In this concise interview, Professor Pete Alexander hosts Marie Roberts de la Parra, a Chief Emotional Officer, power coach, and bestselling author, on the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Over six rapid‑fire questions, Marie shares her passion for helping people, emphasizing the importance of emotional self‑talk, being extraordinary to oneself, and maintaining a drama‑free life to improve work‑life balance. She recommends fellow leader Suzanne Kim of Motivate Capital LLC for mission‑driven investment work, recounts a memorable first job at a Burger King that taught her to evaluate employment opportunities carefully, and provides listeners with her website and LinkedIn handle for further engagement. The episode blends personal anecdotes with actionable advice for business leaders seeking emotional well‑being and effectiveness.
Chapters
This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Hi, I am Marie Roberts de la Parra. And I am a Chief Emotional Officer as well as a power coach and bestselling author.
Marie, it's great to have you on the show. Question number 2, what's the best thing about working in your industry?
I would say the best thing about the work that I do, which I love, is meeting people and hearing about their lives and supporting them and being the most dynamic. Yeah. I love the work.
Oh, I can, I can hear it, the passion in your voice. Question number 3, I hear from other business leaders that staying in a good work-life balance for them and their team members is a challenge. What are your thoughts?
The number one thing that I share is that being you, nobody can beat you at that. And so be extraordinary at it. And what I've learned is that many people spend their time giving emotionally to others and don't fill themselves up. And so that is the number one thing that I say, be yourself, be your most dynamic at it, and at least to be extraordinary for yourself and your life, and then for others.
That's very sage advice. Thank you for that. Question number 4, what other successful business leaders like yourself, should be on my podcast?
Absolutely, I would say Suzanne Kim, and she is from Motivate Capital LLC, and they're based in San Francisco, and they do mission-driven investment, and I love that because it's very purposeful and meaningful, especially in building economic and community development, so I love it, so I would recommend Suzanne Kim.
Oh, thank you for that. I will reach out to Suzanne. I appreciate the referral. And question number 5, what insight or advice would you give to other business leaders?
I would say that the way that you communicate to yourself is as extremely important as it is your internal communication. So many business leaders, you know, think about speaking effectively, to their staff, their team, and especially their clients, but they spend very little time thinking about, you know, how my thoughts drive how I communicate with myself. And so your emotional well-being is laid out in the way that you self-talk to yourself and the time that you spend communicating to yourself. And so that is so important in understanding what your thoughts drive you do and how they motivate you to feel about yourself. So I would say that that is really the number one thing to focus in on— how you feel about yourself and the thoughts that, that really drive your mission and purpose, because that is so critical in being emotionally well. So that, I know, is a critical point in being effective in all areas of your life. And so many business leaders are— they're spending their time being effective in their work, and then they feel diminished when they get home in their environments where they need to be more nurturing and loving there than anywhere. Because when you fill yourself up, you can really be there for other people in a way that when you're diminished, you can't. And so that, that is really the number one thing that I would share with business leaders. That's the work that I focus in on doing with my clients, and it is my purpose, my mission, my goal to help people, to assist them in having a drama-free life so that they can be more dynamic. Because one of the things that happens is that people don't recognize that thoughts can lead into drama in your relationships at work, in your communication with the people that you love, and you don't recognize it. And so that is, you know, the core mission that I have. How do you have a drama-free life and what that looks like for you? Because how we live life is very individual. And so knowing how you show up and what is unique about you is one of the most powerful tools. And so that is, you know, what really drives the work that I do. And I said before, I love it because I do. So, yeah. Wow.
And I— well, it's just— it's just hearing you talk about that gives me goosebumps. I love it. Question number 6. Can you tell me about your first job?
Oh my goodness. My first job, which I was such a misfit for, it was there was a newly built Burger King, and I thought that, you know, at the age of 16, how great would it be, you know, to go and work, you know, at a Burger King? And, you know, I could think about, you know, getting all the burgers and fries and everything. And when I got there, I was like, oh my goodness, you know, I don't know how to do any of this. And when I would go home at night, I would have these like paper cuts all over my hands because at that time you had to put the vegetables, the onions and the tomatoes into the slicer, and when you would lift your hand out, it would cut your fingers. And so I was in pain each night. I couldn't put my hands in water. And I said, you know, somehow I talked myself into doing this. And I spent every moment there thinking, I got to get out of here. So that was my first job. And I thought about The next time that I decide to go and take a job, that I was going to think it through more thoroughly than I did. I didn't know anything about what I was getting into. So that was my introduction and learning lesson about how to look for a job, because what I did was not it. So I don't recommend that for anyone.
You probably have this thought each time you pass a Burger King, I would think, too, huh?
Yes, I do. It's quite memorable. It's implanted in my brain. And so I do, I think about it and I think, yeah, that was my first place of employment. And I can say that I have not gone back into a Burger King since. And this was in 1977. That's been a long time. That's the imprint that I got. And there's nothing that I'm stating bad about Burger King. It just wasn't the employment place for me.
Exactly. So you learned, you learned an important lesson.
I did. Yes. It was a very dynamic lesson. Don't do that again. So, yes.
Great story. Marie, thank you for being on the show. How can people find you?
Oh, they could go to, uh, which is my name, marierobertsdelaparra.com. Yes, if they search for that, they can find me easily, as well as on LinkedIn under the same name. That is my name. So, uh, yes, just searching for MarieRobertsDelaparra.com, they'll see a picture of me, hopefully. Perfect.
Well, this is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn, YouTube, or Facebook and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
