Happenstance

Part II of Happenstance and Hosting and part of Cassie's career story that didn't it into episode one.

This episode is about making career decisions, side gigs, and saying to an opportunity simply because you want to.  Cassie talks about the wedding planning job she turned down for grad school and the full circle moments that have led to her officiating, planning and attending a LOT of weddings.

Episode Topics:
- Part II of the Happenstance Story (00:05:09)
- A Full Circle Happenstance Moment (00:08:45)
- Making Career Decisions (00:11:05)
- A Second Full Circle Happenstance Moment (00:13:30)
- Not Everything Has to be a Business (00:17:55)

Lets Connect:
Instagram: @CareerCoachCassie & @HappenstancethePodcast

Let's Connect:
@HappenstanceThePodcast
@CareerCoachCassie

Happenstance the Playlist

Career and Workplace expert Lindsey Pollak joins Cassie on Happenstance to talk about the happenstance moments throughout her own career.  From saying yes to an opportunity to go abroad to navigating a freelance career before freelancing and side gigs were as common as they are, Lindsey's path has included numerous moments of happenstance and emphasizes the important of knowing what you enjoy doing, building long lasting relationships and, when necessary, recalculating.

I'm so happy you're here and I can't wait to see where happenstance leads us...

Episode Topics:
- Daily POP (00:05:29)
- Career Overview (00:08:16)
- Owning our Career and Job Titles (00:16:59)
- Recalculating and Handling Change (00:20:54)
- Navigating the Speed of Change in our Careers (00:26:40)
- Trying Things and Saying No (00:32:24)
- Generational Models of Success (00:36:54)
- Personal Branding and Building a Foundation (00:40:58)
- Looking Ahead for Lindsey Pollak (00:41:52)

Guest Bio:
Lindsey Pollak is a New York Times bestselling author and one of the world’s leading career and workplace experts. She is passionate about helping individuals and organizations
navigate and thrive in the ever-changing world of work.

Lindsey was named to the 2020 Thinkers50 Radar List, which honors the top global management thinkers whose work is shaping the future of how organizations are managed and led. Her latest book is a response to the Covid crisis: Recalculating: Navigate Your Career Through the Changing World of Work was published by HarperCollins on March 23, 2021.

Her previous book, The Remix: How to Lead and Succeed in the Multigenerational Workplace (HarperCollins, 2019) was named a Book of the Month by both the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times. She is also the author of two career advice books for young professionals: Becoming the Boss: New Rules for the Next Generation of Leaders and Getting from College to Career: Your Essential Guide to Succeeding in the Real World.

Lindsey’s speaking audiences and consulting clients have included more than 250 corporations, law firms, conferences and universities, including Aetna, Citi, Estée Lauder Companies, GE, Goldman Sachs, Google, Pfizer, Verizon, Yale, Harvard, Wharton and Stanford.

Her advice and opinions have appeared in such media outlets as The TODAY Show,
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN and NPR. Lindsey is a Cappfinity VEE Brand Ambassador and has served as an official ambassador for LinkedIn, a Millennial workplace expert for The Hartford and chair of Cosmopolitan Magazine’s Millennial Advisory Board. In her philanthropic work, she serves as a board director of FourBlock, a national nonprofit that supports veteran career transition.

Guest Links:
www.lindseypollak.com

Let's Connect:
Instagram: @HappenstanceThePodcast & @CareerCoachCassie

Let's Connect:
@HappenstanceThePodcast
@CareerCoachCassie

Happenstance the Playlist

Cassie is joined by YouTuber, Musician, and internet goofball, HTHAZE.  

In this episode we talk about how how HTHAZE has built a career streaming on YouTube and other platforms, how fandoms and music communities bring people together, adapting to changing platforms and the balance between creativity and ego as a creator.  We also get at the human side of content creation, the pressure, the challenges, the balance of it all. 

I’m so happy you’re here and I can’t wait to see where happenstance leads us….

Episode Topics:
- Daily POP (00:02:45)
- Guest Introduction (00:12:50)
- Career Overview (00:15:55)
- Happenstance Moment (00:21:00)
- The Pressure to Create (00:25:41)
- Communities, Fandoms, and Stanbases (00:30:20)
- The Balance of Ego and Creativity (00:37:16)
- Creating Fulfilling Content (00:40:30)
- Looking Back to march 2020 (00:45:44)
-Looking Ahead in 2022 (50:17)

Guest Bio:
Hamilton Troy Hayes, or known on the internet as HTHAZE is a musician/producer and Youtuber who makes videos based around his favorite albums. Not only are his dance moves infectious but you’ll never leave a video without learning a little something about how the technical side of music touches our souls.

Guest Links:
HTHAZE YouTube
HT2 YouTube
HTHAZE Instagram
HTHAZE on Twitch
HTHAZE Patreon Page

Connect:
Instagram: @HappenstanceThePodcast & @CareerCoachCassie

Let's Connect:
@HappenstanceThePodcast
@CareerCoachCassie

Happenstance the Playlist

It's not surprising that in a world and in a time where our attentions are pulled in a million different directions that when when someone captivates you with the words that they are saying and the work that they are doing that you pause.

That's exactly what happened when I came across Donovan Beck's work.

Donovan is using creativity, vulnerability  and various art mediums to tell stories. In this episode we not only talk about his career path and exploration into photography, film, poetry and so much more but also the importance of messing up, trying new things and truly to just do our best.  Let's see where happenstance takes us.

Episode Topics:
- Daily POP (00:01:46)
- Donovan Beck's Background and Career (00:06:45)
- Starting with Photography (00:08:35)
- Finding the Medium that Matches the Message (00:13:50)
- The Fear of Creating, Sharing, and "Staying in your Lane" (00:16:50)
- The Mind of Sol, Donovan's Production and Media Company (00:22:52)
- Accepting the "Figuring it out" Part and Getting Back to the Process (00:32:52)
-Donovan's Start with Tik Tok (00:37:52)
- A Moment of Happenstance (00:41:19)
-Vulnerability and Creating Spaces (00:45:51)
-Surprising Yourself Along The Way (00:53:50)
- Ornithology, by Donovan Beck (00:59:28)
- Connect with Donovan (01:01:52)

Guest Bio:
Donovan Beck is an author, filmmaker, advocate, and multi-hyphenate storyteller dedicated to redefining how we talk about mental health, creativity, and ourselves, especially online. Through the lens of poetry and filmmaking, Donovan creates a safe place on social media for people to embrace vulnerability in their daily lives and use social media platforms like TikTok & Instagram for good.

Since the launch of his creative career, Donovan has focused not only on his growth but also on setting the tone, resources, and access for other creators to pursue their passions and mental health journeys. Partnering with organizations like The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, The JED Foundation, Ad Council, BetterHelp, and now a direct creative partnership with Meta, Donovan has pushed barriers for non-traditional and minority creators worldwide. A member of the WeTheCulture Class of 2022 by Meta, a creative cohort of black creators across Facebook and Instagram, Donovan has worked to redefine how black and youth communities look at the realm of poetic storytelling and mental health. As a creative consultant for the AFSP & JED foundation, Donovan has helped craft campaigns such as the joint mission of Seize the Awkward, a national campaign to help young people
across the country better navigate the world of mental health and resources to learn how to check in on their friends who may be struggling.

Guest Links:
TikTok & Instagram: @TheMindOfSol
Website: https://www.themindofsol.com/

Book: A Fool's Guide to the Universe: Signed Copy, Amazon

Organizations Donovan Works With:
AFSP: www.afsp.org 
SeizeTheAwkward:   seizetheawkward.org 

Let's Connect:
@HappenstanceThePodcast
@CareerCoachCassie

Let's Connect:
@HappenstanceThePodcast
@CareerCoachCassie

Happenstance the Playlist

Stefanie Elsperman joins Cassie on Happenstance!  Stef is a mentor, a friend and in many ways her work as a purpose and mindset coach balances out the work that Cassie does as a career coach.  

In this episode we  talk about values and how knowing your values can serve as such a strong foundation for decision making, we dive into the decision making process, why pros and cons list just don’t work, what messy action is, and we go off on a few tangents along way. This conversation is all about mindset, stepping outside your comfort zone and trusting your gut. Let’s see where happenstance takes us. 

Episode Topics:
- How Decision Making Usually Goes (00:03:30)
- Daily POP (00:05:52)
- Guest Introduction (00:11:02)
- Career Coaching along side Purpose and Mindset Coaching (00:12:56)
- Values as the Foundation (00:14:14)
- Cassie's Values (00:15:51)
- Stef's Values (00:21:32)
- Stef's Happenstance Moment (00:31:47)
- The Edge of out Comfort Zone (00:34:11)
- Decision Making (00:36:36)
- Messy Action (00:41:56)
- Looking Ahead for Stef (00:44:08)

Guest Bio:
Stefanie Elsperman is a purpose & business coach who helps women find their purpose in the 9-5 world and achieve their dream career + life.

She's impacted over 1 million people across TikTok and Instagram platforms, where she shows others that they can be successful and fulfilled--because she knows what it's like to feel like you have to choose one over the other. 

She has been in the coaching industry for over 6 years, having studied under the names of Dr. Joe Dispenza, Tony Robbins, Gabby Bernstein, Melanie Ann Layer, and countless other teachers, and lives by the motto, 'to teach is to learn.' Her work continues to evolve, and impact lives worldwide.

Guest Links:
Tiktok: @the.mindsetcoach
Instagram: @stefanieelsperman

Let's Connect! 
Instagram: @HappenstanceThePodcast & @CareerCoachCassie 

Let's Connect:
@HappenstanceThePodcast
@CareerCoachCassie

Happenstance the Playlist

Potentially the most Happenstance of Happenstance stories this week’s episode focuses on trusting your gut, being open to taking chances, the importance of human connection an is all about a passion project that is just that, a passion project with no other expectations. 

Madison White, founder of the If Found Please Read project, joins Cassie this week. Madison shares her career story, how the If Found Please Read project was started ten years ago and the journey that has led her to relaunching the project in an ever bigger way.

Episode Topics:
- Daily POP (00:03:03)
- If Found Please Read Overview (00:08:15)
- Guest Background and Career Story (00:09:09)
- How the If Found Please Read project started (00:12:02)
- The First 50 Journals (00:14:41)
- When Everything Changed (00:20:34)
- The First Found Journal (00:31:25)
- Writing Your Legacy (00:35:51)
- High Hopes, No Expectations (00:38:44)
- How to Get Involved with If Found Please Read (00:44:01)
- Advice for Others (00:50:00)

Guest Bio:
Madison White has worn many hats throughout her life. While the titles of actress, waitress, daughter, mother, and friend all came as no surprise, the one thing Madison never imagined she would add to her list was “author.”

Following her move from her home in Long Island, she spent some time in LA pursuing her acting career. Towards the end of that journey is when her search for human connection truly started. She left LA with her then rockstar boyfriend, now (still rockstar) husband on a cross country tour. 18,000 miles and a dozen states later, she had unknowingly sparked the beginning of her passion project. Madison left 50 journals all handwritten and filled with her life story and signed with her name, address and phone number on the inside front cover for contact. It didn’t take long for almost all 30 out of the 50 finders to reach out to her. In noticing the insane connections that people had with her story, she noticed that this project was bigger than just her and other people needed to have the chance to experience this same feeling. In that moment, “If Found Please Read” was born. 10 years later she’s reviving the project with 1000 journals and you can finally be a part of it too!

Guest Links:
Tiktok: @IfFoundPleaseRead
Website: IfFoundPleaseRead.com
Buy a Journal on Amazon Here!

Let's Connect!
Instagram: @HappenstanceThePodcast & @CareerCoachCassie

Let's Connect:
@HappenstanceThePodcast
@CareerCoachCassie

Happenstance the Playlist

This week Cassie is joined by the "big sister" of the music industry Carla Jay or @JayCommaCarla as she's known on social media. 

This episode covers Carla's career path over the last 7 years and how the pandemic changed everything for her. We talk about representation in the music industry, the importance of being transparent with our career experiences and discuss or rather rethink imposter syndrome. In this episode we also chat about being a  "fangirl" and both the negative connotations that society has put on fangirls and benefit of how being a fan girl can give you a unique set of skills when working in the music industry.

Episode Topics:
- Daily POP (00:01:57)
- Guest Intro (00:09:14)
- Rethinking Your Career During Quarantine (00:14:05)
- Carla's Happenstance Moment (one of many) (00:16:44)
- Carla's Journey with TikTok (00:24:57)
- Reclaiming the Fangirl Experience (00:27:41)
- Rethinking Imposter Syndrome (00:36:22) 
- Look ahead for Carla Jay (00:43:07) 

Guest Bio:
Carla is a Filipino-American who works full time as a Social Media Producer and Digital Marketer for 4 Bay Area radio stations. She has been working professionally in the music industry for 7 years, diving into many aspects of radio and live events. Throughout Carla’s industry journey, she’s been able to experience full circle fangirl moments for herself such as filming the Jonas Brothers and photographing Taylor Swift. Despite the negative connotations of being a fangirl, Carla has been able to ignore the noise and elevate within her career, using her fangirl skills in her day to day at work. Although navigating the industry as a woman of color is difficult, facing cultural and societal adversities, Carla is incredibly proud of her career trajectory. When she's not working, Carla likes to watch YouTube, Netflix, and work on the Filipino-American podcast she co-hosts called, "Cracking the Coconut." 

Links:
TikTok & Instagram: @jaycommacarla 
Podcast: Cracking the Coconut (@crackingthecoconut on Instagram)
Website & Creative Portfolio: www.jaycommacarla.com

Let's Connect!
Instagram: @HappenstanceThePodcast & @CareerCoachCassie

Let's Connect:
@HappenstanceThePodcast
@CareerCoachCassie

Happenstance the Playlist

From idea to reality, in this episode I chat with creator and founder of Other People Fund and Support the Psyche, Elena Kilgore. 

Elena shares the idea behind Other People Fund, how this passion project became a side career, what it's like working a 9-5 while also running a non-profit, and what can happen when you take a chance and reach out to Harry Style's stylist. 

Episode Topics:
- Elena's Introduction (00:01:56)
- Daily POP (00:03:19)
- Other People Fund and Support the Psyche Story (00:09:09)
- Making an Idea a Reality (00:16:58)
- Managing a Passion Project and a 9-5 (00:19:45)
- Good Enough vs. Perfectionism (00:23:30)
- Happenstance and Harry Styles (00:24:43)
- Plans to Grow other People Fund and Support the Psyche (00:34:56)
- Elena's Other Career Goals and PR Background (00:36:16)
- Learn More about Other People Fund and Support the Psyche (00:39:41)

Other People Fund:
Other People Fund began in 2021 as a way to connect more people to the Other People
they should be seeing: therapists. At Other People Fund, we believe everyone can benefit
from therapy. We also know that it’s not accessible for everyone. Those who seek
therapy should be able to receive it. That's where we come in.

Every purchase from Other People Fund helps offset the cost of
therapy for someone who needs it.

We donate all Other People Fund proceeds to our partner organization: Support for the
Psyche Inc. Support for the Psyche accepts applications for therapy aid and works
directly with therapy providers to cover the cost of up to three sessions per applicant.

Learn more at www.otherpeoplefund.com or apply for therapy aid at
www.supportforthepsyche.com

Guest Links:
https://www.otherpeoplefund.com/
https://www.otherpeoplefund.com/about-1
Instagram: @otherpeoplefund
TikTok: @otherpeoplefund & @polkadothead

Connect:
Instagram: @HappenstanceThePodcast & @CareerCoachCassie 

Let's Connect:
@HappenstanceThePodcast
@CareerCoachCassie

Happenstance the Playlist

Dr. April Perry, who was Cassie's graduate school advisor AND the person who originally taught her about the Happenstance Learning Theory,  joins us to talk about her career journey, moments of happenstance she's experienced, the importance of reflection and making meaning of our experiences. 

Episode Topics:
- Guest Intro (00:01:42)
- The happenstance Learning Theory & Experiential Learning Cycle (00:04:56)
- The happenstance of Dr. Perry & Cassie meeting (00:06:18)
- Dr. April Perry's Career Story (00:09:34)
- True Moments of Happenstance (00:16:44)
- Navigating & Negotiating Careers with a Partner (00:21:07)
- Daily POP (00:45:03) 
- Dr. April Perry's Book, A Practitioner’s Guide to Supporting Graduate and Professional Students (00:50:14) 

Dr. April L. Perry is an Associate Professor in the M.Ed. Higher Education Student Affairs program at Western Carolina University. Her research is primarily on student identity development, career development, student transitions, and institutional initiatives for student success. As a practitioner, April has worked in graduate school administration, student leadership programs, parent & family programs, fundraising & marketing, academic tutoring services, and will be the Department Head of Human Services at WCU starting Summer 2022. She lives by the motto that the only thing better than watching someone grow is helping them grow. In 2016, April received the WCU award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring, in 2017 and 2022 was named AGAPSS’ Outstanding Professional, and in 2022 was honored with NASPA Faculty Council’s Outstanding Support for Graduate Students Award.

Links:
Book:  https://www.routledge.com/A-Practitioners-Guide-to-Supporting-Graduate-and-Professional-Students/Shepard-Perry/p/book/9780367639884 
*Use Code FLA22 for 20% discount!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprilperry/

Let's Connect:
Instagram: @HappenstanceThePodcast & @CareerCoachCassie

Let's Connect:
@HappenstanceThePodcast
@CareerCoachCassie

Happenstance the Playlist

Welcome to Happenstance, the podcast that explores the planned, the unplanned and how our careers are created out opportunity, hard work and the unexpected. I’m your host, Cassie 

In this episode I give an overview of the Happenstance Learning Theory, how I learned about it, what research contributed to the theory and how this theory fits into this podcast and the guests we will have a long the way. 

Before guests join me, I also wanted to introduce myself a bit more and share my career journey from being a mess of indecision throughout my undergraduate career to enrolling in graduate school, feeling like I had it all figured out and changing my plans as many of us do. 

I’m so happy you’re here and I can’t wait to see where happenstance leads us…

Episode Topics:
- What is Happenstance (00:02:17)
- Conversations with Future Guests (00:05:53)
- Cassie's Career Story (00:07:18)
- Goals of the Podcast (00:15:37)

Let's Connect:
Instagram: @HappenstancethePodcast & @CareerCoachCassie

Let's Connect:
@HappenstanceThePodcast
@CareerCoachCassie

Happenstance the Playlist