Checkbox Other with Nikki Innocent

September is Self Improvement Month -- our culture has a tricky relationship with the idea of it. Perfectionism, hustle culture and capitalism have us jockeying for position over one another and seeking validation and achievement outside ourselves. Host Nikki Innocent believes that self improvement is truly rooted in self discovery, that all of the power you need is within you, that the improvement is in aligning more deeply with who you are vs how the world tells you you need to change yourself to be. In this episode, Nikki encourages listeners to reframe their relationship with self-help and reclaim their individual power.

If you are looking for guidance in that journey of self-discovery, try out our on-demand course Unlock Your Passion www.nikkiinnocent.com/passion

Public speaking coach, Rhonda Khan, joins Nikki in today's episode to talk about the power of activating your voice, moving through fear, and owning the room by sharing your story. Nikki & Rhonda shine a light on the importance of public speaking over the last few years and how the Millennial & Gen Z generations differ in their relationship to public speaking, using their voices and having a platform to be heard and valued. Rhonda discusses the influences of being a speech therapist, speaker, and solo actor, performer and playwright on her work within her company, Simply Speech Solutions. Nikki & Rhonda dive deep into the importance of elevating the topics of mental health and neurodiversity in our conversations about diversity and inclusion.

What's your feeling about public speaking? Love it, hate it, wish you could be better at it? We want to hear about it, hit us up at www.nikkiinnocent.com/jointheconversation

MIT's women's basketball head coach, Lucia Robinson-Griggs, joins Nikki to dive into the incredible influence and impact that sports, athletes and coaches have on our society. Lucia shares her experiences of growing up as a biracial Black girl in Boston who has followed her passions that led her to playing in the NCAA tournament, to playing on Boston's women's full contact football team, to coaching high school boy's football, to coaching back-to-back NCAA champions and now leading her way as a head coach centering humanity. Nikki & Lucia talk about the influence you have as a coach, the power of representation, the changes in the NIL rules that empower college athletes, the impact of chosen family and the hurdles of stepping into rooms where you are the first, only and different (FOD) and leading your way.

Growing up did you have a coach or a mentor that you looked up to? We want to hear about it, hit us up at www.nikkiinnocent.com/jointheconversation

How many times in your life have you heard "trust your gut" and felt like cool, great but what does that mean!? In this episode, the final installment in this 6-part series on surviving burnout, Nikki talks about what it means to trust your gut/intuition/inner knowing; why for so many of us, a relationship with our gut has been underdeveloped, discouraged or punished; how to determine what's your gut vs what's fear; and exercises tips and tricks to build a stronger relationship with your gut.

To dive deeper into your relationship with your inner power and strengths, for a limited time get free access the first module of our Unlock Your Passion course: https://www.nikkiinnocent.com/light-up-moments

Failure is a scary word for so many of us. We've been brought up to believe it is the worst outcome and we should avoid it at all costs, but what if that is false? It's time to flip the fear of failure on its head. What if failure holds the clue to the wisdom we most need to learn? What if failure is a faster way to finding the solution?

In this episode, we dive into the importance of acknowledging failure as separate from yourself and your worth, the power in owning and honoring the stumbles you've experienced and how failure oftentimes is a key component on the path to living and leading authentically. There's also a bit of advice for managers in how they can create a more productive and inclusive performance review process.

Share your failure stories with us: www.nikkiinnocent.com/join the conversation

The power of positive thinking, the importance of being open and receptive, the need to keep your cool and have a smile on your face are all things we've been told lead to success, but in order for those tactics to work, first we must have authenticity. Authenticity in our yeses and our nos. In this episode, Nikki dives into the vital tools of discernment and self trust and the power of honoring that many times no can be a complete sentence.

What do authentic yeses and nos look and feel like to you? We'd love to hear from you www.nikkiinnocent.com/jointheconversation

Whether people know it or not, they react almost reflexively when you tell them you are taking a risk to do something outside of what is expected of you. The "Oh I could never do that!" or "I'd be too scared" or "that's crazy!!" responses are all too common especially when you are putting yourself and your needs first after long periods of neglecting them. This episode dives into what Nikki views as the most important reframe for anyone who is taking a leap to make a big change in their lives and why it's helpful to gain clarity on what is happening before you're in the middle of the vulnerability of it all so it doesn't derail your confidence and courage.

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Being right, being certain, being perfect, being confident and unwavering. These are all things that we've been told are the penultimate goal in life and are what make you a successful winner or leader. But with the world changing so rapidly, being stuck in your ways or fixed on the old will create more problems for you than solutions.

In this second episode of a six-part series from Nikki's keynote "Surviving & Thriving after Burnout" the focus is on the importance of shifting your perspective from seeking certainty to accepting that chance is inevitable and there is so much power in embracing curiosity and all of the awe that comes with it. Allowing yourself to be a sponge in the face of uncertainty and change and truly using the knowledge we talked about in the previous episode about getting to know yourself or doing your "mesearch" to inform how the new pieces of information you are able to gather lead you in a new more sustainable, modern direction forward.

We want to hear from you! How have you been embracing curiosity in your life? Tell us at www.nikkiinnocent.com/jointheconversation

Everyone is talking about "being your authentic self" but what does that really mean? For me, it's accepting who I am and embracing what my experiences have taught me. Growing up we learned science, math, history, etc but we didn't learn how to get to know ourselves. As we navigate re-entering society, there's a pull between what you've learned about yourself and the world around you over the last year and a half and the efficiency of just "getting back to normal -- in that process we tend to lose ourselves and conditioning takes over.

This episode is the beginning of a multi episode series coming out of a classic keynote of mine "Surviving & Thriving after Burnout" and is all about why it's important to prioritize mesearch (research about me, or you in this case) to get to know how you learn, communicate and operate through diagnostics and guided reflection while at the same time exploring how you authentically shine out in the world.

Check out our Unlock Your Passion course to dive into the mesearch process: https://nikkiinnocent.com/uyp

Let us know how your mesearch is going or any tools you love for mesearch: https://nikkiinnocent.com/jointheconversation

Old school job searching is out, it's time for a reframe. If you left your job, are considering leaving your job or looking to re-enter the workforce, the interview process can feel daunting.

In this episode, Nikki talks about the workplace trends in play with the increase in remote work and the prioritization of diversity, equity and inclusion -- especially in the hiring and HR industry. She highlights some common outdated messages that are still being peddled that keep candidates feeling small. Nikki then explores how Millennials occupying the majority of the workforce is changing the values and approach to job searching and embracing an authentic career path.

Have you been interviewing lately or considering making a career change? Tell us about it and how this episode resonated with you: https://www.nikkiinnocent.com/jointheconversation