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<p>Leadership isn’t just about making decisions—it's about shaping cultures, inspiring growth and creating environments where people thrive. Yet, many leaders step into management roles without the right support.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.boldnessablaze.com/about-zovig" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zovig Garboushian</a>, CEO and founder of Boldness Ablaze Coaching, draws from 15 years in corporate marketing to help organizations, leaders and teams expand, communicate effectively and drive positive change. Working primarily with mid-market companies across industries, she helps leaders get to the root of the problem—and then dig even deeper.</p>



<p>Similarly, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaminthirath" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kham Inthirath</a>, CEO and founder of Compound Effect, is dedicated to developing strong leaders both within his own company and as a mentor at The Venture Forum. In launching Compound Effect, Inthirath connects growing teams with top talent, fostering an ecosystem where exceptional people, cutting-edge technology and strategic thinking fuel growth.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-good-leadership-is-built-not-born">Good leadership is built, not born</h2>



<p>It’s safe to say that technical expertise doesn’t always translate to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-leaders-inspire-discretionary-effort/">strong leadership</a>. While some people are natural leaders, many rise through the ranks based on performance rather than their ability to inspire or guide others.</p>



<p>“I don’t know if anyone wakes up a good people manager,” says Garboushian, adding that it’s easy to focus on speed and efficiency. “What often gets missed is the experience of people along that journey, and some leaders are better at looking and listening than others.”</p>



<p>As Garboushian puts it, authentic leadership takes practice, presence and a willingness to be wrong. It also requires a genuine interest in others and a desire to slow down and notice what might be missing. “People who are in leadership roles are usually self-proclaimed problem-solvers, and that’s what they sort of hang their hat on... but when it comes to managing people, they’re not a problem to solve,” she says. From new managers to the C-suite, leaders often overlook that their employees have an experience of work that includes emotions, desires, motivations and vulnerabilities.</p>



<p>At the same time, leaders may feel pressured to be everything to everyone, a responsibility they often struggle to live up to. The mounting pressure to be a coach, therapist, mentor and cultural advocate—all while delivering their work—can be overwhelming and unsustainable. “It’s not possible to be all of those things, but what is possible is to create genuine connection and trust with your people, which just means taking a little more time,” Garboushian says. It might mean setting aside time each day or week for regular one-on-one check-ins with your team to build relationships, ask questions and truly listen to what’s happening.</p>







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-strong-foundations-lead-to-sustainable-growth">Strong foundations lead to sustainable growth</h2>



<p>From Inthirath’s perspective, there’s an ecosystem where internal growth and development come first, followed by external efforts like marketing and sales. The problem, he notes, is that most organizations focus on the external while neglecting the internal. “Alignment is not just... how do we sell or administrate our product,” he says. “It’s also... ‘How do we grow? How do we nurture our people to align with our mission?’”</p>



<p>Clarifying an organization’s <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/the-difference-between-vision-mission-strategy-and-core-values/">values and mission</a> starts with turning words into action. “It’s not that [companies] don’t want to be transparent; they just don’t know how to showcase it,” Inthirath says. He recommends using core values as a guiding framework for everything—from hiring and firing to selecting projects and clients. “If transparency is one of those core values, in a</p>



<p>Slack channel, praise someone who is transparent,” he says. This way, values aren’t just statements in an employee handbook—they become part of the daily culture, reinforced through recognition and action.</p>



<p>Alignment also means embracing diversity in background and experience, communication styles, feedback approaches and how organizations create safe growth spaces. As a CEO,</p>



<p>Inthirath’s ultimate goal is for people to be the happiest they can be because, from a leadership standpoint, he knows they will be performing at their best. He notes that while he has invested in <a href="https://www.predictiveindex.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Predictive Index (PI) tests</a>, much of the insight he gathers is qualitative rather than quantitative.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-best-leaders-expand-not-constrict-nbsp">The best leaders expand, not constrict&nbsp;</h2>



<p>One of the most impactful ways a leader can support their team is by <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/business-leaders-seeking-reinventors/">amplifying their voices</a>. For Garboushian, a leader’s voice is one of their most powerful tools for lifting employees—whether by advocating for them when they’re not in the room or showcasing their work. “You are bringing them into meetings and giving them an opportunity to speak so they become more visible to others if they want to,” she says.</p>



<p>Beyond visibility, building strong relationships with employees is essential. Leaders can gain valuable insights simply by asking pointed questions—but trust is needed for those conversations to happen. “Even if the organization itself is a mess and it’s chaos and it’s turmoil, you can have a very connected relationship with your people if you try [to] intentionally work to build trust,” she says.</p>



<p>People naturally want to grow and expand, especially in the workplace. When asked whether fostering an employee’s growth prepares them to leave the company, Garboushian warns that the opposite—<a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/boss-holding-back-career-growth/">constraining their development</a>—can have the same effect. “If you’re worried that they’re going to leave, you’re going to keep them in a box, and no business can grow when people are kept in a box,” she says.</p>



<p>Instead of limiting employees, the real challenge is ensuring they stay motivated, have opportunities to think critically, expand their skills and become more visible.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-in-doubt-default-to-overcommunicating">When in doubt, default to overcommunicating</h2>



<p>To better understand what drives employees, Inthirath suggests getting curious about their priorities—whether it’s money, flexibility, benefits or side passions. Leaders can ask questions like, "What do you enjoy doing outside of work?” or “What are some of your goals?”</p>



<p>Beyond identifying what drives employees, Inthirath emphasizes that open communication is key to solving and preventing issues. “The type of culture I always try to stay within my team is [to] communicate and reset expectations,” says Inthirath, “When we onboard right away, we say we want to make sure you’re excelling, you’re happy, you clearly understand your role.” Inthirath also says regular check-ins help create an environment of trust and openness and encourages employees to voice what they want to learn and how he, as a leader, can improve.</p>



<p>To further refine communication, Inthirath relies on PI tests, which have helped him tailor his approach to different personalities. He’s learned that while he can think on the spot, others may need time to process before responding. Rather than expecting immediate answers, he asks a question and gives the person time to follow up. “If someone can answer, they’ll answer; if they can’t, this gives them an out,” he says.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-career-advancement-isn-t-one-size-fits-all">Career advancement isn’t one-size-fits-all</h2>



<p>Moving into a management role is the most obvious career step for many organizations—but it shouldn’t be the only one. Garboushian advises asking employees whether they want to manage people because not everyone does. She cites a <a href="https://www.shrm.org/about/press-room/35--of-workers-say-their-jobs-have-a-negative-effect-on-their-me" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2024 Society for Human Resource Management survey</a> in which 40% of respondents reported a decline in mental health after becoming managers. This drop in well-being reflects on organizations that don’t provide the support employees need to be effective managers.</p>



<p>That’s why having these discussions early and often is so important: It sets employees up for success and builds trust within an organization. “It would be a huge help for a leader to know if their team member wants to be a manager, and it would be a huge help to the team member to say out loud yes or no because sometimes we just sort of silently accept it and we move in that role,” she says.</p>



<p>According to Garboushian, one question that cascades down to lower management levels is “Who are you in this role, and is it congruent with who you want to be?” She notes that we don’t lean into philosophical questions enough at work, but asking this can prompt people to stop, reflect and consider what they’re truly working toward. “People naturally want to grow and do more, so allowing them to explore that within the design of how your organization works is super beneficial,” she says.</p>



<p>Supporting employees in choosing the right career path not only benefits them—it strengthens the organization as a whole. When people feel restricted in roles that don’t align with theirstrengths or <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/setting-goals-at-work/">professional goals</a>, dissatisfaction builds over time. Garboushian notes that employees don’t quit over a single incident—it’s a culmination of many incidents. While companies often try to fix this by offering more money or a new title, a better approach is to examine what led to that moment in the first place.</p>



<p><em>Ready to help your team thrive? You'll find all the resources you need when you join the SUCCESS® Leadership Lab—a dynamic, 18-day virtual course for those who want to lead with clarity, influence, and confidence. This hybrid experience combines expert-led lessons with live coaching to provide you with practical tools to build trust with your team, navigate chaos and crises, shape a healthy, driven work culture, and more. <a href="https://offer.success.com/leadership-lab/">Secure your spot today</a>.</em></p>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong><em>This article originally appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/magazine/">SUCCESS+ digital Magazine</a>.</em></strong> <em><strong>Photo courtesy of fizkes/Shutterstock</strong></em>.</p>

Learn how you can encourage your employees’ professional and personal growth in the workplace as an effective leader.

Learn how you can encourage your employees’ growth in the workplace.

How to Foster Growth as a Leader in the Workplace | SUCCESS

Fostering Growth: How to Use Your Position to Develop Strong Leaders

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Megan Eileen McDonough is an award-winning writer and social photojournalist who splits her time between Barcelona and Virginia. In addition to running top-ranked blog, Bohemian Trails, McDonough's writing has appeared in publications such as Lonely Planet, US Airways, Teen Vogue, Fodor’s, and Bustle among others. She’s been featured in Travel + Leisure, AFAR, Refinery29, and Forbes as a leader in the travel space. McDonough also works as a brand strategist, helping to define content direction, curation, and compelling storytelling. Follow her on Instagram @itsmeganeileen.

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Megan Eileen McDonough

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Business &amp; Branding

Business &amp; Branding Archives

Stay ahead in business: strategies and insights for success

<p>Even if you’ve never taken a <a href="https://coaching.success.com/what-is-a-disc-assessment/">DISC assessment</a> yourself, you probably know at least a handful of people who have. Used by more than 1 million people every year, DISC is highly effective at helping organizations improve teamwork, communication and productivity in the workplace.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Organizations around the world, whether governmental agencies, <em>Fortune</em> 500 companies or startups, use DISC.</p>



<p>DISC comprises four personality references, each indicated by a letter in the acronym.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dominance"><strong>Dominance</strong></h3>



<p>You’re confident in most situations and motivated by accomplishing bottom-line results.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-influence"><strong>Influence</strong></h3>



<p>You’re warm, open and usually extroverted. You connect with others easily and can persuade those around you.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-steadiness"><strong>Steadiness</strong></h3>



<p>You’re dependable, patient, even-tempered and work well with others. You thrive best in stable and consistent environments.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conscientiousness"><strong>Conscientiousness</strong></h3>



<p>You place emphasis on quality and accuracy and—as an example—may take longer to complete your DISC assessment.</p>







<p>While DISC is designed as a workplace behavioral assessment and not as a test to measure specific skills or aptitude for a role, it’s not uncommon for companies to use it for just that. In an effort to better understand how DISC should be used, we spoke with Krysta Van Ranst, founder and learning business partner at Building PPL, a consulting firm in the construction industry. A big part of Van Ranst’s work involves helping construction companies build out their people.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-disc-natural-vs-adaptive-profiles"><strong>Understanding DISC: Natural vs. adaptive profiles</strong></h2>



<p>Not unlike the concept of nature versus nurture, DISC works with two types of profiles: natural and adaptive. According to Van Ranst, your natural profile is who you are at home, with your friends and family. “Your natural profile doesn’t change unless you have gone through some sort of catastrophic event,” she says.</p>



<p>On the other hand, adaptive profiles can—and often—do change. “It’s based on your mood, based on the day and ideally, is probably shifting throughout your career based on the role that you’re taking on,” Van Ranst explains.</p>



<p>When someone’s natural profile is drastically different from their adapted profile, it can be an early indicator of burnout later on. Van Ranst compares it to writing with your left hand when you are right-handed. “The opportunity to adapt at those levels is going to be far more difficult than if you’re closer aligned to your natural and adapted profile,” she adds.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-companies-may-misuse-disc"><strong>How companies may misuse DISC</strong></h2>



<p>Organizations use DISC in different ways. Some use the tool to build stronger and more <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/disc-assessment/">effective</a> working relationships among teams while others find DISC helpful in teaching managers how to better engage and motivate their reports.</p>



<p>Then there are those organizations who use DISC during hiring and ditch it shortly thereafter. “There are plenty of companies that will have you complete it and then you never get the results, or you’re given the results, and it’s a 30-page document, and you don’t know what to do with it,” she explains. By contrast, Van Ranst has a certified DISC specialist work with a new hire to make sense of their results.</p>



<p>She encourages leaders to leverage DISC’s extensive insights to better understand their own behavioral tendencies and communication patterns and those of the people they manage. “If you’re going to have people take this assessment, utilize it,” she says.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-best-practices-for-disc"><strong>Best practices for DISC</strong></h2>



<p>As a general rule of thumb, one of the first things a hiring manager should look at after a candidate completes their profile is whether it matches the daily demands of the role they’ve applied for. She asks herself questions like, “Will this person need to be really focused or do they need to be faster paced?” “Should they be more of a people person or is it OK if they are more task-oriented and a behind-the-scenes individual?”</p>



<p>Once a hiring manager has assessed the bigger picture of a candidate’s profile, they should determine how the candidate might balance out the team. Drawing from personal experience, Van Ranst shares that the next person she hires at Building PPL will ideally be a C because her six-person team doesn’t have as much of that profile.</p>



<p>Another factor to consider is the type of project the candidate is being hired for and its duration. “If you have a small project, it is a short time frame, there might be value in them having similar profiles because they’re going to think similarly,” she says. But, “if you have a project that has a longer duration or time frame, there’s really so much value in having a diverse project team in terms of behavioral profiles.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-depersonalizing-disc-is-key-for-team-dynamics"><strong>Why depersonalizing DISC is key for team dynamics</strong></h2>



<p>A common misconception about DISC is that certain profiles are more “desirable” and “hirable” than others. In reality, a person’s DISC profile has less to do with the person and more to do with how they’ll fit in with an already existing team. Van Ranst has every team member complete a DISC profile regardless of how long they’ve been at the organization. It serves as a common language everyone speaks and a helpful reference point during interpersonal situations.</p>



<p>Sharing this common language is a unifier and makes the acts of giving and receiving feedback feel less personal. “You can say, ‘Your dominance is like really shining through right now.’ That will allow the person to acknowledge that and then maybe scale it back,” she explains. Sticking to DISC terminology allows individuals to see different perspectives without feeling like they are under attack.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-potential-downsides-of-disc"><strong>Potential downsides of DISC</strong></h2>



<p>As impactful as DISC is as a hiring tool, it’s far from perfect. Companies who require candidates to complete a DISC profile as part of the interview process run the risk of receiving skewed results.</p>



<p>Candidates who are unfamiliar with DISC and the purpose it serves within organizations may view it as a test they need to pass and answer questions based on what they think their future employers want to hear rather than what most closely aligns with their behaviors. For example, people who are highly motivated by money may tone down this part of themselves in an effort to present as more agreeable or team-oriented.</p>



<p>It’s also worth noting that when presented with DISC’s four personality types, unconscious associations or biases may form. For instance, some studies show that men who exhibit dominant characteristics are often seen as strong leaders whereas women exhibiting these same traits may be seen as “bossy” or less likable among colleagues.</p>



<p>That’s why DISC shouldn’t be the only factor in hiring decisions. <a href="https://coaching.success.com/disc-communication-styles/">DISC styles</a> change depending on an individual’s environment, and everyone has aspects of all four behavioral dimensions.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-three-ways-disc-helps-you-and-your-teams"><strong>Three ways DISC helps you and your teams</strong></h2>



<p><em>According to Krysta Van Ranst of Building PPL</em></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-gain-self-awareness"><strong>You gain self-awareness</strong></h3>



<p>There really are no right or wrong answers when completing your DISC profile, which leaves room for self-awareness to blossom. Reading through the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/interpret-disc-test-results/">results</a> can be enlightening, as it helps you take stock of your behavior in the workplace and gain a better understanding of why you act in certain ways when facing challenging situations.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-learn-how-to-adapt-to-others"><strong>You learn how to adapt to others</strong></h3>



<p>Gaining clarity around your tendencies in the workplace is a bridge toward adopting more effective behaviors and communication styles. For example, if you receive a lengthy email from a client that—in your opinion—could have been a sentence, you can adapt your response to be more detailed and fleshed-out.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-and-your-team-speak-the-same-language"><strong>You and your team speak the ‘same language’</strong></h3>



<p>Using DISC can be a great jumping-off point to creating a diverse team. With four components, everyone has varying degrees of—dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness—you’re acknowledging that there are different perspectives and different ways of giving and receiving feedback.</p>



<p><em>This article originally appeared in the January <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/subscriptions/">issue of SUCCESS+ digital magazine</a>.</em></p>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><em><strong>Photo by NDAB Creativity/Shutterstock</strong></em></p>



<p></p>

Learn how DISC assessments improve teamwork, boost communication and align teams for better workplace productivity.

Learn how DISC assessments improve teamwork, boost communication, and align teams for better workplace productivity. | SUCCESS

How DISC Assessment Enhances Team Dynamics

How DISC Assessment Enhances Team Dynamics | SUCCESS

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Lifestyle

Lifestyle Archives

Elevate your lifestyle for success and happiness

<p>Time can be a tricky thing. Some days fly by while others linger, seemingly with no end in sight. How often—and how well—we <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/i-found-balance-by-tracking-every-hour-of-my-week/">track our time</a> can be vital in creating more space on our <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/best-time-management-tools-and-apps/">calendar</a> to do the things we enjoy the most.&nbsp;</p>



<p>To better understand how our minds perceive and relate to time, we spoke with writer, author and speaker <a href="https://lauravanderkam.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Laura Vanderkam</a>. As an expert on productivity, career development and time management, Vanderkam understands the challenges of attaining a work-life balance better than most.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Vanderkam’s interest in time management first piqued when she learned that there’s often a disconnect between how a person perceives time and how time is actually playing out. “I think in many cases, people feel like the two are pitted against each other. But I think again, that’s a very limited perspective," she says.</p>



<p>Vanderkam is a firm believer that even the worst time manager is capable of carving out more time in their week for the things that fuel and fulfill them.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-science-of-time-management-nbsp">The science of time management&nbsp;</h2>



<p>As it turns out, the way in which we relate to time has a lot to do with human nature. Vanderkam explains that it’s in our nature to overestimate the time we spend on things we don’t want to do and underestimate the time we spend on things we do want to do. She shares that people might report having no free time whatsoever, but what they really mean is that they don’t have as much free time as they would like. “Everyone has some discretionary time [but] I totally believe that people do not have as much free time as they want,” she adds.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Household chores, such as washing the dishes or doing laundry, are prime examples of activities people report spending a significant amount of time doing. “People feel like other people in their household should be emptying the dishwasher, which may be true, but that’s an entirely different story than  '[I'm] spending all my time emptying the dishwasher.'” If you were to track how many minutes or hours you spend washing dishes in a week, it usually is far less then you estimate, for instance.&nbsp;</p>



<p>How novel or intense a memory is also influences how much weight it bears in our minds. Vanderkam explains how, as humans, we remember time as having been longer if we have more memories from it, and that memories are formed by things that are novel or intense. “People remember the four years of high school, for instance, as quite long … but four years is always the same four years,” she says.</p>



<p>Building on this, Vanderkam adds that people have a tendency to remember bad experiences more vividly. “When things are bad or stressful, we tend to remember them as more typical than they may be,” she says. A night in the emergency room might feel like days because it’s so stressful, while everyday mundane tasks feel faster.</p>



<p>Comparison also comes into play, and it can alter how we view our own time. Not only do people underestimate how long they spend on activities they enjoy doing, they also compare how their leisure time stacks up to the leisure time of those within their communities or inner circles. “By comparison, it can seem like none [no leisure time], because somebody else has significantly more,” she adds.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Expanding on this, Vanderkam describes how, despite narratives of Americans being overworked and sleep deprived, there are gaps between how much leisure time people have. “So parents of children under age 6, for instance, have more than an hour less per day than people who do not have children at home,” she explains. Similarly, people between ages 35 and 44 have less leisure time than people in other age demographics—usually due to being at a certain point in their career and/or raising young children, she says.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-time-management-mistakes-you-might-be-making-nbsp">Time management mistakes you might be making&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Time might be finite, but a person’s perception of time is more wavering. In Vanderkam’s experience, people tend to mentally separate their working days from their non-working days, when in reality, all seven days hold equal weight in any given week. Some days are jam-packed and others allow for more flexibility. Dividing the week in this way gives an inaccurate overview of the entire time period.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“When you say ‘daily,’ you mean it happens frequently, but that could be some lesser amount of times per week,” she says. Vanderkam reiterates that you don’t have to do something Monday through Friday for it to count because sometimes things don’t happen Monday through Friday. She asserts that weekends should hold just as much weight as weekdays.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Another common mistake people make with time management is remembering their worst nights as typical. In a seven-day week, it’s common for people to remember the nights when they got the least amount of sleep because those are the nights that stand out the most in their memory.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The same is true for measuring your working hours, assuming you don’t clock in and out. Vanderkam explains how a person is more likely to identify their longest workweek as typical rather than as an outlier. They might have worked a 60-hour workweek once, but remember it as if it’s the norm.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Finally, expectations can either help or hinder how we relate to our time management and the time management of those around us. “Everyone has their own expectations, but maybe they’re not communicating it to other people, and like, just assuming that the other person has the same expectations as they do," she says. Arriving 10 minutes late to a coffee meeting might be perceived as rude to one person but reasonably on time to the other.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-to-improve-your-relationship-to-time">How to improve your relationship to time</h2>



<p>From tracking your time to creating short, manageable to-do lists, here are five practical tips to reimagine how you relate to time.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-track-your-time">1. Track your time</h2>



<p>As a starting point, Vanderkam suggests tracking your time during a one-week period as accurately as you can. “If you want to spend your time better, you need to know where your time is going,” she says. In her work, she has seen that through this process, people realize that what they thought was taking up too much time in their week—household chores, for example—isn’t. If you don’t have a clear breakdown of where your time is going, it’s harder to make meaningful changes to your habits and routines.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-think-168-hours-not-nbsp-24">2. Think 168 hours, not&nbsp;24</h2>



<p>Vanderkam is a strong advocate for viewing time as 168 hours in a week rather than 24 hours in a day. She asserts that we don’t need to do the same thing every day in order for it to count in our lives. “Maybe, we exercise three times a week, and you do a French lesson three times a week. There’s space for all of it.” Trying to squeeze everything into a five-day period can also be exhausting and leave us more tired on the weekends than if we had spread things out throughout the full week.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-opt-for-short-to-do-lists">3. Opt for short to-do lists</h2>



<p>According to Vanderkam, to-do lists are great as long as they’re kept short. “There’s no virtue in putting something on a to-do list and not doing it. It’s just as not done as if you never put it on the list.” She suggests listing only the things you intend to do that particular day, because unexpected things pop up and we need to adapt.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-build-open-space-into-your-calendar">4. Build open space into your calendar</h2>



<p>Vanderkam stresses that it’s important to be able to continue making progress on your priorities, even when things come up. Building open space into your calendar allows for flexibility in your week. For example, perhaps you planned on doing something important on Monday but you have a work crisis that takes priority. “Whatever you’re supposed to do Monday could go to Friday, so then you’re not borrowing time from the next week.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-have-something-to-look-forward-to-ideally-every-day-nbsp">5. Have something to look forward to, ideally every day&nbsp;</h2>



<p>In Vankerkam’s experience, the idiom “time flies when you’re having fun” proves true for most people. “Life seems more exciting when we have this kind of happy anticipation,” Vanderkam notes, adding that the more little things you can put in your calendar that you're genuinely looking forward to, the better you will feel about time in general. Having something to look forward to, however small, also does wonders for motivation, and motivation is a driver of productivity.&nbsp;</p>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong><em>Photo from fizkes/Shutterstock.com</em></strong></p>

Discover expert insight on the science behind time management plus 5 practical tips to make the most of your time.

Time can be a tricky thing. Some days fly by while others linger, seemingly with no end in sight. How often—and how well—we track our time can be vital in | SUCCESS

Beat the Clock: How to Be a Time-Management Pro

5 Lessons from the Science of Time Management | SUCCESS

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A successful women contemplates starting a family

Personal Development

Personal Development Archives

Personal Development | SUCCESS | What Achievers Read

<p>Deciding that you want to start a family is exciting—but it’s not without doubts or uncertainty.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.rebeccasemelphd.com/">Rebecca Semel, Ph.D.</a>, says this topic comes up a lot in her work as both a licensed clinical psychologist at a private practice and an executive functioning coach. “There really is no right answer, and everybody has different metrics with which they measure [it] being the right time,” she explains.</p>



<p>Instead of waiting for the mythical “perfect moment,” take a look at these four actionable items. They can provide peace of mind throughout the process, especially when you’re still hoping to advance in your career.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-practice-positive-self-talk">1. Practice positive self-talk</h2>



<p>As Semel explains, it’s normal and valid to feel a range of emotions about decisions with <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/what-it-takes-to-financially-prepare-for-a-child/">family planning</a>, and having more than one emotion at a time is completely OK. “Most people are both excited and nervous or happy to start the process while stressed about how they will make it work,” she says.</p>



<p>She encourages future parents to practice positive self-talk and check in with themselves to make the positive voice louder than the more negative one. She also suggests taking stock of the rational, realistic facts of the situation.</p>



<p>For example, if you anxiously think, “How can I possibly take time off and lose income?” Semel says it’s good to remind yourself, “’I will make a plan with my partner so that we will be financially stable through starting our family.’” She adds that “these more neutral, rational or positive reframes should help abate some of the anxious thoughts.”</p>







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-create-a-timeline-that-allows-for-flexibility">2. Create a timeline that allows for flexibility</h2>



<p>While there will rarely be a “perfect” time to start a family, Semel is all for creating a loose timeline of what you want your parenthood journey to look like. “If there’s a realistic timeframe that feels important [to plan around] (e.g., waiting until after a graduate program ends [or] getting through year one at a new job), honor those times,” she says. ”But keep in mind [that] whenever you decide to start your family, you will make it work.”</p>



<p>It’s also smart to think about what your timeline is for going back to work. “There are people who are really happy to be [at-home] parents and don’t want to enter the workforce ever again. And there are other people who are itching to get back to work,” Semel says. The key is knowing yourself and deciding what makes sense for you.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-be-proactive-about-your-reproductive-health">3. Be proactive about your reproductive health</h2>



<p>It’s no secret that the United States lags behind other developed nations when it comes to paid time off following the birth of a child, and feelings of uncertainty can cause stress among potential parents. Plus, <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/paid-family-leave/">parental leave</a> is largely dependent on the specific policies a company or organization offers its employees.</p>



<p>For women who are ambivalent about starting a family but are worried about aging, Semel suggests getting a fertility assessment. “This will help you to better understand your fertility in a personalized way and help you to plan for anything that may be medically useful to prolong or preserve fertility,” she says.</p>



<p>While less common, it’s worth noting that more and more women are opting to have fertility procedures, such as egg freezing and subsequent storage, at trusted clinics overseas. This might be an option to explore for those who are worried about their age or if their employer doesn’t offer any <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/benefits-working-parents-need/">fertility benefits</a> as part of their employment package.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-be-selective-about-where-and-how-you-work">4. Be selective about where and how you work</h2>



<p>Semel explains that if the goal is to start a family in X number of years, there are certain actionable steps you can take to put yourself in a more comfortable position. This could be accepting a role at a company that offers fertility benefits—such as egg freezing, IVF and surrogacy—or, in the case of freelancers, choosing to go in-house, where you have a steady paycheck and access to a more comprehensive medical plan.</p>



<p>Semel shares that her clients who are ready to start a family are very attuned to the family planning benefits in their health insurance. “It’s really common to be like, ‘Oh, my company will pay for $15,000 worth of egg freezing or IVF or anything around family building, and that’s why I’m choosing this plan,’ or ‘I’m going to this new job because they have benefits for family building and family planning,’” she explains.</p>



<p>When it comes to interviewing for a new role, Semel often reminds her clients that they are not legally required to disclose their pregnancy or to share their upcoming plans unless they choose to do so. There are laws in place to protect pregnant women in the workplace, but this doesn’t mean you won’t come across bias—either conscious or unconscious—throughout the hiring process. Of course, if you do accept a role, Semel believes that it’s best to inform your manager about your pregnancy as soon as possible.</p>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><em>Photo by Ground Picture/Shutterstock.com</em></p>

Deciding when to start a family when you're excelling in your career can be tough. Check out advice from clinical psychologist Rebecca Semel.

Deciding when to start a family when you're excelling in your career can be tough. Check out advice from clinical psychologist Rebecca Semel. | SUCCESS

I’m Excelling in My Career, but I Want to Start a Family. How Do I Know When It’s the Right Time?

When Should I Start a Family if I'm Excelling in My Career? | SUCCESS

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<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/walidhalty" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Walid Halty</a>, a serial entrepreneur in the climate tech space, has come a long way since his humble beginning. Halty’s parents emigrated to the U.S. from Morocco and were fortunate enough to secure government housing. The oldest of five children, Halty remembers his childhood home being small but filled with a lot of love. Although Halty’s parents hoped he would become a doctor, he ultimately forged a different path: one where he’d run a $41 million company by age 23.</p>



<p>Growing up in Greater Boston, Halty excelled at school and was often at the top of his class. He remembers studying calculus as a sixth grader on top of his normal classes, and in high school, he took over a dozen Advanced Placement courses. On weekends, he attended Saturday school to learn Arabic.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-halty-s-big-break">Halty's big break</h2>



<p>Halty chose to drop out of college at the beginning of his sophomore year to help provide for his family. “I was selling iPhones, selling flowers on Valentine’s Day, figuring out a way to make money,” he recalls. He finally caught a break after connecting with a friend who was in sales at SolarCity—a company that Tesla acquired in 2016 for $2.6 billion. Halty, who was 18 at the time, managed to secure an internship and hoped to be hired.</p>



<p>Less than two months later, he was. Halty soon climbed the ranks of SolarCity’s top-performing salespeople. This was no small feat, given that there were about 10,000 sales reps at the time. He remembers making $20,000 in his first month, which was more than he had previously made in an entire year. “At first, it was about money,” he shares. “Not in a selfish way. It was like, ‘I gotta find a way to figure this out because it’s more than me.’”</p>



<p>Halty credits much of his early success to luck and being in the right place at the right time. “I was lucky that it was solar,” an industry that is also doing good for the world, he says. “I could have been selling jets…. But it was figuring out a way to apply myself right and earn enough money that I felt like I could start helping my family.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-colossus-and-monalee">Colossus and Monalee</h2>



<p>In 2017, Halty founded Colossus (formerly Dvinci and <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/px-acquires-assets-of-solar-marketplace-colossus-301787647.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">later acquired by PX in 2023</a>), a marketplace that helped businesses sell more solar. In addition to making clean energy more affordable and accessible to homeowners, the company donated 10% of its profits to charity each year and contributed to educational scholarships.</p>



<p>Halty’s newest venture is <a href="https://monalee.co/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Monalee</a>, a climate tech company that is accelerating home solar, storage and electrical vehicle charging adoption. By leveraging advanced machine learning and removing salespeople and system designers from the process, Monalee helps homeowners across the U.S. go solar for about half the traditional cost. Considering that people pay significantly more for solar in the U.S. than in other countries, it’s a big step toward bridging the electricity gap.</p>



<p>Monalee is taking a digital-first approach to a mostly offline process. Halty explains that there hasn’t previously been software available to streamline and expedite the process, which raises soft costs to about 75% of the homeowner’s total price.</p>



<p>Through Monalee, Halty and his team are trying to reduce those soft costs so solar becomes a “no-brainer” for homeowners. “The main barrier to entry is cost and savings, and so, if we can reduce that, it becomes such an easy decision for them to make,” he says.</p>



<p>The company’s patent-pending <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/artificial-intelligence-immense-impact-on-revolutionizing-sales/">artificial intelligence</a> technology uses millions of data points to give customers the most optimal solar design for their home. It considers factors like the navigational direction of the roof—for example, in the northern hemisphere, roofs facing south will get the most amount of sun—as well as the roof type and pitch (the angle to which it slopes).</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-improving-the-solar-industry">Improving the solar industry</h2>



<p>While Monalee is growing fast, that’s not to say there aren’t challenges. One thing Halty and his team are having to work against is the negative perceptions many homeowners have about solar sales. For context, solar salespeople can be pushy and often play with bait-and-switch pricing.</p>



<p>Having been a solar salesperson himself, Halty gets it. “If someone is being pushy, you don’t want to talk to them…. That’s been the connotation that’s been associated with [solar sales],” he explains. “At Monalee, we’re not pushing anything—actually, we’re pulling consumers toward this now and positioning ourselves in the product and technical building, where it’s very digital e-commerce and very modern versus what’s traditional."</p>



<p>In many ways, Monalee—and the solar industry as a whole—is just getting started. “Solar is an industry that’s still young,” Halty says. “We’re at 3% market adoption in the U.S., but the industry has been growing [at a] 24% compounded annual growth rate right now. And we’ve just sort of crossed the chasm, where at 3–5% is when products start to achieve mass adoption.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-giving-back">Giving back</h2>



<p>When looking back at his <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/trusting-yourself-and-learning-from-failure/">entrepreneurial journey</a>, Halty appreciates that the industry he happened to fall into is one the world needs. “As I think about handing off a world to my siblings and my daughter, we need a world that is healthy, that we can protect, that can be sustained over a long period of time,” he says.</p>



<p>It’s also been incredibly rewarding being able to give back to his family. A personal milestone for Halty was being able to buy a house for his parents. They swapped their 700-square-foot government housing for a 4,000-square-foot home. “My mom’s on salary from my income, and so is most of the rest of my family,” Halty shares.</p>



<p>His next goal is to help his father retire. “I have an opportunity to change the trajectory of my family,” he says.</p>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><em>This article appears in the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/magazine/">November/December 2024 issue of SUCCESS Magazine</a>. Photo by Nicolette Portraiture/Courtesy of Monalee</em></p>



<p></p>

Learn how serial entrepreneur Walid Halty is using advanced machine learning to harness the power of solar for social good.

Learn how Walid Halty is using the power of solar for social good.

Walid Halty Is Using Solar for Social Good | SUCCESS

Solar for Social Good

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Women onstage overcoming public speaking anxiety

Woman,Presenting,Her,Idea,To,Colleagues,In,Meeting.,Businesswoman,Public

<p>Whether interviewing for your dream job or networking at an industry event, building up the courage to speak in public can feel nerve-wracking at best and downright terrifying at worst.</p>



<p>The good news is that you’re not alone—not even a little bit. In fact, researchers estimate that 70% of the population experiences feelings of nervousness when speaking in front of others.&nbsp;</p>



<p>To better understand why so many people fear <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-i-finally-overcame-my-fear-of-public-speaking/">public speaking</a> and how they can overcome it, we spoke with Stanford University lecturer, author and podcast host <a href="https://mattabrahams.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Matt Abrahams</a>. Throughout his career, Abrahams has helped millions of people who suffer from anxiety with regard to speaking in public. His new book, <a href="https://amzn.to/43aYwbu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Think Faster, Talk Smarter</em></a>, offers tools for anxious speakers on how to excel in a variety of spontaneous communication situations.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As it turns out, experiencing anxiety when speaking in front of others is innate and very much part of being human. “It’s something evolution has wired us to have,” Abrahams explains. He adds that, back in our cave days, those individuals within the tribe who held higher status had greater access to resources like food, shelter and reproductive opportunities. “Anything you did that would jeopardize your status was, by definition, very risky,” he says.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-perfectionism-preys-on-our-anxiety-nbsp">Perfectionism preys on our anxiety&nbsp;</h2>



<p>When <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/6-ways-to-overcome-entrepreneurial-anxiety/">facing anxiety</a>, Abrahams suggests taking a two-pronged approach aimed at managing both symptoms and sources.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“Symptoms are the things that we experience mentally and physically, and then sources are the things that initiate and exacerbate anxiety,” he explains. Your body sees speaking in front of others as a threat, and it invokes a fight-or-flight response.</p>



<p>For a vast majority of people, anxiety stems from being overly focused on one’s desired outcome or goal. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with goal setting, it puts the attention on a future state rather than remaining in the present moment. To stay present-oriented, Abrahams suggests engaging in activities like walking around the building, listening to a playlist or contributing to conversations. You can even pick a number in your head and count backward. For Abrahams, it’s tongue twisters. “They help me be present oriented… and warm up my voice,” he says. </p>







<p>Chasing perfectionism is another way we hold ourselves back. Abrahams notes that while it’s natural to want to communicate effectively, there is no one right way. He explains, “Instead of trying to target being right, what we should target is being connected to our audience… It’s about connection, not perfection.” Lowering the level of pressure put on ourselves allows us to channel that precious cognitive bandwidth into something more constructive.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-8-solutions-for-overcoming-public-speaking-anxiety-nbsp">8 solutions for overcoming public speaking anxiety&nbsp;</h2>



<p>If you struggle with public speaking, know that you aren’t alone. It’s worth noting that even the most outwardly confident individuals struggle having their voice heard. As Abrahams points out, “You can have an anxious extrovert and a confident introvert when it comes to speaking.” Simply put, everyone gets nervous.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-if-you-speak-fast-practice-deep-breathing">1. If you speak fast, practice deep breathing</h3>



<p>Deep breathing, according to Abrahams, is the best way to get your voice sounding like ‘you’ again. “Deep belly breaths slow down the autonomic nervous system, reducing the heart rate [and] <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/11-strategies-for-managing-stress/">reducing the cortisol levels</a> that our brain releases,” he explains. The magic really happens during the exhale, and your exhale should be twice as long as your inhalation.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-if-you-start-shaking-move-with-purpose-nbsp">2. If you start shaking, move with purpose&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Abrahams explains that shakiness comes from adrenaline, and the purpose of adrenaline is to move us from threat to safety. Nervous people tend to make themselves tight and small, which causes them to shake even more. “If you can learn to step in when you start a speech or to use big, broad gestures, this gives that energy a place to go and stops the shakiness,” Abrahams says.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-if-you-get-dry-mouth-drink-warm-water">3. If you get dry mouth, drink warm water</h3>



<p>The best way to combat dry mouth is through hydration. Dry mouth is a natural part of the body’s fight-or-flight response and simply means you’re nervous. Along with drinking warm water before you start speaking, Abrahams suggests sucking on a lozenge or chewing sugar-free gum. Basically, you’re trying to help reactivate the salivary glands.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-if-you-blush-or-sweat-hold-something-cold">4. If you blush or sweat, hold something cold</h3>



<p>Blushing and sweating both happen whenever the body’s temperature is rising. Heart rate increases, the body gets tighter and there’s more blood going through tighter tubes. Just as you might hold a piping hot mug of tea to warm up on a cold day, the opposite is also true. Holding onto something cold is the best way to reduce your core body temperature.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-if-you-blank-out-repeat-the-last-thing-you-said">5. If you blank out, repeat the last thing you said</h3>



<p>According to Abrahams, there are actually two things you can do when your mind goes blank. The first is to repeat the last thing you said. This usually jogs the memory and gets you back into your rhythm. Another tactic is to distract the audience by asking them a question, and while the audience is thinking of their answer, you can get yourself back on track.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-6-ask-questions-in-a-meeting-to-summarize-what-others-have-said">6. Ask questions in a meeting to summarize what others have said</h3>



<p>Abrahams suggests this is a safe way to have your voice heard and to practice communicating in front of others. Plus, you’re not risking anything; you’re simply commenting on what’s already been said.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-7-seek-environments-that-stretch-your-comfort-zone">7. Seek environments that stretch your comfort zone</h3>



<p>Take stock of the situations where you <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/11-secrets-to-feeling-more-confident/">feel slightly more confident</a>, and then find ways to be in more of those situations. It doesn’t have to be work related—it might be your weekly running group or your virtual book club.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-8-find-allies-and-build-each-other-up">8. Find allies and build each other up</h3>



<p>Recognize that communication is a skill everybody can develop, and we’re all a work in progress. Connecting with colleagues who are also nervous about speaking up can have a great team-building effect. You can practice speaking up on their behalf and vice versa.</p>



<p>To improve your communication and overcome public speaking anxiety, repetition, reflection and feedback matter most<em>.</em></p>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><em><em>This article originally appeared in the&nbsp;</em><a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/subscriptions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>March issue of&nbsp;</em></a></em><a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/subscriptions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SUCCESS+</a><em><em>&nbsp;digital magazine.</em> Photo by</em> <em>Jacob Lund/Shutterstock.com</em></p>

If the thought of public speaking makes you sweat, you’re not alone. Practice these tips to overcome public speaking anxiety.

If the thought of public speaking makes you sweat, you’re not alone. Practice these tips to overcome public speaking anxiety. | SUCCESS

Need Help Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety? Communications Expert Matt Abrahams Offers Tips to Find Your Confidence

Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety: Tips From Matt Abrahams | SUCCESS

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Brianne Kimmel headshot. Blonde woman wearing green shirt

<p>For venture capitalist and angel investor <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/briannekimmel/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brianne Kimmel</a>, what started as a genuine interest in bringing people together and deepening communities ultimately turned into a full-fledged career.</p>



<p>Today Kimmel serves as founder and managing partner of <a href="https://www.worklife.vc/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Worklife Ventures</a>, a venture capital firm “designed for the new era” that invests in tools that power flexible, joyful and creative work.&nbsp;</p>



<p>To date, Kimmel has backed nine unicorns (startups valued at more than $1 billion), including Deel, Webflow and Hopin. In 2022, she launched Worklife Studios in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood. It’s a “first-of-its-kind community space designed in collaboration with artists, chefs, designers and remote workers,” according to Worklife’s website.</p>



<p>“Being a woman in the industry just gives me a very different outlook, and the skills that I’m able to provide are very different as well.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-current-landscape-of-female-venture-capitalists">The current landscape of female venture capitalists</h2>



<p>When looking at the current landscape of venture capital, there’s not a whole lot of diversity, particularly in terms of gender. Women make up around 11% of investing partners at VC firms in the United States, with approximately 13% of VC funds allocated to startups with a woman on the founding team, according to the Women and Public Policy Program of Harvard Kennedy School.</p>



<p>Kimmel has faced her fair share of criticism on her ascent to founding Worklife. She says it’s not uncommon to be mistaken for somebody’s assistant or an intern at conferences—people have asked her to get them coffee. And yet, her numbers speak for themselves. At the time of publication, Worklife Venture’s $12 million fund is now valued at $54.9 million, returning the fund in less than four years in business.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-to-become-a-female-venture-capitalist">How to become a female venture capitalist </h2>



<p>Looking back on her own journey, Kimmel sees five ways other aspiring female VCs can pave their way and learn how to be a venture capitalist.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-lean-into-your-super-skills">1. Lean into your super skills</h3>



<p>In adulthood, women are told to “<a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/know-when-to-trust-your-instinct/">trust their gut</a>,” but the reality is that many girls are raised to be compliant, compromising and pleasant. For Kimmel, she experienced firsthand how important it is to embody a true sense of self and to be grounded in your vision.</p>



<p>Instead of trying to fit in among other male VCs, Kimmel carved her own path. “Being a woman in the industry just gives me a very different outlook, and the skills that I’m able to provide are very different as well,” she says. In Kimmel’s case, she’s an expert at community-building and great at connecting people. Aside from the traditional cold email and the less traditional direct message through X, formerly known as Twitter, Kimmel became a pro at hosting founder dinners early in her career. “If you pull together a dinner or if you make an intro, those sort of things go really far because, when you’re busy building a company, it’s hard to find your tribe and meet new people who can be helpful,” she explains.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-view-venture-capital-through-the-lens-of-hospitality">2. View venture capital through the lens of hospitality</h3>



<p>Most of Kimmel’s inspiration for how she works doesn’t come from Wall Street or any sort of books on investing; it comes from studying the hospitality industry. “There’s a reason why companies want more female investors involved in the company,” she says. “We bring a different perspective to the conversation, and I’m personally committed to hiring, mentoring and retaining women at the company.”</p>



<p>In all of her interactions with founders, Kimmel looks for ways in which she can help. “Starting a company is incredibly stressful, especially for the primary caregiver at home,” Kimmel says. “I make an intentional effort to invite spouses to dinners and host kid-friendly activities throughout the year.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-talk-openly-and-often-about-money">3. Talk openly (and often) about money</h3>



<p>Money can be a tricky topic to broach, and Kimmel has seen that, while many women are great at managing their own finances, they don’t <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/the-way-you-talk-about-money-matters-heres-how-to-change-the-narrative/">talk as openly about money</a> as their male counterparts. “Having the discussion about money is really important,” she says. “I always encourage women to talk about how much you’re making; ask your friends who are in similar roles how much they’re making. I think we all need to help each other out.”</p>



<p>That said, Kimmel hints at an uptick in <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/community-and-financial-literacy-with-kiersten-julien-saunders/">financial literacy</a> among Gen Z and future generations. There are people on TikTok sharing their money advice, and there are new apps and ways for people to start investing. “I think that we’re trending towards a more equitable future,” Kimmel says. “But, you know, I think being on the front lines and really helping companies shape that culture is really important, too.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-empower-other-women-to-feel-seen">4. Empower other women to feel seen</h3>



<p>Instead of fighting for seats at the table, Kimmel takes a more collaborative approach. She has seen many women ultimately leave the industry because company culture wasn’t supportive enough for them, in particular women who are planning for families and looking at maternity leave policies. “We’ve also seen women go work on other stuff and work in other spaces where there’s more women, and so, I think step one is helping every woman feel seen, and then find ways to build that into your company’s culture,” she says.</p>



<p>As part of her mission to make tech more <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/5-ways-women-can-help-each-other-thrive-at-work/">welcoming and equitable for women</a>, Kimmel makes a commitment to help her portfolio companies attract and retain female engineer talent. “Women breaking into tech are coming from college campuses where they had a ton of female friends, lived in the girls’ dorm and many were involved in campus groups where they had a community…. There’s just all of these different scenarios where it’s kind of a culture shock when you enter into a mostly male world,” she says.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-embrace-ai-to-focus-your-efforts">5. Embrace AI to focus your efforts</h3>



<p>In order to lean into your super skills, you need to start saying “no” more and <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/ai-and-leadership/">automating manual tasks with AI</a>. “In the corporate world, one of the challenges that women always face is we want to be seen, and we do want to be recognized for the quality of our work,” Kimmel says, adding that, many times, women end up picking up even more projects like planning the company off-sites or almost operating as admin for teams. “There are ways we’re starting to see automation take shape where it’s actually helping women,” she says. “We’re not responsible for taking notes in a meeting and all of the other mundane tasks that somehow always fall on the plate of the woman in the room.”&nbsp;</p>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><em>This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://store.success.com/by-media/success-magazine-mar-apr-2024-jewel.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">March/April 2024</a> issue of </em><a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/">SUCCESS<em> magazine</em></a><em>.</em> <em>Photo by Evan Mulling/Courtesy of Brianne Kimmel</em>.</p>

Venture capitalist and angel investor Brianne Kimmel advises female venture capitalists on how to make it in a male-dominated world.

Venture capitalist and angel investor Brianne Kimmel advises female venture capitalists on how to make it in a male-dominated world. | SUCCESS

5 Tips for Aspiring Female Venture Capitalists

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Shivvy Jervis predicts the most in demand tech jobs of 2024

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<p>The future of artificial intelligence is bright and barrelling straight toward us. The AI market is set to reach <a href="https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/mega_trends/artificial_intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$407 billion by 2027</a>—a big leap from 2022’s revenue of $86.9 billion, according to a report by MarketsandMarkets. At the same time, over <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/artificial-intelligence-consumer-sentiment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">75% of consumers</a> are not fully on board. Questions surrounding digital identity protection and whether people’s hard-earned jobs will be replaced by robots remain top of mind.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.shivvyjervis.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Shivvy Jervis</a>, one of the globe’s most trusted voices covering human-centered innovation, is no stranger to the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-use-ai-to-make-money/">intimidation factor AI can conjure</a>. “The vast majority of people aren’t technologists and just want to understand how these tools will actually enhance what they are doing—whether it’s their jobs, their health or protecting their families online,” she explains. Taking an approach rooted in research and evidence, Jervis is an expert at demystifying all these seemingly complex innovations for the mainstream. She places extra emphasis on tools that are both attainable and accessible.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-4-most-in-demand-tech-jobs-of-2024-and-beyond">The 4 most in-demand tech jobs of 2024 and beyond</h2>



<p>Although it might feel like <a href="https://hbr.org/2023/08/ai-wont-replace-humans-but-humans-with-ai-will-replace-humans-without-ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AI is out to replace us</a>, Jervis asserts that it’s, in fact, the opposite. “The reassuring news is that we will still very much be valued for the skills that come to us naturally as humans and that AI can’t replicate—empathy, motivation, persuasion, intuition,” she notes. When it comes to jobs, Jervis sees these digital advancements augmenting our human intelligence rather than displacing us completely or taking over. From her experience working with brands around the world, most organizations want to keep people in the equation.&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/ai-and-leadership/">Integrating AI</a> into daily operations enables people to do their jobs faster and more creatively.</p>



<p>Having a basic level of digital fluency will become a prerequisite for many roles. When looking forward, Jervis believes that organizations should regularly upskill and rescale their employees. While most roles will involve at least some interaction with AI tools, there are four emerging high demand tech jobs that Jervis foresees being invaluable to the tech industry at large and the skills needed for each.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-digital-ethicist">1. Digital Ethicist</h3>



<p>Keeping in mind that all tools are built by people and, therefore, not infallible, there are <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/unconscious-ai-bias/">certain biases</a> built into them that get passed on to the user. Jervis explains that, when it comes to some AI, there are <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/is-chatgpt-ethical/">problematic issues</a> around the originality of the content and the intellectual property, and it’s up to a digital ethicist to determine who owns the content when it’s a mix of different original works and whether the content is accurate.</p>



<p><strong>The Ideal Candidate</strong>: Someone who is well-versed in AI and has some understanding of the legalities behind technology and AI will be a good fit for this role.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-augmented-reality-ar-communications-professional">2. Augmented Reality (AR) Communications Professional</h3>



<p>Augmented reality is already a part of our everyday lives; we use it to change the background on Zoom or to apply filters on Snapchat. In the workplace, augmented reality can be a compelling learning tool. For example, it’s an effective way for medics and the engineers of the future to train without jeopardizing lives. It also lends well to remote or hybrid work environments. A company might recreate their work campus in the metaverse so that workers can feel like they’re really there—regardless of their physical location. On the more technical side, an AR communications professional might be the one creating visual content for the metaverse.</p>



<p><strong>The Ideal Candidate</strong>: AR communications professionals should have some training in immersive reality or, at least, understand the medium. For example, in creating a storyboard, a person with a great imagination or a background in content creation could succeed in this role.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-predictive-data-specialist">3. Predictive Data Specialist</h3>



<p>While data science professionals have been around for many years, Jervis predicts that we’ll begin to see an increase in what she calls “predictive data specialists’’ for organizations and even governments. This is a role that is very analytical-heavy and revolves around making sense of patterns and information and being able to make predictive inferences from there. In short, these specialists are there to almost preempt situations before they become a problem.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Take the field of health care, for example. It’s possible to put a patient’s detailed health information through an AI system and find patterns from the data—things like blood work results, biological markers and symptoms—and make predictions from there.</p>



<p><strong>The Ideal Candidate</strong>: This would be someone who’s technically trained on data dashboards and has a very clear background in data science itself.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-adaptive-ai-specialist">4. Adaptive AI Specialist</h3>



<p>Jervis says the next era of chatbots will be more adaptive and customized to the individual user. Instead of the stilted back-and-forth responses we’re used to, adaptive AI flexes to the very unique needs of the person using it rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. “It’s software that can read our moods, our emotions, how we’re asking something, and understand the situational context of what we’re asking it to do,” she explains.</p>



<p><strong>The Ideal Candidate</strong>: Different types of specialists will contribute to building adaptive AI systems, including engineers and experts in languages, psychology and communications.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-necessary-skills-to-land-the-most-in-demand-tech-jobs">Necessary skills to land the most in-demand tech jobs</h2>



<p>A big shift that Jervis is seeing in the tech industry is a demand for specific skills. “Those who have some understanding of the digital world will be more in demand,” she explains. That said, she stresses that it’s also vital that organizations place equal value on traits that are innately human. “We don’t all need to be digital technologists, but we do need a comfortable level of digital fluency,” Jervis says.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-soft-skills">Soft skills</h3>



<p>Even as automation is becoming a part of our daily lives, the demand for “<a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/leadership-soft-skills/">soft skills</a>” is surging. Some in-demand soft skills for high demand tech jobs include:</p>



<ul>
<li><strong>Social intelligence</strong>: having emotional intelligence in social situations</li>



<li><strong>Creative and design mindsets</strong>: the capability or talent for generating new ideas and innovations</li>



<li><strong>Persuasion and negotiation</strong>: skills that require cross-cultural competency, problem-solving and awareness of self and others</li>



<li><strong>Empathy</strong>: the ability to understand and care for the well-being of others; integral in building business relationships</li>



<li><strong>Judgment and decision-making</strong>: a set of skills that also requires intuition, context and critical thinking</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hard-skills">Hard skills</h3>



<p>On the more technical side of things, certain “hard skills” will be very valuable for the top tech jobs, such as:</p>



<ul>
<li><strong>New media literacy</strong>: a healthy grasp of new digital and social media tools and services and how they can be applied to grow any type of organization</li>



<li><strong>Forecasting</strong>: an ability to anticipate market trends, foresee bottlenecks and map out predicted outcomes</li>



<li><strong>User experience (UX) knowledge</strong>: the creative process that goes into making meaningful experiences for users, encompassing all touchpoints of the user’s engagement with an organization</li>



<li><strong>Cognitive load management</strong>: the ability to discern which information is most important and learn how not to overload our brain capacity so as to leave space for new learning to “register”</li>



<li><strong>Edge computing expertise</strong>: the ability to understand and deploy edge computing (i.e., computing that takes place at, or near, the source of the data, bringing cloud services closer to where it’s needed)&nbsp;</li>
</ul>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><em>This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://store.success.com/by-media/success-magazine-jan-feb-2024-steve-aoki.html">January/February 2024</a> issue of </em>SUCCESS <em>Magazine. Photo courtesy of Shivvy Jervis</em>.</p>

Want to supercharge your success? An innovation forecaster reveals the most in-demand tech jobs—and the skills you need to get them.

Want to supercharge your success? An innovation forecaster reveals the most in demand tech jobs—and the skills you need to get them. | SUCCESS

Top Tech Jobs of 2024 and the Skills You Need To Land Them, According to Futurist Shivvy Jervis

In-Demand Tech Jobs & The Skills You Need To Land Them | SUCCESS

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Cynthia Breazeal on stage presenting about AI for kids

<p>Unlike with previous generations, students today are learning early on how to collaborate with emerging technologies and artificial intelligence to shape the world they want to live in as adults.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Many teachers are also embracing AI, especially when it means they can be more efficient and effective at their jobs. AI enables teachers to streamline administrative tasks, drive efficiency and fill gaps where they need a little help, such as adapting lessons to individual learning needs in a classroom of 30-plus kids. Yet, despite all these technologies, the unique skills that come naturally to us as humans—<a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/components-of-emotional-intelligence/">emotional intelligence</a>, empathy and social awareness to name a few—still reign supreme.</p>



<p>With more than two decades of experience in AI, American robotics scientist and entrepreneur <a href="https://www.media.mit.edu/people/cynthiab/overview/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cynthia Breazeal, Ph.D.</a>, is a world-renowned pioneer and lead researcher of social robotics and human-robotics interaction. In 2004, she published her seminal book, <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262524315/designing-sociable-robots/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Designing Sociable Robots</em></a>, which presented her vision for social robots of the future. Breazeal later co-founded <a href="https://robotsguide.com/robots/jibo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jibo</a>, a company that developed personal assistant robots in 2012. A true innovation of its time, the Jibo robot was friendly and designed to be part of the family. It featured cameras and microphones, responded to questions and even recognized faces.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cynthia-breazeal-witnesses-a-shift-in-perspectives-on-ai">Cynthia Breazeal witnesses a shift in perspectives on AI</h2>



<p>Today, Breazeal is a professor of media arts and sciences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she founded and directs the <a href="https://www.media.mit.edu/groups/personal-robots/overview/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Personal Robots group at the institution’s Media Lab</a>. She is also the MIT dean for digital learning and the director of the MIT-wide Initiative on Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education (MIT RAISE), an initiative that works toward making advanced tech innovation accessible to younger generations and future entrepreneurs and innovators.</p>



<p>Over the past 20 years, Breazeal has seen a perspective shift in how people approach and perceive AI. Whereas the focus used to center around cognitive decision-making and navigation, technologies are now leaning into the innately human skills that have been overlooked because they come so naturally to us. “We are incredibly socially and emotionally sophisticated, and these are our superpowers as a species,” she says, adding that everything we know about our society, from the things we’ve built and created, all comes from our <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/emotional-intelligence-at-work/">social-emotional intelligence</a> and collaboration.</p>



<p>Using the examples of recent advances like Alexa and <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-use-chatgpt-for-business/">ChatGPT</a>, Breazeal describes these technologies as social interfaces, or personified AI systems, that don’t present themselves as a tool. “They present themselves as an ‘other’—a social ‘other’—and a lot of human social-emotional psychology comes along for that ride,” she says. At the same time, Alexa is very transactional, and ChatGPT is session per session; these technologies don’t really know you.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-for-social-good">AI for social good</h2>



<p>Much of Breazeal’s more recent work focuses on the long-term impact of social robots on everyday life—a theme she refers to as “living with AI”—and how social robots can build relationships and provide personalized support in whatever functions they are serving. She hones in on what it really means to create an AI system that significantly contributes to human flourishing. “It’s something that actually helps us to become who we aspire to be, that helps us with profoundly human things like being healthier, aging with greater independence, learning new skills and upskilling,” Breazeal says. These are all transformative capabilities that, when acquired, can enhance one’s life and open up opportunities that wouldn’t be available otherwise. </p>



<p>“These are areas where our social and emotional intelligence are really tightly bound into how effective these interventions are for us, and if we can’t engage our emotions, or we can’t engage socially with a sense of community and meaning, we’re not as successful,” she says.</p>



<p>Breazeal uses this approach when deploying different types of social robots for evaluation. “We were seeing how people were engaging with them, and [we realized how socially persuasive they are],” she says. She compares the effect these robots had as similar to that of a human coach or a tutor. “We started looking at long-term interaction, where you were actually living with this robot, like in ‘Star Wars,’ [where these systems get to know you].”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cynthia-breazeal-has-a-breakthrough">Cynthia Breazeal has a breakthrough</h2>



<p>Some of her greatest insights occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, Breazeal just happened to be deploying a type of social robot that acted almost like a wellness or positive psychology coach. “We were sending these little social robots out into the homes of people all across the country, during a time when there was social distancing and isolation, and the responses we received were profound,” she says. Especially for older adults living alone, simply having an entity acknowledging their presence positively benefited their emotional well-being and mental health. “Chronic loneliness is a huge issue in this country; these are areas where the need for skilled professional services is far outpacing our ability to train professionals to meet these demands,” Breazeal says.</p>



<p>The pandemic also had a huge impact on kids’ learning and mental health. As Breazeal points out, it showed us how it’s not enough to rely on teachers and the current professional staff to address this growing, overwhelming need. “We need the right kinds of tools and technologies that are both professional facing as well as main user facing that extends and augments and helps provide an elevated quality of care that’s much more scalable and affordable,” she says.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-artificial-intelligence-for-kids-teaching-ai-literacy-in-schools">Artificial intelligence for kids: Teaching AI literacy in schools</h2>



<p>In her work for <a href="https://raise.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MIT RAISE</a>, Breazeal aims to make education around AI and other advanced technologies more accessible—as well as approachable—to younger generations. “We want to help prepare young people to be able to enter into this workforce successfully,” she says, stressing the importance of understanding <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/is-chatgpt-ethical/">AI’s social implications as well as the ethics</a> and responsibility required. “People spend a lot of time and money and expertise to build these things to actually do something specific,” she says.</p>



<p>Breazeal hopes that through early introductions of AI for kids and hands-on learning, the younger generation will see firsthand the value of working with AI rather than against it. “Collaborating allows us to elevate human creativity, elevate our ability to solve complex problems and elevate our ability to connect,” she says. As she sees it, the goal of AI goes beyond its efficiency or cost-effectiveness; the real design value is in our ability to collaborate with these technologies.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“We need to design these systems so that they can be much more steerable, much more intuitive to use to empower a much broader part of society… to be able to apply our human values and expertise to shape our future harnessing this technology.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-day-of-ai-is-changing-ai-for-kids-around-the-world">Day of AI is changing AI for kids around the world</h2>



<p>In an effort to increase AI literacy among younger generations as well as educators, Breazeal and her team developed <a href="https://www.dayofai.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Day of AI</a>, a program that takes place every May (2024 will be its third run), which features hours of hands-on activities that educate kids about AI. Through creative discovery, discussion and critical thinking, kids have fun while learning—and experiencing—the fundamentals of AI.</p>



<p>To date, Day of AI has reached people in more than 114 countries, with 10,000 educators downloading the curriculum and teaching it in their classrooms. “We do a lot of research around understanding how teachers across subject matter, expertise and grade bands are engaging with their students,” Breazeal says. “We’re seeing some really amazing results in terms of not just how teachers feel they are prepared and can adapt this curriculum to their students, but [how the hands-on component] makes students feel more empowered.”</p>



<p>There’s definitely an emotional element to this arc of learning. The more students learn and interact with artificial intelligence for kids, the more they feel that they have a voice in this future. “Once they feel they have a voice and that they can shape it, now they have optimism, and they have hope,” Breazeal says.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-day-of-ai-at-a-glance">Day of AI at a glance</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-early-elementary">Early Elementary</h3>



<p><strong>Grades K-2 / Ages 5-7</strong></p>



<p>Proving that you’re never too young to learn, this curriculum covers the basics of AI. This includes what AI is, how it shows up in pop culture and how it can be used in both positive and negative ways. Students then get to design their very own robot for social good.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-upper-elementary">Upper Elementary</h3>



<p><strong>Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10</strong></p>



<p>Building upon AI fundamentals, the upper elementary track helps students understand how machines can learn to make decisions by looking at datasets, algorithms and predictions. They also discuss ways to ensure that AI does not infringe on basic human rights.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-middle-school">Middle School</h3>



<p><strong>Grades 6-8 / Ages 11-13</strong></p>



<p>Students on this talk track cover AI in pictures, music and stories. They learn how to spot deepfakes, a type of AI used to create convincing images, audio and video hoaxes, and how to create their own art using AI. Later, students use the Scratch programming language to create their own computer game with an AI character whose performance improves as it plays.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-high-school">High School</h3>



<p><strong>Grades 9-12 / Ages 14+</strong></p>



<p>High school students dive into AI in social media, learning how the algorithms build recommendations for users. The curriculum also covers data activism and voice AI using Alexa’s AI systems.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-high-school-computer-science">High School Computer Science</h3>



<p><strong>Grades 9-12 / Ages 14+</strong></p>



<p>Day of AI’s most advanced curriculum covers machine recognition (or “image classification”). There are also opportunities to learn Python programming and an exercise on how to spot biases that come with artificially intelligent machines.</p>



<p><strong>All Grades / Ages 5-18</strong></p>



<p>Available to students of all ages, this intro curriculum introduces ChatGPT and the process it uses to generate human-like dialogue and storytelling. There are also discussion points for whether it should (or should not) be used in schools.</p>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><em>This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://store.success.com/by-media/success-magazine-jan-feb-2024-steve-aoki.html">January/February 2024</a> issue of </em>SUCCESS <em>Magazine. Photo by</em> <em>Jimmy Day/courtesy of MIT Media Lab.</em></p>

Cynthia Breazeal is teaching kids AI literacy in schools and through her event, Day of AI. Learn more about her important work.

Cynthia Breazeal is teaching kids AI literacy in schools and through her event, Day of AI. Learn more about her important work. | SUCCESS

Cynthia Breazeal Is Making AI Fun and Educational for Kids

Cynthia Breazeal Is Making AI Fun and Educational for Kids | SUCCESS

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Kevin Hines sitting on a staircase with his new book "the art of being broken how storytelling saves lives"

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<p>Time is a curious thing. An hour can feel like a day while a week can fly by in seconds. In the case of Kevin Hines, who at just 19 years old attempted suicide off the Golden Gate Bridge in 2000, his entire world changed in the four seconds it took for him to hit the frigid waters below. After taking the bus to the bridge, he paced around for 40 minutes before finally jumping. Hines would later be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. At the time of his attempt, he was hearing voices in his head telling him to jump.&nbsp;</p>



<p>There’s a reason why only 36 people have survived a fall off the Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge is about 245 feet above the water—equivalent to a 25-story building—and the four-second drop has you hitting the water at around 80 miles per hour. Regretting his decision in the millisecond his hands left the rail, Hines managed to position himself so that his feet hit the water first. Then, as if in some fractured fairy tale, a sea lion kept him afloat until the Coast Guard arrived.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-kevin-hines-story">The Kevin Hines story</h2>



<p>A lot has changed since that fateful day, but Hines’ commitment as an advocate for mental health has never faltered. In his work as a <a href="https://www.kevinhinesstory.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">global public speaker, author and award-winning documentary filmmaker</a>, Hines uses the power of storytelling to empower people to seek the help that will save their lives. His documentary film, <a href="https://suicidetherippleeffectfilm.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Suicide: The Ripple Effect</em></a>, which he co-wrote and starred in, won the award for Best Story at the Nice International Film Festival in 2018, and his story has reached hundreds of millions of people around the world.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Hines experienced the power of storytelling first-hand, shortly after his attempt off the Golden Gate Bridge. When Hines gave his first talk—speaking to a group of 120 seventh and eighth graders—he had no intention of sharing his story with anyone. “I was so embarrassed for what I did, and how much I hurt my family and friends with what I did, that I was ready to keep silent for the rest of my life,” Hines recalls.</p>



<p>Yet, immediately following that talk, Hines recalls how several students raised their hands and asked intuitive and empowering questions about <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/you-can-choose-happiness/">mental health</a>. The students were later encouraged to send letters to Hines, and in six of those letters, students wrote about their active suicidal crises. As they were minors, parents and teachers screened those letters and could take action. “Those kids were given the help they needed, and they’re alive today,” Hines notes.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kevin-hines-new-book-the-art-of-being-broken">Kevin Hines’ new book: The Art of Being Broken</h2>



<p>Most recently, Hines released the second in a three-part memoir series entitled, <em><a href="https://amzn.to/3tdcMmk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Art of Being Broken: How Storytelling Saves Lives</a></em>. In his first of the series, <em><a href="https://amzn.to/3Rxe5pF" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cracked, Not Broken: Surviving and Thriving After a Suicide Attempt</a></em>, Hines delves into the factors that contributed to his attempted suicide and the fallout that followed. As Hines describes, his first memoir tells the story of his life journey and how, despite being placed in foster care and later adopted, he was diagnosed with the same brain disease (bipolar depression) that both his biological parents had. </p>



<p>Available now, <em>The Art of Being Broken: How Storytelling Saves Lives </em>centers on how people can <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/negative-stress-affects-your-well-being/">manage their hurt to become unbroken</a>. In addition to Hines sharing more of his personal journey toward recovery, he gives voice to six other contributing authors who also share their stories of <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/your-5-step-resilience-exercise-for-accepting-change/">triumph over incredible adversity</a>. “These contributing authors are genuine out there doing the work to change the lives of other people every single day,” Hines explains.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Giving other storytellers a platform creates a ripple effect in which Hines’ message can reach as many people as possible. As Hines shares, stories are 22 times more memorable than statistics or facts, and when somebody tells their story—whether on a podcast, in an article or some other medium—their brains sync up with the storytelling, and the neurons and synapses in the brain fire in the same way. “You're feeling a sense of empathy that is visceral and palpable, and that's why I wrote this book with these contributing authors—because their stories are just as important as mine,” he says.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-the-emotional-pain-is-overbearing">When the emotional pain is overbearing</h2>



<p>In his teachings, Hines stresses that suicide does not end the pain; it just takes away the entire possibility for things to change or get better. For those who are experiencing suicidal ideations, Hines advises to first look into a mirror and say, “My thoughts do not have to become my actions,” and second, to turn to someone near you—whether you know them or not—and say four simple words: “I need help, now.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>“You may be in the greatest lethal emotional pain you've ever experienced right now, but just because you're in a world of pain today does not mean you don't get to have that beautiful tomorrow,” he shares. His biggest motto is “Be here, tomorrow.”</p>



<p><em>Visit </em><a href="http://www.suicide.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>www.suicide.org</em></a><em> for suicide awareness, prevention and support.</em></p>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><em>Photo courtesy of Kevin Hines</em>.</p>

Mental health advocate Kevin Hines shares his story and why he wrote his new book, "The Art of Being Broken: How Storytelling Saves Lives."

Mental health advocate Kevin Hines shares his story and why he wrote his new book, "The Art of Being Broken: How Storytelling Saves Lives." | SUCCESS

Kevin Hines’ New Book Shares How Storytelling Can Save Lives

Kevin Hines’ New Book Shares How Storytelling Can Save Lives | SUCCESS

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The founders of Back to the Roots smiling among plants and their brand's products

<p>In a fast-moving digital world, there’s something intrinsically healing about the slowing down that gardening requires. The feeling of dirt under our nails, watering and watching something grow; the patience, the practice, the stilling of the mind. It’s no wonder that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204619307297" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gardening and happiness</a> go hand in hand. In fact, simply breathing in Mycobacterium vaccae, a naturally-occuring bacteria that lives in soil, <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190529094003.htm">can reduce anxiety</a> and <a href="https://journals.ashs.org/jashs/view/journals/jashs/147/3/article-p135.xml">increase levels of serotonin</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For the team at organic food and gardening company Back to the Roots, gardening is the ultimate unifier; it connects people and communities back to the land and back to themselves. Today, the Oakland, California-based B corporation is the <a href="https://backtotheroots.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fastest-growing gardening company in America</a>, with products available at more than 10,000 stores nationwide, including Walmart, Target, The Home Depot, Whole Foods and more.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-seed-that-started-back-to-the-roots">The seed that started Back to the Roots</h2>



<p>What is now a $100 million business reaching thousands of families and individuals each year started as all great ideas do: with a single seed of inspiration. Back in 2009, Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Vélez were seniors in their last semester at UC Berkeley. With Arora going into consulting and Vélez primed for a career in investment banking, the two had never crossed paths. Then, just shy of graduation, both men sat in on the same business ethics lecture on sustainability among more than 200 other students.</p>



<p>When the professor mentioned how gourmet mushrooms can grow off of spent coffee grounds, a spark of curiosity was lit in both their minds. Unbeknownst to the other, they both emailed the professor after class asking for more information about these mushrooms. As Arora recounts, “The professor told me that he didn’t remember where he first read about the mushrooms but that another student had asked him the same thing, and suggested that we link up.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>They did just that. Before long, the duo began swapping finance books for mycology books, searching YouTube videos on how to grow mushrooms and turning Vélez’s fraternity kitchen into a mini science lab. After growing a few test buckets, they received some local support from restaurant owner and pioneer of the farm-to-table movement, Alice Waters, who loved the taste of their mushrooms. Then, two weeks shy of graduation, Arora and Vélez received a $5,000 grant from their chancellor.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-getting-the-community-involved">Getting the community involved</h2>



<p>In the early days, Arora and Vélez focused on learning, experimenting and <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-can-i-increase-my-community-involvement/">connecting with their local community</a>. “We’d wake up at 5 a.m. every day and collect coffee ground waste from cafes to upcycle and use to grow fresh mushrooms,” Arora recounts. When they weren’t farming, the founders held demos and led tours for schools and families at their early mushroom farms in Oakland. “We started noticing that there’s a big pendulum swing between how our grandparents were so connected to where their food came from compared to how we are today, especially in urban settings and urban schools,” Arora explains. He notes that many kids see their food as coming from a truck or a grocery store, rather than from the ground.</p>



<p>Aside from growing mushrooms themselves, Arora and Vélez enjoyed sharing their process with others and inspiring them to do the same. The first Back to the Roots product was a grow-at-home mushroom garden kit that allows anyone to grow up to a pound of pearl oyster mushrooms indoors in as little as ten days. It’s completely foolproof: you simply open the box, spray it twice daily with the included mister and watch the mushrooms grow bigger and bigger until they’re ready to be plucked and plated. “We wanted to teach people everywhere across the country how to grow their own food,” Arora adds.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-the-gardening-brand">Building the gardening brand</h2>



<p>After the success of their mushroom kit, Back to the Roots began selling hydroponics, microgreens, windowsill planters and other indoor gardening essentials. Most recently, they’ve expanded to include outdoor gardening items such as raised beds and planters, live seedlings, soils and plant foods. Before Back to the Roots, the process for starting a garden was complicated: you needed to buy seeds from one company, pots from another and plants from somebody else. “Our big unlock was making organic gardening more accessible and easy,” Arora says. This meant offering the same accessibility and ease with growing an outdoor garden as they did with indoor gardening. “It was important that we maintained the same brand promise: for them to go from seed to soil to fertilizer,” he adds.</p>



<p>Transitioning from an indoor gardening kit company to a gardening brand was a natural progression based on where their growers were headed. At the beginning of the company’s journey, the majority of people turning to Back to the Roots were folks who hadn’t grown food or gardened before, whereas now, a lot of customers are new or <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/think-youre-ready-to-buy-a-house-read-this-first/">soon-to-be homeowners</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This next cohort, which includes millennials, are typically working with more space, whether a patio or outdoor area where they can create their own garden. “Expanding our business to include outdoor gardening meant maintaining the same brand promise to our customers. For them to be able to buy everything they need in one place and know that it’s high-quality and affordable has really led to incredible growth,” notes Arora.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-celebrity-endorsement">Celebrity endorsement</h2>



<p>It’s not only new homeowners looking to boost their gardening game. Celebrities have joined the movement, too. Back to the Roots added Ayesha Curry to its board of directors and counts Gabrielle Union and Alyssa Milano as investors. Much like the evolution of their business, these relationships grew organically. As Arora puts it, Steph Curry is a fellow Oakland resident, foodie and gardener, and Milano is a huge gardener who is passionate about homesteading and teaching her family about food.</p>



<p>In the case of Union, the Back to the Roots founders met her mostly by chance but soon bonded over a shared passion for sustainability. “We first met during an Amazon Live feature—it was just a five- to 10-minute conversation, but we immediately hit it off around our shared <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/sustainable-business-practices/">passions for sustainability</a>,” Arora recalls. “She's building out a farm and wants to help reconnect folks with the land. We continued talking afterwards and it blossomed into an exciting partnership.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keeping-sustainability-top-of-mind">Keeping sustainability top-of-mind</h2>



<p>Reflecting on their journey and how far they’ve come, Arora sees how connection to food is both communal and personal. “It's hard to pinpoint why we both first raised our hands in class for more information, but for me it was definitely something around the sustainability side of growing food from waste, and for Alejandro, perhaps it was the connection to coffee culture that tied so deeply into his Colombian roots and the educational opportunity around it,” he says.</p>



<p>It’s this tie to food and sustainability that continues to resonate with so many people across the nation. A great example is Back to the Roots’ #GrowOneGiveOne campaign: Every time a customer shares their growing journey on social media using the hashtag, the company donates a gardening kit and curriculum to an elementary school classroom of the person’s choice. Last year alone, this initiative reached 60,000 children. “We aim to be that spark of curiosity—just like growing that first mushroom was for us—that helps them reconnect and ultimately change the food system,” Arora explains.</p>



<p>Today, Back to the Roots’ organic, all-purpose potting mix is one of the most affordable on the market. “It’s so exciting to make organic soil and be the best value for quality and price. It’s just a huge opportunity to change the food system,” Arora says. Even so, he believes that gardening is not about how many pounds of tomatoes you can grow or how cheaply you can do so—rather, the value is in the joy and connection you feel to the earth, your food and each other.</p>

Back to the Roots began with a goal to help people reconnect to their food through gardening. Now, the $100 million business does just that.

Back to the Roots began with a goal to help people reconnect to their food through gardening. Now, the $100 million business does just that. | SUCCESS

Back to the Roots Is Making Organic Gardening More Accessible for Everyone

Grow Your Own Food with Back to the Roots | SUCCESS

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