What Rules!?: A career podcast for women of color

Stanford psychologist, Carol Dweck, once said: "The fixed mindset makes you concerned with how you’ll be judged; the growth mindset makes you concerned with improving." For multicultural women, adopting this growth mindset is critical to shaping our own success.

Listen as Alisa, Rosa, and Dr. Merary discuss what it means to embrace trying as a form of growth. Can we really train our minds to better imagine the immensities of our true potential?

“If you imagine less, less will be what you undoubtedly deserve” - Debbie Millman

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Has there ever been a time you thought you needed to go it alone, only to discover the beauty of having other people around to see you through it?

Hosts Alisa, Rosa, and Dr. Merary are joined this week by Partner and Chief Client Officer for RMB Capital, Michele Francisco, to discuss how breaking the rule that you have to do everything yourself in order to be successful just might have the potential to change your whole life for the better.

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The urge to fit in, especially among colleagues, can be incredibly hard to resist. But there's good reason to believe that taking what others see as a quirk and spinning it as your own personal accent might, in fact, be your greatest gift!

This week, Alisa and Dr. Merary chat with 5xminority Founder, Elaine Montilla, about how she took advantage of being a queer Latina in tech and found her place in the world by turning her insecurities into superpowers.

Elaine’s poem: My Superpowers

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At Color Forward, we're always talking about relationships in some capacity, but today we're specifically diving into friendships in the workplace and their essential place in advancing your career.

Join Alisa and Rosa as they hear from Diversity Marketer, Shantell Thomas, about all the ways that fraternizing with folks who don't fit your typical friend profile is a rule everyone should learn to break.

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Having been raised predominantly by her single mother, Shruti Kothari is no stranger to breaking the rules. Not only has she defied cultural norms to find success in the business world, but she's continually perfected the art of risk-taking by putting herself out there in the name of bettering her community.

Listen as Rosa and Alisa catch up with Shruti, Director of Industry Initiatives at Blue Shield of California and Founder of Women of Community, to learn what being a real changemaker is all about.

Shruti's pump-me-up song: Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo

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Since we first launched Color Forward in 2019, we've dedicated ourselves to studying successful women who have overcome cultural barriers, shattered glass ceilings, and mastered the art of resilience. Want to know what these women all have in common?

They all excel at breaking the rules.

Listen as Rosa, Merary, and Alisa discuss the future of the podcast and what it really means to break rules, both obvious and unspoken. Rules women are breaking to get ahead. Strategies they're using to outsmart the game. Ways they're reinventing female empowerment in the workplace.

Welcome to What Rules!?

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We all know what it feels like to face something so huge, it seems insurmountable. Landing a dream job, saving for a new home, trying to start a family, or just... going back to school. Life's greatest pleasures often seemed locked behind years of struggle and sacrifice. But where there's a will, there's a way... right?

Listen as Dr. Merary and Alisa chat with Dr. Shindale Seale about what happens when you look past the pain of "getting there" and things finally start to click.

"When you're at that Valley, it can be like an emotional bolder on top of you when you don't really know how to get past it. And for me, depending on what it is that I'm down and out about, I think about, well, what's going to happen if I don't do it?" – Dr. Shindale Seale, CEO, SEADE Coaching & Consulting

Topics in this episode:

• models of change
• getting an advanced degree
• leaving a legacy & being an example
• overcoming academic stereotypes
• pushing forward, reaching back

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When you're starting something new or making a significant change in your life, whether it be a new job, starting a business, standing up for yourself, or even public speaking, fear is inevitable. Listen as Alisa, Rosa, and Merary discuss what they learned from philanthropist and entrepreneur, Perla Tamez, about looking fear right in the eyes and facing it head-on.

"When I see fear it's like 'okay, let me go grab it by the horns.' Look at it in the eyes and I'm pushing forward because it's like a bull. And so, for me, it's like playing a game. Wherever it's difficult, that's where you need to go in." – Perla Tamez, Owner, Love Soldiers Foundation

Topics in this episode:

• your vision is bigger than your fear
• staying focused when fear creeps in
• using your charm while thinking like a man
• being your own judge
• strategy in a male-dominated workplace
• being flexible like jello

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When life happens, it’s hard. Sometimes, many things happen at once and you have to have compassion for yourself and others during those moments. Nasutsa Mabwa, CEO of ServiceMaster Restoration by Simons, is the person to call when the unexpected happens. Listen as she shares how some uncomfortable situations in her past prepared her for the work she does today.

"I've learned over time that there's a lot of gray space we don't know. And so a lot of what we do is learning to fly in the fog." – Nasutsa Mabwa, CEO, ServiceMaster Restoration

Topics in this episode:

• dealing with the unexpected
• confronting situations head-on
• emotions are your power
• getting comfortable with being uncomfortable
• flying in the fog

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"What’s your purpose in life?" is a huge question. In truth, many of us find that the purpose doesn't come until after the plan. For Vanessa Santos, discovering who you really are is the secret sauce to being purposeful. Listen as she shares her experience from upstart pen saleswoman to serial entrepreneur and finding purpose along the way.

"Rules only last for a period of time, because the world is changing so much. And so, the only way there's going to be progress is by breaking the rules." – Vanessa Santos, Brand Strategy & Product Executive

Topics in this episode:

• following your passions
• finding your purpose
• telling your story
• giving yourself permission to break the rules
• being bold and sticking together

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