March 16, 2025 • 42 mins
I'm finally spilling the tea on where I've been since 2021. We're chatting about my initial reasons for pausing the podcast, including burnout and feeling overwhelmed by the saturation of the podcasting space. I'm giving details on what I've been up to talking about my professional endeavors, such as working on a book, consulting on the LinkedIn Podcast Network, and more. I'm also introducing Growth Circles by Switch, Pivot or Quit and if you're interested in learning more get on my email list at www.AhyianaAngel.com!
Timecodes:
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
01:05 Why I Pressed Pause on the Podcast
06:33 Realizations During the Break
12:03 Life in New York City
13:42 Travel Adventures
22:13 Personal Growth and Hobbies
27:06 Professional Updates
36:49 Embracing Change and Growth Circles
40:19 Closing Remarks
Timecodes:
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
01:05 Why I Pressed Pause on the Podcast
06:33 Realizations During the Break
12:03 Life in New York City
13:42 Travel Adventures
22:13 Personal Growth and Hobbies
27:06 Professional Updates
36:49 Embracing Change and Growth Circles
40:19 Closing Remarks
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is amazing media production. Hello, Hello, most awesome one.
Welcome to another episode of the Switch Pivot or Quick podcast.
If you're new, welcome to this beautiful space that we
occupy together, and if you have been here before, welcome back.
(00:23):
I'm your host, Ayana Angel And I always go back
and forth between whether I feel like I should formerly
do like an intro and introduce myself or if we
should just jump right into it, because sometimes for me,
I'm just like, let's just get into it. So I'll
do a little bit of both, I guess. So this episode,
(00:44):
if you will allow me to, will be sort of
a deep dive on where I've been since I stopped
regularly uploading episodes in twenty twenty one. I'm going to
do it in the form of Q and A. So
I guess maybe I can give a little bit of
(01:06):
a host intro in that Q and A as well.
All Right, So the first question is why did I
press pause on the podcast? So I started this podcast
back in twenty seventeen, and I was a few years
removed from making a major career change. Right, I had
(01:30):
quit this career that I thought I would be doing forever.
It was pr I was in entertainment PR, then transition
to sports entertainment PR, and I sort of fell into
that PR career, and as I continued on that path,
I realized at a certain point that it was no
(01:51):
longer aligned with me and who I was as a
person and how I wanted to show up in the world.
So as a result, I was seeking out all of
these answers to my question of, well, what next. If
I'm not going to do this, if this is no
longer the career I'm interested in, what am I going
to do? So in trying to answer that question, I
(02:12):
went on a journey of personal exploration. And I didn't
really know much about self help or anything like that,
but that's essentially what I was doing, was helping myself
to figure out myself, to understand what could be next
for me. And so this podcast was born out of
the conversations that I wish I would have had in
(02:36):
my biggest season of transition. So I started off doing
two episodes weekly and that ended up transitioning to one
episode weekly. And so after all of these years in
of podcasting, I got burnt out. That's the headline. I
(03:00):
got burnt out. And after we were in twenty twenty,
where everyone started a podcast, wanted to be a podcaster,
felt like they needed to have their voice heard. I
think I got a little bit jaded also with paying
attention to too many other people and how many people
(03:20):
were showing up in this space, and questioning whether I
thought I was still bringing value with the conversations that
I was having. And also there's this little thing in
me that never wants to do what other people are doing.
It's a bad thing, right, but sometimes it clouds my judgment,
and I think that also played a role in me
(03:42):
deciding to press pause, step away for a minute. I
just felt like there were too many people contributing to
the same type of conversation. And I also sort of
had this feeling like, maybe you just leave on a
high note, right, You have been ushering in these conversations
(04:03):
for a number of years now, and you are sort
of at a peak, if you will a little, and
maybe that's a great time to leave the conversation where
it is. Maybe other people have also had enough of
this conversation. Oh gosh. I know what I didn't realize
(04:27):
is how much this podcast had impacted other people. So
when I would be in conversation with people that I
didn't know, some people I never even met before, and
a lot of different scenarios. People would share with me
(04:47):
once they found out my history and my background, or
even that I was associated with the Switch Privot or
quick podcast, they would then share with me that they
were listeners, that the podcast was a comfort for them
and a time or in a season where they really
needed it. And I didn't realize how many different people
(05:10):
from different spaces I would encounter who had that same storyline.
It blew my mind. The first couple of times, I
was like, Okay, this is just a bit of a coincidence.
Right then, as it kept happening, I was like, Okay,
so this podcast, these conversations have more of an impact
(05:30):
than I think you realized. Oh that was a tough
pill to swallow, because then I started thinking, Wow, did
I just leave a bunch of my community hanging by
walking away? And the simple answer is yes, I did,
(05:51):
And so right now, I absolutely want to apologize to
you if you felt like I may have left you
hanging in a season of your transition, because that was
never something I wanted to do. I guess in a way,
I was sort of being selfish when I made the
(06:12):
decision to press pause. And now that I'm back, I
hope that you will continue to embrace me with open arms,
give me grace for my lack of good judgment in
the situation, and just continue to rock with me as
we have conversations that hopefully will aid you in your
(06:37):
self exploration. So let's keep talking a little bit more
about what I didn't realize, because that's a good question.
What did not realize? A I didn't realize how many
people were first time hardcore podcast listeners by way of
the Switch Privot Quad podcast. I didn't realize how strong
(06:59):
the community was that I built. Sometimes when you're too
close to things, you don't see it for what it is.
So I didn't realize that, and that makes me sad.
I also didn't realize that I didn't have to have
this black or white, all or nothing type of mentality
(07:19):
about things. And I remember years ago a therapist that
I was working with talking to me about the idea
of not looking at things through a black or white lens,
that things don't have to be all or nothing. And
I heard her and that stuck out and I remembered
it because I recognize that sometimes I can be like that,
(07:39):
and what that means is it's sort of like a
cognitive not sort of it is they say, it's a
cognitive distortion where people perceive situations or people or actions
in extremities. It is not a great area that you
(08:00):
can say, well, maybe it's a little bit of this,
maybe it's a little bit of that. It is always
in all or nothing type of situation, good or bad,
right or wrong, And that is a short sighted way
of being of thinking of things, of working through things,
of decision making. So I realized that that is partially
(08:22):
what I did in making the decision to press pause
on the podcast. It was an all or nothing thing.
I didn't give myself the space to maybe just scale
back a bit. Maybe I could have gone to producing
episodes once a month. So I recognize that as an
area that I need to get better about and something
(08:44):
that I probably shouldn't have done. Another thing that I
realized is that what would Brad do. Brad would have
never never, okay, left something or a brand that he
created on his own and built up from scratch into something.
(09:06):
Brad would have never done that, you hear me, Brad
may have taken a break, taken a beat, whatever. But
Brad would have never done that. Okay, let's give a
moment of silence for the siren. Ay, yeah, yay, this
is living in New York City. I'll get to that.
So anyway, Brad would not have left behind what he built.
(09:26):
And I think there's an important lesson in that, because
we spend so much time and effort building up ourselves,
building up a brand, building up a company, building up
whatever it is that we touch, and for us to
just easily walk away from it, we gotta check ourselves
when we are tempted to do that. Sometimes you do
(09:48):
need to walk away, but other times you just need
a break. So the last thing that I realized is
that I wasn't paying attention to what filled me up
in a different way. I hate self produced. This podcast
have been from the very beginning pretty much everything that
(10:09):
touches the switch, pivot or quit brand is me is
a reflection of me. Is what I have done. I
have executed all the branding, all the marketing, all the
sound like everything, and so yes, there is a room
for you to get burnt out with that. But what
I didn't realize was the part of the switch privoter
(10:34):
quit brand and offerings. That I really missed was engaging
with you, It was having the conversations. It was taking
the conversations offline. I used to do Instagram lives. I
would host these sessions, these meetup sessions virtually where we
(10:55):
were able to commune and pour into each other, and
I really missed all of the elements. I also realized
that being a part of the conversations that help people,
and being able to share things that I've learned and
experienced and helped someone else so that they can work
(11:15):
through what they are trying to learn and work through
the things that they are experiencing. That gave me energy
and I really missed that energy. So I had to
just sit with myself for a bit and think about
what the positives were and what the stressors were, and
(11:39):
then make a decision about how I wanted to balance
things out so that I can continue to show up
in the spaces that fuel me, but not allow myself
to be depleted at the same time. Now, the question
of what have I been up to, so making switch
(12:00):
privo quit is always about embracing change, and what I've
been doing while I've been away is continuing to do
just that as you heard via the sirens, and you'll
probably hear more Shenanigans in my background at some point
in time, because I am living in an apartment in
(12:21):
New York City and there are people who are constantly
doing stuff around me, so complete silence is just a
thing of the past. The New York City streets are
always active. It's always something going on. But I live
in a cozy, comfortable apartment in Manhattan and I love
(12:46):
my little spot. If you follow me on Instagram, you
have probably seen that my apartment has these amazing windows
where I have a beautiful view of the city and
I love it looking at this view in the morning,
in the evening when all the lights are off. It's
so funny because the first year of me living here,
(13:09):
every time I would walk into my front door, I
would be staring outside of the window at this beautiful
view and I would just be like, Wow, this is amazing.
I love this. Like when I first moved in, probably
the first few days, I would actually say out loud, wow,
(13:29):
I love this view. So I love my apartment, but
it does have its drawbacks, right being in the midst
of all the sometimes chaos can be a lot, but
you know it is what it is. I know you're
locked in sight and soaking up all this goodness. But
hold on for me just one minute or maybe two
(13:53):
while we hear from our sponsors. Let's keep this trend
of what I've been up to. Personally. I did some travel.
Definitely love travel. One of my favorite trips that I've
taken recently was to Mexico City. That was in twenty
(14:14):
twenty four. I took my very first cooking class there.
The chef who taught the class was amazing. His energy
was just so full of life. His presence was warm
and welcoming. He was like everything I want when I
go out of town and engage with people who are
providing you with an experience. So we met up at
(14:38):
this mercado. I don't even know if I'm saying that right,
but it was like a Spanish market, and they had
all the fruits and veggies and meats and all the
things that you would need to cook a meal. And
so he guided us with selecting avocados and tomatoes and
celantro and just all the things to make tacos l pasto,
(15:00):
and so we did the whole grocery shopping thing, food
market shopping. Then we took public transportation with him, took
a train to his house, which is a home that
he shared with his wife. And it's so funny that house.
We didn't go inside the house. We were in like
this sort of indoor outdoor kitchen. The backyard was beautiful.
(15:23):
They had taken a detached garage and turned it into
a kitchen, and so we all cooked with him side
by side, me and my girlfriends. We made everything from scratch,
including our taco shells. Like I was like, wow, this
is intense. The food tasted delicious. We were able to
(15:45):
sit down and share our meal with him and his wife,
and they told us their love story and it was
just beautiful. It was just one of those experiences that
you'll never forget on a trip. I also really wanted
to go to Mexico City to do a hot air
balloon ride, so I did that as well. That experience
(16:09):
was I didn't even know what to expect, but it
was beyond my expectations. Floating in the sky above these old, historic,
ancient pyramids in Mexico and just seeing all these other
hot air balloons rising at different times and floating in
(16:32):
the sky alongside you, and so many of them off
in the distance as well. That was a sight unlike
anything I had ever seen. Didn't know it was something
I wanted to see and needed to see, and it
just made me feel alive. Like those types of moments
when I have those experiences, make me remember why I
(16:55):
work hard so that I can provide those experiences to myself, Like, Oh,
it just filled me up so much. I wasn't scared
at all. Yes, you are soaring in the sky, really
really high, and I do sometimes have a fear of
heights in different circumstances, but that wasn't a situation that
(17:15):
induced fear. It was just beautiful, beautiful, the wind blowing
on your face. It wasn't too windy, the weather was perfect.
I was trying to capture as many images as I could,
but I was also really trying to be in the
moment and take it all in. I can't wait to
(17:35):
do it again. I would love to do it again.
I would do it again in Mexico City or in
another destination. It is just one of those things now
that's on my radar that I want to do again.
I also got my very first tattoo in Mexico City.
It is in red ink and it says let go.
(17:55):
I felt like that was so fitting for me because
for the longest I've never known what I wanted to
tattoo on my body permanently, and those words let go,
when they came to me, it just felt so right
because sometimes we're holding on to so many things and
trying to control so many things that we hold ourselves back,
(18:19):
that we stifle ourselves. And I just wanted it to
be a constant reminder to me on my arm where
I can just remember to let go, to be in flow,
to live a life with ease, and my decision making
(18:40):
in my day today and just everything. And my experience
getting my first tattoo could not have been more lovely.
The young lady who tattooed me her name was Glow.
Huh go figure right. I'm always saying to people, keep shining,
and her name was Glow, and that just made all
(19:03):
the sense in the world to me. Her work was
beautiful and that's what drew me to her. And then
when I got into her space, her room that she
works out of, I was just like, she's amazing, Her
energy was amazing, her light that she had around her.
I can tell why her name is Glow. I'm getting
(19:23):
emotional even thinking about it, and I'm not even I
can't even put my finger on why. But I think
it was just because it was such a beautiful experience
and the connectivity was there. Everything just felt right. She
asked me, did I want to listen to music? And
I said, yeah, sure, even though I was really really
(19:44):
nervous because I didn't know what to expect, from what
the pain level was about to be like and all
of that. She said, well, what do you want to
listen to? And I said, I want to listen to
whatever you would listen to, because this is me being
immersed in this Mexican Coo City experience, right. This is
me going to a local tattoo artist being open to
(20:07):
what this experience is gonna bring me. This is me
never having gotten a tattoo before, but trusting a complete
stranger in a whole other country to do this for me.
And so I'm also letting go, right, this is me
letting go. So I said, play whatever you want to play.
When I tell you the vibes that Glow brought to
(20:29):
that tattoo session, Oh, immaculate vibes. The vibes were free flowing,
they were soulful, they were comforting, they were like a
warm hug. It was artists like Cleo Soul, some artists
I never even heard of before. The playlist was just ooh.
(20:52):
It was just everything. And she was cracking up at
me because I was just like, good, Oh, I knew
I chose you for a reason. You are everything. I
knew I chose you for a reason. Like And we
were just vibing as we were designing the tattoo and
as we were talking about what it means to me
the words, and I just can't say enough about the experience.
(21:15):
It was just beautiful. And all of my friends who
were with me on this trip, it was four of us,
they came with me to get this tattoo, and that
meant so much as well, because all of them knew
that this was an experience I had never had before,
and this was something that I wanted to share with
them as well. And so I just can't say enough
(21:36):
about that experience. And after that, we went to Freda
Collos home, which was just like wow to see Frida
Callos artistry in the way of her home and to
see how she lived and to be in the spaces
(21:56):
that she occupied was just oo. And if you don't know,
Fredo Callo is a Mexican artist, and she was a painter.
She was just an artist through and through. But she
had a lot of disabilities that really would have limited
someone else. But walking through her home, they shared with
(22:20):
you the journey of how she did not allow anything
to hold her back, and that was very, very inspirational
as well. Okay, what else have I been up to?
I started learning French again. I took French for three
years in high school but didn't really retain much of it,
(22:42):
and I knew I was going to go on this
trip to Paris, into the south of France, and I
wanted to dabble back into French and see if I could,
you know, make some sense of it, be able to
utilize it on my trip. So spoiler alert, I wasn't
conversational by the time I went, but it was okay.
(23:03):
I still enjoyed the process of diving back into learning
French and the trip that I took was just Oh,
that was another wonderful experience to go to the Palace
of Versailles as well. Like I said, went to the
south of France for the first time, to Nice and
(23:24):
to some other surrounding small villages that were like something
out of a movie, nothing that you would ever imagine
seeing with your own eyes. It was like these little
streets in these corners, in this history. It was just
it was just like wow. It was amazing and definitely
some places I want to go back to again and revisit.
(23:46):
While in Paris, I also took my very first perfume
making class. That was a fun experience. I didn't know
anything about what goes into perfume making. I learned all
about the base notes, the top notes, the heart notes.
I was able to identify sense that really resonated with
(24:07):
me and so moving forward in life, I know what
since I am drawn to now as a result of that.
And then at the end, we were able to take
our signature perfume that we made home with us and
you know, just use it and always remember Paris from
that scent when we sprayed on ourselves. So that was
(24:27):
a very cute experience. I also tried my hand at
some free clay molding that's just been around the city.
I went to some different classes in an art cafe
that was cool. Also started painting. That's something that has
been on my radar for a while. And finally one
(24:48):
day I was just like, you know what, buy the canvases,
buy the paint, do the thing. And so that's what
I did. I bought some canvases. And let me just
also say this, you do not have to break the
bank for a new hobby or something that you want
to try out and explore. I went to five Below
(25:09):
or five in Below, however you say it. One of
those little stores that sells a little bit of everything,
but it's on the inexpensive side. Got canvases from there,
a carlic paint from there, paint brushes from there. They
had everything I needed, and so I came home and
I started this journey of painting. Until now on my
(25:30):
wall above my couch, I have all the things that
I've painted, and I hesitated to put them up first
because I didn't really want to frame them or anything.
And I was like, oh, it's not gonna look as good,
it's not gonna look classic if I don't have you know,
frames around the artwork. But then I said, you know what,
I'm doing this for me. I started painting for me.
(25:53):
I live in this space every day. These paintings are
bright and they make me feel good. And so I'm
going to put up my artwork and display it in
the way that feels good to me. And that's just
what I did. And so I've done a little bit
of artsy artsy kind of things, and you know, I've
been enjoying that. Also been listening to more audio books.
(26:14):
That is a great way for me to immerse myself
in whatever it is that I want to learn or
know more about, but also do it in a more
passive way. And a couple of the books that I
guess I could share with you that I think could
universally be interesting or of interest to you, just by
(26:36):
way of knowing that you are a person that wants
to continuously expand your mind and listen to positive things
and uplift yourself and grow. And so one of the
books is The Magic of Thinking Big. That one is old,
but a lot of the sentiments within the books still stand.
I enjoy that one, and I also enjoyed The Mountain
(26:59):
Is You. The Mountain is You is a little bit
more like an affirmation in the form of phrases and
things that you either should know or maybe already do know.
It doesn't go heavy into tactical ways of being and executing,
but it is something easy to listen to as you're
(27:21):
just going about your day and you want some positivity
in your ears. Oh, I know it's getting good, but
we'll be right back after we hear from our sponsors. Okay,
our next question is what have I been up to
(27:43):
work wise? I'm excited to say that I finally started
really working on the Switch Pivot or Quick book. That
has been a experience in going back and digging deep
into my memory and recalling the evolution of this switch
(28:04):
privot or Quick journey for me, and it's been hard
at times, but also made me excited and energized as
I've been working on this project because it reminds me
of like who I am, what I've done, how far
I've come, and what I have to offer to other people.
(28:25):
And so I don't know when that book will be available,
but just know I'm working on it. I've also started
uploading content, mainly short form content to my YouTube channel.
Again that's been fun. Tried my hand at some voiceover work.
That was something I'm glad I did so that now
(28:45):
I know what it looks like and what is required
voiceover work. It may seem simple enough, but it's a
lot of work, especially when you're doing like audio books
and things, and unfortunately the pay is not always worth
the investment of time and effort that you give to
(29:07):
creating that work. I enjoyed it for the time that
I did it, and I won't say that I won't
ever do it again, but it's just not something that
I'm going to run to. I also embarked on a
bit of a continuing education journey and got my project
management certification. What I didn't realize is that so many
of us are project managers, just not formally. We didn't
(29:29):
really know it. We didn't realize it, and so I
just wanted to have some tools behind me that could
really help to reinforce the things that I already knew
I was doing. So did that felt good like an accomplishment.
I have also been doing some work behind the scenes.
(29:49):
A lot of podcasts work behind the scenes. For those
of you who don't know, I started off in this
podcasting space a complete novice, didn't know anything, being self
taught on all fronts. But as I continue to operate
in the space and produce my own podcasts and things
of that nature. I started getting opportunities to work with
(30:11):
other people, and if you don't know, early on in
my podcast career, in twenty eighteen, I started my own
podcast network because I realized that there was a lack
of voices from women and women of color, especially black women,
in the podcasting space, and I wanted to help amplify
those voices. Well, I quickly realized that that would take
(30:34):
a lot of financial investment that I didn't have at
the time to put into that business to really help
it to grow. So I decided to pivot. And with
that pivot, I realized that I could do a lot
of the work that I was doing for myself for
other people and also consult with them on what that
(30:58):
looks like and guide them. And so that is a
lot of what I've been doing. I have had the
opportunity to work with Fortune five hundred companies, specifically even
beauty companies and brands like Essay Latter. I helped them
to develop their internal podcasts, which is just mind blowing
(31:18):
that I'm even saying that right. I had the chance
to be in the room with mister Leonard Latter while
he was giving a talk to employees and turn that
into a podcast like that team was a great team
to work with, and they really are a hard working
team of people who know their stuff and demand excellence
(31:42):
from each other, and that was just a wonderful experience.
I also produced some podcasts under Spotify. Worked with Jamel
Hills the Unbothered Network, which was on Spotify's podcast network
at a point in time. That was a cool experience
working with Jamel and being behind the scenes on some
(32:04):
of the interviews that she was conducting with I don't
know a little bit of everybody, right, people like Lilain
and just like all these different people that she was
talking to and interviewing on her show and getting to
be a part of that was pretty cool. Also tried
my hand at show running, which was something new to
(32:25):
me and gave me a new respect and appreciation for
what the function of a showrunner is because they truly
touch and handle everything on a production. They are all
knowing and so I was a showrunner for The Truth
Be Told podcast hosted by the amazing journalist Tanya Moseley,
(32:49):
and that experience taught me a lot. It was so
insightful working with Tanya seeing how she prepares for interviews,
seeing how she conducts interviews, use how she thinks about
her show and the content that she wants to bring
to her audience. She is just such a thoughtful person
and well respected in the industry for a very good reason.
(33:13):
So that was a lovely experience. And what else have
I been doing. I've been working, I've been working, working, working,
and I've also been working lately with a company that
we all know very very well. I took on a
full time contract role with LinkedIn, consulting on their podcast
(33:35):
network in the areas of operations and sponsorships. And one
of the reasons that I took on this project was
I wanted to learn more of the or be exposed
to more also of the behind the scenes business aspects
of podcasting. I knew a lot already, but I wanted
(33:58):
to see how a company as large as LinkedIn was
handling podcasting. And I have learned a lot, and thankfully
I've also been able to lend my knowledge and expertise
in the space of podcasting as well to the LinkedIn
podcast network. So if you didn't know, yes, LinkedIn has
a podcast network, a whole podcast network with multiple shows
(34:20):
that air on the network, and if you follow me
on Instagram, you've probably seen where I was actually a
featured guest on one of those shows, their flagship show,
longest running show, Hello Monday, hosted by the amazing journalist
Jesse Hemple. She invited me to have a conversation with
another colleague and her about ambition. Really good episode. Go
(34:43):
check it out if you haven't already. And that was
a pleasure to be in conversation with Jesse because she
thinks so deeply about the topics that she brings to
the forefront on her podcast, Hello Monday, and she allows
space for people to have opposing ideas or to think
(35:07):
past where she has gone with the ideas that she
has and so it was just a rich conversation that
I really appreciated participating in. And so day to day
there I have a decent amount of work on my
plate and it keeps me busy. But I've been enjoying
working at LinkedIn because it also allows me to operate
(35:32):
within a team structure again, which was nice and refreshing.
The people that I work with are very very smart,
excellent at what they do, and what do they say,
Iron sharpens iron, right so when you're working around people
who are excellent at what they do, you're able to
glean things from them and take those things with you
(35:54):
and expand your knowledge base so that you can be better.
So that has been a huge, huge plus and benefit
from the experience as well as this is my first
time working at a tech company, and working in tech
is completely different from working in entertainment. The terminology that's used,
the TLDR, the p zeros and p ones, like all
(36:19):
these different things that just work in my frame of
reference before that. Now I have in my toolkit to
know how to work within a tech company, so I
appreciate that as well. So there's been a lot of benefits,
and I think one of the most beneficial things that
all of these experiences has taught me and has made
(36:39):
me realize is that I missed being behind the mic.
I missed having the conversations. I missed being a conduit
to the conversations, and being back sitting here right now
having this chat with you, telling you my whole life
(37:00):
story for the last like five years whatever four years.
It has been really good, really really really good. Putting
episodes out again has been something that has made me
light up in a way, and I'm just happy to
be back. One of the big things I want you
(37:22):
to walk away from this episode hearing me say. Out
of all the things that I've shared, I want you
to hear me saying in the midst of all of
this that it is to your benefit to open your mind,
to be open, to be embracing of change, to be
(37:45):
open to uncertainty, because uncertainty is not a bad thing.
It leaves room for beautiful and unexpected gifts in life
to happen to us. I know that there are a
lot of people who are uncomfortable with change, and maybe
(38:05):
I'm a little bit more comfortable with it than the
average person, But I really want to encourage you to
not let change and fear of uncertainty and the unknown
stop you from experiencing the greatness that is out there
for you. Sometimes we don't even know what that looks like,
(38:27):
what it could feel like, and we'll never know if
we close ourselves off to those opportunities. Speaking of opportunities today,
later today I will be hosting the first of what
will hopefully be many growth circles presented by the Switch
(38:47):
Pivot or quick podcast. If you know anything about me
and my history with this podcast, You'll know that there
was a time where I was hosting these sessions back
in maybe like twenty nineteen, and they just felt so good.
And a part of the reason I wanted to bring
them back was because lately, for the last few months,
(39:07):
I have been meeting regularly with a group of girlfriends,
and even the times where some of us don't feel
like showing up, we haven't had the best days, or
there's a lot going on in our lives, and we
just are like, oh okay, we still show up anyway,
and these virtual sessions pour into us more than we
(39:29):
could have ever imagined they would. And on the other side,
we are all always saying I'm so glad I showed
up today. I didn't feel like it, maybe I didn't
want to, whatever the scenario is. Sometimes we were more
than happy to show up, though, but we always walk
away saying this is just what I needed. And so
with everything going on in life and all the challenges
(39:51):
that we all continuously face, I want to hopefully bring
forward a space with these growth circles where we can
be in community with each other and where we can
walk away from these sessions feeling filled up and positive
and a bit lighter and inspired and happy, just knowing
(40:12):
that you have people who are rooting for you, and
also feeling like you were seen and you were heard
in that space. And so if you don't know about
the growth circles, if you haven't received an email from me,
then you probably should head over to Ayana angel dot com.
That's a h y I A n A angel dot
(40:32):
com and get on my email list. I don't send
a lot of emails. I'm not a spam emailer, but
get on the list so you can find out when
the next growth circle will be happening and you can
secure your spot. In the coming months, I will hopefully
be hosting more of them. All right, I have ran
my mouth. I think I have said enough. I have
(40:54):
caught you up you know everything that has been going on.
Thank you so much for listening, for spending time with
me today. As always, I appreciate your presence and I
hope that you go into this next week feeling good,
feeling aligned with what you want to do in this life,
and even if you're not there yet, hopefully you are
(41:17):
feeling positive about the journey that you're on to get there.
As always, I'm sending you big hugs, big love, and
until next time, be well. This podcast is produced by
(41:38):
Mazie Media. Maze Media as a woman led podcast production
company that works with small businesses and corporations. Visit mazimedia
dot com for more details on how you and your
organization can go from ideation to podcasting
This is amazing media production. Hello, Hello, most awesome one.
Welcome to another episode of the Switch Pivot or Quick podcast.
If you're new, welcome to this beautiful space that we
occupy together, and if you have been here before, welcome back.
(00:23):
I'm your host, Ayana Angel And I always go back
and forth between whether I feel like I should formerly
do like an intro and introduce myself or if we
should just jump right into it, because sometimes for me,
I'm just like, let's just get into it. So I'll
do a little bit of both, I guess. So this episode,
(00:44):
if you will allow me to, will be sort of
a deep dive on where I've been since I stopped
regularly uploading episodes in twenty twenty one. I'm going to
do it in the form of Q and A. So
I guess maybe I can give a little bit of
(01:06):
a host intro in that Q and A as well.
All Right, So the first question is why did I
press pause on the podcast? So I started this podcast
back in twenty seventeen, and I was a few years
removed from making a major career change. Right, I had
(01:30):
quit this career that I thought I would be doing forever.
It was pr I was in entertainment PR, then transition
to sports entertainment PR, and I sort of fell into
that PR career, and as I continued on that path,
I realized at a certain point that it was no
(01:51):
longer aligned with me and who I was as a
person and how I wanted to show up in the world.
So as a result, I was seeking out all of
these answers to my question of, well, what next. If
I'm not going to do this, if this is no
longer the career I'm interested in, what am I going
to do? So in trying to answer that question, I
(02:12):
went on a journey of personal exploration. And I didn't
really know much about self help or anything like that,
but that's essentially what I was doing, was helping myself
to figure out myself, to understand what could be next
for me. And so this podcast was born out of
the conversations that I wish I would have had in
(02:36):
my biggest season of transition. So I started off doing
two episodes weekly and that ended up transitioning to one
episode weekly. And so after all of these years in
of podcasting, I got burnt out. That's the headline. I
(03:00):
got burnt out. And after we were in twenty twenty,
where everyone started a podcast, wanted to be a podcaster,
felt like they needed to have their voice heard. I
think I got a little bit jaded also with paying
attention to too many other people and how many people
(03:20):
were showing up in this space, and questioning whether I
thought I was still bringing value with the conversations that
I was having. And also there's this little thing in
me that never wants to do what other people are doing.
It's a bad thing, right, but sometimes it clouds my judgment,
and I think that also played a role in me
(03:42):
deciding to press pause, step away for a minute. I
just felt like there were too many people contributing to
the same type of conversation. And I also sort of
had this feeling like, maybe you just leave on a
high note, right, You have been ushering in these conversations
(04:03):
for a number of years now, and you are sort
of at a peak, if you will a little, and
maybe that's a great time to leave the conversation where
it is. Maybe other people have also had enough of
this conversation. Oh gosh. I know what I didn't realize
(04:27):
is how much this podcast had impacted other people. So
when I would be in conversation with people that I
didn't know, some people I never even met before, and
a lot of different scenarios. People would share with me
(04:47):
once they found out my history and my background, or
even that I was associated with the Switch Privot or
quick podcast, they would then share with me that they
were listeners, that the podcast was a comfort for them
and a time or in a season where they really
needed it. And I didn't realize how many different people
(05:10):
from different spaces I would encounter who had that same storyline.
It blew my mind. The first couple of times, I
was like, Okay, this is just a bit of a coincidence.
Right then, as it kept happening, I was like, Okay,
so this podcast, these conversations have more of an impact
(05:30):
than I think you realized. Oh that was a tough
pill to swallow, because then I started thinking, Wow, did
I just leave a bunch of my community hanging by
walking away? And the simple answer is yes, I did,
(05:51):
And so right now, I absolutely want to apologize to
you if you felt like I may have left you
hanging in a season of your transition, because that was
never something I wanted to do. I guess in a way,
I was sort of being selfish when I made the
(06:12):
decision to press pause. And now that I'm back, I
hope that you will continue to embrace me with open arms,
give me grace for my lack of good judgment in
the situation, and just continue to rock with me as
we have conversations that hopefully will aid you in your
(06:37):
self exploration. So let's keep talking a little bit more
about what I didn't realize, because that's a good question.
What did not realize? A I didn't realize how many
people were first time hardcore podcast listeners by way of
the Switch Privot Quad podcast. I didn't realize how strong
(06:59):
the community was that I built. Sometimes when you're too
close to things, you don't see it for what it is.
So I didn't realize that, and that makes me sad.
I also didn't realize that I didn't have to have
this black or white, all or nothing type of mentality
(07:19):
about things. And I remember years ago a therapist that
I was working with talking to me about the idea
of not looking at things through a black or white lens,
that things don't have to be all or nothing. And
I heard her and that stuck out and I remembered
it because I recognize that sometimes I can be like that,
(07:39):
and what that means is it's sort of like a
cognitive not sort of it is they say, it's a
cognitive distortion where people perceive situations or people or actions
in extremities. It is not a great area that you
(08:00):
can say, well, maybe it's a little bit of this,
maybe it's a little bit of that. It is always
in all or nothing type of situation, good or bad,
right or wrong, And that is a short sighted way
of being of thinking of things, of working through things,
of decision making. So I realized that that is partially
(08:22):
what I did in making the decision to press pause
on the podcast. It was an all or nothing thing.
I didn't give myself the space to maybe just scale
back a bit. Maybe I could have gone to producing
episodes once a month. So I recognize that as an
area that I need to get better about and something
(08:44):
that I probably shouldn't have done. Another thing that I
realized is that what would Brad do. Brad would have
never never, okay, left something or a brand that he
created on his own and built up from scratch into something.
(09:06):
Brad would have never done that, you hear me, Brad
may have taken a break, taken a beat, whatever. But
Brad would have never done that. Okay, let's give a
moment of silence for the siren. Ay, yeah, yay, this
is living in New York City. I'll get to that.
So anyway, Brad would not have left behind what he built.
(09:26):
And I think there's an important lesson in that, because
we spend so much time and effort building up ourselves,
building up a brand, building up a company, building up
whatever it is that we touch, and for us to
just easily walk away from it, we gotta check ourselves
when we are tempted to do that. Sometimes you do
(09:48):
need to walk away, but other times you just need
a break. So the last thing that I realized is
that I wasn't paying attention to what filled me up
in a different way. I hate self produced. This podcast
have been from the very beginning pretty much everything that
(10:09):
touches the switch, pivot or quit brand is me is
a reflection of me. Is what I have done. I
have executed all the branding, all the marketing, all the
sound like everything, and so yes, there is a room
for you to get burnt out with that. But what
I didn't realize was the part of the switch privoter
(10:34):
quit brand and offerings. That I really missed was engaging
with you, It was having the conversations. It was taking
the conversations offline. I used to do Instagram lives. I
would host these sessions, these meetup sessions virtually where we
(10:55):
were able to commune and pour into each other, and
I really missed all of the elements. I also realized
that being a part of the conversations that help people,
and being able to share things that I've learned and
experienced and helped someone else so that they can work
(11:15):
through what they are trying to learn and work through
the things that they are experiencing. That gave me energy
and I really missed that energy. So I had to
just sit with myself for a bit and think about
what the positives were and what the stressors were, and
(11:39):
then make a decision about how I wanted to balance
things out so that I can continue to show up
in the spaces that fuel me, but not allow myself
to be depleted at the same time. Now, the question
of what have I been up to, so making switch
(12:00):
privo quit is always about embracing change, and what I've
been doing while I've been away is continuing to do
just that as you heard via the sirens, and you'll
probably hear more Shenanigans in my background at some point
in time, because I am living in an apartment in
(12:21):
New York City and there are people who are constantly
doing stuff around me, so complete silence is just a
thing of the past. The New York City streets are
always active. It's always something going on. But I live
in a cozy, comfortable apartment in Manhattan and I love
(12:46):
my little spot. If you follow me on Instagram, you
have probably seen that my apartment has these amazing windows
where I have a beautiful view of the city and
I love it looking at this view in the morning,
in the evening when all the lights are off. It's
so funny because the first year of me living here,
(13:09):
every time I would walk into my front door, I
would be staring outside of the window at this beautiful
view and I would just be like, Wow, this is amazing.
I love this. Like when I first moved in, probably
the first few days, I would actually say out loud, wow,
(13:29):
I love this view. So I love my apartment, but
it does have its drawbacks, right being in the midst
of all the sometimes chaos can be a lot, but
you know it is what it is. I know you're
locked in sight and soaking up all this goodness. But
hold on for me just one minute or maybe two
(13:53):
while we hear from our sponsors. Let's keep this trend
of what I've been up to. Personally. I did some travel.
Definitely love travel. One of my favorite trips that I've
taken recently was to Mexico City. That was in twenty
(14:14):
twenty four. I took my very first cooking class there.
The chef who taught the class was amazing. His energy
was just so full of life. His presence was warm
and welcoming. He was like everything I want when I
go out of town and engage with people who are
providing you with an experience. So we met up at
(14:38):
this mercado. I don't even know if I'm saying that right,
but it was like a Spanish market, and they had
all the fruits and veggies and meats and all the
things that you would need to cook a meal. And
so he guided us with selecting avocados and tomatoes and
celantro and just all the things to make tacos l pasto,
(15:00):
and so we did the whole grocery shopping thing, food
market shopping. Then we took public transportation with him, took
a train to his house, which is a home that
he shared with his wife. And it's so funny that house.
We didn't go inside the house. We were in like
this sort of indoor outdoor kitchen. The backyard was beautiful.
(15:23):
They had taken a detached garage and turned it into
a kitchen, and so we all cooked with him side
by side, me and my girlfriends. We made everything from scratch,
including our taco shells. Like I was like, wow, this
is intense. The food tasted delicious. We were able to
(15:45):
sit down and share our meal with him and his wife,
and they told us their love story and it was
just beautiful. It was just one of those experiences that
you'll never forget on a trip. I also really wanted
to go to Mexico City to do a hot air
balloon ride, so I did that as well. That experience
(16:09):
was I didn't even know what to expect, but it
was beyond my expectations. Floating in the sky above these old, historic,
ancient pyramids in Mexico and just seeing all these other
hot air balloons rising at different times and floating in
(16:32):
the sky alongside you, and so many of them off
in the distance as well. That was a sight unlike
anything I had ever seen. Didn't know it was something
I wanted to see and needed to see, and it
just made me feel alive. Like those types of moments
when I have those experiences, make me remember why I
(16:55):
work hard so that I can provide those experiences to myself, Like, Oh,
it just filled me up so much. I wasn't scared
at all. Yes, you are soaring in the sky, really
really high, and I do sometimes have a fear of
heights in different circumstances, but that wasn't a situation that
(17:15):
induced fear. It was just beautiful, beautiful, the wind blowing
on your face. It wasn't too windy, the weather was perfect.
I was trying to capture as many images as I could,
but I was also really trying to be in the
moment and take it all in. I can't wait to
(17:35):
do it again. I would love to do it again.
I would do it again in Mexico City or in
another destination. It is just one of those things now
that's on my radar that I want to do again.
I also got my very first tattoo in Mexico City.
It is in red ink and it says let go.
(17:55):
I felt like that was so fitting for me because
for the longest I've never known what I wanted to
tattoo on my body permanently, and those words let go,
when they came to me, it just felt so right
because sometimes we're holding on to so many things and
trying to control so many things that we hold ourselves back,
(18:19):
that we stifle ourselves. And I just wanted it to
be a constant reminder to me on my arm where
I can just remember to let go, to be in flow,
to live a life with ease, and my decision making
(18:40):
in my day today and just everything. And my experience
getting my first tattoo could not have been more lovely.
The young lady who tattooed me her name was Glow.
Huh go figure right. I'm always saying to people, keep shining,
and her name was Glow, and that just made all
(19:03):
the sense in the world to me. Her work was
beautiful and that's what drew me to her. And then
when I got into her space, her room that she
works out of, I was just like, she's amazing, Her
energy was amazing, her light that she had around her.
I can tell why her name is Glow. I'm getting
(19:23):
emotional even thinking about it, and I'm not even I
can't even put my finger on why. But I think
it was just because it was such a beautiful experience
and the connectivity was there. Everything just felt right. She
asked me, did I want to listen to music? And
I said, yeah, sure, even though I was really really
(19:44):
nervous because I didn't know what to expect, from what
the pain level was about to be like and all
of that. She said, well, what do you want to
listen to? And I said, I want to listen to
whatever you would listen to, because this is me being
immersed in this Mexican Coo City experience, right. This is
me going to a local tattoo artist being open to
(20:07):
what this experience is gonna bring me. This is me
never having gotten a tattoo before, but trusting a complete
stranger in a whole other country to do this for me.
And so I'm also letting go, right, this is me
letting go. So I said, play whatever you want to play.
When I tell you the vibes that Glow brought to
(20:29):
that tattoo session, Oh, immaculate vibes. The vibes were free flowing,
they were soulful, they were comforting, they were like a
warm hug. It was artists like Cleo Soul, some artists
I never even heard of before. The playlist was just ooh.
(20:52):
It was just everything. And she was cracking up at
me because I was just like, good, Oh, I knew
I chose you for a reason. You are everything. I
knew I chose you for a reason. Like And we
were just vibing as we were designing the tattoo and
as we were talking about what it means to me
the words, and I just can't say enough about the experience.
(21:15):
It was just beautiful. And all of my friends who
were with me on this trip, it was four of us,
they came with me to get this tattoo, and that
meant so much as well, because all of them knew
that this was an experience I had never had before,
and this was something that I wanted to share with
them as well. And so I just can't say enough
(21:36):
about that experience. And after that, we went to Freda
Collos home, which was just like wow to see Frida
Callos artistry in the way of her home and to
see how she lived and to be in the spaces
(21:56):
that she occupied was just oo. And if you don't know,
Fredo Callo is a Mexican artist, and she was a painter.
She was just an artist through and through. But she
had a lot of disabilities that really would have limited
someone else. But walking through her home, they shared with
(22:20):
you the journey of how she did not allow anything
to hold her back, and that was very, very inspirational
as well. Okay, what else have I been up to?
I started learning French again. I took French for three
years in high school but didn't really retain much of it,
(22:42):
and I knew I was going to go on this
trip to Paris, into the south of France, and I
wanted to dabble back into French and see if I could,
you know, make some sense of it, be able to
utilize it on my trip. So spoiler alert, I wasn't
conversational by the time I went, but it was okay.
(23:03):
I still enjoyed the process of diving back into learning
French and the trip that I took was just Oh,
that was another wonderful experience to go to the Palace
of Versailles as well. Like I said, went to the
south of France for the first time, to Nice and
(23:24):
to some other surrounding small villages that were like something
out of a movie, nothing that you would ever imagine
seeing with your own eyes. It was like these little
streets in these corners, in this history. It was just
it was just like wow. It was amazing and definitely
some places I want to go back to again and revisit.
(23:46):
While in Paris, I also took my very first perfume
making class. That was a fun experience. I didn't know
anything about what goes into perfume making. I learned all
about the base notes, the top notes, the heart notes.
I was able to identify sense that really resonated with
(24:07):
me and so moving forward in life, I know what
since I am drawn to now as a result of that.
And then at the end, we were able to take
our signature perfume that we made home with us and
you know, just use it and always remember Paris from
that scent when we sprayed on ourselves. So that was
(24:27):
a very cute experience. I also tried my hand at
some free clay molding that's just been around the city.
I went to some different classes in an art cafe
that was cool. Also started painting. That's something that has
been on my radar for a while. And finally one
(24:48):
day I was just like, you know what, buy the canvases,
buy the paint, do the thing. And so that's what
I did. I bought some canvases. And let me just
also say this, you do not have to break the
bank for a new hobby or something that you want
to try out and explore. I went to five Below
(25:09):
or five in Below, however you say it. One of
those little stores that sells a little bit of everything,
but it's on the inexpensive side. Got canvases from there,
a carlic paint from there, paint brushes from there. They
had everything I needed, and so I came home and
I started this journey of painting. Until now on my
(25:30):
wall above my couch, I have all the things that
I've painted, and I hesitated to put them up first
because I didn't really want to frame them or anything.
And I was like, oh, it's not gonna look as good,
it's not gonna look classic if I don't have you know,
frames around the artwork. But then I said, you know what,
I'm doing this for me. I started painting for me.
(25:53):
I live in this space every day. These paintings are
bright and they make me feel good. And so I'm
going to put up my artwork and display it in
the way that feels good to me. And that's just
what I did. And so I've done a little bit
of artsy artsy kind of things, and you know, I've
been enjoying that. Also been listening to more audio books.
(26:14):
That is a great way for me to immerse myself
in whatever it is that I want to learn or
know more about, but also do it in a more
passive way. And a couple of the books that I
guess I could share with you that I think could
universally be interesting or of interest to you, just by
(26:36):
way of knowing that you are a person that wants
to continuously expand your mind and listen to positive things
and uplift yourself and grow. And so one of the
books is The Magic of Thinking Big. That one is old,
but a lot of the sentiments within the books still stand.
I enjoy that one, and I also enjoyed The Mountain
(26:59):
Is You. The Mountain is You is a little bit
more like an affirmation in the form of phrases and
things that you either should know or maybe already do know.
It doesn't go heavy into tactical ways of being and executing,
but it is something easy to listen to as you're
(27:21):
just going about your day and you want some positivity
in your ears. Oh, I know it's getting good, but
we'll be right back after we hear from our sponsors. Okay,
our next question is what have I been up to
(27:43):
work wise? I'm excited to say that I finally started
really working on the Switch Pivot or Quick book. That
has been a experience in going back and digging deep
into my memory and recalling the evolution of this switch
(28:04):
privot or Quick journey for me, and it's been hard
at times, but also made me excited and energized as
I've been working on this project because it reminds me
of like who I am, what I've done, how far
I've come, and what I have to offer to other people.
(28:25):
And so I don't know when that book will be available,
but just know I'm working on it. I've also started
uploading content, mainly short form content to my YouTube channel.
Again that's been fun. Tried my hand at some voiceover work.
That was something I'm glad I did so that now
(28:45):
I know what it looks like and what is required
voiceover work. It may seem simple enough, but it's a
lot of work, especially when you're doing like audio books
and things, and unfortunately the pay is not always worth
the investment of time and effort that you give to
(29:07):
creating that work. I enjoyed it for the time that
I did it, and I won't say that I won't
ever do it again, but it's just not something that
I'm going to run to. I also embarked on a
bit of a continuing education journey and got my project
management certification. What I didn't realize is that so many
of us are project managers, just not formally. We didn't
(29:29):
really know it. We didn't realize it, and so I
just wanted to have some tools behind me that could
really help to reinforce the things that I already knew
I was doing. So did that felt good like an accomplishment.
I have also been doing some work behind the scenes.
(29:49):
A lot of podcasts work behind the scenes. For those
of you who don't know, I started off in this
podcasting space a complete novice, didn't know anything, being self
taught on all fronts. But as I continue to operate
in the space and produce my own podcasts and things
of that nature. I started getting opportunities to work with
(30:11):
other people, and if you don't know, early on in
my podcast career, in twenty eighteen, I started my own
podcast network because I realized that there was a lack
of voices from women and women of color, especially black women,
in the podcasting space, and I wanted to help amplify
those voices. Well, I quickly realized that that would take
(30:34):
a lot of financial investment that I didn't have at
the time to put into that business to really help
it to grow. So I decided to pivot. And with
that pivot, I realized that I could do a lot
of the work that I was doing for myself for
other people and also consult with them on what that
(30:58):
looks like and guide them. And so that is a
lot of what I've been doing. I have had the
opportunity to work with Fortune five hundred companies, specifically even
beauty companies and brands like Essay Latter. I helped them
to develop their internal podcasts, which is just mind blowing
(31:18):
that I'm even saying that right. I had the chance
to be in the room with mister Leonard Latter while
he was giving a talk to employees and turn that
into a podcast like that team was a great team
to work with, and they really are a hard working
team of people who know their stuff and demand excellence
(31:42):
from each other, and that was just a wonderful experience.
I also produced some podcasts under Spotify. Worked with Jamel
Hills the Unbothered Network, which was on Spotify's podcast network
at a point in time. That was a cool experience
working with Jamel and being behind the scenes on some
(32:04):
of the interviews that she was conducting with I don't
know a little bit of everybody, right, people like Lilain
and just like all these different people that she was
talking to and interviewing on her show and getting to
be a part of that was pretty cool. Also tried
my hand at show running, which was something new to
(32:25):
me and gave me a new respect and appreciation for
what the function of a showrunner is because they truly
touch and handle everything on a production. They are all
knowing and so I was a showrunner for The Truth
Be Told podcast hosted by the amazing journalist Tanya Moseley,
(32:49):
and that experience taught me a lot. It was so
insightful working with Tanya seeing how she prepares for interviews,
seeing how she conducts interviews, use how she thinks about
her show and the content that she wants to bring
to her audience. She is just such a thoughtful person
and well respected in the industry for a very good reason.
(33:13):
So that was a lovely experience. And what else have
I been doing. I've been working, I've been working, working, working,
and I've also been working lately with a company that
we all know very very well. I took on a
full time contract role with LinkedIn, consulting on their podcast
(33:35):
network in the areas of operations and sponsorships. And one
of the reasons that I took on this project was
I wanted to learn more of the or be exposed
to more also of the behind the scenes business aspects
of podcasting. I knew a lot already, but I wanted
(33:58):
to see how a company as large as LinkedIn was
handling podcasting. And I have learned a lot, and thankfully
I've also been able to lend my knowledge and expertise
in the space of podcasting as well to the LinkedIn
podcast network. So if you didn't know, yes, LinkedIn has
a podcast network, a whole podcast network with multiple shows
(34:20):
that air on the network, and if you follow me
on Instagram, you've probably seen where I was actually a
featured guest on one of those shows, their flagship show,
longest running show, Hello Monday, hosted by the amazing journalist
Jesse Hemple. She invited me to have a conversation with
another colleague and her about ambition. Really good episode. Go
(34:43):
check it out if you haven't already. And that was
a pleasure to be in conversation with Jesse because she
thinks so deeply about the topics that she brings to
the forefront on her podcast, Hello Monday, and she allows
space for people to have opposing ideas or to think
(35:07):
past where she has gone with the ideas that she
has and so it was just a rich conversation that
I really appreciated participating in. And so day to day
there I have a decent amount of work on my
plate and it keeps me busy. But I've been enjoying
working at LinkedIn because it also allows me to operate
(35:32):
within a team structure again, which was nice and refreshing.
The people that I work with are very very smart,
excellent at what they do, and what do they say,
Iron sharpens iron, right so when you're working around people
who are excellent at what they do, you're able to
glean things from them and take those things with you
(35:54):
and expand your knowledge base so that you can be better.
So that has been a huge, huge plus and benefit
from the experience as well as this is my first
time working at a tech company, and working in tech
is completely different from working in entertainment. The terminology that's used,
the TLDR, the p zeros and p ones, like all
(36:19):
these different things that just work in my frame of
reference before that. Now I have in my toolkit to
know how to work within a tech company, so I
appreciate that as well. So there's been a lot of benefits,
and I think one of the most beneficial things that
all of these experiences has taught me and has made
(36:39):
me realize is that I missed being behind the mic.
I missed having the conversations. I missed being a conduit
to the conversations, and being back sitting here right now
having this chat with you, telling you my whole life
(37:00):
story for the last like five years whatever four years.
It has been really good, really really really good. Putting
episodes out again has been something that has made me
light up in a way, and I'm just happy to
be back. One of the big things I want you
(37:22):
to walk away from this episode hearing me say. Out
of all the things that I've shared, I want you
to hear me saying in the midst of all of
this that it is to your benefit to open your mind,
to be open, to be embracing of change, to be
(37:45):
open to uncertainty, because uncertainty is not a bad thing.
It leaves room for beautiful and unexpected gifts in life
to happen to us. I know that there are a
lot of people who are uncomfortable with change, and maybe
(38:05):
I'm a little bit more comfortable with it than the
average person, But I really want to encourage you to
not let change and fear of uncertainty and the unknown
stop you from experiencing the greatness that is out there
for you. Sometimes we don't even know what that looks like,
(38:27):
what it could feel like, and we'll never know if
we close ourselves off to those opportunities. Speaking of opportunities today,
later today I will be hosting the first of what
will hopefully be many growth circles presented by the Switch
(38:47):
Pivot or quick podcast. If you know anything about me
and my history with this podcast, You'll know that there
was a time where I was hosting these sessions back
in maybe like twenty nineteen, and they just felt so good.
And a part of the reason I wanted to bring
them back was because lately, for the last few months,
(39:07):
I have been meeting regularly with a group of girlfriends,
and even the times where some of us don't feel
like showing up, we haven't had the best days, or
there's a lot going on in our lives, and we
just are like, oh okay, we still show up anyway,
and these virtual sessions pour into us more than we
(39:29):
could have ever imagined they would. And on the other side,
we are all always saying I'm so glad I showed
up today. I didn't feel like it, maybe I didn't
want to, whatever the scenario is. Sometimes we were more
than happy to show up, though, but we always walk
away saying this is just what I needed. And so
with everything going on in life and all the challenges
(39:51):
that we all continuously face, I want to hopefully bring
forward a space with these growth circles where we can
be in community with each other and where we can
walk away from these sessions feeling filled up and positive
and a bit lighter and inspired and happy, just knowing
(40:12):
that you have people who are rooting for you, and
also feeling like you were seen and you were heard
in that space. And so if you don't know about
the growth circles, if you haven't received an email from me,
then you probably should head over to Ayana angel dot com.
That's a h y I A n A angel dot
(40:32):
com and get on my email list. I don't send
a lot of emails. I'm not a spam emailer, but
get on the list so you can find out when
the next growth circle will be happening and you can
secure your spot. In the coming months, I will hopefully
be hosting more of them. All right, I have ran
my mouth. I think I have said enough. I have
(40:54):
caught you up you know everything that has been going on.
Thank you so much for listening, for spending time with
me today. As always, I appreciate your presence and I
hope that you go into this next week feeling good,
feeling aligned with what you want to do in this life,
and even if you're not there yet, hopefully you are
(41:17):
feeling positive about the journey that you're on to get there.
As always, I'm sending you big hugs, big love, and
until next time, be well. This podcast is produced by
(41:38):
Mazie Media. Maze Media as a woman led podcast production
company that works with small businesses and corporations. Visit mazimedia
dot com for more details on how you and your
organization can go from ideation to podcasting
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