April 28, 2021 • 36 mins
On this episode of The Black Yoga Experience Podcast, I have the pleasure of talking with Dr. Cheryl Wood - also known as Cheryl Empowers.
Dr. Cheryl Wood is an International Empowerment Speaker, TEDx Speaker, 13x Best-Selling Author, and America's #1 Developer of Transformational Women Speakers. She equips women entrepreneurs with the tools to unleash the power of their voice, transform lives globally with their story, and monetize their knowledge, experiences, and expertise through public speaking on virtual and LIVE platforms.
Cheryl and I discuss how women can succeed as entrepreneurs, pursue their dreams and keep their sanity and she is dropping gems this entire episode!
Here are just a few:
The three freedoms everyone should want. [02.06]
The beauty in feeling unqualified, but still being called and equipped for that opportunity. [05.10]
Why your expectation can never be bigger than your execution. [12.30]
How to make a heart to heart connection by sharing both your mess and your success. [20:56]
Someone somewhere is waiting on what you're sitting on. Learn the steps to stop waiting and step into the spotlight. [24:30]
Her name is Cheryl Empowers for a reason! If you enjoyed the conversation, please Subscribe, Rate, and Review the podcast and then share with your friends.
We would also love to connect with you socially!
Dr. Cheryl Wood
www.cherylempowers.com/ | Instagram: @cherylempowers | Facebook: @CherylEmpowers
Ashley Adama/Black Prana Magazine
www.BlackPranaMagazine.com | Instagram: @BlackPranaMagazine | Facebook: @BlackPranaMagazine
Dr. Cheryl Wood is an International Empowerment Speaker, TEDx Speaker, 13x Best-Selling Author, and America's #1 Developer of Transformational Women Speakers. She equips women entrepreneurs with the tools to unleash the power of their voice, transform lives globally with their story, and monetize their knowledge, experiences, and expertise through public speaking on virtual and LIVE platforms.
Cheryl and I discuss how women can succeed as entrepreneurs, pursue their dreams and keep their sanity and she is dropping gems this entire episode!
Here are just a few:
The three freedoms everyone should want. [02.06]
The beauty in feeling unqualified, but still being called and equipped for that opportunity. [05.10]
Why your expectation can never be bigger than your execution. [12.30]
How to make a heart to heart connection by sharing both your mess and your success. [20:56]
Someone somewhere is waiting on what you're sitting on. Learn the steps to stop waiting and step into the spotlight. [24:30]
Her name is Cheryl Empowers for a reason! If you enjoyed the conversation, please Subscribe, Rate, and Review the podcast and then share with your friends.
We would also love to connect with you socially!
Dr. Cheryl Wood
www.cherylempowers.com/ | Instagram: @cherylempowers | Facebook: @CherylEmpowers
Ashley Adama/Black Prana Magazine
www.BlackPranaMagazine.com | Instagram: @BlackPranaMagazine | Facebook: @BlackPranaMagazine
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
It's nice to actually talk to you. I got to see you during the
summit, so it's wonderful to havethis conversation and to have you say yes
to being on the show and sharingwith our audience who you are and what
you do where you're from. IsI like to say who your mom and
them who your people. It's mypleasure. Thank you for having me.
(00:26):
So if you tell everyone a bitabout self and who you are. I
got started in the amazing work thatyou do. Yeah, So I always
like to get kind of little bitabout the personal and then the professional personally.
I am a wife. My husbandand I are about to celebrate fourteen
years of marriage. But we've beenin our union for twenty one years and
(00:46):
we actually still like each other,praise God. And we have three children
together, so three teenagers, twosons and a daughter. My daughter just
turned seventeen and our sons are thirteenand fourteen. So we are busy.
On the professional side, I aman international empowerment speaker. I get to
travel all over the world when we'renot in COVID, pouring into the lives
(01:07):
of girls and women, reminding themof how powerful their voice is. I've
had the opportunity to travel and speakto girls in South Africa, women and
girls in India and France and theUnited Kingdom, and the list goes on,
and it's an amazing journey because it'swhat I love to do. I'm
a tedex speaker and a speaker developmentcoach for women because there are so many
women who just they really do theydeflate the power of their own voice.
(01:32):
And I feel like I have thatenergy to re energize them and reinvigorate them,
to remind them that somebody needs yourstory, somebody needs to know what
you know. So it all startedreally back in two thousand and nine.
I was still in a corporate jobat the time, working as a legal
secretary. I had done that forfifteen years because I think we do what
we know how to do until we'rewilling to interrupt our norm and try something
(01:55):
different, which usually is very scary. So it was scary to think about
ever walking away from the security ofdirect deposit. I always tell people I
was addicted to direct deposit, butI really wanted three freedoms. I wanted
time freedom, I wanted financial freedom, and I wanted creative freedom. And
unfortunately I just wasn't getting that atthat season in my life. So I
(02:20):
saw entrepreneurship as a tool for beingable to develop those freedoms. I used
to hate when I would have toif one of my kids woke up sick
in the morning. And you're talkingten eleven years ago, so they were
like two, three, and five, And if they woke up in the
morning and they weren't feeling good,I would feel guilty that I would have
to still go to work, orif I had to call out. I
(02:42):
would feel nervous about the security ofmy job because my job always wanted my
butt there in the seat. Theydidn't care about my sick kid at home,
and that, just to me,was an unfair balance of things.
And so I really wanted to takecontrol. So that really was the reasoning
for getting started as an entrepreneur.Now I didn't just start as a speaker.
I actually started selling T shirts.I created this mammy T shirt business.
(03:06):
It was called Moms Are the Bestbecause I was so in love with
being a mother my kids. Youknow, they didn't have opinions and they
didn't talk back then, so itwas a different It was different, right,
Like they were just cute and cuddlyand just they loved their mama.
Very different from teenagers, right,But I loved it and I wanted to
celebrate everything that moms do, allthat we give, all that we are
(03:30):
to our kids and to our familiesand our communities. And so I created
this business and I would go outon the weekends and I would sell T
shirts. I would go to vendorevents, women's events, flea market events,
anywhere that would have me where Icould set up a table. I
would set up a table and sellthese T shirts. And even though it
wasn't massively successful in terms of monetization, I didn't realize at the time.
(03:52):
Now I know in hindsight, itwas preparing me for the journey I was
about to embark upon as a speaker. I didn't even know it. So
I was learning how to speak upand talk to people's complete strainers about what
I did, confidently and courageously.I was learning how to hear the word
know and not be crushed by it, like, Okay, I'm gonna come
back after I hear that no andtalk to the next person and maybe they'll
(04:14):
buy. I was learning how tonetwork and the power of developing relationships on
the entrepreneurial journey. So everything thatI was going through in that let's say
year and a half of having thatbusiness, it was setting me up for
the greater that was about to come. Now. I did that while I
still kept my full time job.I want to be clear about that.
I didn't ditch my job and justleap and hope. No. I wanted
(04:36):
to make sure because I still hadresponsibilities, and I think that's important for
people to hear. I did takea chance on me by starting the business
and going out and doing something thatwas completely different. That led me to
speaking. So about eighteen months intothat journey of doing the T shirts,
still working my full time job,still complaining that I wanted freedom, I
(04:56):
get a phone call unexpectedly from somebodyat Morgan State University who heard about the
T shirt business. They couldn't haveheard about the T shirt business if I
didn't start the T shirt business,right, So, like, sometimes you
got to get started with something,even if it's not the thing you're meant
to do. So they said,well, miss Wood, we heard about
moms are the best. We lovewhat you're doing. Would you come to
our women's conference that we have annually. We get about two hundred fifty three
(05:17):
hundred women, and would you sharewith other moms in the Baltimore community how
to start their businesses and what ittakes and all that. And I'm thinking,
are you kid me like I'm noexpert, I'm no guru. You
shouldn't not. In fact, Ilaughed and said to them, I think
you down de raw number, likethis is not the firston that you was
looking for because I felt completely unqualified. But I think that's a beauty in
(05:42):
it is that sometimes even when youfeel unqualified, you are called and equipped
for that opportunity. So I saidyes, long story short, said yes,
gave myself the opportunity to pursue somethingthat was uncomfortable, that was scary.
You know. My palms were sweatand I'll never forget that day September
eighteen, twenty ten, I wentto Morgan State. I pretended like I
knew what I was doing, eventhough I really didn't know what I was
doing. And I just was like, Chryl, just be the authentic you.
(06:05):
I planned, I prepared a littlescript whatever, and I'm like,
just be you and let me tellyou in that moment, on that day,
I knew That was my gift tothe world, that verbal communication,
being an orator, speaking life intoother women and their journey. That's what
I was born to do. Andfrom that moment forward, as they say,
(06:26):
the rest is history. That isan amazing story. I loved the
idea of responsibly taking a chance onyourself right when you have other responsibilities.
I think that that's that's something thatis not given enough credit to you.
A lot of times you hear thestory, and I don't know if it's
it's because of the perspective of whichthe story comes from, like the male
(06:49):
perspective of just just burn the bridge, you know, just burn the boats
and it's either, uh, youknow, either we fight or perish.
Kind of it's like, well,you know, for some of us,
burning the boat isn't an option whenyou have mouths to feed and babies to
take places that that's just not thething, right. And there's also this
(07:12):
magical dream that is put out therethat you know, you can burn this
boat and it's gonna be great,and you're super excited. You'll get up
every morning and you'll go, go, go, And that's usually not how
that feels at all, like atall, Like if we can really speak
truth to that. You know,people say jump or leap and you'll figure
it out. Okay, but ifyou jump and leap, you can't come
(07:32):
sleep on my couch at my house. Nobody was offering me to take me
and my husband and my three kidsup if we lost everything, Like like,
you've got to really, like yousaid, responsibly take risks and understand
that. I do believe that women, as women, we get the choice
to be able to fulfill our responsibilitiesand pursue our possibilities. I do believe
(07:54):
that we have that right. Butyou do have to have a certain level
of commitment to understanding that my husbanddidn't sign up for my entrepreneurial journey.
Can we just be real about itlike he is. When I told my
husband I wanted to quit my joband ultimately speak for a living, he
was like, wait a minute,hold on, I married a girl who
(08:16):
had a job and benefits, Likeyou changing up the game. What's going
How you gonna make your money?How we gonna feed the kids? So
you have to think about the fullscope of this thing called entrepreneurship and understand
that it is not an overnight successstory. I didn't just magically overnight become
doctor Cheryl Wood, international speaker makingmoney. This is this what you see
(08:37):
now is the sexy chapter eleven ofthe story. But let me tell you,
if I take you back the chapter'sone through nine, one through ten,
it was not so sexy. Itwas a lot of ugly parts,
a lot of parts of desperation,a lot of parts of being broke,
a lot of parts of asking forhelp and not getting to help sometime.
So there's a lot that comes withthis journey called entrepreneurship and people. You
(09:01):
know, that's the thing that Isometimes drives me crazy about social media is
that people show you a screenshot oftheir journey when they're on the beach,
but they didn't show you the sevenseven years before that, when they weren't
nowhere near beach, working right right, Like what did it take? Like?
Tell me, as I call it, Tell me what happened in the
middle. People tend to tell youthe beginning that's where I started, or
(09:24):
and this is where I am now. No, no, no, tell
me what happened in the middle toget you to where you are right now.
That's where the real value and juiceis. Yeah, and I fully
wholeheartedly believe that you give more toyour people when you give them the middle,
like it serves them on so manydeeper levels we live than in the
(09:46):
middle, because, like you said, people get on social media and you
see somebody's highlight reel. Of courseit looks amazing, right, Like,
of course it looks like rainbows andsunshine because you're getting to see the best,
the best. One of my favoritesocial media accounts that does exist is
it's a woman that was like asports illustrated model forever ago, and she
(10:09):
shows all these crazy pictures for nomakeup and just out with their kids.
Hair is all over the place,and it's like this just me on a
Tuesday kind of thing. That's thestuff that I appreciate. That's the middle.
There's a space for you too inthose images right where you can see
like, oh, I can dothis, and I know for me that
(10:31):
the biggest thing is here. Othermoms say that, like there's life on
the other side of what it isthat you're trying to do, you know.
And I love that you said thatyour your T shirt business was a
part of this journey that it kindof forged you through this fire of getting
to where where you are now,Because if you don't know what no feels
(10:54):
like, how are you going torun on a big stage? You know?
And look, I've even shared onsocial media because I just believe in
telling the truth. I've shared rejectionletters that I've gotten when I was rejected
as a speaker. Even after Iwas doctor Cheryl Wood, I still don't
get everything I reach for. Istill get some rejections. Everything is not
(11:15):
meant for you in this moment orin this season. It might be for
next season. I just did myfirst TEDEX talk six months ago. Right,
you're talking ten eleven years in speaking, and I just did my TEDx
talk. So I, like yousaid, I am all about being vulnerable
and an authentic and open and transparentto let people know, Yes, you
(11:37):
can accomplish your dreams. Yes youcan create a life just like me that
is barely recognizable. But oh you'regonna have to make some deposits and you
can never your expectation can never bebigger than your execution. Ever, You've
got to plant so many seeds thatyou lose count and plant and plant and
plant, and always remember, formy faith based ladies, that you will
always read what you saw, butyou will not necessarily reach where you sow.
(12:01):
So you can have it right hereand think, oh, all the
blessing is gonna come from where yousew. No, it might come from
a complete stranger. It might comefrom out left field, even though you
sow deceeed over in the right field. But believe, if you show up
as a powerful servant leader and youreally do it from a space where you're
a heart center person who wants tohelp other people with your gift, oh
it's coming back to you. You'renot going to even be able to run
(12:22):
from nothing. So say it onemore time. Your executions cannot be bigger
than your expectations. Is that yourexpectation can never be bigger than your execution.
So you've got to execute at ahigher level if you're going to expect
anything in return. Yes, okay. And so we talk about this as
a concept in yoga that when wetalk about this manifesting piece or what have
(12:46):
you, the trajectory and the amountof work that it takes to get out
of the cycle that you're currently inis so much bigger than you think.
It is. The whole concept ofwhat does work actually look like? Right,
Because we hear a lot of peoplesay, well, just do the
work. If if you do thework, it'll come. But but what
(13:09):
I found as a as a asan entrepreneur is that my idea of work
in the beginning and what it actuallytook were miles apart from each other.
So there was a massive learning curveof what does that work actually look like?
And is the effort that it takes? Is that a check that I'm
willing to sign? Right? Isthat a is that a future check that
(13:33):
I'm willing to put my name onthe bottom line so I can fill out
the rest of it with whatever numbercomes at the end? Right? Is
can my can my effort are myefforts like in on pace, in alignment
with what it's going to actually taketo to see this come to fruition?
And I also like the point youbring up about where you sow the seed
(13:54):
is not necessarily where that blessing isgoing to come from or where the thing
is going to come from. Uh, Because what I notice too is we
get stuck in the well. Itshould look like this. I did all
this work in this space, andyou told me if I do the work
in this space, that it's gonnashow up, and I think we kind
of kind of, I don't know, maybe close ourselves off from what could
(14:16):
come because we're so so bit forglory that it needs to look like this
this thing. If you will,can you speak to that like being that
feeling of being closed in or justnot being able to see the whole picture.
I mean, it gets scary.It gets scary when you're putting in
a whole lot of work and timeand energy and effort and money. Hello,
(14:37):
because you got to invest in money. That's the real scary part.
That gets scary when you are puttingall that in and you're just waiting for
the return. You're like, allright, is that gonna pay off?
If it's worth it? But firstof all, you got to realize that
you are good soil. And that'swhat you have to acknowledge. That I
am good soil to sow into.So if I'm investing in me, whether
(14:58):
it's through time, energy, effort, partnerships, collaborations, and investment,
a financial unessent, anything I investin me, it is worth it because
I am good soil to sow into. So I know I'm gonna show up
and I'm gonna do the work.So Ultimately, I'm gonna manifest everything that
I desire. Now. It mightnot come in my timing, it might
not happen when I think it shouldhappen or when it should happen, but
(15:20):
it's going to happen, and itmight not come from the sources that I
expected it was gonna come from,right, Because sometimes we have these relationships
with people and we think, well, oh, well, she has a
platform. She knows I'm a speaker, so she's definitely gonna put me on
her platform. She ain't coming foryou, She not even think about you.
It could be somebody completely a stranger. Many of my opportunities have been
(15:41):
from strangers. When I spoke forNASA, and I'm always sipping on my
NASA mug when I come on events. Right when I spoke for NASA just
last year in twenty twenty, thatcame from a complete stranger. I had
never met the lady a day inmy life. She connected with me through
my LinkedIn profile because I was consistentin my messaging, consistent in my messaging
(16:02):
about communication for women, leadership forwomen, women taking risks and really going
forward whatever they want in life,whether it's their business or their career.
She saw that consistently and reached outto me and offered me that opportunity.
I never met that lady a dayin my life, and NASA ended up
hiring me, paying me my fullspeaker fee, and ordering one hundred and
twenty five autograph copies of my bookthat came from a stranger. So a
(16:25):
lot of my opportunities come from peopleI've never met, but they're following my
work. They're looking at what Ido. They're like, Okay, does
she have the no like and trustfactor is does she have integrity? Is
she heart centered? Does she deliverand over deliver? Does she do what
she's gonna say? So you've justgot to keep showing up as who you
are and the best version of youin a space of excellence, not perfection.
(16:45):
Excellence I never tried it. Inever profess to be perfect. I
ain't never gonna profess to be perfect. But everything I do, everything I
touch, is always done in excellence. My messaging is consistent. I treat
people the way I want to betreated, and integrity and honesty and loyalty
and all those things. And there'sno way you can run from the blessings.
That's coming when you serve from thatspace. So just keep showing up,
(17:08):
show up consistently, show up anexcellence versus birth, versus perfection,
and everything that is that you aremanifesting in your mind visually before it actually
becomes a tangible manifestation, it isgoing to chase you down. I love
that. I love that showing upin excellence and not perfection. I know
that for women that's the biggest that'sthe biggest monster. I call it chasing
(17:32):
the dragon, right, chasing thedragon of perfection. That's just monstrous thing
that, Oh my gosh, I'mgonna get it all right. And as
a late lady, I've been bangingthe drugs for like, perfection is not
a thing. There is no perfectit does not exist. There's excellent execution,
there's clean execution, but there neveris perfect because we can't account for
(17:53):
all the variables and things that happeningand take take place at night. So
I know that there's a space inbetween, like doing the T shirt business,
having that speaking opportunity, going onthe speaker journey. But where is
it that you say you where isit that you would say that you forged
(18:14):
your voice, your learn how tofill a space from an energetic perspective,
or be like this, doctor Cheryl, what is who I am? Like?
How did you find that part ofyou along the way? So what
I think I hear you asking ishow did I just kind of powerfully own
the authentic share all just as Iam? That's I'm asking. THAT'SOK,
(18:37):
time and energy and a whole lotof failure and getting back up and doing
it wrong so I can learn howto get it right. And then we
talk about investing, investing in learningfrom people who are already thirty and forty
steps ahead of me in the speakerindustry. So again, some of those
investments were super scary, but I'vehad the honor of being coached and trained
(18:57):
by the best of the best.I'm gonna be the best. I need
to learn from the best. Theyalready know some stuff that I don't know.
So I've invested in training with LisaNichols and Less Brown. I'm in
a partnership with less Brown right now. He's the number one motivator in the
world. Like you don't get me. He is the goat, he is
the legend. And those investments arescary, but they are worth it because
(19:18):
I'm good soil, and I'm goingto do the work. So for me,
it was a lot of speaking andspeaking and speaking and finding my way
and finding my own rhythm as Iwent along. Sometimes I didn't do it
as great as I could have.When I first started, I was very
much a technical speaker, like Igave you fat figure, stats and data,
but I didn't give you my heart. Now I give you my heart.
(19:38):
But that was through trial and error, or as I called OJS on
the job OJT on the job training. So I had to go through some
on the job training, meaning okay, I spoke here, I spoke there.
Now let me go back and lookat myself. So I would video
record all of my sessions. Iwould look at what I did. I
would say, okay, sure,are you blinking your eyes too much?
Or you did this, or youdid that, or you said this joke
when nobody laughed, but you right. But when you start to hear people
(20:02):
say oh well, oh my god, yes, and you start hearing that,
you know you're hitting people heartstrings.You are not just a technical speaker.
So that took years for me tostart learning how to master the skill
set of speaking to reach people's hearts. Not just their minds. Anything I
teach technically they can find on Google, they could read in a book right
(20:25):
take a class, But what theycannot experience on Google is my heart.
They can't experience who I am andhow much I want them to succeed,
and they can't experience my story throughGoogle or through a book. So that
is what I found to be,that kind of that usp right, that
unique selling proposition that people were lookingfor, because at the end of the
(20:48):
day, I don't care if you'retalking to people on communication, leadership,
team building, finances. It doesn'tmatter what you're speaking about. At the
end of the day, we areall people. We're all human, and
humans have certain needs that they wantto be met. We want to feel
loved, we want to feel valuedand appreciated. We want to feel like
we're contributing to society in a biggerway, that we're either doing something great
(21:10):
or we're a part of something great, and we want to feel like our
life is bigger than us. Sowhen you get to the root of that,
that changes everything about how you presentin the marketplace. Doesn't matter if
you're speaking for NASA, if you'respeaking for a local conference with twenty five
people. People always you've got tohit the heartstrings. What's the heart to
heart connection and the human to humanconnection, And that typically is made by
(21:32):
sharing both your mess and your success. A lot of speakers will just share
the success part of them of theirlives. But now I want to hear
about the mess too, because nowwhen I hear that you went through some
mess, and you had some trialsand tribulations, and you had some things
that you didn't think you could pressthrough. Now I can see myself in
you right right right, because sometimesyou need somebody to just validate your mess
(21:52):
so you could feel better about it. Right. It's not like they're going
to get through it for you,but if you could feel at least better
about the that you're currently in,then you can see the light at the
end of the tunnel. Yeah,and you'll hear people say, oh my
god, I know there was fivehundred people here at this event, but
you were talking to me. Yeah, you get that. When you're able
to do that thing, that meansyou shared your heart and your soul with
(22:15):
the audience. You didn't just givethem data that they could chew on.
Now I need to reach your heartand let you know that wherever you are
right now, whatever pain you're inor whatever desire you have, you can
fulfill that desire or you can solvethat pain and you can come out on
the other side better and stronger andhappier and more fulfilled than you are right
now. And it might be relatedto your business or your career, or
(22:37):
your finances, or your relationships,or your health and wellness, doesn't matter
what the category is, but thegoal is the same. It's to reinforce
the people that there's something greater thatyou can experience on the opposite side of
a pain you're currently in, orthat you have everything it takes to fulfill
a desire that you have. Yeah, knowing that, I mean, I
(22:57):
say it all the time, soWizard of Oz, you know you had
it in you all along, andknowing that it exists right Just somebody pointing
out that, hey, you haveabsolutely everything that you need to thrive as
a person is really really valuable,because in a world that pulls on us
from so many directions, we canget so mired and so bogged down and
(23:21):
just living our day to day livesand forget that we do have all the
tools that we need. You know, those of us who are in sout
on mind, body and heart dohave all the things we need to forge
the experience that we want out oflife. So what would you say when
it comes to speaking business in general? What is that thing that makes your
(23:42):
heart saying that it's like, thisis my jam. I love teaching this,
I love experiencing this. What isthat thing for you? I'm really
just hoping to build the confidence inwomen to come to the front of the
room, to come out of theshadows. You sitting in the back of
our room quiet because you assume nobodyneeds what you know, or there are
already so many people speaking about whatyou want to speak about that there's no
(24:03):
space for you. And so it'sreally you know, I thought I was
in the business of teaching women howto speak, and technically that's what I
do. But at the core,like when you dig deeper, it's developing
the confidence and the courage in womento come to the front of the room
and say I belong at the frontspeaking into the lives of other people.
(24:25):
Because so many women have imposter syndrome. So many women feel like I don't
belong at the front of the room. But she's better than me. She's
more qualified, she's more equipped,she has more education, she's been doing
it longer. They're comparing themselves toother people instead of finding the power in
their own unique lane of brilliance.Every single one of us has a unique
lane of brilliance, and we haveexpertise based on our story, our perspective,
(24:47):
our life experiences, our knowledge thatsomeone is waiting for So you'll hear
me say this constantly, Someone somewhereis waiting on what you're sitting on.
And so my mission, and Ibelieve is a part of my life legacy,
is helping women to develop that confidenceand courage to take what they're sitting
on and to unveil it, tounleash it, and to impact somebody else's
(25:10):
life with it. Yeah, Ireally, really really like that because some
days, in many cases, wejust need that push and we don't.
And you know, and women haven'thad somebody say like, you can do
this and you can be you know, whatever version of you that you want
to be and still be a goodmom as well, right, right,
(25:30):
You know, you don't have tochoose one or the other. Both of
those things are valid experiences, andyou could fully share both of them.
And the other piece to that Ithink comes up for women as well is
this idea that I cannot do allthings at the same time, and that
that also is okay, right,But I'm not living any I'm not living
(25:56):
any less than the person that I'msupposed to be by saying but I know
what I need to say. No. Amen to saying no, right,
Like it is a complete, fullsentence, and you a right to say
no. I talk people that allthe time because people ask me all the
time, how do you do itall? Doctor Wood? How you're nurturing
a marriage, You're raising three teenagers, you have this global enterprise that you're
(26:17):
continuing to build. How are youdoing it all? And I'm like,
because I believe that I am gonnapour one hundred percent of myself into what
I'm doing in that moment. Thetruth is sometimes my family take a back
seat to my business. That's justthe truth. When I'm serving the world,
when I'm doing a podcast or interviewor whatever, I'm speaking, flying
somewhere and speaking, my family istaking a back seat to my business.
(26:41):
And that's okay, because at thatmoment I'm serving the world with my gift
which I owe it to myself andto God to do that. But then
there are times when my business takesa back seat to my family. So
I'm gonna be going on vacation ina couple of weeks. Guess what business
is on halts on pause. Y'allgonna have to wait till I get that
because right now I'm going to givea hundred percent of myself to my family.
So my whole thing is not totry to be all things at all
(27:02):
times to everybody. It's simply tocreate a level of harmony in my life
where my family understands and respects whenI'm doing my thing in the world and
I'm serving the world with my giftand creating legacy. And then on the
other hand, guess what my customersand my clients understand when I got to
put my family as priority. Sothey're gonna be different parts of me that's
priority at different times, as longas I'm giving and serving at one hundred
percent to that thing in that moment. And then the third part of that
(27:26):
is the self care, and Igive one hundred percent to that when it's
time for self care and relaxation andrejuvenation, like don't don't bother me,
don't ask me. I tell them, I don't ask me. Do nothing.
You're gonna order some pizza today,like whatever needs to be done.
I'm giving one hundred percent of myselfto that thing in that moment. Yeah,
I completely, fully, fully understandthat. And you know the thing
too, is if you had ajob, it wouldn't be any other way.
(27:48):
You know, if you're giving themthose forty hours, if we consistently,
then that you means your family itis not getting those fortys from you
at that time. It's no different. So in my estimation, estimation,
I much rather do that for myselfand grow a business as opposed to you
know, doing it for somebody else. So that's that's kind of my way
(28:11):
of reconciling that particular experience. Andthen I know along the way that there's
there's ups and downs and lefts andrights and twists and turns of this experience.
And as we kind of wind itdown to our last three questions here,
what would you say your or howyou learned or are still learning even
about being resilient and just like mentaltoughness and sticking with the things, sticking
(28:37):
with the business in addition to likewhatever life may bring you, what,
oh can you say to that?Who you gotta? You definitely have to
have a mental toughness. And Ithink that mental toughness comes from a few
things. It comes from what youput in. So what are you reading,
what are you watching, what areyou listening to? And who are
the people that you're around? Andyou know, for me, I have
(29:00):
this kind of no toxicity rule inmy life, like no toxicity is allowed,
not in what I watch, notin what I listened to, not
in the people I'm around, notin what I read. I can't have
toxicity anything that's gonna pull me down. I need things that are gonna lift
me up, people that are gonnalift me up. And I just always
you know, for me, lifehas been really, really tough. In
(29:21):
the past six months. My familyhas lost to you know, if you
want, matriarchs in the family,very very special important people in our lives.
My twenty year old nephew passed,and then less than six months later,
his father passed. Oh wow,So when I tell you we have
been going through and I so forlast week, I had a summit,
(29:41):
a virtual summit that was scheduled andevery bone in my body, every fiber
in my body was sad. AndI'm a motivator, like I'm in a
power, that's what I do.I could not get myself together, and
I prayed, and I reached outto some sisters who are my prayer warriors
and asked them to pray for me. And I was so glad that I
(30:02):
had the virtual summit. And thisis the power of making your life bigger
than you. When you make itbigger than you, there's always a reason
to get back up. Right.Yeah, it was just about me and
how I felt in that moment andthe sadness that my whole body and spirit
felt going through that I would probablybe still laying in a bed right And
(30:29):
I'm watching my Not only am Igoing through the pain of losing a brother
in law and a nephew, butit's my twin sister's child. So I'm
watching the pain my twin sister hasand trying to help her to bounce back.
That's a lot on anybody. Theonly way I get back up is
because my life is bigger than me. There is somebody waiting on me to
get back up. Cheryl, Ifyou don't get up right now, somebody's
(30:52):
not going to get what they need. These people over here are waiting on
you to show them what getting backup looks like, what resilience looks like.
So for me, everything I doin my life, I try to
make it bigger than Jess Cheryl.That keeps you in a space of gratitude,
That keeps you in a space ofa commitment that perhaps you would just
kind of fold on if it wasjust for you, right like almost like
(31:12):
when you have a trainer. Butif you have that trainer, but then
you have a partner who's going withyou, you don't want to let them
down, right, So if itwas just you, you will probably still
lay in the bed. But becauseyou have that partner waiting on you to
go meet the trainer, you getup like, well, I can't let
her down. That's what I'm howI make my life, and that's what
keeps me getting back up and beingresilient. That is a beautiful place to
(31:37):
be because I can tell you rightoff, for self, I am way
more apt to be accountable to mystudents, to the view I am tribe,
to my teachers, to my staffthan I am if it's just Ashley
that has to do the same,right, you know, and that is
and in some respects that's an easierplace to be because it it gives me
(32:00):
a place when I'm having those dayswhere my feelings are just deeply overwhelming,
it gives me a box to kindof put them in and a place to
redirect from my focus on Okay,this thing is larger than you are.
You don't get to, like,like you said, full the tent to
pack it in because you have acommunity to fully serve and they need you
(32:22):
to serve them, So go dothe thing that I sent you to do.
I always leave feeling better, right, Like I teach that to my
kids. I'm like, don't evermake your life just about you. Make
it bigger than you. And whenyou do that, if you leave and
you feel like after I did thatevent, and I went and it was
like it was like a twelve hourevent, vertual event, and I was
(32:44):
there all day from like nine inthe morning to about ten at night,
almost almost ten at night. ButI left feeling so rejuvenated and re energized,
and I'm like, Okay, Ican do this, And sometimes that's
all you need for that moment.It's just a I can do this,
all right, I can do andyou get up the next morning and you
make your life bigger than you andyou get that feeling Okay, I can
do this, and you just dothat until you have developed that strength again
(33:06):
that you had once before. Look, until life knock you down again,
right right, exactly exactly. Soif you could impart to the audience for
those who are just like in thestarting blocks there got to embark on whatever
their journey may be. What's thatpiece of wisdom that you can give them
to kind of get them going inwhatever their direction is. M you know,
(33:30):
I think it's a I would saytwo quotes. One quote is you
never get what you deserve. Youonly get what you demand. And so
stop waiting for somebody to look.Stop waiting. Heard, I hear you,
Okay, thank you. Look Itell it to myself every day.
I only tell other people what Isay to myself. And as the reality
(33:52):
is, you could be great,you could be amazing, dynamic at what
you do, but you better stopexpecting people to come save you. You
better stop expecting people to and dropinto your lap the blessings that you want.
No, you got to get outand work for those blessings. We
talked about that earlier. Planning.So many seeds that you lose count like
making sure that your execution is biggerthan your expectation. So you've got to
put something in. You can't geta withdrawal and you ain't make a deposit
(34:14):
yet, so you've got to keepputting deposits in. That would be number
one. Stop expecting people to giveyou, give it to you just because
you deserve it, and you gotto get out and show up and demand
it. And then the second onewould be a quote that I just loved
by Tony Robbins's motivational guru, andhe says, a real decision is measured
by the fact that you've taken anew action, and if there is no
new action, you have not trulydecided. Wooh boy, Have you really
(34:36):
decided that you want success? Haveyou really decided that you want to change
your trajectory of your life? Ifyou really decided, you're going to do
more executing than talking about it.You're going to show up and you're going
to be an action consistently, evenwhen you are not manifesting the thing that
you are praying for and dreaming aboutand journaling about immediately. You know that
if you stick with it, itis going to manifest and come to for
(34:59):
a wish and so just stick withit, get started, but then stick
with it so that you can crossthe finish line and then be an inspiration
to somebody else. That is absolutelyamazing. I like, I heard those
words in my soul that you don'tgive you Wow, you don't get what
you deserve, you give what youdemand. That that is that is Yeah.
(35:21):
So apparently that was the message thatI needed today and I've been taking
that one with me and then Ido I really feel the fact that it's
like the rents do every day.It's it's not a well you know,
I did all the hard things yesterdayand now now I'm good. You know,
It's it just don't work that way. It's just do every day,
(35:42):
get up and do it. Well. Where can we find you online?
How do we connect with you?If the people want more from doctor Wood,
how do they get that? Yep? I am all on across social
media at shayl Empowers. I hangout on Instagram and clubhouse and LinkedIn and
Twitter, and you dude, likeI'm everywhere at the same place. Cheryl
empowers and my website is cherylonpowers dotcom. You can go there and become
(36:06):
a part of my VIP community listas well. Wonderful well, I definitely
look forward to connecting with you onlineand further, this is absolutely amazing talking
about pouring into my spirit today.Apparently Lord, no new Lord, do
what I need today. So thankyou for this and for the audience.
I hope you all enjoyed this oneoff interview. Please make sure you check
(36:28):
out doctor Wood and all of theamazing work that she is doing in the
world. And if you haven't gottena chance to sign up for teacher training,
to make sure you do that aswell. Our next conversion is our
intensive is March eighteenth, if youlook forward to seeing you there
It's nice to actually talk to you. I got to see you during the
summit, so it's wonderful to havethis conversation and to have you say yes
to being on the show and sharingwith our audience who you are and what
you do where you're from. IsI like to say who your mom and
them who your people. It's mypleasure. Thank you for having me.
(00:26):
So if you tell everyone a bitabout self and who you are. I
got started in the amazing work thatyou do. Yeah, So I always
like to get kind of little bitabout the personal and then the professional personally.
I am a wife. My husbandand I are about to celebrate fourteen
years of marriage. But we've beenin our union for twenty one years and
(00:46):
we actually still like each other,praise God. And we have three children
together, so three teenagers, twosons and a daughter. My daughter just
turned seventeen and our sons are thirteenand fourteen. So we are busy.
On the professional side, I aman international empowerment speaker. I get to
travel all over the world when we'renot in COVID, pouring into the lives
(01:07):
of girls and women, reminding themof how powerful their voice is. I've
had the opportunity to travel and speakto girls in South Africa, women and
girls in India and France and theUnited Kingdom, and the list goes on,
and it's an amazing journey because it'swhat I love to do. I'm
a tedex speaker and a speaker developmentcoach for women because there are so many
women who just they really do theydeflate the power of their own voice.
(01:32):
And I feel like I have thatenergy to re energize them and reinvigorate them,
to remind them that somebody needs yourstory, somebody needs to know what
you know. So it all startedreally back in two thousand and nine.
I was still in a corporate jobat the time, working as a legal
secretary. I had done that forfifteen years because I think we do what
we know how to do until we'rewilling to interrupt our norm and try something
(01:55):
different, which usually is very scary. So it was scary to think about
ever walking away from the security ofdirect deposit. I always tell people I
was addicted to direct deposit, butI really wanted three freedoms. I wanted
time freedom, I wanted financial freedom, and I wanted creative freedom. And
unfortunately I just wasn't getting that atthat season in my life. So I
(02:20):
saw entrepreneurship as a tool for beingable to develop those freedoms. I used
to hate when I would have toif one of my kids woke up sick
in the morning. And you're talkingten eleven years ago, so they were
like two, three, and five, And if they woke up in the
morning and they weren't feeling good,I would feel guilty that I would have
to still go to work, orif I had to call out. I
(02:42):
would feel nervous about the security ofmy job because my job always wanted my
butt there in the seat. Theydidn't care about my sick kid at home,
and that, just to me,was an unfair balance of things.
And so I really wanted to takecontrol. So that really was the reasoning
for getting started as an entrepreneur.Now I didn't just start as a speaker.
I actually started selling T shirts.I created this mammy T shirt business.
(03:06):
It was called Moms Are the Bestbecause I was so in love with
being a mother my kids. Youknow, they didn't have opinions and they
didn't talk back then, so itwas a different It was different, right,
Like they were just cute and cuddlyand just they loved their mama.
Very different from teenagers, right,But I loved it and I wanted to
celebrate everything that moms do, allthat we give, all that we are
(03:30):
to our kids and to our familiesand our communities. And so I created
this business and I would go outon the weekends and I would sell T
shirts. I would go to vendorevents, women's events, flea market events,
anywhere that would have me where Icould set up a table. I
would set up a table and sellthese T shirts. And even though it
wasn't massively successful in terms of monetization, I didn't realize at the time.
(03:52):
Now I know in hindsight, itwas preparing me for the journey I was
about to embark upon as a speaker. I didn't even know it. So
I was learning how to speak upand talk to people's complete strainers about what
I did, confidently and courageously.I was learning how to hear the word
know and not be crushed by it, like, Okay, I'm gonna come
back after I hear that no andtalk to the next person and maybe they'll
(04:14):
buy. I was learning how tonetwork and the power of developing relationships on
the entrepreneurial journey. So everything thatI was going through in that let's say
year and a half of having thatbusiness, it was setting me up for
the greater that was about to come. Now. I did that while I
still kept my full time job.I want to be clear about that.
I didn't ditch my job and justleap and hope. No. I wanted
(04:36):
to make sure because I still hadresponsibilities, and I think that's important for
people to hear. I did takea chance on me by starting the business
and going out and doing something thatwas completely different. That led me to
speaking. So about eighteen months intothat journey of doing the T shirts,
still working my full time job,still complaining that I wanted freedom, I
(04:56):
get a phone call unexpectedly from somebodyat Morgan State University who heard about the
T shirt business. They couldn't haveheard about the T shirt business if I
didn't start the T shirt business,right, So, like, sometimes you
got to get started with something,even if it's not the thing you're meant
to do. So they said,well, miss Wood, we heard about
moms are the best. We lovewhat you're doing. Would you come to
our women's conference that we have annually. We get about two hundred fifty three
(05:17):
hundred women, and would you sharewith other moms in the Baltimore community how
to start their businesses and what ittakes and all that. And I'm thinking,
are you kid me like I'm noexpert, I'm no guru. You
shouldn't not. In fact, Ilaughed and said to them, I think
you down de raw number, likethis is not the firston that you was
looking for because I felt completely unqualified. But I think that's a beauty in
(05:42):
it is that sometimes even when youfeel unqualified, you are called and equipped
for that opportunity. So I saidyes, long story short, said yes,
gave myself the opportunity to pursue somethingthat was uncomfortable, that was scary.
You know. My palms were sweatand I'll never forget that day September
eighteen, twenty ten, I wentto Morgan State. I pretended like I
knew what I was doing, eventhough I really didn't know what I was
doing. And I just was like, Chryl, just be the authentic you.
(06:05):
I planned, I prepared a littlescript whatever, and I'm like,
just be you and let me tellyou in that moment, on that day,
I knew That was my gift tothe world, that verbal communication,
being an orator, speaking life intoother women and their journey. That's what
I was born to do. Andfrom that moment forward, as they say,
(06:26):
the rest is history. That isan amazing story. I loved the
idea of responsibly taking a chance onyourself right when you have other responsibilities.
I think that that's that's something thatis not given enough credit to you.
A lot of times you hear thestory, and I don't know if it's
it's because of the perspective of whichthe story comes from, like the male
(06:49):
perspective of just just burn the bridge, you know, just burn the boats
and it's either, uh, youknow, either we fight or perish.
Kind of it's like, well,you know, for some of us,
burning the boat isn't an option whenyou have mouths to feed and babies to
take places that that's just not thething, right. And there's also this
(07:12):
magical dream that is put out therethat you know, you can burn this
boat and it's gonna be great,and you're super excited. You'll get up
every morning and you'll go, go, go, And that's usually not how
that feels at all, like atall, Like if we can really speak
truth to that. You know,people say jump or leap and you'll figure
it out. Okay, but ifyou jump and leap, you can't come
(07:32):
sleep on my couch at my house. Nobody was offering me to take me
and my husband and my three kidsup if we lost everything, Like like,
you've got to really, like yousaid, responsibly take risks and understand
that. I do believe that women, as women, we get the choice
to be able to fulfill our responsibilitiesand pursue our possibilities. I do believe
(07:54):
that we have that right. Butyou do have to have a certain level
of commitment to understanding that my husbanddidn't sign up for my entrepreneurial journey.
Can we just be real about itlike he is. When I told my
husband I wanted to quit my joband ultimately speak for a living, he
was like, wait a minute,hold on, I married a girl who
(08:16):
had a job and benefits, Likeyou changing up the game. What's going
How you gonna make your money?How we gonna feed the kids? So
you have to think about the fullscope of this thing called entrepreneurship and understand
that it is not an overnight successstory. I didn't just magically overnight become
doctor Cheryl Wood, international speaker makingmoney. This is this what you see
(08:37):
now is the sexy chapter eleven ofthe story. But let me tell you,
if I take you back the chapter'sone through nine, one through ten,
it was not so sexy. Itwas a lot of ugly parts,
a lot of parts of desperation,a lot of parts of being broke,
a lot of parts of asking forhelp and not getting to help sometime.
So there's a lot that comes withthis journey called entrepreneurship and people. You
(09:01):
know, that's the thing that Isometimes drives me crazy about social media is
that people show you a screenshot oftheir journey when they're on the beach,
but they didn't show you the sevenseven years before that, when they weren't
nowhere near beach, working right right, Like what did it take? Like?
Tell me, as I call it, Tell me what happened in the
middle. People tend to tell youthe beginning that's where I started, or
(09:24):
and this is where I am now. No, no, no, tell
me what happened in the middle toget you to where you are right now.
That's where the real value and juiceis. Yeah, and I fully
wholeheartedly believe that you give more toyour people when you give them the middle,
like it serves them on so manydeeper levels we live than in the
(09:46):
middle, because, like you said, people get on social media and you
see somebody's highlight reel. Of courseit looks amazing, right, Like,
of course it looks like rainbows andsunshine because you're getting to see the best,
the best. One of my favoritesocial media accounts that does exist is
it's a woman that was like asports illustrated model forever ago, and she
(10:09):
shows all these crazy pictures for nomakeup and just out with their kids.
Hair is all over the place,and it's like this just me on a
Tuesday kind of thing. That's thestuff that I appreciate. That's the middle.
There's a space for you too inthose images right where you can see
like, oh, I can dothis, and I know for me that
(10:31):
the biggest thing is here. Othermoms say that, like there's life on
the other side of what it isthat you're trying to do, you know.
And I love that you said thatyour your T shirt business was a
part of this journey that it kindof forged you through this fire of getting
to where where you are now,Because if you don't know what no feels
(10:54):
like, how are you going torun on a big stage? You know?
And look, I've even shared onsocial media because I just believe in
telling the truth. I've shared rejectionletters that I've gotten when I was rejected
as a speaker. Even after Iwas doctor Cheryl Wood, I still don't
get everything I reach for. Istill get some rejections. Everything is not
(11:15):
meant for you in this moment orin this season. It might be for
next season. I just did myfirst TEDEX talk six months ago. Right,
you're talking ten eleven years in speaking, and I just did my TEDx
talk. So I, like yousaid, I am all about being vulnerable
and an authentic and open and transparentto let people know, Yes, you
(11:37):
can accomplish your dreams. Yes youcan create a life just like me that
is barely recognizable. But oh you'regonna have to make some deposits and you
can never your expectation can never bebigger than your execution. Ever, You've
got to plant so many seeds thatyou lose count and plant and plant and
plant, and always remember, formy faith based ladies, that you will
always read what you saw, butyou will not necessarily reach where you sow.
(12:01):
So you can have it right hereand think, oh, all the
blessing is gonna come from where yousew. No, it might come from
a complete stranger. It might comefrom out left field, even though you
sow deceeed over in the right field. But believe, if you show up
as a powerful servant leader and youreally do it from a space where you're
a heart center person who wants tohelp other people with your gift, oh
it's coming back to you. You'renot going to even be able to run
(12:22):
from nothing. So say it onemore time. Your executions cannot be bigger
than your expectations. Is that yourexpectation can never be bigger than your execution.
So you've got to execute at ahigher level if you're going to expect
anything in return. Yes, okay. And so we talk about this as
a concept in yoga that when wetalk about this manifesting piece or what have
(12:46):
you, the trajectory and the amountof work that it takes to get out
of the cycle that you're currently inis so much bigger than you think.
It is. The whole concept ofwhat does work actually look like? Right,
Because we hear a lot of peoplesay, well, just do the
work. If if you do thework, it'll come. But but what
(13:09):
I found as a as a asan entrepreneur is that my idea of work
in the beginning and what it actuallytook were miles apart from each other.
So there was a massive learning curveof what does that work actually look like?
And is the effort that it takes? Is that a check that I'm
willing to sign? Right? Isthat a is that a future check that
(13:33):
I'm willing to put my name onthe bottom line so I can fill out
the rest of it with whatever numbercomes at the end? Right? Is
can my can my effort are myefforts like in on pace, in alignment
with what it's going to actually taketo to see this come to fruition?
And I also like the point youbring up about where you sow the seed
(13:54):
is not necessarily where that blessing isgoing to come from or where the thing
is going to come from. Uh, Because what I notice too is we
get stuck in the well. Itshould look like this. I did all
this work in this space, andyou told me if I do the work
in this space, that it's gonnashow up, and I think we kind
of kind of, I don't know, maybe close ourselves off from what could
(14:16):
come because we're so so bit forglory that it needs to look like this
this thing. If you will,can you speak to that like being that
feeling of being closed in or justnot being able to see the whole picture.
I mean, it gets scary.It gets scary when you're putting in
a whole lot of work and timeand energy and effort and money. Hello,
(14:37):
because you got to invest in money. That's the real scary part.
That gets scary when you are puttingall that in and you're just waiting for
the return. You're like, allright, is that gonna pay off?
If it's worth it? But firstof all, you got to realize that
you are good soil. And that'swhat you have to acknowledge. That I
am good soil to sow into.So if I'm investing in me, whether
(14:58):
it's through time, energy, effort, partnerships, collaborations, and investment,
a financial unessent, anything I investin me, it is worth it because
I am good soil to sow into. So I know I'm gonna show up
and I'm gonna do the work.So Ultimately, I'm gonna manifest everything that
I desire. Now. It mightnot come in my timing, it might
not happen when I think it shouldhappen or when it should happen, but
(15:20):
it's going to happen, and itmight not come from the sources that I
expected it was gonna come from,right, Because sometimes we have these relationships
with people and we think, well, oh, well, she has a
platform. She knows I'm a speaker, so she's definitely gonna put me on
her platform. She ain't coming foryou, She not even think about you.
It could be somebody completely a stranger. Many of my opportunities have been
(15:41):
from strangers. When I spoke forNASA, and I'm always sipping on my
NASA mug when I come on events. Right when I spoke for NASA just
last year in twenty twenty, thatcame from a complete stranger. I had
never met the lady a day inmy life. She connected with me through
my LinkedIn profile because I was consistentin my messaging, consistent in my messaging
(16:02):
about communication for women, leadership forwomen, women taking risks and really going
forward whatever they want in life,whether it's their business or their career.
She saw that consistently and reached outto me and offered me that opportunity.
I never met that lady a dayin my life, and NASA ended up
hiring me, paying me my fullspeaker fee, and ordering one hundred and
twenty five autograph copies of my bookthat came from a stranger. So a
(16:25):
lot of my opportunities come from peopleI've never met, but they're following my
work. They're looking at what Ido. They're like, Okay, does
she have the no like and trustfactor is does she have integrity? Is
she heart centered? Does she deliverand over deliver? Does she do what
she's gonna say? So you've justgot to keep showing up as who you
are and the best version of youin a space of excellence, not perfection.
(16:45):
Excellence I never tried it. Inever profess to be perfect. I
ain't never gonna profess to be perfect. But everything I do, everything I
touch, is always done in excellence. My messaging is consistent. I treat
people the way I want to betreated, and integrity and honesty and loyalty
and all those things. And there'sno way you can run from the blessings.
That's coming when you serve from thatspace. So just keep showing up,
(17:08):
show up consistently, show up anexcellence versus birth, versus perfection,
and everything that is that you aremanifesting in your mind visually before it actually
becomes a tangible manifestation, it isgoing to chase you down. I love
that. I love that showing upin excellence and not perfection. I know
that for women that's the biggest that'sthe biggest monster. I call it chasing
(17:32):
the dragon, right, chasing thedragon of perfection. That's just monstrous thing
that, Oh my gosh, I'mgonna get it all right. And as
a late lady, I've been bangingthe drugs for like, perfection is not
a thing. There is no perfectit does not exist. There's excellent execution,
there's clean execution, but there neveris perfect because we can't account for
(17:53):
all the variables and things that happeningand take take place at night. So
I know that there's a space inbetween, like doing the T shirt business,
having that speaking opportunity, going onthe speaker journey. But where is
it that you say you where isit that you would say that you forged
(18:14):
your voice, your learn how tofill a space from an energetic perspective,
or be like this, doctor Cheryl, what is who I am? Like?
How did you find that part ofyou along the way? So what
I think I hear you asking ishow did I just kind of powerfully own
the authentic share all just as Iam? That's I'm asking. THAT'SOK,
(18:37):
time and energy and a whole lotof failure and getting back up and doing
it wrong so I can learn howto get it right. And then we
talk about investing, investing in learningfrom people who are already thirty and forty
steps ahead of me in the speakerindustry. So again, some of those
investments were super scary, but I'vehad the honor of being coached and trained
(18:57):
by the best of the best.I'm gonna be the best. I need
to learn from the best. Theyalready know some stuff that I don't know.
So I've invested in training with LisaNichols and Less Brown. I'm in
a partnership with less Brown right now. He's the number one motivator in the
world. Like you don't get me. He is the goat, he is
the legend. And those investments arescary, but they are worth it because
(19:18):
I'm good soil, and I'm goingto do the work. So for me,
it was a lot of speaking andspeaking and speaking and finding my way
and finding my own rhythm as Iwent along. Sometimes I didn't do it
as great as I could have.When I first started, I was very
much a technical speaker, like Igave you fat figure, stats and data,
but I didn't give you my heart. Now I give you my heart.
(19:38):
But that was through trial and error, or as I called OJS on
the job OJT on the job training. So I had to go through some
on the job training, meaning okay, I spoke here, I spoke there.
Now let me go back and lookat myself. So I would video
record all of my sessions. Iwould look at what I did. I
would say, okay, sure,are you blinking your eyes too much?
Or you did this, or youdid that, or you said this joke
when nobody laughed, but you right. But when you start to hear people
(20:02):
say oh well, oh my god, yes, and you start hearing that,
you know you're hitting people heartstrings.You are not just a technical speaker.
So that took years for me tostart learning how to master the skill
set of speaking to reach people's hearts. Not just their minds. Anything I
teach technically they can find on Google, they could read in a book right
(20:25):
take a class, But what theycannot experience on Google is my heart.
They can't experience who I am andhow much I want them to succeed,
and they can't experience my story throughGoogle or through a book. So that
is what I found to be,that kind of that usp right, that
unique selling proposition that people were lookingfor, because at the end of the
(20:48):
day, I don't care if you'retalking to people on communication, leadership,
team building, finances. It doesn'tmatter what you're speaking about. At the
end of the day, we areall people. We're all human, and
humans have certain needs that they wantto be met. We want to feel
loved, we want to feel valuedand appreciated. We want to feel like
we're contributing to society in a biggerway, that we're either doing something great
(21:10):
or we're a part of something great, and we want to feel like our
life is bigger than us. Sowhen you get to the root of that,
that changes everything about how you presentin the marketplace. Doesn't matter if
you're speaking for NASA, if you'respeaking for a local conference with twenty five
people. People always you've got tohit the heartstrings. What's the heart to
heart connection and the human to humanconnection, And that typically is made by
(21:32):
sharing both your mess and your success. A lot of speakers will just share
the success part of them of theirlives. But now I want to hear
about the mess too, because nowwhen I hear that you went through some
mess, and you had some trialsand tribulations, and you had some things
that you didn't think you could pressthrough. Now I can see myself in
you right right right, because sometimesyou need somebody to just validate your mess
(21:52):
so you could feel better about it. Right. It's not like they're going
to get through it for you,but if you could feel at least better
about the that you're currently in,then you can see the light at the
end of the tunnel. Yeah,and you'll hear people say, oh my
god, I know there was fivehundred people here at this event, but
you were talking to me. Yeah, you get that. When you're able
to do that thing, that meansyou shared your heart and your soul with
(22:15):
the audience. You didn't just givethem data that they could chew on.
Now I need to reach your heartand let you know that wherever you are
right now, whatever pain you're inor whatever desire you have, you can
fulfill that desire or you can solvethat pain and you can come out on
the other side better and stronger andhappier and more fulfilled than you are right
now. And it might be relatedto your business or your career, or
(22:37):
your finances, or your relationships,or your health and wellness, doesn't matter
what the category is, but thegoal is the same. It's to reinforce
the people that there's something greater thatyou can experience on the opposite side of
a pain you're currently in, orthat you have everything it takes to fulfill
a desire that you have. Yeah, knowing that, I mean, I
(22:57):
say it all the time, soWizard of Oz, you know you had
it in you all along, andknowing that it exists right Just somebody pointing
out that, hey, you haveabsolutely everything that you need to thrive as
a person is really really valuable,because in a world that pulls on us
from so many directions, we canget so mired and so bogged down and
(23:21):
just living our day to day livesand forget that we do have all the
tools that we need. You know, those of us who are in sout
on mind, body and heart dohave all the things we need to forge
the experience that we want out oflife. So what would you say when
it comes to speaking business in general? What is that thing that makes your
(23:42):
heart saying that it's like, thisis my jam. I love teaching this,
I love experiencing this. What isthat thing for you? I'm really
just hoping to build the confidence inwomen to come to the front of the
room, to come out of theshadows. You sitting in the back of
our room quiet because you assume nobodyneeds what you know, or there are
already so many people speaking about whatyou want to speak about that there's no
(24:03):
space for you. And so it'sreally you know, I thought I was
in the business of teaching women howto speak, and technically that's what I
do. But at the core,like when you dig deeper, it's developing
the confidence and the courage in womento come to the front of the room
and say I belong at the frontspeaking into the lives of other people.
(24:25):
Because so many women have imposter syndrome. So many women feel like I don't
belong at the front of the room. But she's better than me. She's
more qualified, she's more equipped,she has more education, she's been doing
it longer. They're comparing themselves toother people instead of finding the power in
their own unique lane of brilliance.Every single one of us has a unique
lane of brilliance, and we haveexpertise based on our story, our perspective,
(24:47):
our life experiences, our knowledge thatsomeone is waiting for So you'll hear
me say this constantly, Someone somewhereis waiting on what you're sitting on.
And so my mission, and Ibelieve is a part of my life legacy,
is helping women to develop that confidenceand courage to take what they're sitting
on and to unveil it, tounleash it, and to impact somebody else's
(25:10):
life with it. Yeah, Ireally, really really like that because some
days, in many cases, wejust need that push and we don't.
And you know, and women haven'thad somebody say like, you can do
this and you can be you know, whatever version of you that you want
to be and still be a goodmom as well, right, right,
(25:30):
You know, you don't have tochoose one or the other. Both of
those things are valid experiences, andyou could fully share both of them.
And the other piece to that Ithink comes up for women as well is
this idea that I cannot do allthings at the same time, and that
that also is okay, right,But I'm not living any I'm not living
(25:56):
any less than the person that I'msupposed to be by saying but I know
what I need to say. No. Amen to saying no, right,
Like it is a complete, fullsentence, and you a right to say
no. I talk people that allthe time because people ask me all the
time, how do you do itall? Doctor Wood? How you're nurturing
a marriage, You're raising three teenagers, you have this global enterprise that you're
(26:17):
continuing to build. How are youdoing it all? And I'm like,
because I believe that I am gonnapour one hundred percent of myself into what
I'm doing in that moment. Thetruth is sometimes my family take a back
seat to my business. That's justthe truth. When I'm serving the world,
when I'm doing a podcast or interviewor whatever, I'm speaking, flying
somewhere and speaking, my family istaking a back seat to my business.
(26:41):
And that's okay, because at thatmoment I'm serving the world with my gift
which I owe it to myself andto God to do that. But then
there are times when my business takesa back seat to my family. So
I'm gonna be going on vacation ina couple of weeks. Guess what business
is on halts on pause. Y'allgonna have to wait till I get that
because right now I'm going to givea hundred percent of myself to my family.
So my whole thing is not totry to be all things at all
(27:02):
times to everybody. It's simply tocreate a level of harmony in my life
where my family understands and respects whenI'm doing my thing in the world and
I'm serving the world with my giftand creating legacy. And then on the
other hand, guess what my customersand my clients understand when I got to
put my family as priority. Sothey're gonna be different parts of me that's
priority at different times, as longas I'm giving and serving at one hundred
percent to that thing in that moment. And then the third part of that
(27:26):
is the self care, and Igive one hundred percent to that when it's
time for self care and relaxation andrejuvenation, like don't don't bother me,
don't ask me. I tell them, I don't ask me. Do nothing.
You're gonna order some pizza today,like whatever needs to be done.
I'm giving one hundred percent of myselfto that thing in that moment. Yeah,
I completely, fully, fully understandthat. And you know the thing
too, is if you had ajob, it wouldn't be any other way.
(27:48):
You know, if you're giving themthose forty hours, if we consistently,
then that you means your family itis not getting those fortys from you
at that time. It's no different. So in my estimation, estimation,
I much rather do that for myselfand grow a business as opposed to you
know, doing it for somebody else. So that's that's kind of my way
(28:11):
of reconciling that particular experience. Andthen I know along the way that there's
there's ups and downs and lefts andrights and twists and turns of this experience.
And as we kind of wind itdown to our last three questions here,
what would you say your or howyou learned or are still learning even
about being resilient and just like mentaltoughness and sticking with the things, sticking
(28:37):
with the business in addition to likewhatever life may bring you, what,
oh can you say to that?Who you gotta? You definitely have to
have a mental toughness. And Ithink that mental toughness comes from a few
things. It comes from what youput in. So what are you reading,
what are you watching, what areyou listening to? And who are
the people that you're around? Andyou know, for me, I have
(29:00):
this kind of no toxicity rule inmy life, like no toxicity is allowed,
not in what I watch, notin what I listened to, not
in the people I'm around, notin what I read. I can't have
toxicity anything that's gonna pull me down. I need things that are gonna lift
me up, people that are gonnalift me up. And I just always
you know, for me, lifehas been really, really tough. In
(29:21):
the past six months. My familyhas lost to you know, if you
want, matriarchs in the family,very very special important people in our lives.
My twenty year old nephew passed,and then less than six months later,
his father passed. Oh wow,So when I tell you we have
been going through and I so forlast week, I had a summit,
(29:41):
a virtual summit that was scheduled andevery bone in my body, every fiber
in my body was sad. AndI'm a motivator, like I'm in a
power, that's what I do.I could not get myself together, and
I prayed, and I reached outto some sisters who are my prayer warriors
and asked them to pray for me. And I was so glad that I
(30:02):
had the virtual summit. And thisis the power of making your life bigger
than you. When you make itbigger than you, there's always a reason
to get back up. Right.Yeah, it was just about me and
how I felt in that moment andthe sadness that my whole body and spirit
felt going through that I would probablybe still laying in a bed right And
(30:29):
I'm watching my Not only am Igoing through the pain of losing a brother
in law and a nephew, butit's my twin sister's child. So I'm
watching the pain my twin sister hasand trying to help her to bounce back.
That's a lot on anybody. Theonly way I get back up is
because my life is bigger than me. There is somebody waiting on me to
get back up. Cheryl, Ifyou don't get up right now, somebody's
(30:52):
not going to get what they need. These people over here are waiting on
you to show them what getting backup looks like, what resilience looks like.
So for me, everything I doin my life, I try to
make it bigger than Jess Cheryl.That keeps you in a space of gratitude,
That keeps you in a space ofa commitment that perhaps you would just
kind of fold on if it wasjust for you, right like almost like
(31:12):
when you have a trainer. Butif you have that trainer, but then
you have a partner who's going withyou, you don't want to let them
down, right, So if itwas just you, you will probably still
lay in the bed. But becauseyou have that partner waiting on you to
go meet the trainer, you getup like, well, I can't let
her down. That's what I'm howI make my life, and that's what
keeps me getting back up and beingresilient. That is a beautiful place to
(31:37):
be because I can tell you rightoff, for self, I am way
more apt to be accountable to mystudents, to the view I am tribe,
to my teachers, to my staffthan I am if it's just Ashley
that has to do the same,right, you know, and that is
and in some respects that's an easierplace to be because it it gives me
(32:00):
a place when I'm having those dayswhere my feelings are just deeply overwhelming,
it gives me a box to kindof put them in and a place to
redirect from my focus on Okay,this thing is larger than you are.
You don't get to, like,like you said, full the tent to
pack it in because you have acommunity to fully serve and they need you
(32:22):
to serve them, So go dothe thing that I sent you to do.
I always leave feeling better, right, Like I teach that to my
kids. I'm like, don't evermake your life just about you. Make
it bigger than you. And whenyou do that, if you leave and
you feel like after I did thatevent, and I went and it was
like it was like a twelve hourevent, vertual event, and I was
(32:44):
there all day from like nine inthe morning to about ten at night,
almost almost ten at night. ButI left feeling so rejuvenated and re energized,
and I'm like, Okay, Ican do this, And sometimes that's
all you need for that moment.It's just a I can do this,
all right, I can do andyou get up the next morning and you
make your life bigger than you andyou get that feeling Okay, I can
do this, and you just dothat until you have developed that strength again
(33:06):
that you had once before. Look, until life knock you down again,
right right, exactly exactly. Soif you could impart to the audience for
those who are just like in thestarting blocks there got to embark on whatever
their journey may be. What's thatpiece of wisdom that you can give them
to kind of get them going inwhatever their direction is. M you know,
(33:30):
I think it's a I would saytwo quotes. One quote is you
never get what you deserve. Youonly get what you demand. And so
stop waiting for somebody to look.Stop waiting. Heard, I hear you,
Okay, thank you. Look Itell it to myself every day.
I only tell other people what Isay to myself. And as the reality
(33:52):
is, you could be great,you could be amazing, dynamic at what
you do, but you better stopexpecting people to come save you. You
better stop expecting people to and dropinto your lap the blessings that you want.
No, you got to get outand work for those blessings. We
talked about that earlier. Planning.So many seeds that you lose count like
making sure that your execution is biggerthan your expectation. So you've got to
put something in. You can't geta withdrawal and you ain't make a deposit
(34:14):
yet, so you've got to keepputting deposits in. That would be number
one. Stop expecting people to giveyou, give it to you just because
you deserve it, and you gotto get out and show up and demand
it. And then the second onewould be a quote that I just loved
by Tony Robbins's motivational guru, andhe says, a real decision is measured
by the fact that you've taken anew action, and if there is no
new action, you have not trulydecided. Wooh boy, Have you really
(34:36):
decided that you want success? Haveyou really decided that you want to change
your trajectory of your life? Ifyou really decided, you're going to do
more executing than talking about it.You're going to show up and you're going
to be an action consistently, evenwhen you are not manifesting the thing that
you are praying for and dreaming aboutand journaling about immediately. You know that
if you stick with it, itis going to manifest and come to for
(34:59):
a wish and so just stick withit, get started, but then stick
with it so that you can crossthe finish line and then be an inspiration
to somebody else. That is absolutelyamazing. I like, I heard those
words in my soul that you don'tgive you Wow, you don't get what
you deserve, you give what youdemand. That that is that is Yeah.
(35:21):
So apparently that was the message thatI needed today and I've been taking
that one with me and then Ido I really feel the fact that it's
like the rents do every day.It's it's not a well you know,
I did all the hard things yesterdayand now now I'm good. You know,
It's it just don't work that way. It's just do every day,
(35:42):
get up and do it. Well. Where can we find you online?
How do we connect with you?If the people want more from doctor Wood,
how do they get that? Yep? I am all on across social
media at shayl Empowers. I hangout on Instagram and clubhouse and LinkedIn and
Twitter, and you dude, likeI'm everywhere at the same place. Cheryl
empowers and my website is cherylonpowers dotcom. You can go there and become
(36:06):
a part of my VIP community listas well. Wonderful well, I definitely
look forward to connecting with you onlineand further, this is absolutely amazing talking
about pouring into my spirit today.Apparently Lord, no new Lord, do
what I need today. So thankyou for this and for the audience.
I hope you all enjoyed this oneoff interview. Please make sure you check
(36:28):
out doctor Wood and all of theamazing work that she is doing in the
world. And if you haven't gottena chance to sign up for teacher training,
to make sure you do that aswell. Our next conversion is our
intensive is March eighteenth, if youlook forward to seeing you there
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com