Igniting Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy and Storytelling in Women

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There are some people that make their
work just another thing they have to do,

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and there are those that make their
work something that they want to do.

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Welcome to Working on Purpose with your
host Elise Cortes. In our program,

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we provide guidance and inspiration from those
people who have found deeper meaning and

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personal connection to their work life.
It's beyond nine to five, it's working

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on purpose. Now Here is your
host, Elise Cortes. Thanks for tuning

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in again this week. I'm your
host, Elise Cortes, joining you from

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Dallas, Texas, which is home
base for me. This program is all

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about helping people more meaningfully and productively
connect with their work and equipping leaders to

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cultivate meaning and purpose in the workplace
to elicit passion inspired contribution and persevering performance

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within the organization. So I seek
out and bring on guests to a particular

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perspective, experience, or expertise that
I think contributes to or expands this conversation.

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And as a management consul and social
scientist, I draw on the meeting

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and work and identity research I've been
doing over the last fifteen years, as

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well as my experience consulting, speaking
and developing or courses across the globe.

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Last week, if you missed the
live show, you can always catch it

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be recorded podcast. We were on
the air with Cynthia Bryan, who is

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an empowerment architect and founder and executive
director of Be the Star You Are a

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five oh one C three literacy and
positive media charity. She's also a president

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of starsaut Productions. We've talked about
the empowerment work she does across various venues

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and how she sees her work addressing
some of today's thornious problems. It was

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a fairy energizing conversation that had to
activate all kinds of potential and listeners with

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us this week is nationally acclaimed,
best selling and award winning author, transformational

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speaker and success coach Cheryl Poloti Williamson
as a global leader. She is the

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CEO and founder of Williamson Media Group
that produces films and documentaries and Cheryl Pote

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Williamson, which is her LLC where
she uses her knowledge and expertise to conduct

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and affirm the others in the pursuit
of purpose, which of course I'm all

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about, right, So that's why
to bring on the show. And then

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just in this year, she launched
the nonprofit Soul Reborn to help women who

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are unable to afford business services and
educational programs to become self sufficient and financially

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independent. She joins us today from
Dallas, Texas with me Cheryl. Welcome

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to Working on Purpose. Hello,
my dear. I am so glad to

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be here, excited just about everything
that we're going to discuss. So I

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am ready. I am so happy
to have you on the show, Cheryl,

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and I only wish we could also
share your beautiful visual presence with our

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listeners, because you are just a
site to behold, a real force.

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And you know, when I first
met you, I somebody told me to

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come and see you speak because they
said this is a woman who's got it.

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And when I saw you and heard
the shares, I had to agree

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you got it. So let's get
into it, my dear. I mean,

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you are that beautiful force on fire
in the world, and you stand

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for helping women to connect with their
teaching them entrepreneurship, leadership, philanthropy,

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storytelling. Why are you so passionate
about the work you do? Where does

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this all the synergy come from?
I am about the work that I do

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because I feel like, if we
know who we are, we can walk

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out fully and appreciate the gifts that
we have unapologetically. And I'm passionate about

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it because it brings about a force
in the world so that we can be

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everything that we're supposed to be,
so that when we leave here we leave

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empty. We've shared all of our
gifts. There is no if I would

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have, should I could I And
I'm passionate about helping people realize that you

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can do this. Don't make excuses
about it, just do it. Do

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it afraid, do it not having
all the answers, And that's what I'm

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passionate about. Pulling it out,
no holes barred, no waiting, wishing,

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wondering. H Well, I'm quite
there with you, as you know.

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I completely am in a similar space
and seeing some of the same messages,

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and I think you and I might
come about this a little bit differently.

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So I'd like to hear about from
your vantage point. Serah, what

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do you see going on in the
world that makes you think this work is

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so needed? Why do you think
this is important work to do? I

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think this work. I think the
work is important because I come across a

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lot of women who are extremely broken, whether it be through society or things

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that have happened in their families.
But what I've come to realize is if

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we can speak life into a group
of women specifically, it will impact the

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world. Because when you have a
woman who is whole and transformed, and

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she brings that environment into her home
and into her children and into those that

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come in contact with her, is
life changing for the world. And what

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we see right now going on is
a lot of sad, a lot of

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brokenness, and it's because people are
not in touch with who they are and

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what their gifts are. And that's
why it's important to me for people to

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realize and see that you can be
the change in the world that we see.

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We don't have to sit around waiting
on other people to be the change.

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We can be the change. And
I pride myself and being a catalyst

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for helping people recognize not to just
sit around waiting, but to be in

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action, in a constant state of
action, to change hatred, to love,

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to change the world into a peaceful
place to live where we are accepting

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of one another. We want to
work together for the common good, and

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I don't see a lot of that
happening in the world right now, but

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I'm not going to surround and talk
about it. I'm going to make sure

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that I'm taking action every single time
they intentionally to change what I see that

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is wrong in the world that is
beautiful. It does align a lot with

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my position of purpose as well.
Share on that. For me, I

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look at people across the world who
are walking through life as zombies, and

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they oftentimes don't even know it right. And to your point, if we

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can get them turned onto life and
possibility, everybody wins. They when their

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significant others win, their children,
and their communities, when everybody wins.

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An organization certainly went so they are
very much aligned within Cheryl. Absolutely,

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it's good work to be doing,
too, isn't it. I love the

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work because oftentimes people will ask,
well, how do you see success as

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success? For me, it's about
impact and when you can leave an imprint

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on the world that when we're gone
fifty or one hundred years, when I'm

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no longer here, it's still people
talking about what I poured into them,

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what I pulled out of them,
what words I impart than them to make

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them take that leap, to take
that action. And that's something that we

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all can do. We all can
pull out greatness in somebody. Can you

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imagine if everybody in the world knew
that, no matter what, they had

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one person in this world that loved
them, what a difference it would make

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in the world. Yes, and
I'm all about that ripple of fact,

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Cheryl. I'm completely with you on
that. Let's do more of it.

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Absolutely, And speaking of that,
I'm wondering, I've been so curious to

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ask you about this. The work
that you do at Williamson Media Group producing

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films and documentaries, I think that's
an incredible way to get out messages that

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can really have an impact like that. Can you share just a little bit

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about some of the projects that you've
done that maybe you're particularly proud of,

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or that you have a message in
it that you think that is really worthwhile

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for what you're up to. Absolutely
so. In April I produced my first

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play in title Soul Purpose. Every
soul has a purpose, and with that,

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the message was that you can go
through many things in life. These

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five women they were going through very
different things, but they realized through their

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faith and their sisterhood and their bond
that they could get through anything together and

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no matter what they were going through, that their soul still has a purpose.

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It was an amazing play and a
lot of messages and notoriety have come

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from it. I'm excited about the
lives that were changed, people's careers that

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took off, people that realized that
if I could do it, they could

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do it. So the reason I
do so many of the things that I

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do, it's not for the accolades. It's for people to see. I'm

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just like you. I'm just willing
to jump out and do it, and

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if I can do it, you
can do it. The next thing that

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I'm producing right now is a piece
and title The Power of Laughter Heals the

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Soul, and that's actually taking place
this Thursday at the Black Academy of Arts

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and Letters. And I'll tell you
why I decided to do this tour to

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create was because I realized that if
people could have more laughter in their life,

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it would reduce their stress, their
anger, their frustration. So that's

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why I titled the title that the
Power of Laughter Heals the Soul. And

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I'm actually bringing in comedian actress Kim
Coles from in Living Color and Living Single,

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the series that aired on TV for
many years and she is coming in

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to talk about the different things that
you go through in life that many of

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us go through, depression, loss, grief, struggles. She shares the

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fact that she was on the red
carpet with will Smith, but she only

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had twenty seven dollars in her pocket. She didn't even know how she was

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going to get home, and the
the fact that so many people live these

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lives that nobody knows about. But
she talks about how laughter got her through

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it, how her storytelling got her
through it. So these types of projects

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are extremely important to me, and
if it's okay, I did want to

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share one that I'm embarking on.
It is my desire to in twenty nineteen,

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I will receive twelve women who have
recently been released from incarceration. They're

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going to follow them for an entire
year and it's going to be a documentary

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where we take them through the programs
of philanthropy, wealth management, entrepreneurship,

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etiquette, storytelling, and leadership.
Because we want to show the world that

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although these women have been incarcerated,
that they have the ability to be rehabilitated.

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OK. That's what I call a
rehab program. Yes, that is

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a fantastic rehab program. I think
that talk about working on purpose, Cheryl,

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you are doing it on so many
fronts. I really really appreciate the

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work you're doing, which is again
why I had to have you on the

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show and share you because you're such
a great example of what the rest of

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us can learn from, emulate,
follow, join on the bandwagon. It's

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amazing work. Yes, I'm excited
about it. Oh, I'm so glad.

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This is great. All right,
A couple more things about your work

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here I'd like to be able to
bring out for our listeners because I think

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it's important for people to understand that
you know the work that we do in

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terms of transformation and inspiration there it
has an outcome, and so I wanted

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you to share a little bit about
what you do in terms of being a

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speaker, a transformational speaker, and
a success coach. Can you share maybe

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an example or two of some people
that you've been able to help empower to

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discover for purpose, whether or not
it's makes sense to give their identity away

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or not, but can you share
a couple of examples? Absolutely, there

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is a one story I want to
share. There's a young lady that I

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had coach and mentor, and she
was adopted. She didn't know for a

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long time she was adopted, and
then when she found out, it took

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her through a spiral in her life
of just feeling rejected, and then she

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took that into her marriage and she
carried that for many years, feeling less

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than I spoke with her one day
and we started talking about things that happened

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in her life and what she wanted
to do about it. We got together

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and we made a plan. First
of all, I let her know that

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she was not a victim. She
is a victor. See, first,

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we have to lose the victim mentality. There happened to us. But when

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we make a conscious decision that we
want to get to the other side of

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it, that's the game changer.
That's when our life can change. And

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so when I helped her get to
the other side asking those questions, she

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had to go and ask the questions
in her past so that she could move

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forward in her future. And once
we got those questions addressed and she waked

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up, she awakened every morning knowing
And these are things that I told her.

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Tell yourself that you are enough,
that you are brilliant, that you

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will attract multi million dollar people into
your life that help you get to your

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destiny. We started affirming her every
single day. She had an affirmation thirty

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days of affirmations. Then I started
talking to her about sharing her story and

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the power of owning her story.
Once she started owning her story and walking

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in her truth and full transparency and
accepting everything, her life changed because nobody

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controlled her narrative. See, when
we control our narrative, nobody has ability

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to hold anything over us. Nobody
can say to you or remember when you

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were a child. I'm very well
aware of that. And when she got

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that power, that was the thing
that changed for her. So I walked

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her through that. Then I helped
her publish her story, and now she

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has a legacy that now allows her
to travel the country sharing her story with

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other children who've been adopted that feel
a certain way about certain things. And

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now she has her books. She's
speaking and this is a beautiful thing.

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She's now helping other people publish their
stories. She's helping other people share their

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dreams, teaching them how to be
speakers. She took all those years of

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feeling less than and now she has
She's out in the world sharing her greatness

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with people, letting them know that
this is where I was, but this

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is where you can be. And
it's been a phenomenal change to see that.

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I have another young lady that never
spoke about her past, and I

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had no idea when she came to
my fennis club until I said to her,

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I'm writing a book and I would
love to have you a part of

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it. Well, I have to
tell you, I didn't know what her

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story was going to be. But
when she shared her story, unbeknounced to

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me. She was a child soldier
fighting in her country in Zimbabwe when she

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was twelve years old, and she
had bouts where there was no food,

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there was no water. She had
given up on herself. She didn't realize

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who she was, what she could
be in this world. And she was.

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She's an executive, but it was
still a part of her past that

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was holding her hostage. So once
she released that story, it took her

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to a whole level as a leader
in her company. It's like nobody could

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hold her hostage. By her story, she wasn't hiding it anymore that oh,

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I don't want anybody to find out
about this. Once she said her

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story, she became free, and
once she became free, her level of

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leadership took off at her company because
she felt sure about who she was.

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And that's just just a few examples
of women that I have worked with to

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transform the way that they think about
themselves, their business, their families,

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their relationships, their ability to make
impact on the world, and not make

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apologies because their mere presence interrupts the
atmosphere when they entered the room. Oh

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my gosh, Cheryl, that is
a big fat bravo, fantastic work and

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a great way to send us into
our first break. I'm your host,

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Alice Cortez, were in the air
with nationally acclaimed, best selling and award

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winning author of transformational speaker and success
coach, Scherah Lot Williamson. She is

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the CEO and founder of Williams and
Media Group and produces films a documentary.

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She's also the president of Cheryl Williamson
LLD. With Knowledge and a fantise as

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you've just gon to. She's the
author of several books, including Sewell Reborn,

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a book of words, motivations and
inspirations. She joins us today from

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Dallas, Texas. We've been talking
a bit about her work and some of

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the ways that she transforms people in
their lives. After the break, we're

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going to get into some of the
work that she's doing with leadership and empowerment.

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See what this will be right back. Alis Cortes is a speaker and

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engagement and development catalyst. She designs
and delivers professional development, leadership and engagement

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00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:45.960
workshops and can bring her expertise to
your organization. She will help ignite meaningful

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00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:51.400
development within your workforce that will increase
employee engagement, performance and retention. To

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learn law or to invite Elise to
speak to your organization, please visit her

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at www dot Elisecortes dot com.
She would welcome the opportunity to help get

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your employees working on purpose. This
is working on Purpose with Elise Cortes.

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To reach our program today, send
an email to Alise Alise at aliscortes dot

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00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:25.119
com. Now back to working on
Purpose if you're just joining us. My

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guest is Cheryl Polote Williamson, best
selling author, transformational speaker, and success

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coach. She's authored several books,
including The Success Factor, Stories from Successful

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Entrepreneurs who thrived after facing failure,
and she's the CEO and founder of Williamson

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Media group that produces films and documentaries. She is also the president of Cheryl

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Polote Williamson LLC, where her knowledge
and expertise is used as a conduit to

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affirm others in pursuit of their purpose. We've been talking before the break about

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some of the work she does in
transformation and coaching. Now we're going to

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get more into entrepreneurship and leadership.
I'm your host, Elise Cortes. Okay,

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So I know you have a ton
to say about business, and so

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I want to talk first, if
we can, about women in business.

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And so when we think about that, and I love that you're working to

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empower women especially, so how can
women help themselves to become more successful as

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business owners? What do you tell
them? The first thing I would suggest

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is that we need to be comfortable
not being the smartest person in our circle.

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I surround myself with people who are
already at the level that I want

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to be at. My circle does
not consist of the people who are on

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the same business level that I am. Because I can't learn anything. I'm

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constantly trying to pull everybody else along. And people don't want to hear that,

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but it is hard to be successful
in business when you're trying to pull

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everybody along at the same time.
So I would encourage women that you need

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to surround yourself with women who are
at least five levels above where you are.

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You need to have people in your
inner circle who have already mastered a

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certain level of achievement, so you
can see what it looks like, because

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see that is powerful. When you
can see it, you can believe that

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it can happen. I like to
encourage to be in the right rooms,

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and people ask me what are the
right rooms. You have to do your

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homework to know what field of business
you are in first and foremost, and

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then you need to make it your
business to be in those rooms. You

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have to create the opportunities for yourself
so that when you get to the table,

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you can stay at the table.
And it's so important for us to

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have the necessary tools and for women
who tell me all the time, I

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don't know where to go to where
do I start? A small business administration

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is one of the greatest sources that
I have ever come across, and it

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is absolutely free and most of us
don't know anything about it. It is

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the Small Business Administration, So I
would encourage my women business owners please take

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advantage of every seminar, every opportunity
for counseling, for marketing and strategy,

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and if you have credit issues or
any of those things, they have resources

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for you. It is designed for
us to win, but you have to

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put in the work and you have
to be willing to stay the course even

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when it gets hard. You have
to be willing to stay the course.

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I also think that the SDA is
an incredible resource, and I also really

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appreciate what you said about surrounding yourself
with people that are levels above you.

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Association is so very important and that
learning piece golden advice. Cheryl. Thank

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you absolutely. Now, I don't
know if this is separate for you,

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but I do want to talk about
entrepreneurship. I don't know if you distinguish

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that as a business owner, but
what are some of the core things you

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teach women about entrepreneurship if that's what
you just said before. Absolutely, with

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entrepreneurship. It's interesting because this is
one of the first things that I say,

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be prepared to go it alone.
Sometimes people don't understand your vision and

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your dream, and you cannot take
an entire amount of time explaining it to

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them. As an entrepreneur, we
have to make tough decisions. We have

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to be willing to work past nine
to five. We have to be willing

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to take risks. We have to
be willing to do it afraid. And

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as an entrepreneur, you're a trailblazer
many times things that nobody has ever done

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before or even thought about, and
that is just part of the life as

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an entrepreneur. I know for me, there were times when I first started

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that I didn't have all the answers. In fact, there are times now

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I don't have all the answers,
but I am willing as an entrepreneur to

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do it and move ahead with fifty
percent of the information, because what I

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have found is if you wait for
one hundred percent of the information as an

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entrepreneur, you will never move forward. And by the time you get one

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hundred percent of the information, the
information has changed. So it is a

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constant pursuit of information. It is
a constant pursuit of the next opportunity.

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You cannot sit and just rest as
soon as you have one victory. You

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have to constantly be pursuing and staying
on top of the trends, whether it

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be in social media, financial differences, all of those things. That is

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a part of being an entrepreneur.
And I have to say that it is

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glamorized on social media. Entrepreneurship is
glamorized on social media, and we see

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all the trips and all of those
things. But I don't want our listeners

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to take it lightly. Entrepreneurship it
can be done, but it is a

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lot of work, a lot of
work, but you can a great impact.

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I completely agree with all that.
I really want to echo a couple

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of things that you said really quick
for our listeners, Shrawan. Is that

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the importance of making decisions when you
don't have all of the data and fifty

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percent maybe sometimes I think that's really
really an important point. And two that

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you got to keep that the information
you're working for and will quickly get stale,

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so you have to keep feeding yourself
with new information. I think that's

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really important. But the work ethic
of work hours, that's that's huge.

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There's a lot in there that I
I think it's really important for people to

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get so beautiful and I appreciate how
punchy that you're giving this information. I

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want to get as much out of
you as I possibly can. Well,

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I've got you. Oh the extraction
process, Cheryl. All right, well

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let's talk about leadership. So don't
I don't want to seem and come off

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stereotypical here at all. But when
I meet you and see you, you

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strike me as just a naturally You've
got a powerful, commanding presence, enormous

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gracious smile, it's just infectious,
and you are incredibly warm, and you're

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in touch with your feelings. And
so I remember when we met, that

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beautiful moment that we shared where we
just got each other, and it's just

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that such an incredible thing to be
able to be present to and live in.

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So how do you employ all that
person in your leadership approach? Or

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do you I actually employ all of
it in my leadership approach. The first

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thing for me is letting people know, right, just making people comfortable,

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let them know I am comfortable with
the silence. And I remember as you

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and I embraced, there was a
moment where we said nothing. It was

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a knowing. And many times as
a leader, that is so powerful,

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and people will buy into you so
quickly because they understand that you have feelings,

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you care about them. And I
think a lot of times as leaders,

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we missed that we want to immediately
come in and take charge as opposed

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to sitting listening, showing that we
are humble, showing that we are willing

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to serve, and I will share
with you. For me, as a

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leader, when I own my fitness
clubs, many times people didn't even know

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I owned them because I was cleaning
the toilets, sweeping the floor, taking

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memberships, and I never introduced myself
as I am the owner because that wasn't

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important to me. I wanted people
to feel comfortable and happy and feel like

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they were in a safe environment and
they were with someone that really loved and

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cared for them, that had their
best interest at heart. And as a

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leader, those are qualities that we
must have. You must be a servant

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leader. When you invest in people, that is the greatest investment that a

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leader can make because those same people
will come alongside you to get you to

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the next level that you're seeking to
go to. So as leaders, we

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must be approachable, We must be
humble, We must be willing to serve.

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We must be willing to put others
before ourselves. In the work environment,

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we must be willing to pour into
other people so that they can achieve

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their hopes and their dreams, because
when you do that, they'll put so

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it's your company to the top because
they have a vested interest, because they

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know you have a vested interest in
them. Or I completely agree with every

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single last syllable that you uttered there. One of the things that I also

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really got from our interaction when we
first met that I think is probably a

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part of your leadership approaches. In
that quiet moment exchange that you were talking

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about that we had together, I
think in that moment we each felt seen

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by the other, and there was
so much power in that. I agree

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with you, and I have to
tell you, as you repeated, that

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I received the same chills that I
received that night when we looked and do

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you recognize that sometimes, especially because
women, that's all we need is for

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somebody to say I see not even
say it, just feel it. I

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see you, I feel you,
I understand you without even saying a word.

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And I'll never forget that. I
will never forget that feeling that I

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felt that night when we hugged and
said absolutely nothing. It was a knowing.

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It was an absolute knowing, without
a shadow of a doubt. That

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I see you, I feel you, I'm here for you, beautiful.

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That's exactly what I got to and
I got the same. Who spumps again

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to Cheryl, thank you. That's
good. Okay, before we go on

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our next break here, I want
to get this impact and if we can

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so, maybe a few pearls that
maybe you can share with our listeners about

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how they can help develop themselves as
leaders and become the people they want to

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be to have the impact pats that
they want. I love this question.

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Here are three things that I do. I read leadership books from the top

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whoever their top leaders are they see
as leaders. Everybody's views are different.

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I watch videos of people, so
for speaking, I watch different people's style,

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and I take different things the way
that I like and I don't like

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or carry it into something that would
speak to me. I adopt it for

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myself. Also, I enroll in
leadership classes. You can enroll online or

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you can enroll at universities. It's
great to have additional certifications as a leader.

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So what I really heard from all
of that, Cheryl, and I

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appreciate all that advice. I do
similar things is that you are a constant

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student. Yes, you must have
a teachable spirit. That's the thing in

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business leadership. You must have a
teachable spirit. You cannot ever have the

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attitude that you know everything. And
when you have a teachable spirit, you

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have people that will come alongside you
and push your business to the next because

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00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:06.160
you were open to be coached.
Mm hmmm. You know, I hope

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that listeners really get the profound,
the profundity of what you just said here,

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00:31:10.039 --> 00:31:12.799
because you are really quite a force. And if you're still out there

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learning on a regular basis and cultivating
and stoking your mind and your leadership practices,

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00:31:18.680 --> 00:31:22.960
boy, the rest of us really
got to get on that same wagon.

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Then I really really appreciate that lesson. I love to learn too,

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00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:30.759
Cheryl, And I'm always asking for
feedback and what about this? And how

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00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:34.319
this come off? And it's and
the other thing I would say about that

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00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:40.039
is it's easier to take feedback,
especially if you solicit it. Absolutely.

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All right, Well, let's take
our last final break here because I want

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to get into after break. We're
going to talk about philanthropy and storytelling.

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Okay, I'm excited. I know
me too. I know you're going to

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00:31:49.559 --> 00:31:53.079
bring us home. So I'm as
your host it on the air with nationally

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00:31:53.079 --> 00:31:57.000
acclaimed to best selling an award winning
author, transformation speaker, and success coach,

394
00:31:57.119 --> 00:32:00.759
Cheryl Williamson. She U is a
CEO and founder of Williams and Media

395
00:32:00.839 --> 00:32:06.680
Group that produces films and documentaries.
She's also the president of Cheryl Williamson LC

396
00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:09.960
for her knowledge and expertise is used
as a conduit to affirm others in pursuit

397
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:15.519
of their purpose. He's the author
of several books, including Sole Reborn Book

398
00:32:15.559 --> 00:32:19.680
of Words, Motivations and Inspirations.
She joined us today from Ellis, Texas

399
00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:23.799
Right Back. Lalis Cortes is a
speaker and engagement and development catalyst. She

400
00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:30.720
designs and delivers professional development, leadership
and engagement workshops and can bring her expertise

401
00:32:30.759 --> 00:32:35.519
to your organization. She will help
ignite meaningful development within your workforce that will

402
00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:39.599
increase employee engagement, performance and retention. To learn more or to invite Elise

403
00:32:39.680 --> 00:32:45.400
to speak to your organization, please
visit her at www dot Elisecortes dot com.

404
00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:50.960
She would welcome the opportunity to help
get your employees working on purpose.

405
00:32:57.200 --> 00:33:01.200
This is working on purpose with a
lease Coarte. To reach our program today,

406
00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:08.279
send an email to a lease Aliic
at Aleascortes dot com. Now back

407
00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:13.640
to working on purpose if you're just
tuning in. My guest is Cheryl Polote

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00:33:13.680 --> 00:33:16.640
Williamson, best selling author, transformational
speaker, and success coach. She has

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00:33:16.680 --> 00:33:22.400
authored several books, including The Success
Factor, Stories from Successful Entrepreneurs who thrived

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00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:25.400
after facing failure, and she is
the CEO and founder of Williamson Media Group

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that produces films and documentaries. She's
the president of Cheryl Polote Williamson LC,

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where her knowledge and expertise is used
as a conduit to affirm others in pursuit

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of their purpose. I'm your host, Elise Cortes, So Cheryl, for

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this last segment here, I want
to talk about philanthropy and storytelling, and

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00:33:42.599 --> 00:33:45.240
I'm guessing they're going to probably go
hand in hand somewhat here. Yes,

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you've just launched Soul Reborn, and
I know it's missions to help women who

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cannot afford business services and educational programs
to become self sufficient and financially independent.

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So I want to understand how do
the organization come to be an why is

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it so important to you? It
is important to me because I have come

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00:34:06.279 --> 00:34:13.480
across women that have so many amazing
business ideas and stories, and they had

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no clue where to start, and
it bothered me, and I decided that

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00:34:19.639 --> 00:34:24.840
I wanted to be a catalyst of
change to help these women make their dreams

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come true. So I decided that
I would move forward. As you said

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earlier, Soul Reborn is a book
that I wrote, and I realized that

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00:34:37.760 --> 00:34:43.360
during a time of transformation in my
own life, my soul became reborn.

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00:34:43.599 --> 00:34:49.400
I've got reignited about business and leadership
and all those things. And that's why

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00:34:49.480 --> 00:34:54.119
I named it Soul Reborn. And
it is for the disadvantage disenfranchised, an

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00:34:54.119 --> 00:35:00.719
ex incarcerated woman. I wanted people
to have a place to come where they

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00:35:00.719 --> 00:35:05.239
wouldn't feel like my dreams can't come
true because I don't have the resources,

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00:35:05.480 --> 00:35:08.480
I don't have the money, I
don't have to know how. So I

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00:35:08.840 --> 00:35:15.599
threw Soul Reborn. And many are
possible for women to get help with leadership,

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entrepreneurship, philanthropy, storytelling, etiquette. And I have to say the

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00:35:27.480 --> 00:35:32.000
reason many people say, oh why
etiquette? Why is that important? Because

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00:35:32.199 --> 00:35:39.039
in order to be in a business
environment, the whole picture is looked at.

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00:35:39.800 --> 00:35:45.719
You can do amazing business, but
if there's no business being discussed at

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00:35:45.760 --> 00:35:52.119
a table and it's a meal.
People are always watching did she use the

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00:35:52.199 --> 00:35:54.840
right napp can? Did she use
the right fork? Is that the right

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00:35:54.960 --> 00:36:00.000
spoon? So that's important. It's
a minor detail for some people, but

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00:36:00.159 --> 00:36:07.559
I have watched people at business meetings
watching to see if people are using the

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00:36:07.760 --> 00:36:14.480
right utensils. So I want to
address the whole woman, from business to

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00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:20.719
philanthropy to leadership to place them in
a position of power. And that's what

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00:36:20.920 --> 00:36:24.159
so Reborn does. Once you get
to the table, we'll have you a

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00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:31.280
position to stay at the table to
make those business decisions. That is brilliant,

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00:36:31.320 --> 00:36:36.280
Cheryl. And again I really appreciate
the impact that you're having, the

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00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:40.519
legacy that you're having. Talk about
making a difference in people's lives, literally

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00:36:40.559 --> 00:36:45.719
transforming them, and that is really
phenomenal work to get to do. And

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00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.480
I appreciate that you do this with
everything else that you're doing on top of

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00:36:49.519 --> 00:36:53.559
your speaking, your coaching, your
books, your other businesses. It's very

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00:36:53.559 --> 00:37:00.440
inspiring. For me. It's important
to me. That's my legacy above all

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00:37:00.519 --> 00:37:05.840
the books, the speaking. The
legacy for me is the lives that I

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00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:09.280
impact. That's it. The people
that will be able to say, because

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00:37:09.679 --> 00:37:14.440
I learned the skill, I was
able to take care of my children.

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00:37:14.519 --> 00:37:17.519
Because I learned the skill, I
was able to care for my aging parents

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00:37:17.920 --> 00:37:23.679
and place them in a nicer facility
or have them in my home. That's

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00:37:23.760 --> 00:37:29.840
about impact. Soul Reborn is about
impact. You know, many times we

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00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:31.599
have things and it's like, oh, I'm just going to do this for

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00:37:31.639 --> 00:37:36.880
a little while and then it'll go
away. No, Soul Reborn is about

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00:37:36.920 --> 00:37:45.079
renewing the soul always. It's beautiful. So you do this, and you

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00:37:45.119 --> 00:37:50.440
do it beautifully. Why do you
counsel other women to consider incorporating philanthory into

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00:37:50.480 --> 00:37:54.199
their lives? Because I truly believe
that we all need to give back,

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00:37:54.960 --> 00:38:00.119
and many of us we don't learn
that as children. So I take it

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00:38:00.159 --> 00:38:04.199
as my duty, as my honor, as a part of who I am,

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00:38:04.519 --> 00:38:08.199
in the deposit that I'm making into
this earth, to teach people how

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simple it is to be philanthropic.
Because many people feel that philanthropy is about

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00:38:15.360 --> 00:38:20.280
money. It's not always about money. It's about time. It's about paying

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00:38:20.280 --> 00:38:27.239
it forward. Philanthropy can be as
simple as letting the person behind you go

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00:38:27.519 --> 00:38:34.159
in front of you because they have
less items. You have given and poured

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00:38:34.320 --> 00:38:38.960
into somebody. That's being philanthropic.
And when we do these things, we

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00:38:39.079 --> 00:38:44.480
change the world. We change the
environment, we change the atmosphere in which

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00:38:44.519 --> 00:38:47.679
we live. When we teach people
how to give back, how to care

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00:38:47.800 --> 00:38:53.760
about someone other than self, when
we become self less, we will see

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00:38:53.920 --> 00:39:01.199
more phenomenal things happen in this world. And it's important that we teach this

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00:39:01.559 --> 00:39:06.920
that every bit counts, even if
it's five dollars. In fact, I

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00:39:07.039 --> 00:39:09.599
was speaking to a young lady and
she said, I don't have a lot

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00:39:09.639 --> 00:39:15.760
of money, but I want to
do something with the money. So I

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00:39:15.800 --> 00:39:19.719
said, well, why not start
out giving five dollars a month to a

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00:39:19.840 --> 00:39:22.920
cause that speaks to you. And
at the end of the year, you've

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00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:29.239
helped somebody and you don't even recognize
that the five dollars is even coming out

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00:39:29.280 --> 00:39:36.119
of your account anymore. And we
need that we're responsible. We're responsible as

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00:39:36.239 --> 00:39:42.440
human beings to give back at whatever
level we can give. If that's speaking

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00:39:42.519 --> 00:39:47.480
for free, if that is pouring
into somebody, it is philanthropy. I

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00:39:47.639 --> 00:39:52.280
love how you've distinguished that share out
and that's not just about money. That

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00:39:52.480 --> 00:39:58.480
is so beautiful. I love it. That's just who I am. I

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00:39:58.519 --> 00:40:02.599
mean, I live it. When
people ask me how often did I give?

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00:40:02.880 --> 00:40:08.239
I say as often as you breathe. It does totally come through your

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00:40:08.280 --> 00:40:15.119
poorest Cheryl, I'll tell you that
it's just it's seedy. Okay, Well

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00:40:15.199 --> 00:40:20.480
let's talk about stories now. I
know that you are a big promoter proponent

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00:40:20.480 --> 00:40:23.280
of helping women to be able to
connect with their gifts and storytelling. Why

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00:40:23.519 --> 00:40:30.119
storytelling? Why is that important?
I love storytelling so much and I'm like

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00:40:30.239 --> 00:40:36.280
giddy while I'm talking about it,
because it you own it. There's nothing

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00:40:36.559 --> 00:40:42.920
that can be held over you.
It's free flowing. It gives you a

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00:40:43.039 --> 00:40:46.639
voice, and I often I remember
I heard a speech by Oprah and she

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00:40:46.840 --> 00:40:51.679
was talking about the power of owning
your story, and it spoke to me

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00:40:52.360 --> 00:40:57.119
because in the past eighteen months,
I've helped one hundred and nine people share

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00:40:57.159 --> 00:41:00.000
their stories, and many of them, if not all of them, it

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00:41:00.039 --> 00:41:07.039
was the first time they had ever
addressed the things that were actually going on

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00:41:07.360 --> 00:41:12.320
in their lives that was holding them
back from getting to their next level.

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00:41:12.760 --> 00:41:19.000
So storytelling it opens opportunities in so
many ways. You can use it to

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00:41:19.239 --> 00:41:23.360
enhance your business. You can use
it to enhance speaking opportunities. It helps,

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00:41:23.480 --> 00:41:30.039
It helps free other people, because
when you share your story, you're

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00:41:30.159 --> 00:41:36.320
letting someone else know you are not
alone. And you don't even realize it

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00:41:36.440 --> 00:41:43.000
until you have a line of women
and men embracing you, whispering in your

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00:41:43.079 --> 00:41:47.760
ear, thanking you for the courage
to share something that they too had struggled

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00:41:47.800 --> 00:41:52.199
with for years. And it doesn't
have to be traumatic, it doesn't have

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00:41:52.320 --> 00:41:55.760
to be drastic. And that's the
part I think that we miss. We

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00:41:55.840 --> 00:42:01.880
think storytelling us all traumatic stories is
not. But I'll have people come to

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00:42:01.920 --> 00:42:07.719
me and whisper and say I had
about with depression too, and I didn't

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00:42:07.719 --> 00:42:10.880
tell anybody, and it took me
longer to get over it. So I

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00:42:10.960 --> 00:42:16.840
believe when we share our stories,
it gives other people permission to share theirs.

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00:42:17.239 --> 00:42:21.320
But this is the thing they don't
even realize, or we don't even

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00:42:21.400 --> 00:42:25.360
realize. We don't need anybody's permission
to walk in our greatness and be who

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00:42:25.360 --> 00:42:31.320
we're being called to be. That's
something that we place on ourselves, and

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00:42:31.519 --> 00:42:37.960
stories free us. They allow us
to walk this earth so free when there's

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00:42:38.199 --> 00:42:43.079
nothing to be held over us.
And if I thread that back to what

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00:42:43.119 --> 00:42:46.320
you said earlier on the show about
how you helped people. You've helped various

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00:42:46.360 --> 00:42:53.039
people change the narrative of their story
to empower their message and their lives and

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00:42:53.079 --> 00:42:58.960
themselves to really have the impact that
they want to have. Then I really

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00:42:59.000 --> 00:43:01.360
see the understand because it's some of
the work that I do too, of

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00:43:01.400 --> 00:43:07.480
the power of stories. Yes,
absolutely, the narrative is important. That

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00:43:07.599 --> 00:43:13.000
you can take your narrative from negative
to positive, even if it's the worst

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00:43:13.039 --> 00:43:16.119
thing that you think that has ever
happened to you. Once you control the

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00:43:16.199 --> 00:43:20.360
narrative, it's kind of like in
the media when you hear them say get

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00:43:20.400 --> 00:43:23.360
ahead of the story, and then
the thing is not so much. It's

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00:43:23.400 --> 00:43:30.000
the same thing when you have the
ability to share your story. Nobody else

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00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:35.239
can tell your story. You're telling
it, you're walking in it, you're

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00:43:35.320 --> 00:43:40.440
embracing it. You have the ability
to change lives by the way that you

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00:43:40.599 --> 00:43:45.519
share your story. And that's business
and personal. Think about the people who

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00:43:45.599 --> 00:43:52.119
share their stories that talk about their
failing in business five or six times,

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00:43:52.159 --> 00:43:57.960
having five or six different businesses,
and then finally having this multi billion dollar

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00:43:58.039 --> 00:44:04.320
business that's their story. They change
the narrative. They went from being broke

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00:44:04.760 --> 00:44:09.840
to being billionaires. There went from
extreme poverty to extreme wealth, and now

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00:44:09.880 --> 00:44:16.079
they're sharing their stories. And we
see it all the time. We see

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00:44:16.119 --> 00:44:21.320
it all the time, how people
change their narratives. I was listening to

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00:44:21.480 --> 00:44:27.320
Steve Jobs's story about starting in the
garage and now look at Apple. He's

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00:44:27.320 --> 00:44:30.960
not with us anymore, but look
at Apple. He shared his story.

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00:44:30.039 --> 00:44:37.400
The ability to share your story changes
your life and the people around you.

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00:44:37.239 --> 00:44:42.760
I completely agree, of course.
Now is there a thread to philanthropy and

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00:44:42.880 --> 00:44:49.360
storytelling, Yes, there absolutely is
a thread. Philanthropy and storytelling can work

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00:44:49.400 --> 00:44:52.800
hand in hand because what I have
done is through the books that I publish,

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00:44:53.480 --> 00:44:59.880
I give the money to charity.
So I'm able to take the story

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00:45:00.159 --> 00:45:07.079
that I share and turn it into
opportunities to pour into the Ovarian Cancer Society,

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00:45:07.639 --> 00:45:14.000
to the American Heart Association. So
when I shared my story and wrote

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00:45:14.000 --> 00:45:20.239
books, now I use those resources
for my philanthropic efforts. Butever that is

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00:45:20.320 --> 00:45:23.039
wherever I want to give it,
I have the ability to use it because

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00:45:23.039 --> 00:45:29.440
I've shared my story. The other
way that you can use your story is

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00:45:29.599 --> 00:45:36.440
partner with an organization and you can
go in and speak and you can leave

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00:45:36.639 --> 00:45:43.519
every resource that is made from that
specific event right there at the charity,

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00:45:44.000 --> 00:45:50.000
and they're always looking for people to
partner. For example, the domestic violence

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00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:53.199
Shelters, when somebody has that story
and they go in and share it either

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00:45:53.280 --> 00:46:00.239
through books or through speaking, they're
using that to help a charity, to

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00:46:00.360 --> 00:46:06.159
bring recognition for other people, to
recognize that you two can go through this,

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00:46:06.559 --> 00:46:10.079
but you can use it to help
other people. And that is how

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00:46:10.119 --> 00:46:17.519
we tie in philanthropy to something that
we may have been feeling poorly about our

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00:46:17.679 --> 00:46:22.840
entire life. We can use it
to help somebody else. Well, Cheryl,

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00:46:22.880 --> 00:46:28.280
that's just stunningly beautiful. We are
so almost at a time, and

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00:46:28.320 --> 00:46:30.719
I want to give you the last
word if you will, so you know

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00:46:30.880 --> 00:46:35.599
this show is about helping people across
the globe more meaningfully and productively connect with

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00:46:35.639 --> 00:46:37.920
their work and find meaning and purpose
and what they do. What would you

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00:46:38.000 --> 00:46:42.440
like to leave our listeners with them? Say about thirty seconds. I would

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00:46:42.480 --> 00:46:46.840
like our I would like our listeners
to know that they should expect to win.

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00:46:47.599 --> 00:46:52.360
They should wake up expecting to win. When you decide to walk in

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00:46:52.400 --> 00:46:57.679
your purpose, make no more excuses
about why you can't do it. You

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00:46:57.760 --> 00:47:02.039
won't do it. It's all in
your mindset and what you tell yourself.

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00:47:04.000 --> 00:47:08.239
You are empowered to do great things
in this world, but you have to

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00:47:08.320 --> 00:47:13.840
believe it. Walk in your purpose, walk in your calling, and make

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00:47:13.920 --> 00:47:17.079
no more excuses about it. Today
is the day to take action and move

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00:47:17.119 --> 00:47:22.599
forward. Oh, Cheryl, beautiful
finish. I thank you so very much

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00:47:22.639 --> 00:47:25.960
for sharing your beautiful soul in your
words with me and my listeners. Thank

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00:47:25.960 --> 00:47:30.440
you so much for being on working
on purpose. Thank you for having me.

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00:47:30.719 --> 00:47:36.320
I hope you have an amazing evening
and I appreciate this opportunity absolutely.

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00:47:37.039 --> 00:47:39.440
And if you want to learn more
about Cheryl Poote Williamson, visit her website.

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00:47:39.480 --> 00:47:47.159
It's Cherylpwilliamson dot com. Once again, Sheryl with the C Pwilliamson dot

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00:47:47.199 --> 00:47:51.440
com and join us next week when
we talk with Hugh Well, who is

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00:47:51.440 --> 00:47:55.000
the general Counselor and President of DSM
North America. It's a food ingredient company.

575
00:47:55.159 --> 00:48:00.159
We'll be talking about how this large
ingredient company has been wildly success us

576
00:48:00.199 --> 00:48:05.159
well financially and operationally by working from
purpose. In other words, the ROI

577
00:48:05.199 --> 00:48:07.039
of working from purpose. See you
there, Remember that work is at least

578
00:48:07.039 --> 00:48:13.599
one third of our life, so
let's work on Purpose. We hope you've

579
00:48:13.679 --> 00:48:16.719
enjoyed this week's program. Be sure
to tune in to Working on Purpose,

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00:48:17.039 --> 00:48:22.440
featuring your host Alis Cortes, each
week on the Voice America Empowerment Channel.

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00:48:22.960 --> 00:48:27.119
This week, find your life's purpose
at work.