View 112

Happy January 2019 and…

Happy Birthday to me! I just got home from my first ever solo trip celebrating my 41st birthday in Cancun, MX. I decided on a solo trip for several reasons:

1. I needed a serious break

2. I wanted to celebrate

3. Be still, quiet, and listen for the next move.

Book Share:

The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll

Radical Candor by Kim Scott

The Windfall by Diksha Basu

Hello! Today is Sunday May 20th and welcome back to the View 112 Podcast. I’ve been quite a busy lady! I'm not going to bore you by rehashing too many details all in this one episode. Here is a brief summary: At the top of the year, I celebrated my 40th birthday in Mexico. Upon returning, I was informed of an opportunity to interview for a professional promotion with the caveat that the role would be in Norfolk, VA about 3-4 hours south of the Washington Metropolitan Area. After several interviews spanning over 2 months or so, I got my offer then spent April and half of May traveling and transitioning into my new role. How has it been? Both thrilling and exhausting. Since this podcast is focused on self development, books and business, I have many elements to share how I got through this first half of 2018 as I prepared to interview, transition, and now start a new life and work in a different city. With this episode, I'll start with the value of authenticity. Here's some thoughts:

1. Know Your Story and Master How to Tell It.

2. Be Humble, but Let. Them. Know.

3. Make Sure Your Squad is GOALS.

I’m going to be honest. By nature, I still worry about things. Over the years, I’ve worked on how I manage the strong urge to worry. In intense moments of angst, I am calmed by advice from my dad.  Often, he’s said to me “Be anxious for nothing”.  Like most incredible advice from dad, its biblically rooted. Philippians 4: 6-9 reads: 

6.Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7. and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. 8. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. 9. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. 

Pray 

Prepare 

Practice 

Patience

Peace

I promise today’s episode is not a sermon, but it is certainly a good word! As I’ve said before, this podcast encourages me too! I am going to share with you a few ways this has helped me keep my sanity and focus on what matters during acquisition seasons in my life here on the View 112 Podcast.

Oh my goodness! Happy New Year (its not too late to say that right?)! I hope you're enjoying your 2018 thus far. As for me, I've been all over the place (literally and figuratively). A special date has come and gone already: January 12, 2018 also known as my 40th birthday and the 1 year anniversary of View 112!  I'll tell you what I've been up to, how I celebrated, and what's next for me here on the View 112 Podcast.

1. Never Underestimate Moments of Reflection
2. The Curve Balls Will Come
3. Take YOUR Time
4. Take Care of Yourself

Nine more episodes to record before my 40th birthday in less than a month.  It’s been quite a few weeks since I’ve paused to record a podcast. I’m learning that this podcast is actually a great tool to help me slow down and reflect.  As much as I’ve wanted to stop and record, I’ve been focused on school and a lot of work.  One lesson in life I haven’t seems to learn is how to stop piling things on. So here are a few words around priority setting from the Queen of Doing Too Much here on the View 112 Podcast. 

1. Be Specific
2. Be Honest with Yourself
3. Curve Those Competing Alternatives 

Our whole lives we want to run or sprint towards the various finish lines in life. In today's accomplishment-driven society, we miss looking at the baby steps.  Think about the last major accomplishment of your life. Do you remember how it came to pass? As we near the end of this year, I'm going to share some baby steps that I'm grateful to have taken.  Allow me to give my perspective on the ever so cliche "It's all about the journey" here on the 30th Episode of the View 112 Podcast. 

In episode 10 of this podcast, I talk about surviving “Rookie Season” ie the moments in which we are new to something like a job, career field etc. Some of the tips I shared were:  1. Do Your Home Work and be Prepared, 2. Remember You’re in the Room for a Reason, and 3. Sit Down, Be Humble. Recently, I realized this year has been full of learning and baby steps on the road to accomplishment. It's only now that I've reached certain places in my journey, that I've been able to look back and see the value in baby steps. Before I share my 3 examples of how I've grown this year, let me make a quick case for patience during the process.

1. Patience for Baby Steps.  I am one of those people who have a hard time enjoying or respecting the process. I’m impatient. In fact, at work we just had a training about Emotional Intelligence using internal lingo and concepts from the book Emotional Intelligence in Leadership by Daniel Coleman. Coleman breaks down the five key elements to Emotional Intelligence as: 1. Self Awareness 2. Self Regulation 3. Motivation 4. Empathy and 5. Social Skills.  For me, self regulation immediately stood out as an opportunity. Later we were challenged to pick an area to work on for our professional development and I selected the competency of Patience for these specific reasons:  1. I’m impulsive and sometimes act before its time. 2. I get frustrated when things cannot be done with a certain amount of speed. 3. I am overly action oriented and my preference is to handle things myself rather than delegate.  Professionally, I have more responsibility than ever before. I also have a new boss and she’s challenged me to lead through and empower the incredible, capable leaders on our team. Sounds like nothing but it's a true practice of patience to let people implement processes and ideas that you would not necessarily employ. The learning process is also a practice a patience.  I’ve had to be patient with myself during this process, hence comes the self-regulation element of emotional intelligence. It takes far less time to do something myself instead of explaining my vision, my process, wait for challenges/questions, check for understanding, set expectations, and then follow up. Far. Less. Time. But being patient and learning to trust my team has freed up time for other things that I was not able to get done before. Overall the quality of the work our team is improving and that is a great feeling. My leaders have shared with me that they feel like they are doing better work and leading at the right level and that is an incredible feeling. I’m still a rookie the patience department, but grateful for this moment in development.  

2. Build in Baby Steps. I've got 3 examples. If this is your first time listening to my podcast, I am a part time writer, I have a full time career, and I am a student. This portion of the semester I am taking Organizational Leadership and Microeconomics. I attempted to take Econ in the past, about 10 years ago and failed the class miserably. All I remember where the formulas and slopes were a blur. I am nearing the end of my studies (Praise God) and have pushed the majority of math and math related classes to the end. My entire life, from long division in 4th grade to today, I have never earned higher than a C in math. Most times I earned a D or worse. This summer I could no longer delay taking college math, another college course in which I failed last year most recently. Because I could not test my way out of remedial algebra, I had to take that course before I could take anything left in my requirements to graduate. This summer I finally passed that math class, and had to take another low level math class in order to finally get to take the math class I need to take. Earlier in the fall I passed that math class with a B. Again, I’ve never had a B in math since probably 2nd grade. Which brings me to Microeconomics. I’m only 2 weeks into the class and I feel so grateful that I had to take those 2 pain-in-the-butt algebra classes because they have prepared me for this Econ class. The first 4 chapters are all about supply and demand curves, loaded with graphs, and lots of “slope” talk. If I had tried to cut corners and not actually suffered through the learning process of understanding Algebra, I would be struggling in this Econ class. Within a month of starting view112.com and the View 112 Podcast, I wanted all the readers/listeners. I wanted to monetize the blog and the podcast immediately. In January, I wouldn't have no clue what to do with zillions of supporters. I’ve changed so much about the site and podcast, I’ve had highs, lows, and inconsistencies in content creation. I’m humbled and very grateful for gradual growth and loyalty of my audience. My final example around building in baby steps is around money. I’ve mentioned during my Summer Challenge one of the goals was to save more money though Summer Savings. I have also mentioned this year, I have earned and spent more money than I ever have before. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could ever really have too much money. Occasionally, I play the Powerball from time to time and get a random ticket hoping to win millions of dollars.  One day it dawned on me that I would really have no clue to how to manage that much money from a personal finance standpoint. I started researching and mapping out how I would manage millions of dollars. This year, I’ve diversified my personal portfolio and will come out of 2017 in incredible fiscal shape. Probably the best of my life. Yes I’ve still made mistakes, but I’ve saved and I’ve learned a ton. I wrote a blog post on how I went through all of my finances, audited bills, traded in my old and got a new car, etc.  Those tiny baby steps helped me build to finish the year strong. For once in my life, I will need to set different personal finance goals going into a new year. I only came to this realization about a week ago. You should have seen me when I had it all laid out on paper.  I got up from my desk and literally shouted and dance. Yes like us black folk do in church. That was me praising God in my living room.

3. There is Brilliance in Baby Steps. Appreciate them. Keep track of them and see how far you will come. I mentioned that I “suffered” through learning Algebra. In life I know we all have to suffer something and this is lightweight/first world stuff I’m talking about here. But still, I have learned that suffering through the learning process and through baby steps has made me better.  I want to encourage myself (and you) to build the habit of honoring baby steps. Its an exercise of discipline that will make us better in other areas of life.  I get so down on myself when things are not an incredible, booming success right from the start. When in actuality, they are a success, I just need to be patient enough to build and see things through. 

Thanks so much for listening! Talking to myself and to you has really helped me through somethings this year. If you are feeling the Podcast, please subscribe, like, and review the View 112 Podcast in Apple Podcasts. If you have thoughts or questions, I'd love to hear from you. Email me at [email protected].  

The entire year I’ve been sharing the value in setting a quarterly focus for 2017. Can you believe we are in the final stretch of 2017?! How is your year going? Are you pleased with your progress? Are you like me, with a few things you still need to get done? Today I’m discussing how to focus on finishing 2017 strong. Time to be 4th Quarter Clutch here on the View 112 Podcast.

Take an assessment. Take a look back over this year and check those wins and opportunities. I want to highlight wins for a moment.  For me this is important. I have a terrible way of only looking at what’s not done.(More on that in a moment) So much so that it gives me a distorted view of myself and what’s actually happening. Based on my assessment, I’m proud of a few things:  1.  Professionally, I have grown and developed quite a bit this year. At the top of the year, as I was starting this podcast, I was also embarking on a new journey at work.  I had a new team with a new space and a new boss.  I knew going into to it, I had to lead differently and connect with the team differently and I’m proud of the work I did.  I’ve learn to lead using skills outside of my comfort zone.  2.  I’ve been consistent with school.  I’ve taken more classes this year and am set up to complete my degree next year.  (God is good!). 3. I’ve made time to read, write, and podcast this year consistently.  I’ve learned to much about myself and life through this process.  Now some opportunities I have include: 1. I’ve let “being busy” allow my health to take a back seat.  2.  I’ve earned and spent more money this year than I ever have in my life.  3. While I’m proud of my progress in writing, I’ve not really grown in the space as I envisioned.  

Learn from Failures and Make a Plan to Move On.  I am reading a book titled Sometimes You Win and Sometimes You Learn by John C Maxwell. Its a very smart book that talks about how to move on from failures and lessons. I also just listened to a sermon this week from Pastor Delman Coates in which he titled So What, I Lost. I came across this book and sermon at the perfect time in my life and I’m sharing it with you as we prepared to sprint to the finish line of 2017. We cannot sprint if we are weighted down with the baggage of disappointment from failures. I highly recommend you read Sometimes You Win and Sometimes You Learn as it highlights key ways to successful move past failure. Here are some key chapters from the Table of Contents:

Chapter 2: Humility-The Spirit of Learning 

Chapter 4: Responsibility-The Foundation of Learning 

Chapter 8: Adversity-The Catalyst of Learning 

Chapter 11: Change-The Price of Learning 

Set the plan TODAY!  What can you realistically get done in the next 10 weeks? Open your calendar app and look at the next 10 weeks.  I’ve mapped out things like: my parents coming to visit, a large event at work, meetings I already know about, and my school schedule etc. What are short term goals that pack a punch in your overall vision for 2017? I’ve set professional goals to that will make me feel great about this quarter.  In my personal life, I’ve set financial goals that include a holiday spending budget. I start class on Monday and passing these 2 classes will keep me on track to graduating in 2018. For this podcast, I am recording 10 more podcasts this year to reach my number of 40 podcast episodes before my 40th birthday. Plan around what you can know can be controlled. You know the holidays are coming. Holiday season is packed with social events, calories, and spending.  Set a plan now to set yourself up for success. 

Are there goals and plan you need to downsize over the next 10 weeks? If so, do not be ashamed.  Set a plan that will help you move the needle in the right direction. For me there are 2 things that I’ve improved with this year but missed the mark on what I set out to do at the top of the year.  The first is weight loss. I have adjusted my weight goal to a number that will make me proud in the next 10 weeks and will have me weighing less than I did when I kicked off 2017.  The second is a mental health goal.  My job helped me with this one.  We have a mindfulness challenge starting in November which is a busy time of year for us. In addition to the mindfulness challenge, having a therapy cadence is important to me. As busy working professional, I need to find a healthy outlet the stress and anxiety. Let me tell you what does not work: overworking, comfort eating and drinking, over exercising, procrastination by setting up distractions.  Trust me, I’ve done them all. I’ve had the best success with rest, talking out my concerns, focused prayer, reading.  When I’m doing those things well and consistently, I feel better. I am more focused on my goals and get to the finish line much faster.  

Weekly check ins.  Just as quarterly check ins have set me up for success for the year, I’m applying that to weekly check ins. I have set mine up to be on Tuesday mornings. Tuesdays are a big day for me anyway with meetings and such. I love going into Tuesdays with purpose and plans. Tuesday mornings I can celebrate, reassess, and stay focused on what I need to complete.  Many productivity podcasts and books I’ve read suggest Sunday nights to set up your week.  If you have a traditional, set work schedule then Sundays may be the move for you.  I sometimes am working Sunday plus most reporting gets to me on Monday.  Pick whatever day for weekly evaluation that works best for you be consistent.

As usual I’ve piled my plate pretty high with the things I need to do to wrap the year.  However, your girl has a plan, a strong support system set up, and the sprint of determination.

This week is Banned Books Week.  Allow me to share more from the website of the American Library Association:

“Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community – librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types – in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.”-ala.com

So, Banned Books Week draws attention to the harms of censorship; which brings me to the First Amendment. As a writer and business professional, I have a range of thoughts about First Amendment rights. My goal at the end of the episode is to motivate you to research and educate yourself on current events and our history by sharing how I’m learning a bit more on these topics too. One of the most powerful weapon we have is an educated mind. Allow me to challenge you today on the View 112 Podcast.

Hi! I’ve been mentioning Banned Books Week here and there in podcast for a couple of months now. I’m glad it is here. When I first learned that about banned or challenged books, I learned I’ve read a few: 

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Beloved by Toni Morrison

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Adventures of of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Native Son by Richard Wright

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

You may be wondering why books are banned or challenged in the first place. Well, books are challenged by people based on content like political viewpoints, sexually explicit material, LGBT content, dangerous authors, racial overtones, content mentioning excessive police force, gender roles, abortion, rape, or anything else that is considered “scary to minors”

I know the aforementioned books shaped me and many others during our formative years. Hard to imagine that kids do not have access to some of the great literary works of our time. A new book was just released this year, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. It is a NY Times Best Seller and I think going to be made into a movie. The book is about a 16 year old black girl who is the sole witness to her unarmed black male friend being shot and killed by police. Story sounds familiar right? I am donating copies of The Hate U Give to Rx for Reading Detroit. This non profit also helps you organize a book drive and I’ve really wanted to sponsor a book drive for my birthday. I think I’ve landed on my hosting a book drive for some of the banned classics I’ve mentioned above. Currently I am researching organizations in Houston, Florida, and the Caribbean that will be in need of book donations in their rebuilding phase. 

I mentioned in the open that Banned Books Week draws attention to the harms of censorship. Every organization affiliated with Banned Books Week has some sort of comment about First Amendment rights. Last week, I attended a work eventthat kicked off Congressional Black Caucus weekend here in DC at the Newseum. The Newseum, according to their website “promotes, explains, and defends free expression and the five freedoms of the First Amendment: religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. The location of the Newseum is steps away from the US Capital.  On the front of the building is etched the words of the First Amendment as well:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances” 

There in that building, at the CBC event, I attended a the DC premiere of the movie Marshall set to come out next month in theaters. This movie was about a case tried by young Thurgood Marshall when he was a lawyer for the NAACP. The movie was excellent. As I sat there I couldn't help but get down on myself for not knowing more about Thurgood Marshall, the life he lived or the cases he tried. A small part of the movie showed young Thurgood hanging out with Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. All super stars I studied in college and had forgotten about sadly. I know their work, but not about the life they lived and not about the things they faced as young, thriving creatives. When they were my age, they were faced with using their platform to cast down racial and social injustices. Thurgood Marshall traveled all over using the law to protect and defend innocent people who had been wrongly accused. After the movie screening, there was a panel with the actor, Chadwick Boseman,  activist DeRay Mckesson, and others. They discussed how skillfully Thurgood Marshall exercised his First Amendment rights and the press, even when they hated what he was saying. They also talked about many of the cases Marshall tried are relevant today. Senator Kamala Harris was there and she gave remarks about the work of Thurgood Marshall and about the work we all must continue to do to fight injustice. 

I left the event first proud I work for a company that organizes such incredible experiences. I also left the event with a strong sense of responsibility to educate myself.  I want to learn more about Thurgood Marshall and the work he did. I’m not a history buff but I need to know more about these great people in history, their contribution, and how the things they did impact my civil liberties today. Some of these very people who’s contribution is on the Banned Books List I mentioned earlier. As I sat in that room with other co workers and business professionals I wanted to learn more on how I could contribute in spreading the word and doing the right work. I want to stop simply listening to these conversations and actually become apart of them. Finally based on the panel discussion, I was thinking about using my social media, the View 112 site, and this podcast to do some of this work, exercising my First Amendment rights if you will. I was pumped!

Then just 2 days later, our (yes, OUR) first amendment rights were challenged by the President of the United States when he attacked players who kneel during the National Anthem in protest for injustice plaguing people of color. Now, my blog and podcast are primarily about business and books. I really want to stick to those topics. I am an avid reader, writer, and business woman.  However, I am also a black American woman and I feel like time and time again the President’s statements and actions directly attack my experience as an American. I cannot allow that to happen. Allow me to be clear, I understand there are people who do not like the method in which the players of the NFL have been protesting racial and social injustice.  I would also like to point out that this is still their First Amendment right regardless of how we feel about it. It angers me that the President can condone white supremacists violently protesting (a person was killed remember?) and calling them "good people", protecting their First Amendment rights but when black NFL players are peacefully protesting in a manner that he doesn’t agree, with he calls them SOBs and for them to be fired by the NFL. Which brings me to finally, as a business owner, I know the President doesn’t like when people tell him how to run his company. So don’t tell the NFL or ESPN or anyone else how to run theirs. You cannot revoke the rights of a group of people to protest peacefully just because you don’t like how they are choosing to protest or choose to be ignorant regarding the topic of their protest.  If we make the choice to support the removal of rights from one group of people, it jeopardizes all of us.  I’ve said this before, it may not be your group or cause today but it sets the precedent for how all of us could be treated.  

So I’m educating myself on the law now too. We cannot allow others to interpret the law on our behalf. We have to know our rights. All of us. You have to know for yourself. Not from what you see on CNN or read on Facebook (which is sadly how many Americans are getting the bulk of their information these days without so much as a fact check.)  This brings me back to what it always is about for me.  Reading.  I spent several hours each day this week reading up, studying civics, learning more about our history and people like Thurgood Marshall and Langston Hughes.  Unfortunately when it comes to certain things in this country, there is nothing new under the sun.  We can learn from people who’ve come before us. We can use the power that we have afforded to us written in the law.  

I feel a lot and I know I’ve shared a lot at this point.  So here are just a few things I want you to know:

1. Banned Books Week. I wanted you to be aware and encourage me to start a book drive. Will you donate books?

2. This Monday October 2nd: Thurgood Marshall Day. The day he was sworn into the Supreme Court.

3. Keep reading. Here are some of the books I’m into (classics and new books):

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcom X and Alex Haley

Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B.DuBois

Selected Letters of Langston Hughes edited by Arnold Rampersad and David Roessei with Christa Fratantoro

I am Not Your Negro by James Balwin and Raoul Peck

My Soul Looks Back by Jessica B. Harris

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Thanks for listening. I’d love to know your thoughts so email me: [email protected].  Also! There has been an update to iOS 11 which impacted Apple Podcasts. I think this fixed the glitch that impacted some people trying to rate or leave a comment on Apple Podcasts. It is fixed!  Rate and holla at ya girl on Apple Podcasts.  Thank you!

When I mention the words "public speaking" what type of emotion does that evoke? Fear? Concern? All. Out. Panic? Today I'm going to share my journey with public speaking, tools/tactics I’m using to develop this skill, and why I believe we need to master the art storytelling. This is yet another strength we can build together! As always, thanks for listening to the View 112 Podcast. 

Hello! Today is Monday September 18th. This kicks off one of the busiest weeks of the year for me but I. Am. Ready. I get up for weeks like this! So many fun things going on.  It’s Congressional Black Caucus weekend here in DC and I am attending an event on Wednesday. My parents are coming to visit from Atlanta, and 2 of my college girlfriends are in town this weekend for wedding. It is a huge week for me at work and I am over the midterm hump for this current online semester.  God is good! 

I’ve been inspired by the topic of public speaking lately and yesterday I got an incredible opportunity to facilitate a key note for students of Gallaudet University. After presenting yesterday, I knew I needed to talk about public speaking on the podcast. Allow me to share my journey with public speaking: 

Growing up, I’ve had many opportunities to speak in front of large groups of people. I grew up attending a mega church with thousands of members. Not only am I comfortable around lot of people, but I’ve had lots of times in which I’ve spoken, read a scripture, sang in the choir, etc in front of a lot of people. In school I’ve also been in dance groups and have performed in front of all types of crowds. In college, I aced my public speaking class with little to no effort and for over 10 years professionally I’ve presented in front of groups of varying sizes, not giving much thought to my skills as a public speaker.  A few things happened that changed all of that dramatically for me. Now I am able to pinpoint it to one thing: Feedback. When I started receiving feedback about my presentation skills, I was 28 years old. I had probably been speaking publicly for 20 years at that point (seriously). My mom had major anxiety with public speaking and so she signed up for Toastmasters. I went for support and sport, thinking I could darn near run the program. I learned quickly in my first Toastmasters meeting that i did in fact have work to do. They asked for volunteers to participate in an activity and of course I raised my hand. I was given a topic and a time limit to talk. Thinking "no problem" I start going.  Three tools Toastmasters uses to help develop public speaking skills:

1. A sheet for everyone to write down notes for feedback.

2. A clicker/counter for when you say “um” and “ah”.

3. A timer that flashes yellow when you are close to time and red when time is UP

Let me tell you, the first time I heard that clicker was the first time in my life I realized I even use the word “um” and that it was a problem. It was also the first time in my life that I started getting a bit nervous. I literally went from arrogant to nervous. Isn’t life funny in how it can humble you? From then on, I became keenly aware of my opportunities in public speaking. Any time, even now if I am concerned that people are critiquing my public speaking skills instead of listening to the content I am delivering, it makes me extremely nervous! No matter if its 2 people or 2 thousand people-ya girl gets nervous.  I’ve spent time trying to learn how to quell my nerves. I’ve discovered I have a larger ROI building better public speaking skills than focusing on how to not be nervous.  Here’s what I do:

1. Read all the books! You guessed it. Previously on the podcast I’ve mentioned some books I’ve read. I just picked up 2 new books: How to Develop Self-Confidence and Influence People by Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott. In his book, Carnegie highlights the importance of preparing but also shares the preparation tactics of famous public speakers. Which brings me to:

2. Study what great looks like. I was just inspired by Apple’s SVP of Retail Angela Ahrendts. She presented just recently during Apple’s fall product announcement live from the Steve Jobs theater. I’ve seen a lot of clips of her speak and I’ve noticed things that she does to avoid saying “um”. Anyone great at public speaking is great at the discipline of taking a moment to pause when they feel the urge to “um”. I’ve been practicing it a lot lately myself. I know these little tactics help when preparing and doing it often which is why Angela is so good at it I bet. Other people I study are the pastor at my church, Rev. Delman Coates, business icon Bozoma St. John, sports journalists Michael Smith and Jemele Hill, and others.

3. Put it into practice. I’ve said this before too, but I try to put myself in situations of all kinds that require me to speak publicly so i can work on these things. I am not sure when or if my really big moment will happen. I’m sure when it does I will be nervous, but I will also be reaaaaady. Hello! I don’t shy away from opportunities. I may cringe for a second, a little wave of panic may ensue, but the next second I am on it with that same confidently raised hand from ToastMasters.

Finally, I want to talk just a bit about the art of storytelling. I’m sure when I first heard this concept in business a few years ago, I rolled my eyes. Now I am a big believer in it. As a sales woman at heart, I’ve seen the value of connecting people to an idea, product, or service through story telling. Here’s an example. I really enjoy drinking wine. I really like reds and red blends. At the local PF Changs, they have 2 different blends and for a long time I could never remember the name of the wine I liked. One day the bar tender told me the story of Colby Groom. Colby was born with a heart defect and underwent 2 open heart surgeries at ages 8 and 10 years old.  Colby’s asked his dad who is a wine maker to create a wine for sell in which the proceeds could go to heart research. Colby is 19 years old now and the vineyard has raised close to a million dollars for heart research. From the moment I heard that story, I have never forgotten the name of a red blend I enjoy: Colby Red. I want to share some thoughts about Uber and story telling. When Uber first launched I remember being connected to their slogan that Uber was “Everyone’s Private Driver”.  I was connected to that idea of luxury as I’m sure many people were.  By now, I’m sure you know all bout Uber’s issues and resulting turnover even at the highest levels.  Last week I saw Bozoma St. John on Recode panel talking about Uber and storytelling and how she’s using it to change the narrative of Uber.  She wants to show all sides of the company. There was a man in the audience that told Boz that he has a son in college and its a huge relieve to get a notification that his son just ordered an Uber at 3am. He knows his son is not driving drunk or in the car with drunk friends to get home. He asked if Uber had been tracking the reduction of drinking and driving incidents on college campuses. Boz highlighted that those are the types of stories she wants to connect people to about Uber. Later on her Instagram, she stated that it was a tough interview and she felt like she was on the hot seat. After looking at the interview, I think anyone would have felt rattled. It was tough, if you know Kara Swisher...well she was very much backing her reputation during that interview.  Boz was composed and I think still got her message through.  A public speaking and branding pro, which is why I’m sure she’s their Chief Branding Officer.  

What messages and stories are you crafting about yourself, business, product, or service?  We are telling stories and crafting narratives all the time regardless of if we know it or not. Time to be deliberate about it. What are you saying out loud about you? Whatever it is, people believe it. Make sure its the story you want.  I’ve been working on this myself.  

That’s it for me today.  I got a whole lot of week to get into. Thank you for listening! Please subscribe and rate this podcast on Apple Podcasts.  Email me questions or comments at [email protected]. Talk to you next time.

Can you develop new skills life skills at work? Sure you can! If this is your first time listening to the View 112 Podcast, I am employed full time. I am also a student, writer, intense reader and obviously podcaster. My plate is pretty full outside of work to learn additional skills beyond what I’m already doing.  Still, I have thought about 3 new things I can learn while at work and getting paid that will improve my quality of life, make me a better contributor, leader, creator, and problem solver. Then, I’ll put out my challenge to you, up next to the View 112 Podcast.  

Good Morning.  Today is Monday September 11th.  I just finished watching an observation for 9/11 on tv.  I’m sure we all reflect back to that day such devastation hit our country and we’ve rebuilt and are stronger than ever. Still it was an event, we will never forget.  To all of my friends in the Caribbean and Florida, you’ve had a long weekend.  My thoughts and prayers and resources got out to you as well as your rebuild.  

Last week I attended the Library of Congress National Book Festival at the Washington Convention Center.  I wrote a blog post about my experience about it on view112.com. As you may recall one of the authors I went to see was Thomas Friedman. Two things he said resonated with me:

1.Being a life long learner is the largest competitive advantage in the accelerator age.  

2.Biggest divide is the self motivation divide. 

Gone are the days in which one can get a college degree and ride on that knowledge for the rest of their days.  We all need to constantly acquire new skills. New skills that will make us better contributors, better leaders, better creators, and better problem solvers. 

My first thought after listening to Friedman is that I’m on the right track.  I am an advocate for development. I mean, that is what I talk about a lot on this podcast.  I am also in school, studying a different major than before (English then, Management Studies now). After more consideration, I’ve have thought of ways I can challenge myself in my current role while at work to build new skills.My plate is full outside of work with school and writing, but while at work I can still skill build on the clock. Studies show that adults learn and retain information best through experiential learning. I will admit to being blessed.  One of the great things about where I work is that it fosters and environment that is conducive to learning.  There is an abundance of information and opportunity to develop and practice new skills all the time.  So much so, that if you aren’t careful, these opportunities could be taken for granted.  Before I share mine, my challenge to you this week is to analyze your work environment and see how you could be building new skills while actually doing your job. Look for skills that will make you a better contributor, leader, creator, or problem solver.  

On the job skill #1: Languages

One of my long term goals is to become multi lingual.  I’m a communication junkie, hence the reading and writing (podcasting too!).  I have a plan that as soon as next year when I complete my degree that I will begin to use my educational assistance money toward learning new languages. I thought I would hold off until that time.  Every single day at work I have the opportunity to learn quite a few languages very easily.  No language is more accessible to me than Spanish.  I’ve taken 7 years of Spanish in school in my life and I know tons of people who speak Spanish and meet customers that speak Spanish all of the time.  I am going to brush up on my Spanish while at work.  I have some experience doing this in the past.  When I was in banking, I used to have a teller that was bi lingual. After learning that I wanted to speak the language, she only spoke to me in Spanish. While I struggled to understand her sometimes, this did help me brush up.  I expanded my vocabulary and when I went to respond back she would correct me.  I learned a lot of financial terms and sometimes I could help people (with basics) when she wasn’t around. That was 5 years ago and I remember a few things but since I’ve not been putting them into practice I don’t remember.  I am going to do something similar while I’m at work now.  I remember a leader that was learning Spanish and a few members of the team would only speak Spanish to him.  Also, countless times a day I meet customers who only speak Spanish. Rather than even try to communicate, many times we look for team members who speak Spanish to help them.  I’m going to start there with learning a few basic phrases to get the conversation started.  I know a lot of people who speak Spanish but sometimes they are not always available. I could do a better job with connecting with people by trying to learn. Even using translation apps (which I encourage people to do all the time) will help YOU learn too.

On the job skill #2: Learning new technology

This one is a bit easier.  I literally have an opportunity to do this every single day.  Everyday, I am charged with inspiring my team to learn more and then sharing with customers. I can lead by example and do this with them. Everyday I can learn new things and share them with the team and customers.  I can learn a new app or new feature.  Things that are relevant and important to me, my interests, goals, workflow. I do this maybe once or twice a week but I could be more deliberate about it.  Not only will this help me, but it will make me a better leader for them and our customers.  When I mentioned earlier that learning on the job can be taken for granted, this is an example.  I could go to work day after day and use the same apps and the same workflow and be pretty successful. Taking a few mins to brush up on something new and incorporating it into my workflow.  I have an example.  Something as simple as taking notes: I still take notes in the notes app or I use the app EverNote. I have never used dictation.  I learned that this weekend while I was studying for a Biology quiz that I didn’t even enable dictation on my Mac yet and I’ve had this one for almost a year now. Its time to introduce dictation into my workflow. Learning this new skill would help me in my personal life, podcasting life, writing life, and at work.  I’m here for that.  

On the job skill #3: Coding

This one is a bit more difficult. I would not be able to full on code an app while I’m at work. Still, I have the opportunity to learn a few principles and basics.  Like the names of the different types of coding languages (I only know a few). I could learn about the best apps, courses, and resources out there to teach people about coding.  I know at least 4 people on my team that are in coding classes.  I just had a fascinating conversation with a co worker who is passionate about developing her own app about the minority coding scene here in the DC area. I think starting here will give me a good idea about how I want to go about learning to code and what I want do with it.  I meet parents and students all the time and computer science, coding, and overall computer literacy is a hot topic in the education community.  My nephews (the world’s greatest) are 12 and 10 respectively and both are into coding. They’ve been to robotics clubs and camps.  It’s the way of the future.  

So these are 3 on the jobs skills I am going to work on developing. I can focus on these specifically while I am at work.  They don’t take additional time while I am away from work to learn.  This brings me back to my challenge for you.  Take a look around at work this week.  What are skills you could be learning while on the job? Again, this of skills that could make you a better contributor, leader, creator, or problem solver.  Please share them with me. I’d love to know and get more ideas from you.  

Thanks for listening. To share with me your ideas or ask me questions, you can email me at [email protected].  If you are enjoying the View 112 Podcast, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, rate it, and tell everyone.