Meet Lanna Brasure
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We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lanna Brasure a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lanna, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?

For my entire life, I have operated under the mentality that brains, personality, and morals come first. I’ve never judged someone by their appearance, race, gender, or physical attributes and hope that I am treated the same. And even if I’m not, I’ll never let that stop me. There have been plenty of times where I was the only person in the room who looked like me, that has never impacted how I show up. It’s something I have struggled to understand with others and something I coach other people on; how to show up regardless. As a woman in tech, it would be easy to attribute any of my failures to the fact that there are more men around me than women with blue hair. However, I would never give them credit for my mistakes. I have a hard time with many people in society these days blaming their shortcomings on the way other people around them look. I find, that if you try hard enough, you will often succeed. That includes learning the skills, building the network, putting in the effort, and putting yourself in rooms you were never invited into. That’s not to say there won’t be obstacles along the way, but majority of my obstacles have not been a result of the sexual organs I was born with or the color of my skin. I find that when I walk into a room, I am effective and successful because of the energy I bring, I let my personality shine, I am authentic, and I make sure I bring value. I would say out of all of those things though, authenticity is the most important regardless of what value you’re trying to bring. We’re all unique individuals with something different to offer in our own way. In a society where everyone is trying to look the same, act the same, follow the same trends…if you find yourself in a room where you’re the only one who looks like you, you’ve already achieved success, use it to your advantage. The only way you can let something stop you, is if you let something stop you.

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Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I do a lot of different things, I’m still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. I never understood why we should focus on one thing, why stop there? I’m interested in writing, comedy, coaching others, teaching people how to code, moving my body, creating art, singing, cooking, health, having meaningful conversations, the list goes on. I have multiple passions and I pursue them all. Life wouldn’t be fulfilling if I only focused on one. Most of my pursuits consist of helping others and feeling joy. I’d like to make the world a better place and enjoy my time while I do it. I like to help others believe in themselves and their dreams, to pursue what sets their soul on fire. I coach individuals on how to do things scared and to live a life worthwhile. Some of my more tangible dreams are the books I’ve written, and am writing. I created a gratitude and reflection journal to help you rewire your brain to look for the positives instead of the negatives. That is available on my website bylanna.com. I’ve also written and self published a couple poetry collections…they cover themes of love, heartbreak, grief, fulfillment, feeling lost, belief, and all of the emotions we hold as humans. Those are also available on my website. I hope you read them and they make you feel less alone.

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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 most important skill/quality is authenticity. Being true to yourself and honest with others. Showing up as 100% you and providing the value that only you can. A lot of people out there are trying to be something or someone that they’re not, and it often shows. When you do things that you genuinely love for reasons that are genuine to you, that also shows. Make it easy on yourself by being authentic. It is the easiest, and sometimes the hardest, thing that you can do in this life. The next important skill/quality I’d say would be the willingness to learn. And the self motivation to teach yourself anything you may need to know. To have the awareness of where you are lacking, being honest with yourself about it, and generating the energy to go out and figure out how to close that gap. This could be utilizing your resources in the right ways or going down late night rabbit holes of research, trial and error, experimentation, courses, reading, podcasts…anything you can do to get yourself to where you want to be. And lastly, but not leastly, believing in yourself and what you are doing. This is so important because if you don’t have that foundational belief in yourself and your mission, you won’t be aligned and it will reflect in your effort. Not believing in yourself will have you wasting time wallowing and ruminating, second guessing, going back and forth between ideas. So, when you start with authenticity and figure out what it is you genuinely want to do, you start to believe in yourself. You attach purpose to it all. And then you start to figure out and identify how to make it happen. From there, you can see things that might be missing or areas where you need to grow in order to make it happen, that’s where you become self motivated and start learning all the things you need to learn in order to see in through. It’s also important to surround yourself with people who believe in you and what you’re doing. Real supporters. Genuine lovers of what you are after. But it all starts with you. You can’t always wait until someone else believes in you and tells you you’re great. Sometimes you just have to feel it in yourself and do. And if you can’t feel it yet, then just do. A mission without belief is just an empty dream. Believe in yourself and the magic will follow.

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Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

I could never attribute my successes and growth to just one person. I’ve developed an entire support system that lifts me up and makes me better. It is so important to have people in our lives who we can reach out to at a moments notice when we are feeling despair, need reassurance, guidance, hope, to feel less alone. Someone who will reflect back to us all of our good parts and make us believe it, and we must do the same for them. The main person in my life who has been this for me is my dearest friend, Jake. He also happens to be my ex-husband but I just like to call him my best friend at this point. Many people find this hard to believe, since so many people don’t remain in contact with their exs…I never understood that. How could you share so much life, experiences, and intimacy with a person only to never talk to them again. Sometimes healthy relationships with healthy people end, and that is ok. And you can still have a healthy relationship, bond, and friendship with them in your future. Throughout our relationship, he helped me tremendously with believing in myself. Any doubt I had about myself, he would flip it and make me see the brightness that I was. And it was never fluff or make-believe, it was truth. He made me see my good truth. Not just as my partner, but as a human, as a true friend in life. We need people like that. People who make us see the potential within ourselves that we may not see on our own. People who lift us up when we feel like there is nothing within us worth lifting. He helped me professionally, with little and big things, which helped me grow tremendously in my career. Things I may not have developed on my own, or would have developed later on without his guidance (he would even say I’m not giving myself enough credit with that statement…he would say “yes, you would have”.) He suggested the coding boot camp I went to, he’s recommended podcasts and articles that relate to something I want to learn or something I’m experiencing, he’s gotten me out of my comfort zone and out of my own head, he’s an honest impartial person who has taught me about life in and outside of our relationship. And many times when I wasn’t sure about my year long road rip, he has told me time and time again “you need to keep going.” We need more people like Jake. I am endlessly grateful for him.

Aside from my friends, coworkers, previous mentors, previous coworkers, professors, and sometimes strangers…the other two important people I will list are my sisters. I am lucky to have sisters. I am lucky to have siblings. To know some people are out there without forced relationships that they end up choosing, without the consistent bond, without the growing learning of each other as humans who came from the same thing but yet are so different…I wish more people could experience it. Literally through thick and thin, it’s so cliche but it’s true. At any point in time, I can call or text them when I need them, or when I have something to share, or a picture of a puppy to send. And they will show up. I call them for the good times, and the bad times. And they share their honest experiences with me so I can learn from them, because that’s what sisters do. A safe, no-judgement, scrunchy and sweatpants, anything goes zone…it says “I’m here for you, just as you are, and all the versions you will ever be.” We laugh together, we cry together, and we go through it all easier because we have each other. We have a group chat that we talk in all day every single day. I have company throughout my whole day because of them…we always have each other, we are never without. There is something about coming back to 32 unread messages after a meeting, it’s the feeling of comfort and joy. To know I always have them in my corner, and they would do anything for me…it provides a level of safety you can’t find anywhere else. And to know I would do the same for them, that provides a level of value I can’t find anywhere else. To have a sibling, to have a sister, to have an embedded friend.

A very important part of anyone’s support system should be honesty. You can’t surround yourself with people who only tell you good things about yourself. You need people who are capable of telling you your faults as well, and when you’re the one in the wrong. That is how we grow. Sugar coating does not help us grow. That is something I very much appreciate about my support system and these three humans specifically, they are honest with me about everything…the good things, and the not so good things. And because of that, I am better. I am grateful. And I am so endlessly, enormously blessed. And if you are reading this, as I know you will because you’re an amazing supporter…I love you.

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Image Credits

Billboard photo by Macomb Community College

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