In today’s episode I am joined by the remarkable Erika Rothenberger. Together, we explore resilience, audacity, and the art of time blocking.

In this episode:

• Surviving and Thriving: Erika shares her journey from a near-fatal attack to becoming a symbol of resilience, proving that adversity can fuel inner strength.
• The Audacity to Be Yourself: Learn how to cultivate the audacity to embrace your true self, as Erika shares insights on authenticity and self-discovery.
• Mastering Connections: Erika reveals her top tips for building meaningful relationships, emphasizing the power of genuine connections in both personal and professional spheres.
• Time Blocking Unveiled: Dive into the world of time blocking with Erika's expertise. Discover how to maximize productivity and prioritize tasks effectively for a balanced, fulfilling life.

Join us as we unravel profound insights and practical strategies for navigating life's challenges with grace and determination. Tune in now.

Drink of the week….Awaiting Grace

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Julie Brown:

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Erika Rothenberger

Website

LinkedIn

Approaching life with grit and

also giving ourselves grace is

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a delicate balancing act that

requires a blend of determination.

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And self-compassion.

4

Grit involves setting ambitious goals,

persisting through challenges and

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maintaining a relentless work ethic.

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It's about embracing setbacks as

opportunities for growth and continuously

7

pushing beyond our comfort zones.

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However.

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It's equally essential to extend

grace to ourselves in the face of

10

failures or moments of vulnerability.

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This means, recognizing our

limitations, accepting imperfections and

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understanding that setbacks are natural.

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Part of the human experience.

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Welcome to episode 180 7 of the shit

works, a podcast dedicated to all

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things, networking, relationship

building and business development.

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I'm your host, Julie Brown.

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Speaker author and networking coach.

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And today I am joined by

Erica Rothenberger Erica.

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Seemingly does it all.

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She's a speaker author, professional

time manager, the director of performance

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systems for a large utility contractor,

as well as amazing mom and wife.

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And she's here to share her hard-fought

knowledge on resilience, grit, and grace.

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Life is a wild journey where honestly,

the winds of fortune can swiftly

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change directions, bringing moments of

blissful, ease, or unexpected chaos.

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Sometimes everything seems to align

perfectly and life feels harmonious.

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Other times, however, the proverbial

feces hits the fan and challenges

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arise seemingly out of nowhere.

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Yet.

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It's in these tumultuous

moments that we discover our

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resilience and capacity to adapt.

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My guest today survived a brutal attack.

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That almost took her life.

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And if it's true that what doesn't

kill you makes you stronger than my

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guest today is a heavyweight champ.

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So without further ado, let's

welcome Erica to the podcast.

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Julie: Erica, I'm so excited you're here.

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Erika: I am so excited to be here.

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I have been waiting for this.

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Cause I just, I've been listening

to all of your messages and just

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all of the goodness that you're

throwing out into the universe.

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It truly is like confetti.

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Julie: You know, yours are too.

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You are, I mean, when we met, when I

got that voicemail from you,, for the

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listeners, we were introduced by another

podcast guest, Lindsay McMillian, Steeman.

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When I got that voicemail message

from you, I thought, shit, I have

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now met my sort of energy match.

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Erika: Energizer bunnies.

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You know, it's, it's funny.

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I don't know if you're like me,

but like you get become unplugged

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and it's like people like it.

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Do you have trouble sleeping?

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I'm like, no.

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I'm like, I'm just down for the kill.

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I'm like, then you charge me back

up and it's like, go, go, go.

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Julie: people always ask me, you must

have so much trouble going to bed.

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I'm like, no, it's like somebody

pulled the cord, like literally.

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Erika: take the batteries out.

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Like talk, talk about, you

know, energizer batteries.

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Julie: Yeah.

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All right.

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So let's start with this story,

because I teased this story, this

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story about how you were attacked

and how it was a defining moment for

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you in learning how to tap into your

own grit and grace and resilience.

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And so tell us about this story.

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Erika: Mm.

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You know, thank you for honoring me and

letting me share this story because,

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you know, some people may hear this

story and I, you know, I'll just say

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like, they're going to be a little

bit like taken back or I can't believe

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this happened and I really believe that

there's so much goodness that came out

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of it and I will preface it that way,

but, you know, I'm, you know, just.

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The average Joe, right?

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Like doing, doing the do just like

so many of us on the call, like going

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after things, making things happen.

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And I will tell you, it

was just a normal day.

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It was June 16th, 2022.

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I was, you know, had my kids had

been out of school all of two days.

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My husband was in Kansas.

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city.

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I drove to work the exact

same way I always did.

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I stopped at a starbucks and had

a coffee meeting with someone and

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I pushed back a meeting that was

supposed to start at 10 to 10.

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I started at 10 15,

which was with my boss.

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Let my executive assistant

know, Hey, listen, we're gonna

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push this off 15 minutes.

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So I always think like, you know,

it's kind of like sliding doors.

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If one decision had been different,

if that meeting had gotten

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canceled, if I just decided to

keep it at 10 o'clock versus 10 15.

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And we can always play that what

if game in life, but I think it's

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important to go back and unpack it

that way because it's played through my

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head so many times since it happened.

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So, , I go to this coffee meeting, I

pull into my parking lot, the same place

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that I'd worked for over a decade, right?

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I go and drink the rest of my hot

lemon water, gather some of my things.

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And for any of us that,

Like to travel non light.

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You know, I had my lunch, I had my

bag, I had my computer, I had this

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and my, all of the things right?

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And as I was sitting there,

I went and checked my phone.

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'cause I pulled in approximately

at like 10 o'clock that morning

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and went to go check my emails

before I even walked in the office.

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What other type of chaos had happened?

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But, before I did, I actually left a

video for my kids that morning, because

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I knew they were going to the movies and

I knew they were with a new babysitter.

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They hadn't started camp and just

reminding them to have such a

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beautiful, amazing, wonderful day.

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Have so much fun and

how much mom loved them.

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And again, I truly believe that we're,

we do certain things in life, at certain

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moments because We just don't know.

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And it just reminds me of the

things that we need to do.

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So I pull in, I'm drinking my water,

and the next thing I know I go to

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open my door and I go lean over to

grab my things in my passenger seat.

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As I turn back over, there he was.

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It's literally a man that I'd

never seen before, like standing

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literally inches away from me

in the opening of my car door.

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And I quickly said, sir, can I help you?

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Thinking he was lost.

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He needed help before help.

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You even came out of my mouth.

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He punched me so violently

into in the nose.

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He grabbed me by the long

tendrils of like my hair.

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threw me to that asphalt pavement.

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He started beating the living

shit out of me and I kicked, I

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screamed, I tried to stop him.

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I felt I did everything

that I knew how to do

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Julie: Broad

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Erika: my, all my power, all

my adrenaline and nothing.

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It was like I was a rag doll to him.

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Like I was no longer human.

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And I just remember in that

moment, like not knowing what

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was happening in that moment.

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Like everything happened

so fast and it's crazy.

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Where the adrenaline will go, where

your mind will go and like all of the

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things and that you really, it is pure

adrenaline that is trying to fight, talk

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about fight or flight, fight for every

bit of your existence at that point.

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And I will tell you, like,

I tried every, I used to.

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You know, kickbox.

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I've always been into fitness, health,

well, like all of the things, no

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matter what I was doing, this 290,

510 man, I was not stopping him.

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And unbeknownst to me, he was an ex boxer.

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He knew exactly what he was doing.

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And, um, at which point I got down on the

ground and I started trying to crawl away.

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I could not crawl away and the next

thing I know is I saw the large

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crease of his elbow come underneath

my throat and again, in that

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millisecond, I said to God, I said,

this is my last moment here on earth.

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Like, please take care of my kids.

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Please take care of like my family.

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Please like, just like.

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I, you know, and next thing I

know I was, I was blacked out.

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I was completely, he strangled

me so hard that I blacked out

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and I really, they have no idea.

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There was no security cameras,

unfortunately, on the building.

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There was no, like no

one, no one witnessed it.

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Um, and that has been, you know,

part of the trials and tribulations

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that I'm still dealing with and

at which point, um, I remember.

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So at that point, remember so vividly

then all of a sudden just seeing all

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these bright like lights and colors and

all of these things, like kind of like

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I was going through a really tough time.

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Fast RASP racetrack.

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And they were like coming after me.

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And I remember feeling like, where am I?

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What am I doing?

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But I was able to get on my

feet, like somehow some way

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was able to get on my feet.

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And I just started running.

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I was in heels.

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I started running towards the building.

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I had no idea if he had a knife, if

he was going to attack me, if he had

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a gun, if he was going to chase me.

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But I remember looking over my shoulder

and seeing him in my car and being

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like, I have no idea if he's going to

run me over, what's going to happen.

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But I just ran with all my might.

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And it.

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About halfway through, I kicked off my

heels and I went inside that building and

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I screamed, bloody murder, please, someone

help me, someone help me, someone help me.

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And at which point, people on the second

floor, which was the floor that I was

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working on, they had come like, you

know, running down and um, you know, just

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all of the emotion and the adrenaline.

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Long story short, just he

was not able to start my car.

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He actually got.

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When he saw me run, fled by foot and

took the shirt with my blood stains

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all over it off and started running

and thank God I was able to get up

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as fast as I could because the police

then asked me to give a description.

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They saw this man

running with no shirt on.

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In the time that it took with

that, he had actually gone into

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the this large, uh, grassy area and

started actually burying himself.

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Um, so they had us in the dogs

and then the drones in and they

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found him actually burying himself.

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So anyways, it was a blur, a blur,

but, but even though, although the

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account only took 45 seconds, it

felt like it was almost a lifetime.

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Julie: my God.

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45 seconds.

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Um, did you, you go, did

you go to the hospital?

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Were you like, how?

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Erika: yeah.

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So immediately they rushed me to trauma.

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They like didn't even want me because

normally you'd try to go and like

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at that point they had him detained

like they wanted me to go see him

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and they were like, no, she has so

many things going on, um, that we

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need to get her, right to trauma.

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And they raced me right into trauma.

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And, um, you know, again, the

next 48 hours were really a blur.

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Um, just understanding what just

happened to me, how it happened.

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Yeah.

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Fortunately, my face was not like broken.

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I had no broken bones.

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Like, you know, was more, you know, the,

the mental anguish than the physical.

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I was bruised and I was battered and I

was bloody and all of the things, but that

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those things went away relatively quickly,

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Julie: And the others don't, the

emotional trauma, the PTSD doesn't.

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So how do you, I can only imagine

that now every time you are open

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the door or every time you lean

over, like things come back to you.

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Like how has this helped you

work on Your own level of sort of

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self awareness or resilience or

strength like how I don't think that

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everything happens for a reason.

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I'm not one of those people who thinks

that everything happens for a reason or

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that there's always good in everything.

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But if there is good, I

want to try to find it.

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Erika: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And that's what I really had at one pact

and I appreciate you asking that question.

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So like that, when I remember about two

or three days later, I was sitting in my

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backyard, it was a warm summer evening.

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And I just remember being in a hooded

sweatshirt, just feeling like I

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just wanted anything I could to wrap

myself up and feel enveloped or safe.

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And I just remember sitting there

listening to some music and just You

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know, tears just flowing down my face.

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And at that very moment, I made

a decision to with myself, like,

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what was I going to do with this?

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How was I going to like, let this, because

at that moment I was like, I don't know

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if I can matriculate back into society.

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I don't know if I'm

going to ever feel safe.

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Can I ever drive that car again?

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Can I, all of the can

should have would have.

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And I said, listen, I need

to take this and be a light.

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I need to take this and

turn this into something.

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And it was almost like.

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It overcame me like I don't think I

even logically I was still, you know,

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going through the stress and the trauma

and like everything as I am still.

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Days like today, like, but I will say

that it was in that pivotal moment.

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Like I'll never forget that exact moment.

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What sweatshirt I had on what I was

thinking and just being like, I need to

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take this and turn this into something

powerful, um, because it's going to be

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a big part of my healing and a big part

of my therapy has been talking about it.

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Making myself more self aware, bringing

up things to males and females about

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like, Hey, listen, when don't use an

ATM on a street that you don't know,

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or with someone's not protecting you,

don't go into a hotel gym at 4 45 in

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the morning like I do, by yourself

in the back of the, you know, sketchy

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hotel, like just think about what you're

doing and just becoming so much more

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situationally aware in, in situations.

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Julie: I mean, nothing like this has

ever happened to me, but I just think

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as a woman who is on the road by

herself all of the time, I have become

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more situationally aware just because

of how alone I am in places where I

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don't know, the landscape and I don't

know, I don't have friends there.

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Like, I, I feel like I've.

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I feel like it's sad that we have to do

that, but I am very much aware of who's

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behind me in a hotel, in, in the corridor.

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If somebody gets in the elevator that I

don't feel comfortable with, like you say,

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I always go to the gym in the morning.

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Like, are there more than one, is

there more than one person in the gym?

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Like, I'm, I feel like it's so sad that

we have to do that, but it, it will, and

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it can and will save your life if you

do think about those things in advance.

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Erika: 100%.

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And I think again, that's where

I was able to say, listen, I

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can keep this story inside.

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And because I shared it, I can't

tell you the outpouring that I got

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from the community, not only my

local community, but in a grandiose,

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cause it went, you know what I mean?

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A lot of people ended up hearing about

it and just saying, listen, like this

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story, if it just changes one person's

life, if it makes one more person

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more aware of what they're doing.

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And I can't say that I was.

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unaware that day.

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I felt like I'm usually a

pretty aware, astute person.

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At that moment, I was in my safe place and

they always say, right, where the things

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are going to happen when you feel most

comfortable, when you are most complacent,

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when you're doing something that you've

done for so long and it's like any part

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of our life, whether it's business,

whether it's in a relationship, right?

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Like we all get to that point where

we're like, we're comfortable, right?

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And we stop acting as our best.

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We stop showing up as our best.

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We stop being, you know,

astute to those areas.

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Um, and so I have found so many golden

nuggets that have come out of this.

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Because I've been able to share, because

it's made me more aware, because I've

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shared it with my own kids who are

seven and 10 years old, who need to be

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aware we're living in a world that's

very different than when you and I

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were seven and 10, it's just reality.

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Julie: Yeah.

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I love what you just said about it.

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We do become complacent or we do

become unaware of our surroundings

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and a lot of the things that we do.

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And especially in business, I

think, we go through the motions,

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we do the work, instead of saying,

how could things be different?

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How could I be more aware of

the things that around me and

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building relationships or whatever?

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And you have a keynote.

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So.

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That is called the, let me

see if I get this right.

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It is called the audacity to be you.

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And I want to know what that keynote

is about, because , I think a lot of

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people need to figure out how to be.

300

audacious in, within themselves, and

bring all of themselves, all of the

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pretty parts and all of the not so

pretty parts and the bent parts and

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the squishy parts into their existence.

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And so how do you teach people to do that?

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Erika: Hmm.

305

I love this question.

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And audacity is like my thing, right?

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Like how to be bold, how to be brave,

how to break away from like, what's

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the normal mold or what you're supposed

to do or how you're supposed to feel.

309

And, really, this has

taught me so much of that.

310

So my TEDx was on the audacity to

be resilient, but I do talk about

311

the audacity to also be you, you in.

312

any circumstance, whether it, like you

said, to show up in business, how we

313

doing things a little different, right?

314

So many of us want to follow the

straight and narrow, but like, does the

315

straight and narrow get us to our goals?

316

Does the straight and

narrow push the envelope?

317

Does the straight and narrow

get us the next keynote?

318

Does it get us the next sales deal?

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Does it get us the next

business opportunity?

320

Does it get us the next

relationship, right?

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Like And I always say you're

not going to be for everyone and

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you shouldn't be for everyone.

323

But when you truly act as your authentic

self and you're pushing those boundaries

324

to be yourself, those people will,

you'll, you'll get rid of the people

325

that you shouldn't be attracting.

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And you're going to magnetize to the

people that you should have in your life.

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And all of a sudden doors

and opportunities will open.

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And I wish I had taken this lesson for

myself when I was in my twenties, right?

329

I tried to fit into that mold.

330

Like, well, I have to have the

certain color jeans and the certain

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this and wear this and do this.

332

And like, I look back now and I'm

like, what the, what was I thinking?

333

Right?

334

Like, you know, like just like when we

show up as our true self and that's what

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that keynote really unpacks, like how

we can show up on our true self, but how

336

it helps us in so many aspects of our

life, not just our own personal brand,

337

but so many aspects of our life and how

then it makes other people feel like

338

they can show up as their true self.

339

Julie: it's so true.

340

And I want a couple of things that

you've mentioned just in what you said

341

when you said when I was in my twenties,

I thought I had to do it like this.

342

I had to look like this.

343

I had to wear this.

344

I had to talk like this.

345

And I think a lot of that is because of

our corporate cultures that try to define

346

what professionalism is, how to define

what you're supposed to look like in

347

the office and sound like in the office.

348

Based on really antiquated

ways of doing business.

349

And so I think the onus, if you want

to get the, the audacity out of your

350

employees and get them to really grow

is to build a culture in which it is not

351

scary to be audacious and where you're

not, you aren't sort of, um, you know,

352

criminalized for being different in

the office, I, I think our companies

353

have a long way to go before we.

354

We stopped sort of dampening

the fire within people.

355

Like I, when I think about about, I

was 39 when I started my business and

356

I think about how many horrible 360

reviews I had in my corporate world when

357

I lived in the corporate world, because

I was very loud and different and.

358

Um, too much and all of that,

and I didn't feel welcomed and

359

comfortable in a corporate setting.

360

But now that I own my own company, I

can finally be who I am, but maybe I

361

wouldn't have started my company if I

had found a home in which Julie Brown

362

could have been Julie Brown in all of, in

all of what it means to be Julie Brown.

363

Erika: Right.

364

And I think what you're unpacking

is so important because I think

365

so many times what we're doing

is we're stifling innovation.

366

We're stifling change.

367

And when we don't change, we die.

368

Like, look at Blockbuster.

369

Look at Radio Shack.

370

Like, look at the companies that

decided not to change because they

371

weren't audacious enough to say, How

can we go outside of the envelope?

372

Right?

373

We're just going to keep doing

like the same things the same way.

374

Well, that doesn't get people anywhere.

375

We have to inspire, promote,

encourage that inspiration.

376

And to me, when you allow people to

show up as their best, most audacious,

377

most Vulnerable self, the things that

will come through because there's

378

so many people that have ideas that

don't even make it to the meeting.

379

They don't make it to the boardroom.

380

They don't make it to the agenda

because they're afraid of what

381

everyone else is going to say.

382

And we're hiring people

for their intellect, right?

383

At the end of the day, I like to hire

people who think and I like to hire

384

people who think differently than me

because if everyone thinks the same

385

way, like we're going to have a lot

of loud, obnoxious, you know, um,

386

People like, you know what I mean?

387

Like, I want people to think differently.

388

I want people to look at it differently.

389

Right.

390

And I want people like you and I who

are outspoken and , I think we need

391

to be able to make it a safer space.

392

Julie: One hundred percent.

393

If there are people in your meetings who

don't talk, your job is to say to that

394

person, what are you thinking about this?

395

Because they have thoughts.

396

They just don't feel

comfortable saying them.

397

And we are missing out on a

tremendous amount of problem solving.

398

And You know, there was a study done

a number of years ago with business

399

owners who were facing problems,,

within their companies, they broke

400

up this study group into two groups.

401

One group could only go to the people that

they talked to all of the time to help

402

with problem solving and to get through

this situation within their corporation.

403

And the other.

404

Study part of the study group could

only reach out to people they hadn't

405

talked to in more than three years So

hadn't had any contact in more than

406

three years at the end of the study.

407

They showed that the best Problem

solving came from the people

408

who reached out to people.

409

They hadn't talked to in a long time

Which is why we need to open up like

410

the the best Ideas are going to come

probably from the least expected places

411

Erika: Yes.

412

And you know, Julie, you

bring up a really good point.

413

Like I think about, so again, in my

twenties, I'm in a civil engineer with

414

my MBA and I was like, oh, I got to

network with engineers and I got to

415

network with people in construction.

416

I need to network with architects, right?

417

Like I'm going to stay in my

swim lane because those are the

418

people I should be connected with.

419

Well, let me tell you, when I

started networking with other

420

people who had similar Yeah.

421

roles than me, but completely different

healthcare, legal, business, like whatever

422

it was, I learned so much that I was able

to bring back because they were doing

423

things that were innovative, but so many

of these things can be transferable, but

424

when you open up that gate and you're

like, Oh, that tech company, they're like

425

20 years in front of the construction

company, probably more, right?

426

Like, what are they doing?

427

And so I think, especially when

it comes to networking and I'm a.

428

Big, big, big fan of like networking

and meaningful connections and all that

429

sort of stuff is opening those bridges.

430

Don't go with the same people.

431

Don't go to the same, you know,

events that you always go, go to

432

the different ones that are going

to make you think differently,

433

that are going to inspire you.

434

Just like to your point before the

people that you haven't talked to

435

in three years, if you keep going to

the same ones, you're going to hear

436

the same message over and over again.

437

Julie: Yeah.

438

So there was a study out of the University

of Chicago Booth School of Business, which

439

is talked about a little bit what we're

covering here, which is when it comes to

440

relevant performance in your industry.

441

So compensation, achievements,

industry recognition.

442

You would think that sort of having

a closed network where sort of you're

443

networking within your industry and

you're doing all of your time in your

444

industry and you're getting really

well known in your industry, that

445

that would lead to greater success.

446

But this study actually showed

that the more diverse your network

447

is, which they called clusters.

448

So you network in your

industry, but you also network.

449

At your gym, and maybe you network in

your church, and maybe you network with

450

your other hobbies, and maybe you network

with a peer group, and an alumni group.

451

The people who had the most diverse

sort of seemingly disparate, networks

452

were the ones who had the greatest level

of success, and they said there was no

453

other factor in the study that, that

proved success as much as having this

454

sort of blossomed, clustered network.

455

Erika: Yeah.

456

And think about all the subjects we're

talking about, like just everything

457

with like within the DE& I space, right?

458

Like when we make people feel like

they can share more and be more

459

inclusive and just be themselves and

show up with their, their true self.

460

Julie: Yeah.

461

Erika: The, the expansion is

to your point, astronomical.

462

Right, like we can't we have to be

willing to put ourselves out there and

463

be around people that aren't just like

us are going to agree with our opinion.

464

I love going to some of these

networking groups and people.

465

Disagree with maybe an initiative.

466

I'm working on.

467

I'm like, tell me more.

468

And then they'll get bring up a point

that like no one at my boardroom

469

or maybe no one in like my meetings

have ever been talking about.

470

And I'm like, Oh, that's

a different perspective.

471

I've never looked at it that way.

472

Right.

473

But being willing to

shift your brain power.

474

Um, a little bit differently.

475

And sometimes it's right.

476

And sometimes it's wrong.

477

And I'm not saying that you always

want to be challenged, but it's

478

really good to be challenged.

479

Like how many of us go to

our reviews every year?

480

Right.

481

And it's the same.

482

Good job.

483

You're doing well, keep going, you're

in line for that print next promotion.

484

I'm like, give me that constructive

feedback of how I can build, put

485

the mirror in front of me to help me.

486

really push the envelope and become

better and sharpen my pencil be more

487

bold, you know, to do, to do those things.

488

Julie: I think this conversation

lends well into just asking about

489

another one of your keynotes because

I mentioned in the intro that I

490

mean, speaker, author, professional,

mom, wife, like all of the things.

491

And people always ask me, well, how do

you have enough time to do what you do?

492

And so you have this great keynote on

time blocking, and I would like you

493

to just talk a little bit about what

that is and maybe a couple of tips so

494

people can start potentially using it

in their day to day lives so that they

495

can fit more awesomeness, more audacity,

more resilience into their schedules.

496

Erika: Yeah, I love this subject.

497

I love it, love it, love it.

498

Cause people, I do, I wear a lot

of different hats and I do a lot of

499

different things and I have a lot

of people that come up to me and

500

they're like, how do you do it all?

501

And you look like you're really,

you're actually really having fun.

502

And like, you're like, you're able to

balance it and still go on like fun date

503

nights with your husband and still be at

your kids games and work a corporate job.

504

And like, I'm like, listen.

505

there's like really like three things

is one defend your time, right?

506

And when I say that I mean selfishly find

your time every day to defend your own

507

time Against the outside world whether

that's your yoga class whether that's

508

going for your massage whether that's

going for a walk whether that's getting

509

up an hour earlier, going to bed an hour

late because you want to read that book.

510

Whatever that is that fuels you, right?

511

Because we're, we're energy

drained all day long.

512

How are we fueling our love tank?

513

How are we fueling ourselves?

514

And if you're not defending that time

every day, some of us that may be 15

515

minutes, some of us may need three

hours of that, whatever that is.

516

I'm not telling you what that should

be, but I'm saying, listen, you have to

517

start there because if we're not starting

there, the rest of the day will, the

518

other 23 hours will unravel themselves.

519

Um, the second one is.

520

Saying no.

521

Saying no to the things that

don't serve you, that don't align

522

with you, that don't make sense.

523

And it's so hard, especially the

female listeners on this call, and

524

I'm not trying to make this, we love

to say, yes, we love to show up.

525

We love to be there for

everything and everyone.

526

And we have the fomo, right?

527

If we miss something, but saying

no to certain things that just.

528

don't make sense or don't

align with our mission.

529

And if you're not sure of what your why

or what your mission is, maybe you have

530

to go back and kind of extract that.

531

We're in a new year.

532

Did you take the time to

really do some evaluation?

533

What worked in 2023?

534

Where do I want to go in 2024?

535

And does this align?

536

If that's one of your, if you say

you have five major goals, right?

537

Does this align with the

goal that I'm going towards?

538

And if it doesn't don't do it.

539

And I even mean simple things.

540

I don't like baking

brownies for the bake sale.

541

Guess what?

542

Julie: I buy

543

Erika: plenty of really good bakers out

there that do it much better than me.

544

And I may pay triple of what the

boxed Betty, Betty Crocker is.

545

I'm okay with that.

546

Right?

547

I don't like cleaning my house.

548

I have a cleaning late.

549

Like, so I'm not saying listen,

like find the things that you can

550

say no to, or if you can't afford

it right now, barter for it.

551

Can you provide them a service

that they provide you a service

552

that doesn't bring you joy?

553

And then the last thing is really one

of the things is, is I color code my

554

calendar and I look at my calendar.

555

every Sunday.

556

And I look at what my week looks like.

557

Most weeks, it looks like Tetris.

558

And I'm being honest.

559

It is not pretty.

560

If I show most people my calendar,

they probably, I put it in my story.

561

Sometimes people are like, what?

562

That is like a Rubik's cube.

563

And I said, yeah, it is.

564

I said, but everything has its

spot and everything has a color.

565

So my family has a color.

566

My work appointments have a color.

567

And what I try to do is use that really

we're mentally stimulated by color, right?

568

We're We go back to being kids.

569

Is, is there too much of

one color in that week?

570

And is the only thing you

can take off your calendar?

571

Can you move it to another week?

572

Right?

573

And if you find out that, hey, listen,

that week, so say your self care color

574

is yellow and there's like two yellows

on the entire week and red is work and

575

it's covering 80 percent of the calendar.

576

Is there something that

you need to tweak or twist?

577

Like maybe you can't twist it for that

week, but what can you start to do to

578

start to do that process and evaluate?

579

So, As you start moving forward,

it becomes more of an equilibrium.

580

It doesn't have to be a perfect

rainbow, but it should become

581

more of an equilibrium to make

sure that you're fueling the

582

swim lanes that should be fueled.

583

Julie: Yeah.

584

At the beginning of COVID, you

know, we were home watching shit

585

on TV and masterclass did a free,

event at night where it was a

586

question and answer with Dan Brown.

587

So Dan Brown wrote the Da Vinci code

angels and demons like, and, and

588

he actually lives in New Hampshire,

not too far from where I'm, I

589

live now in Massachusetts, but.

590

He was talking about how he does all of

the research and creates the narratives

591

and does red herrings and comes, how is

he going to make this all come together?

592

And he said, I have this thing

called protecting the process.

593

And it means that for what he has

to get done for writing that book

594

is every day, he doesn't let things

interfere with the process of writing.

595

So when he time blocked.

596

He's writing time, which he said he

basically gets up and starts writing.

597

He gets up at like 5 30 and writes

for like four hours straight.

598

Nothing can interfere with that

because if, if something interferes,

599

it messes up his process and then

it takes a lot longer to do that.

600

So if we looked at our lives, I

always have, I've thought of it since

601

this, like what, what is my process

for keeping me at the energy level

602

that I need to be at and what do I

have to do to protect that process?

603

And a lot of it is doing, yes, good

things for myself, but it's also

604

avoiding self sabotaging behaviors.

605

And what would make me doing things

at night that would make me tired

606

that I wouldn't be able to wake

up at five o'clock in the morning.

607

So like, how can you protect your

own process within your schedule?

608

Erika: And I always remind everyone, I

love that, we all have the same 24 hours.

609

Every single person.

610

Right?

611

Some of us need more sleep,

some of us need less sleep.

612

Okay, we can fill in all those variables.

613

But at the day, what are

you going to do with them?

614

Right.

615

And to your point, like, where is

the value going to come from and

616

really start to do it as weekly,

do a self assessment of that.

617

Like, Hey, listen, last

week felt really messy.

618

It felt really uncomfortable.

619

I wasn't taking care of myself.

620

I wasn't sleeping.

621

I went out drinking three nights.

622

Like it's not working.

623

Like what do I need to

adjust for next week?

624

Doesn't mean it's broken.

625

It just needs to be adjusted.

626

Julie: Yeah, I've started doing this

with my speaking travel, like, I get

627

home from speaking and I'm so exhausted

from the, from the planes and the Ubers

628

and, and the energy it takes to be on

stage and I've come home so exhausted

629

from multiple speaking engagements that

I've started to incorporate a spa time.

630

And every city that I go to.

631

So a lot of speakers go in advance a day

in advance because you can't be guaranteed

632

that your flight is going to get there.

633

If you try to do a flight the same day,

which means that I can land and I can

634

go to a spa and get a massage and then

grab something to eat and go to bed.

635

And it has been so helpful for me to be

less exhausted while I'm traveling for

636

Erika: And think about it.

637

That was one small hour or two hour tweak.

638

Right?

639

At the end of the day, it's not like

you were like you're moving mountains.

640

It's not like you're saying, Hey,

listen, I'm going to a day long resort

641

and you know, going down lazy rivers and

everything like you're like, listen, I

642

just need and what that does to fuel the

next 24 or 48 hours of your trip, right?

643

Julie: It's been a game changer for me.

644

Just that moment of which I called

protecting my protecting my energy.

645

Like I need that time to relax

and readjust and not going a

646

hundred miles an hour from the

second I land at that airport.

647

Erika: And what does that do to the

energy that you bring to the stage?

648

It's that much better.

649

And I also say, listen, put it on the

calendar, including when I say defend

650

your time, I mean, it needs to be an

appointment with you and yourself that

651

you're putting on the calendar because

at any time it can get gobbled up

652

and to, you know, Dan's point before,

start with the things that are tough.

653

Like I'm a true morning person

and when I start my day doing

654

the tough things, it makes the

rest of the day that much easier.

655

Julie: I, yes, you have to tackle

your biggest, well, I suppose it

656

depends on if you're a morning person.

657

If you're not a morning person, you

would have to tackle it at night.

658

But for the majority of people who are

morning people, like put your toughest

659

stuff in the morning when you have

the most energy, when you're ready to

660

go, when you're refreshed, it's really

going to help the rest of your day.

661

Erika: Right.

662

But I, and again, to your point,

and you know, I appreciate

663

you, you, uh, bringing that up.

664

It's like, we're not all morning people.

665

Whenever that defense, defense

time needs to be, when is your

666

energy at its finest, right?

667

When is your pencil the sharpest?

668

And when it is.

669

Do it then.

670

Like, I know me between 3 and 5 p.

671

m., like, I've been up since 3.

672

45, like, my energy starts to drain,

I know when my low moments are,

673

and I try to schedule things during

that time that may be different

674

than what I'm gonna do at 5 a.

675

m.

676

in the morning.

677

Julie: That is an, exercise in sort

of self observation to understand.

678

And I think it would take the listeners

a couple of days, maybe weeks to figure

679

out, okay, when do I have the most energy?

680

When I am, when am I the most creative?

681

When do I actually have a

food coma after eating lunch?

682

Like, like writing down those

things to understand when

683

you'd be the most productive.

684

So,

685

Erika: Yeah.

686

And again, it doesn't take a

long time, but if you really

687

start just like anything, right?

688

Like, just like if you start watching

the scale more, if you start watching,

689

counting your macros, like whatever

it is, you got to monitor it and

690

you got to be willing to adjust

and, um, just spend some time.

691

If you're on this podcast listening

right now and saying, I never

692

feel like I have enough time.

693

My life feels so chaotic.

694

It feels so unorganized.

695

It feels so out of schedule.

696

This is a great.

697

Hey, listen, I'm going to make an

adjustment there and it doesn't take a

698

lot of time, but it does take the right

time and you got to invest the time into

699

figuring out what's going to work and

what's not going to work and really it

700

has to go back to fueling yourself first.

701

Julie: Yeah.

702

You have to want to make the change.

703

Yeah.

704

Well, Erica, we've covered a lot.

705

We have covered a lot today in a very

short amount of time in 36 minutes.

706

I'm so glad that you were here.

707

I'm so glad Lindsay connected us.

708

And I'm so glad I'm going to meet you in

person for the first time in New Orleans

709

this summer at the was energizing women,

710

Erika: Energetic Women Conference.

711

Yes.

712

Julie: women, women's conference.

713

Yes.

714

Erika: Yes, I cannot wait.

715

And you are just such an inspiration.

716

I'm just, I'm so thrilled.

717

Your podcast is shit works.

718

It's just amazing what you're

doing, the mountains you're moving.

719

Um, just want to commend you and

just thank you for honoring me and

720

allowing me to share my story today.

721

And hopefully, uh, you know,

create a little bit of time

722

management for some folks.

723

Julie: Yeah.

724

Great.

725

All right.

726

Thank you.

727

Erika: Bye bye.

728

Well, what a chat that was, we dove into

the realms of a near death experience.

729

Resilience audacity and the art of

safeguarding, our precious time.

730

This easily could have been split into

three episodes, but we nailed it in one.

731

Go.

732

Key lessons.

733

Well, Stay self-aware keep

that guard up in both life and

734

business because you never know

what's lurking around the corner.

735

Also time-blocking was a gym.

736

Especially color coding that calendar

for a visual map of your priorities

737

and defend your time fiercely.

738

Adjustments are crucial when

the time balance goes haywire

739

and that color-coded calendar.

740

It can help us look at

it like really quickly.

741

Okay.

742

We're out of whack here.

743

Uh, there was so much food for

thought and I'm so grateful

744

to have Erica in my network.

745

Now, as an energetic force,

I can tap into any time.

746

And I'm so glad that I'm going

to meet her for the first

747

time in June, in new Orleans,

748

Hey, thanks for taking the time to listen.

749

Be sure to subscribe to the

podcast so you never miss a tip.

750

And remember, you can unapologetically

be who you authentically are

751

and still be wildly successful.

752

That's a fact.

753

See you next week on This Shit Works.

754

at that energetic women's conference.

755

Okay onto the drink of the week,

which look, I'm not a graceful person.

756

My Nana always said I was

like a bull in a China shop.

757

So my cocktail for this

week is awaiting grace.

758

I think I'm going to be waiting

a long time before I get there.

759

Here's what you're going to need.

760

One ounce of Quantro two

ounces of vanilla vodka.

761

A splash of apple juice, one teaspoon,

sugar, and five Bazell leaves.

762

What you're going to do.

763

Is going to take the Bazell leaves

and the sugar and muddle it in

764

the bottom of a highball glass.

765

Then you're going to add a lime wedge

before pouring in the spirits, the Quatro.

766

And the vanilla vodka and

then add ice on top of it.

767

And then you're going to

top it with apple juice.

768

And then stir it and serve it,

just like that in the glass.

769

All right, friends.

770

That's all for this week.

771

If you like what you heard

today, please leave a review

772

and subscribe to the podcast.

773

Also, please remember to share the podcast

to help it reach a larger audience.

774

If you want more, Julie

Brown, you can find my book.

775

This shit works on Amazon

or Barnes and noble.

776

You can find me on

LinkedIn, actually brown BD.

777

Just let me know where you

found me when you reach out.

778

I am Julie Brown underscore BD

on the Instagram, or you can just

779

pop on over to my website, Julie

Brown, bd.com until next week.

780

Cheers.