Shift Out Loud with Tracy Spears

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Stand-up comedian Suzanne Westenhoefer tells the truth. That’s why she could never be in the closet, even as she stepped out on stage as a comedian in the 1990s. Suzanne experienced her big shift at 29 years old, when she was an aspiring actress working as a bartender. After one of her regulars urged her to try her hand at stand-up over a Finlandia martini, Suzanne was skeptical, but entered an open mic contest.

She easily won… and hasn’t stopped making people laugh since!

As an out lesbian comic, Suzanne has been a true pioneer in the industry, opening new doors and shattering stereotypes for decades. She was the first openly lesbian comedian to appear on Late Night with David Letterman and to have an HBO Special. In this conversation, we talk about Suzanne’s incredible legacy, her current big goals, and one unforgettable road trip of a lifetime!

Press play to discover:

• How Suzanne built up a career as a full-time comedian and the challenges she faced during her shift from New York City bartender to Hollywood entertainer
• The behind-the-scenes journey to Suzanne’s groundbreaking and influential HBO Special — and why the gay press ignored it
• Why playing bigger on your own terms can inspire big shifts in those around you

Guest bio: No one ever accused Suzanne Westenhoefer of being subtle — certainly not her audiences. After 25 years of groundbreaking, stereotype-shattering, and brutally honest comedy, she is not about to start pulling punches now. The kid from Amish Country who began her comedy career on a dare is celebrating a quarter century of out, open, no-holds-barred comedy.

Timestamps:

01:35  Intro

02:07  Meet Suzanne Westenhoefer

03:09  Suzanne’s big shift into comedy

08:00  “She’s going to be a lesbian & you’d better be nice”

10:01  Professional jealousy & homophobia

15:00  First out lesbian with an HBO special

19:23  HBO Special legacy

21:38  Road trip story

26:33  When you play big, others play big

28:39  Broadway & drama

29:42  The Ellen effect

32:57  Comedy, business & homophobia

36:19  Pandemic shift

38:24  Next shifts

Links:

Suzanne Westenhoefer

https://www.suzannew.com 

https://www.facebook.com/suzanne.westenhoefer 

Twitter: @szwest1 

Discover your tactical leadership toolkit: https://www.exceptionalleaderslab.com 

Interested in working with me or having me speak at your event? Find more information at https://tracyspears.com 

Want tools and insights that will help you play bigger in your life, at work, and in your community? Visit my resource library: https://tracyspears.com/blog 

Connect with me:

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TracySpearsSpeaker 

Twitter: @tracylspears 

Instagram: @tracylspears 

If you love the podcast, please consider leaving a rating and review — this will help others discover how to play a bigger game and step into their fullest potential!

Watch these episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TracySpearsSpeaker Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notifications so you never miss an episode!

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Making a shift on your own terms in order to play bigger is challenging enough. But what happens when your successful shift is followed by an unexpected game changer?

Lisa Riley’s entrepreneurial spirit led her to leave the corporate oil and gas industry and enter the paint and sip business, becoming the owner of a Pinot’s Palette franchise in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since taking the leap, Lisa has expanded to four franchises and celebrated her 10-year anniversary of being in business for herself… and she also received a surprise cancer diagnosis while undergoing a preventative mastectomy.

During our conversation, we talk about Lisa’s incredible cancer survival story, her entrepreneurial journey, and how she managed to increase her revenue while undergoing treatment.

Listen now to discover: 

• The biggest challenges and successes Lisa has experienced through her shift to entrepreneurship
• The biggest mistake that Lisa made while hiring — and the valuable insight it taught her
• The humbling lesson Lisa learned when she needed to step back during her cancer treatment

Lisa Riley is the owner of 4 Pinot’s Palette franchises in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area.  Before that, she worked for the QuikTrip Corporation and finished out her corporate oil and gas career at ConocoPhillips. She is a cancer survivor, a mom, a wife and loves living life to the fullest! She has won Women in Business Champion for the City of Tulsa, Small Businessperson of the Year for Broken Arrow and Tulsa, International Franchisee of the Year, and United States Small Business Association Business Person of the Year.

Timestamps

01:48  Intro

02:55  Meet Lisa Riley

05:18  Lisa’s big shifts

08:32  The franchise shift

12:02  Being open to new opportunities

13:25  Saying “no” & delegating

19:12  Biggest challenges & hiring mistakes

24:37  Leading as an empath

26:23  Surviving cancer & stepping back

33:41  Preventative care & check-ups

35:25  Essential service

41:59  Food styling

45:35  Lisa’s next shifts

Links

Lisa Riley

https://www.pinotspalette.com/cherrystreet

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't by Jim Collins

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0066620996

Discover your tactical leadership toolkit: https://www.exceptionalleaderslab.com

Interested in working with me or having me speak at your event? Find more information at https://tracyspears.com

Want tools and insights that will help you play bigger in your life, at work, and in your community? Visit my resource library: https://tracyspears.com/blog 

Connect with me

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TracySpearsSpeaker 

Twitter: @tracylspears 

Instagram: @tracylspears 

If you love the podcast, please consider leaving a rating and review — this will help others discover how to play a bigger game and step into their fullest potential!

Watch these episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TracySpearsSpeaker Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notifications so you never miss an episode!

Send a text

Self-improvement is a top priority for exceptional leaders, but the first step is understanding who you are, why you choose the actions you take, and your impact on those around you. Inner work should be thought of as the powerful and reliable growth strategy that it is. If you want to play a bigger game and increase your capacity to lead, then you need to be ready to build a better version of yourself — and my guest June Miller is an expert at providing people with the tools they need to do so.

June is an intuitive guide and transformational teacher who is committed to helping others see themselves and their contribution to the world. Our conversation covers some big topics, including the power of intentionality and why so many people are afraid of doing inner work. I encourage you to tune in if you’re ready to be inspired and shift your mindset!

Ready to play bigger? Listen now to discover:

• How to strengthen your deeper, inner listening skills and how it will help you to strengthen your relationships
• How we create our own realities — and why we need to stop creating from a mindset of scarcity
• What the natural world can teach us about contribution

Guest bio: June Miller is a seasoned intuitive guide who has been deeply involved in the personal development space her entire adult life. She is the founder of Raising the World, Inc, a nonprofit working with indigenous communities, as well as the owner/director of Spirit On The Water, a healing retreat center in the US Virgin Islands. 

Timestamps:

01:44  Intro

02:33  Meet June Miller

05:24  Setting intentions & strengthening connections

08:03  Building your awareness & listening skills

09:59  Why don’t we trust ourselves?

13:30  The invitation & Spirit On The Water

15:53  June’s big shifts

19:04  Scarcity v. abundance

22:42  Psychedelics & listening

26:08  Trusting the Universe

28:41  Authenticity & wider impact

30:58  Juney Moon: The Journey Begins

35:14  Raising the World

Links:

June Miller

http://www.OhJuneNowWhat.com

https://www.raisingtheworld.com

https://www.spiritonthewater.com

Instagram: @ohjunenowwhat

My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

https://www.amazon.com/My-Stroke-Insight-Scientists-Personal/dp/0452295548

Discover your tactical leadership toolkit: https://www.exceptionalleaderslab.com

Interested in working with me or having me speak at your event? Visit https://tracyspears.com

Want tools and insights that will help you play bigger in your life, at work, and in your community? Visit my resource library: https://tracyspears.com/blog

—

Connect with me:

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TracySpearsSpeaker

Twitter: @tracylspears

Instagram: @tracylspears

Watch these episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TracySpearsSpeaker Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notifications so y

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Confronting unconscious biases and creating an inclusive, equitable company culture should be at the heart of your mission as a leader. In fact, these are some of the most serious and important leadership challenges today. My guest Kuma Roberts helps teams and organizations change the world, one encounter at a time. 

Kuma is the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Arrowhead Consulting, a Tulsa-based boutique project management, leadership development, and executive coaching firm that partners with executives and leadership teams to deepen their commitments to celebrate diversity, champion equity, and cultivate inclusion. 

In this discussion, we talk about Kuma’s biggest shift, how she’s building her visioning muscle, and the challenges that people of color face in speaking up, speaking out, and playing big. 

Ready for some great insights on how to take more positive action? Listen now to discover: 

• What it means to live in “the space between” and how Kuma navigates expectations while bridging different worlds
• The big shift that Kuma wants her audiences to experience — and the #1 takeaway she wants them to walk away with
• What to do when you witness or experience an intentional or unintentional microaggression

Guest bio: Kuma Roberts is the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Arrowhead Consulting. She serves on nonprofit boards that align with her passion for ensuring a vibrant and accountable world for us all, including YMCA, Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma, Philbrook Museum, and #RacismStinks. She was named the 2022 Pinnacle Award Corporate Businesswoman of the Year by the YWCA, City of Tulsa, and Commission on the Status of Women, 2022 Workplace Inclusion Advocate for Oklahomans for Equality, as well as the 2020 Keeping the Dream Alive Award by the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Society.

Timestamps:

01:39  Intro

03:11  Meet Kuma Roberts

04:57  Kuma’s big shifts

07:58  Assimilation & smallness

11:49  Living in the space between

13:23  Visioning muscle

14:44  The shift Kuma wants for her audience

19:01  “Linchpin” story & microaggressions

22:55  Creating awareness in 2022

26:48  Cultural shift & leaning in

28:24  Kuma’s next shifts

Links:

Kuma Roberts

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kuma-roberts-iom 

Discover your tactical leadership toolkit: https://www.exceptionalleaderslab.com 

Interested in working with me or having me speak at your event? Find more information at https://tracyspears.com 

Want tools and insights that will help you play bigger in your life, at work, and in your community? Visit my resource library: https://tracyspears.com/blog 

—

Connect with me:

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TracySpearsSpeaker 

Twitter: @tracylspears 

Instagram: @tracylspears 

If you love the podcast, please consider leaving a rating and review — this will help others discover how to play a bigger game and step into their fullest potential!

Watch these episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TracySpearsSpeaker Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube chan

Send a text

Sometimes, a surprise layoff can be the best thing to happen to your career… and exactly what you need in order to start thinking bigger and shifting out loud.

My guest Wally Schmader is the co-founder of Exceptional Leaders Lab, author of Full Contact Leadership, and co-author of multiple books, including What Exceptional Leaders Know and Leadership is a Verb. Wally and I met and developed our friendship and professional relationship while working in a corporate environment. When a round of layoffs claimed both our jobs, we needed to figure out what we really wanted, make some big decisions — and take a leap of faith.

In this episode, you will get a behind-the-scenes look at the development and operations of Exceptional Leaders Lab, as well as the shifts that sparked our determination to think and play bigger!

Ready to play bigger? Listen now to discover: 

• The dramatic shift that led to the creation of Exceptional Leaders Lab and how we’ve evolved since 2020
• The biggest shifts and trends in corporate America during the pandemic
• The qualities that make Wally an exceptional leader and business partner

Guest bio: Wally Schmader is a highly sought-after leadership coach, thought leader, trainer, and facilitator based in Norfolk, Virginia. He‘s developed programs and content that have influenced thousands of leaders worldwide. Wally’s innovative strategies, ideas, and recommendations have been featured in dozens of publications and media outlets. He‘s coached and advised hundreds of top executives. 

Timestamps:

01:48  Intro

03:02  Meet Wally Schmader

04:44  Growing up in business

08:38  Imagining the shift

10:39  Wally’s goal-setting 

12:39  The big shift

17:43  Reacting to the shift

20:18  Know what you want (& what to charge)

22:55  Being a good boss & partner

26:47  Pandemic shift

30:43  Big shifts in corporate America

35:18  Leveling Up: How Managers Become Leaders

36:18  Shifts to come

Links:

Wally Schmader

Twitter: @leaderstweets 

Full Contact Leadership: Dynamic New Ideas and Techniques for Today's Leaders

https://www.amazon.com/Full-Contact-Leadership-Dynamic-Techniques/dp/0595405924/ 

Discover your tactical leadership toolkit: https://www.exceptionalleaderslab.com 

Interested in working with me or having me speak at your event? Find more information at https://tracyspears.com 

Want tools and insights that will help you play bigger in your life, at work, and in your community? Visit my resource library: https://tracyspears.com/blog 

—

Connect with me:

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TracySpearsSpeaker 

Twitter: @tracylspears 

Instagram: @tracylspears 

If you love the podcast, please consider leaving a rating and review — this will help others discover how to play a bigger game and step into their fullest potential!

Watch these episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TracySpearsSpeaker Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notification

Send a text

If you want to play bigger, you need to learn how to stand up, speak out, and own your truth. My guest Pam McKissick is a businesswoman, artist, radio host, and co-author of Grab It Back! Equality, Money, Power & Sex, a book about owning your power in the home and the workplace.

Over the course of her career, Pam has not only mastered the art of making bold shifts out loud, she just may be the true inventor of the idea of playing bigger!

From the C-suite to the auction house, Los Angeles to Tulsa, Pam has an impressive track record of building organizations into major brands. Tune in to learn how she shifted from silence into advocating for women, how she keeps her teams accountable, and why I’d love for her to run for office.

Ready to play bigger? Listen now to discover:

• The power of challenging self-limiting beliefs, both your own and those of others
• What holds women back from stepping into their power (and how to change it!)
• Why we’re seeing a rollback of hard-won feminist gains — and why we MUST lean in harder

Pam McKissick is a seasoned businesswoman, marketing executive, and radio host, known for her charismatic personality and uncanny ability to transform traditional thinking and chart new paths toward personal and professional growth.

She resides with her partner, Cheryl Gregory, on an 80-acre horse ranch in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They co-own BossMaresArt.com and are co-authors of Grab It Back! Equality, Money, Power & Sex.

Timestamps:

01:58  Meet Pam McKissick

04:49  Pam’s shift-filled journey

08:21  “The lesbian that writes your checks”

12:57  Exploring theology

15:41  Back to L.A.

20:20  TV Guide & auctioneering

22:08  Holding people accountable & caring

25:13  What holds women back?

27:35  Checkbook mistake story

29:14  Challenging self-limiting beliefs & saying your truth

33:23  Our political era

36:05  Incels, Proud Boys & insurrectionists

38:47  BossMaresArt.com

42:09  Mislabeling politicians

45:06  Grab it back & quit trading compliments for cash

Links:

Pam McKissick

https://www.pammckissick.com

https://bossmaresart.com

https://www.amazon.ca/Grab-Back-Equality-Money-Power/dp/1948232308

https://www.facebook.com/PamLMcKissick

Twitter:@PamMcKissick

Feminists: What Were They Thinking? https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5419676

Discover your tactical leadership toolkit: https://www.exceptionalleaderslab.com

Interested in working with me or having me speak at your event? Find more information at  https://tracyspears.com

Want tools and insights that will help you play bigger in your life, at work, and in your community? Visit my resource library:

https://tracyspears.com/blog

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TracySpearsSpeaker

Twitter: @tracylspears

Instagram: @tracylspears

If you love the podcast, please consider leaving a rating and review — this will help others discover how to play a bigger game and step into their fullest potential!

Send a text

Even after finding the courage to up their game and step fully onto their path of power, women often have trouble clarifying their true value, asking for what they deserve, and saying no to opportunities that don’t meet their needs. When you’ve been taught all your life to think and play small, how do you make the shift to living the full and fulfilling life you’re meant to live?

My guest Dr. Meg Myers Morgan is a keynote speaker and executive coach who helps her clients develop their leadership skills and achieve clarity in times of overwhelm and change. She’s also an incredibly gifted writer and the author of Everything is Negotiable, a bestseller based on her notable TEDx Talk.

In this conversation, we discuss the power of standing still, why a scarcity mindset will hold you back from playing big, and how to tap into your inner “lighthouse” (don’t worry, we get into it!)

Listen now to discover:

• Why sometimes you need to do less in order to achieve more
• The #1 thing that women need to know when entering into salary or pricing negotiations
• An exercise to help you recognize the self-limiting beliefs that may keep you playing small

Dr. Meg Myers Morgan is an award-winning author, keynote speaker, and certified executive coach who works with executives seeking to strengthen their leadership capacity through self-reflection. She is the author of Everything is Negotiable, an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma, and the chair for the Tulsa Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women.

Timestamps

02:50  Meet Meg Myers Morgan

05:27  Early creativity & “sticky” writing

07:50  The Women’s Summit

09:54  The lighthouse & the boats

14:13  Be clear on what you do (and don’t do)

16:22  Pricing

18:03  Everything is Negotiable

20:45  Why don’t we ask for more?

23:10  Shifting into playing bigger

27:02  Self-limiting beliefs

30:10  Introversion & extroversion

32:29  Core values & big fears

35:23  Being “too much”

39:49  Untethering yourself & embracing “more”

43:10  Concierge Key story

46:37  TED Talks

Dr. Meg Myers Morgan

https://www.megmyersmorgan.com

https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Negotiable-Tactics-What-Want/dp/1580057896

https://www.facebook.com/megmyersmorganauthor

Instagram: @megmyersmorgan

TEDx: Negotiating For Your Life

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT_Kh-_Nb9o

Discover your tactical leadership toolkit: https://www.exceptionalleaderslab.com

Find more information at  https://tracyspears.com

Want tools and insights that will help you play bigger in your life, at work, and in your community?

https://tracyspears.com/blog

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TracySpearsSpeaker

Twitter: @tracylspears

Instagram: @tracylspears

Watch these episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TracySpearsSpeaker Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notifications so you never miss an episode!

Send a text

What does it look like to write your own story? Big Talk Academy founder Tricia Brouk helps her clients become the go-to experts in their fields through tapping into the power of their authentic stories and building industry-leading voices.

Storytelling lies firmly within Tricia’s zone of genius. She’s not only a respected speaker mentor, she’s also a dancer, actress, producer, choreographer, and award-winning filmmaker. Growing up in a small town in Missouri, Tricia knew by the age of seven that she was going to move to Manhattan and become a ballerina—a dream that she achieved at 20 years old, after years of visioning and moving into action. In this conversation, we talk about the power of vision boards, the act of deciding to step into what’s possible, and how Tricia continues to flex her visioning muscle.

Ready to play bigger? Listen now to discover:

• What it means to shift out loud—how Tricia’s shifts brought her to some truly big stages
• Why you need to stop worrying about the “how” and just stay in the flow
• How to create a connection with and give energy to your vision

Tricia Brouk helps high-performing professionals transform into industry thought leaders through the power of authentic storytelling. She is the founder of Big Talk Academy and was the executive producer of Speakers Who Dare and TEDx Lincoln Square. She is the producer and host of The Big Talk, an award-winning podcast and YouTube channel. Her book, The Influential Voice: Saying What You Mean for Lasting Legacy, was a #1 new release on Amazon.

Timestamps:

02:53  Meet Tricia Brouk

05:30  Visioning muscle

07:03  The “out loud” piece & Tricia’s big stages

10:57  “How” & risk tolerance

12:55  Vision boards

14:01  New York theater story

17:04  Opening the door & playing big

19:08  Connect with your vision

22:02  Sitting with fear & moving story

24:43  What’s next?

Links:

Tricia Brouk

https://triciabrouk.com

https://www.theinfluentialvoicebook.com

https://youtube.com/thebigtalkwithtriciabrouk

IG: @tricia_brouk

The Big Talk Academy

https://www.thebigtalkacademy.com

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big-talk-with-tricia-brouk/id1151802385

Discover your tactical leadership toolkit: https://www.exceptionalleaderslab.com

Find more information at  https://tracyspears.com

Resource library:

https://tracyspears.com/blog

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TracySpearsSpeaker

Twitter: @tracylspears

Instagram: @tracylspears

If you love the podcast, please consider leaving a rating and review — this will help others discover how to play a bigger game and step into their fullest potential!
Watch these episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TracySpearsSpeaker Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and ring the bell for notifications so you never miss an episode!

Send a text

In this trailer, you'll get a peek behind the scenes of what's to come on the Shift Out Loud podcast! 

Hosted by Tracy Spears, speaker, co-author of two best-selling leadership books, founder of Exceptional Leaders Lab, coach, and head cheerleader for anyone trying to play bigger. Shift Out Loud is a podcast designed to inspire you to play bigger. You'll hear from real live people sharing what their shift was, when it happened, and why it was out loud. 

What you think is true, and when you move from the external locus of control to the internal locus of control, your shift can happen, and anything becomes possible. This podcast is your invitation to listen to others who have made the shift and also serve as a catalyst for you to play bigger.