Meet Emily Makinzie

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily Makinzie. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.

Hi Emily, thank you so much for joining us today. There are so many topics we could discuss, but perhaps one of the most relevant is empathy because it’s at the core of great leadership and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your empathy?

Empathy, I feel, is best learned through pain. Which ain’t fun! But golly how lovely empathetic people are. Through my years of pains and struggles and failures, I have had moments where I just want to love others. Nobody is without pain, and the authentic people of the world, are the people I gravitate to. The people who are open and honest about being down. Once you have empathy, you attract it, which is beautiful, since we all rise together.

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?

Well hello, gorgeous. I am Emily Makinzie, host of the podcast, Emily Problems. After being a radio personality in Denver for over a decade, and totally in love with my career, one day… it just vanished. And while I still struggle with the loss of my career, something that was fully woven into my identity and self-worth, I have come out of the darkness and created my own platform. Emily Problems is about anything and everything. It’s not a podcast where I complain about my problems, but instead talk about the relatable true topics that we all have in common: the pursuit of happiness, the struggle to find love, spirituality, friendship, conspiracy theories, aliens, cults, friendships, music, passion, and more. If you’ve thought about it, I’ve probably talked about it. And creating a platform to relate and connect and grow with others is something I am very proud of.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I was talking with a friend the other day about this, and one thing I often marvel at in my own life, is how long the struggle can last. I think when we are young and hopeful, we think the down times and setbacks only last a few months, maybe a year. But, bad news, kids… it can last much longer. Like. Years.
So please be gentle with yourself and patient and know that the Universe loves a stubborn spirit. If you never give up, you’ll never fail.
Stay curious, humble, kind, and you simply must stay strong in your mindset of goodness and positivity. I struggle with that the most, bouncing back from yet another setback or failure… and truly believing that it all happens for a reason. But once you start talking to yourself like an enemy, you’ll have no energy to prove everyone wrong.
I don’t know when you’ll succeed, but you will.
Don’t give up.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

Personally, my challenge will always be internal. My battle for self-worth. It’s easy to hear “no” over and over, and then just accept defeat and think, “Ok I don’t deserve this…”
But sometimes getting back up is the win… it may not be the total goal you were trying to achieve, but at least you’re not on the ground anymore. And we all need to give ourselves more credit for that, for just getting back up. Train your brain to think and believe that you’re winning, and those baby steps will get you where you want to go.
I often struggle with the comparison game too, wondering why others have successes I don’t… but that is a waste of energy that, quite frankly, I am not bringing with me into 2025.
Listen to your internal monologue through the perspective of an outsider, and that will help flip the switch. Like, if I heard someone say over and over, “I don’t deserve this, I am not getting this, I suck…” Ew. I don’t want to be around that.
But if I heard someone say, “I’m getting there, baby steps, you got this…”, that would make me smile, and want to cheer that person on.
We all have worth and passion, and as long as we stay authentic, what is meant for us, will not pass us by.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://EmilyProblems.com
• Instagram: TheEmilyAnnn
• Other: Emily Problems is on all major podcast platforms, like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Image Credits

Rebecca Slaughter Photography