Alexia's Views

How did It Go? Speaking for the DFW American Marketing Association

Last week, I had the great pleasure of presenting Executive Insights with my mentor, Rhonda Shasteen, for the DFW American Marketing Association
Professional Development Special Interest Group. The event was held at AMS Pictures in north Dallas and sponsored by the amazing Marketing Resources Solutions. Nearly forty people attended the event, including some dear friends and supporters. It feels nice to have a small following.

Rhonda and I stood before the group in a small, old-fashioned movie theatre. The audience sat in red velvet covered seats and looked at us with eager eyes. Rhonda and I opened by sharing how we met and how Views from the 13th Floor came to be. We continued in a conversation that brought out highlights of our mentoring visits. As we continued to go into our talk we addressed some of our favorite topics including boldness, leadership, corporate politics and work life balance.

Rhonda left us with her biggest lesson of all, and I've blogged about this very thing based on what Rhonda has taught me. The lesson is about control. Rhonda says we can only control three things and that everything else is in someone else's control. We can't control the traffic or what another person will think of you. We can control only our words, our thoughts, and our actions. So each day Rhonda say she gets up and tries to:

1. Think Wisely
2. Speak Truth
3.  Act with Courage

That's some wonderful words of wisdom from an astonishing woman of value. I'm grateful to be able to partner with Rhonda to share her wealth of knowledge. I hope we all have mentors to guide us through life. Live on purpose and with wisdom. You can!

Speaking for the DFW American Marketing Association

Nobody's perfect, right? I know I try really hard every day and become frustrated with myself when I mess up or see that I could have done things better. In the midst of trying to navigate Corporate America, I sought out a mentor to help me find my way, and I found an amazing guide in Rhonda Shasteen. Rhonda made the journey from Administrative Assistant to Chief Marketing Officer at Mary Kay Cosmetics over a 26-year career before retiring in 2010. Needless to say, she knows a lot.

Rhonda's wisdom, savvy and business acumen make her the ideal person to look to for personal and professional insights. Rhonda has the perfect blend of leadership, diplomacy, and grace, making her one of the most well rounded executives I've had the pleasure to meet. On Friday September 9th, 2011, Rhonda and I will share some learnings that have come from our relationship that I captured in my book, Views from the 13th Floor: Conversations with My Mentor, when we present for the Dallas Fort Worth Chapter of the American Marketing Association Professional Development Special Interest Group. During the meeting, which will be held at the charming AMS Pictures, we will present our stories and some great tips on leadership, control, corporate politics, and effective communication, while offering ample time for attendees to ask their own pressing questions. 

The DFW AMA has had the most positive and profound impact on my life, and is the very place where I met Rhonda almost five years ago, along with several other long-time friends and mentors. This special interest group is geared towards helping you advance in your career, so please take a moment to come learn from a truly accomplished master. You can!

A Most Un-motivating Encounter with a "Motivational" Speaker

I went to a networking event this week where I heard an amazing speaker present. Her topic was very engaging, and I got in line to talk to her after the event. While standing in line I heard a man talking about some things I had heard before somewhere else. All of a sudden I remembered I had heard this man speak at an event in the past, so I stopped him to ask if I might be remembering correctly. I was!

He went on and on about his international motivational speaking gigs and that he had written a book. I told him I had written a book too. As he looked own at me he started to talk down to me. "Did you self-publish?" he asked. "I did, " I replied and before I could tell him why I loved self-publishing, he started insulting the self-publishing model and touting his own book.

I suggested doing a book exchange sometime. He asked me what my book was about, and when I told him it was about conversations with my mentor, he replied, "I don't need that because I am a mentor." Boy am I glad he doesn't mentor me! I don't want career guidance or career advice from this man.

So I decided to change the subject and tell him that I was interested developing my speaking engagements. To that he told me I couldn't have a speaking career because there was too much competition, I wasn't famous and no one would care to hear me. All of this was coming from a "motivational" speaker. I was taken aback by his pompous, discouraging attitude. I told him I was trying to build a speaking career by beginning small, not start off speaking to arenas full of people.

Fortunately it was my turn to talk to the event speaker so I could end this ever-unpleasant conversation. The man was so over the top that I just left laughing at his ridiculousness. There's no way I could take such arrogance personally. I guess I was mistaken to expect encouragement from a man in his position.

The point of this story isn't to hammer on the rude man, but it is to share another example of an anti-mentor encounter. I hope I remember this man forever and that I never behave like him. I aspire to be a generous, gracious person at all stages of my career, and try everyday to fulfill that aspiration!

How Did It Go? Speaking at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church

Last night I presented my book, Views form the 13th Floor: Conversations with My Mentor, to a group that gathered at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in North Dallas. The group consisted of a number of parishioners, and I was part of a panel of speakers who attend the church and have also published books. Each author presented their books, told how they were published and what inspired them to write in the first place.

We heard stories of a fighter pilot, poems by Victor Semos and recipes of family members, and memoirs or a man's grieving process. It was amazing to hear each person speak so passionately about their subject matter and their books. Something came alive in each person as they presented with a deep sense of pride in their work.

I presented the story of how I met my mentor, Rhonda Shasteen, and highlighted key topics in the book like boldness, control, leadership and work life balance. The audience was supportive and engaged, and we heard many inspiring stories. I was able to sign a few books at the end of the event too, which was extra nice. The event was a big success, and I hope to do even more speaking engagements in the future.

The End!

 

 

Presenting Views from the 13th Floor in North Dallas

This Thursday, March 17, 2011, from 7:00-8:00 PM Central Time, I will be presenting Views from the 13th Floor Conversations with My Mentor at Dallas' Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. The event is sponsoring several of the church community's published authors in effort to support each one another. I will be presenting with three other authors on a varying array of subjects from business to spirituality.

As part of the presentation, I will talk about how my mentor, Rhonda Shasteen, and I met, what inspired me to publish the book, and how I pursued getting published. I'll also touch on some of the highlighted topics of the book like career guidance, career decisions, seeking career help, leadership, boldness, and work life balance.

The event is open to the public and free of charge if anyone in the Dallas area would like to participate.

How Did It Go? Speaking at the Kellogg Career Symposium

On Saturday, February 12, 2011, my mentor, Rhonda Shasteen, and I hosted a break out session at the Kellogg School of Management Annual Career Symposium. The event had about 150 attendees from a broad spectrum of specialties. There was a panel of recruiters who gave us all a few really good tips to help us be more self-aware of our professional presence. Some key tips are as follows:

1. Always respond to people quickly.
2. Check yourself out on Google, and Google Images in particular.
3. Know what your social media presence is, and keep it suitable for the public eye.
4. Have a LinkedIn account, or you won't be taken seriously.

The keynote address was by Aylwin B. Lewis, the CEO of Potbelly Sandwiches. His speech included many stories of taking risk with both positive and negative outcomes. He shared how an experience that seemed horrible at the time turned out to be leading him to his next great opportunity, offering great encouragement to all of us. He has a lot of great experience supported by a vision that has been proven time and time again.

Rhonda and I spoke to a group of people ranging from MBA students to a CFO. Rhonda was able to share her amazing insights and be a sounding board for those in the room with pressing issues and questions seeking some self-improvement tips. It was wonderful to be able to share the relationship we have with others. After about an hour of presenting and talking, we attended the keynote address and stayed for lunch to network and sell some copies of my book, Views from the 13th Floor: Conversations with My Mentor.

For our first event together, I'd say it was a big success. We had a great time and look forward to doing more.