Theodora Speaks

Let’s put the mantra of “you can sleep when you’re dead” to bed and embrace “sleeping like a baby.” It’s no surprise we all feel better after a good night’s rest. It’s time to stop sacrificing our sleep. 

Tara Clancy, Founder and Chief Strategist at High Performance SleepTM and host of The Counterfeit Sleep® podcast shares the importance of calendaring our sleep and answers the question of why our sleep is making us tired.  

To reinvent ourselves and take calculated professional risks, being well-rested improves our focus, concentration, and clarity while decreasing our stress and anxiety. Companies benefit from well-rested employees. Employee retention increases as does the bottom line – and market share isn’t lost – if employees are performing at their optimal, well-rested levels.

Follow along with the infographic that accompanies my conversation with Tara (created by Joan Bufalino) on my website at General 1 — Gayle Keller.

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Author Janine Firpo left a 35+ year career in technology and international development to focus on how women can create a more just and equitable society through their financial investments. She adds angel investor and social entrepreneur to her list of career reinventions.

Janine is dynamic and takes calculated risks in both her career to reinvent her professional life and has reinvented how she invests in her money, aligning to her values.

Investing shapes our future and our legacy. By 2030, two thirds of the nation’s wealth will be controlled by women.  

Listen for when we converse about Janine’s recent book Activate Your Money and the myths she debunks around women and financial empowerment.

Visit https://www.gaylekeller.org/podcast to view the infographic created by Joan Bufalino that visually accompanies our conversation. 

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As we kick off season #2, Joan Bufalino is a woman who amplifies ambitious career reinventions throughout her many seasons of life. From a career in nursing to going back to graduate school in her 50s, at every turn, Joan tackles her fears and never misses a beat as she reinvents herself over and over again with style and grace.

Listen for when Joan discusses the importance of being self-sufficient and the advice of never giving up, even if you fail. It’s all in the art of trying again and mind mapping towards your goals. 

If you’d like to use visuals as you listen to Joan’s story, please visit General 1 — Gayle Keller or follow me @_gaylekeller on Instagram to discover the infographics Joan created to use as guides as you listen and follow along.

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And that’s a wrap! This episode celebrates the ‘best of’ season one of Theodora Speaks. A sincere thank you to my guests for sharing their inspiring stories and to you, our valued listener for tuning into Theodora Speaks.  

!! Season two will be released this November with the theme of career reinvention !!

In this episode, you’ll hear from our guests – from their risk-taking stories to the tools they sharpened to take their calculated risks to the power of resiliency. 

Season one could not have been a success without my amazing guests.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from season one:

– “CYE. Change your energy. Jump in the pool!” – Beth Swierk

– “I like to make the difference between failing and failure, because failing is just something temporary that we can overcome. And failure basically means that we’ve quit and that we’re not going to move forward.” – Shannon Wilkinson

– “You cannot have diversity without inclusion” – Melyssa Barrett

– “Once you’re invited to the table being treated equitably…my CEO has a great phrase that I love. He says that inclusion is being invited to the party, but equity is about being asked to dance.” – Cheryl Maletich

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Melyssa Barrett is a woman who amplifies authenticity, lives her life with purpose, and without regret. Melyssa is as lovely as she is driven and has spent her career in risk management for nearly 30 years at Visa, Inc. conducting business with confidence. She started working the phones at night and climbed the ranks over the years to become a Vice President. She is a seasoned product executive in risk and identity who focuses on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

DEI are top of mind for Melyssa being one of the founding Global Sponsors for Blacks at Visa, Inc. in addition to hosting her own podcast called The Jali. She is also an author. Furthermore, Meylssa hosts one of the largest Kwanzaa gatherings in Northern California, and in honor of her late husband, created Kwanzaa Every Day. 

Listen, for when Melyssa talks about two important topics:

–         Choose a career you’ll have fun with – life’s too short

–         You cannot have diversity without inclusion

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The global pandemic crisis has created a lot of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt), additional stress and anxiety, especially for working mothers. Just because we live in uncertain times doesn’t mean we should give up on our goals. That drive is still in us. All we need to do is dust off our ambition (and humor!) to reshape ourselves. However, we may need an extra push in the right direction to find a way to reignite the fire in our bellies.

I asked Jessi Pierce to be a guest on my podcast because she is a working mom in a male-dominated industry, and like us, juggles the balance between work and family. She is a writer for the NHL.com covering the Minnesota Wild hockey team, COO of New Voice Studios, co-host of a podcast series called Bardown Beauties, and a Contract Writer and Manager for Touchpoint Media. She also is on the production team producing my podcast. We share a love of our children, family, and career ambition. 

Listen for when Jessi talks about how the NHL can be reimagined with more female influence as well as when she emphasizes why she loves ‘chirping.’ 

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What do leadership, culture and wine have in common? 

Pour yourself your favorite glass to enjoy – from water to wine – and take a listen!

To me, what wine decants is what I appreciate the most – the legs of conversation and the bouquet of relationships that often are accomplished when you uncork the bottle and pour a glass of fragrant communication. Wine has a way of bringing people together to share a common interest while swirling dialogue around the room.

This episode highlights Leadership Uncorked, an event co-created by my guest, Donna Brighton. Donna is the Chief Idea Officer at The Brighton Leadership Group, a speaker, and author of The Rebel Leader. I admire how she lives her life with clear intentions and follows through by making her goals a reality. Listen, for when Donna defines leadership and likens it to the French wine term terroir. Her experiences and passions align beautifully to her career reinvention as she helps companies evolve with clear intentions when it comes to cultural transformation.

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Claudia Harvey, CEO and Founder of Dig It Apparel and Founding Partner and President of BG Wealth Group, author, mother and wife, is a ray of sunshine and a force wrapped into one. She and I share in common the pull towards career reinvention 20 years into our careers.

In our episode, Claudia describes how she used to define success, and how she shifted her mindset to live life with strength, harmony and balance while also highlighting the importance of encouraging women to connect to their money. As Claudia notes: 

“You don’t find yourself. You create yourself.”

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Shannon Wilkinson, CEO at Tego Cyber, wife, mother, and author of Ripping off the Hoodie: Encouraging the Next Generation of S.T.E.M. Girls knows her priorities. Shannon knows what it takes to be successful and how to lead from the frontlines, all-the-while cheering on women in Tech, combatting the biases that still exist today.  

She highlights how she uses both logic and creativity in Tech while practicing what she preaches: “Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” 

Logic is one of the many superpowers Shannon taps into on a daily basis especially as she carries the torch for gender inclusion in the workplace. 

Listen for when Shannon describes the difference between failing vs. failure.

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We all have a desire to belong. It is hardwired into our DNA. Dr. Ghazaleh Samandari, PhD., an Iranian refugee, sought acceptance and a need to belong from a young age.

She taps into her skillset to help others embrace their unique traits. Having lived in four countries, and now residing in France, Dr. Samandari shares her vulnerability. She tells stories of finding courage, and sense of belonging in life when it comes to taking risks.

Dr. Samandari is also a chef, adjunct professor, and most recently launched her own coaching company called 9 Paths Development.

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