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Welcome to "SayMoore," the podcast that delves into the raw and real conversations surrounding the journey of women in pursuit of building their careers and reaching for C-Suite opportunities. Join us as we explore the triumphs, challenges, and everything in between faced by ambitious women across the country navigating their professional paths. From insightful interviews with trailblazing leaders to candid discussions on breaking barriers, this podcast is your go-to resource for inspiration, empowerment, and actionable insights. Tune in as we amplify the voices of women just starting their journey to those making waves in the business world and uncover the wisdom that fuels their success. Get ready to be inspired, informed, and empowered on "SayMoore."
Dr. Kimberly Moore (00:00)
Welcome to Say More, the powerhouse podcast dedicated to elevating the voices and journeys of women striving for the C -suite and those who've already conquered it. Brace yourself for candid conversations, illuminating interviews and unfiltered insights as we delve into the triumphs, hurdles and invaluable lessons learned along the path to success.
Join us on this empowering journey where inspiration meets empowerment and wisdom reign supreme. Get ready to ignite your ambition, harness your potential and thrive alongside your sisters on Say More.
to the Say More podcast. I am so excited to be joining all of the listeners today to talk about, you know, this whole notion of how do you make it to the C -suite, you know, and there's this space and place that we need to have these conversations about things that we're experiencing, things that, you know, probably depending upon where you are in your journey, that man, if you could step back and would have been able to tell your 20 year old self.
You know how that would be very different. And some of the time and I think that most listeners would agree that you just don't know if what you're experiencing is isolated to you or is this a thing that you need to be concerned about or even advocate or address. So say more is all about.
women, it's inspiring them that regardless of where you are on your journey, you can contribute and you can give back to make sure that someone else's journey is in load is honestly lighter. So that's what this conversation is about. And I am so glad that I am joined by my friend, Monica, Dr. Monica Curry, but Monica to talk and share because really what you can expect from the same or.
podcast is individuals coming and being very authentic and genuine about the journey. And oftentimes we think it's a straight line, but I will tell you that it's not a straight line. There's some hooks and curves and you know, and I'd say for some even tunnels, you know, if you will. So Dr. Curry, Monica, would you start I mean, just shares with our say more audience.
a bit about your own personal journey and how you navigated your career path. And of course, we'll unpack it as we go throughout. Sure, I am honored to be here. So thank you. I'm normally on the other side. So me sitting here having to share my story is a little uncomfortable, but thank you for stretching me. I appreciate it. So my journey, my goodness. So I'm an Air Force brat and I'm gonna start there. I'm an Air Force brat. So I spent most of my formative years overseas.
in England and Spain and my dad was very intentional about us not living on base. We actually lived off base amongst the people so to speak in the community. And so I thank my dad for that. He's deceased now, but I thank him for that because it exposed us to different cultures. I fast forward and that those experiences have created the person that I am. And I say it that way because,
every three years or five years, we were required to pick up and move stateside back international stateside. So, you know, we change has been fundamental and who I am and how I was raised. And so it has allowed me one, as I move from one organization to another, or as if you're in an organization with the mergers and the transitions of organizations and teams,
the transitions through change were easier for me because I had already created strategies of whether it's reinventing myself or how to seamlessly transition into another role or another organization. How do you ask the right questions? You know, how do you show up differently? How do you identify what the new culture is and not lose who you are, but be able to fit into that culture?
So I always start with those formative years as I transition into corporate America. I started in, I actually started my career in the travel industry. So I have landed planes, brought them in, I have loaded and unloaded. I'm only five, one and a half. So I always needed help getting into the belly of the plane to unload the, so I've worked for Carnival Cruise Line.
And then, you know, I went through a divorce, you know, personal struggles or challenges kind of had to reinvent myself. And so the question was, you know, through that divorce, like, who am I? What do I want to be when I grow up? I had a daughter who was two years old at the time. And so I came back home to Delaware. And so it was just like, okay, so I'm home. So what am I going to do? So I went back to school. And so.
Of course, what I did is I found an organization that would pay for me to go. So with tuition reimbursement, I started at a financial institution and I kind of stuck with financial institutions. So I was able to get my undergrad. There was some time where I was traveling too much or so much because I'd love to travel for work. And so I couldn't finish my undergrad. And with this organization that I had been with for 12 years.
I wasn't able to stay with the organization in that current role because they had changed policies in HR and you had to have a bachelor's degree for my particular role. So I no longer qualified for my own job that I had been in for almost 12 years. so.
So that goes back to the point of that. It's not a straight line. I mean, there are so many things and factors that you just don't control, but it does matter how you handle them. So, yeah. That's what it is. It's about resilience. How do you navigate? What do you do? What could you do? I could have just gave up and, you know, so I decided that that would never be a factor again, my education.
so found a new role, another financial institution. They paid for the remainder of my undergrad, and the master's program. And so that organization, our values no longer aligned after three years. And so for me, I read the same way people reevaluate relationships. I also reevaluate my career and the relationship that I'm in with an organization and gas prices were going.
astronomically high. I've always commuted at least 45 minutes when I went into a while. So our values no longer align. So I started looking for another role and I found another role. And so this new organization that I was with, they paid for my doctorate degree. Now keep in mind, keep in mind, you know, most organizations will pay for one, one undergrad.
one masters. A lot of times they won't pay for a doctorate's degree. But what I did, and this is that entrepreneur spirit, like everything that I was learning in my program, I was applying to my job. So there was equal benefit. Yes. I had to put together a proposal. Literally I put together a proposal. This is what I'm learning. This is how I've applied it thus far. this is what else I'll be learning and how I anticipate.
And so I proposed it, went and presented it to our CHRO. And so at that time she was like, okay, so we'll take it from the, it was no longer coming from tuition reimbursement and it came from the training budget. And so again, you've gotta be on your grind as I call it because it was just as beneficial for the organization as it was for me. And so with that, I was able to get my doctorate's degree.
I went through multiple certifications and I won't even name them, but one of the key contributors to my success in the diversity space is I am a change management practitioner. I won't say the organization, but I am a certified change management practitioner. And, and for me, the reason why that is fundamental in just about everything I do is you talk about coaching, whether you're coaching frontline leaders or executives, C -suite.
It's about the change in behavior. And you know. Change in behavior and actually you know a question for you because I don't want to lose this that you know two points that you made. One is that we're always looking for ways and should always be looking for ways to invest in ourselves but at the same time identify the win win for your organization especially if we're seeking their support. And the other is to from what I gather from.
both this conversation and the conversations that we've had in the past, it's how do you make sure that what you're doing today will also benefit you in the future? And that's a longer range plan. So was that by circumstance? Do you think that, or maybe that was just innate, but I think it's important for our listeners to...
realize and even be able to step back that because I have oftentimes heard, you know, a lot of people, I'm not assuming that new responsibility or I'm not learning anything new unless they're paying me for it and they're going to give me a raise. And I firmly believe, and I understand the rationale, but you're shortchanging yourself and better positioning for the future when you don't take on the extra. I would say and submit that for my own career,
I've always worked out of position with the intent of being prepared and ready when opportunity presents itself. So, you know, what, what, what, you know, is there more that you'd want to weigh in on that? What was your thinking? Because this, you know, say more is about, you know, really getting to know the individual and kind of what led to these decisions. There was an individual, I'll keep it. He was younger than me. He was a more senior level.
And so he just one day we were just sitting down. We had lunch and he said Monica You need to play the role you need to dress the part that you want to be tomorrow not today and So that just resonated with me with everything I do right so I am open to trying new things I am open to hmm How's this gonna benefit me and how does that translate into the organization as well? And so there's not much
And this is also, you know, hindsight, 2020 is, is one of my opportunities. There's not much that I've said no to because I'm willing to try anything. but I'm, I'm willing to roll up my sleeves and, you know, even, you know, get down and dirty, if you will boots on the ground, because I understand from top to bottom, but this individual just really, it just resonated. You gotta, you gotta dress the part that you want to be in tomorrow.
the role versus where you are today. And that's powerful. That's so powerful. I think one of the important things again, and I know there's gonna be so many nuggets and I want to draw everybody's attention to it because again, depending upon where you are in your walk right now or your journey, it may be different, but I'm certain that it's gonna resonate. And that's when you think about failing forward. A lot of people, I don't want to try new because what if I fail?
So it's not about failing, it's about learning. And when you think about, you know, the majority of a population being fearful of whether it's public speaking or whatever that thing may be, I mean, the, the whole notion that you tried in and of itself is your mile marker or stone that says I can do that next thing because you've already made the first step. So what's your thoughts about that? That it's not about try to fail. It's,
try and work. I think about it in this way. I think about regret. I would rather take the risk and fail than to ever regret not trying because what what if what could have been that is the worst and I've had those instances. What if I could have been I could have been I should have been but I would rather you know with
High risk comes high reward That's what it was any yes, and so I would rather risk Embarrassing myself or failing then to wake up tomorrow Wondering what could have been that regrets is worse for me than failure?
So this leads me to, because we talk about those twists and turns, because though you can control what you can control, there are things that will fall outside of your control along the journey. So let's talk about some of those things. And again, you know, we'll talk about challenges, but we're certainly going to be identifying things that you can do that empower as well. But, you know, part of this journey for even say more is talking about and calling out those things that just.
you know, create those stumbling blocks and how you can pivot and move from. So unconscious bias, microaggression, imposter syndrome. Again, you know, they're prevalent challenges faced by many women in the workplace. Can you speak to your experiences with these obstacles and how you were able to overcome or manage them? Because, you know, speaking from experience, these they're they're real.
They're real and you never can pick the time that you'll be confronted by it, but you will be right. Yeah. And to your point, it's how you overcome the characters built based on how you overcome those challenges. And I'm actually going to do them. Talk about them in, in the order. I think that you actually mentioned them because unconscious bias is a, is about someone's projection onto you. So that's his, their mindset. These are their values. These are their beliefs.
that they will project onto you. And I kind of made some notes and I went to the Webster dictionary just to make sure that we were clear on the definition. I'll give you the true definition then a monicaism as I'll call it and how exactly and how I felt it. So unconscious bias is when we make judgments or decisions on the basis of our own prior experience with with the color race gender. So those are our own how we grew up.
and what we may have heard other people say about these individuals. And so that is really a mindset. Can we shift it? Absolutely. And for me, it is creating space and opportunity for individuals to empathize, to share in somebody else's story, to walk in someone else's shoes, for them to understand that, yes, Monica is a cisgender black female.
But let me tell you about the person that she is. She's not just black, you know? And so unconscious bias again, is someone else's values and mindset projected onto us. And the way it's projected is microaggressions. That's that behavior. That's how it shows up. And so let's talk about a microaggression is defined as every day, subtle, intentional, sometimes unintentional.
interactions. So an example. So if someone has an assumption that because I am black that I'm lazy,
then that microaggression may show up as Monica, did you do this yet? Monica, did you do this yet? Monica, can you email me when you did this or you're very articulate. You speak very well. Right. Because there's an assumption we've watched boys in the hood or something. We've heard something. It's a whole bunch of slang. Don't get me wrong. I can get down with the get down. please for that.
And so, you know, again, it's the mindset that shows up in a certain behavior on, on me or someone else or someone else. What happens is those microaggressions then lead me to question my value. And so when we talk about imposter syndrome, so again, your mindset then shows up at a,
for a behavior towards me which then impairs the way I think of myself and how I work and so imposter syndrome is a persistent inability to believe that one success is derived or has been legitimately achieved So I start questioning. Okay, should I be here? Like why does Kimberly have me on her podcast? Like should I even be a subject matter expert?
It also shows up for me sometimes I don't carry my doctor's title a lot of times I'm just like just call me Monica like an or I'll say everybody can do it if I can do it anybody can do it And so it shows up in different ways a lot of times. It's just innate It's inside of me, you know, some people will know some people won't know it's that nervousness. I can't believe that I'm here Should I really be here?
You know, should I really be here? So it will then impact my performance. It impacts my mental health. It impacts everything to do with Monica. So again, it shows up in different ways. and we have found, you know, I have a mantra, let no man or woman ruin your day. depending on the situation, the circumstance, you know, we create those strategies to help us still maintain a level of productivity and confidence.
But you have that unconscious bias that's projected at you and then those microaggressions which creates that imposter syndrome in me. And so you've got to create that level of resilience to be able to navigate over those lumps and bruises to still be successful. I think, again, sharing and recognizing own experiences, but also in the conversations.
that we hear, whether in the same group or individually, about the challenges and where it has for a lot of people impacted their ability or desire to seek higher positions because of how they were made to feel. And I think, again, with, say, more with bringing awareness and attention to it is critical for making sure that...
Individuals know that you're not crazy when you're in experiencing these things and to call it out as what it is. And I think sometimes it's just that it may be error. Folks just don't know that they're doing it and realize, and I guess that's why it's unconscious peace. But for the person that's receiving it, for example, and again, we, we, well, it's about women, so we can be gender specific on this. So the conversation about, my gosh,
She has such a strong personality. We all know for code word, you know, it's code word and to translate that because again, if apply to another gender, why? You know, is absolutely is absolutely amazing. He is going somewhere. He is firm. Yeah, he's done. But when applied.
to and it goes against how you perceive that this person ought to present themselves and bring what they bring to the table and then becomes a negative that oftentimes people will want you to own when it's their vision that they're looking to have you minimize and fit into that box. So it's so important that again, women, regardless of where you are in your journey, that you hear and understand that it is.
You know, it is not a compliment to say or believe that if you, if you would place that same conversation on another gender in a positive way, but it becomes negative when you talk to Monica, because Monica, you have a strong personality. what does that say? I mean, I think again, it goes back to continuous learning. And I'm so glad that a number of employers and industries are taking a look at this, but.
in the midst of this where it's not being looked at, it's wreaking a lot of havoc. absolutely. And you know, I will even take it outside of gender or race or ethnicity. You talk about, you think about a socioeconomic class, you know. I was a single mom. I just, I hid that for a long time because as single parents or as parents in general, sometimes you don't get the sexy projects because, she has a kid, so she's not going to be able to travel or she this or.
she's taking care of her parents or so, you know, you, we have to keep those things top of mind, opposed to making an assumption about a single parent or an individual that are caring for their parents. You can't make that assumption. You just have that conversation. Hey, we have this project coming up. You're the best person for it. Just let me know. Is this something that you're interested in?
So what do you think about, again, you know, it's important for women to recognize one, as we've talked about these challenges, but addressing it because that's a whole nother layer. I, you know, you hear it, you read it, you see it, you experience it of addressing it in your professional workspace. You know, I have heard from a variety of goes across sectors, women that say, I just chose to lead the job.
didn't fight it, didn't, you know, just didn't speak up about it and just chose to leave the job because in their mind, you know, it's just toxic and it's ruining my mental health. And I think a lot of, again, mental health is important. You know, the fact that it's off the radar now, it is so important and that it matters where you are in that space. But, you know, what do you say about that for women being able to recognize and address it? What are some tips?
I went through those different phases in my 20s. It was just like, okay, I'm gonna fly under the radar. I'm just gonna ignore it. And as I became more comfortable.
And I took on a responsibility to educate. I took on that responsibility. Not everybody is in the space, the mental health space. there are some people that are still angry about things. And so to teach, teach someone is not where they are right now. And so probably in, and I'm just putting it in age range because I got more comfortable with myself at my, in my forties, became C suite.
I'm not my doctorate degree and I'm like, okay, I'm not angry anymore. And so I'm willing to teach. I'm willing to own that, you know, whether I'm on a cruise ship and somebody asked to touch my braids, is it mine or I am in the office. And because I've gone natural with my hair, not blown in out, someone said, did you cut your hair? And I'm like, no. So let me tell you about, so that's teaching I have owned. I have within my forties, when I turned 40, I decided that I was going to own teaching.
It takes a level of courage. It takes a level of compassion and it takes patience to be able to teach. And so, you know, when it comes to an organization, if something is, I'm also an active ally. It may not even be done to me, but I'm speaking up because the first time is shame on them. The second time is shame on me because I didn't address that. So we're teaching people how to treat us. We have to teach people how to treat us. And so I've,
I have addressed situations in two ways. One, depending on who it is and how many people are in the room and how many people it impacted. I am comfortable enough to say, Kimberly, did you mean to say that? Or Kimberly, do you mind if I chime in? This is what I heard you say. And I just need to tell you how, how that made me feel.
that's not always the time or the place, you know, I will also grab someone that after meeting conversation, Hey, Kimberly, do you mind if I walked to your office with you? I just need, cause I saw a couple of faces. I just need to share something with you.
And so in your role, and I want the listeners to appreciate this, that even if it's not being imposed upon you, or the fact of the matter is that there is advocacy. And that goes to the point that though, Say More is focused on women and the journey, we realize that there are a number, a majority of men who are in leadership roles at the C -suite level and are the, you know, chief executive officers where it's important.
that they too can call it out. So everybody has this responsibility to call it out because again, in all the conversations that I've had, you would say, yes, and it's happened to this person and it's happened to this person. And you're like, what do they do? we all left. And so we all left is not, you know, advocacy or it's not standing up for yourself. It is. And sometimes I will say that that's, you know, that's all you can do.
It was just like, you know what? It's just, it's just time. We'll just have to leave them to their devices on their own. Yeah. Let somebody else fix them. So, you know, I'm glad that you pointed that out. When you think about microaggressions, you know, they can have a significant impact, as you mentioned on confidence, sense of belonging in the workplace. You know, you mentioned that you have experienced that and.
How did you respond in those instances? And was there any advocacy that you felt coming from anybody else was again, it's about how do we help someone else that may be experiencing it going through the journey or if you're on the other side of it and it's not happening to you, how do you become an advocate and support someone else who may be experiencing it? So I'll talk about it in two with two lenses. One, I was fortunate to be in a CDO role. And so was my, so I had the power.
had the authority to be able to speak up. And that's at different levels. Now, keep in mind, my speak up, maybe can I share your story without sharing the character's name? A lot of times I would share behaviors and the impacts without sharing individuals' names. So that senior leaders would understand it's not just happening in Hollywood or the newsletters. There are some things that are happening right within our four walls. And so...
I've gone into roles saying, and let me back up. There was a CHRO that said as a chief diversity officer or working in the diversity space, if you are always making people comfortable, you're not doing your job. So I went into these roles saying, okay.
I'm not meeting people where they are because then that's status quo. That's not my role. My role is to now I'm not going from zero to 100. I might go to 20 to 30 and then move. So do you think that am I going to get fired thing? Is that more, you know, when you talk about whether it's unconscious bias, whether it's microaggressions, imposter syndrome, is it a combination? Is it? And here's the thing, you know, you have to ask yourself.
you know, in an order for point of fairness, you know, what it happened, if it were a different gender, different group, whatever the case may be, what's your baseline for figuring out that, you know what, you know, job related or other factors that relate. Sure. And I've always kept a circle within the organization, a circle of trusted advisors is what I'll call them. Board of directors, I've heard different terms.
inside the organization and external. Also keep in mind, my trusted circle that tribe spans the gamut in diversity, male, female, black, white. So it spans the gamut. So there's still a lot of times that I'm like, okay, am I being too sensitive? Let me know, just be honest. Am I being too sensitive? But I've also found a way when reporting to a CHRO or someone that is a decision maker,
In this space, when we're talking about diversity and inclusivity, I've always come to solutioning in two ways. I'll go and tell this individual, okay, this is how I feel, because they need to know how I feel as a woman, as a woman of color, as a divorcee, as a single parent. Like, I need you to understand the context. This is how I'm feeling. This is how I feel. But then I can put on that logical hat and say, okay, so this is what I think we should do.
Right again, I'm able to kind of compartmentalize in this particular role. I can't say that I was always this courageous. I can't say that I was always this logical. I can't say that I could always separate the logic from the emotion. But with maturity, and for me, when I say maturity, I'm not talking about age. I'm talking about having gone through different experiences and understanding, you know, what
starting with the end in mind, what do I want to accomplish? What's my goal? What's my goal here? Always kind of that logic. What's my goal here? I could be, I could be emotional and just be that angry black woman. but what am I getting from that? If, if, if I demonstrate those behaviors, so I'm able to, again, I, I always feel that whoever it is needs to know how that behavior made me feel, but all the, let's figure out how we work through this.
not only for me, but for the greater good.
So when you think about, and you've talked about this, you know, mentors and having that network or tribe, that can certainly be invaluable for helping you, you know, someone who may be experiencing this to overcome some of these obstacles. You know, when you think about some of the challenges that you face, your network and you've talked about has been absolutely critical. How would, or what advice would you give our listeners on coming up with that?
trusted tribe or group because for many I have heard their stories of where it just totally backfired and what was thought to be trusted was not so trusted. So, you know, any tips there because, you know, we want to talk about, you know, the real what happens there. There's theory and there's reality. Right. So, right. So I, so I trust but verify.
So in this respect, because there's trust with Verify and work and everything, but when you're talking about relationships, there's trust, but verify as well. So I will tell Kimberly something and I'll wait a week to see if it comes back in some other fashion. Exactly what I told her some kind of way is it coming back to me. So I, you know, it's unfortunate that we have to do this, but I trust, but I verify and you know, and it's my circle is small.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about 50, 60 people. Now, do I have friends or individuals that I can tap into? Absolutely. But this circle is a very small circle that consists of some of my family members, because I know they will tell me, my little brother will tell me the absolute honest to goodness truth. He doesn't care if he hurts my feelings.
but he also has a business sense and I know he has my best interest in mind. And then I have like a Becky Corbin. So, you know, she's someone that I went through the doctoral program with. So I spent three, almost four years with her. She doesn't look like me. She comes from a different economic class than I do, but she's able to push me.
She's able to give me different insights. Am I being super sensitive? But I'm also able to lend her credibility in spaces that she wants to enter, where she's able to lend me her social capital credibility to get into places that I want to get into. And so, and it's not I'm her friend because I can get something from her, nor is it the converse. It is we are great friends and how can I help you? How can I be of service to you?
I love that you pointed that out. And again, I want the listeners to embrace and to understand because when I think about and reflect on my own personal journey and the role of mentors, my mentors have been a different gender. They've been males. They've been white males for that, when thinking about that. And just a sprinkle there, and some black males as well.
and how important that to have that trusted circle. But I think it also gives us an opportunity because I focus in on mentoring and supporting other women because I think when you talk about some of these challenges, unconscious bias, microaggressions, these aren't male, you know, what we something that we're going to put in a box for men because the same thing can happen with women versus and with other women. And so,
It's important that we know what it feels like with a different gender, but that we also look at and reflect that, you know, depending upon the role that you're in and even if you're front line, being able to call it out again, of course, having tact for what it is. So your thoughts related to just, you know, self -awareness, you know, what are some tips that if, you know, maybe this has not been your journey, this has not been your walk, but.
you are in a position to provide advocacy, you are in a leadership role, and you want to better understand how you can avoid either doing it, being a part of it, or just making sure as an organizational leader that you are helping the organization to understand and educate. What are your thoughts? So on self -reflection.
So I've started going to the gym, well, it's been about a year. So you've got to find that space or that place where you can just remove all of the noise. Even though the gym for most people isn't removing the noise, that is just my form of meditation. And I do a lot of self -reflection there. I do a lot of Ted talking and then reflecting or reading and then reflecting. And so what I always think about, I ask myself,
Two questions.
Lastly, three, what am I grateful for? What am I doing well? What am I grateful for? What am I doing well? I ask myself, what am I not doing well? What would I want to do differently? But I also ask myself in that challenging space, what role did I play in that? And what would I do differently? Because even,
in those hiccup moments is what I'll call them those hiccup moments. You have to own what what was yours what is yours what was my role in this what I've done differently to garner a different result or maybe I did again we talked about leaving a job I did all that I could mentally and physically do without harming myself.
I did all that I could do. And so it was just time to say goodbye, farewell. It's time for a new regime, whatever it is. So those are the three things. What am I grateful for? What am I doing well? What are those hiccup moments and what was my role in those? But I've also learned that I have to give myself space and grace because I have a tendency and with high ethics, high performing teams and individuals, we take everything personally.
Everything is personal. Right. And I'm learning that work is work. I've got to find a way to leave work with work. It is not personal. If somebody else was doing the same thing, these people would be mad at them too. So it's not about Monica. It's about the role and the work. And I'm learning to disconnect those two. It's hard. It's hard.
because of who I am, I take things personally, this is my job, but I've gotta learn to disconnect. And sometimes I don't let go fast enough. So for those that are listening, and again, those three questions I think will be critical, but when you talk about wits in, that's a huge step for a lot of people.
you know, what went into your, you know, mindset? Was that a quick decision or was that one that you labored over? For which one? The question regarding, you know what? You're at your wits end. You know, you're at your wits end. You, you know, was that something that you labored over or was that something that was well thought out? And again, it.
It really, it will be different for a lot of people, but I also tend to believe just by way of conversations that for a lot of people, it's the same thing too. You're what's in. So yeah. Yeah. hi, my name is Monica and I have a problem with letting go. So that's again, because I'm a, I'm a nurturer. I'm an empath. I'm like, okay, I can do this. I can help here. And so it.
It was not an easy decision. It was a decision I labored and in some cases cried over. I'll just be completely honest. It was I'm a failure because I couldn't or that I decided like I was a failure. So again, all this imposter syndrome comes into play. But it was a decision that I labored over for quite some time. But.
I hadn't set boundaries for myself or for the organization. So, you know, self -care is not self -ish. It is ensuring that you're the best person that you can be for them, whoever the them is. And so there were some personal realizations that came to me, because I'm a hard head, you know, whether you believe in karma, whether you believe in God.
You know, there are certain things that have to happen to me for me to let go. And so, you know, I hadn't been to the doctors in quite some time. I had gained a whole bunch of weight. I was stressed. My blood pressure was crazy. And so all of those were contributing factors into me holding on and staying longer than I should have. But so talk about, you know, because beauty for ashes, you know, that whole piece of.
the I think about how things have evolved since then. And so share with our listeners about the doorway that it opened for you and how you're really using it as a tool to empower other people. So I had I had actually incorporated back in like 2014. And so I said, I'm going to do a and strategy, which means I'm going to work corporate and I'm going to work.
my organization, which is impacting squared. If you impact the employee, you will impact the organization. And so that didn't work very well. cause I was totally consumed with my full time gig. so then, then I decided, you know what? it's, it's time. I'm comfortable. I'm confident in 2023, my word for the year was courage. And so I found the courage to leave.
come back to my organ at my LLC, my firm full time. And so in that transition, it, my question was, how can I be of service to the Monica in 2020? I love that how you were able to channel that energy in such a powerful way and how it's creating impact beyond. And so again, say more.
It is about the journey that we all take and how it looks is very different, but I think we owe it to each other when we talk about being our sister's keeper. So that is actually the close of our Save More podcast. We're so again, excited to have you join us for the kickoff. And I know that the listeners will be not only excited to learn more about what you're doing and what you've already shared.
but also for the great speakers and sharers that will be coming up in future episodes. Again, say more, brought to you by Envision More, consulting group where we bring your bold visions to life.