078 - Judy Roseth Burrell – Owner/CEO of Roseth Group, Master Executive Coach - Woman executive in the 80's overcoming discrimination, severe phobia and thriving through all decades into her 70's

Judy shares her story about being the first woman manager in the Apple Corporation, moving up the ranks as a woman executive in the 80’s, overcoming agoraphobia and the greatest insights that have helped her continuously thrive through all the decades, leading to even more new adventures in her 70’s. Judy Roseth Burrell began her career with Apple Computer in 1979 as the Director of Operations before moving on with other big name companies in corporate America as an EVP of Sales and Operations. She left corporate America to begin her consulting, training and executive coaching business, The Roseth Group, which has been successful for over 37 years. At 75, Judy is still going strong, having recently completed her Masters in Wine and enrolled in French classes. 

www.rosethgroup.com (Executive Coaching website)
The Wine Diplomate (winedplomate@gmail.com (Wine Workshops)

Transcript

Judy Roseth Burrell

[00:00:00] Jolie Downs: Today we are speaking with Judy Rose Burrell. Judy began her career with Apple Computer in 1979 as the director of operations before moving on with other big name companies in corporate America as an EVP of sales and operations.

[00:00:17] She left corporate America to begin her own consulting, training, and executive coaching business. The Rose Group, which has been going strong for over 37 years. At the age of 75, Judy is still going strong, having recently completed her Master's in wine and enrolled in French classes. I'm absolutely enthralled and I can't wait to learn more.

[00:00:38] Judy, thank you for joining us on Fresh Blood. Could you tell us a little bit more about your story and, and getting to where you are today? 

Judy Burrell: Sure. And thank you very much for having me, Julie. It's a real pleasure to be here with you. Well, I should say that I also have a family. I have three sons, , and they're in their early fifties.

[00:00:58] , , they all live in Southern California. , my third son came to us when he was 12, so, , he is not, not my natural born son, but he is in all other ways, my son. Oh, nice. So, , Yeah, so he, he was my, my son's, , best friend and for lots of reasons, he needed a home at that time and we were delighted to have him.

[00:01:17] So he stayed with us almost most of that time. And, uh, so now he's one of the family. Oh, I love that. That's wonderful. You know, what have you learned from that experience, bringing on someone at that, at that time in their life and, and, and opening up your home? Well, I think, I think the major, the major, , thing that I learned was how much doing that kind of thing can add to my life.

[00:01:45] It didn't occur to me how much it would add to my life, and it's been, it's been an amazing contribution to our family. He has been Alan, an amazing contribution to our family, our values. Fun. , and, and having an individual come into your life a little later is a great way to sort of kinda rock things a little, you know?

[00:02:08] Yeah. , um, which I think is a good thing, uh, is sort of, it sort of lets us look at things from different angles and because he's, , culturally, , from, he is from Vietnam and he was, , he went to school in France, so he brings a lot of wonderful culture as well to our family, which I, thus, he's my French tutor.

[00:02:26] Yeah, . That's great. So, yeah. Yeah. And so, Go ahead. I was gonna say this, love, I, you know, there, there's always beauty and love. I mean, love is never a bad thing. Opening your heart up to somebody is, it always is a beautiful thing. It's, I see. I think so if we're fortunate enough to come upon that often in life, I think we've lived a good life.

[00:02:52] Yeah. Yes, I agree. And so, um, when the boys were a bit older, , I went to work and, um, I had a job at this little company. It was a big company then called Photomat, and I was an administrative assistant, and I. I know, and I, you know, albeit, I, I certainly did my job to my, my, the man that I reported to, to his satisfaction.

[00:03:16] It really wasn't my cup of tea. I kept contributing to meetings and getting in trouble for that , are you serious because you were contributing. At the time, you know, a secretary, administrative assistant at that time, which was in the, the, the mid seventies was not, I mean, speaking up, if you weren't part of the management team, which were almost typically all a man, that was not something that was encouraged or, or really welcomed, at least my experience.

[00:03:45] That was my experience. Now, that may not have been true elsewhere, and I was really lucky. I had a great boss. Yeah. How did you deal with that? I mean, when you, when you had those things that you felt like you needed to say and you were feeling like you had to keep it in? You know, I said them

[00:04:06] are very easy, . I did. Um, and because I really felt that I could contribute. And so, uh, I did have this, I did have a conversation with my boss after the second time I contributed. And he said that, , he thought that perhaps I should maybe contribute less. And I said, you know, perhaps I could, I could, uh, be promoted to a different level and that way I could contribute appropriately.

[00:04:32] And he agreed. Yes. Fantastic. Speak. Yes. Speak what you need. Speak who you are, make it happen. I love it. And that's not easy during that time. I just wanna applaud you for it, . Thanks, Jo. I appreciate it. I know I'm not alone. There weren't many of us that, that did that and continue to hopefully and, and we're grateful for, and you know, every step of the way.

[00:04:54] I thought that's right. All those strong women, , That's exactly right. Um, and, and so I, in working there, I had come across, I had a couple of women with whom I was friends with my colleagues, and I'd heard about this little company called Apple, and it was this new thing, this personal computer, and I thought, Hmm, I think that sounds.

[00:05:17] Like that will go far. I'd like some stock in that company. Yeah. So I asked, How do you get stock in the company? She said, Oh, you have to work because they give it away. It's penny stock. And I said, Well, that's what I'll do. It happened that her fiance worked at Apple. So, , I had an opportunity to interview and I was able to, they gave me the job and so I started with Apple in 1979 where there were, uh, card tables and cards hanging from the ceiling and Wow.

[00:05:47] Steve Jobs and Wasniak and Michael Dell and all of these people were just running around. Flip flops and t-shirts, you know, And I was always more the matriarch because I was all probably all of maybe 30 at the time, at the time. Um, it, it was an absolute delight to work there. It was one of my favorite places to be.

[00:06:11] Wow. And one of the reasons it was, is because of the culture. Mm-hmm. , that, that came out of Apple's New beginning mm-hmm. , Which, um, how. Well, first of all, um, everybody celebrated important things that meant something. Um, we all had fun and we all worked together because none of us had, all of our jobs were, uh, kind of, the roles were fairly ethereal.

[00:06:42] I mean, we were startup, we were, we were in, in a horse race with IBM and Steve Jobs. Came to movie theaters. We were on a bus and went to movie theaters every Friday after they rolled out wash buckets of wine, beer, gifts, crystal apples, badges, buttons, all of those things. And we did that every Friday. And when we came to the movie theater, Steve rented all the movie theaters around the United States.

[00:07:10] Oh wow. And he had. Major, major, , artists as you know, the Pointer sisters, , Bob Dylan. And, and they would rewrite these songs for Apple. Oh. And so it was just amazing. So we were in a movie theater. It was all for us every Friday, and Steve spoke with us and he spoke with all of us, and he asked us to become Evangel.

[00:07:34] Of Apple, and we were only too happy to do that. So when you worked there, you were given a loan to own. So every time a new computer came out, you got one. Mm-hmm. . And within a year you owned it. So, long story short, when John Scully came on board, uh, when he joined Apple, He decentralized everything, and I was in Irvine at one of the logistical centers.

[00:07:59] I was fortunate enough to ride the wave of Apple and become their woman's first woman warehouse manager. Awesome. Yes. And I loved managing a warehouse. I didn't think I would, but I really did. , so I had service logistics, I had the warehouse, I had technical, , repair, and I also had technical support.

[00:08:18] So that was basically, then they, they created a job called director of Operations, and that's what I did. Um, but I did start there as an administrative, a. Oh wow. And you just moved your way up. What helped, What helped you move your way up? Because, you know, again, I, I would imagine you just, well, you said you were the first woman warehouse manager, so clearly you were doing something right.

[00:08:39] What were you doing? Well, you know, I, I, I did whatever there was to be done and I asked for more. Mm-hmm. , So, so the first man that I worked for was not very, um, he was not very interpersonal. Mm-hmm. . And so he didn't, he wasn't open to really doing a lot of, Reviews and talking with people, nurturing. So I said, Well, you know, I'll write the reviews.

[00:09:02] You tell me what you want us to, I'll write them for you. Or, you know, you know, I can do, I, I could do this if you'd like. And, and as I did these these things, he said, You know, you're pretty good at that. Why don't you keep doing that? And so I think I just said yes and did it. Mm-hmm. , um, because I wanted to learn because I was given an opportunity to take that risk.

[00:09:25] Mm-hmm. , because Apple was not afraid. To have their people make a mistake. Yeah. And I learned that early on. Make mistakes, learn from them. That's how we grow. Yes, Yes. And you know what? Oh, having a company that is operating on that level, that is how they're gonna have such great innovation. Because you're not afraid.

[00:09:47] When you have people absolutely afraid. It just shuts everything down. It's all that creativity down. That's exactly right. I, that's exactly, I never thought about it as far as, you know, thinking about Apple and what Apple's doing. But yes, this all makes complete sense. And now what? What did you learn from that time?

[00:10:05] Because that it was a really unique experience. So what, when you reflect on those years, what's your big takeaway?

[00:10:12] Well, you know, there are two things. , one is we don't know what our roadblocks are unless someone helped us become aware. So I had someone that I worked for that held me. Held me whole and competent and made me very aware of a huge roadblock I had and helped me overcome it. So that would be one. I think the, the other would be taking calculated risks and bringing people together on a consistent basis and connecting with them.

[00:10:55] Through passion and the experience that they're having. Right. Yeah. Right. And there's so much power in that, right? Yeah. I think there's a tremendous power such that when John Scully closed down all three of the distribution centers we had at the time, we had 480 people. Not one single one of those people left until the day we closed our doors.

[00:11:19] Wow. We were able to retain them. That says a lot. As a recruiter, I can say that that's not something that happened, . That's right. It does not happen. And we had, well, we, we did a lot to make that happen. Um, and we can't take all the, I couldn't take all the credit and no one could. It was the culture that Steve Jobs had created that did it.

[00:11:42] And I said when I left Apple, that I would bring that culture with me everywhere I went. Mm. And you did. So I. That's fantastic. To the best of my ability. Yeah, that's good. So I mean, when you went on to some other big companies, when you, when you went on to these companies, did they have, did you feel like you, did you change things up a little bit?

[00:12:00] Did you kind of bring a new flavor? How did you that? Because that's a big deal in some big companies like that. Yes. Yes it is. Well, Happi. Happily. The next company that I went to, Mike d, was just evolving into becoming a major distributor, which is now Ingram Micro. Yeah. Um, and I had met the only woman, regional vice president I've ever met at Apple.

[00:12:28] Her name was Carol, and I called her nine times. Because I wanted to become an executive, a female executive. That was what I wanted. Mm-hmm. . And she was, that's what she was. And so I called her nine times. Of course I spaced it out and did different ways of doing it. Yes. But she called me back and, and she gave me an interview and said, I have a gentleman that, um, that I want you to work for, and I think you could be a, a big help to the company and.

[00:12:56] Wonderful. So when I started there, it was, it was evolving. Mm-hmm. and, and I. Most of the companies that I worked for were in a very big transitional mode, and so there was some richness and opportunity in that. Building a team, , from a different perspective was a little easier to do in that environment.

[00:13:21] Mm-hmm. , and I think, I think because I had sales, I always had what, at least 40% of the company. Personnel so that I, that in building teams, I brought the culture in mm-hmm. . And so it was a little easier because I had a larger percentage of people. And I remember with Ingram, when Mike d when I first went there, I walked into my region and these people that I had, the, the personnel, they were playing card.

[00:13:52] Baseball. They weren't, they were not engaged in their work. Yeah. And so I kind of deal with them as individuals and said, I met with each of them one on one and said, I'll help you get where you wanna go if you give me a hundred percent while you're getting there. That was Apple and, and they did, and they all stayed.

[00:14:12] So I think engaging individuals and then creating a team, and there were lots of ways that I did that. Um, I think that's a way that you can begin to influence a culture, especially when you have a customer centric company. Yes. , that's wonderful. I love that. Now I wanna go back really quick, just so I understand.

[00:14:34] When the, the woman executive that you called nine times, you were, were, you were calling her to get the job. I wanted a job at where she was working. I love this and that's how you got the job. Because you growing. I love this . Persistence works. It works when you know what you want. Yes, you. When you know what you want and you just keep going after it, it works.

[00:15:00] I love that. every time. And, looking at your questions, two or three of those things popped up over and over again, which was vision, clarity, knowing what you want, and then persevering and persevering with kindness in, in a gentle or assertive way. Mm-hmm. , um, certainly with some strategy in mind as to how you're going about it.

[00:15:23] Right, Exactly. Exactly. Like a bull in a China shop. Not gonna work. Not gonna work. No. No . And I find, and when I got, when I was able to interview with this gentleman, he said, I can't hire you because \ you only know Apple. You don't know anything about what was, which was then dos mm-hmm.

[00:15:39] And I said, Well, if I can come back and answer any question you have on dos, would you give me the job? Mm-hmm. , he said, Sure. So I called two colleagues of mine that were wonderful people, Bill Joe and Dirk Eastman. , Big names. Then in the, in the industry. I said, Could, could I help me? I need to, can you help me?

[00:15:59] And they said, Sure. They gave me all these books. So I rented my neighbor's cabin for a week and I went up and I read every one of them. I gave myself tests and then I sent a telegram because then you were sending, then you, So it sent Telegram in the early eighties to this gentleman and said, and ask his assistant to put it in his, in front of him.

[00:16:19] So I said, I can, I believe I'm ready to answer any questions about. So I did and he gave me the job. . That's fantastic. You know, I didn't, I didn't have the same level, but I had something similar in getting my first recruiting job. It was, I was really reviewing and they did recruiting for printed circuit boards and contract electronic manufacturing, and I was like, I don't really know what that is.

[00:16:43] I'll come back tomorrow and I will tell you , and you did. And I did . I mean, I, of course, I didn't go in depth with Detective Launch, but I came back. I knew about the industry and I knew it was the players and I knew how to talk about it. And um, and that's how I got my job. You see, that's why you related so much to what I was saying earlier.

[00:17:03] I, because you know, you know to do it, especially in your profession now, you're chosen profession obviously bodes well for. Well, you know, these things, they make a big difference. And, and, and when people adopt these types of little habits, they, it can make a huge difference in their career. Yes, absolutely.

[00:17:20] So now tell me about the transition out of corporate America. What brought that on for you and, and how did you do it? You know, after 15 years as an executive in corporate America, I had decided, , when I was about 38, that when I was 45, I was leaving corporate America. Oh, interview. Why? Why, why? Yeah.

[00:17:40] Cause you knew before. So, uh, yes. The the reason was because I knew that it was, Going to burn out. I had, I had 2000 people that I was responsible for. I was in the air five days out of seven for seven years. Oh wow. , and, , negotiating, doing two states in a day. It was a heavy, fast paced, nothing, not that I would recommend this to anyone.

[00:18:11] , and that was the job. , I was the, , director of international major accounts and I had the sales organization as well as, , pricing and, , customer service and, , technical support. So I had, I had a lot, a lot of responsibility. Thankfully, I was able to, An amazing team. , so that's what allowed me to do it.

[00:18:34] However, I could see that that was not going to be something that I was going to wanna do beyond a certain point. Smart. So I kind of put a, kind of just put a, you know, a stake in the ground and said 45. Mm-hmm. , I'm going to become a consult. That was my goal. Yeah. I love that you're thinking ahead so much and really preparing and planning.

[00:18:57] That's just incredibly smart and not enough people are doing that, and it's not an easy thing to do. It takes time, as we know, to become proactive when you're in the midst of so much work and activity. Oh, yeah. Isn't that right? Yeah. And I think that's helped. I think that's , the other thought I had about that was as I age, I wanna do something where wisdom and age is more valuable, not less.

[00:19:24] Right. And executive coaching, coaching felt like wisdom haven't, hopefully cyber acquired some and experience was a, , very marketable thing, no matter how old you were. Mm-hmm. , if you continued to stay current, kept that fire in your belly mm-hmm. and knew what you wanted. And made the changes you needed to make so you would continue to be on the path of what you want.

[00:19:51] Mm-hmm. ? Yes, Absolutely. Do you think, I mean, what do you feel has contributed to your overall success later in life to con, to keep that fire going and, and continue that passion? Because a lot of times that that can fall off. So what, what is absolute, Well, I think it's a combination of things. I've been creating my own vision for myself , and my life for almost 28 years, and I do it every year , in a real way for me.

[00:20:22] Um, and I, I, I create a vision board. And I mean, it sounds like a small thing and it can be a very powerful thing, as you probably know. , and I started doing it with, , four or five bottles of wine, some pizza, and about four or five other women that were interested in doing this in my living room. And, uh, and I, I have it now.

[00:20:43] I'm looking at it right now. It's on my, it's on my monitor, It's scroll. Looking at my, on my wall, Is it, Congratulations. Well done. , and so you, you know, the experience of that, the ability to clearly see, and I think clearly is really important, the clarity of what you want.

[00:21:06] I think is first and foremost what I've always tried to keep , in mind and then to envision it in such a way that I can feel that I believe. That this is something that will be in my life. And I know that sounds a little esoteric and, and I, however, it has worked for me all these years and I think once I believe that and be careful what you ask for, right?

[00:21:37] Once I believe that and it's clear and I have the vision, how I get there shows itself. Mm-hmm. and I think in. Carpe Diem sees the day, sees the opportunity, , being ready to, to take that opportunity. I think one of my favorite movies is Miracle, right? It's the, the TH 13th Olympic Hockey Championship. Oh, yes, Yes.

[00:22:07] Okay. Yes. Mm-hmm. and the coach, and of course USA one, and it was a miracle because they were such underdogs. And I remember the coach said, Great. Moments come from great opportunities, and I think that a lot. What has, what has helped me through the looking at the years is looking at what I want, who I am, , what is the clarity around it, and , how do I wanna grow?

[00:22:34] So learning, um, continuing to read, continuing to go to courses. I mean, you know, I loved wine, so I decided to, I took 30 years of working and studying wine in addition to what I was doing because I wanted, when I was at this age, to be able to have a wine business for fun, , where I could do workshops, wine tastings, wine seminars.

[00:22:59] And that meant I had to get, I needed to get something, some credentials. I just followed that passion and kept doing one thing after another in the way of education. , I think the same is true with languages. The same is true with certifications. I, I said, you know, how many certifications do I need and how do I get them?

[00:23:19] And which ones do I really wanna do? So I think ongoing education, looking at what you wanna do, taking a step at a time. And doing it. Mm-hmm. just doing it. Not, not to worry whether or not it completes, but just take the steps so you get to the end of the vision. Yes, exactly right. Yes. I think that's part of it.

[00:23:38] I think being willing to change. Mm-hmm. being open to change. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. , we have to change. I mean, even if you're not changing, there's still. There's like a, the not changing is almost changed cuz everything is changing around you, so That's right. So there's just no, there is no static, if you will. It's almost like.

[00:24:03] I don't wanna say going backwards, but there's there. It's true . So changing and being, being available to move forward in that change can make a huge, huge difference in that life. I, I think so. I didn't go the resistance and I, I would add one more thing if I may, Julie, in that, I think when you feel that fire in your belly going away, when you lose that passion, Move on to what makes you excited, move on to what makes you want to get up in the morning and do it.

[00:24:35] And I think when I, when I looked at corporate America, I could feel that leaving me mm-hmm. and I thought, no, if I continue to work in this environment without that, especially in a sales environment, I will program myself for failure. Yeah. You'd be very unhappy. And that, you know, and that's, that's what we don't want.

[00:24:56] We want people out of their stuck, out of their unhappy, out of their malaise, if you will. And that's what you do for them and your profession. Yeah. You help them. 

[00:25:07] . So speaking of keeping your passion alive, you have kept this company going for many, many, many years.

[00:25:16] is there anything that you can share? Cuz look, it's, it's not easy to build a coaching practice. It's hard to build a coaching practice. Is there anything that you found helped contribute to your overall success through these years? I think , one of the major contributors has been, , colleagues and mentors.

[00:25:36] especially in coaching because I, when I decided to add coaching to my offering about 20 18, 20 years ago, there was not something people believed in. , you know, it was, Well, no one's gonna pay you for that, or no one's gonna take you seriously. And I found a group of people, they were professional coaches and mentor association members, and they were amazing coaches.

[00:26:03] and they still remain to be some of the best coaches I've ever met. And I joined the group and participated in it. Went to universities to sit on advisory boards to create curriculum for universities. I think. I think that, I think that being a part of hopefully supporting coaching as a profession, where of course there are get many segments , of the coaching profession.

[00:26:28] I chose executive coaching for obvious reasons, but um, I think that was a very big part of me keeping that flame going and really believing because there's such an entrepreneur in me. That, that believing that I really believed in coaching and I, and that it's effective and it's meaningful. So I think that piece of it was really important to me.

[00:26:50] I, I think the other piece of it is I reengineered my firm about every three and a half years. Ooh, interesting. I did, I did because I could see, and I worked when I, when I, with a great majority of my clients are technology clients and. That window is short. Things change quickly, as you know, you know, Of course.

[00:27:09] And so I, I, as soon as I got to a point where I was feeling good about where the markets were, what I was offering, how I did it, I thought, you know, the next year and a half I need to start looking at what I wanna do in addition to differently. Right? Yeah. And. . And so I, I started kind of milestone it and, and evolving, evolving into different areas of, uh, of challenge.

[00:27:37] Mm. One of my first ones was m and a work. Mm-hmm. , because I headed up the merger and acquisition team for, um, Ingram when we purchased another entity and that. Arduous. Oh, I can only imagine. I mean, what was that like for you? Cause that's big things that are happening in there. Very big things.

[00:27:56] And you of course, you're also doing, you know, the old J curve. You're also doing the position that you have. I think that was one of the, one of the most challenging things I've ever done. It was immensely challenging. And that you had all, you had so many people whose lives , and their, and their livelihood.

[00:28:14] , Was up, it was up in the air all the time. And also you had tons of systems, procedures, processes, and most importantly, I think, how do you communicate to each and every one of these people on a consistent basis so that fear doesn't run rampant, Right. Um, so I think, I think it had to do with communication structures first and foremost.

[00:28:41] Personalizing those as much as possible. Bringing people who are affected into the decision making process immediately so that when I say decision making process into whatever place they could contribute to the decision so that it wasn't them waiting for the shoe to drop. Mm-hmm. . An example might be when we first decided to do it, I had all the executives fly in.

[00:29:11] To at Dallas and we each presented our division. And so each, each of us had an opportunity to talk about how good we were, what we did, and at least we felt we had some control over what the decision might be. Yeah. And in this case, I, I happen to prevail on that merger. However, I had two co. and I was lucky enough to have them both join my organiz.

[00:29:42] And so I think that, um, I think that if, if in doing it in that fashion, not only does everybody know more about what's going on, but you also have the best of the best if you're willing to open your mind and not be afraid. And the more people know about what's happening, the more they can tell you what they can contribute, and the easier it is for everyone to make the decision and not have it be a complete surprise.

[00:30:09] I hope that helps, but that's, Yeah. Isn't that true for life in general? Oh gosh. Yes it is. Yes it is. And one of the things I find is that so many, so many, , entities struggle with. Consistent communication in their businesses, how to, how important is it? And I, I found it to be incredibly important. Mm-hmm.

[00:30:32] Oh yeah. As a recruiter, I can say, um, , it makes a big difference in between those employees around, that's for sure. . I'll bet it does. I'm sure you see that every day. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. So I went into, , merger and acquisition work in my, in my consulting mm-hmm.

[00:30:50] work and took on a, a very, a really big one. It was four companies integrating four companies into one in 22 months. And I did the integration and one of my colleagues did the branding and market. And, , that was significantly challenging and really gratifying at the end of 22 months when it was one company.

[00:31:13] Well, that's a long time to be working on something. So the fruition of anything, and I mean, that's a really big deal too. So to be able to do that successfully is guys are still really good. That was great. Which kind of leads me, I'm curious, what is your personal definition of success and, and based on that, what do you think is key to having continued success throughout life?

[00:31:34] Yeah, yeah. I, I believe for me personally, success in my life. Having a positive impact on others and most particularly others that are willing to pay it forward. I think that's Quin, essentially the, , the key to me, If, if I've done that in some way in my life, I've led a successful life. And the key, I think a lot of it is being comfortable in your own skin. Mm-hmm. and showing up wherever you are that way. I think the other piece of it is, Always looking for the next challenge, the next opportunity in life and, and growing. I think exploring yourself, exploring what you wanna do and asking yourself.

[00:32:25] I mean, when I, four years ago, I thought, what, what do I wanna do now? Do I still wanna do this? Yeah, and I took some time and, and, and did some work on that cuz I thought this is a very new, this is a new part of my life at this age. I'm not at all familiar with this. I'm kind of caught at a loss. I bet. I think what I wanna do is become a little bit familiar with aging and what is that and how do I feel about that and what do I wanna do with that?

[00:32:53] And , when I decided to leave corporate America, , I thought, Well, when I'm 45, I'm going to leave.

[00:32:59] And it became quite complicated when I, when I attempted to leave. Not important to tell the story, but it was quite complicated within the politics of my company. So, I did leave and I had always wanted my whole life to go to Africa and my uncle, who I was very close to, was in, , Harari, Zimbabwe.

[00:33:20] And he was with a Peace Corps, so he was always in some fabulous country. And he wrote me and he said, Hey, I'm in Horizon Bwe, and I know one of your dreams, it's always been to go to Africa. Hey, wanna come? And I thought about it and I went, You know, I think I do. And so I thought, Well, this'll be perfect.

[00:33:38] I'll leave my job and then I'll go to Africa. So I went him back and said, Yes, I'd like to. Then I was terrified because I thought, do I really wanna do this? But long story short, I did. So, , I went over there for, I think it was there for six to eight months with, with my uncle and my aunt in Hara, Zi, Bob.

[00:33:58] And while I was there, it gave me an opportunity to look at that, that period of time at 45 and say, Hmm, I wanna be a consultant, but what do I need to do that? Because I've had a lot of position power. I wonder if I have personal power. Oh. And I thought, I'm not sure I do. , I need personal power. I had the decision makers because I negotiated with them for seven years, so I, I knew my, I had the network that was great, and I thought, well, would they pick up the phone?

[00:34:34] If I call, or did they pick up the phone because I was the EBP when I called, and I, I didn't know the answer to that. Mm-hmm. . So when my uncle offered this to me, I thought, Oh, this is perfect. I'm gonna do this. So I went, first, I went to Europe for a month or two by myself, and then I thought, No, gonna come back and then I'm gonna go to Africa.

[00:34:54] So I did, and I spent all those months. with nothing but the ability to be introspective, to meet these wonderful people, to spend time in environments. I've never been in to experience what it's like to be a woman in Africa. Yeah. To um, to be on these, in the bush felt with all these fabulous animals.

[00:35:25] Quietly and maybe John was shawa after a hike. Different, It was such a different environment and, and I fell in love with Africa. So my second choice for your movie, besides Miracle, was Out of Africa. Out of Africa and the, and of course the character, right? Uhhuh and the metamorphosis that she went through.

[00:35:46] And I wouldn't compare mine to hers, all because we're all unique. Clearly was a metamorphosis, and I've been back to Africa twice since then to South. Um, for several months at a time. And, and I was actually offered a job over there when I was 52 and I decided not to do it. I was gonna put down some roots here.

[00:36:07] So I think that exploring one's self is a, is a great, and it's not a guard against ageism because I don't know that there are guards against it. I think it helps us see. That every point in our lives is can be a new adventure. Yes. And we, and we are. I find myself in invigorated by new things and also very frightened by them.

[00:36:34] Right. Well, and that's important to acknowledge, you know, It is scary. New things are scary. It's un anything unfamiliar, scary, but it's also exciting too, . There's the flip side of every emotion, . That's right. That's right. You said of feel the fear and do it anyway, you know. Yes. No, that's the thing. Feel the fear and do it.

[00:36:52] As long as it's not a safety issue. I always say, as long as it's not a safety issue, step into the fear. Step into it. That's where the magic happens. Always that. You know, it's so interesting, you know, I, I, I'm curious because this is what a unique experience to have been able to, to, to have done that, to have been able to travel alone in Europe, going to Africa, spend months there absorbing the culture and, and meeting these interesting people.

[00:37:19] How did that benefit your life? I mean, how does that. Continue to contribute to your life to this day? Well, I think it changed me com. I think it changed me remarkably. , I think I began to question. The kinds of things that I thought I knew. And so I think one of the things that it's caused me to what I, that I've learned from me is that questioning is a good thing.

[00:37:42] You know, asking, asking questions about, you know, so when I'm 70, well this is what people at 70 do well, is what, is that what I wanna do? You know? So I think, I think, I think it sort of helped me, helped me. Know that asking questions is a little scary because you don't know what your answer's going to be and it's going, You're going to, perhaps, we'll have to work through some things once you get the answers.

[00:38:10] But once you get through that process and as you go through it, all new doors open, and that's where that fire continues to burn that positive fire, that passion. So I think it was that. I think the other piece of it was, it touched on a, a new level of, of spirituality for me in that, you know, I, I changed a lot, almost all of what I, what I saw as something that was contributing to my life in a spiritual way and adopted almost from a Buddhist, like, sort of reverence about life.

[00:38:42] Um, you know, so I think that created the, in the, the what, the impetus in me. to become the best possible master coach I could become. Because I think that stirring of that essence is what I needed to move into something that was completely different than position power. Then I had the empowerment within myself, so I think that was how that changed it me.

[00:39:12] That's and that's powerful when you feel that internally, Huh? That shift internally, right? Yeah. Yeah, and And you can feel the power drop when you lose. Yeah, you can gone. It's like, Oh, what happened there , There's a search for that again, that's for sure. And I've lost it. I have . I'm curious because you know what, A lot of people have lost it.

[00:39:35] What helped you find it back?

[00:39:37] I, I think, I think knowing what my purpose is in life. I think that's key. And, and when I, when I lost track of that, you know, I found, when I lost track of it over the years, I threw myself into environments where I was around other women, other people, and um, where, where I could kind of talk with them and spend some time alone and really pushed through, you know, What I needed to, to come to what my purpose was.

[00:40:08] And sometimes that took a while. And I remember being at this. We, we, we called ourselves a remarkable women, , when we were on this retreat and Ile while, , about nine of us. And the second time I went on the retreat, I've known these women for years. I still, I still see them all as much as I can. I was, I was really angry.

[00:40:27] I had an attitude driving up and three of them said, Judy, this is a, i, you, you know, you don't, you don't have an attitude normally, you know, And I went, Well, I have one now , and I'm sticking with it. So, , I got there and I, I of course, you know, didn't wanna diminish their time there, and I, I was really upset and.

[00:40:49] And so the, fellow who's conducting the meeting, the gentleman said, Judy, how, how are you doing? And I said, You know, I'm, I'm really just angry and I'm, I'm really angry with myself. I can't figure this out. I'm frustrated. And we talked a little bit about that, and I kind of let that just sit.

[00:41:06] And about three days later, I got it. and I went, I've got it. You know, and that's what I needed to get there. Mm-hmm. . And so it's a, I figured it out and it's been my purpose now. Since then and it hasn't changed that I'm aware of, and I keep looking to see if there has changed, but it hasn't so far. You know, when you were saying that it helped, it actually helped shift something inside of me.

[00:41:33] I just had this, this epiphany a little bit about my own self, if you will. Like just realizing that when I've lost my own personal power that it was, it was, there were times of, , Of focusing on what, Worrying about what other people wanted, you know? , and, and taking that is more important than, than, than what I wanted and my purpose.

[00:41:54] , and that's, that can just make all the difference right there is shifting that focus right back. Absolutely. Absolutely. It's a perspective change. Yeah, Yeah. Perspective and, and it's hard to have a perspective change when you're in the same perspective, because that's where you are physically.

[00:42:10] When I first started coaching, you know, I, when I find someone that was having difficulty changing perspective, when I, it was my opinion, I said, You know what, I'd like you to do 10 different things. In the next two weeks, and I'd like you to tell me a story about them. This just, just as a very beginning thing.

[00:42:25] Mm-hmm. , Oh, I can't do 10 different things in two weeks. , can you do five? I can do five. Wear a different tie drive to work a different way. Can you do 10 of those? I can. And you Inevitably, that individual discovered so much. About what they haven't been doing and what they wanted to. You can make up anything.

[00:42:45] It doesn't matter. And is to change a perspective. That helps so much for me. Oh yeah. It just really makes, Yeah, very par, very powerful to get those shifts. You know, I'm curious, cuz we've talked a lot about, you've done so many great things and we've talked a lot about them. What about a great challenge or a difficulty, a big mistake or something?

[00:43:05] What did you struggle with? How did you overcome it, and what did you learn? Well, you know, it's interesting because I think the, the biggest challenge of, of my life, I think was when I was in a agoraphobic. Oh my goodness. That's a big challenge. It was huge. And I was very young. I was about 28 and it just came upon me one day and it was a very severe, , a agoraphobia.

[00:43:29] So you didn't have a big catalyst that happened. It just kind of snuck up on you a little bit. I actually did, I had, , I had a child who was required. Six or seven, many, many different surgeries. And he a wonderful, wonderful guy. And, and it all worked out beautifully. And we were young and then I had another little one, they were year apart.

[00:43:52] And you know, we had financial kinds issues and because of all the, you know, medical issues. So, , I think it was, um, not to, nothing to do with my children, what's over their wonderful children. It just had to do with the situation. Stressful. That was, Yeah, it's really scary. And I was young, and so, it, it was one of those things where I really, I really couldn't participate in anything.

[00:44:15] I, no driving, no out, no going anywhere, none of that. And I, I saw a man named David Ireland for three and a half years. He was a, and I had very little finances and he said, Well, what can you pay? And I said, We can pay $10 a week. He goes, That's fine. He was a quadri. And he was, um, a psychologist and he took, he took me through three and a half years of this helping work with me on this and, and I got through it because of him.

[00:44:44] Wow. , and so what I learned from that is that whatever I'm afraid of, I need to face and do. Mm, gotcha. Years. Been a lot of years since I've had it, but it is, it was probably the most difficult thing I've ever been. What helped you overcome that? That's a big deal. I mean, that's a really big deal. Yeah. Um,

[00:45:04] I really, I really believe it was facing the issues that I needed to face , when I wasn't facing them. I wasn't moving forward at all. And I, and, and some of them were awfully frightening. I mean, it was, Well, you know, they put you in the hospital for a long periods of time then when you, they were doing tests, you know, it was like nine days of tests to see if my heart was bad and, and I didn't wanna hear that news and, or, you know, confronting people I didn't like confronting or, you know, facing things that, or, you know, making myself go into a store when I could barely move.

[00:45:38] Yeah. And how do I do that? So I think it. Facing, moving through with support and care and kindness and capability and competency. So having a guide, a professional, and tons of support from family and friends. I am very lucky woman. I have a wonderful support system in a great women's network. That amazing.

[00:46:03] It makes all the difference, right? Mm-hmm. support people, people make the world go around. That's just definit. There's a reason. There's a saying. the people that make all these wise comment, they were wise. Yeah. and getting help. Men, we, you know, we just need to ask for help. We need to get that help. We all need help.

[00:46:25] It's, it's smart. It's brilliant to ask for help. That's what I like to say. You know, Too many people shut themselves down. I shut myself down. I, I, I, I shut myself down for majority of my life and only really learned this important lesson in the past few years. And it is, it's a life changing one. So, and it's never easy and I, it's never gotten easier for me to.

[00:46:46] Yeah. But yeah, but you have to, when you need help, you've gotta ask. Yeah. So I'm curious, cuz you, you know, you, you've had all of these successes. Is there any habits or anything you've adopted in your life that has helped you, Reach. What you wanted in life. I, I think, I really think that many of the things we've talked about, and I think, I think for the most part it's just clarity of knowing what I want because, and I think, you know, choice is a big thing and we can choose.

[00:47:14] And if we don't choose, it's going to happen to us. If we don't know what we want, then we don't know what we're choosing and why we're choosing it, and then it still happens to us. So I think that knowing what I want, and how do you get there? There's work to that, right?

[00:47:32] It's having your goals, monitoring your goals, learning, reading, growing, getting help when you need it. Mentors, , Extra classes, studying, , talking to people, learning about things, meeting with you and say, How are you writing this book? I may wanna write a book one day. I really don't think there's anything unique about what I've done.

[00:47:52] I think it's the consistency with which I've done it. Mm. I really like that. I really like that so, well, wrapping up a couple, couple of things. You know, I'm curious because you've had these executive roles, you've led organizations, , you worked with cultures, you are an executive trainer.

[00:48:10] Is there any advice you would give someone who is currently trying to move up their own corporate ladder, , and find their own success in, in corporate America? In corporate America? I think, I think first and foremost, I think that choose the culture you wanna be in. Ooh. And know you're a match. Well, I'm telling you, you know, this , that's a big one.

[00:48:32] This is important that people need to listen to that. Yes. Yeah. I, I mean, I think, I think that, , if your values match the company you're in, you, you are halfway there. Mm. Um, if they don't. It's, it's a very difficult road. Yeah. Um, so, so I think finding a way to understand the values of the company and, and, and learn and ask.

[00:48:57] I have informational interviews with people like you and me and people that we know. What's it really like? To be in corporate America. Mm. What's it really like if, if you are wanting to be an executive? I mean, I coach executives and, and a lot of executives that I've coached the years is that I didn't think it was going to be like this and knowing what your boundaries are when you get there so that if there is something happening that you're not, it doesn't work for you.

[00:49:30] it isn't going to stop. Mm-hmm. , because that's the culture. Mm-hmm. . So I think, I think as much as you can, right? Yes. Mm-hmm. , know the culture, know the values, and, and, and then look to see if you're a match. And first understand what is it like to be an executive? What is it really like, and how politically savvy are we?

[00:49:51] Mm-hmm. , Right? Because bottom line, unless it's changed and I, I haven't found it to be true. IT Politics is probably the number one thing that will cause us concern and a. And so, , I don't know a lot of apolitical corporations, um, and I haven't met many people in them, but, and then nonprofits as different.

[00:50:15] And in nonprofit, be sure that you are a person who can take consensus and that you're patient with that and willing to do that. I am not good at that. That is not my strength. And a third of my portfolio has always been nonprofits. I would love to run one one day, but I, it's just not my skillset. Mm-hmm.

[00:50:35] I know. So I think knowing what you want, and then I also think, how long do you wanna be there? Because what, you know, what is your plan long term? , because being in, in a corporate environment, your whole career is, , I think it requires change from my perspective. Depending on what you're looking for, but it that not often.

[00:51:01] Is it helpful to stay with the company for 30 years and 20 years anymore? Yeah. I dunno how easy it is to grow, increase your opportunity level. It may be for some, I know a couple that it is, , but I think just evaluating. How long do you wanna be there and what is it, what would be the point in which you would consider moving to something different?

[00:51:22] You know, which, what's your growth step? What are your steps, milestones of, of growth? Yeah. Great. Thank you. It's really good advice. Yeah. And, and, and absolutely on point of, of what's important for them to be lifting for. That means a lot coming from you. Yeah. Yeah. So just, just wrapping up, if people wanna find you, are you taking on new people for your.

[00:51:42] I am I coach most particularly CEOs and C level execs. Mm-hmm. . Um, so yes, I absolutely am. Mm-hmm. , right? So, any c level people who are looking for you will have, will have on the show notes, your, your website. But if you wanna share, , verbally with, with people, where can they find information about you.

[00:51:59] Yeah, you can find information about me on the rose seth burrell group.com, R o S E T h Burrell, b u r r e l l group.com. And my website, my bios on there are services testimonials clients. So it kind of gives you an overall view of, of what we do. Perfect. Perfect. And I'll have that too, as well as your profile.

[00:52:21] But before we go, last question, I'm curious. Yeah. What are you sure of in. Oh, I love that question. Um, I am sure of my ability to manage and , flourish through whatever comes my way. Hmm, good one. Yeah, that's an important one to know too. Feel deep down on your bones. Yeah. Bones. Mm-hmm. . Thank you, Judy.

[00:52:45] This has been wonderful. I so appreciate your. Thank you, Jolie. It's been a real pleasure and thank you so much. You're a wonderful interviewer. Thank you.

[00:52:55] Jolie Downs:

[00:52:55] I loved talking with Judy, the first woman manager in the Apple Corporation, one of the pioneers of women in executive corporate America. I just wanna say thank you again. Thank you to Judy and to all of the women who have come before that have helped paved the way for privileges. That women are now lucky enough to take for granted.

[00:53:25] As Judy shared, she would contribute to her work meetings and then get in trouble. It was not her place to speak up, and I love, I absolutely love the story she shared about when Judy's boss went to talk with her about how she needs to speak up less because it was not her place. Now, instead of.

[00:53:51] Or keeping silent and accepting. Judy suggested that she'd be promoted so that she would be in the right space to allow her to speak up. She asked, She advocated for herself and he agreed. Kudos to him too. Judy did not accept an unfair evaluation or situation to continue. Have you ever accepted someone else's dismissal or negative opinion of you?

[00:54:28] I know I have. Have you ever been in an unfair situation and did nothing about it? What would've happened if you did? I mean, maybe nothing but maybe so. Speak what you need. Speak who you are. I know that it's not easy, but it's certainly much easier now than it was back then. And if you don't speak up, if you do not ask, you will not get what you need.

[00:55:08] You will not get to fully embody. Who you are and what is happening inside.

[00:55:17] Because Judy spoke up, she became the first woman manager in Apple leading to an upward corporate trajectory and an executive roles within leading tech companies be now, because she continued to speak up, she became an executive with Ingram Micro

[00:55:37] through. Her stories. Judy gave great advice for career success. Here are some of the takeaways that I thought were worth mentioning. Once more, do what needs to be done. And then ask for more. Notice the things that your boss doesn't like to do, and then offer to do them. If you start doing the responsibilities of the role above you, then your boss will easily be able to see you in that role.

[00:56:07] When it comes time for that promotion, whenever that opening does pop up, you will be the first person they think of because you've been encompassing the role first, be what you want to become. Now you also want to make sure you're working for an organization that is not afraid for their people to make mistakes.

[00:56:31] Stifling organizations will not allow you to flourish. Do not be afraid to make mistakes yourself. This is where we learn, this is where innovation happens. Success grows from the learnings of failure.

[00:56:53] Be persistent. When you know what you want, keep going after it respectfully until you get it. Persistence pace, period. Hmm. Without persistence. Judy would not have gotten that interview with Insta Micro.

[00:57:18] Now for building a strong team or even a strong family, be clear on your vision and then get clear on their vision. Pay attention, support their vision, and they will in turn support yours.

[00:57:41] And be transparent. The more people know about what is happening, the more they will be able to contribute, bring people together, connect with them through passion and through shared experience.

[00:57:55] Then within Judy's story, she taught the importance of clarity, knowing what it is that you want. Looking at your life in the future and knowing what you want it to look like, and then figuring out how to get there. Knowing what you want is the key.

[00:58:18] When was the last time you checked in with yourself about your wants?

[00:58:26] Not the wants of your kids, not the wants of your significant other, not the wants of your family or the wants of your friends, but just your pure personal desires.

[00:58:41] If you could have everything go perfectly in the next three to five years, what would your life look? Do you know

[00:58:59] so many? Don't they have been reacting to what life brings them for so long that they have forgotten to ask themselves That very important question. Or they've been told what they want for so long by others that they never realize they get to ask themselves that question, or they have been so consumed with fulfilling base needs that they have felt that they did not have the luxury to think about the wants,

[00:59:40] But that's not the way. Building your best, most authentic, fulfilling, and successful life. It all starts, It all begins with the wants. You must get in touch with yourself and get a clear vision on where it is that you want to go.

[01:00:04] If you have not done that in some time, I said just spending some time with yourself and thinking about. Tonight or this week.

[01:00:16] Once you have clarity, write it down and then make a plan. This is what Judy did. She knew she wanted to be situated in a career where her wisdom would be more valuable as she aged, not less. So she made her plan and she expertly positioned herself as an executive coach, having successfully won her own business now for over 33 years, and she is absolutely rocking her seventies.

[01:00:49] I love it. I am here for it.

[01:00:55] So what are some of Judy's secrets to her success?

[01:01:02] Be open to change. When you feel the fire going away, when you lose that passion you once had with something, move on. Move on to what makes you excited. Move on to what is firing you up. Follow that passion and connect with other like-minded individuals. Also interested in the areas that you wanna grow.

[01:01:29] Very important. Embrace continuous learning. I love that Judy just completed a master's in her seventies, setting herself up for another career exploration, exploring when self is a great guard against ageism. Every point in our lives can be a new adventure. Yes, new chapters can be. But they can also be exciting.

[01:02:03] The feeling is exactly the same. It is all in the choice you make to define it. Fear comes from thinking that things will go wrong in the future. Excitement comes from thinking that things will go well in the future.

[01:02:26] Same feeling, different story, but you get to choose the story you tell yourself. So do not run from the fear, face it, meet it head on with kindness and understanding, and then you consciously choose the different story. You close your eyes. You imagine the very best case scenario happening. You tell yourself the greatest possible story and you change your feeling to one of excitement again, as long as it's not a safety issue, step into that fear learning new things and new chapters in life.

[01:03:05] This is where we grow.

[01:03:10] Finally, when you feel stuck. You feel like you've lost your way. Find your purpose to bring your power back. When you lose track of your own personal purpose and you become encumbered with others, their needs, their purpose, it is easy to lose your drive and passion. So that is my wish for us all. That you find the clarity of purpose in your life now and that you stay in touch with yourself through all the decades of your life, continuously honoring the light's mission within you.

[01:04:01] Until next time.

Jolie Downs:

I Loved talking with Judy. The first woman manager in the Apple Corporation. One of the pioneers of women in Executive corporate America. I want to say thank you again, thank you to Judy and to all the women who have come before that have helped pave the way for privileges that women like you and I are now lucky enough to take for granted. 

As Judy shared, she would contribute to her work meetings and then get in trouble. It was not her place to speak up. I love, absolutely LOVE, the story she shared about when Judy’s boss went to talk with her about how she needs to speak up less, because it wasn’t her place. Instead of agreeing or keeping silent and accepting, Judy suggested she be promoted so that she would be in the right space to allow her to speak up. She asked. She advocated for herself. And he agreed. 

Judy did not accept an unfair evaluation or situation to continue. Have you ever accepted someone else’s dismissal or negative opinion of you? Have you ever been in an unfair situation and did nothing about it? What would have happened if you did? Maybe nothing – but maybe something. 

Speak what you need.

Speak who you are.

I know it’s not easy, but it’s certainly much easier now than it was back then and if you don’t speak up – if you don’t ASK - you won’t get what you need, you won’t get to fully embody who you are. 

Because Judy spoke up, she became the first woman manager in Apple leading to an upward corporate trajectory and executive roles with leading tech companies. Because she continued to speak up, she became an executive with Ingram Micro. 

Through her stories, Judy gave great advice for career success. Here are 4 take aways worth remembering. 

First - Do what needs to be done, and then ask for more. Notice the things your boss doesn’t like to do and then offer to do them. 

If you start doing the responsibilities of the role above you, then your boss will easily be able to see you IN that role when it comes time for a promotion. And if any opening pops up, you will be the person they think of. First Be what you want to become.

Second- Work for an organization that is not afraid for their people to make mistakes. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes yourself. This is where we learn. This is where innovation happens. Success grows from the learnings of failure. 

Third - Be persistent – when you know what you want, keep going after it, respectfully, until you get it. Persistence Pays. Without persistence, Judy would not have gotten that interview with Ingram Micro

Fourth - For building a strong team or even a strong family. Be clear on your vision. Get clear on their vision. Pay attention and support their vision and they will in turn support yours. AND Be transparent. The more people know about what is happening, the more they will be able to contribute. Bring people together and connect with them through passion and shared experience. 

Then, within Judy’s story, she taught the importance of clarity, knowing what you want, looking at your life in the future and knowing what you want it to look like, and then figuring out how to get there. When was the last time you checked in with yourself about your wants. Not the wants of your kids, not the wants of your significant other, not the wants of family or work or friends – but just your pure personal desires. If you could have everything go perfectly in the next 3 to 5 years – what would your life look like? Do you know? 

So many don’t – they’ve been reacting to what life brings them for so long that they have forgotten to ask themselves that question – or they’ve been told what they want for so long, they never realized they GET to ask themselves that question – or, they have been so consumed with fulfilling base needs that they have not felt they had the luxury to think about wants. 

But building your best, most authentic, fulfilling and successful life – it all STARTS with the WANTS. You must get in touch with yourself and get a clear vision on where you want to go. If you haven’t done that in some time, I suggest spending some time thinking about that tonight. Once you have clarity, Write it down. And then make a plan. 

That’s what Judy did. 

She knew she wanted to be situated in a career where her wisdom would be more valuable as she aged, not less. She made  her plan and expertly positioned herself as an Executive Coach, having successfully run her own business for over 33 years and absolutely rocking her 70’s. I love it, I am here for it. 

What are some of Judy’s secrets to success? 

Be open to change. When you feel the fire going away, when you lose the passion you once had with something, move on to what makes you excited. Move on to what is firing you up. Follow that passion.

Connect with other like-minded individuals also interested in the areas you want to grow. 

Embrace continuous learning. I love that Judy just completed a masters in her 70’s setting herself up for another career exploration. Exploring oneself is a great guard against ageism, every point in our lives can be a new adventure. Yes, new chapters can be scary, but they can also be exciting – the feeling is exactly the same  - it’s all in the choice you make to define it. Fear comes from thinking that things will go wrong in the future, excitement comes from thinking things will go well in the future – same feeling – different story – but you get to choose the story you tell yourself. So don’t run from the fear, face it, meet it head on with kindness and understanding. Then choose the different story. Close your eyes and imagine the very best case scenario happening, tell yourself the greatest possible story and change your feeling to one of excitement. As long as it isn’t a safety issue, step into that fear. Learning new things and new chapters in life is how we grow.

When you feel stuck, find your purpose to bring your power back. When you lose track of your own personal purpose and become encumbered with others, it’s easy to lose your drive and passion.  

So that is my wish for us all, that you find the clarity of purpose in your life now and that you stay in touch with yourself through all the decades of your life, continuously honoring the lights mission within you. 

Until next time