In this episode, Rashad Rayford brings the energy (and the poetry) with a fresh take on owning your voice, trusting your timing, and turning fear into fuel. From embracing boredom to battling imposter syndrome, Rashad breaks it all down with humor, heart, and a spoken-word mic drop you won’t want to miss.

Rashad Rayford is an award-winning speaker, actor, and poet featured at TEDx, on NPR, and in The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. He's also a MOTH Story Hour GRANDslam champion. Rashad is known for his high-energy presentations that blend storytelling, spoken word, and actionable insights.

1.) How boredom was critical to him finding his calling

2.) Why you shouldn't try and microwave your growth

3.) How he 50% Rules poetry and keynote speaking

4.) How he almost didn't do the thing that launched his speaking career, and the simple acronym that helped him through it

5.) His improvised poem to you to make work suck less

Website: https://www.rashadthapoet.com/

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DISCLAIMER: This episode is not explicit, though contains mild swearing that may be unsustainable for younger audiences.

Tweetable Comments

•  ”Sometimes we don't see our light, we don't see our shine. We may see a little bit of it, but we may not see it fully until someone else is like, “Hey man, you're the sun. You're shining.”

• “ I like to bring right brain ideas into left brain spaces, and it helps folks to really unpack and see things from a different perspective.”

• “How do you connect with people in a way that says, ‘I’m supposed to be here, I belong here, and I have a purpose here?’”

•  ”Sometimes it just takes looking beyond ourselves and asking ‘How can we continue to grow?‘“