Episode 146: Heather Monahan | TEDx Speaker, Podcast Host, & Best-Selling Author

“Get rid of the negativity, and toxicity out of your life. When you create that space, opportunities in the world start showing up.”

Heather Monahan is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, TEDx speaker, podcast host, and Board Member of Healthlynked Corporation. As a former C-suite executive in media, she was named one of the Most Influential Women in Radio in 2017, and Thrive Global named her a Limit Breaking Female Founder in 2018.

Heather’s podcast Creating Confidence is a Top 100 show in the Business category on Apple Podcast.

Heather was named one of the Top 40 Female Keynote Speakers of 2020 and Top 50 Keynote Speakers in the World 2022 by Real Leaders. She is the best-selling author of Confidence Creator and her new book Overcome Your Villains is available now.

Learn more about Heather at HeatherMonahan.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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Today’s episode is sponsored by Together Women Rise, dedicated to ensuring that every woman and girl has the opportunity to live freely, pursue her dreams, and reach her full potential. We are a powerful community of women and allies engaged in learning, giving, and community building.

Visit TogetherWomenRise.org to learn more and join us!

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Episode Transcript

[00:00:00] Juliet Hahn: Hello everyone. So, you know, I say this every single time I have a podcast guest, but I am so excited again, because this is a really fun one. You guys, I have been following Heather for quite some time and watching her journey has just been remarkable. So welcome to your next stop, Heather, how are you? 

[00:00:18] Heather Monahan: I'm good. How are you doing?

[00:00:20] Juliet Hahn: I'm good. So Heather is a best-selling author. She's a podcast host. She's also a top keynote speaker and she has been doing Ted talks. And what I'm really excited about is to dive in and kind of figure out where you were in your life that kind of helped you follow a passion and turned it into a business.

[00:00:37] So why don't we get into the beginnings a little bit about your upbringing. Did you go to university? What did you study and a little bit about your life. 

[00:00:45] Heather Monahan: I grew up in Wister, Massachusetts, and went to Clark university. And when I graduated, I got right into sales. I was, um, in sales for the gala winery initially. And then. I went to radio after that started out as a salesperson. And then I became an equity partner at a very young age and, um, sold a company for, um, $55 million when I was 26 years old.

[00:01:12] And then I moved from there to Florida to work for a large, uh, radio company and I became the VP of sales there. And then I was promoted three times and then I was fired. Um, when the CEO I had worked for became ill, he elevated his daughter to replace them. She fired me immediately and that's really what set me down the path of becoming an author, a speaker and a podcast host.

[00:01:36] Juliet Hahn: So how old were you when that, when that went down, when you got fired? 

[00:01:40] Heather Monahan: I was 43 years.

[00:01:43] Juliet Hahn: And did you see it coming? Was it kind of one of those things that just came out of nowhere, 

[00:01:47] Heather Monahan: Yeah, no, no one thought that woman was going to be the CEO of the company. She had been the CFO the whole time I had been there. So if anything, I thought that the president of the company would be the one that would be tapped to replace the CEO, not the CFO.

[00:02:02] Juliet Hahn: right. Which makes sense. And so I know, you know, we've had guests on that were in corporate America and something very similar like that happened, and it really makes you all of a sudden stop and think, what am I doing? You know, working for other people, you know, especially if like, if you can share like what your mindset was at that time. 

[00:02:21] Heather Monahan: Yeah. I mean, it's for anyone that's gone through getting fired unexpectedly it's, you know, it's really, it's very hard. Um, I'd been there for 14 years. I'm a single mother, right? So it was, I had signed a non-compete for 18 months. So I couldn't go back to the industry that I had expertise in. You know, I had to start all over as a beginner somewhere.

[00:02:40] So, you know, moments like that. Are very, very challenging, um, for most people and certainly very challenging for me.

[00:02:49] Juliet Hahn: Right. I mean, especially being a single mother, I mean that, you know, your, your livelihood is on that. And so I'm sure I know, you know, in my family I've been in the situation, not myself, but my husband, where it was just all of a sudden, like, you know, oh my gosh. And a lot of times what happens is it's usually the person.

[00:03:08] Is in that position, that fires, there's something insecure in that, like, she probably saw that you could actually take her position or, and, you know, I might be speaking out, you know, kind of out of step, but I know in my husband's situation, it was really a team that came in that. Uh, a little nervous, like, okay, where is this going to go?

[00:03:27] So they just like, we're going to get rid of any of the competition. And a lot of times when you see that it really kind of takes you back and, and really you become more in perspective and think, okay, well, I need to kind of figure out what I'm going to be doing for myself. Cause I don't want to count on others.

[00:03:42] I don't want to put myself in that situation. So what made you. You obviously, you couldn't go back into that industry because the non-compete, so what then kind of sparked you to be like, okay, I'm going to start writing books. I'm going to start, you know, start a podcast. And what kind of got you to that spot, 

[00:03:58] Heather Monahan: Well, I'd never thought of working for myself. I never, that was never back when I was younger. Wasn't Gary V's of the world out there, everyone that the game was you wanted to be a CEO of a major company. That was, that was the climb. Right? So, no, it was a very different time when I was in my twenties. You know, so what I had always known and always forecast was that I would be a major CEO of a major company somewhere.

[00:04:23] And I was on that path. Everything was saying, you know, all signs are green. Like this is what I'm meant to do. And I was really good at it. So, you know, not being able to go back to the industry where I had my expertise. It was an awful feeling because I thought, okay, I have to start over somewhere. Do I go into the aviation business?

[00:04:42] Do I go into manufacturing? Do I go into hotel business? You know, where I've got to get in somewhere and find a way to get back to the top again, faster than what it took me on this climb. And, and, um, I ended up. Posting I've just been fired. And if I've ever helped you at all, I need to hear from you now that post went viral and it landed me on the Elvis Duran show.

[00:05:03] And halfway through that interview, he said to me, well, obviously you're writing a book, Heather, but I wasn't writing a book. You know, I had, like I said, I had grown up thinking, get into corporate and, you know, make your way to the top, run a company. And so I had never considered writing a book. I, it was not on my horizon at all.

[00:05:22] Elvis, put it on there. And he was so confident that I was writing a book that I said I was, and I accepted, I basically accepted his offer with conviction and I Googled, how do you write a book? And it turns out you just have to write every day. It's not people make it into this really hard thing. It's not.

[00:05:39] And so I just sat down and wrote, and then I hired an editor because I needed someone who was light years ahead of me that could accelerate me. And I invested in myself. And before you knew it was five months and I had a book to, you know, come out.

[00:05:52] Juliet Hahn: That's amazing. So I want to go back a little bit, and this is one of the things that I love to do on this podcast. So where were you like where your parents, if they're around, where they in the entrepreneurial world, where they incorporate, like, did you ever see anyone? And I know you said like that wasn't in your path, but did you ever see anyone that was in an entrepreneurial world?

[00:06:12] Whether it was like a neighbor or an uncle or aunt. 

[00:06:14] Heather Monahan: At one point, my father left corporate America to start his own company and the company failed miserably within a year. And he went back to corporate America and has remained there ever since. So that was really my only idea of there is another path you can go, but I saw it as a very negative.

[00:06:34] Juliet Hahn: Right. Which I, I, this is why I love to kind of go there because it is, you know, I had interviewed someone and it was very interesting because she was saying that she was always incorporate her dad was a professor. Her mom worked, um, you know, outside the home. And she said she always wanted to be an entrepreneur.

[00:06:48] And she never realized why she wanted to be an entrepreneur. And so I said to her, okay, was there anything? And we started diving and she goes, wait a second. You know what? My dad actually, there was a period where he owned a store. She goes into some of the happiest times. I remember how happy he is. He would come home and we would all, like the whole family would go out and we would go to this dinner with this other family and you would see his, his energy create.

[00:07:11] And I said to her, well, that's probably, you're trying to remember that energy that you had, so it's opposite for you. Right. You saw your dad fail. So that was like something you were like, okay, well I'm not going to do that. So it's interesting that, you know, I truly believe whether it's God or the universe that we all have a path and all different things kind of line up to kind of set you on that path.

[00:07:31] But you really need to listen to your gut and listen to your instincts. And there's, you know, times that you maybe are supposed to take a left, but you take a right. And so all of those little moments in our lives are kind of what set us up for here. So what I love about it is that, you know, as scary as it was for you, you must have been like, okay, I'm writing this book, but there, in that moment, did you even think, okay, this book is going to then catapult me into entrepreneurship?

[00:07:57] Or were you still like, I'm going to write a book, but I'm going to go back to. 

[00:08:00] Heather Monahan: No, I it's funny. Cause I just did a podcast about this, about energy. And it's interesting. You're bringing that up because I'm a big believer in energy. And one of my whole backs was I had forgotten, my dad had started that. I, I never thought of it. It was so I was so young. I was 14 or, you know, it was so long ago.

[00:08:17] I just, I didn't think about it consciously, but obviously my subconscious was like, you're in a really unsafe water. You're working for yourself. This is not safe. This is bad. And so even though I was building a lot of momentum with amazing things like Elvis Duran showing up in my life, or like all these amazing people showing up.

[00:08:34] And I truly believe that's because I had fired the number one villain from my life, that woman that fired me, she thought she fired me. I fired my. Amazing people. There was space for positive people and positive energy to come in. But at the end of the day, subconsciously, I was holding myself back and in some regards almost self-sabotaging and I can look back now over the last four years and see the moments where.

[00:08:58] You know, picking up momentum and things started going really well. And then pandemic hits, oh my gosh. And I went into total fear and crisis mode of why am I working for myself during the worst time in the world? Why am I not in corporate America? And when the more you put that energy out there, the more challenges you're going to cause for yourself.

[00:09:14] So it ultimately was this year that I remembered, oh my gosh, my dad had failed at this. I need to really heal that. Energy and release that energy. That was his journey and his life, but this isn't mine. And I can look back at, you know, his success that he had. It was always different than mine, you know, like we were different people.

[00:09:34] And so I didn't have to hang onto this idea that it is unsafe. If you're going to be an entrepreneur and you're going to fail and instead say, okay, I can move beyond that and really start to step into who I am in.

[00:09:47] Juliet Hahn: Yes. And I love that you said that cause I'm a huge energy person for no other reason other than I truly believe it. It's just like the way I've always lived life. And I, I actually, don't really like if I think about my childhood, I don't think there's a reason my parents did get divorced. And there was a period where, um, I think that probably is why I also, like, you could feel energy in different areas.

[00:10:07] And so I always think, you know, when I interview people who have kids and stuff like. What I've just created and what I've built. I think back to like, when my kids get older, what are they gonna feel? Cause my husband's in corporate America, he, you know, the pandemic, he lost his job. Um, he was out another time.

[00:10:25] There was, he was an advertising when advertising changed. She's like almost, he was almost 50 at the time. And it was like, okay, we're getting rid of the older guys. You know? So I think about all those moments and think from a kid perspective and as much as parents, you know, we protect and we think, oh, the kids are not feeling it, but you know, as we know, kids are like, brilliant.

[00:10:42] I feel it's, it doesn't matter. Like even if people are not fighting or people are not arguing, they can feel an energy. And it is a really important thing that I think, you know, that's what I love for my listeners to think about like where you are in.

[00:10:55] your life. If you kind of wake up and you feel. You don't have energy or you're just in, not the right spot.

[00:11:02] And that's where I, I am a huge component of daydreaming. I always say, whether you think of daydreaming is meditating, I call it daydreaming. Like find that spot where you can go and just create the life that you want for me. It's walking my dogs. I do it every day. You know, there'll be mornings where like, I'll come down.

[00:11:18] And my husband's like, okay, your energy is like insane. I think you need to go walk the dogs. It's kind of like a joke. My kids know. My squirrel, brain's going, I need to go and take a walk with the dogs. And so I always want my listeners to really like, think about the space where they can take that time and they can daydream a world without any, you know, it doesn't matter where you live.

[00:11:39] It doesn't matter what money. Just, what do you want your life to look like? And if you start like kind of letting your mind go in a daydream, you can create a lot of things. And I, you know, everyone that listens to my podcast knows I created this from scratch. It was literally, I was not in a bad spot in my life.

[00:11:56] My, my. Yeah. I was just a little like unsettled. Like I, my kids were getting older. They didn't need me as much. I chose to stay home and, um, and it was like, okay, it's time for me to do something. I always wanted to start a podcast and then it really just kind of evolved, but it was a lot of stuff that.

[00:12:11] Created because I, I let myself be in that spot. So I would love to hear your kind of thoughts on the whole, like, you know, you don't have to call it daydreaming. Um, but you know, your, your meditation, or do you have that time where it's just for you, that you can kind of create in your mind where you want to be? 

[00:12:28] Heather Monahan: Well, the most similar thing that I can think of, like in regards to what you're talking about, for me, I'm big into working out I'm big into spin running. And so that for me is really the. During my day where I manifest, you know, what it is that I want to attract into my life and, you know, really put out to the universe to God, what it is that, that I've liked.

[00:12:52] And I'm a big fan of listening. If something's not going to hurt you, why not try it? Right. So there's nothing negative that can come out. You going for a walk with your dogs or me on a spin bike, thinking about, um, a goal that I want to achieve, that's really positive, right? Like there's nothing bad there.

[00:13:07] So I started trying that, you know, and when I was in corporate America, I never, I didn't even know what manifesting was. I had no idea. So I just thought, you know, I've been hearing more and more about this. Why, why not try it? And so the more I would try, I would start seeing, I've asked, you know, please show me signs if I'm on the right path, or please show me a sign.

[00:13:25] If this is the right thing for me to do. Just asking. And again, I don't know what's going to happen. Maybe nothing comes of it. Some days nothing happens some days something happens, but slowly I started seeing. Really obvious signs and it was crazy. Wayne Dyer's two daughters wrote a book that's called the knowing and I interviewed them for my podcast and they sent me the book and it said love and all green lights at the beginning of the book.

[00:13:47] And I read the book, it's an amazing book. And I've been having a hard time with my son in the morning, getting to the bus so early and we're late and it's, it's very stressful. It's dark outside and it's just like this awful time. And I remember waking up in the next morning and I was like, oh, love and all green lights, let's go, let's get in the car.

[00:14:04] Let's go for it. And every single light turned green that day. This has never happened in my life. We got to the bus in under time. And then I got back home and under time I was able to make the early mornings, like everything went perfect. And I remember that day getting on my spin bike. And I was like, okay, thank you for the signs today.

[00:14:21] Like, you know, this I'm onto something again. I don't know exactly what it is, but I'm onto something I'm on the right path. And so I'm just going to keep.

[00:14:28] Juliet Hahn: And I love that. And I, and those very similar things happen to me. So I am huge on working out. I usually wake up before the kids wake up, like at five 20 and I work out, but I found for myself that if I wasn't focused on like lifting the weights, like I would hurt myself. Like I could spend, I could do that.

[00:14:44] But if I was lifting weights, I really had to focus on that. So I needed to find another time, but I am, you know, as moms, as, you know, having a business with dogs and stuff, I was like, okay, this is a really perfect time. And I didn't know. Realize that that's what I was doing. But as I was walking the dogs, I would just let my mind wander and be like, okay.

[00:15:03] Um, for a stint, I used to teach fitness classes, but I was, we had just moved and I was like, I don't really know if I really want to go back, like out there and start it's a smaller beach community. And it was like, it's not going to have the same field as we did before. Retired that side of my life. And so that's what I did.

[00:15:20] I kind of started walking and just creating things. So I love that you have a similar thing because a lot of people will think about it and hear like, oh, unicorns. Right? Like especially the very practical people that are, you know, realist. They don't understand this, but so what I say to them, You need to find the space that is going to catapult you to that next level.

[00:15:40] So if it's not daydreaming, if it's not manifesting, you need to figure something out. That's going to work. And I remember, you know, early on when I was in the health and fitness field, you know, there was a whole thing about the affirmations and all of that. So I'm dyslexic. So writing down affirmations is like a nightmare for me because it's like the spelling and it's just, it stresses me.

[00:15:59] So I would say to my client, You have to find that space, like when I do affirmations or if I'm writing out, like what I want my world to look like, I maybe like voice text it. Like it doesn't have to be written in stone. You have to figure out what works for you and not what works for your neighbor. And it's so important, you know, these are like ideas.

[00:16:17] So that's what, when people are listening to this podcast, I want you guys to think, okay, there's two different stories here, you know, Heather's and Juliet story. They some, some of it's similar, but there's a lot that's different. And so when you wrote the book, if you can take us through that when, like what happened after that? 

[00:16:35] Heather Monahan: Yeah, I want to answer that, but first I just want to make a comment on what you just said. It reminded me, I was that pragmatic, real realist person that didn't believe in this other stuff. Right. So I've had essentially two different lives. My life. And then my life as an entrepreneur been incredibly different because I've opened my mind to very different things.

[00:16:52] Juliet Hahn: different thing. 

[00:16:54] Heather Monahan: Seemingly unaware of, or I was just closed off to at the time. However, when I look back at my career, it's so interesting. As I've learned so much about manifesting, this is for anyone that's like, oh, manifesting is not for me. Please listen to this. I used to be that person, but you know what? I was incredibly successful leading sales teams.

[00:17:10] One of the reasons why I don't know how I knew to do this, but it was something I came up with. I used to make every single person on my team. I thousands of people on my team, across the country, One of the things I would, whenever I would meet with it, I'd be in Vegas meeting with my team and days. And I'd be like, guys, what does success look like to you?

[00:17:29] I, when I started hearing from it, I'm getting the boat. I'm paying for my kids' college. I'm buying a new house. I was always getting them to forecast the life they want it to have and really laser in on that goal. I wanted to see a picture of it. I want it written down on your desk. When I come to meet with you.

[00:17:43] I want to hear not just about what you're going to bill in revenues. You're I want to hear about that. So I was in a weird way teaching my team to manifest, even though I didn't verbally know it that way. I just knew that that was a positive way that I could get my team to succeed. But lo and behold, I found out there's this whole life over here built around that concept.

[00:18:05] And I was kind of just like haphazardly utilizing it to my advantage, which is crazy. Um, 

[00:18:10] Juliet Hahn: So, so I'm going to pause you for there for a second, because I would love to like, look. So do you think that there was something in your background, your family, or it was just something in neat in you.

[00:18:20] Heather Monahan: I don't know why. I think that there are cues everywhere throughout your life. And I can look back whether it be at dark times in my life are really, I had a massive positive momentum points in my career in corporate America, to where things just like came out of nowhere. Incredible. So I I've seen these moments of like, whether you call it the flow or whatever you call it, you don't have to be sitting on a yoga mat to find that I believe.

[00:18:46] Right. Like, 

[00:18:47] Juliet Hahn: Oh, I, 

[00:18:47] Heather Monahan: I just feel like in my life, I've seen it happen at different times and to my new book, overcome your villains for me. Anyways. Everybody's. When I have a negative person in my space, it blocks everything. Like I don't have the flow. I don't have the amazing signs coming up. None of that stuff happens.

[00:19:04] It doesn't matter if I lay on a yoga mat or not, it's not happening. So to me, that's like one crystal clear lesson I've learned along the way, get the negative people, toxic situations, toxic environments, whether it's that you're a painter and you're an accounting job. Then your job is toxic to you. Cause you're not stepping into your.

[00:19:21] Get rid of the negativity toxicity out of your life. And when you create that space, the Elvis Duran in the world starts showing up. At least that's what I've found.

[00:19:30] Juliet Hahn: No a hundred percent. I, and it's that's what's so this is what I love. Also just meeting people. This is why I love having a podcast and having this platform, because everything you're saying now, like, you know, this, they will be able to see the video at one point. But like right now, like my face hurts because I'm smiling so much because everything you're saying is just innately what I believe.

[00:19:48] And I. I haven't really, I mean, I have positive parents, you know, I came from a positive background. I was born, my mom said like, literally, anything negative. I would always turn around and make it positive. She was like, you were always that kid in our family that was like, well, let's look at this. So I think that that's, you know, that's a gift that God gave me.

[00:20:05] And so that's another thing is like, Think about their strengths and weaknesses, or think about the gifts that God gave you and really hone in on them. So I know we went off a little, little subject there, but I do want to hear, after you wrote the book and kind of, where were you and where did that, you know, what, what happened 

[00:20:21] Heather Monahan: Yeah. And this is, you know, to your point again, I think when you start stepping into your passion and your purpose in life, things unfold in an easier way, right? Like corporate America was hard for me. People on the outside looking in would say like, oh no, it was easy. You know, she made it to the top and it was hard, but like I was on the streets, every I'm on a flight every week.

[00:20:40] Like I was always in the grind and that's how I saw success. And not that I work harder probably now than I ever had. It's also, I truly believe now that I've like brought together this idea of hard work to create revenue, creating value, helping people doing well in the world and really stepping into my strongest talents.

[00:21:01] And so bringing up, and again, I didn't have some master plan for this. I fell into it. So I wrote the book. I had no idea if people would buy one copy or not the book Trump, Donald Trump, the first week, it came out for number one in the Amazon business biography list, which was insane. And then I Googled, how do you sell books?

[00:21:16] And it said speak. And I'm like, great. I've been speaking for 20 plus years, you know? Great. That's wonderful. So I started calling companies, pitching myself for free to speak if they bought my books and then one day someone said, what's your speaker fee? And I said, hang on a second. And I Googled, what does a speaker fee?

[00:21:33] I had no idea. My old business, we didn't hire speakers. The executives from the company spoken. That was it. And so it said Gary Vaynerchuk was getting $250,000 for a 60 minute keynote. And that's when I said, forget books. I am going into the speaking business right now because I needed revenue. Right. So.

[00:21:51] Lead into the speaking business. I got a bunch of agents and I did a TEDx talk. I got promoted to Ted and my, and then I interviewed Sarah Blakely live on stage for a sales conference in Boston at the end of 2019. And my speaking business blew up and then the pandemic hit and everything stopped and disappeared overnight.

[00:22:10] However, the one positive is since I had just been fired only two years before this. I thought, okay, wait a minute. I've seen this movie before. I know what it's like to lose everything overnight. And I know I found a way to make it work this last time. There's gotta be a solution here. What is the solution?

[00:22:26] I went to my DMS and I saw people were always asking me, do you do any consulting work? Do you do any executive coaching? Dunn's better than perfect. And I put a post up I'm launching my first ever consulting and coaching business limited spots. Send me a DM if you want to get in. Um, you know, 

[00:22:44] Juliet Hahn: uh, 

[00:22:45] Heather Monahan: I am I'm maxing at X amount of clients.

[00:22:47] I sold that thing out immediately. And then that ultimately. And did me up getting nominated to the board of directors of health. Lincoln landed me my first board seat, which has been an incredible situation for me, professionally and personally. So like all these positive things came out of this very negative situation because I had this confidence that I don't know where the answer is, but I know there's an answer there and I'm just going to take messy action until I figure it out.

[00:23:17] Juliet Hahn: And I love that. And so that's like another thing that we talk about here often, and my listeners know, so I am dyslexic. So school was really tough for me. I did not, I did not Excel at school. However, I was a really good athlete. I grew up in a town that pretty much everyone was good at everything they did.

[00:23:31] And so it was like, okay, I realized very early on that I learned different. My dad's dyslexic, my sister's dyslexic. So, and so it was like, we always looked at it as, okay, well, what are you good at? Here are the things that you struggle at. These are the things you're good at, and let's really hone in on that.

[00:23:46] And so I want like, that's what I want the listeners to listen to is like also to think back, like, this is where storytelling to me is so important. Like think back of those little events in your life and think about where and how they shaped you. So when I look back. There's so many times I failed that.

[00:24:03] Like, I will start anything. I will try anything because it's like, you know what? I, I failed. I've had teachers say to me, oh, you know what, that's a silly question. Why are you asking such a dumb question? You know, like things like that, where I was like, I really just didn't know the answer. Like I missed something cause I process different.

[00:24:19] So early on, I also realized that I was really good at. Storytelling and communicating. So like when, when I was talking to people, they didn't realize that I was struggling in school. So I found a way to kind of manipulate and that's a negative word. So I don't like that word, but like really work with the teachers and people.

[00:24:38] And I realized when I. People would stop. And so I learned that as like an early, early child. So if you can talk to, like, as you said, you keynote spoke because you were like, oh, I can totally do that. I've been doing that, you know, in my sales business, talk a little to that. Like when you realized, okay, I'm going to do it, you just jumped into the keynote speaking, right?

[00:24:59] You're like, I don't know how to do it. I'm going to Google. And this is what I always will say. Ask questions. People need to ask more questions to be able to, like, if they have a question, you Google it. That's what, you know, questions are still even asking Google, how do I do it? And so many people stop themselves because they're afraid of failure or afraid of like, what's next.

[00:25:18] I don't know how to do it. And instead of asking questions, cause they don't want to look silly. You can ask Google, right? You were like, oh, I'm not going to say no. Because I need this, so let's jump into there. So can you talk a little bit to that about like really finding your strengths and weaknesses and, and the whole question? 

[00:25:33] Heather Monahan: Yeah. I mean, when I was 21 was the first time I was a sales leader and I would run a sales meeting every single day. Right. So I'd speak in front of back then 20 people. Right. Every single day. And then I got promoted and then I was speaking in front of a hundred people every other day, or like, and then it just kept getting the numbers kept getting bigger and bigger.

[00:25:50] I'll never forget. It was probably, I don't know, maybe 2014. I was. Headlining this conference, the national association of broadcasters conference in Texas. And I was up giving a speech. And I remember that night after the event was done, everyone's coming up to me like you were amazing, blah, blah, blah. And I don't, I don't get paid for any of this stuff back then.

[00:26:12] Right. And so I'm like, oh, Part of my job. Thanks so much. And I remember flying home and thinking, wow, that was so cool. I wish there was a business that I got to do that all of the time. I only get to do stuff like this once or twice a year, like really big events. And I thought, you know what? That was just, I felt like magic.

[00:26:29] I remember saying that to someone, I just felt like magic. And that was the cue. If you ever feel like magic, that's the universe telling you, this is the path you're supposed to. The thing that I didn't do, which I encourage others to do. I wish I had picked my head up outside of my industry sooner to talk to people I would have found out there's a multi-billion dollar keynote speaking business where Gary Vaynerchuks making millions and I could have been too right.

[00:26:54] But I didn't pick my head up outside of my little tiny bubble, my little tiny media world to see what else was out there. So just don't want to immerse yourself in the same routine, same people, same industry, because you're going to. The opportunity for you to discover that superpower that you have, and then discover what that plan looks like to get you there.

[00:27:15] Once I was fired, you know, those doors started just opening organically and yes, there was plenty of times when I first started. It wasn't easy. It was simple, not easy when I first started and I called, I said, okay, I need to get agents. I saw Gary Vaynerchuk has an agent. I need an agent. Okay. I need to emulate whoever is at the time.

[00:27:34] And so I started reaching out to all these different agencies and pitching myself and I'm getting no, no, no. So I asked, you know, question, can I just, can you give me two minutes to tell me. 

[00:27:43] Juliet Hahn: Yeah, 

[00:27:44] Heather Monahan: I'm an exceptional speaker. I promise you you'll see that. And they would say you're not unique. You're not, you're not filling a void that I have.

[00:27:51] I already have business speakers. I don't need more sales speakers, Heather. They would say to me, come back when you're unique. And I remember the day, my book trumped, Donald Trump, and I took the screenshot and it was Heather mining, a number one, Donald Trump, number two. Right. And he was the president at the time.

[00:28:05] I remember I'm unique. I don't see anyone on their roster that has just trumped the. So I took that unique screenshot. I messaged it back to the president of Harry Walker speaker agency. And I said, thank you so much for your time. A few weeks ago, I wanted to let you know, I am now unique. I'm going to be the only speaker on your roster.

[00:28:24] That's Trump, the president for number one in the business category. He writes back right? Touché you're right. Okay. You're in. And then I leveraged that once he put me up on his, I was like next to, you know, he has all these presidents on his lineup and now there was Heather in the mix of presidents. So I leveraged that image to go to APB speakers, to go to big, speak, to go to, you know, GDA all of the speaker of indices.

[00:28:48] And I would say, Hey, I don't know. Terry Wofford assigned me. Uh, I definitely wanted to make sure they reached out to you because I'm a good fit because of blah, blah, blah, whatever relates best to them. You know, I made it make sense for them. And the majority of people started saying yes, because they saw that cachet that I was already, you know, approved, but then it became hard again, right.

[00:29:08] Because no one was booking me. Yeah. They all put me on their websites, but then no one was booking me. So I had to figure out why. And I had to develop a rapport with someone and get them on a call with them. And then. We've never seen you speak live before until I see you speak live. I'm not putting my name on you.

[00:29:23] I don't care how many films you send over. Heather doesn't matter. Right? So I still, I was starting over as a rookie, even though I had 20 years expertise speaking, no one cared. I wasn't an expert in their world, in their eyes. Again, it's simple. It's not easy. It's still takes a lot of work. And this willingness and knowing that I had here, that it was like, I know I'm better than that speaker that I just saw.

[00:29:46] That's getting paid a hundred grand or whatever. It was like, I know there's more for me out there. I'm not backing off. And, and of course a pandemic made it very difficult for awhile. And then I kind of let go of the speaking so I could move into the consulting and then write my second book. Slowly virtual started speaking up and then I leaned back into that.

[00:30:03] So it's it hasn't been like this seamless road that I just want people to know that it wasn't like, oh, I woke up and figured out I'm meant to be the best speaker in the U S and here I am rolling in the riches. It's not been easy like that. It's been a lot of highs, a lot of lows, a lot of jumping over challenges and trying to get back on track, but I'm finally getting some point now.

[00:30:25] Thank goodness that we're in 2022 in the last two years of running. Where I'm starting to see bookings coming in and bookings coming in from agents. Cause they saw me so much over virtual and you know, just interesting how things ended up panning out.

[00:30:39] Juliet Hahn: Well, and that's the thing it's, it's really, and that's again where our paths create an in one of the things that you said about the magic. And I want people to listen to that because there's so many people that get that little magic, but they don't realize that that can actually turn into a business.

[00:30:53] And one of the things that you did is that you asked questions, you said to them awake. Can you tell me why? And that's a curious question. So those are like my things that I always talk about. Figure out.

[00:31:03] your story, ask questions, be curious because you don't know what's happening next. And then when you get that magic, Jump in it.

[00:31:10] It could be like a little thing. So, you know, my, my listeners know I just got back from the super bowl cause I did two live events for the women of the NFL. I have a live segment that I interview at NFL spouses and I didn't not know. The like, I didn't know who I was going to be talking to. I didn't know any of it.

[00:31:29] And so, you know, I, my friends and people will be like, aren't you nervous? And I was like, well, no, not yet. Once I get there, I'll figure it out. I'm sure we're going to have a little nerves. Like I've never done anything where I'm like, you know, on the red carpet, interviewing people and doing all these different things and having like a pod live podcast booth where they're coming and talking.

[00:31:46] But I remember I sat down. And it didn't matter. I did not have one nerve when I was on the red carpet, not one nerve because I was in the element where I was supposed to be. It was what I'm supposed to do. And it's like, now I realize, okay, wow. This is something that I didn't even think of. Like I, Yeah. it's always, it was like, oh, that'd be cool.

[00:32:04] Like, I could see that. But now I see that. That is, and So that's what I want the listeners to think about when you have that magic, when you're in that spot where it's just, and I don't want to say easy because it's not, I mean, I was like sweating. I mean, it was, there was no easy, but I didn't have the nerves of like being unsure now.

[00:32:21] Yes, I am a confident person. I'm confident in my abilities, but that also takes. And PR and doing something over again, being consistent and working at it. So I love, you know, I love everything you just said to literally completely gave me the cellos. Can you tell people where they can find you and like what you're up to

[00:32:37] Heather Monahan: Yeah. So I'm at Heather Monahan, Heather monahan.com. My podcast is creating confidence with Heather Monahan. My two books are competence greater and overcome your villains. Um, just everywhere on social. Um, but what's coming up next. Oh my gosh. There's so much. I just launched a candle line. I'm launching another product partnership.

[00:32:57] That's going to be coming out in the next two months. I have a lot. I just started writing my third book actually, um, last month. So I've got a lot of stuff cooking and, um, I don't know. I just think, you know, I'm getting booked for so many live events now, which is super exciting. So you never know what city I might turn up in and I'm just really optimistic about the future for us. 

[00:33:17] Juliet Hahn: I know me too. Oh my gosh. So you guys go follow Heather. You can find her on a podcast, but finds where you can see. So you can go and listen to everything. You know, this was just a snippet, how there's a lot, a lot of share. But so if you guys liked what you heard, you know what to do rate, review, subscribe, but this is what I want you to do.

[00:33:32] You're listening to this podcast right now. I want you to share it with five friends, because you might say, oh, I'm not in this world. I'm happy. I know what I'm doing. You can have a neighbor. You can have a friend, you could have a sister. You could have an aunt, someone in your life needs to hear this story.

[00:33:45] Rates review share, and then check out Heather on her social. So thank you again, Heather so much for joining your next stop. And this is it, but Juliet, hon. All right. We're good.