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Come on this journey with me each week. When you join me, we are going to chase down our goals, overcome adversity, and set you up for a better tomorrow. I'm ready for my close up. Hi, and welcome back. I'm so glad you are here. Okay. This is going to be a little different. You know, I'm always trying to innovate and do something different. I need your feedback, as always. Let me know what you think. Okay. If you've been listening to the show for a while, you know that I auditioned. First of all, HarperCollins leadership made me audition to be Heather Monahan. Isn't that weird? I think it's weird. I feel that the author of a book should have to do the audible version. Right? You wrote it. Why can't you read it? Well, super interesting. I guess that's not the case when you go the traditional publisher route, you have to audition to be yourself. So bizarre. Okay, so backstory is, I got really nervous right before and I text Kendra hall, who. She did the audible version of her book, Stories that Stick. I've had her on the show. She's amazing. And I said, what advice can you give me? I don't know what to do. They didn't give me any advice. And she said, just be yourself and don't go too fast. Right. So greatest advice ever. And I love that she gave that to me and that she helped me out when I needed it. And. And she was right. Just be you. So once I read that, I said, forget it. I'm just clicking record and I'm going to just read. And so I just read a couple of chapters. I uploaded it, and a couple days later I heard back. I got to be. I'm Heather Monahan. Okay, super exciting. But then be careful what you work so hard for, because then you might get it. And now I had to record the audible version, which I actually don't mind doing. It's not very different than recording a podcast, Right? You're talking into a mic and it. It is weird reading your own book because you worked so hard over such a long period of time to create it, and now you're just going through it. It's. It's sort of a surreal experience. But I'm super grateful I was given the opportunity. And I think. I don't want to say, I think I know you're gonna love it. I believe it came out so good. And here's why. They allowed me, instead of going to the cookie cutter place, recording studio place that I didn't want to Go to. They let me record with one of my old producers from the radio business who I've known for years and who did my first audiobook for Confidence Creator with me. And so I feel safe with him. I trust him. He cares so much. He's just. He's a great person. Shout out to Scotty and if you're listening, I'm so grateful for you. And it was just an amazing experience. I'm so grateful it came together the way it did. Okay. And I kept asking my point of contact@HarperCollins, hey, can I have some creative flexibility with the audiobook? I really liked how David Goggins did his. And, you know, at the end of each chapter, he gives behind the scenes and he takes it into real time, not just what the actual hard copy book is like. Right. It's different. There's more to it. And she said yes. So I just can't wait for you to hear it. I'm so proud of it. I can't wait to hear it. I'm super excited. I don't even know when I get to hear it. That's what's so weird about doing a book with a traditional publisher. You don't find out all that much information until after the fact. Okay, so here's what I'm going to do today. I'm going to read the first couple of chapters for you to to one, give you a little insight and peek into Overcome youe Villains. If you haven't pre ordered it yet, get it now because you can still get the $500 bonus bundle for free when you get it. Go to overcomeyourvillains.com right now. Okay, so I'm gonna read you the first couple chapters. However, when I did the audiobook version, at the end of every chapter, I just riffed and I would just talk about what I thought about that chapter, what was behind the scenes when I wrote that chapter, or what I meant. I don't even really know what I said, but just kind of whatever came to me, you know, I just spoke my mind. I'm super excited to hear that part too. Okay, so here we go. We are going to. This is now. I'm completely done with the audiobook, by the way. It's finally finished. Super grateful it's done. And this is the first time I'm reading my book since I did the audible version. Okay. So weird that I'm even an author, but much less so weird. This is my second book. The whole thing's weird. Okay, Just know this. Anything is possible. That's what I want you to know. Right? Because I can't believe not only did I write one book, but now I wrote two. And not only did I write them, I've done the audible versions and they're good. They're really good. And I'm super proud. So anything's possible for me. Anything is possible for you. Okay, here we go. Overcome your villains Chapter one A New Me I Got fired. Three words I never imagined I would say. Three words I was too embarrassed to say to my family and friends. Three words that changed my life forever in ways I had no way of predicting. Some people describe being fired as a humbling experience. That's not how I would describe it. Maddening. Shocking. Psychotic. Those are all words that instantly come to mind when I look back on that awful moment. And what made it all that and more was how it all went down. It might be a little easier to understand if I give you some backstory. First, I grew up poor. My childhood was not one I like to sit around and reminisce about. In some ways, this has been a blessing because I learned to be driven like no other. But in other ways, this has been a holdback for me for much of my life. I was driven to chase a paycheck more than anything. All I knew was I didn't want to be poor. I didn't want to struggle. I didn't want the kids I dreamed I would have someday to grow up in a trailer like I did. That feeling of standing in the grocery checkout line and realizing you would have to put back half of the items on the belt because you didn't have enough money paying me. Oddly, some people would have no problem with that. For some reason, however, when it happened to me, it ripped my heart out. The shame I felt thinking others were looking down on me, realizing I couldn't buy what I wanted and had to operate differently was long lasting. Once you feel like that, there's a really good chance you will do anything in your power to never feel that way again. And that's exactly how I responded. Working my way up I started delivering newspapers at 10 years old, then bussing tables at a diner, then working the front counter and drive through windows window at a fast food restaurant, then waiting tables and eventually bartending my way through college. My dream was to graduate and join a sales team. To be completely honest, I didn't just dream of joining a sales team. I desperately wanted to join a sales team. Not because I felt a passion or excitement to work for a business, but because I quickly Learned that the owners of the nicest cars in the parking lot where I slung drinks were always salespeople. They were the ones who left the biggest tips. They were the ones who had the nicest houses. They were the ones who had enough money to buy the most expensive suits, dresses and shoes. And they never had to put their groceries back. I joined a top winery sales team as soon as I graduated and I flat out worked everyone, even the old timers. It didn't take long before I became the top salesperson and I was promoted to brand manager. It also didn't take long after getting promoted that my new boss started sexually harassing me. I was too afraid to take on the company, too afraid to fight for what I knew was right. So I quit. I aggressively put myself out there looking for another sales job while bartending on the side at a networking event a couple of weeks later, I met a man who stood out from the rest of the crowd and I decided to chat him up. He told me I should go to work for him and I told him he wouldn't be able to afford me. When he asked me how much I expected to be paid, I told him $75,000, never imagining he would pay anyone he just met at a networking event. That kind of salary you start in the morning, he told me. I was of course excited by this stroke of good fortune. I walked into the event a part time bartender and walked out newly employed with a 75k salary. What I didn't realize at the time was that I had left a lot of money on the table. I had undersold myself. This was something I would do again many times in my career. When you don't see your own worth, others won't see it either. People pay you what you believe you are worth. I later learned that this man was worth millions of dollars and he saw potential in me. I quickly became his top seller and he grew me to become his partner. In my early 20s, I moved myself across the country to take his $25 million property and turn it into a $55 million property. In just under three years, I finally had some money. I had established a reputation for generating revenue like few others in the industry. Still, I wasn't satisfied. Growing up poor had lit a fire in me that grew and grew until it consumed me. I needed more revenue, more room for growth, a higher ladder to climb, a bigger salary, more commission. I took my cash and my reputation and moved to Florida to go to work for a publicly traded radio company. It was a bigger company than the One that I had been working at with more revenue and far more upside. I pitched myself for a job that didn't exist and was awarded VP of Sales based on my performance. I was quickly promoted two more times and ultimately named Chief Revenue Officer. I was one of only two women on the executive team, and I was as proud as I could be. I had finally arrived. There was just one problem. The other woman on the executive team seemed to despise me, and she was the CEO's daughter. Instead of engaging this woman in battle, I decided to ignore the office politics and focus on growing revenues, which I did by leaps and bounds. When I started at the company, we were billing 100 million annually. Two and a half years later, after I was named Chief Revenue Officer, that number had doubled to more than 200 million annually. Much of this increase was the direct result of my own effort. I had the house, the car, the clothes, the cushion of cash in my bank account. I had made my dream come true. I had it all. And then I was fired. In an instant, I went from being the hero who had more than doubled the company revenue, had won countless awards, had been promoted three times, and had just been named one of the most influential women in radio. Three weeks earlier. This was not a humbling experience. This was a horrific moment that left me under a weighted blanket with a bottle of Chardonnay attached to my wrist. This was the lowest of the lows of my life. A grown up version of getting your heart broken in high school. You thought you had it all figured out. You were so happy on top of the world, only to find out you were fooling yourself all along. That was exactly it. I had been fooling myself. All the while that woman was hating me and nursing her apparent desire to eradicate me from the company. You see, when her father became ill and needed to step down as CEO, he elevated his only daughter to the position of interim CEO. And she tortured me. I can't lie. The way this villain treated me made me feel miserable. But I refused to buckle. I wouldn't let her get the best of me. I refused to show any weakness. Here's just one example. I would be sitting in the conference room, usually the only other woman in the room, surrounded by male colleagues. As the villain would walk in, she would go up to each person at the table, one by one, saying hello and even hugging some. Then she would walk right by me as if I didn't exist. Those days were tough. They were tough because by ignoring me, she was signaling to everyone else that I didn't matter. I was invisible. This feeling of being ignored really got to me and it became worse over time and every time I allowed this to occur, I could feel her getting stronger as I got weaker. I was like Alice in Wonderland, shrinking away to nothing after taking a swig from a bottle labeled Drink Me. I hated that feeling that I didn't exist. Things had gotten so bad that the night before I knew she was going to be in a big meeting with me. I would start to panic. What would I do when she would ignore me again? I desperately needed my paycheck so I couldn't do what I most wanted to tell her off. What could I do? What I hadn't realized was that allowing her to continue to ignore me was not only chipping away at my self confidence, it was building hers and all the other executives and managers could see it. The rest of the team looked at me differently. Everyone had always seen me as a tremendously confident high performer. But I was starting to shrink in front of their very eyes. I was becoming nothing. I finally had enough of this game. I decided that while I couldn't tell her off, I could make sure she and everyone else in the meeting knew I was there to get ready for this moment. I practiced exactly what I was going to say in the mirror at home the morning of the meeting. I picked a red outfit, a power color that allows me to feel my best. Did my hair took some extra time to look good because I knew it would turn my self confidence up just a notch. I wanted to stand tall and exude confidence and with all my preparations complete, I knew I would. I had reached a point where nothing was worth allowing me to feel like a B rate version of myself. I wasn't nothing. I had delivered millions of dollars worth of business to the company for years. I deserved to be seen and heard. To put the icing on my confidence cake. I played my Fire me up playlist as I drove to the office. I showed up to the meeting and chatted everyone up, many people complimenting me on my dress. I smiled, thanked them. It was game on. Then in came the interim CEO. My new boss, the villain. She walked from person to person as she always did, and passed by me as she always did. She sat at the head of the table where she always sat. That's when I made my move. I raised my hand and said good morning. You must have missed me. I'm down here excited to be here. I gave her a big smile and a wave. I wasn't being mean or disrespectful but in that moment, I was building my confidence and I could see that hers was being chipped away. The reality is that in any moment you are either building your confidence or chipping away at it by the actions you take or don't take. If my new boss had wanted to build her confidence back, she could have said something like, Good morning Heather. Thank you for understanding that wasn't intentional. Glad you're here. Now, let's begin the meeting. But she didn't say anything. She hadn't seen that one coming. I saw a few of the men at the table shoot glances to one another and I even saw one of them trying to hold back his laugh. I had let it be known loud and clear I would no longer be ignored. That was it. The game ended right then and there. Or so I thought. Looking back, I believe this was the moment when the villain decided to get rid of me for good. Within a few months, I was gone. I'm sure you know the saying, when one door closes, another door opens. That's not how I saw it. I was in a total panic. My source of income had been suddenly and irrevocably cut off. Not only that, I had signed a non compete agreement when I became Chief Revenue Officer which prohibited me from taking a position with a competitor for one year after leaving the company. This meant that I couldn't leverage my vast network of connections in the industry for the next year. I would have to find some other way to generate income. And I needed income. There's another part of the story I neglected to tell you. When I was fired, I was a single mom with a 10 year old son. Dylan. While you may be expendable, you are never replaceable. There's no one else in the universe like you. I didn't realize this at the time, but today as I write these words, it is crystal clear. You have the ability and opportunity to take your unique skills and attributes wherever you want. Just because you have been successful in one lane doesn't mean that you can't succeed in another. Getting fired was painful and heartbreaking. That day I truly felt like I had lost everything. What I didn't realize was that while they could take away my paycheck, everything else stayed with me. No one can take your reputation, your experiences, your network and your talents. No one is replaceable. The scariest thing I did was deciding not to go back to corporate America and work for another company. Instead, I decided to go to work for myself. I would take all the success I had earned for others and use that success instead to ensure the future of my son and me. Sitting here right now, I still can't believe I did it. While I loved the security my steady paycheck provided, I hated the way it made me feel. I wasn't living up to my potential and I certainly wasn't happy. I was simply surviving, hoping my boss would finally recognize my worth and leave me alone to do what I did best. But that's no way to live. To find your true calling in life, you need to be willing to take risks and put yourself on the line. This may mean escaping your box by jumping out the window and realizing you've got wings and that they will open when you need them most. I think we all intuitively know this is the case, but sometimes we have to be pushed out the window to discover our wings have been there all along. Making the decision to sit alone instead of sitting at a table where you are not supported is not easy, but it will be worth it Meet a.