September 23, 2025 • 31 mins
Truly Significant.com presents Melissa Gonzalez.
Life is not a linear path....start with that quip and it builds into a unique podcast conversation with the one and only Melissa Gonzalez, author of The Purpose Pivot.
Standing at the nexus of health & wellness and leadership, The Purpose Pivot: How Dynamic Leaders Put Vulnerability and Intuition into Action takes a dive deep into exclusive shared stories, experiences, and learnings of successful women, helping readers navigate their own leadership journey whether it be at work, at home, or within themselves personally. Inspired by author Melissa's wake-up call of a life-threatening medical emergency that required emergency surgery in the middle of the night, this book opens a dialogue to demystify aspects of our health, both physically and mentally, from invisible illnesses like chronic fatigue to outdated beliefs one needs to shed in order to evolve into our best selves.
Enjoy this insightful, Truly Significant interview and curation of 35 senior-level women leaders who made the Purpose Pivot.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/success-made-to-last-legends--4302039/support.
Life is not a linear path....start with that quip and it builds into a unique podcast conversation with the one and only Melissa Gonzalez, author of The Purpose Pivot.
Standing at the nexus of health & wellness and leadership, The Purpose Pivot: How Dynamic Leaders Put Vulnerability and Intuition into Action takes a dive deep into exclusive shared stories, experiences, and learnings of successful women, helping readers navigate their own leadership journey whether it be at work, at home, or within themselves personally. Inspired by author Melissa's wake-up call of a life-threatening medical emergency that required emergency surgery in the middle of the night, this book opens a dialogue to demystify aspects of our health, both physically and mentally, from invisible illnesses like chronic fatigue to outdated beliefs one needs to shed in order to evolve into our best selves.
Enjoy this insightful, Truly Significant interview and curation of 35 senior-level women leaders who made the Purpose Pivot.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/success-made-to-last-legends--4302039/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
And welcome back to Truly Significant dot Com. I'm Rick Touchiny.
We hope that you're having a great Monday. And our
special guest today is Melissa Gonzalez. She's a principal at
MG two, also a fellow podcast host and author of
a forthcoming book, The Purpose Pivot, How dynamic leaders put
(00:31):
vulnerability and intuition into action. And this is what we
know about you. After a life changing er wake up
call you realize that the hustle culture wasn't going to
be sustainable and it was actually dangerous. When you realize that,
you stepped right into what we would call the significance zone,
(00:54):
therefore qualifying yourself to be on today's podcast. Welcome to you.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, thank you so much. I appreciate that introduction.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Of course. Now tell us the rest of your story.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Oh boy, Well, like you said, my name is Mussican
Sales and my professional story is you know, I started
my career on Wall Street really focused in incidutional equities,
where I was a storyteller, but also marrying that with
you know, financials and business performances. I was working with
mutual funds and hedge funds to figure out, you know
(01:27):
what investments they wanted to make for their portfolio past
forward that into the inception of the lion S Group,
and that was working from a different vantage point with
founders of brands and helping them tell their story in
physical space, and then continuing on with that, you never
know where life's pivots are going to take you, and
(01:48):
so from Wall Street to entrepreneur to then you know,
being acquired, and then a shareholder of the company that
bought us, and then being acquired again and now writing
this book. I think my through line is that I
am constantly curious and kind of always I'm not like
a deep analyzer and that I'm always analyzing, but I
(02:10):
am always thinking what is the bigger picture in what's happening.
I think I take that with me from being on
a trading desk in Wall Street. You know, you have
so much information coming at you at the same time,
whether it's your research analyst or the news media or
other people yelling on the desk, and you're always kind
of connecting dots and figuring out what does this all mean?
And I think that that's kind of been a through
(02:31):
line throughout my career and it's definitely what I brought
to writing this book the Purpose Pivot.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah, what great timing. And we've got to ask you
about mentors of the past and those that shaped your
storytelling ability.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yes, yeah, I mean, I gosh, there's so many people
that I kind of listen to as storytellers. I think
in the podcast world for sure, you know, and I like,
I love in this space. You know, I listened to
Jayshetty and mel Robbins, and but I think with storytelling,
for me, the mentorship has been you know, what do
(03:13):
you want to leave the audience with? And I and
I bring that even when I work with brands and
we're designing a store, I'm like, what is the one
sentence you want them to be able to say when
they walk out of that door and to other people?
And to me, that's that's kind of you know, people
are only going to absorb so much and most people
aren't going to maintain everything you intend them to. And
(03:34):
but so you think about that, like, what is the big,
the big, you know, one sentence I want them to
walk out with? And then what are all the supporting
elements that you're you're giving to them that can lead
back up to that. Knowing that some people are going
to have maybe just those those little sound bites that
that resonate with them most. And how do you create
(03:55):
relatability within your storytelling as well? You know, from a
brand standpoint, I think we do that a lot because
you have to know the brand's voice, but then you
have to understand your personas of your customer and in storytelling,
you know, with the relatability. That's why in this book,
the purpose pivot, it wasn't just through my story, it
was the interview of three dozen women and understanding that
(04:15):
different stories are going to resonate in different ways with
different relatability. They all lead back up to the larger
message of the book.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Very good. We have a theory about why people should pivot.
What's your theory?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Oh gosh, I think that you know, we have to
understand that, like life's not a linear path and there's
going to be learnings along the way. There's going to
be evolution of who we are as an individual and
where we are in our life stage. You know, who
I was as a little girl wanting to be the
first ever famous baseball player, but then realizing she wasn't
(04:53):
that good in baseball, so that was like really not
going to happen. But who I was then to who
I became after you know, X amount of years on
Wall Street, to who I became as an entrepreneur, who
I became as a wife, who I became as a mother,
who I became. You know, you're changing and evolving all
the time, and sometimes that creates a more constant continuum
(05:15):
and other times it creates these moments to step back
and say, have an opportunity to evolve into new things
and what does that pivot look like? And as I'm pivoting,
what am I taking with me? And what am I
shetting and leaving behind?
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Oh? Well said, can you comment on why it's important
for all generations to have a consciousness of speeding up
the pivot.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Well, it's kind of like the if you were a
founder and you're raising money, they would say fail fast, right,
And so you know, you don't want to be totally
erratic and irrational and like just you know, be in
a place where you feel like having an identity crisis
because you're always changing. However, listen to what you know
experiences are telling you with their universes telling you. I
(06:11):
think a lot of the times we hear those we
hear it, but we don't listen, and it prevents ourselves
from change. You know, you're not going to do the
same exact thing over and over and over and expect
a different outcome, Right, you're not, you know, so I
think that's that's the thing. And you could sure change
(06:32):
yourself too, you know, if you don't give yourselves the opportunity.
And you might be a little bit nervous about it,
but that's usually a healthy time too. Right. If you're
one hundred percent comfortable, then you're not being challenged and
you're not evolving. You're not growing.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Very good. You know. Sounds like you have interviewed a
whole lot more than thirty six people for a book.
If you were to take one of those thirty six
or forty stories and tease our audience today so they'll
buy your book the purpose pivot, give us, give us
some crumbs around that one great story, so we'll want
(07:13):
to read the entire book.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Oh gosh, there's so many good stories. There's so many. Uh.
There's a woman Jillcats that I that I interview, who
who you know? She was a thriving professional, worked at
a larger organization, had because a lot of these pivots
are also tied to medical moments, not all of them.
Mine mine was a big impetus for me and my
(07:37):
last pivot right to write this book with a medical
moment I had, So not everyone is tied to that
in particular, but I do think that a lot of
the times, when your body hits a wall and it
intervenes for you, you're forced to kind of face life
in a different way, and it tends to be an
impetus of embracing those pivots. For her, she has had
(08:00):
kind of signs and symptoms for a while leading up to,
you know, the bigger moment that she had where she
was away on family vacation and she was trying to
work out for that morning exercise, like, you know, for
Thanksgiving weekend, and she was feeling sluggish, and she kind
of felt like her body wasn't functioning well on the
treadmill and must be tired and must have ate so much.
(08:20):
You know, you know, we always make these excuses of
why our body doesn't have energy. And although kind of
her body was speaking to her ladder and ladder, she
was still pushing through until one day when she got
back home and she found herself walking down the staircase
on a phone call and mid sentence like couldn't even
make sentences, like her body just kind of stopped functioning.
(08:44):
And still yet she kind of had the like I
have a dinner tonight like still and with her husband
that said no, no, we're going to take care of this.
We're going to call your doctor. And when she finally
made it in person and to the doctor, they said
to her, you have two hours of oxygen left in
(09:05):
your body or you're going to die. And there's so
many stories in the book where we just have examples
of pushing and pushing and pushing until our body is like, no,
you're not going to and it asked it begs the
question I think and why I say A big mission
of mind with the book is really embracing that well
(09:27):
being cannot be a side project in our life and
needs to live with equal importance on our career journey
and our leadership path, because why can we make space
for all the other things, you know, instead of saying, oh,
I have a dinner, we should say oh I have
a doctor appointment, not oh I have a dinner, you know,
and just rebalancing those things, and it was a you know,
(09:48):
kind of a holy shit moment in her life to
be told that she had a pretty close to newborn
at home. You know, she had a child yet less
than a year old, and then she had another child
just a couple of years old, and it makes you
face life with like a slap in the face of
this is real. I could not come home and see
them again. And it really started her on her journey
(10:10):
of pivoting to creating a space and not just evolving
her professional career where you know, hybrid work was starting
to get embraced in everything. But now she's a coach
herself and she has HR consulting company and helping organizations,
you know, kind of having a well being a tenant
(10:32):
as part of how they lead as organizations. And I
think it's a great story because even still, you know,
some of those moments happen and we still don't change.
But I think it's an inspirational story that of all
the things she learned from that really scary experience and
how it really had her pivot into launching her own
(10:52):
organization that's highly successful now and being somebody who has
healthy boundaries in her life.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Fascinating way of putting it. Everybody has their own journey.
And I don't know if you're a person of faith
or not, but let's say God, your creator knows what
you're going to be doing when you're going to be
doing it. And we drive, drive, drive, and we spend
hundreds of hours a week working and then all of
(11:23):
a sudden something like that happens, and it is a
proverbial wake up call. The question is, well, your book
inspire others to act now and not wait until they're
in the emergency room.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
I hope, so, I hope. So the more we can
prevent that, I mean, the more people can look. The
other thing I talk about in the book is, you know,
there's so much conversation about work life balance, and there's
so much conversation of the BS that that is and
says we all live in a fully integrated life. It's
a work life integration. And so the only way we
(12:01):
can get there, I think is and hence the title
of the book becoming The purpose pivot is that when
you understand your purpose, you will understand the things that
really drive you. You will understand better the things that
energize you and the things that will deplete you, and
the more you can lean into the things that energize
(12:22):
you and delegate the other things, the more you're going
to create more space, right, And you're going to create
space for the healthier stressors in your life, and you're
probably going to create better habits of prioritization integrating well
being on that. And I think that's what I hope
people start to do, even if it's starting to take
little action. And the book is filled with stories throughout
(12:44):
every chapter and different themes and lessons, and then the
back of the book is actionable worksheets, so you're not
just listening or reading these stories and hearing the words
of wisdom, but you can actually start putting some steps
into motion for yourself as well. Well.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Yeah, that's good. And by the way, our listening audience
ranges from anyone from eighteen to eighty eight. And I'm
wondering what you can say to that broad spectrum today
of all ages and stages, that it's never too early
or never too late to pivot.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yeah. Absolutely, I think you know what for the younger
audience I would say is just in brief that life's
a journey and there's a zigzagline. And I actually had
a guest on my podcast that talked very much from that.
She used to work really closely with Jamie Diamond a
GP Morgan and so from you know, kind of a
(13:44):
coaching an HR standpoint, had some great words of wisdom
around that, but that was really the bigger message of
you know, you don't there's a difference too. Sometimes we
have these passions and then there's like what you want
to do as a hobby what you want to do
as a job, and when you're that early in your career,
you don't always know the differentiation of the two, right,
(14:05):
Like you could love cooking, but it doesn't mean you're
going to run a restaurant right or even go into
that space, because maybe your love for it is about
creation and different things, but it's not going to manifest
that way in your professional career. And you're going to
only realize that as you're having experiences and getting exposed
to it. So you know, along the way, what you
(14:27):
should try to learn is what is the through line
of the things that drive you and then you'll eventually
figure out how does that manifest in your professional career
and it's probably going to have some iterations and then
later in life you know, I think what I think
is exciting is I think there's so many people being
so much more vocal after retirement of really finding that
(14:48):
next part of life. And the reality is people today
live so much longer than they did decades ago. And
so take this as your opportunity, right, Like you're getting
this next leg of different responsibilities or less responsibilities in
your life that open up space for you to maybe
do the things that we're always on your bucket list,
(15:11):
you know. And I think and I think that that's
that success, like the opportunity to do some of those
things at that later stage that you didn't do before.
And maybe you maybe you're also able to embrace that
because I love I don't know if you ever listened
(15:31):
to Martha Stewart, but one of the things she talks
about is is the reason why she always surrounds herself
with younger people, and it's because it keeps her younger, right,
She's like learning so much from them, And I think,
embrace all those moments. Embrace the opportunity to like learn
from Jen Alpha and see what they're you know, bringing
to the table. Ors you the one or two things
(15:53):
you never got to do, and you don't have to
burden yourself maybe with so much of the financial responsibility
that goes with it when you're young in your life
and you're trying to make the bills and all this
kind of stuff. As you're older in life, like, do
it more for the fun of it?
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Amen to that. Well, you're talking to author Melissa Gonzalez.
Her book is coming out in just a few days,
The Purpose Pivot, How Dynamic Leaders put vulnerability and intuition
into action. Melissa, how can our listening audience learn more
about you and buy your book?
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Sure? So, it's available on bookshelves as of September thirtieth
at Amazon, Barnes, and Noble, Target, et cetera. You can
also go to Melissa gonzales dot com slash books and
it talks about the books there as well. And then
there's Purpose Purpose Pivot with Melissa on Instagram And each
(16:50):
week I've been introducing either contributors to the book, quotes
from the book, and it's become a bit of an
active community of people kind of chiming in about their
thoughts around this topic as well.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Beautiful, We'll be right back after this special message from
Marcus Aurelius.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
This is Marcus Aurelius reappearing to proclaim that truly significant
conversations with big hearted people is a rare piece of literature.
This book reminds me of one of my more stirring quotes,
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(17:36):
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(17:58):
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Speaker 4 (18:23):
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Visit truly significant dot com and celebrate the most truly
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and be truly significant.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
And we're back with Melissa Gonzalez, author of The Purpose Pivot,
How dynamic leaders put vulnerability and into wish in action.
The book is out September the thirtieth. Make sure and
buy it. It's uh, you said thirty six or more stories?
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Yes, the thirty five different women contributed in addition to myself.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
That's great. Don't forget the men go through the same.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Oh let me tell you something, Rick, I've already said
that that's going to be booked two and I'm going
to have to find somebody to partner on that. But
the reason I went with women is not because I
don't believe that men go through this as well. It
was I wanted to have a lot of diversity in
the book from a professional standpoint, so that you know,
I have a background in both finance and retail and so,
(19:40):
but I wanted it to resonate. So there's women in
the book that are photographers, that are authors, that are
you know, that are in film and TV, and so
I wanted a lot of diversity around career pathing. So
I picked I picked one lane and that they're all women.
So there was one through line and there are some
topics that were little women's specific. The book does apply
(20:01):
to anybody, though, and the worksheets can apply to anybody,
and I have a fun story about that. But book two,
I do think that there is a definitely an opportunity
for men to embrace vulnerability too and tell these stories
and inspire others. But I did. I have some worksheets,
(20:23):
and I have a worksheet around, you know, really craft
in that delegation list based on what energizes you and
what depletes you and what your superpowers are and are not.
And I sent it to a local UPS to get
printed for a conference I'm speaking at, and it was
a gentleman who's like, is it okay? I saw this topic?
(20:44):
Can I print out one for myself? Because I'm kind
of going through something and I feel like this would
be really helpful for me, And how do I buy
your book? And it was such a special moment to
like have that moment of resonance that he was having
and how it was intersecting with his life.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
That's good, Melissa, pay attention to the forty nine point
five percent of the population.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
I know Book two everybody needs a sequel.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
So it's right we're always working on sequels. Okay, let's
talk about significance. That's our fun topic on this network.
And we don't own truly significant, but we I'm sure
focus over focus on it. What is at this stage
and age of your life, having been a successful executive, mom, wife,
(21:31):
now author, what does the word significance mean versus success.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Impact, importance? You know, because I think it's easy to
you know, it's like confusing productivity with impact, right like
success you achieve things. I think with significance you make impact.
(21:57):
And you know, for me, I think as I've continue
to you know, get older and have these life moments happen,
it's been become a good gut check for me to
stand back and be like, is this is this making
a difference? Is this impactful? And I think that's what
made me so excited about the book, is that, like
the moment I just described right like to me, that
(22:19):
felt like a significant moment I had with somebody printing
these documents out at ups. You know, it wasn't just
like this marketing tool that I was getting out there.
It was something that I think is a tool to
help somebody on their journey. And for me, that's significant.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
That's exactly right. We also focus on epiphanies here and speed.
Tell us your latest epiphany and why did it take
you so long to have it?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Oh boy, my greatest my epiphany? Well I do, and
I just posted this last night, Sae. It's one why
I'm thinking of it is when I came back from
you know, I was in the hospital and then I
had to stay in Seattle for weeks until I was
able to fly back, and you know, being careful on
(23:16):
blood cloths and all of that. And my daughter said
to me, you know, mom, and she was only eight
and a half. My mom's so mad at what your
body did to you, but I'm so proud at how
it fought for you. And that was an epiphany moment
for me because a I mean a child, right, like
(23:40):
how smart they are, how they can just be so
vulnerable and how they express themselves. But more importantly, it's
just how right she was because here you are, you
come out of surgery, and you see the scars and
you see how you you don't look the same, and
you focus on that and you don't. It made me
step back and just say thank you to me. But
because it did, it had to re amend. It had
(24:03):
to do all these things, and we don't honor that
as much as we should. And so that was a
big epiphany for me.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Once again. The next generation speaks volumes. Yeah, yeah, what
other lessons have your has your daughter taught you?
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Oh gosh, I feel like we're schooling each other all
the time. But I think, you know, she teaches me
just I mean, they're at that I think at that
young age there, they don't realize they're being vulnerable. They're
just being honest, right, And so she teaches me that.
I think of like how to remember to ask the
(24:47):
whyse you know, because they do that all the time,
and and and and I think through the whise you
organically pause and reflect. And I think that's something she
always reminds me, because she'll catch me sometimes they don't
expect it and ask those whys. And I'm like that,
you're right, that's a very good question. That's right.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
My grandchildren, the two of them have collectively taught Papa
Rico how to answer with brevity and clarity because they
ask forty seven thousand whys.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
In one oh yes, yes?
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Why does it take stages like that in life to
make one realize that brevity and clarity are king.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Mm hmm. It's true. It's true. They do. They have
their mind of that all the time. I Mean sometimes
I'm like a bay enough questions for sure, But yes,
they are good reminders of those things.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
They sure are. And lastly, my new friend, we're going
to go through a rapid fire reflection. What is the
one word that describes your purpose today?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Impact?
Speaker 1 (26:07):
And a leader you admire for their vulnerability?
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Oh my goodness, Oh there's so many, but there's so many.
Oh my gosh, you ask that question. I mean, I
think you're I'm attracted to turn around stories and so
you know, that's one area where I feel like where
somebody kind of steps into the unknown and without all
(26:34):
the answers and just kind of forges ahead and makes
something out of it because they lean into their why
through and through with it. And you know, I think
that's why, you know, as an individual like h and
I'm going through this process as an author, I look
at somebody like a Mel Robbins, who you know, she
was at a point in her life right fifty above
(26:55):
and just kind of didn't she wasn't known for what
she does, but she truly believed in the mission behind
it and leaned into and I think all the things
that she's accomplished with being an author and launching her
platform and have her podcasts, and the people she's teaming
up with, and you know, I think it's it's people
like that that I that I really admire, the change makers,
(27:21):
you know, that really stay true to their why oh.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Yes, and a daily ritual that keeps you grounded.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
I mean, I try that, but I would say recently,
it's my walks with my dog, so that my sounds
sounds so simple, but it's true. And I and I
talked in the book a little bit of finding your
awe intervention moments, and and for me, you know, that's
those That's what it is. So more accessibly, it's my
(27:54):
walk with my dog. But if I can't find that
and or I'm somewhere with that beautiful, amazing sunrise, those
are my moments of connection. And I think we should
all find those awe moments where you just kind of
can break away from the monotony, from the phone, from
all the things and have extreme presence. And like when
(28:16):
I walk my dog and he's like looking at me,
his cute little face and his tongue hanging out like you,
just like you get lost in that moment and when
I watch a sunrise and you're just captivated by those things,
those would be two for me on the top of
my list.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Well, you just answered the fourth rapid fire because I
was going to ask you a quote from your book
that inspires you most.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
If it's fine you're all inspired moment or have extreme presence,
that's worth buying your book.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
Well, I love it. And also, well being should not
be a side project in your life.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Well being should not be a side project.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Maybe I should update that it cannot be. Well being
cannot be a side product in your life. And because
the truth of the matter is, there were dozens of
women in the book who had a medical moment, including myself,
and a lot of the commonalities were our bodies were
talking to us, but we weren't listening. We waited till
we hit a wall, whether we ended up in an
(29:22):
emergency room or what have you, to finally listen. We
need to debunk the myth that taking those pauses are
signs of weakness, because prioritizing yourself is actually strength, and
you learn so much more from it. And when you
embrace that for yourself, especially as a leader, you're going
(29:42):
to cultivate such a healthier organization and be a stronger
leader for your teams.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
It's so true that last day you just said reminded
me of a recent interview. And this was with an
executive who he and his wife effecting, and on his
Excel spreadsheet was the birth of the baby. And they said,
so we'll have a baby on this date and then
we're going to do such and such a thing. We've
got this business meeting afterwards that I went, babies aren't
(30:13):
on Excel spreadsheets. And to your point, well being is
not on an Excel spreadsheet either. It's not a project,
it's a life decision.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
It's a life decision exactly. And when we talk about
a world where work and life is so integrated, then
you can't think that you're not going to bring your
full self like all of it shows up whether you're
healthy or unhealthy. Right, So you have to prioritize that
because you're going to think better, you're going to perform better,
you're going to lead better, you're going to all those things.
(30:47):
It's a holistic look itself, and I think we forget
that we do.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
It's been an honor to have you on. Melissa Gonzalez
by her book The Purpose Pivot, how dynamic leaders put
vulnerability and intuition into action. It's for guys too, so
maybe you can eat it and be inspired.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Thank you, Melissa, Thank you so much for having me.
It's a pleasure speaking with you.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Of course. Folks, thanks for joining us today and as
always we wish you success but on your way to significance.
Have great week.
And welcome back to Truly Significant dot Com. I'm Rick Touchiny.
We hope that you're having a great Monday. And our
special guest today is Melissa Gonzalez. She's a principal at
MG two, also a fellow podcast host and author of
a forthcoming book, The Purpose Pivot, How dynamic leaders put
(00:31):
vulnerability and intuition into action. And this is what we
know about you. After a life changing er wake up
call you realize that the hustle culture wasn't going to
be sustainable and it was actually dangerous. When you realize that,
you stepped right into what we would call the significance zone,
(00:54):
therefore qualifying yourself to be on today's podcast. Welcome to you.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, thank you so much. I appreciate that introduction.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Of course. Now tell us the rest of your story.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Oh boy, Well, like you said, my name is Mussican
Sales and my professional story is you know, I started
my career on Wall Street really focused in incidutional equities,
where I was a storyteller, but also marrying that with
you know, financials and business performances. I was working with
mutual funds and hedge funds to figure out, you know
(01:27):
what investments they wanted to make for their portfolio past
forward that into the inception of the lion S Group,
and that was working from a different vantage point with
founders of brands and helping them tell their story in
physical space, and then continuing on with that, you never
know where life's pivots are going to take you, and
(01:48):
so from Wall Street to entrepreneur to then you know,
being acquired, and then a shareholder of the company that
bought us, and then being acquired again and now writing
this book. I think my through line is that I
am constantly curious and kind of always I'm not like
a deep analyzer and that I'm always analyzing, but I
(02:10):
am always thinking what is the bigger picture in what's happening.
I think I take that with me from being on
a trading desk in Wall Street. You know, you have
so much information coming at you at the same time,
whether it's your research analyst or the news media or
other people yelling on the desk, and you're always kind
of connecting dots and figuring out what does this all mean?
And I think that that's kind of been a through
(02:31):
line throughout my career and it's definitely what I brought
to writing this book the Purpose Pivot.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah, what great timing. And we've got to ask you
about mentors of the past and those that shaped your
storytelling ability.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yes, yeah, I mean, I gosh, there's so many people
that I kind of listen to as storytellers. I think
in the podcast world for sure, you know, and I like,
I love in this space. You know, I listened to
Jayshetty and mel Robbins, and but I think with storytelling,
for me, the mentorship has been you know, what do
(03:13):
you want to leave the audience with? And I and
I bring that even when I work with brands and
we're designing a store, I'm like, what is the one
sentence you want them to be able to say when
they walk out of that door and to other people?
And to me, that's that's kind of you know, people
are only going to absorb so much and most people
aren't going to maintain everything you intend them to. And
(03:34):
but so you think about that, like, what is the big,
the big, you know, one sentence I want them to
walk out with? And then what are all the supporting
elements that you're you're giving to them that can lead
back up to that. Knowing that some people are going
to have maybe just those those little sound bites that
that resonate with them most. And how do you create
(03:55):
relatability within your storytelling as well? You know, from a
brand standpoint, I think we do that a lot because
you have to know the brand's voice, but then you
have to understand your personas of your customer and in storytelling,
you know, with the relatability. That's why in this book,
the purpose pivot, it wasn't just through my story, it
was the interview of three dozen women and understanding that
(04:15):
different stories are going to resonate in different ways with
different relatability. They all lead back up to the larger
message of the book.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Very good. We have a theory about why people should pivot.
What's your theory?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Oh gosh, I think that you know, we have to
understand that, like life's not a linear path and there's
going to be learnings along the way. There's going to
be evolution of who we are as an individual and
where we are in our life stage. You know, who
I was as a little girl wanting to be the
first ever famous baseball player, but then realizing she wasn't
(04:53):
that good in baseball, so that was like really not
going to happen. But who I was then to who
I became after you know, X amount of years on
Wall Street, to who I became as an entrepreneur, who
I became as a wife, who I became as a mother,
who I became. You know, you're changing and evolving all
the time, and sometimes that creates a more constant continuum
(05:15):
and other times it creates these moments to step back
and say, have an opportunity to evolve into new things
and what does that pivot look like? And as I'm pivoting,
what am I taking with me? And what am I
shetting and leaving behind?
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Oh? Well said, can you comment on why it's important
for all generations to have a consciousness of speeding up
the pivot.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Well, it's kind of like the if you were a
founder and you're raising money, they would say fail fast, right,
And so you know, you don't want to be totally
erratic and irrational and like just you know, be in
a place where you feel like having an identity crisis
because you're always changing. However, listen to what you know
experiences are telling you with their universes telling you. I
(06:11):
think a lot of the times we hear those we
hear it, but we don't listen, and it prevents ourselves
from change. You know, you're not going to do the
same exact thing over and over and over and expect
a different outcome, Right, you're not, you know, so I
think that's that's the thing. And you could sure change
(06:32):
yourself too, you know, if you don't give yourselves the opportunity.
And you might be a little bit nervous about it,
but that's usually a healthy time too. Right. If you're
one hundred percent comfortable, then you're not being challenged and
you're not evolving. You're not growing.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Very good. You know. Sounds like you have interviewed a
whole lot more than thirty six people for a book.
If you were to take one of those thirty six
or forty stories and tease our audience today so they'll
buy your book the purpose pivot, give us, give us
some crumbs around that one great story, so we'll want
(07:13):
to read the entire book.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Oh gosh, there's so many good stories. There's so many. Uh.
There's a woman Jillcats that I that I interview, who
who you know? She was a thriving professional, worked at
a larger organization, had because a lot of these pivots
are also tied to medical moments, not all of them.
Mine mine was a big impetus for me and my
(07:37):
last pivot right to write this book with a medical
moment I had, So not everyone is tied to that
in particular, but I do think that a lot of
the times, when your body hits a wall and it
intervenes for you, you're forced to kind of face life
in a different way, and it tends to be an
impetus of embracing those pivots. For her, she has had
(08:00):
kind of signs and symptoms for a while leading up to,
you know, the bigger moment that she had where she
was away on family vacation and she was trying to
work out for that morning exercise, like, you know, for
Thanksgiving weekend, and she was feeling sluggish, and she kind
of felt like her body wasn't functioning well on the
treadmill and must be tired and must have ate so much.
(08:20):
You know, you know, we always make these excuses of
why our body doesn't have energy. And although kind of
her body was speaking to her ladder and ladder, she
was still pushing through until one day when she got
back home and she found herself walking down the staircase
on a phone call and mid sentence like couldn't even
make sentences, like her body just kind of stopped functioning.
(08:44):
And still yet she kind of had the like I
have a dinner tonight like still and with her husband
that said no, no, we're going to take care of this.
We're going to call your doctor. And when she finally
made it in person and to the doctor, they said
to her, you have two hours of oxygen left in
(09:05):
your body or you're going to die. And there's so
many stories in the book where we just have examples
of pushing and pushing and pushing until our body is like, no,
you're not going to and it asked it begs the
question I think and why I say A big mission
of mind with the book is really embracing that well
(09:27):
being cannot be a side project in our life and
needs to live with equal importance on our career journey
and our leadership path, because why can we make space
for all the other things, you know, instead of saying, oh,
I have a dinner, we should say oh I have
a doctor appointment, not oh I have a dinner, you know,
and just rebalancing those things, and it was a you know,
(09:48):
kind of a holy shit moment in her life to
be told that she had a pretty close to newborn
at home. You know, she had a child yet less
than a year old, and then she had another child
just a couple of years old, and it makes you
face life with like a slap in the face of
this is real. I could not come home and see
them again. And it really started her on her journey
(10:10):
of pivoting to creating a space and not just evolving
her professional career where you know, hybrid work was starting
to get embraced in everything. But now she's a coach
herself and she has HR consulting company and helping organizations,
you know, kind of having a well being a tenant
(10:32):
as part of how they lead as organizations. And I
think it's a great story because even still, you know,
some of those moments happen and we still don't change.
But I think it's an inspirational story that of all
the things she learned from that really scary experience and
how it really had her pivot into launching her own
(10:52):
organization that's highly successful now and being somebody who has
healthy boundaries in her life.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Fascinating way of putting it. Everybody has their own journey.
And I don't know if you're a person of faith
or not, but let's say God, your creator knows what
you're going to be doing when you're going to be
doing it. And we drive, drive, drive, and we spend
hundreds of hours a week working and then all of
(11:23):
a sudden something like that happens, and it is a
proverbial wake up call. The question is, well, your book
inspire others to act now and not wait until they're
in the emergency room.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
I hope, so, I hope. So the more we can
prevent that, I mean, the more people can look. The
other thing I talk about in the book is, you know,
there's so much conversation about work life balance, and there's
so much conversation of the BS that that is and
says we all live in a fully integrated life. It's
a work life integration. And so the only way we
(12:01):
can get there, I think is and hence the title
of the book becoming The purpose pivot is that when
you understand your purpose, you will understand the things that
really drive you. You will understand better the things that
energize you and the things that will deplete you, and
the more you can lean into the things that energize
(12:22):
you and delegate the other things, the more you're going
to create more space, right, And you're going to create
space for the healthier stressors in your life, and you're
probably going to create better habits of prioritization integrating well
being on that. And I think that's what I hope
people start to do, even if it's starting to take
little action. And the book is filled with stories throughout
(12:44):
every chapter and different themes and lessons, and then the
back of the book is actionable worksheets, so you're not
just listening or reading these stories and hearing the words
of wisdom, but you can actually start putting some steps
into motion for yourself as well. Well.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Yeah, that's good. And by the way, our listening audience
ranges from anyone from eighteen to eighty eight. And I'm
wondering what you can say to that broad spectrum today
of all ages and stages, that it's never too early
or never too late to pivot.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yeah. Absolutely, I think you know what for the younger
audience I would say is just in brief that life's
a journey and there's a zigzagline. And I actually had
a guest on my podcast that talked very much from that.
She used to work really closely with Jamie Diamond a
GP Morgan and so from you know, kind of a
(13:44):
coaching an HR standpoint, had some great words of wisdom
around that, but that was really the bigger message of
you know, you don't there's a difference too. Sometimes we
have these passions and then there's like what you want
to do as a hobby what you want to do
as a job, and when you're that early in your career,
you don't always know the differentiation of the two, right,
(14:05):
Like you could love cooking, but it doesn't mean you're
going to run a restaurant right or even go into
that space, because maybe your love for it is about
creation and different things, but it's not going to manifest
that way in your professional career. And you're going to
only realize that as you're having experiences and getting exposed
to it. So you know, along the way, what you
(14:27):
should try to learn is what is the through line
of the things that drive you and then you'll eventually
figure out how does that manifest in your professional career
and it's probably going to have some iterations and then
later in life you know, I think what I think
is exciting is I think there's so many people being
so much more vocal after retirement of really finding that
(14:48):
next part of life. And the reality is people today
live so much longer than they did decades ago. And
so take this as your opportunity, right, Like you're getting
this next leg of different responsibilities or less responsibilities in
your life that open up space for you to maybe
do the things that we're always on your bucket list,
(15:11):
you know. And I think and I think that that's
that success, like the opportunity to do some of those
things at that later stage that you didn't do before.
And maybe you maybe you're also able to embrace that
because I love I don't know if you ever listened
(15:31):
to Martha Stewart, but one of the things she talks
about is is the reason why she always surrounds herself
with younger people, and it's because it keeps her younger, right,
She's like learning so much from them, And I think,
embrace all those moments. Embrace the opportunity to like learn
from Jen Alpha and see what they're you know, bringing
to the table. Ors you the one or two things
(15:53):
you never got to do, and you don't have to
burden yourself maybe with so much of the financial responsibility
that goes with it when you're young in your life
and you're trying to make the bills and all this
kind of stuff. As you're older in life, like, do
it more for the fun of it?
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Amen to that. Well, you're talking to author Melissa Gonzalez.
Her book is coming out in just a few days,
The Purpose Pivot, How Dynamic Leaders put vulnerability and intuition
into action. Melissa, how can our listening audience learn more
about you and buy your book?
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Sure? So, it's available on bookshelves as of September thirtieth
at Amazon, Barnes, and Noble, Target, et cetera. You can
also go to Melissa gonzales dot com slash books and
it talks about the books there as well. And then
there's Purpose Purpose Pivot with Melissa on Instagram And each
(16:50):
week I've been introducing either contributors to the book, quotes
from the book, and it's become a bit of an
active community of people kind of chiming in about their
thoughts around this topic as well.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Beautiful, We'll be right back after this special message from
Marcus Aurelius.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
This is Marcus Aurelius reappearing to proclaim that truly significant
conversations with big hearted people is a rare piece of literature.
This book reminds me of one of my more stirring quotes,
waste no more time arguing what a good man should
be be one. If you're stepping into your next life
(17:36):
chapter of your career and questioning what lies beyond success,
this book is for you. Dive into forty soul stirring
stories from luminaries like doctor Jane Goodall, ed Asner, and
Emily Chang, stories that urge you to pursue purpose, serve others,
(17:58):
and build a legacy that outlasts you. Authored by Rick Tolkini,
Truly Significant will challenge your view of success and ignite
a life of impact. Order now at TinyURL dot com,
backslash truly Significant and begin living intentionally. Maybe your epitaph will.
Speaker 4 (18:23):
Read she gave outrageously extended grace unceasingly and lived to
help others so that death found her empty.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Visit truly significant dot com and celebrate the most truly
significant people in your life with the truly Significant community.
How bold of you to make your next chapter matter
and be truly significant.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
And we're back with Melissa Gonzalez, author of The Purpose Pivot,
How dynamic leaders put vulnerability and into wish in action.
The book is out September the thirtieth. Make sure and
buy it. It's uh, you said thirty six or more stories?
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Yes, the thirty five different women contributed in addition to myself.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
That's great. Don't forget the men go through the same.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Oh let me tell you something, Rick, I've already said
that that's going to be booked two and I'm going
to have to find somebody to partner on that. But
the reason I went with women is not because I
don't believe that men go through this as well. It
was I wanted to have a lot of diversity in
the book from a professional standpoint, so that you know,
I have a background in both finance and retail and so,
(19:40):
but I wanted it to resonate. So there's women in
the book that are photographers, that are authors, that are
you know, that are in film and TV, and so
I wanted a lot of diversity around career pathing. So
I picked I picked one lane and that they're all women.
So there was one through line and there are some
topics that were little women's specific. The book does apply
(20:01):
to anybody, though, and the worksheets can apply to anybody,
and I have a fun story about that. But book two,
I do think that there is a definitely an opportunity
for men to embrace vulnerability too and tell these stories
and inspire others. But I did. I have some worksheets,
(20:23):
and I have a worksheet around, you know, really craft
in that delegation list based on what energizes you and
what depletes you and what your superpowers are and are not.
And I sent it to a local UPS to get
printed for a conference I'm speaking at, and it was
a gentleman who's like, is it okay? I saw this topic?
(20:44):
Can I print out one for myself? Because I'm kind
of going through something and I feel like this would
be really helpful for me, And how do I buy
your book? And it was such a special moment to
like have that moment of resonance that he was having
and how it was intersecting with his life.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
That's good, Melissa, pay attention to the forty nine point
five percent of the population.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
I know Book two everybody needs a sequel.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
So it's right we're always working on sequels. Okay, let's
talk about significance. That's our fun topic on this network.
And we don't own truly significant, but we I'm sure
focus over focus on it. What is at this stage
and age of your life, having been a successful executive, mom, wife,
(21:31):
now author, what does the word significance mean versus success.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Impact, importance? You know, because I think it's easy to
you know, it's like confusing productivity with impact, right like
success you achieve things. I think with significance you make impact.
(21:57):
And you know, for me, I think as I've continue
to you know, get older and have these life moments happen,
it's been become a good gut check for me to
stand back and be like, is this is this making
a difference? Is this impactful? And I think that's what
made me so excited about the book, is that, like
the moment I just described right like to me, that
(22:19):
felt like a significant moment I had with somebody printing
these documents out at ups. You know, it wasn't just
like this marketing tool that I was getting out there.
It was something that I think is a tool to
help somebody on their journey. And for me, that's significant.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
That's exactly right. We also focus on epiphanies here and speed.
Tell us your latest epiphany and why did it take
you so long to have it?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Oh boy, my greatest my epiphany? Well I do, and
I just posted this last night, Sae. It's one why
I'm thinking of it is when I came back from
you know, I was in the hospital and then I
had to stay in Seattle for weeks until I was
able to fly back, and you know, being careful on
(23:16):
blood cloths and all of that. And my daughter said
to me, you know, mom, and she was only eight
and a half. My mom's so mad at what your
body did to you, but I'm so proud at how
it fought for you. And that was an epiphany moment
for me because a I mean a child, right, like
(23:40):
how smart they are, how they can just be so
vulnerable and how they express themselves. But more importantly, it's
just how right she was because here you are, you
come out of surgery, and you see the scars and
you see how you you don't look the same, and
you focus on that and you don't. It made me
step back and just say thank you to me. But
because it did, it had to re amend. It had
(24:03):
to do all these things, and we don't honor that
as much as we should. And so that was a
big epiphany for me.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Once again. The next generation speaks volumes. Yeah, yeah, what
other lessons have your has your daughter taught you?
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Oh gosh, I feel like we're schooling each other all
the time. But I think, you know, she teaches me
just I mean, they're at that I think at that
young age there, they don't realize they're being vulnerable. They're
just being honest, right, And so she teaches me that.
I think of like how to remember to ask the
(24:47):
whyse you know, because they do that all the time,
and and and and I think through the whise you
organically pause and reflect. And I think that's something she
always reminds me, because she'll catch me sometimes they don't
expect it and ask those whys. And I'm like that,
you're right, that's a very good question. That's right.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
My grandchildren, the two of them have collectively taught Papa
Rico how to answer with brevity and clarity because they
ask forty seven thousand whys.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
In one oh yes, yes?
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Why does it take stages like that in life to
make one realize that brevity and clarity are king.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Mm hmm. It's true. It's true. They do. They have
their mind of that all the time. I Mean sometimes
I'm like a bay enough questions for sure, But yes,
they are good reminders of those things.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
They sure are. And lastly, my new friend, we're going
to go through a rapid fire reflection. What is the
one word that describes your purpose today?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Impact?
Speaker 1 (26:07):
And a leader you admire for their vulnerability?
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Oh my goodness, Oh there's so many, but there's so many.
Oh my gosh, you ask that question. I mean, I
think you're I'm attracted to turn around stories and so
you know, that's one area where I feel like where
somebody kind of steps into the unknown and without all
(26:34):
the answers and just kind of forges ahead and makes
something out of it because they lean into their why
through and through with it. And you know, I think
that's why, you know, as an individual like h and
I'm going through this process as an author, I look
at somebody like a Mel Robbins, who you know, she
was at a point in her life right fifty above
(26:55):
and just kind of didn't she wasn't known for what
she does, but she truly believed in the mission behind
it and leaned into and I think all the things
that she's accomplished with being an author and launching her
platform and have her podcasts, and the people she's teaming
up with, and you know, I think it's it's people
like that that I that I really admire, the change makers,
(27:21):
you know, that really stay true to their why oh.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Yes, and a daily ritual that keeps you grounded.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
I mean, I try that, but I would say recently,
it's my walks with my dog, so that my sounds
sounds so simple, but it's true. And I and I
talked in the book a little bit of finding your
awe intervention moments, and and for me, you know, that's
those That's what it is. So more accessibly, it's my
(27:54):
walk with my dog. But if I can't find that
and or I'm somewhere with that beautiful, amazing sunrise, those
are my moments of connection. And I think we should
all find those awe moments where you just kind of
can break away from the monotony, from the phone, from
all the things and have extreme presence. And like when
(28:16):
I walk my dog and he's like looking at me,
his cute little face and his tongue hanging out like you,
just like you get lost in that moment and when
I watch a sunrise and you're just captivated by those things,
those would be two for me on the top of
my list.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Well, you just answered the fourth rapid fire because I
was going to ask you a quote from your book
that inspires you most.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
If it's fine you're all inspired moment or have extreme presence,
that's worth buying your book.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
Well, I love it. And also, well being should not
be a side project in your life.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Well being should not be a side project.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Maybe I should update that it cannot be. Well being
cannot be a side product in your life. And because
the truth of the matter is, there were dozens of
women in the book who had a medical moment, including myself,
and a lot of the commonalities were our bodies were
talking to us, but we weren't listening. We waited till
we hit a wall, whether we ended up in an
(29:22):
emergency room or what have you, to finally listen. We
need to debunk the myth that taking those pauses are
signs of weakness, because prioritizing yourself is actually strength, and
you learn so much more from it. And when you
embrace that for yourself, especially as a leader, you're going
(29:42):
to cultivate such a healthier organization and be a stronger
leader for your teams.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
It's so true that last day you just said reminded
me of a recent interview. And this was with an
executive who he and his wife effecting, and on his
Excel spreadsheet was the birth of the baby. And they said,
so we'll have a baby on this date and then
we're going to do such and such a thing. We've
got this business meeting afterwards that I went, babies aren't
(30:13):
on Excel spreadsheets. And to your point, well being is
not on an Excel spreadsheet either. It's not a project,
it's a life decision.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
It's a life decision exactly. And when we talk about
a world where work and life is so integrated, then
you can't think that you're not going to bring your
full self like all of it shows up whether you're
healthy or unhealthy. Right, So you have to prioritize that
because you're going to think better, you're going to perform better,
you're going to lead better, you're going to all those things.
(30:47):
It's a holistic look itself, and I think we forget
that we do.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
It's been an honor to have you on. Melissa Gonzalez
by her book The Purpose Pivot, how dynamic leaders put
vulnerability and intuition into action. It's for guys too, so
maybe you can eat it and be inspired.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Thank you, Melissa, Thank you so much for having me.
It's a pleasure speaking with you.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Of course. Folks, thanks for joining us today and as
always we wish you success but on your way to significance.
Have great week.
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