We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carla Howard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
What do you do for self-care and what impact has it had on your effectiveness?
I heard the quote “Your business can only be as healthy as you are” about 5 years ago, and it made a huge impact on my thinking about self-care. It is so easy to prioritize our business “to do” list over activities that make us healthier and bring us joy. AND… when we don’t focus on self-care, our business suffers from our lack of creativity, time, and energy.
Here are a few ways I bring self-care into my work day:
Taking walks – There is nothing like a long walk to clear my mind. I am so much more productive when I get back to work!
Foam rolling – This is a new activity I started two years ago. I love the combination of balance and strength building. Plus, you can beat getting a massage while you work out!
Meditating – Morning visualization is my favorite way to meditate. I also enjoy taking 5 – 19 minutes to clear my mind by focusing on the sounds of nature during stressful days.
Finding moments of Joy & Laughter – Even on our most difficult days we can find little pockets of joy
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Gosh… it’s always so hard for me to talk about the focus of my business in a concise way! Here are the 3 main ways I help people go from where they are today to where they want to be!
Let’s talk about “The Speakers Connection” first. This is a service I longed for when I started my speaking career! During a retreat, my friend and I were sharing our mutual frustration in the event space. As an event organizer, she shared how difficult it was to find high-quality speakers within her budget. I reflected on my own difficulties as a speaker in finding events that would help me grow my career. As our conversation continued, we realized we had different perspectives we could bring together to form a single solution for these problems. We wanted to find a way to foster meaningful connections that benefit both the Event Organizer and Speaker. Sooo… together, we created The Speakers Connection.
I’ve also created the “Get Paid From The Stage!!!” 6-week program. Because I have lived the struggle professional speakers face getting paid for the value they deliver, I created this program to help them get paid for the value they deliver to their audiences. It makes my heart happy to witness program alumni go from frustrated with being asked to speak for very little compensation (or for exposure) to earning $5K, $8K, and beyond to deliver their talks and programs.
On a more personal note, one of my passions is help women live their dream lives. I breaks my heart to see women struggle to move into their ideal career, start a business from their hobbies and passions, or take the small steps that would lead to creating a life they are in love with. Enabling Kind & Ambitious Women to Dream Bigger and Reach Further is at the heart the work I do for our Rise Sister Community. 💖
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The skill that helped me the most was developing the ability to confidently deliver my message from the stage. This was true in my corporate career long before I became a professional speaker, and it is something that did NOT come easy to me! I remember very clearly the terrible presenting a 10 minute update at IBM to 50 of my colleagues and thinking I was going to cry or pass out! Shortly after that agonizing experience, I joined ToastMasters and my journey of becoming a speaker began!
I am a big fan of ToastMasters as a way to sharpen your speaking skills. Even if you are comfortable taking the stage, learning how to engage the audience and delivery a clear messages will be incredibly beneficial as you progress in your career.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
Oh Gosh… do I have to pick one? I was fortunate to have fantastic parents who told me from the time I could remember that I could do anything I wanted to!
My mom passed away two years ago, here’s something really cool that she taught me through words and actions:
You are never too old to start dreaming new dreams.
When my mom was 74 years old, she started a YouTube Channel AND started creating online cooking courses on Udemy.
I remember sitting at her kitchen table when she said to me, “You know those online courses you do? Do you think you could show me how to make one?” followed by “How about YouTube… can you show me that too?”
After just a few months that little spitfire was filming her own videos, adding captions and fly-ins, uploading the content (videos and recipes), and managing her online courses!
My sister and I STILL get revenue from her 13 cooking courses… and she continues to kick my butt on YouTube! Her channel “The Sodium Attacker” currently has over 3K subscribers and over 140K views!
YOU are never too old to dream new dreams.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thespeakersconnection.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/risesisters
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/changestrategist
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQdULNvz_MJnAS7FEw4fRhw
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