S5:E27🎙️ LIVE with Allison Walsh, JD (Multi Tracks Audio)

Hi, I'm John Maxwell. When the top companies in the world are looking for trainers, speakers, and coaches, there's one name that stands above the rest, and that's Maxwell Leadership. Our certified team members have gotten proven results for companies all over the globe, and our reputation, I'm proud to say, is second to none. Some of our members have risen to the top of their profession, including the one you're going to meet today. I proudly introduce you to my friend Bob Fabien Zinga.

Welcome to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ, where we help you lead with purpose and succeed with impact. If you're ready to grow into the kind of leader others want to follow, this podcast is for you. If you're determined to elevate your success and leave a lasting legacy, this podcast is for you. As my mentor, Dr. John C. Maxwell, reminds us, everything rises and falls on leadership. Our goal is simple: to inspire you, challenge you, and equip you with insights that can transform the trajectory of your leadership journey. Welcome aboard. Welcome aboard to another episode of the Leadership and Success Podcast with Coach Karrueche.

Joining us now is Allison Walsh. She is the former Miss Florida and the author of She Believed She Could.

Here she is, ladies and gentlemen, founder of She Believed She Could, international certified positive psychology coach, entrepreneur, fierce mental health advocate, and most importantly, She's a mom of 3. Allison Walsh. Allison Walsh has changed the way organizations sell in behavioral health. Not only did she start and scale the sales org for a national inpatient treatment provider, she most recently led the sales organization for the nation's fastest growing startup, 5x-ing the team's size in 18 months. As a leader, she's got 2 unicorn companies under her belt and should be very proud of the tens of thousands of lives she and her team have saved over the last decade.

After earning the Miss Florida Crown in 2006, Allison Walsh's experience in the community took off. Today she's a speaker, businesswoman, and author. Her passion: helping women succeed.

Please welcome former Miss Florida, founder, entrepreneur, and author Allison Walsh.

One year ago, we embarked on an incredible journey with the launch of She Believes She Could: Show Up, Shine Bright, and Achieve Abundant Success. And What a journey it has been. This book was written to empower and inspire readers to step into their greatness, and the response has been nothing short of amazing. To everyone who has read, shared, and embraced this message, thank you. You've proven that when you believe in yourself and you do the work, you truly can achieve anything. So here's to the next chapter of success, growth, and shining even brighter. If you haven't already grabbed your copy, join us today and join the movement at www.shebelievedbook.com.

Alright everyone, welcome to another very special edition of the Leadership and Success Podcast. We've got a special guest waiting for us in the green room right now. But before we get started, I'm reminded to do our moment of gratitude. This is where we take less than a minute. We just want to be grateful every single time we meet on this show because it's good for your mental health and especially for those who are in the military where about 21 service members commit suicide every single day. So I think it's impossible to be suicidal and grateful at the same time. So if you would just take a moment as the day starts, close your eyes, take a deep breath, calm down your nervous system and put yourself in your happy place. And what are you grateful for right now? I think today I am so grateful for all of the illustrious guests I've had on the show, people who take their time to really be our master teachers, and they really teach us what they have learned, their wisdom, to allow us to be better leaders and have greater level of success. And I am really thankful for that. I know we're gonna get a lot of insight from my guests today, but Just one insight. Think about it. One insight from her could potentially change your life. And I am so grateful for that. All right. Without any further ado, let me see if I can properly introduce our guest today. She is really a rock star. So I'm honored to welcome Allison Walsh. She has a JD, a media entrepreneur, bestselling author, philanthropist, and founder of She Believed She Could. Man, is there anything she doesn't do? This will be powerful. A real leadership conversation about mindset, mentorship, belief, and building influence with integrity from the inside out. So Allison Walsh is a media entrepreneur, personal brand strategist, and the number one bestselling author of She Believed She Could: Show Up, Shine Bright, and Achieve Abundant Success. Now, I did title this Women Leadership, but of course, women leadership will apply to men just the same, right? By age 30, Allison rose to vice president at a hypergrowth company on the path to unicorn status, later scaling national sales teams at one of the fastest-growing startups in the US. She's also raised more than $2 million for mental health and women's empowerment causes, and now leads a global movement helping women build confidence, clarity, and courage. Well, ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome to the Leadership Success Podcast, Allison Walsh.

Good morning.

Good morning, Allison. How are you doing today?

I am good. It's so good to be here with you.

Fantastic. And I understand you, you're coming to us from the Orlando, Florida area, right?

Yes, I am. I'm at our home studio at HiHello Labs.

Wow, that is really wonderful. That's, that's where my kids love to take me to see that big mouse over there. But let's get started. What is something you are grateful for today?

I'm grateful for this time and space to have this conversation. Honestly, I love the opportunity to connect with like-minded, passionate people, and you've definitely created that community. And so So I'm just honored to be here with you and I love being able to just share the lessons learned the hard way with your audience. So thank you so much for having me.

This is really great. And for those listening, a reminder, we'd like to know where you are coming from, what city, what state, and if you are outside of the US, since we are a global show now, which country, and also what you're grateful for. And if you have a question for my guest, please type it in the comment and we will answer live. Now, Allison, let me ask you, What is something about you that most people may not know when they first meet you?

Well, I actually, you know, when I look back at my history, I'm a competitive athlete. So a lot of people don't know that I spent 18 years as a competitive baton twirler. So not— that's also uncommon. Um, but I was, you know, following in the footsteps of greatness. My mom was a national champion, and so by the age of 5, I had picked up my own set of batons and was starting to train feet. So I did that for 18 years, twirled for the University of Florida. Absolutely loved it. And then that was actually my talent at Miss America. So a lot of people don't know that about me.

That is crazy. Is there really something that you haven't done yet? My goodness.

I still have a long list of things I want to do. So that's the good thing.

I usually ask this toward the last segment of the show, but I think I need to ask now. Bestselling author, entrepreneur, CEO. I mean, everything you have done. What, what do you think is the secret of your success? Why are you so successful?

I am incredibly disciplined and focused, so time management has been my superpower since I was a child, really. And honestly, back to the baton twirling conversation, I trained 4 to 6 hours a day. I got out of school early, I went to the gym, I was in the dance studio late at night. I had to figure out how to get all of the things done that I needed to get done and do with excellence, right, in every area of my life. And so because of that and learning that so early on, I was able to almost stretch time, right? I was able to, um, be able to accelerate my progress in certain areas. And because I'm very driven and focused, I'm willing to do the work that a lot of people might shy away from, right? Where I don't, I don't sweat the hard stuff, right? I'm gonna do the work because I know that the entire journey of wherever I'm headed to is going to make me stronger, more resilient. It's going to give me that edge that I need to stay competitive and to be able to help the teams that I'm supporting win.

Well, let me have a follow-on question to that. And again, for everybody listening, right? Vice President by 30, hypergrowth startup, bestselling author, on and on and on and on. So you've also said in the past that your career rose quickly, but not accidentally. So what mindset did you have early on, really, that separated you from your peers?

So I always look for the opportunities to be of service. And so while it did happen quickly, I was a, you know, really committed advocate in the mental health space from the time I was 18. And so there were so many opportunities for me to share my voice, to give back to others, to help a community of individuals that were struggling. And because of that, and because I was bold enough to do the things at an early age, I had the opportunities to sit at tables, to participate in conversations, to raise my hand when there were opportunities and to really create a lane for myself. I initially thought that I was going to be an attorney that really advocated again for individuals that weren't getting access to the healthcare that they so desperately needed. But it was during that time when I realized that there were other opportunities for me to make a massive difference in this world. And that was when I was given the opportunity and earned the opportunity, um, to get into the business development side of healthcare, which I didn't even really know— knew that it existed in that capacity. But I was in my year of law school. I took the job. I knew I didn't want to practice law at that point, and I fell in love with building businesses, especially businesses that were a difference in the lives of others. And so I was at that organization for about a year, and then I was tapped to join a startup. And that was a big, bold move because I was in such a comfortable position at the other location and employer, and this was taking a risk on people that I barely knew. And, you know, not having all of the, the playbooks in place and really saying, okay, I trust myself, I trust these people, I know we're gonna offer a great service and product, can I do this? And the answer was yes, I can, because I'm willing to surround myself with the right people to pour into me, me at a faster rate, so that I didn't have to figure it out all by myself and I could collapse the time that normally would take 5, 10, 15 years. I was relatively quickly. And because I was willing to make that commitment to myself, even when, you know, resources weren't available on the corporate side, I was investing in myself as well. I always have a personal budget. I'm always reinvesting in me. And because of that, I just was able to accelerate. I was able to keep that seat at that table for almost a decade and then had the honor of joining, you know, one of the nation's fastest-growing startups and leading sales there. It has been a privilege and an honor to do this work, but I have never taken a day for granted, and I have always, always, always made the commitment to be 1% better today than yesterday. And because of that mindset, that was what really helped to accelerate my career growth.

That is just incredible. So inspirational, man. It must have been quite scary during those transitions.

Yes.

Wow.

And I know you talked about focus and discipline. I agree. But it looks like there is also faith in there, faith in yourself. You know, for most of us, faith faith in, in God, knowing that things are going to turn out some way, somehow, you know, for your, for your good. Can you tell us about more about kind of what you learned through that, uh, those transitions?

Absolutely. You know, I think I had lived through an awful lot by the time I was 18. You know, I struggled pretty severely when I was in high school with a life-threatening eating disorder. And when I came out on the other side of that, I made a commitment to myself, to my family, to my community, that I would do anything I possibly could to make a difference in this world, because I felt like I had a second chance life. And because of that mindset and that belief that I was brought through those trials and tribulations for a reason, it was the rocket fuel that I needed. It wasn't about me any longer. It was about the thousands and thousands and thousands of people that I could help as a result of using my story to help others not feel so isolated and alone and help them get connected to treatment. You know, that's when I started my nonprofit when I was 18. That ran for 18 years in parallel, right, helping others with eating disorders get access to the care that they needed. We then, you know, were able to partner with an amazing organization, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders, and folded our organization into theirs because we wanted to, again, be able to scale our impact. And now I serve as the chair of the board for that organization. So it's always been about, you know, we live through things. All of us have a story. We have all experienced things. And in those moments of hardship and difficulty is where really everybody finds connection. And so when you're willing to share those, those stories, when you're willing to share those experiences through the lens of helping other people navigate their own journey, the rest falls into place. And that's really what my career was all about. My team was on the front lines of helping people get access to care. They were the first phone calls when people needed support. And that was an honor, a privilege, and a massive responsibility. And the better that I could equip them to do their jobs, the more impact that we can make in this world. And so anytime that my pursuit of anything became ego-driven or only focused on what I was going to get out of it, it was shallow, hollow, and it never felt good when I won. When I always focused on what is the impact and the ripple effect that I can create in the lives of others, that's where the magic happened. And that was always where the success was greater and way more fulfilling.

Wow, that is really, really incredible. Now, you've already mentioned commitment at least 3 times since we just started. So you do talk a lot about leadership. Leadership as a commitment, not a title. What does that commitment actually look like in daily practice?

I mean, that means running out in front and always looking for how you can better support the people that you serve. I loved building teams. And when you think about, like, just even, like, I flash back to the early days at the startup, especially the first startup. It was, it was dirt and a dream. We walked into a facility, we're like, we're gonna build something here. And I was the only person and grew that team substantially. I mean, there were 65 people on that team when I left, on on the business development team, 1,000 team members nationwide. Um, but that was incredible, right? And I didn't know what I was doing back then, but like I mentioned, I was willing to surround myself with people that were ahead of me in life and career and experience that could help me navigate those seasons where maybe some imposter syndrome was there, or fear of like, what if I screw this up, right? Like, there were so many things that I had to get over myself in order to be able to lead as the leader I wanted to be. But I was always reading books, I was always going to leader leadership workshops. Like, I love what John Maxwell puts on, so like, I love that you, you are such a huge fan over there too. But, you know, things like that, um, you know, Sales Gravy, all of these other professional organizations that had wonderful resources for people like myself who had a desire to lead teams and wanted to be the best possible leader that they could be. And so always investing in myself, always making sure that my people felt supported seen, valued, heard. I listened to what they needed, and when there were opportunities for me to create paths for them or unique lanes for them to thrive, I loved that. And I think I look at some of my proudest career opportunities in the healthcare side of things, and it's— I can honestly say, looking at people that I hired, trained, mentored are now in my prior roles. Like, that is to me one of the greatest accomplishments, you know, on that side of it. And then, you know, being able now, as I've stepped out of corporate and I am fully invested in, you know, building my consulting company and supporting the clients that we have, it's so fun to build a team of my own too, right? And so it's been really fun to be able to map it out and to see like, this is where we're going, this is what we've done. And all of these lessons and principles and leadership principles apply even more so to my own business. But then also all of the, the corporate clients that we consult for, we're able to say like, this What works, right? And these are the types of leaders that are going to get the impact that you want. And, and that's really, really amazing to be able to do that.

Wow, that is really, really insightful, because many people listening right now, they probably want influence, but few want the responsibility of leadership. So how did you personally prepare yourself to lead teams before you had the authority to do so?

Yeah, well, I think there were— I look back at my life, and I was always the one that was, you know, running for class president, or, you know, as captain of my collegiate it team. You know, so I enjoyed leadership. I also, you know, I'm very passionate about the things that I get involved in, and I see potential in everybody and everything. And so I find that I take on this responsibility of actualizing potential and helping other people do that. And so, you know, I've always been the one to raise my hand and say, "I'll take the chance," or "I'll lead," or "I'll get out in front and I'll do the thing." And You know, but I'm going to bring people along with me. And so I've also really appreciated all of the different resources that exist. I mean, I know I mentioned books, but I am a bookworm. Like, I love to read, and there's so much wisdom in them. And so I was able to really find books and authors that really resonated with my philosophy on leadership, and then do everything I can to immerse myself and learn and take best practices while also really establishing my own leadership identity throughout the course of my career.

That is really amazing. Let's talk about your bestselling book, She Believed She Could. And you are crazy enough, you actually give away the accompanying devotion for free on your website, shebelievedbook.com. And on top of that, you also have a lot of packages, including giving people the opportunity to fly to Florida, Orlando, and spend the day with you. It's just bonkers. So let me know, what moment in your life made you realize you had to write this number one bestselling book?

Oh, thank you for this question. This was such an incredible experience. I knew at an early age I wanted to write a book. I just didn't know what it was going to be about. But honestly, I give a lot of credit to starting this podcast as the reason that I ended up getting the book deal. So I'll rewind the tape a little bit for everybody. But 2020, it was COVID. Again, leadership position, leading through a lot of uncertainty, didn't really know kind of how everything was going to pan out. During that time where I was working, our leadership team took a pretty significant cut in pay in order to be able to keep the lights on and to keep as many people employed as possible. Again, I would do that 10 times over, but mama has bills to pay. And so I was like, I've got to figure out a way to, you know, build up some income on the side, also look for opportunities for connection and inspiration and empowerment, because it was such an uncertain time. And I thrive on connection and working with people and having having rich, deep conversations. And so I was like, you know what, I see all everybody else, they're starting these podcasts, I need to figure out how to do it myself. And so, yes, bought a mic off of Amazon, closed the door to my kids' playroom, flip the switch, um, and said, we'll figure this out. And so started recording, fell in love with podcasting, and, you know, pretty swiftly it gained momentum. Um, I started then getting pretty active on Instagram, LinkedIn, etc., um, and started, you know, offering additional coaching packages. And this whole community started to come together. And I realized this is so much bigger than a podcast or a book or a program or anything else. This is about people that are really invested in what it means to believe in yourself, at least enough to take that first step. And so the book actually, you know, I started to speak that into existence about 6 months after starting the podcast. I got really serious about putting together everything that I needed to in 2021. And, you know, we ended up signing the book deal in 2022. 2022. So that was incredible. The book came out in 2023, um, but it is a labor of love, and it was such an incredible journey. And I, I'm so grateful for the entire experience because it is very therapeutic to put 60,000 words on paper, and you recognize a lot of things in yourself that, you know, it causes you to do the reality check. And, um, I always say, like, I hold up the mirror for everybody else as I coach, mentor, consult, but But writing the book was like me holding up my own mirror and checking myself, like, am I doing the things that I say you should be doing? Am I living this truth? And to be quite honest, after I had outlined the entire book, and I worked with great coaches to help me create that framework, after I did that, there was something that was stirring in me about the last chapter, something that just didn't feel aligned. And honestly, I recognized about halfway through writing that it wasn't the way I wanted that story to end. And it caused me to actually say, you know what? I think this career that I've had, that I've been building this team for the last 10 years, I think my time is done here and I'm ready for the next challenge. And so it was actually in those last few months of writing the book where I started to explore, like, is this the right time to go full-time on my business? Are there other opportunities that are out there? And it was during that time that I ended up saying yes to an incredible opportunity to step into leading, you know, sales, go-to-market for, you know, the nation's fastest growing startup at the time. And I had the beautiful privilege of building out just a rockstar team there and And, um, but it was again, like, if I hadn't had those moments where I got honest with myself, that I got quiet with myself, that I really challenged myself and looked in the mirror, I wouldn't have said yes to those opportunities. I wouldn't even have been open to them. And so the book changed my life in so many beautiful ways. And I, I tell that story. I actually called my publisher. I was, I was writing, and I said, you know, that chapter 10 in the outline is going to look a bit different when you get it. And so I walk readers through how to evaluate at that moment in your life, like, when you need to say, like, is this right for me? Is this still lighting me up? Time for a pivot, a pause, an acceleration? Like, what is needed at this moment to have the most fulfilling experience in life? And so, but it was a really cool, unexpected plot twist, unintended, for me as I wrote. And it's just been a great book to be able to share globally, um, not only with our community but with so many others.

That's really amazing. Looks like throughout your life you really have those pivot, those milestone where you are called to do something higher. I'm sure you are very comfortable where you are, but you're going into this unknown, but with your faith, you just step out and it turns out to be great. But I'm sure many of our listeners may be going through a similar moment right now. I guess first, what kind of did you learn through the process? And also, I guess I would like to know what is that thing in you that kind of gave you the confidence? Because I'm sure you had a lot of fear because there's so much unknown. Unknown. Where did you get the confidence to just step forward one step at a time until you were able to, to build what happened next?

Yeah, so I, I do trust my intuition a lot. There has to be alignment on every level to take a bet and a risk, right? Because when I'm walking away from one thing that I'm super proud of, love, adore, and have a lot of vested interest in staying put, um, to bet on myself and try something new, it is scary. And there was a moment in that process when I was deciding whether to stay or leave or go out on my own or go to this other organization. And there was one moment where I didn't think it was going to happen. And there, you know, we're like kind of in the final negotiation stages where you're really— the, the ink is almost dry. It's close but not complete. And I didn't think it was going to happen. And I was devastated. And I knew in that moment that I really wanted it. And so it was more about, am I ready to take the leap and trusting myself enough that I will figure it out, even if I don't have enough answers in the moment? I knew I could do it. I knew how to find support if I needed it. I'm never shy to say, hey, I need to bring in an advisor, a consultant, a coach, or whatever, um, because I want to collapse time, right? I want to get people great results. I don't get involved in anything that I don't have certainty that I can win or give it my absolute best shot, right? And I have to have that level of commitment. I knew I had that, and the moment that I thought it wasn't going to come to fruition and I was upset about it. That's when I knew, like, this is, this is the next thing for me. And I ran really fast there, and I built an amazing team. I mean, my team went from 29 to 170 in 18 months. Wild. And that was just my team, right? So it did require a lot of me. And again, life happens. And during that time, my daughter ended up unfortunately getting very sick. It was like, again, a look in the mirror moment of like, am I where I need to be? And that was probably the scariest decision I've ever made of my— in my career, was to step back from something that, you know, I had worked so hard to get to that position. There literally, in my mind at that time especially, there really wasn't anything else quite like it. And it was an honor and a privilege to be in that seat. I had to make a hard choice and I made the right choice. And I said, you know what, this is the time for me to exit stage left to really create the life, the business that I want to, to be able to be of service to amazing clients. But I need to prioritize things differently because up until that point I had been running fast. Building incredible companies in the healthcare space while also building up businesses, you know, consulting and coaching businesses on the side. But my family, um, had been added to the equation, right, during that process versus being the primary driver. And so it was like, you know what, timeout, pause. You know, nothing makes you reprioritize life than when one of your children gets sick. And so she needed me, family needed me, and I knew that I could create a different dynamic for all of us, um, by writing the story myself this time.

Wow, you really live out what you teach in your book. You believed and you could. It's really powerful. And the subtitle, right, Show Up, Shine Bright. It really sounds kind of simple, but I'm sure it is not. So what keeps high-performing women from doing it consistently? And I must add, it looks like the world really wasn't created for women to lead, uh, unfortunately. But I think we have more women later, the world will be such a much better place.

I agree with that.

Yes, even in the military, it's been a long time before we were able to see women, uh, even join the officer corps and be promoted to 1, 2, 3, 4-star general or admiral. But throughout my own career in the Navy, 21 years now, some of the best, best, best leaders I've ever had were all women. It's, it's really, um, incredible, just the sense of empathy, intuition, and really care for the people. Again, that is my belief, and I hope we have a woman president in the US soon. But anyway, what keeps high-performing women from doing Eva consistently, showing up and shining bright?

Yeah, well, and I think part of it is, as you evolve as a woman, especially in leadership, sometimes you hold on to a past identity of yourself that's more comfortable. And so, the whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be. And when you have that mentality and you're willing to put yourself out there, you have to also be willing to accept the fact that not everybody is going to be comfortable with your evolution, and that's okay. It really isn't about you at the end of the day in their minds. It's about their own limitations or maybe their inability to evolve. And so when you can start to really contextualize that and understand that that you have a responsibility to show up. You are given God-given gifts, talents, abilities, opportunities to truly flourish and to make a difference in this world. You got to show up, right? But that's mindset related. And so every portion of the book falls into one of those categories, right? So Show Up is all about mindset. It's overcoming imposter syndrome. It's silencing the fear and the self-doubt and those self-limiting beliefs that can hold us all back, right? So I really get in deep on the Show up section. Shine bright is how are you gonna do it, right? Like, so, you know, I'm a huge fan of personal branding and looking at you as the CEO of your brand and your business. And yes, each of you have one, even if you work for somebody else, right? So how are you going to do that? How are you going to package yourself in a way that isn't holding on to yesterday's opportunities but it's saying heck yes to tomorrow's? And that's what I really focus on, is how do you position yourself to be a magnet for what you want in the future and allow yourself to lean in and then put yourself out there in a way in which is naturally attractive and demonstrates the way in which you want to be perceived by the people and organizations or clientele that you want to work with in the future. Okay, so that's the Shine Bright part. And Achieve Abundant Success is how are you going to have the discipline, the time management, the goal setting, all of that, um, and really that, that mindset of, of what's next, um, you know, always at the forefront so that you are constantly adopting that 1% better mentality and, and looking at every day as opportunity to grow and be of greater service. And so everything in the book is broken down like that. Everything on our podcast is broken down like that. That's how I approach just about everything with my clients too. But it's been really, really helpful, um, you know, especially coming— everything that I do comes from the, the world of positive psychology. So huge fan. And for those that aren't familiar, it is the science of happiness, well-being, and success. It was one of the things that I was introduced to thanks to an amazing guest that I had on my show early on, and she changed my life. Again, it was like she left breadcrumb, and I was went right down that rabbit hole, and I fell in love with it. And I got, you know, doubly certified in as a positive coach. But it was something that really resonated with me because it can be so easy to look at, like, what we don't have and everything we haven't accomplished. But what if we really focused our attention on how do we show up as the highest, most vibrant version of ourselves? Because that's what's going to attract the future opportunities for us.

Wow, that is Powerful. Okay, we have our first question from the audience. An active member of our community is asking. Daniel says, Allison, as you scale, how do you ensure that your human infrastructure stays as strong as your mission? And what's the secret to that alignment?

Oh yeah, I mean, there's so much to consider. When I think of human infrastructure, I think of like not only internally with me, but also externally with the people that I'm serving. I have to have communication. Communication for me is the key to everything, both internal and external. And making sure that there is that alignment. If you're not communicating with yourself and being honest with yourself and being honest with others about what it is that you're working on, why you're working on it, and where you want to go, things can break down quickly. Because there are a lot of well-intentioned people that, you know, you can surround yourself with. But if you're not open and honest with what it is that you're working towards or what the North Star is, people can get scattered and there isn't alignment. Same thing with checking in with yourself, right? Like, you can run out a lot of shiny objects or squirrels, right? And, you know, chase a lot of things. But if they're not in alignment with ultimately with where you want to go, then the answer should be not right now, you know? Like, it's okay to say no. No is a complete sentence. And so I have found myself in seasons of abundance, as I call them, right? Where there's a lot of opportunities, there's a lot of things I can pursue, there's a lot of cool clients or businesses, businesses, ventures, acquisitions, whatever it may be, I have to remember like, what is my North Star right now, you know? And how can I make sure that as I'm moving and evolving that I'm not getting distracted? Because when you dilute your focus, you dilute your results. And everybody that you surround yourself with is well-intentioned and wants to do the next right thing, but if you're not communicating as fast as things are moving, it's going to fall through the cracks.

So many wisdom crumbs, man. It is powerful. I'm so glad that I'm talking to you today. I could be talking to you all day long. I'm going to guess it's chapter 10, but let me know which chapter or concept in the book was the hardest for you to write and why.

Well, chapter 10 was the culmination of my own look-in-the-mirror moments, right? But I loved writing the book because everything in there, like when I was writing, it was like writing to the younger version of myself that didn't know better. Certain things. So I share the stories, I share, you know, the, those learning moments, um, throughout the course of my life and career. Um, there was a, there's a chapter in the book too of when I was at that first startup, and I talk about kind of coming back after COVID and, you know, again, recognizing that was like before my daughter was going through what she was going through, but it was, my kids were still really young and I had to have a really hard conversation with my boss at the time. And, you know, my role, you know, kept me on airplanes a lot. And with little kids— I have 3 kids— with little kids, it was difficult to be the mom I wanted to be and be doing the things that I was, I needed to be doing. And so thankfully, again, working with great coaches and mentors, myself was able to have some hard conversations around, here's where I can add value. And if there's an opportunity, I would like to be repositioned to be able to leverage the talents and strengths that I have. But, you know, honestly, it was a hard conversation, but it was one of the most powerful and liberating conversations because it's where I found my voice in that corporate setting. And I was no longer co-signing on a version of myself that, you know, didn't have all the kids and didn't have, you know, as many responsibilities when I had first said yes, but recognizing that at that season of my life, it was different. And so I walk readers through how I had that conversation too. And so just kind of reminiscing on those moments, it was a beautiful opportunity for me to also give myself credit for the hard things that I have done. And, you know, you get your confidence from doing. And so when I was done writing that book, not only was I like, I just wrote a book, like, that's great, I also— it was a moment for me to stop and say, like, I've lived through a lot and I've done a lot. And it was really one of those first moments where I really gave myself credit. Because back to what we were talking about with, um, you know, high-achieving women and shining brightly, and we don't give ourselves credit. So many of the women that I support, we have thousands of women in our community, so many of those women do not pause for the cause and take a minute to celebrate their wins. And so, for me, writing the book was one of those moments. But it was also just a good reminder that I need to do that more frequently.

Wow. And when you say achieve abundant success, the word abundance, right, it means different things to different people. So, how do you define abundant success to today versus earlier in your career? Especially now, you've had quite a special life. At 18 years old, you founded a nonprofit organization which impacted millions of people across America and around the world. Has the meaning of success changed throughout your career?

Yes, it has. And this is such a good question, and I'm glad we're going here, because for years I chased the definition of success that other people had established for me, or that I thought needed to be mine. In my wise old 40s now, I have a much different definition, and it— success to me is what I have defined it as, right? Which is true fulfillment. It is presence. It is, of course, certain milestones and goals financially, career-wise, business-wise, right? Like, of course those exist, but I've written that definition versus inheriting something that somebody gave me in the past. And so, you know, really finding myself and, and being confident in myself and understanding what it is I truly want was the first step to that. And so if those listening haven't yet done that and had that quiet time, that space to really think about what does success look like for you— not your neighbor, not your mom, not your friend, nobody else, you, right— then you can start to reverse engineer what do you need to do in order to accomplish that level of success. And giving yourself credit for every step in the journey, understanding that it's not a final destination. And I think also taking that pressure off of yourself. So it's not just like, you know, some finite moment in time, but more so who you're becoming in the process and allowing yourself the ability to evolve. That's really beautiful. And that comes with maturity too, right? Again, like, I've learned a lot of things the hard way. Um, but, uh, you know, for me it's what is my definition, not necessarily what is the definition.

So yeah, you said earlier the point of life is to evolve into the person you are meant to be. I think that's worth the price of admission today.

Wow.

This is just incredible. So of everything you share in the book, so many wisdom nuggets. Every time I talk to you, it's like I'm learning something new and everything is so precious and important. But if you had to rank it, what is one practice from the book you believe if applied every day would change a leader's trajectory, let's say in the next 90 many days?

Oh, I can easily give this to you. So, um, you know, I talk a lot about the science of goal setting and attainment. Obviously, my background in positive psychology has given me beautiful frameworks to lean on. But one of the things that I, I really recognized, again, working in sales organizations, working with high-achieving women, working with a lot of people that are always striving for goals— there are fundamental misses if you are not careful and super intentional about the way that you approach everything that you're, you're striving for. So first of all, we talk a lot about debunking like a one goal for the entire year or 10 goals for the entire year. Um, so I really focus on 90-day sprints when it comes to anything with goal setting. But the takeaway for your audience today is that so many people will set SMART goals, right? Sometimes that's not even where they get to. It's just like a very vague goal. So first, set a SMART goal. Second of all, once you have that specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound finite goal that you're striving for, I need you to take 3 steps. Okay, and I call this my WIN framework, right? So I love a good acronym, but W stands for the why. You have to connect the goal that you're striving for to a why that actually matters to you. If you don't have some intrinsic connection to what it is that you're working on, that goal is less likely to be obtained. Okay, so the why is important. The second piece is the intentionality behind it. It's not going to happen on accident. And so why— while we can set the most gorgeous, stunning goals for ourselves. If we don't have a game plan, an actual commitment to ourselves to achieve that goal, it's not going to happen. And so I am a calendar ninja. Like, that is again kind of back to my secret sauce. Time management is where I am able to gain massive amounts of productivity, right? So I know how to work my day, configure my schedule, ensure that I get the things done that matter to me. And so when I really got intentional about the sacred time in my schedule, and of course there's always going to be the outliers, the kid's going to get sick, something's going to happen, we're going to be traveling, like there's always the outliers, but 90% of the time, right, you can commit to yourself and don't cancel on yourself. And so scheduling time to be able to work on what it is that you need to work on and breaking it down into the micro-commitments that you need to make is a game changer for your success. And then the N in the framework, so my WIN framework, um, stands for no excuses. So we just got to be honest, we're all going to have an excuse. We're not going to feel motivated, we're not going to, you know, have the energy, we're not gonna have the resources, the time, the money, the whatever, right? We know those are going to be the excuses, so you might as well call it out in advance. And so, you know, I always say, you know, motivation is going to wane, but discipline is going to show up when motivation wants to take a nap. And so you have that discipline and you know how you're going to pivot or adjust, right? In positive psychology, they call it divergent thinking, right? Multiple ways in which to reach the end goal. So there's going to be the obstacles. How are you going to navigate them? Simply by calling it out and having a game plan is going to change whether or not you achieve the goal. So by saying, I'm going to commit to this for 90 days, it's going to be a SMART goal, I'm going to tack on my WIN Framework, and I'm going to commit to myself— you have changed your likelihood of success tenfold. And that's exciting because then you start to stack and you start to build momentum and and you start to have this undeniable ability to do the things. And even if the goal doesn't pan out the way that you wanted it to, simply by honoring the commitment and running towards something consistently is going to teach you a lot about yourself and what you do for the next time that you're at bat.

Man, you've given us so many wisdom nuggets. You have to say this again: discipline is going to show up when motivation wants to take a nap. Wow, that's reminded me something, uh, Darren Hardy, one of my my dear mentor, he used to tell us, no, the difference between those who are successful and those who are not, there's not really much of a difference except that successful people do what they need to do when they need to do it, whether they feel like it or not.

That's the key. That is the key. Whether they feel like it or not.

Incredible. Now, who are some of your mentors in the positive psychology space? Who are some of the people that you follow that we should follow or read?

Yeah. Well, I love Val Burton. I think you're familiar with her too. She's fabulous. Of course, Martin Seligman. I mean, like the the father of positive psychology. Like, there's really no greater, um, example of somebody that's a true master at this. Nick Pidgeon is actually who I had the chance to learn from, um, on multiple occasions, and then Mel Dieg. So, you know, there's so many thought leaders in this space. And for me, I think especially because I've spent so many years in the healthcare space prior to, you know, really leaning more into entrepreneurship, um, you know, I was always focused on what was wrong, right? I was in the business of helping people in their darkest of times. And so for me, positive psychology was just this beautiful ray of sunshine. And it wasn't toxic positivity by any means. It was very much so, how do you look at creating this life intentionally that is incredibly fulfilling for what you want to get out of life and how you want to show up? So that was really, really transformative for me. And, and it's been so fun. I mean, as we've built out the whole She Believes She Could community, we've introduced this to so many amazing people that it has resonated with, and I know it's changing their lives too. So it's that ripple effect that I really care about, um, so much. And, and that's how we show up, that's how we serve. And it's been a really fun, a fun process for us too, as we've learned and grown.

Well, that is really fascinating. Now, one thing I must say throughout all of your story, your book, and everything you do, I think faith is pretty much, is always persistent, right? Explicitly or implicitly. You don't have to talk about God, but just, no, faith in yourself, in God, and in other human beings. I guess the question I have for you is, how does faith shape the framework of the book?

Faith is woven throughout everything. And, you know, I will share my relationship with God has gotten so much stronger, especially over the last couple of years. There was a period of time that was, was very difficult personally, and I found myself very lost. Um, but I feel like there was this— and it was actually my daughter, um, we had switched schools and she had said, you know, my friends are going to this, this new church and we should check it out. Um, I didn't know what to expect. I had been raised, um, one way and, you know, this is a bit of a deviation for me, and it's completely changed my life. Um, my husband just recommitted his life to Christ. My daughter did as well. My two littles and myself are on the schedule for later this year to, to go through that and, and be baptized again. So, you know, for me, it's, uh, my relationship with God and, and faith is, is truly the backbone of everything that I do. I trust that he'll get me through it, you know. And regardless, I mean, I— when I tell you that 2023 and 2024 were two of the hardest years of my entire life, I'm not kidding. Um, and God got us through it by a miracle. And so there were so many instances that, um, it could have been shaken, right? And I could have been questioning, like, why, why is this happening? And I'd be lying if I didn't say those thoughts crossed my mind. But I also believed bigger, and I believed in his ability to help get me through. Um, and I've gotten through a lot of hard things in my life, and I, and I don't want anybody that's sitting there to today thinking that this has been an easy road. It has not. I have lived through horrible situations and very trying times and things that could have easily caused me to quit and run away, run in the opposite direction. Um, but I also have countless examples of where it didn't make sense that I made it through, and I did. And so I'm very, very grateful, and that, that is only a result of God. So it's a big part of my life, um, my faith is, and it's only getting stronger. And I'm incredibly grateful for the faith community that we've built in Central Florida, um, and then also my ability to share that. And so much of what has evolved— and you and I were talking about this before we actually got on, on live today— but, you know, it's, it has been an evolution. When I was at an event, um, with John Gordon and, uh, Ed Mylett about a year and a half ago, I met some amazing people— Dan Britton, Jimmy Page. They were— they've written quite a few devotionals, and they planted this seed.

Um, uh, oh, are you there? Yes, you're saying you were on an event with Ed?

Yes, I was at an event with John Gordon and Ed Mylett. They did a day with John and Ed, and it was fabulous. And I met Dan Britton and Jimmy Page, and they've written several books with John Gordon, as well as, you know, devotionals and, and different things.. And, um, Dan specifically said, you know, you really should consider taking your book and, and seeing if there could be an opportunity to create devotionals from it. Like, the content is great, but if you can really tie it back to biblical, um, uh, scripture and, and, um, you know, really being able to do that, it can give it a whole other life, right? And so I, I did, and I sat down and I actually— there's several of them now, um, different iterations, but the first one my daughter and I did together, um, where we went through all 10 chapters of She Believes She Could and we were able to tie it back. So there's 3 parts to every chapter, so essentially there was 30 days. And I was like, this is amazing, I didn't even realize this when I was working on it. And then we were able to find scripture that really aligned with the principle in the book, and so they were just able to give it, um, a whole other life. So there's this one, there's a couple other iterations. Again, you can download them for free on, on the website. But, um, and then I was able to contribute to YouVersion and the Bible app. And so again, it's just like when you lean in, you allow yourself to evolve. Something that I never ever would have anticipated doing, I did, and I love that, right? But I trusted myself to try it. I was willing to be a beginner, you know. I didn't know that that writing style was not something that I was familiar with, but it was great and I loved it, and we're gonna do it. So, you know, there's just so many opportunities, and, and that's really the way I look at all of it is, you know, God— when God plants something on your heart, and that is— it's your job to pursue it, and it's your calling at that moment when you take that on. And that's how we've continued to see the evolution of She Believed She Could, you know, everything from it starting as a podcast to then becoming a book to becoming a community to now becoming a podcast network for other creators.

Yeah, YouTube channel also, it's pretty—

oh yeah, all the things. We're everywhere. So it's been a lot of fun.

So that is really great. And, uh, Daniel said, Alison, as you know, I've always read this one, he said he just down downloaded the workbook. And of course, if you go to shebelievedbook.com, you can download it for free. And it says your point on relevant goals aligning with values before taking action is the exact internal infrastructure leader needs to stay resilient. And we have another member of the audience who says, wow, nice to have this guest. All right. So thank you so much for sharing, Alison. We have about 10 minutes left. Let me go to the last segment. What do you think is, uh, the greatest lesson you have ever learned in life, in leadership in general?

Wow, it's— that's a huge question. So when I think about it, it's don't let failure define you. I mean, so many of the things that I've, I've attempted or I've tried haven't happened on the first time, and it could have been really easy for me to say it just wasn't my time, or this just isn't for me. Um, I have launched so many things over the course of my years, and yes, many of them have been wildly successful, but there's also been the things that haven't, right? And it's about learning from every experience and recognizing that there is that lesson in everything— in the win, in the loss, in the maybe it didn't go exactly as planned, but guess what? The next time I go go after it, it's going to work. It's going to be well-informed. I'm going to be far more confident in my ability to execute and humble enough to know that I don't know everything. And so when I approach everything with this very open mindset and the willingness to ask questions, I think one of the other big lessons that I've learned is surround yourself with the right people that can help you go farther faster. You do not have figure it out alone. And asking for help or resources or guidance or coaching or mentorship does not mean you're weak. It does not mean you're not good enough. It means that you are actually wise enough to recognize where there's opportunities for you to grow. And you will absolutely be amazed at the version of you yourself that you are 6 months from now if you commit to that type of personal and professional development and growth.

Yes. Wow. So how has failure shaped your We know about all of your successes, and they are quite incredible. What about failure?

Yeah, well, for me, you know, every failure was a humbling experience. As you see, I play out loud, right? Like, I don't hide, like, what I'm doing, what I'm working on. But I also think that the reason that I've been able to foster so much trust and connect with people on a real level is that I do share the failures, right? The things that didn't go well, the launches that didn't land the way that I thought they would land. The, you know, the, the yeses that should have been nos, honestly. Um, and being honest enough to say like, this wasn't the right decision for me at this point in time, but I'm going to transition and, and pursue something different. So, um, I think with, with failure, I have so many. I mean, I look at the times that I didn't win things that I thought I was going to win, you know, even like my pursuit to being Miss Florida. Like, we could just even use that as an example. Yes, I lost 3 times before I won, right? So I had to be willing to pick myself back up and swing at it again in order to be able to make it happen. And it did, right? It happened on my 23rd birthday after a while of food poisoning and all the things, all the reasons I should have quit, and I didn't. And I kept going because I believed in the ability for something beautiful to be on the other side of the hardship. Um, nothing exceptional in my life has never happened easily. I'll just put it that way. It's always been with sacrifice or hardship, or there's been something I've had to work through in order to get to that other side. Um, so, you know, I've learned a lot in the failures, but it has made that success so much sweeter when it has happened. And I'm willing to, to swing at that again, you know. And I think that's a big part of it, is that I'm not, I'm not afraid of failure. I'm afraid of regret.

Don't let failure define you. I'm gonna have to listen to this podcast over and over again. So So many golden nuggets of wisdom. Okay, uh, what are you learning now? I know leaders are learners and you're always learning something. What are you learning these days?

Oh my goodness. So one of the things that we've been really embracing and running towards— we made a big announcement at the end of last year that it wasn't just going to be about the She Believes She Could podcast anymore, that we wanted to create an environment for women to elevate, grow their shows, monetize their shows, to really build out their brands in a very meaningful way. Because I do believe I believe that your personal brand should be very profitable and very fulfilling in the process of, of building it. And so we wanted to create an ecosystem that would support amazing women that wanted to elevate their voices, their income, their influence, their impact. And so launching the network is new, right? Like for me, right? We've partnered with an amazing studio. You see, I'm at my studio today. Um, and so, you know, finding the right partners to be able to do that with, to bring this vision to life, because, well, of course I love my show. I think what you've probably recognized today is that I love helping other people win even more than I like winning myself. And so this is an opportunity to do this. And so, you know, learning just the ins and outs of that, surrounding ourselves with other amazing creators, bringing in, um, the best of the best. It's just been so fun to, um, be able to really lean into this, understanding that it is a long game. We are here to support women for years in this network. Um, but, you know, I, I like the quick win. This is one of those that it's like you have to be very thoughtful about how you build it because you're creating an infrastructure, a culture, um, a community that requires the best of you. And so that's been really fun, um, and that's where I'm learning now, right? Just the nuances of some of the things that come with running a network versus just a show. But again, I've had exposure to so many brilliant business minds, and also I see the opportunity to create something that doesn't quite exist in this way elsewhere. And that's why I wanted to do it. It's like I see it happening in great ways in certain capacities for some creators, but I wanted to create a network that was accessible and also focused on growth, not just monetizing creators. And so we're doing both. We're elevating their brands, we're bringing them together. Again, that sense of community is so critically important. And so we're really, really excited about that and all of the shows that are coming on board. Board of amazing women we get to serve.

And where can women go, uh, in order to be mentored by you, or at least be part of your network?

Yeah, so shebelievedshecould.co is where all of that lives. Um, if they're looking for private consulting, then allisonwalshconsulting.com is the best place.

Very good. Wow, that's amazing. And I believe you also have iHello Labs, right, in Florida?

Yep, so we're at iHello Labs. Yeah, um, we love it here. This is our home studio. Um, when I, when I left corporate and started really betting on myself, I came in here and was recording content and courses. You know, I've got a ton of different courses, on-demand programs and things, and I just fell in love with being here and just the quality, the content, the people. Um, and so then we brought our show in here last year, and that was a great experience and just elevating everything. Is for 4 years I was podcasting out of my home, you know, like I wasn't, I wasn't in studio, and then brought it in and now I just, I love it and it's so much fun. And so I'm here frequently and just really enjoy the ability to have some place like this in my backyard. And so it's been a lot of fun.

Man, that's really incredible. Where do you get the energy? My goodness. Wow. That's beautiful to see. So if you could choose 3 people to have dinner with, they could be alive, dead, or even fictitious characters, who would you choose?

Why? Oh yeah, Mel Robbins, John Maxwell, Ed Mylett. Those would be my three. I mean, I'm just— so much wisdom, um, so much transparency around, um, the whole process of evolving and growing and being kind to yourself in the process, but never losing sight of the overall goal. Um, I think it would be an amazing conversation and one that I would just never want to leave.

All right, so let's, let's talk about books. We do read a lot here. The Power of One More. Why should my audience read this book?

I love this book because it breaks it down to the most simplistic factor of doing one more, right? And so Ed's story is, is powerful. I don't want to steal the thunder from the book. It's definitely worth the read or the listen. Um, but it challenges you, right? It challenges you to do that one more rep, that one more phone call, that one more, um, reach out to help other people, right? Like, it's just— it elevates you in so many ways. And, uh, his story is incredible. He talks a lot about his dad and the impact that he had on his life. And again, like, towards the end of the book is a tearjerker. But it's such a great, great resource. I've listened and read it multiple times. I've had my team read it multiple times. So highly, highly recommend.

Powerful. And what about this one by my fellow commanders? Oh my gosh, Extreme Ownership.

Yes. Okay, so anytime anybody asks me for a book recommendation— in fact, I gave this recommendation out like 3 times last week alone Wow. Um, it is phenomenal because it really— first of all, the, the authors are amazing, and I recommend the audiobook because they've got the greatest voices of all time. But it is such simplistic, um, principles that are broken down using real-world examples from their time as Navy SEALs, but that directly apply to leadership. So everything from how you should lead your team to how you need to show up for your team, for how you empower your your team, like everything. And so both of the sales organizations that I led in the past, we read these as a collective group together. So it was wonderful. We had the same— we had an aligned mindset, right? So kind of back to some of the things I talked about earlier, when your team is aligned with how your philosophy— like, we can— we all come to the table with our own unique perspectives and opinions on things, but if there's an overarching mindset or something that you can turn to, like Extreme Ownership, for example, it can bring you right back, right, when there's been those conversations about it. And you can reference things in the book or examples of, you know, how they handled it and how it applies to the team. Like, it's just a really, really wonderful resource. There's also a companion workbook that you can get that goes with it that's also great. But we have used that, I, I mean, so, so, so often. It's worth it.

And by the way, your, your brand is so powerful, even the jacket you are wearing. You've noticed I've changed the color of banner on the screen. So let me ask you this. This song here, you often reference, I believe, "What We Will Win" when talking about resilience, right? So what does that lyric kind of remind you of when things feel heavy?

All right. Well, I can actually use an example from today on this one. So also referencing back to the positive psychology world, one of the things that I had learned in that process is that your bounce-back factor is really one of the indicators of success. Like, how fast can you bounce comes back up, right? So some of us can like stew in our stuff for a long time, but those that get back up and go at it again are the ones that are going to win. And so there's this theory in positive psychology, it's called the 3-to-1 ratio. So for every 1 negative thing that happens, it requires 3 positive experiences just to get back to a level playing field, right? So that helps you twofold. Number 1, it helps you have a filter as to what you want to engage in or not, if you know it's going to take you 3 times as much work to get back to ground zero. But it also helps you think about, um, what is it that you need to in your toolbox in order to be able to bounce back. So for me, there's 3 things that I do anytime I kind of get knocked off course. I have to move my body, so I'll go for a quick walk. I listen to a meditation that I have readily available on my phone, and then I turn on Pitbull, I Believe I Will Win, and I'm back. Like, it is how I bounce back. And even this morning, I had a bit of a rocky start to my day. I put on that song, and because I have trained my brain to respond to certain things, I was able to get myself back to a place where I could come and have great conversation with you. I have another great conversation later today with another amazing woman. And like, I needed to be able to get myself back. And so for me, that song not only is a resilience anthem— it came out around COVID, so I used to play it for my team on my Monday morning calls— um, but it also for me is a reminder that I can do this, I can win. Like, I don't have to let circumstances define me. Don't be fearful in the face of adversity. Like, go for it. And it's literally like a 2-minute song. So like, it's worth the 2 minutes to listen to. But it has become something that I can turn on and immediately change my mood.

That's powerful. I can't play it here because YouTube is gonna flag my channel. But on LinkedIn, I do have the full video if you want to listen to it. Really powerful. Okay, we are quickly running out of time. So let me ask you, if you had one and only one day to live, what would you have liked your final contribution?

My final contribution would be continuing to share the lessons I've learned with others in, you know, with the intention of helping them believe in their ability to do what it is that's pulling on their heart too. So I love nothing more than speaking life into people and helping them to see it in themselves. And I've been very privileged over the course of my years to share a lot of time and space with amazing people. And they know that they can count on that from me. And so I would want to spend my final day doing that, surrounding by, by the people that I love and that I have mentored or been the privilege, had the privilege of being the family members too, like you just shared. But I would just want to speak life into them and just let them know just how special they are and how blessed and talented and capable they are, because I don't think we, we spend enough time doing that. And I always want people to remember that.

Powerful. So if you had a magic wand and could solve any problem at all, what is the one problem you'd like to solve first thing tomorrow morning?

Oh, our country's going through a lot right now. You know, I think that in a time where it's— there's a lot of division, I would want peace and harmony and less chaos in our world. So I pray for that every day, and I wish I could wave the magic magic wand and make that a reality. But I just— there's, there's a lot going on, and I think we have to be really sensitive to that and very compassionate and empathetic as, you know, citizens and companions.

Yeah, for people in my generation, Gen X, I think two things really marked us: 9/11 and the global pandemic. And 9/11 was horrible, but I really loved 9/12. I've never seen America so united, and I We're gonna find our way back there. That's my prayer too. Thank you for sharing. Okay, we are getting toward the end. All good things come to an end, unfortunately. So what can we do to add value back to you? Thanks so much for your time today on the show. This has been excellent. Thank you.

Yes, no, connect with me on LinkedIn. I would love to hear your takeaways. I'm very active in the messages, so please shoot me a note. I'm also very active on Instagram. Please subscribe to the podcast as well. So I would love to have you, um, tune in every week. We have phenomenal guests that we are shining the spotlight on. And then certainly, if you are a female podcaster that is interested in joining our network, please don't hesitate to reach out. We would love to learn more about you and see if you'd like to, to be a part of it. And certainly you can access any of the resources. So if you go to allisonwalshconsulting.com/freebies, you can access a ton of our free courses and mini courses. So everything from the WIN Framework that I talked about, we've got the Impact Brand Accelerator. Simply, like, the Daily Success Sheet is A great resource. You can print that off and do that every day. And then, of course, From Podcast to Platform for those that are really interested in elevating their voices and impact.

And don't forget the YouTube channel because you have an excellent, excellent— And of course, purchase the book, please.

Yes, please.

All right. Well, that is really, really powerful. Okay. To end then, I'm going to ask you, this is the last question or one of the last question. If you could go back and give a piece piece of advice to your 17-year-old self? Standing at the edge of this incredible career you've had in so many industries and all of the impact you've had, what would you say to 17-year-old Allison Walsh? So that was a year before you actually founded a nonprofit organization that I believe changed the world. What would you say to her?

I would say trust yourself. Like, trust yourself and that you are enough. There were so many times early on in my journey where I questioned my own worth and value. Um, but the moment that I really started to lock in and honor who I was and what I brought to the table was what really set me free and allowed me to step into that higher identity that I— in that higher version of myself that I needed to be for everybody else around me too. And so, um, you know, I had been through a lot by the time I was 17. I was blessed with a voice to tell my story as my my mentor so often told me. And it was always a really good reminder, but it was something that I had to believe over time. And I wish that I could rewind the tape and kind of instill that self-belief in myself that I do for so many others that I pour into now, because I'm sure that it would have accelerated my trajectory even more so. But, you know, you are enough. Trust yourself. It's going to be even more beautiful than than you can imagine.

Wow, that is— well, that is beautiful. Okay, the last question, because I want to end on a high note, is what is something you are feeling optimistic about?

Oh, there's so much potential in 2026. Are you kidding? Like, I think like this is an abundant season. I don't know if you follow like the different years, but it's the year of the fire horse, um, and I'm totally leaning into that. There are so many opportunities, there are so many unbelievable things that can be achieved and accomplished if you're willing to bet on yourself and commit that process of growth and development. So I said it in the beginning, I'll say it at the end, like, I live and die by be 1% better today than you were yesterday. When you have that type of compounding growth over time, it is unbelievable. You are truly unrecognizable a year from now if you really continue that. And it doesn't have to be huge. It could literally be reading 10 pages in a personal development book every day. It can be, you know, betting on yourself, getting in the room, right? Put yourself in the room with people that you want to be like or that are 10 steps ahead of you.. And that makes all the difference in the world. And so when you can really commit to yourself, you can unlock opportunities that you might not even know exist right now.

That's really a master success, master key of success. This book, I don't know if you read this, The Compound Effect.

So good.

But Dan Hardy, he talks a lot about that. Okay. That is so powerful. Okay. You've already given us over 8 minutes of your time, but very last question and I'll let you go. And I'm so glad you— I could be talking to you for another hour or two.

That's okay.

We can keep going. What is one word that represents our shared experience on this podcast today? One word.

Joyful. Very joyful. Yeah, no, it was great to have this conversation, and your love and passion for this content too, and, and having these conversations put so much joy in my heart. So I'm very grateful to have shared this time and space with you.

Well, I can't believe I'm speaking to the one and only Alison Walsh. Thank you so much, Alison, for your time, for being our master teacher today. I'm gonna have to listen to this over and over again. So many wisdom nuggets. Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, all right, everybody, uh, this is one for the books. So grateful to Allison. So again, please purchase, uh, a best-selling book. You're not gonna regret that. She Believed She Could: Show Up, Shine Bright, and Achieve Abundant Success. And also the accompanying devotion, and you can download that for free on our website. All right, I'm gonna be back in a couple of hours for our daily study of the Book of Proverbs. This is not a religious study, we just focus on ancient wisdom being mentored by the Book of Proverbs. Uh, this is the first time I'm doing this publicly, but we started January 1st. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, so each day we read one chapter. And today being the 28th, we're gonna read Proverbs chapter 28, and then Now with 29, 30, and 31st, I'm just going to end our study. So focusing on ancient wisdom and leadership lesson. I hope you can join us. And thanks again for watching the Leadership and Success Podcast today. We really had a phenomenal guest and I'm so, so grateful. So until later today, have a wonderful day. And as you watch the replay, keep letting us know 3 to 5 takeaways from listening to Alison And I am telling you, put those simple lessons into practice and you are going to see a change in your life for sure. All right, bye for now.

Thank you for tuning in to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ. If today's episode added value to your leadership journey, be sure to subscribe, share, and join us again for more wisdom nuggets on how to lead to lead better and achieve greater success. Remember, leadership is the most critical skill of our time. The world will always need leaders to inspire others, drive innovation, and execute meaningful strategy. So why not count yourself among the bold leaders shaping the 21st century? Until next time, stay inspired, stay committed, and keep leading with excellence.