Speak Your Mind Unapologetically Podcast

We all want to be successful and to have several opportunities to get ahead. The good news is that you don't have to wait for opportunities to happen for you. But you have to create the ecosystem for opportunities to show up in your life. Here's how to increase opportunities for yourself in your career and life: Have clarity in your goals. Help others. Show your work and do so with passion. Get out there and be visible. Ask for what you want. Ask for feedback often even if you are scared of criticism. Get more exposure to new opportunities. Network and leverage your network. Be curious. Be assertive. Share your ideas openly even if you don't think they are great. Sell the vision of your idea to others and especially to senior or powerful people. Address needs in the market. Always keep an eye on your alternatives even if you are happy in your current situation. Share your story, beliefs, values, and messages with the world. Take calculated risks to try something new and prove a concept. Be persistent even when they say no. Embrace challenges and problems as potential opportunities. What do these ways of creating opportunities have in common? They are uncomfortable at times. They push you to proactively take action even if you are scared of looking like a fool and being judged by others. They are rooted in a drive to connect, to express, to expand, to serve, to fulfill a desire, or to pursue a personal vision. To learn more about how to create more opportunities for yourself with assertive communication, visit https://www.assertiveway.com. You can also start to learn assertive communication which helps you calmly express any thoughts, ideas, desires, feelings and boundaries in a respectful, thoughtful, and anxious-free way with these free resources: https://wwwassertiveway.com/free.

Three of my favorite examples of ordinary women and moms who achieved created and sold phenomenal businesses are housewife Debbi Fields, dancer Brynn Putnan, and tax saleswoman Sara Blakely. There are many reasons why these women were immensely successful. Here are some of the most important reasons: How this young mom and housewife without any business education created a business grew into 400 stores. Debbi Fields was a young mother with no business education when she decided to open a business to sell freshly baked cookies. As most business owners, she struggled to get a loan, start selling her cookies when she didn't yet have a reputation, and manage a growing business. Yet, her passion for making the perfect cookie pushed her to ask for things, sell cookies on the streets, ask for daily feedback from customers to improve her cookies, set hourly financial goals, and adopt modern software to better manage quality in a fast-growing international business. Learn more about Mrs. Fields story here. How this pregnant dancer with no tech or business background founded and sold and sold it for $500 million in 4 years. Brynn Putnan innovated by creating a new product category within fitness: mirror screen gyms. She was a dancer, and then opened up a boutique fitness studio where she taught. After asking her customers for feedback, she learned that they wanted more mirrors. She came up with the idea of installing a screen on a mirror to work out at home. The company was called "Mirror". She pitched it to investors and got $75 million in venture funding. Many celebrities loved her product and started to post it on social media. Within 4 years of starting the company, she sold it for $500 million to Lululemon. Her idea came from asking for feedback and then focusing on the customer rather than comparison. She says, "I spend very little time comparing to competitors and much more time focused on our members' needs and how to meet them." Learn more about Brynn Putnan's story here. How this fax machine saleswoman became the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world, while raising 4 children. Sara Blakely used to sell fax machines door-to-door and became a national sales trainer. She wanted a pantyhose without the feet that didn't roll up her legs. So, she created one. She created the initial prototype and patented it, and called her company Spanx. She had several challenges, especially explaining the value of her product to men who owned factories to produce the item and who were in charge of procurement for large department store chains to sell her product. Many hung up the phone. When she pitched her product, she received "no" over and over again. However, she was not afraid of failure, because when she was growing up, her father would often ask her what she had failed in that day. She also learned to persist and that a no was a "not yet". Eventually, she signed contract several large retailers, including Bloomingdales and QVS. She expanded her business while growing her family to have four children. Learn more about Sara Blakely's story here. Expressing your passion, asking for feedback, persisting in the face of receiving "no", and thinking in terms of "not yet" can help you create opportunities and advance your dreams. To learn more about how to confidently and effectively handle hard conversations in an assertive way, visit https://www.assertiveway.com. You can also start to learn assertive communication which helps you calmly express any thoughts, ideas, desires, feelings and boundaries in a respectful, thoughtful, and anxious-free way with these free resources: https://wwwassertiveway.com/free.

Do you want to fast-track your career, create endless opportunities for yourself to thrive and be successful? Then this is the series for you, on creating opportunities for your career advancement and fulfillment. On this episode you'll find out more about the importance of networking. You'll also learn how Sal Khan, listed among TIME's 100 Most Influential People for 2012, created opportunities for himself. Finally, you'll learn the story of exactly how I got my first-time people manager job. Here are some of the insights you'll get: 85% of job positions are filled through networking, not online posts. This means networking is key for your career! One of my heroes, Sal Khan, accidently created the Khan Academy by helping his cousins with school. Khan Academy is an education tools non-profit that makes educational tutorials for school, college students, and young professionals. Khan was listed among TIME's 100 Most Influential People for 2012. His two TED talks together have more than 10 million views. You can watch them in the links below. TED Talk - Let's use video to reinvent education TED Talk - Let's teach for mastery – not test scores Khan Academy website I got my first team ever by asking for it during an interview. Tell people, especially those with more power, exactly what you want with absolute real conviction. Share your ideas and invite people to be part of your goals, help you pave the way, and share insights. Learn to communicate assertively at https://www.assertiveway.com. You can also start to learn assertive communication which helps you calmly express any thoughts, ideas, desires, feelings and boundaries in a respectful, thoughtful, and anxious-free way with these free resources: https://wwwassertiveway.com/free.

In this episode international lawyer Henri Nkuepo, author of "New Immigrant Playbook - Strategies for Success in Your New Country", shares several tips that can help professionals be their best advocate in new cultures avoid big mistakes, be successful, save money, get the right advice, and much more! He says that to thrive in a new culture, you must be selective with the advice you get, reach out to more people, ask for support sooner than later, advocate for yourselves, and embrace negative feedback. To learn more about how to confidently and effectively handle hard conversations in an assertive way, visit https://www.assertiveway.com. You can also start to learn assertive communication which helps you calmly express any thoughts, ideas, desires, feelings and boundaries in a respectful, thoughtful, and anxious-free way with these free resources: https://wwwassertiveway.com/free. Get his book "New Immigrant Playbook - Strategies for Success in Your New Country" and learn more about Henri here: https://www.henrinkuepo.com​

Civil Engineer and Project Manager Joy Makumbe shares her thoughtful stories on how she got her first job managing a team, her philosophy on why she always negotiates her salary without any guilt, how she dealt with non-supportive coworkers even though she was scared of their reaction, and how she commands respects as the female joyful boss in a male-dominated industry. Read more about Joy's journey in a male dominated industry in her book TECH GIRL DIARIES. Told in a witty and fun way, Joy shares with you her joys and pains as she strives to leave her mark in the engineering field. Grab your copy here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1779255624 To learn more about how to confidently and effectively handle hard conversations in an assertive way, visit https://www.assertiveway.com. You can also start to learn assertive communication which helps you calmly express any thoughts, ideas, desires, feelings and boundaries in a respectful, thoughtful, and anxious-free way with these free resources: https://wwwassertiveway.com/free.

Have you ever wondered how ordinary people create extraordinary opportunities for themselves? Well, if you want to join that club, and you want to create more opportunities for yourself and for your career advancement, than this episode is for you. You'll learn how to assess the value of what you bring and follow through with people. You'll also see that it's not about being extroverted. To learn more about how to confidently and effectively handle hard conversations in an assertive way, visit https://www.assertiveway.com. You can also start to learn assertive communication which helps you calmly express any thoughts, ideas, desires, feelings and boundaries in a respectful, thoughtful, and anxious-free way with these free resources: https://wwwassertiveway.com/free.

The most selfish and unreasonable request I've ever made to a boss was to ask for a loan after working only 6 months with him. Get this: to leave the company. And not just any loan. It was worth many years of my salary! You'll never know their answer to a request until you actually express your desire and invite people to support your goal. How do you find the courage to ask for what you want, even if it feels unreasonable to you? Find out in this episode. In this podcast episode, I also share how Muhammad Yunus, the pioneer of the microfinance, created massive opportunity for himself and for others. To learn more about how to confidently and effectively handle hard conversations in an assertive way, visit https://www.assertiveway.com. You can also start to learn assertive communication which helps you calmly express any thoughts, ideas, desires, feelings and boundaries in a respectful, thoughtful, and anxious-free way with this free training: https://wwwassertiveway.com/free.

How can you increase the number of opportunities that happen for yourself? Waiting for luck to strike exactly in your direction is not going to feel thrilling or exciting. You don't need to be from a wealthy family, or to have access to money, work harder, or even have a sponsor to already start to increase your opportunities. But you need to know where opportunities come from and to do one thing often. In this podcast episode you'll learn what that secret for opportunities is. To learn more about how to confidently and effectively handle hard conversations in an assertive way, visit https://www.assertiveway.com. You can also start to learn assertive communication which helps you calmly express any thoughts, ideas, desires, feelings and boundaries in a respectful, thoughtful, and anxious-free way with this free training: https://wwwassertiveway.com/free.

Sometimes smart and successful women get compliments they hate, like: 🤔"You don't look like an Engineer." 😡"You're a strong woman." 😖"You look like a cabin-crew." You may hate a compliment that you don't relate to. In those situations, you can do 2 things: 1. Graciously accept the compliment. 2. Express to others what you like and what you identity with more. And don't second guess what they mean with the compliment or their intention for sharing it, even if you think it is a disguised insult. Have you ever received a surprise gift that you didn't like? How did you feel when you received the gift? Do you feel angry or insulted? Probably not. You appreciated the effort and intention. 👀You don't have to agree with the gift. 👀You don't have to like the gift. 👀You don't have to be the person associated with the gift. So don't deny, ignore, reject the compliment, even if you don't like it. Graciously accept the compliment as a gift with a smile and genuine thank you. That's the topic for this podcast episode. To learn more about how to confidently and effectively handle hard conversations in an assertive way, visit https://www.assertiveway.com.

There will always be people who try to take advantage of you and who criticize you in unreasonable ways. Instead of confronting them and getting into a war or going silent, overthinking it, and feeling bad about yourself, try these 3 tested assertiveness strategies. To learn more about how to confidently and effectively handle hard conversations in an assertive way, visit https://www.assertiveway.com. You can also start to learn assertive communication which helps you calmly express any thoughts, ideas, desires, feelings and boundaries in a respectful, thoughtful, and anxious-free way with this free training: https://wwwassertiveway.com/free.