We were lucky to catch up with Christine Soussa recently and have shared our conversation below.
Christine, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Once a child takes their first steps, they are on their way. Regardless of how wobbly, unstable, or unsteady they may be, they intuitively acknowledge that they are learning something new and believe in their ability. They never stop trying, progressing with confidence and improving with each step.
Somewhere along the way, unfortunately, we lose this natural belief in ourselves. Let’s remember that within each of us is the ability to accomplish what you seek. This takes perseverance, commitment, joy and grit – nothing comes easy – growth can be uncomfortable – after all, it’s called growing pains for a reason. Everything has a process. With consistency comes incremental progress. There will always be barriers, there will always be excuses, but if something calls you, then you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to try. Achieving what’s desired requires things like discipline, commitment, focus, vision, keenness, drive, tenacity, patience, grit, and attentiveness, among many other qualities.
Recently on a panel discussion, I was asked “What specific barriers do women have in technology and/or leadership?” My answer is the same for men or women in technology or any field – YOU ARE YOUR OWN BARRIER. Mindset, approach, and dedication are so important to how self-esteem and confidence are developed. Barriers will always exist, no one is going to remove them, barriers for you.
Thus, it is important to explore things that you are enthusiastic and curious about… things you love, things you want to do more of. The world has so much to offer, I encourage everyone to take the time to do the inner work to understand what’s truly important to you. This is key to living the life you want and having the experiences you desire. While this sounds easy, having a growth mindset is a choice that one must make everyday; it’s easy to get caught up and distracted.
Approaching life and opportunities in this way will naturally develop your confidence, expertise, and increase your impact with joy and fulfillment. I have seen so many extraordinary things come to fruition because individuals and/or groups lean in with curiosity, courage, care, commitment, and enthusiasm.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Professionally, I have worked in Technology Sales for over 20+ years. Currently, I am a Global Client Director at Equinix, the world’s foundation for physical and digital infrastructure. This includes data centers and network services that enable businesses to connect their applications, data, and devices. Almost every online experience, worldwide, somehow goes through Equinix. Think of us as the “world’s digital hub” – we connect and interconnect the world’s online activity enabling the technologies that we all use daily. Often called the “largest technology company that no one has heard of”, I regularly need to clarify that Equinix is the global technology infrastructure company and not the gym (Equinox). I am proud to represent a company that delivers such tremendous value to the customers, communities, and the various entities we serve.
I am also a dedicated philanthropist and community leader. For over 17 years I have been building communities, while driving impact, awareness, and funding to key causes.
Working closely with technology leaders, innovators, advocates, and enthusiasts to address complex and unique opportunities across all industries while being a community builder gives me great joy. Such enablement is the epicenter of how we interact, innovate, engage, and communicate. I love to help businesses grow and develop relationships.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three key qualities that are important to me are health, communication, and relationships.
Prioritizing all aspects of health is critical, whether that’s physical, emotional, mental, financial or spiritual, etc. One’s health, and the health of their loved ones, affects every aspect of one’s life. Remember that life is a journey, take moments, set-backs, and feedback as gifts with opportunities to improve.
Effective communication is key and a skill many people don’t work on intentionally.
Third, relationships are crucial to all our lives. How we care for ourselves, treat our family, friends, customers, colleagues plays a tremendous role on how we live our life and spend our time. Unfortunately, one of the things I am noticing is that as our world gets more connected we seem to be getting more disconnected. Simple things like spending quality time together, being present, without technology and just BEING seems to be something we do less. Instead, we appear to be replacing relationships with “transactions”. Some examples include, online dating and swiping left-right-up, spending hours a day on social media, getting together with friends/loved ones yet everyone is on a device staring at a screen and NOT actually spending time together. These are some basic examples. We are wired to spend time together, in person, to experience and live life together. Fostering relationships is incredibly important and we must ensure that we are cherishing and valuing relationships.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
The reality is that each of us is in transition every day. I’d say finding harmony between the two is ideal. Be both a teacher and a student. We live in a society that is fast-paced, very loud with many distractions.
If you are interested in developing yourself, whether that’s by improving your strengths and/or investing in development areas, I recommend harnessing your time and energy towards things that fuel your spirit. Through this curious approach you will naturally be excited to evolve and excel.
A practical way to think about this is what I call, “Head, Hand, Heart, Synergy”. Below please find my high level framework
HEAD: Does this opportunity make sense to what you consider are your metrics for decision-making? These include things like health, family, joy, income, stability, flexibility, potential, just to name a few. It’s important to think about what really matters to you so the decisions you make are data driven, logical, and prudent.
HAND: Do you actually enjoy doing the work required? Are you willing and eager to commit? Are you willing to do the work? The hand plays a more practical role. It is vital to think about whether you are willing to invest time, daily and long hours, to execute with commitment and dedication.
HEART: Does this opportunity excite you? Does it make your heart sing or grow? Do you feel passion, enthusiasm? Does this energize you? Do you feel rewarded?
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @strobia_foundation
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-soussa-0291101a/
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