In this episode, meet Jenn T. Grace, my friend, a champion of storytelling, and financial advisor consultant turned founder of Publish Your Purpose. Jenn shares her personal journey from navigating corporate challenges where she hid a big part of her identity, to empowering authors through her organization. We discussed crucial ways to align your personal values with your professional environment and touched on the struggle of balancing genuine self-expression with career expectations. Remember, your story matters - whether you're contemplating writing your own book, striving for authenticity in your career, or simply looking to better understand yourself and others. This episode offers valuable perspectives on how personal and professional growth are interconnected. This line from Jenn pretty much sums it up for me: “There's a place for vulnerability in professional settings, but somehow we've lost our way in being able to do that.”

About Jenn:

An award-winning author, nationally recognized speaker, and savvy publishing strategist, Jenn T. Grace is the founder of Publish Your Purpose, the acclaimed hybrid publishing company that gives first-time authors the secrets to getting their books written, finding an eager audience & marking their place in the publishing world. She is the author of seven books, including, Publish Your Purpose: A Step-by-Step Guide to Write, Publish, and Grow Your Big Idea. Jenn has been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and CNBC.

Key Takeaways:

Quotables:

(5:38) Jenn: "I find that so many people have stories to share that either are not currently reflected in what's available, or they feel like they're not good enough to be the one that shares the story, or they're not important enough, or there's that kind of underlaying of imposter syndrome that I think everyone experiences."

(12:42) Tosca: “My belief is that the reason why we're in this situation with workplace culture is because we're not showing up, giving ourselves permission to be all of who we are and to be vulnerable and to just be honest because we're all just stuffing shit, you know? And all people really want is connection at work.”

(39:45) Jenn: we have to be brave enough to take that first step to say, I don't really knowhow I'm going to get there, but I have this vision that I want to get somewhere that's not here. Let me start exploring and take that first baby step because the path illuminates itself."

Jenn’s Link:

https://publishyourpurpose.com/

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

Submit your question for Tosca to answer on her ALL ACCESS episode

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast audio edited by: Landis Podcast Editing  

For many people, answering the questions; “What’s your life’s purpose”, “What’s your why” or even "what job are you looking for" can feel super daunting. This is especially true when you know you want to transition, but you’re not sure – what do. In this episode I will share a new way of thinking about your destination, which essentially that knowing your general direction is ENOUGH. Tune in to know you aren’t alone in not having all the answers to where you are headed.  T

Key Messages:

Quotables:

(00:14) “Please don't hold yourself back from conversations because you're thinking that you have to know before you reach out to people or before you do anything at all.”

(2:09) “I think it's easy to be hard on ourselves about this because I think we can compare ourselves to other people's journeys, other people who seem to have a real clarity around what they're going after and what they want next. And I think that's also a story that we tell ourselves because I think the vast majority of people are all figuring it out”

(3:34) “the more that we can just be honest with ourselves and authentic and transparent, the more the magic can come in.”

(8:53) “What are the things that you find yourself talking about? A lot. We can just ask ourselves these more bite sized questions and allow those puzzle pieces to just be what they are. And when you're ready to see what that picture creates, you will know it and you can't force it and you can't pressure it.”

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

Submit your question for Tosca to answer on her ALL ACCESS episode

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast audio edited by: Landis Podcast Editing  

In this episode I talk about a new way to approach your resume re-write AFTER you have taken some time to CLEAR your past hurts (check out the episode: “The First Step to Land Your Next Job: It’s Not Your Resume”). This might mean that you completely start from scratch so that you can look back at your experience with an entirely new lens – based on what you now understand about your winding road AND what you want going forward. Tune in for inspiration and practical tips to update your resume as one of your many tools to find your next opportunity.

Resume Tips:

Quotables:

(8:53) “So what I want you to do is focus on getting in the C.A.R.. And getting in the C.A.R., when you look at each of your jobs, is about looking at the context of your role, the actions you took, and the results that you provided. And by doing this, by taking this C.A.R. approach, what you're going to do is you're going to better understand the impact that you had in your job. So it's not about capturing your job description and all your job responsibilities. It's about saying, what was the context, what were the actions, and what were the results of that action, so that you can more fully honor the impact that you had. All of this background does matter, and how you position it gets deeper into the process. But what I'm saying is, when you honor what that context is, then your results really pop in a bigger way and you can more clearly see the impact. And some of the actions that you took might rise to the surface that you normally bury."

(11:15) “The other big piece of how I want you to approach your resume is from a whole life perspective. So I do not want you to omit things that need to be on your resume or need to be honored. And that might range from being the CEO of your household to taking a year long break and doing all kinds of amazing things during that break. That might mean certifications that you got. Maybe you got a yoga certification. Anything in your life that shows who you are, that honors that you're about growth, that expresses yourself. A lot of people leave interests off of the resume. I'm a big believer. Keep interest on, because that's the human part of the resume that people want to connect with you.

(12:48) “I know it sounds a little crazy. My perspective on resumes is that this is a beautiful place for you to feel empowered and in love with your journey.”

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

Submit your question for Tosca to answer on her ALL ACCESS episode

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast audio edited by: Landis Podcast Editing  

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tosca-dimatteo/episodes/The-First-Step-To-Land-Your-Next-Job-Its-Not-Your-Resume-e2ing7u

In this episode I explain why it’s important to rip up the old playbooks of what the process is for looking for what’s next. Traditional thinking says – dust off that resume PRONTO. Not so fast my friends, I want you to get your head and heart right before you dive into updating your resume. This is because when we are in the pursuit of what’s next, we often have to process and clear the path we have recently been on – or in some cases go back way further. This enables you to get your mojo and your confidence back for going after what you want next. Tune in for inspiration and practical tips on what to do first. And don’t worry – we will get into my hot resume tips in my very next episode.

Action Items When Looking For Your Next Role:

Quotables:

(5:20) "If your confidence is in the crapper, if you're feeling not enough, if you're feeling frustrated, or if you're feeling like what you're looking for isn't going to exist or doesn't exist, or you're just feeling negative and pessimistic about things, then if you touch your resume when you're in that energy, it's not going to serve you. The resume is not actually the most important thing in the process of career transformation. What's most important is that you are energetically in a great place, that you feel good about yourself and your experience and what you bring to the table. Because once you feel that way, once you've stepped into the narrative that serves you, once you've looked back and said, what do I need to clear and done that work? And you look back and say, what have I learned from the things that maybe didn't go well or didn't go the way that I wanted it to? Once you're able to do that, then the resume is a reflection of your truth and how you actually feel about yourself.

(13:14) When you're ready to take the next step in your career, my recommendation is for you to take a look at your environment and make some adjustments. So it kind of goes back to this idea of what's the energy that you're in and when you're ready for a new chapter. Taking a look at your space is really helpful to say, okay, how do I want to signal to myself that I'm ready for change and I'm ready for this next step? It could be a few different things. It might be your office space. It might be somewhere in your home.

(17:39) “If it feels heavy and daunting to look at your resume and to make adjustments, don't do it. Wait until you're in a space where you can find a little bit of excitement to tell your story, a little bit of excitement to look at what's next. We are conditioned to believe that we have to things, that we have to do things even when we're in a crappy mood or whatever. And that's not true. I think that you will be way more productive and way more effective if you first honor that you want to get your mind and your heart right.”

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

Submit your question for Tosca to answer on her ALL ACCESS episode

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast audio edited by: Landis Podcast Editing  

I’m thrilled for this episode where I interview burnout expert Cait Donovan. Cait spent years researching the topic and carved out her own path towards recovery. Cait sheds light on burnout warning signs, from physical exhaustion to a lack of fulfillment at work. We discuss the intersection of mental well-being and physical health, and the dangers of overriding our body's signals. Cait shares insights into entrepreneurs' unique challenges, the fine balance between helping others and setting boundaries and the importance of self-care. Our conversation journeys through understanding the body mind connection and the value of listening to one's internal signals to prevent and recover from burnout. With practical wisdom and heartfelt advice, Cait's expertise offers invaluable insights and the roadmap to navigate the intricacies of burnout.

Introducing Cait:

Cait Donovan is a Keynote speaker, one of New York City’s leading burnout experts, host of “Fried – The Burnout Podcast,” author of the book "The Bouncebackability Factor", and an acupuncturist with a master’s degree in Chinese medicine. Her creative burnout recovery solutions have been featured on podcasts and online magazines such as “Forbes”, “NPR,” and “The New York Post” and in companies such as Lululemon, and Pepsico.

3 Key Takeaways:

Quotables:

(6:48)  "I did not figure out burnout by myself, because when I realized it was burnout, and I realized that regardless of the amount of knowledge I had on meditation practices and acupuncture, Chinese medicine, nutrition, lifestyle, qigong, Tai Chi, yoga practice for 18 years, the whole thing, as much as I knew about all of these things, I still ended up here. So I probably don't have the knowledge." - Cait

(23:13)

Cait’s Links:

Free Resource Step 1of burnout recovery: The Resentment Journal

Website: https://caitdonovan.com

Podcast: https://friedtheburnoutpodcast.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/caitdonovanspeaks

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/caitdonovanspeaks

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

Submit your question for Tosca to answer on her ALL ACCESS episode

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast audio edited by: Landis Podcast Editing  

Additional Music: Tuesday by Sascha Ende

Summary 

In this episode I challenge the status quo and ask the daring question—what is success, really? We can easily find ourselves chasing benchmarks set by society, or those we spend our time with, often losing ourselves in a never ending cycle of new goalposts. Tune in to discover that the true measure of success could be something entirely different. Something even BIGGER.

Episode highlights:

🏆 3 Key Takeaways:

1.    Embrace a mindset shift: Start to define success on your own terms, prioritizing your well-being and inner peace over society's loud expectations.

2.    Measure the qualitative: Success is not just about the numbers; it's about growth, relationships, and how your work aligns with your core values.

3.    Continuous re-evaluation is crucial: As life transitions, so should your benchmarks for success. Identify what truly resonates with your identity beyond external accolades.

Quotables:

"This concept of really looking deeply at how you want to define success is life changing because it's waking you up to the rules and the systems and the people that you're living your life by. Because if it's not yourself, then there's an opportunity for you to live your biggest, best life yet, because you get to define what success looks like for you. And nobody else can dictate that. Not your parents, not your colleagues, not your boss, not your friends, and certainly not society at large."

"Defining success may mean that you're taking things day by day, and the quantitative measures may be something you push to the side. And you focus more on qualitative measures like who you're being and how you're showing up and what you're prioritizing and sticking to your prioritization list and being discerning and all these other ways that we can define success that aren't perhaps metrics that we're used to, like financial, like quantity, like all of those things."

“Redefining success is not just an act; it's a revolutionary movement towards a more authentic and satisfied self. “

Links and Resources:

Blog Post: The Revolutionary Act of Redefining Success

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

Submit your question for Tosca to answer on her ALL ACCESS episode

Girls Inc. NYC

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast audio edited by: Landis Podcast Editing  

Additional Music:

In this episode, I share my experience in facilitating an intimate conversation with my most intimidating audience to date, in a challenging environment. I wasn’t speaking with a group of CEO’s or folks in an industry I am unfamiliar with…I was speaking with teenage girls at a Girls Inc. conference in Brooklyn, New York. Tune in for a new perspective on how you can approach your own challenging audiences and overcome the anxiety or fear you may have about it.

Key tips for how to successfully connect with, engage and influence challenging or intimidating audiences:  

1. **Clear Old Fears and Past Experiences**: Acknowledge and clear any old fears or past experiences that may be creating a narrative of the audience or the situation. Doing this will enable you to approach the audience with a fresh perspective and genuine intent.

2. **Understand Your Audience**: Take the time to understand the perspective of your audience to make sure you aren’t operating on any outdated or false narratives you’ve created about them.

3. **Be Fully Present to be Adaptable**: When you’re fully present in the moment, you are more prepared to flex to what is needed – and sometimes this involves get out of the way of the group dynamics and wisdom.  

4. **Build Trust Immediately**: Being vulnerable, authentic, and honest is the fastest way to build a foundation trust. This might even involve addressing the elephant in the room.

5. **Focus on Intent Over Outcome**: Instead of focusing on the outcome, prioritize aligning with the intent you want to bring to the occasion. As you know – we can’t control how people react to us, but we can control how we show up.

6. **Trust the Impact of Your Message**: Trust that your message will reach and resonate with those it is meant for, even if the immediate feedback may be limited. Celebrate the seeds you have planted that came with your pure intent.  

14:50

“I know that I planted seeds into those girls. And even though I didn't get the necessarily all the feedback right of how it went or the feedback of how it landed, I trust and I know that whatever they were meant to receive, they received. And they walked out of that room with something new. And I think that for anybody who is in these situations, I don't care if you're in corporate, you're trying to influence change or you have your own business and you're putting out social media, that you have to trust that when you are aligned to yourself and you are your true self and you're your authentic self and you have good, positive, pure intentions, that what you put out in the world matters. And it will reach who it's meant to reach, and it will plant the seeds it's meant to plant."

18:17

“My invitation to you is whatever that challenge is that somebody has invited you to, or that you want to invite yourself to do it! Because there is the growth opportunity. There was growth in me clearing old stories and narratives and my past and clearing the way for a new experience."

Links and Resources:

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

Submit your question for Tosca to answer on her ALL ACCESS episode

Girls Inc. NYC

Giving Flowers and Appreciation To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast audio edited by: Landis Podcast Editing  

Additional Music:

Summary

Are you the kind of person who wants to be “In the room where it happens?” In this empowering installment, I dive into the transformative concept of "creating your own table." I explore the idea that we don't always have to wait to be invited to the proverbial table of life. Instead, we have the power to craft our own spaces, conversations, and initiatives in alignment with our deepest desires. In this episode, I invite you to consider your own long-held aspirations and embrace the courage to take action, while offering practical advice on enlisting support and redefining the narratives that hold us back. Get ready to feel inspired and motivated to sow the seeds of your dreams this spring as you tune in to The Unlock Lab!

Key Moments

00:01 Reject rugged individualism, seek

03:43 Bring people together, create, and

09:16 Support others and ask for help - it’s

11:07 The power of reciprocity

14:13 You have control to create your world.

15:38 Push past your inner critic, inner

17:06 Taking the action might bring you to what’s

16:41 Push past disappointment and fear to

Tosca Quotables

(00:01) The Myth of Rugged Individualism: "This idea of rugged individualism; ”do it all yourself” and “don't ask for help unless you're literally falling off the damn cliff”. That way of thinking doesn't serve anybody. It certainly doesn't serve you, and it doesn't serve the people that actually want to support you."

(11:07) The Power of Reciprocity: "And part of this is when you give people the opportunity to give to you, not only do you receive, but they receive, too." 

(13:39) Fuel for Change: "If you've been complaining, if you've been frustrated, if you're pissed off about the way things are, great. That is fuel."

(15:38) Embracing Creativity Despite Inner Criticism: "Take a micro step - it can make a world of difference to honoring what it is that you need to create. And if there's an inner critic coming up...remember that nobody does it the way you do it. Nobody has the specific experience you have. Your personality, how you share yourself. It matters that you bring it forth. There is a reason for you to bring it to the world."

Links and Resources:

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

Submit your question for Tosca to answer on her ALL ACCESS episode

Create Your Own Table (blog post)

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast audio edited by: Landis Podcast Editing  

In my first interview on The Unlock Lab podcast, I have an important conversation with business coach, Gill Moakes about what it means to invest in yourself and why it’s so important. Gill shares her personal journey from corporate to entrepreneur, and how she launched two other businesses before honoring the big dream of the work she does now. We covered topics around mindset work, fear, risk tolerance, and honoring our truth – it’s exactly the kind of conversation I love to have.

(3:31) Gill Moakes introduces herself

(4:42) Gill’s transition from corporate to entrepreneur

(6:28) Gill’s ah-ha moment of when she decided she wanted to play bigger

(9:23) Gill’s theory of how our self-worth sets our internal bar

(10:40) What it means to choose yourself and invest in yourself

(12:07) The relationship between risk tolerance and self-worth

(14:29) The catalyst for Gill to completely change her career

(17:07) The first step to take when you decide you want to live a happier life

(18:12) Choosing yourself starts with telling yourself the truth

(24:53) What really matters when building a business that helps people

(26:20) What mindset work really is

(29:02) How to do mindset work effectively

(31:44) The importance of looking at your money mindset and how to start that work

(34:46) The difference between a healthy money mindset and acknowledging challenging financial realities.

(34:59) Investing more in your future than in your past

(38:24) Look at the truth of your finances. If you can’t see it, you can’t manage it.

(42:14) Gill’s biggest piece of advice about investing in yourself: Do the work to understand who you really are, what you believe in and what you stand for.  

(44:08) Gills podcast: Heads Together

{27:23} Gill Moakes:

{42:20} Gill Moakes:

Gill Moakes Links:

FreeMoney Mindset Workbook

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

Submit your question for Tosca to answer on her ALL ACCESS episode

Under the hood:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast audio edited by: Landis Podcast Editing  

In this episode I talk about what it means to set yourself up for success – not only for the big things in life, but also for the day-to-day approach. Doing this involves honoring your truth and giving yourself permission to your needs, whether it's taking a vacation, immersing in solving a problem, or simply taking time off. I share my story about my trip to Florida to illustrate how creative immersion and a change of scenery can facilitate personal and professional growth.

01:42 The Importance of Solo Travel and Self-Reflection – I went on a trip with me, myself and I

05:25 Overcoming Inner Critics and Financial Limitations

07:04 The Power of Deep Immersion in Problem Solving (and the creative process)

13:13 The Magic of Honoring Your Needs

17:25 Micro Steps to Success: Practical Tips

15:30

{ “What permission do you need to grant for yourself?  What is it you need to set yourself up for success for the next time horizon? And that time horizon could be the next 24 hours. It could be the next three months. It could be the rest of the year. But I think that there's a knowing within you already. You already know what you need. If you give yourself time to explore it, and maybe it will take you a few days of sitting with yourself, of getting quiet. Maybe it will take a few days of journaling and observing what's going on in your life. But I guarantee you, you already know what you need. It's just got to come out.” }

17:33

{“A big part of what we need as leaders in our organizations or as leaders in our own homes is to really honor what we need and what's going to set us up for what we're trying to do. This could look like making sure that when you're setting up meetings, you're doing it for a time that really works for you. So if you're not a morning person, maybe don't schedule that important call with your boss at 8am. Or if you have to have a conversation with your significant other, your spouse or, or a dear friend, do it maybe after you've eaten and after you've nourished yourself. Versus at a time where maybe you're going to be stressed out or you're going to be distracted. These are the kinds of things that we can do, these micro steps of how do we set ourself up for success.”}

Links and Resources:

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

Submit your question for Tosca to answer on her ALL ACCESS episode