Corrine is a 3-time Scars to Stars Author!! We dive into business and the fears of an entrepreneur. Through this journey, Corrine has been through several iterations of her business. She is a CMP and has run an event company for almost 20 years!

About the Guest: 

After relocating to the United States from England, Corrine Statia Thomas, CMP became a Corporate Executive with two well-known corporations. In one of those roles, Corrine worked with a team that helped manage, plan, and execute more than 500 meetings, conferences and special events in a little over one year. Since then she has helped organize Corporate Events for KPMG, BD, Novartis, Maersk Sealand, Victoria Secret Beauty, Time Warner Cable, National Hispanic Business Group NJEDge.Net & a host of others.

Corrine owns and operates a Full Service Meeting & Event Planning company that organizes and plans all aspects of meetings and events, and has the distinct honor of being a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP). Her company provides management and logistic services to corporations, associations, non-profit organizations, consumers and more. The company’s mission is to create successful and memorable experiences for their clients that enable them to be guests at their own events.

Corrine has over 18 years of event industry experience producing corporate events that range from training meetings, conferences, business marketing cocktail receptions, employee recognition events, company picnics or outings, fundraising galas, meetings and conferences as well as social events that range from Cocktail receptions, Milestone events to Leadership Retreats and Team Building.

Prior to this, Corrine served in various IT roles that included Systems Analysis and Technical Support. She now brings her IT experience to bear through building efficiency into the planning and production services and is quickly able to determine the best tools to use in particular situations.

Corrine has felt called to share her knowledge and experiences by creating a business growth program to empower and build up small business owners to become ‘Founders who create the impact they were created for.

About Deana:

Deana Brown Mitchell is a driven, optimistic, and compassionate leader in all areas of her life.

As a bestselling author, speaker and award-winning entrepreneur, Deana vulnerably shares her experiences for the benefit of others. As a consultant/coach, she has a unique perspective on customizing a path forward for any situation. 

Currently President of Genius & Sanity, and known as “The Shower Genius”, she teaches her proprietary framework created from her own experiences of burnout and always putting herself last...  for entrepreneurs and leaders who want to continue or expand their business while taking better care of themselves and achieving the life of their dreams.

In 2022 Deana released the book, The Shower Genius, How Self-Care, Creativity & Sanity will Change Your Life Personally & Professionally.

Also, Deana is the Founder & Executive Director of The Realize Foundation. She is a suicide survivor herself, and vulnerably uses her own mental health journey to let others know there is hope. The Realize Foundation produces events and publishes books that let people know there are not alone.

“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds” Jeremiah 30:17

https://www.realizefoundation.org/

https://www.facebook.com/RealizeFoundation

https://www.instagram.com/realizefoundation/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-realize-foundation/

https://www.youtube.com/@realizefoundation5598

https://twitter.com/ScarstoStarsTM

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Hi, it's Deana with The Realized Foundation. And I'm here today with Corrine, who is written in all three books. So I'm excited to catch up with you, Corinne and see the tell everybody what this chapter is about in volume three.

So this time I'm writing about really being afraid to do something different or something new. But being afraid and going through that, and doing it anyway, because, you know, I have often said that, I like to live my life without any regrets. In other words, I don't really want to be able to get to a point where I say, I wonder what would have happened, if so if I have an idea or thought, I feel like, my life should go in a different direction than it's going, then I feel the need to pursue that. As much as it scares the mess out of me, I still want to do it. So I'll just go for it. So I wanted to kind of illustrate that in this chapter, I talk about what what I've done in the past, and what I'm planning to do. And really, it's around helping others. You know, my whole career has been about service serving others in one way or another. In the meetings and events industry. That's really what I was doing, I was serving my clients by producing their events going, in most cases from concept to execution. And, but I, during the pandemic, I felt called to help others who decided to take this journey of entrepreneurship and help them grow their businesses avoiding some of the mistakes I made growing my own, and I made lots of them. So I am, I want to help other people avoid some of those. And I started doing some of it during the pandemic. And I have to tell you, every time I did something, I did a session, I really just felt like I'd won the lottery. So I feel you know, I know that this is something that I should be doing. So I am like all over that. However, it is like oh my god, it's like starting a whole brand new business all over again. And that's it, it's scary. entrepreneurship can be very scary. However, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it. So. So I wanted for, to kind of go through that exercise in this particular chapter in the hopes that somebody out there if they're thinking, I want to do this so badly, but I'm afraid of this, I'm afraid of what people might say I'm afraid of that whatever the fear is, I think it's important to just just work through that fear, be afraid it's okay to be afraid. It's, it's not okay to not do what you your heart is telling you to do. So. That's really what it is.

That's, that's very true. And I think one thing that might be instilling fear in people that you didn't mention is leaving a stable income to do it, you know?

Yes, because I certainly did that. When I started my first business, which I've had for about 19 years now, I definitely walked away from it stable, really good salary to do that. And I will tell you, today at 19 years later that I do not have a single regret doing that. I like my life. I like the fact that I get to drive the bus, as I often say. So yes, it can be scary, but you believe in yourself and in what you're doing and how you want to show up in the world what you want to, you know, what you want to share with the world, your talents, all of that. Just there is a way so I'm not going to say fight the fear. I'm going to say feel the fear and do it anyway.

Yes, I've been there too. For sure.

Right? Yes, I know. You have. Yeah. So that's kind of what my chapter is about this time around.

Awesome. So my second question that I asked everyone, as you know, is, what was your experience being part of this book, or all three books in this program? Or also just you know, the the experience of writing your story and how that affects you?

So who Okay, so first of all, being a part of this series, for me, I think has been a really wonderful experience. I think what you've done is, aside from bringing a group of really wonderful individuals together to share their story, I think you've also given us a little bit of a gift in that we, I certainly am using the book, a little bit like a therapy session. You know, there are things that you have in your mind, but when you have to when you have to put things on paper in the form of a book, that, by the way, is also scary. Again, that is another place where I feel the fear and do it anyway, this particular chapter was, you know, I was a little skittish about writing it, but I did it anyway. And also, I think, it also helps me to a little bit get over the fear of what it is that I'm trying to do at the same time, it's very difficult to explain that to people or articulate that, because you have to, you have to do it to really understand what I mean. So I encourage anybody to definitely write their story, some parts of their story, even if you don't feel like you want to share it with the world write it because there is some therapeutic aspect to writing. And this scars, the stars, the realize Foundation, the mission, you know, really helping people to realize as in relaxed foundation to realize that they're not alone, you may have a thought about Oh, my God, this is so insurmountable, you feel like you have this huge boulder on your back. But there are so many other people with challenges, also some even worse than your own challenge, and they are making it through. So these, these stories are there to help you to realize that you're not alone. Number one, and number two, it may not be as bad as you think it's not bad enough to decide that you want to duck out of this world, because there's a lot there are talents that you have, that you need to share, you don't realize their talent, because you whatever your talent is for you. It seems quite ordinary. Everybody can do this right now, you know, we each come into this world with a unique talent that another person does not have. And I think we all have a responsibility to share those talents. So I think the realized Foundation and the skarsten Star Series allows a lot of us as authors, and I say and the fact that I'm saying authors, US and authors in the same sentence is kind of interesting, because I would never have thought that I would be able to write a chapter for less be in a book that is on the Amazon Best selling less than, I mean, there is something about that, that makes you feel it awakened something in you that encourages you to do it, to keep writing because I may impact one single individual only through my writings. But that, for me, is worth the time and effort that I spend writing.

We had, there's someone else in Book Three, who I was having a conversation with just the other day. And he talks a lot about suicide and PTSD, saying that, you know, when you write the words on paper or on your computer, it it's like it's like taking the pain out of your head or your brain and putting it and then it's just words and you don't you know, it's it doesn't have the same pain or meaning when you're doing that because you're it's like you're expelling from your body. When you go through the writing process. And I think the biggest revelation that most people have

i I would agree with that. Because you're, you're, you're taking it away from you in a way. And this is interesting, because now that we're talking about this I, so I was on a long drive, I drove to Canada and back recently, and I was reading or listening the audiobook spare by Prince Harry who prefers to be called spike or her hands, which I love. And, you know, he really is pouring his experiences into that writing. And I'd love to, to hear someone asked him what that was like for him because I'm, I'm almost positive that it, it helped him in some of his is a sure challenges or whatever. I mean, for me, this is an individual who is having a human experience just like anybody else. And not everybody wants him to have his human experience. But yes, I do agree that writing it takes it out of your, your head, because you know, we have over 75,000 conversations in our hands every day. And they all don't serve us. Some of them are way too negative. Some of them are limiting some of them. It's just a whole bunch of things. So I I like the idea of writing, I have to say every time Dina says, Okay, we're about to do the next iteration, oh, my God. But I have to say I say yes, every single time because it gives me an opportunity to kind of clear the cobwebs in a way by writing. So if anybody else out there who's listening to this, wondering whether they should write something about themselves that may that someone else may be having the same experience, and you don't know, I can probably guarantee whatever it is that you have, somebody else is experiencing that in one way, shape or another. So I encourage you to do the same. In fact, you should probably reach out to Dean and get yourself involved in the next book, you will not regret that kind of a decision.

Well, thank you, Corinne. And I feel like I need to tell people how to do that now. Because if they're listening, and they want to, then they need to know where to go. So our web, our website is realized foundation.org. And on the scars to stars page, we have, we call it a submission, it's not really an application, it's a submission that you are wanting to tell your story one of our books. And what that does is it lets me know who you are and how to contact you and how to talk to you about it. And so we do books twice a year, except for this year, because we launched a podcast in place in our book in May. But normally we we started in February, late February, for a book that comes out in May for Mental Health Awareness Month. And then we start the second one in July, and it comes out in September for Suicide Prevention Month. So that is how this works. With the books if anyone's interested. And I hear from you. Reach out. Yeah, do it. It's been, it's been a huge experience for me as well, just meeting all the people that have written in the books and getting to have you know, we have weekly calls during that like 12 weeks of of the project. And we really get to know each other and bond and create these relationships and this support system. That's amazing. And so we're excited to actually starting to do that on a bigger scale with our membership and having having it for anyone to come anytime and getting together at least once a month if not more to have these hard conversations because what this is all about is like Corinne said like letting people know they're not alone. Someone else has been through something similar. And they come out on the other side and they tell their story about how they did that. So it's it's really important to people struggling that don't have an outlet or support to pick up one of these books and say hey, I will way with this person that I have a link and I can connect with them and talk to them. Right? And that's where, you know, that came from my own experience of being silent for over two decades about my suicide attempt. Like, how can we reach people without them having to ask for help? Right. And they say, is really what everything we do is about you. So.

So if you want to show up in the world to help another human, this may be one of the ways that you do that. And what I didn't say before, that is extremely helpful. If you, you're thinking, Well, I've never written a book before. I've never written anything before I hadn't before my first chapter. There is often not only the editor of these books, but there is I'm blanking on his name right now, someone who can really help you get started talking about how you structure your what, what you write, and just write just,

Yeah, it's not as as hard as people think. And we do guide you and hold your hand through the whole process. And I think the biggest thing I've learned after three books, is that when you start the project, when you when you join the project, start writing, do not wait until a week before the deadline.

Is that does happen by the way, start writing, right? And it doesn't, you don't even have to form sentences, when you write, just write things down that you know that you want to share. And then you can kind of start to put it together into sentences. Now we have, you know, having somebody kind of guide you through the process is going to help you formulate those words into sentences so that you can put them into paragraphs. And then before you know it, you have a chapter.

Absolutely. And our editor, she really tells you, yeah, we're gonna laugh at this, but she says, just vomit on the page. And I'll clean it up. Because if there's punctuation, I don't care if it's the one sentence, I don't care, like, she needs your thoughts. And then she can craft it into a, you know, a chapter and tell you, Hey, I think you need to add something here or there. So that's the kind of feedback you get. And you really don't have to worry about making sure that you have proper sentences and punctuation and all that stuff. Because we do all that for you. Right? So it's really like just getting your story on paper and your thoughts. And then it becomes a working document. And the editor will give you some feedback and maybe ask you to add some things or, or ask some questions. And then you know, go back a time or two back and forth a time or two and then and then it's done. I mean, that's all you need to do except, except, you know, submit your bio and your photo and what link you want to use. And that's pretty much it. So, yeah, again, the website is realized foundation.org scars, the stars page. And you can you can also find the books on Amazon. And you can also see videos on that web page of all of the authors in the first two books talking about their chapters. So give you an idea of like, what they're about and who was in it and all that stuff. So it's a really cool project. I think it's turned into something from our very first summit. Yeah, with 15 speakers telling their story. That's how this started. And it's it's evolved into so much more.

Yeah, yeah, join the bandwagon. That's what I say.

Well, thank you, Corrine, and thanks for chatting with me today. And I can't wait. It's like, a little over a month and book three will be on the shelf.

Indeed. pleasure is all mine. Deana, thank you for inviting me to participate. I really appreciate that.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I'm excited to have you. So we will see. Maybe we'll see you on the book launch. Yeah. September twenty second.

Yes, indeed.

All right. We'll see you soon.