persuasively communicate your 16 00:00:41,950 --> 00:00:43,960 message to your audience. 17 00:00:43,990 --> 00:00:45,340 Hi there and welcome to the Speaking Your 18 00:00:45,340 --> 00:00:47,470 Brand podcast. I'm your host, Carol Cox. 19 00:00:47,470 --> 00:00:49,930 Today we're talking about how to make 20 00:00:49,930 --> 00:00:53,820 opportunities happen and the importance of 21 00:00:53,820 --> 00:00:56,550 time. So I'm a big believer that timing is 22 00:00:56,550 --> 00:00:59,070 so important in so many things that we do in 23 00:00:59,070 --> 00:01:00,630 our lives, whether it's in our personal 24 00:01:00,630 --> 00:01:03,360 lives or in our careers and our businesses. 25 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:05,580 And my guess is Maria Flynn, who is a 26 00:01:05,580 --> 00:01:07,260 graduate of our Thought Leader Academy. 27 00:01:07,260 --> 00:01:08,820 She went through the program earlier this 28 00:01:08,820 --> 00:01:12,120 year. She is now the founder and CEO of her 29 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,040 own consulting and training company called 30 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:15,150 and Biologics. 31 00:01:15,150 --> 00:01:18,010 Before that, she was CEO of a company called 32 00:01:18,010 --> 00:01:20,620 Orbis Biosciences that had an exit. 33 00:01:20,620 --> 00:01:23,200 It had an acquisition which, if you've ever 34 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:24,880 been a part of a company or part or been 35 00:01:24,970 --> 00:01:26,830 definitely a CEO, that's always a big 36 00:01:26,830 --> 00:01:28,240 milestone to have. 37 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,430 Since then, she has written a book which has 38 00:01:30,430 --> 00:01:32,680 become an Amazon bestseller, and she also 39 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,350 now has developed a talk from that book that 40 00:01:35,350 --> 00:01:37,390 we worked very closely on and is now 41 00:01:37,390 --> 00:01:39,460 keynoting and doing workshops around this 42 00:01:39,460 --> 00:01:43,160 idea of maximizing time to make opportunity 43 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:44,810 happen. So we're going to talk about all of 44 00:01:44,810 --> 00:01:46,850 those things today, including how she's 45 00:01:46,850 --> 00:01:48,140 getting speaking engagements. 46 00:01:48,140 --> 00:01:50,660 There are combination of free and paid. 47 00:01:50,660 --> 00:01:52,100 So where are these speaking engagements 48 00:01:52,100 --> 00:01:54,260 coming from and how she's converting some of 49 00:01:54,260 --> 00:01:56,330 the free ones into paid ones. 50 00:01:56,330 --> 00:01:58,100 Maria, welcome to the podcast. 51 00:01:58,100 --> 00:01:59,630 Thank you for having me. 52 00:01:59,690 --> 00:02:03,050 All right. So let's dive into this idea of 53 00:02:03,050 --> 00:02:05,900 maximizing time to make opportunity happen. 54 00:02:05,900 --> 00:02:08,170 I have always thought in my life like, oh, 55 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:09,520 you know, I should have done this at a 56 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:11,920 certain time, or I'm so glad that I did this 57 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:13,660 other thing at a certain time. 58 00:02:13,660 --> 00:02:16,810 And I we know as entrepreneurs that we 59 00:02:16,810 --> 00:02:18,970 always have a sense of we should be doing 60 00:02:18,970 --> 00:02:21,850 more, but we also have a sense of are we 61 00:02:21,850 --> 00:02:24,130 doing too much or are we focusing on the 62 00:02:24,130 --> 00:02:26,140 right thing? So I know as part of your 63 00:02:26,140 --> 00:02:28,000 framework in your book and in your talk, you 64 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,770 talk about patience versus urgency. 65 00:02:31,770 --> 00:02:33,780 And I don't consider myself a very patient 66 00:02:33,780 --> 00:02:34,920 person. Maybe. 67 00:02:35,220 --> 00:02:37,110 So can you talk talk to us a little bit 68 00:02:37,110 --> 00:02:40,200 about this idea of patience versus urgency, 69 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:42,360 what it looks like, because I know you have 70 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:44,520 some great visuals, some great slides around 71 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:46,770 this. And what should we consider as 72 00:02:46,770 --> 00:02:48,180 entrepreneurs when we're thinking about 73 00:02:48,180 --> 00:02:49,980 maximizing time in this way? 74 00:02:49,980 --> 00:02:53,560 You bet. So urgency was always a big word at 75 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:57,100 Orbis Biosciences because we had this deep 76 00:02:57,100 --> 00:02:59,350 desire to get our technology out there into 77 00:02:59,350 --> 00:03:02,200 the world. We didn't have a lot of cash. 78 00:03:02,230 --> 00:03:04,690 So there's some of these elements of startup 79 00:03:04,690 --> 00:03:07,300 life where you just have this urgency, and 80 00:03:07,300 --> 00:03:10,030 then you work with investors and customers 81 00:03:10,030 --> 00:03:13,630 and acquirers, partners that oftentimes 82 00:03:13,630 --> 00:03:16,000 don't have the same level as urgency as you 83 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,850 do. So I thought a lot about how do you get 84 00:03:18,850 --> 00:03:21,760 an urgency alignment, how do you make it 85 00:03:21,970 --> 00:03:24,670 more interesting for them to go faster, and 86 00:03:24,670 --> 00:03:27,280 how do you make it less urgent for use, cash 87 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:29,860 reserves, options, things like that? 88 00:03:29,860 --> 00:03:32,320 But then I had this epiphany that it's not 89 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:33,910 always urgency. 90 00:03:33,910 --> 00:03:35,830 Patience is a really important part of this 91 00:03:35,830 --> 00:03:37,930 game too, because there are many examples of 92 00:03:37,930 --> 00:03:40,000 things that die just because we're not 93 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,520 patient enough. There's a lot of stories 94 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:44,290 where, you know, people are going to close 95 00:03:44,290 --> 00:03:46,750 down their doors and then, you know, you 96 00:03:46,750 --> 00:03:48,190 don't know what happens. The next day, 97 00:03:48,190 --> 00:03:51,040 things started to line up and and then they 98 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:52,150 were off to the races. 99 00:03:52,150 --> 00:03:55,390 So you really need both this extreme urgency 100 00:03:55,390 --> 00:03:58,300 driver and this ability to be patient. 101 00:03:58,300 --> 00:04:00,460 And a lot of times people think they're one 102 00:04:00,460 --> 00:04:03,190 or the other, but you have to really be both 103 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:04,720 in this game. 104 00:04:04,990 --> 00:04:06,490 All right. So talk to us a little bit about 105 00:04:06,490 --> 00:04:08,520 what what are these visuals look like. 106 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:09,870 What are some of those slides that you show 107 00:04:09,870 --> 00:04:11,250 your audience when you're talking about this 108 00:04:11,250 --> 00:04:12,090 section. 109 00:04:12,150 --> 00:04:14,730 And this is probably the most fun part of the 110 00:04:14,730 --> 00:04:16,350 presentation. And you know you're on to 111 00:04:16,350 --> 00:04:18,450 something when you're really enjoying it. 112 00:04:18,630 --> 00:04:21,750 Uh, so it's a good place to get engagement 113 00:04:21,750 --> 00:04:23,790 with the audience, because I asked them to 114 00:04:23,790 --> 00:04:25,740 think of what picture comes to mind. 115 00:04:25,740 --> 00:04:29,700 And we we visualize a scale of urgency to 116 00:04:29,700 --> 00:04:31,590 patient, and we know we don't want to be too 117 00:04:31,590 --> 00:04:33,340 urgent, and we know we don't want to be too 118 00:04:33,340 --> 00:04:36,550 patient. So I asked them, what does two 119 00:04:36,550 --> 00:04:38,710 patient look like to you? 120 00:04:38,710 --> 00:04:42,910 And sometimes they'll say things like decay 121 00:04:42,910 --> 00:04:45,520 and that will be closer to to the image. 122 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:47,560 I then pop up on the screen, which is the 123 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,100 skeleton sitting in front of his keyboard 124 00:04:51,100 --> 00:04:53,410 saying, still waiting for the reply. 125 00:04:53,410 --> 00:04:55,840 And I talk about how so many people I work 126 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:57,630 with. I say, how's that going? 127 00:04:57,630 --> 00:04:59,760 And they're still waiting for the reply. 128 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:03,240 And so that is two patient. 129 00:05:03,810 --> 00:05:06,780 Um, but then we go into what is too urgent 130 00:05:06,780 --> 00:05:09,990 and what I looked at when I did a lot of 131 00:05:09,990 --> 00:05:12,390 searching of tell me, what is the image of 132 00:05:12,390 --> 00:05:19,350 two urgent, uh, and Gordon Ramsay pops up a 133 00:05:19,350 --> 00:05:22,610 lot and then I can do the fun meme of some 134 00:05:22,610 --> 00:05:25,100 of his behavior that works for him, because 135 00:05:25,100 --> 00:05:26,120 that's his style. 136 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:27,920 But it doesn't work for a lot of us. 137 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:31,130 And then we go into, okay, what is good 138 00:05:31,130 --> 00:05:33,410 urgent? What is good patient? 139 00:05:33,530 --> 00:05:37,490 Um, good patient is the cute dog sitting by 140 00:05:37,490 --> 00:05:40,400 your door with a leash in the mouth, and he 141 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:42,440 he's just ready for when when you are. 142 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:44,960 There's nothing he can do to make that walk 143 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:46,800 come sooner. Whenever it happens, you know 144 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:50,250 he's there. And then just right in the 145 00:05:50,250 --> 00:05:52,980 urgent. Is the cheetah the fastest land 146 00:05:52,980 --> 00:05:56,280 animal? Um, because she can get the kill 147 00:05:56,280 --> 00:05:57,990 when she needs to. She can't do that 148 00:05:57,990 --> 00:06:01,560 indefinitely. Um, but those images really 149 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,920 help to get a memorable, um, visual of when 150 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:06,750 we need to be patient, when we need to be 151 00:06:06,750 --> 00:06:08,850 urgent and but not the extremes. 152 00:06:08,930 --> 00:06:10,880 And the reason I wanted you to share that is 153 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:13,370 for the listeners to to number one thing 154 00:06:13,370 --> 00:06:14,750 about they're probably going to remember 155 00:06:14,750 --> 00:06:16,730 those visuals because that's how we remember 156 00:06:16,730 --> 00:06:18,620 things, right? We remember those the images 157 00:06:18,620 --> 00:06:21,050 in our minds. But then I had watched a 158 00:06:21,050 --> 00:06:23,450 speaking engagement you you had done 159 00:06:23,450 --> 00:06:25,400 recently. You sent me the video of it. 160 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:26,750 So I watched the entire thing. 161 00:06:26,750 --> 00:06:28,280 It was about 30, 35 minutes. 162 00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:30,620 And when you got to that section where you 163 00:06:30,620 --> 00:06:32,480 talked about urgency versus patience, and 164 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:33,930 you showed those visuals and you ask the 165 00:06:33,930 --> 00:06:34,980 audience that question. 166 00:06:34,980 --> 00:06:38,880 They perked up so much to your point, 167 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:40,650 because it's fun for them. 168 00:06:40,650 --> 00:06:43,200 But if you as the speaker, if you're excited 169 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:44,640 to deliver that section, then that's going 170 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:47,070 to come across to your audience as well. 171 00:06:47,070 --> 00:06:49,590 So, Maria, let's fill in the rest of the 172 00:06:49,590 --> 00:06:52,770 time framework for the audience here so that 173 00:06:52,770 --> 00:06:55,290 they understand kind of what this the time 174 00:06:55,290 --> 00:06:57,660 looks like. And then we're going to back up 175 00:06:57,660 --> 00:06:59,300 and we're going to talk about how this all 176 00:06:59,300 --> 00:07:02,090 came about from the book that you've written 177 00:07:02,090 --> 00:07:02,960 recently. 178 00:07:03,050 --> 00:07:06,590 You bet. So as you've taught us, acronyms 179 00:07:06,590 --> 00:07:08,990 help us remember. And once you taught me 180 00:07:08,990 --> 00:07:11,240 that when I start to see others, yes, I can 181 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:13,550 remember so much more. So T stands for take 182 00:07:13,550 --> 00:07:15,680 that crack of opportunity in the door and 183 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:17,300 push it wide open. 184 00:07:17,420 --> 00:07:20,150 Uh, sometimes you don't even see the crack. 185 00:07:20,150 --> 00:07:21,740 The door feels completely shut. 186 00:07:21,740 --> 00:07:23,860 But there's always an opportunity there. 187 00:07:23,860 --> 00:07:25,900 And it's what things can we do to push it 188 00:07:25,900 --> 00:07:29,260 open? Uh, we talked about AI already. 189 00:07:29,260 --> 00:07:31,810 It's integrating patients and urgency. 190 00:07:31,810 --> 00:07:33,820 So knowing the spectrum and knowing how to 191 00:07:33,820 --> 00:07:37,540 use those levers M is for maximizing listen 192 00:07:37,540 --> 00:07:40,270 tuition, which is a concept from the book. 193 00:07:40,270 --> 00:07:42,550 And it's about really listening to where the 194 00:07:42,550 --> 00:07:45,670 market is telling you to go, but also having 195 00:07:45,670 --> 00:07:48,290 the intuition. So even in our personality 196 00:07:48,290 --> 00:07:50,240 tests, you're either intuitive or you're 197 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:52,550 data driven. And I believe you really need 198 00:07:52,550 --> 00:07:55,370 both. You need the data to influence your 199 00:07:55,370 --> 00:07:57,830 intuition. You need the intuition to fill in 200 00:07:57,830 --> 00:07:59,150 the blanks where you don't have data because 201 00:07:59,150 --> 00:08:00,440 you never have perfect data. 202 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:02,300 So really having both of that and that's 203 00:08:02,300 --> 00:08:04,880 less intuition. And then E is experiencing 204 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:05,960 your next win. 205 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:07,520 It's not about a second wind. 206 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:09,020 These are really long games. 207 00:08:09,020 --> 00:08:11,290 So knowing how you pick yourself up, how you 208 00:08:11,290 --> 00:08:13,660 pick your team up, getting your next wind. 209 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:16,840 Okay, so Maria, when we work together in your 210 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:18,790 VIP days for the Thought Leader Academy, I 211 00:08:18,790 --> 00:08:21,340 know you had come in with your book already 212 00:08:21,340 --> 00:08:24,040 written, and you have 40 short chapters in 213 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:25,120 your book because it's meant for 214 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:27,370 entrepreneurs to be able to pick up, either 215 00:08:27,370 --> 00:08:29,440 read an order or go to the section, go to 216 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:30,970 the chapter that they need the most help 217 00:08:30,970 --> 00:08:33,190 with. So obviously you had a lot of content, 218 00:08:33,190 --> 00:08:35,510 too much content to fit into 30 minutes or 219 00:08:35,510 --> 00:08:37,490 45 minutes or even an hour or two hour 220 00:08:37,490 --> 00:08:39,740 workshop. So we had to figure out what was 221 00:08:39,740 --> 00:08:42,410 going to be the the most relatable content 222 00:08:42,410 --> 00:08:43,790 to audiences and something that they could 223 00:08:43,790 --> 00:08:44,900 take away from them. 224 00:08:44,900 --> 00:08:47,420 So let's talk about what was the inspiration 225 00:08:47,420 --> 00:08:50,120 for you to to write this book in the first 226 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:50,810 place. 227 00:08:50,930 --> 00:08:53,390 So after I sold Orbis, I was working with 228 00:08:53,390 --> 00:08:54,770 entrepreneurs, and I would wake up in the 229 00:08:54,770 --> 00:08:56,960 middle of the night and I think I need to 230 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,300 tell them the story or this advice someone 231 00:08:59,300 --> 00:09:01,970 gave me that was really great, and I started 232 00:09:01,970 --> 00:09:03,650 repeat myself over and over again. 233 00:09:03,650 --> 00:09:05,390 And that's why I thought, I think there's a 234 00:09:05,390 --> 00:09:07,040 book here. I think this is a way to scale 235 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:09,410 myself. So if I don't have time to sit down 236 00:09:09,410 --> 00:09:10,850 with an entrepreneur, I can at least give 237 00:09:10,850 --> 00:09:16,190 them a book and they can, um, um, leap into 238 00:09:16,190 --> 00:09:17,900 the next phase on the things that I have 239 00:09:17,900 --> 00:09:20,450 learned in working in this space. 240 00:09:20,660 --> 00:09:23,390 And, and I really like to create and this 241 00:09:23,390 --> 00:09:24,860 was a way to create something. 242 00:09:24,860 --> 00:09:27,260 I didn't realize how much work it was going 243 00:09:27,260 --> 00:09:29,480 to be or how long it was going to take. 244 00:09:29,660 --> 00:09:33,290 Uh, but it was fulfilling to create 245 00:09:33,290 --> 00:09:35,000 something that I felt like people needed. 246 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,400 I had a lot of beta readers that helped fine 247 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:38,660 tune it along the way. 248 00:09:38,660 --> 00:09:40,760 And so that's how it came to be. 249 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,310 And what was the writing process in the book 250 00:09:43,310 --> 00:09:44,840 development process? What did that look like 251 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:46,520 to you? Did you have a book coach who helped 252 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:47,750 you? Did you have were you really 253 00:09:47,770 --> 00:09:49,750 disciplined to sit down on a regular 254 00:09:49,750 --> 00:09:50,770 schedule and write it? 255 00:09:50,770 --> 00:09:51,850 How long did it take? 256 00:09:52,060 --> 00:09:53,560 As someone who was working on a book, which 257 00:09:53,560 --> 00:09:55,150 I've been telling my audience for years, I 258 00:09:55,150 --> 00:09:57,310 would. I'm asking for a friend. 259 00:09:59,740 --> 00:10:02,440 So about two years from start to finish, and 260 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:05,050 there were some hiccups in there, but I got 261 00:10:05,050 --> 00:10:06,670 a lot of good advice. I met a lot of great 262 00:10:06,670 --> 00:10:10,060 people along the way, uh, and it was a very 263 00:10:10,060 --> 00:10:12,670 entrepreneurial pursuit of, how do you know 264 00:10:12,670 --> 00:10:14,980 that this is the right thing for your 265 00:10:14,980 --> 00:10:17,200 audience? How do you demonstrate product 266 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:19,150 market fit? How do you launch it into the 267 00:10:19,150 --> 00:10:22,870 world? And, um, so that was very fulfilling. 268 00:10:22,870 --> 00:10:26,470 And, um, yeah, it was great fun. 269 00:10:26,470 --> 00:10:28,750 So did you did did you sit down, you know, 270 00:10:28,750 --> 00:10:30,460 every day over a period of months? 271 00:10:30,460 --> 00:10:32,770 And did you write like or did you spend, you 272 00:10:32,770 --> 00:10:34,630 know, did you kind of lock yourself in your 273 00:10:34,630 --> 00:10:36,040 room for a week? 274 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:37,120 What did that look like? 275 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:39,550 So about nine months into this, I joined a 276 00:10:39,550 --> 00:10:41,980 group with other authors and they they said 277 00:10:41,980 --> 00:10:44,590 it's from the, um, the War of Art book. 278 00:10:44,590 --> 00:10:47,110 They said, um, inspiration always strikes 279 00:10:47,110 --> 00:10:48,400 and it strikes at 9 a.m.. 280 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:50,770 So about getting a discipline, writing so 281 00:10:50,770 --> 00:10:52,780 many words a day, every day. 282 00:10:52,780 --> 00:10:56,080 And that really helps you get across finish 283 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:58,900 lines and then, you know, write the first 284 00:10:58,900 --> 00:11:01,260 draft, just get it out there into the world 285 00:11:01,260 --> 00:11:03,480 and keep refining it. 286 00:11:03,750 --> 00:11:06,150 Um, be careful that perfect is the enemy of 287 00:11:06,150 --> 00:11:06,630 good. 288 00:11:07,110 --> 00:11:09,540 And then did you hire a book editor? 289 00:11:09,570 --> 00:11:10,620 I did, yes. 290 00:11:10,770 --> 00:11:12,300 Okay. Like like not only grammar and 291 00:11:12,300 --> 00:11:14,160 spelling, but a developmental editor to help 292 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:15,330 you to kind of make sure it was all 293 00:11:15,330 --> 00:11:16,500 cohesive. Yep. 294 00:11:16,500 --> 00:11:20,310 Three different groups of editors and a lot 295 00:11:20,310 --> 00:11:21,450 of graphic help. 296 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:23,040 Uh, the the book cover. 297 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:25,840 And there's 40 images I definitely had a lot 298 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:27,250 of help on this project. 299 00:11:27,250 --> 00:11:29,170 And I know you had a really successful 300 00:11:29,170 --> 00:11:31,270 launch. You had lots of people supporting 301 00:11:31,270 --> 00:11:33,550 you. I, I'm primarily using LinkedIn. 302 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:35,590 Linkedin. So I saw a lot of that launch on 303 00:11:35,590 --> 00:11:37,090 LinkedIn. Obviously, you got a lot of 304 00:11:37,090 --> 00:11:39,550 reviews for the book. How did you set up 305 00:11:39,550 --> 00:11:40,840 your launch team? 306 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:42,100 What did that look like? 307 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:44,980 So I got some good coaching, and I listened 308 00:11:44,980 --> 00:11:47,470 to podcasts of how other people had done it. 309 00:11:47,470 --> 00:11:50,880 And, and, um, I reached out and started my 310 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:52,290 newsletter about that time. 311 00:11:52,290 --> 00:11:55,350 So I got about 400 people starting to walk 312 00:11:55,350 --> 00:11:58,830 with me on this, and then I got about 150 313 00:11:58,830 --> 00:12:02,430 that were interested in helping me with, um, 314 00:12:02,430 --> 00:12:05,280 reviews. Your first week is very important 315 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:07,080 to say, hey, Amazon, this is here. 316 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:10,500 Take note. Um, so that first week I did a 317 00:12:10,500 --> 00:12:13,580 lot of that, um, uh, LinkedIn community has 318 00:12:13,580 --> 00:12:16,340 been really supportive of me, and I really 319 00:12:16,340 --> 00:12:20,030 appreciate that. So making sure that people 320 00:12:20,030 --> 00:12:22,460 want you to succeed and and they want to be 321 00:12:22,460 --> 00:12:23,960 a part of the story. And I think that's a 322 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:26,270 huge part. The more beta readers, the more 323 00:12:26,270 --> 00:12:28,040 people that feel ownership in what you're 324 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,710 creating is really useful, because then 325 00:12:30,710 --> 00:12:32,540 they're excited to get it and they're 326 00:12:32,540 --> 00:12:34,070 excited to talk about it. 327 00:12:34,340 --> 00:12:37,340 Um, and that was a really rewarding process. 328 00:12:37,340 --> 00:12:39,510 And then later it was about the week before 329 00:12:39,510 --> 00:12:41,040 I decided to have a little launch party. 330 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:43,560 And I'm glad I did, because you run so fast 331 00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:44,880 through all these things and you never 332 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:48,180 really stop to celebrate that it was. 333 00:12:48,300 --> 00:12:50,520 I'm really glad that I took the time and did 334 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:51,000 that. 335 00:12:51,870 --> 00:12:55,320 And I know that you found us, found me, and 336 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,110 speaking your brand through one of our past 337 00:12:58,110 --> 00:12:59,430 clients, Cara Hauser. 338 00:12:59,430 --> 00:13:01,530 She was just on the podcast last December. 339 00:13:01,530 --> 00:13:04,160 Episode 363, talking about her own book 340 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:05,210 journey from. 341 00:13:05,210 --> 00:13:06,740 And actually, she did it the opposite way. 342 00:13:06,740 --> 00:13:08,570 She worked on her signature talk, first with 343 00:13:08,570 --> 00:13:10,730 us, and then she ended up writing her book. 344 00:13:10,730 --> 00:13:13,280 So you, the two of you met through that 345 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:15,500 other book community, and then you found 346 00:13:15,500 --> 00:13:17,510 out, so what? What was on your mind as you 347 00:13:17,510 --> 00:13:19,910 were getting ready? You knew the publication 348 00:13:19,910 --> 00:13:21,440 date was coming up. What were you thinking 349 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:23,270 about regarding speaking engagements? 350 00:13:23,450 --> 00:13:27,240 I knew that a book and speaking went nicely 351 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:29,490 together, and in fact some people would say, 352 00:13:29,490 --> 00:13:31,890 if you want to speak, get a book, write a 353 00:13:31,890 --> 00:13:34,920 book, uh, because it gives some credibility 354 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:36,030 and authority. 355 00:13:36,150 --> 00:13:39,120 Uh, but I first step was this book. 356 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:40,650 It's something that I just needed to get out 357 00:13:40,650 --> 00:13:42,630 of me, or it would just keep cycling in my 358 00:13:42,630 --> 00:13:45,360 head. And I wanted another female voice out 359 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:47,010 there. A lot of the books that I had read on 360 00:13:47,010 --> 00:13:48,630 this topic were from men, so it was 361 00:13:48,630 --> 00:13:52,410 important that, um, a female from Kansas in 362 00:13:52,410 --> 00:13:55,560 a biotech that's a little bit unusual, uh, 363 00:13:55,560 --> 00:13:59,430 story, uh, that that story got out there, 364 00:13:59,430 --> 00:14:01,680 that meant other people could see themselves 365 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:03,570 in there. So that was an important driver 366 00:14:03,570 --> 00:14:06,030 for me. And when you're doing something new, 367 00:14:06,060 --> 00:14:07,170 you're like a sponge. 368 00:14:07,170 --> 00:14:09,780 Like, how does this work? How how do people, 369 00:14:10,050 --> 00:14:11,100 uh, pick their books? 370 00:14:11,100 --> 00:14:13,980 How do people talk about books with others? 371 00:14:13,980 --> 00:14:15,820 Is word of mouth is one of the main reasons 372 00:14:15,820 --> 00:14:16,960 to pick up a book? 373 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:19,450 Um, and so I was really watching a lot of 374 00:14:19,450 --> 00:14:23,440 podcasts and, um, there's great community, 375 00:14:23,650 --> 00:14:27,340 um, that has weekly, um, webinars that Kara 376 00:14:27,340 --> 00:14:29,290 came on and she was talking about how she 377 00:14:29,290 --> 00:14:31,870 had invested in herself with the program, 378 00:14:31,870 --> 00:14:33,940 and I was watching it taped. 379 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:35,410 Um, glad somebody asked. 380 00:14:35,410 --> 00:14:37,960 Now, what's what's this speaking, coach, you 381 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:40,730 mentioned. And so that's how I was on to 382 00:14:40,730 --> 00:14:43,010 you. And then Carl was so lovely. 383 00:14:43,010 --> 00:14:44,810 I reached out to her through LinkedIn and 384 00:14:44,810 --> 00:14:46,700 got her advice. So even though I've never 385 00:14:46,700 --> 00:14:50,240 met her, I feel a kinship and a friendship 386 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:51,920 with her. And I think that speaks of your 387 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:54,830 community that you have, that we are all 388 00:14:54,830 --> 00:14:56,180 willing to help each other. 389 00:14:56,180 --> 00:14:57,980 And it's really a beautiful thing that 390 00:14:57,980 --> 00:14:59,870 you're putting out there into the world. 391 00:15:00,050 --> 00:15:01,400 So that's how I found you. 392 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:03,760 And I would just coming off a couple of 393 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:05,710 things that I had invested in myself that 394 00:15:05,710 --> 00:15:06,940 did not go very well. 395 00:15:06,940 --> 00:15:10,330 So I thought, am I really going to do this? 396 00:15:10,420 --> 00:15:11,800 And then I thought, yes, I'm not going to 397 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:13,450 tell anybody I'm doing this because I 398 00:15:13,450 --> 00:15:15,370 probably say, hey, what about those last two 399 00:15:15,370 --> 00:15:17,950 things? But I just knew you were the right 400 00:15:17,950 --> 00:15:20,530 guide for me to walk in this stage because I 401 00:15:20,530 --> 00:15:22,780 had this book I was very excited about, but 402 00:15:22,780 --> 00:15:26,110 I didn't know how to transform it into a 30 403 00:15:26,110 --> 00:15:28,910 45 minute talk just because there was too 404 00:15:28,910 --> 00:15:29,810 much in there. 405 00:15:30,170 --> 00:15:31,280 Yes. Like we mentioned. 406 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:33,980 Right. And this happens not only with women 407 00:15:33,980 --> 00:15:35,930 we work with who have books, but just in 408 00:15:35,930 --> 00:15:37,910 general. We all we all feel like we have so 409 00:15:37,910 --> 00:15:39,650 many ideas, so many things that we can share 410 00:15:39,650 --> 00:15:41,600 with our audiences. When you have a book, I 411 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:43,010 really do think it's a double challenge 412 00:15:43,010 --> 00:15:44,450 because you have that content literally 413 00:15:44,450 --> 00:15:46,910 sitting in front of you, either on that in 414 00:15:46,910 --> 00:15:49,040 that book or on the documents on your 415 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:50,510 computer. So you're like, oh, but this is 416 00:15:50,510 --> 00:15:52,070 important. This is important, this is 417 00:15:52,090 --> 00:15:53,290 important. I want to share this. 418 00:15:53,290 --> 00:15:55,510 So when we came together for that three hour 419 00:15:55,510 --> 00:15:58,150 VIP day, and you had sent me the copy of the 420 00:15:58,150 --> 00:15:59,770 book ahead of time, even though it wasn't 421 00:15:59,770 --> 00:16:01,750 out yet. So I, you know, I kind of read 422 00:16:01,750 --> 00:16:03,070 through it, scanned through it. So I had a 423 00:16:03,070 --> 00:16:05,380 sense of your content and your approach. 424 00:16:05,380 --> 00:16:08,230 And when we got together for that three hour 425 00:16:08,230 --> 00:16:11,110 VIP day, I guess, what were you thinking 426 00:16:11,110 --> 00:16:13,900 before we started, and what did the process 427 00:16:14,020 --> 00:16:16,420 feel like to you by the time we were done? 428 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:19,580 Well, I was just curious how you were going 429 00:16:19,580 --> 00:16:21,860 to take these 40 sections and help me come 430 00:16:21,860 --> 00:16:23,150 out with something cohesive. 431 00:16:23,150 --> 00:16:24,710 That's what I was thinking. 432 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:26,780 And you are delightful to work with. 433 00:16:26,780 --> 00:16:31,190 So really seeing how, uh, um, artfully you 434 00:16:31,190 --> 00:16:33,500 can take people's ideas and map it into 435 00:16:33,500 --> 00:16:35,600 something that you can then start on the 436 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:37,880 journey. Every time I give the presentation, 437 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:40,780 I get better. So there's still a lot more of 438 00:16:40,780 --> 00:16:42,190 the journey to go. 439 00:16:42,370 --> 00:16:44,680 Um, but you really help me package it in a 440 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:49,000 way that the audience could consume and 441 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:53,560 enjoy. Um, so it was just the right helper 442 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:54,880 for me at the right time. 443 00:16:55,210 --> 00:16:58,150 I know, I remember that and that we came up 444 00:16:58,150 --> 00:17:00,640 with this, the, the Time framework, because 445 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:02,140 I was asking you a lot of questions. 446 00:17:02,140 --> 00:17:03,910 And again, I had read through your book. 447 00:17:03,910 --> 00:17:05,820 So I knew that this idea of time was really 448 00:17:05,820 --> 00:17:06,990 important. And obviously making 449 00:17:06,990 --> 00:17:08,280 opportunities happen. 450 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:11,730 Timeliness or this urgency of time is, is 451 00:17:11,730 --> 00:17:13,830 really important. So, you know, as we're 452 00:17:13,830 --> 00:17:15,660 going through, I'm thinking like, how do we 453 00:17:15,660 --> 00:17:18,060 kind of package all of your thought 454 00:17:18,060 --> 00:17:20,610 leadership, you know, your IP into something 455 00:17:20,610 --> 00:17:22,770 that's that's consumable for the audience, 456 00:17:22,770 --> 00:17:24,900 but that gives them that bigger picture. 457 00:17:24,900 --> 00:17:26,370 And that's where this idea of kind of 458 00:17:26,370 --> 00:17:28,590 packaging it under under time, the framework 459 00:17:28,620 --> 00:17:31,520 time came in and then pulling just four of 460 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,950 those key components in it, even though you 461 00:17:33,950 --> 00:17:36,200 have 40 or 50, right. 462 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:38,690 And 40. But here's the beauty of it, Maria. 463 00:17:38,690 --> 00:17:40,580 You could actually change them out, you 464 00:17:40,580 --> 00:17:42,590 know, six months from now, a year from now, 465 00:17:42,590 --> 00:17:45,440 if you decide, you know, the time, I want to 466 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:48,320 switch some of those those letters around, 467 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:50,210 you know, to different phrases or different 468 00:17:50,210 --> 00:17:52,280 parts of the book, you could do that if you 469 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:53,820 want to. And she's looking at me like, no, 470 00:17:53,820 --> 00:17:56,010 I'm trying to get this one figured out. 471 00:17:58,110 --> 00:18:00,750 Oh for sure. 472 00:18:00,750 --> 00:18:01,290 Yeah. 473 00:18:01,290 --> 00:18:02,700 So okay, so let's talk about the speaking 474 00:18:02,700 --> 00:18:03,840 engagements you've been doing. 475 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:05,880 I know, like you just like I think you 476 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:09,420 graduated from the academy into March and 477 00:18:09,420 --> 00:18:12,300 you had a paid speaking engagement already 478 00:18:12,300 --> 00:18:15,390 on the calendar for the beginning of May, so 479 00:18:15,390 --> 00:18:16,410 that was fantastic. 480 00:18:16,410 --> 00:18:18,190 I was so excited that you could actually go 481 00:18:18,190 --> 00:18:20,320 and deliver what you had been working on. 482 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:22,810 So where are these speaking engagements 483 00:18:22,810 --> 00:18:23,830 coming from? 484 00:18:23,830 --> 00:18:25,780 Are and I know that they're a mix of free 485 00:18:25,780 --> 00:18:28,090 and paid. So are you getting a sense of 486 00:18:28,090 --> 00:18:30,280 which ones are free, which ones are paid and 487 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:32,410 and how have you been balancing those? 488 00:18:32,620 --> 00:18:35,470 Yes. And it was so fun to get the email with 489 00:18:35,470 --> 00:18:37,690 the paid speaking request. 490 00:18:37,690 --> 00:18:40,720 Uh, because I was like, wow, Carolyn, Diane 491 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:41,920 work magic. 492 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:43,890 And that was totally inbound. 493 00:18:43,890 --> 00:18:46,590 A lot of what I do is, you know, making sure 494 00:18:46,590 --> 00:18:48,720 a lot of relationship building before you 495 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:49,800 would get to that stage. 496 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:50,880 So that was really fun. 497 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:53,070 And I asked her how she found me, and she 498 00:18:53,070 --> 00:18:55,530 said I had been in her database, uh, for a 499 00:18:55,530 --> 00:18:58,830 few years. So all that, all the work that we 500 00:18:58,830 --> 00:19:00,660 do in LinkedIn and putting things out, it 501 00:19:00,660 --> 00:19:01,710 does come back to us. 502 00:19:01,710 --> 00:19:03,420 You just don't know about the timing. 503 00:19:03,420 --> 00:19:07,370 And then after that, I really wanted to hone 504 00:19:07,370 --> 00:19:10,880 it. So I did a couple, uh, free, but they 505 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:12,620 bought books, so it was more in trade. 506 00:19:12,620 --> 00:19:13,880 And that's one of the great things you coach 507 00:19:13,910 --> 00:19:15,890 us on is there's a lot of different things 508 00:19:15,890 --> 00:19:17,030 that bring you value. 509 00:19:17,030 --> 00:19:20,330 And how do you, uh, how do you trade on some 510 00:19:20,330 --> 00:19:22,040 of these things that you are getting 511 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:23,390 something for your time? 512 00:19:23,390 --> 00:19:25,400 Because in the past, I had been doing all my 513 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:27,620 speaking for free, and then that transition 514 00:19:27,620 --> 00:19:30,320 into paid is a little bit unnatural. 515 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:33,060 And that's why. Having you as a guide to go 516 00:19:33,060 --> 00:19:35,520 to of you know, I this is this is where I 517 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:36,720 am. What do you think? 518 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:40,230 Um, has been great, uh, because it's it's an 519 00:19:40,230 --> 00:19:43,200 evolution, uh, into a new world. 520 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:45,240 And it's been it's been wonderful. 521 00:19:45,570 --> 00:19:48,690 So, so you mentioned so that one, that first 522 00:19:48,690 --> 00:19:50,130 one in May that was paid was inbound. 523 00:19:50,130 --> 00:19:52,110 So they already had had you in the database 524 00:19:52,110 --> 00:19:54,240 kind of had had, uh, eyes on you. 525 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:57,080 So then like you said, LinkedIn having a 526 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:58,640 visible presence on LinkedIn and being 527 00:19:58,640 --> 00:19:59,870 consistent there is important. 528 00:19:59,870 --> 00:20:02,210 Now you also are doing outbound. 529 00:20:02,210 --> 00:20:04,400 Correct. You're also are kind of looking 530 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:06,080 around for speaking opportunities and 531 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:08,660 approaching people. What how are you doing 532 00:20:08,660 --> 00:20:10,310 that? Are you kind of searching Google? 533 00:20:10,310 --> 00:20:11,960 Are you looking in Kansas City where you 534 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:13,640 live? What is what are you doing? 535 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,490 Well, in my primary goal right now is to get 536 00:20:16,490 --> 00:20:19,010 to 50 podcasts of letting people know that 537 00:20:19,010 --> 00:20:21,420 the book is out there, and I am. 538 00:20:21,420 --> 00:20:24,510 This is my 11th, so I am making my way. 539 00:20:24,510 --> 00:20:27,930 And the most successful strategy I've had 540 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,590 there is, uh, a friend of a friend who do I 541 00:20:31,590 --> 00:20:33,030 know that knows someone. 542 00:20:33,030 --> 00:20:35,430 And it's a lot like raising money if you 543 00:20:35,430 --> 00:20:39,000 just do, um, cold outreach into investors, 544 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,010 that's very tough. But if you can find 545 00:20:41,010 --> 00:20:43,820 somebody that they know and trust that that 546 00:20:43,820 --> 00:20:46,400 you know, that's a much better strategy. 547 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,670 Um, so it's been about relationships on the 548 00:20:49,670 --> 00:20:52,040 podcast, um, side. 549 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,110 And then that's where I've been focusing 550 00:20:54,110 --> 00:20:55,310 more of my attention. 551 00:20:55,310 --> 00:20:58,970 But I have I do have the alerts set up for, 552 00:20:58,970 --> 00:21:01,790 uh, call for speakers, and I am I am 553 00:21:01,790 --> 00:21:03,200 starting to nurture that because I've 554 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:07,370 learned that through your podcast and start 555 00:21:07,370 --> 00:21:10,500 to build out in 2025, where are the places? 556 00:21:10,500 --> 00:21:12,540 And I have a goal of what number that we 557 00:21:12,540 --> 00:21:15,450 want. I want to get to each year, um, and 558 00:21:15,450 --> 00:21:16,590 start to build this. 559 00:21:16,590 --> 00:21:19,470 I know I can be really good at this because 560 00:21:19,470 --> 00:21:21,660 in other parts of my life I have been really 561 00:21:21,660 --> 00:21:24,270 good at it. Uh, it, uh, it's one of those 562 00:21:24,270 --> 00:21:27,180 things if you don't do it very often, you 563 00:21:27,180 --> 00:21:29,940 know, uh, it's a, it's a practice muscle. 564 00:21:29,940 --> 00:21:32,780 So with podcasts and these, these speaking 565 00:21:32,780 --> 00:21:34,670 engagements, I feel like each time it's 566 00:21:34,670 --> 00:21:35,510 getting better. 567 00:21:35,510 --> 00:21:38,660 Well, actually, this is a good, uh, segue to 568 00:21:38,660 --> 00:21:40,220 this next part that I wanted us to chat 569 00:21:40,220 --> 00:21:42,590 about. Is that so? As a CEO of a company, 570 00:21:42,590 --> 00:21:44,360 especially one that ended up exiting being 571 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:45,860 acquired, I'm sure you did speaking 572 00:21:45,860 --> 00:21:49,010 engagements a lot of the times, whether it 573 00:21:49,010 --> 00:21:51,770 was on behalf of the company, perhaps they 574 00:21:51,770 --> 00:21:54,050 weren't keynotes, but whether it was to team 575 00:21:54,050 --> 00:21:57,620 members at meetings or to other partners 576 00:21:57,620 --> 00:21:59,210 that you were working with or customers and 577 00:21:59,210 --> 00:22:02,660 so on. So how did those speaking engagements 578 00:22:02,660 --> 00:22:05,450 and your preparation or your sense of them? 579 00:22:05,450 --> 00:22:08,330 How is that similar or different from the 580 00:22:08,330 --> 00:22:10,430 keynote speaking and the workshops that 581 00:22:10,430 --> 00:22:12,110 you're doing now, which is very much about 582 00:22:12,110 --> 00:22:14,000 your own content. 583 00:22:14,420 --> 00:22:17,090 And a lot of investor pitches, a lot of sales 584 00:22:17,090 --> 00:22:18,950 pitches. I actually have done a lot of 585 00:22:18,950 --> 00:22:21,110 speaking to middle school girls about the 586 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:23,750 value of going into Stem fields over. 587 00:22:23,750 --> 00:22:25,910 I counted it up because I did a keynote last 588 00:22:25,910 --> 00:22:29,090 year, over 900 girls that I've talked to. 589 00:22:29,180 --> 00:22:32,300 So those are just some of the give back 590 00:22:32,390 --> 00:22:34,340 areas that I find meaningful and the places 591 00:22:34,340 --> 00:22:35,540 people have asked me. 592 00:22:35,750 --> 00:22:38,390 Uh, but one of the things I feel like I've 593 00:22:38,750 --> 00:22:41,210 been transformed through your program was 594 00:22:41,210 --> 00:22:44,210 not as much memorization of trying to get. 595 00:22:44,210 --> 00:22:47,230 This is the exact phrases I need to use, but 596 00:22:47,230 --> 00:22:49,180 these are the stories I want to tell and and 597 00:22:49,180 --> 00:22:51,250 how they go from one to another. 598 00:22:51,250 --> 00:22:53,230 And as you say, you know, you know your 599 00:22:53,230 --> 00:22:55,210 stories better than anybody. 600 00:22:55,210 --> 00:22:56,920 So I feel like I'm a much more relaxed 601 00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:58,780 speaker than I used to be. 602 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:02,170 Um, and that's just it's practice. 603 00:23:02,170 --> 00:23:07,000 But it's also that epiphany of being natural 604 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,010 is better than having every planned word. 605 00:23:10,490 --> 00:23:11,510 Yes. All right. 606 00:23:11,510 --> 00:23:13,130 So then, Maria, let me ask you this about 607 00:23:13,130 --> 00:23:14,300 the keynotes that you've been doing in the 608 00:23:14,300 --> 00:23:15,320 workshops that you've been doing. 609 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:18,380 Now, I talked to some women and they love 610 00:23:18,380 --> 00:23:21,020 public speaking. It lights them on fire. 611 00:23:21,020 --> 00:23:22,970 They, you know, they feel like they're in 612 00:23:22,970 --> 00:23:25,130 their element. Other women I talked to, at 613 00:23:25,130 --> 00:23:27,440 least initially, are maybe not necessarily 614 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:29,030 reluctant, but they're like, well, I speak 615 00:23:29,030 --> 00:23:30,980 because I feel like I have to or, you know, 616 00:23:30,980 --> 00:23:32,000 I kind of enjoy it. 617 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,240 But I, you know, I still get a lot of nerves 618 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:35,710 or I'm still feel that. 619 00:23:35,710 --> 00:23:37,840 I'm not sure about it. Where do you fit on 620 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:38,620 that spectrum? 621 00:23:38,650 --> 00:23:40,420 Well, I think it's part of if I would be 622 00:23:40,420 --> 00:23:42,370 doing this every week, it would be feeling 623 00:23:42,370 --> 00:23:44,650 more comfortable and that when you're in the 624 00:23:44,650 --> 00:23:46,330 zone, it's kind of like when I start to talk 625 00:23:46,330 --> 00:23:48,910 about those those images and those slides 626 00:23:48,910 --> 00:23:51,610 and it's fun, you know, that is fun. 627 00:23:51,670 --> 00:23:54,190 I'm trying to make more of the presentation, 628 00:23:54,190 --> 00:23:55,960 as fun as that part is. 629 00:23:56,230 --> 00:23:58,650 Uh, so it's not something I dread. 630 00:23:58,650 --> 00:24:02,010 It's not, um, it's not as natural if you 631 00:24:02,010 --> 00:24:03,660 don't do it all the time. 632 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:06,480 But I do believe I've learned how to harness 633 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:08,940 butterflies into something more productive. 634 00:24:09,150 --> 00:24:12,600 Uh, and it's just it's just something that 635 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:14,790 we need to do, uh, and it's worth getting 636 00:24:14,790 --> 00:24:15,840 better and better at. 637 00:24:16,230 --> 00:24:18,570 And how have the doing the podcast interviews 638 00:24:18,570 --> 00:24:20,670 helped with the in-person speaking? 639 00:24:21,550 --> 00:24:26,800 Um, it's been a way to get a lot of feedback. 640 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:28,990 So they, you know, athletes watch the tapes. 641 00:24:28,990 --> 00:24:31,210 And so it's a great way to watch the tapes 642 00:24:31,210 --> 00:24:33,610 and, and really just learning how to do that 643 00:24:33,610 --> 00:24:35,170 has been phenomenal because it's pretty 644 00:24:35,170 --> 00:24:36,970 painful at first when you're watching these 645 00:24:36,970 --> 00:24:39,190 and you think, oh my gosh, I just said, um, 646 00:24:39,190 --> 00:24:40,270 three times. 647 00:24:40,270 --> 00:24:42,970 Or, you know, I look up a lot when I'm 648 00:24:42,970 --> 00:24:46,300 trying to do recall and trying to see, uh, 649 00:24:46,300 --> 00:24:48,300 there are a lot of good things, but are we 650 00:24:48,300 --> 00:24:50,220 noticing that? So making myself know. 651 00:24:50,220 --> 00:24:51,630 Oh, that's a tough question. 652 00:24:51,630 --> 00:24:53,190 What am I going to. Oh, okay. 653 00:24:53,190 --> 00:24:54,330 That was pretty good. 654 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,960 Uh, and then, um, every every one is 655 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:00,540 different. So seeing how they're, how 656 00:25:00,540 --> 00:25:02,520 they're asking questions and you are 657 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:05,310 evolving through this process, uh, and I 658 00:25:05,310 --> 00:25:08,790 cannot wait to hear what number 50 is like, 659 00:25:08,850 --> 00:25:11,260 uh, because you just get better as you as 660 00:25:11,260 --> 00:25:12,040 you go. 661 00:25:12,490 --> 00:25:15,010 And isn't it fascinating that even though the 662 00:25:15,010 --> 00:25:16,750 questions seem like they're going to be 663 00:25:16,750 --> 00:25:19,120 similar from one podcast to the next, but 664 00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:21,100 whatever the host happens to ask, they 665 00:25:21,100 --> 00:25:23,410 always have their particular spin on it, but 666 00:25:23,410 --> 00:25:25,180 in the best way. And then you end up 667 00:25:25,180 --> 00:25:26,530 thinking of things that you have never 668 00:25:26,530 --> 00:25:28,630 thought of before, or in a particular way. 669 00:25:28,630 --> 00:25:29,650 Right? For sure. 670 00:25:29,650 --> 00:25:31,030 And it's I mean, it's very natural. 671 00:25:31,030 --> 00:25:32,560 We're just having a conversation. 672 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:35,220 So this is a great way to practice. 673 00:25:35,220 --> 00:25:39,000 Uh, and I'm getting people exposed to the 674 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:41,130 book, which is planting seeds. 675 00:25:41,130 --> 00:25:42,930 Uh, so it's a very fun journey. 676 00:25:43,650 --> 00:25:46,590 And then Maria, so talk about what is next 677 00:25:46,590 --> 00:25:47,970 for you. Obviously, you want to continue to 678 00:25:47,970 --> 00:25:49,050 do podcast interviews. 679 00:25:49,050 --> 00:25:50,820 So for any of you listening, if you host a 680 00:25:50,820 --> 00:25:52,350 podcast and you feel like Maria would be a 681 00:25:52,350 --> 00:25:55,350 great fit, help her get to number 50 from 682 00:25:55,350 --> 00:25:57,150 where she is today, you can reach out to her 683 00:25:57,150 --> 00:25:59,220 and see if that would be a good fit for your 684 00:25:59,230 --> 00:26:01,150 podcast. So obviously I know you want to do 685 00:26:01,150 --> 00:26:03,370 more speaking engagements, keynotes as well 686 00:26:03,370 --> 00:26:05,530 as workshops. What else is on the horizon 687 00:26:05,530 --> 00:26:06,160 for you? 688 00:26:06,340 --> 00:26:10,330 So really who I'm about is make opportunity 689 00:26:10,330 --> 00:26:12,280 happen, whether it's in an entrepreneurial 690 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:14,350 setting. I've worked in not for profits here 691 00:26:14,350 --> 00:26:16,810 recently, helping them really develop 692 00:26:16,810 --> 00:26:20,290 ecosystems. Um, I am working with innovators 693 00:26:20,290 --> 00:26:22,030 within medical systems. 694 00:26:22,030 --> 00:26:25,110 So I that's where I get a lot of energy of 695 00:26:25,110 --> 00:26:27,240 what can what can become of this. 696 00:26:27,270 --> 00:26:28,920 You have a blank page. How do you fill it 697 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,430 in. So I keep I'm going to keep doing that. 698 00:26:32,430 --> 00:26:34,980 And and really it's about scaling myself, 699 00:26:34,980 --> 00:26:37,500 which is what the book and the speaking does 700 00:26:37,530 --> 00:26:41,010 is helps me to reach more people, uh, to get 701 00:26:41,010 --> 00:26:43,230 them to make opportunity happen. 702 00:26:43,830 --> 00:26:44,910 Oh, I love that, Maria. 703 00:26:44,910 --> 00:26:48,200 Well, thank you so much for being a part of 704 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,330 our community. I love having you as part of 705 00:26:50,330 --> 00:26:51,950 it. I love getting your emails when you 706 00:26:51,950 --> 00:26:53,570 share your excitement because some new 707 00:26:53,570 --> 00:26:55,010 speaking engagement came through, and then 708 00:26:55,010 --> 00:26:57,980 you share with me what, how, how things have 709 00:26:57,980 --> 00:26:59,690 gone with the speaking engagements that you 710 00:26:59,690 --> 00:27:01,250 have done. So keep that up. 711 00:27:01,250 --> 00:27:03,050 This is the thing with. But the women that 712 00:27:03,050 --> 00:27:05,540 we work with is that we want to continue to 713 00:27:05,540 --> 00:27:07,670 hear from you. If you have a question three 714 00:27:07,670 --> 00:27:09,800 months or six months or a year after you 715 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:11,660 graduated, like still come back to us 716 00:27:11,670 --> 00:27:13,830 because that's what we're here for and we're 717 00:27:13,830 --> 00:27:16,200 here to help you double whatever you're 718 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:18,270 about to quote for your speaking fee, 719 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:20,520 because whatever your first instinct is, is 720 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,160 should probably be higher than that, as I'm 721 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:24,600 sure you learn, Maria, when we went through 722 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:25,320 the program. 723 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:26,880 And I think that's one of the most unique 724 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:28,890 things about you and Diane, is that you want 725 00:27:28,890 --> 00:27:30,240 to keep this relationship going. 726 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:32,640 I think most programs the program's done. 727 00:27:32,910 --> 00:27:35,850 Um, but I really value that you're still 728 00:27:35,850 --> 00:27:36,990 there for us. And. 729 00:27:36,990 --> 00:27:37,680 Thank you. 730 00:27:38,070 --> 00:27:39,180 Oh, well, it's my pleasure. 731 00:27:39,180 --> 00:27:41,760 So, Maria, for for everyone listening, 732 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:43,830 connect with Maria on LinkedIn. 733 00:27:43,950 --> 00:27:46,260 Her profile will be in the show notes for 734 00:27:46,260 --> 00:27:48,540 this episode. Also, make sure to go and get 735 00:27:48,540 --> 00:27:50,850 her book. It is a fantastic book, and 736 00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:52,770 especially if you're an entrepreneur at any 737 00:27:52,770 --> 00:27:55,350 stage or even just in your in your career, 738 00:27:55,350 --> 00:27:56,790 you're going to find different of those mini 739 00:27:56,790 --> 00:27:58,710 chapters that are going to really help you 740 00:27:58,710 --> 00:28:00,930 out. Maria, thank you so much for coming on 741 00:28:00,930 --> 00:28:02,070 the podcast. Thank you. 742 00:28:02,070 --> 00:28:03,000 It's been a delight. 743 00:28:03,030 --> 00:28:04,740 If you would like to join us in the Thought 744 00:28:04,740 --> 00:28:07,350 Leader Academy, we are enrolling now for our 745 00:28:07,350 --> 00:28:09,540 August and October start dates. 746 00:28:09,540 --> 00:28:11,730 You can get all the details as speaking your 747 00:28:11,730 --> 00:28:14,790 brand.com/academy again that's speaking your 748 00:28:14,790 --> 00:28:17,070 brand comm slash academy. 749 00:28:17,070 --> 00:28:18,150 Until next time. 750 00:28:18,150 --> 00:28:19,230 Thanks for listening.