Elizabeth Koraca: Executive Coach & Career Strategist

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All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Elizabeth Corazzo with us. She is an executive coach and career strategist and former Reuters TV anchor who trains coaches and strategizes to help people boost job performance, excel in their careers, and find their voice as a leader. So welcome to the show.

Thank you for having me, Tyler. I'm thrilled to be here.

Of course. And we're thrilled to have you on. So the first one we ask on this show, Elizabeth, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?

Well, that's a great question. About 14 years ago, I actually arrived in the US from a country that many Americans blame some of their cold weather on, which is Canada. Yeah, I left my political career to basically pursue my dream of being an on-air reporter in the world's number one news market, New York City. But like once I got there, you know, my eagerness and excitement soon turned to disappointment because every time I'd go to interview for a position, I was told, you're not good enough. You don't have the right look, you're a foreigner, and you have an accent. So I guess my pronunciation of a boot instead of about really gave me away. But it was pretty painful to hear, which is maybe what I needed to kind of drive me closer to that goal. So then I got my first TV job at a local channel in New York making $10.50 an hour. And it was, it was pretty tough. It was a pretty tough job. Then finally I, it happened. I got my on-air break in the Bronx and then I moved onto Reuters TV where I ran the US-China business TV news desk. I ended up traveling the globe as a TV anchor reporting from the stock exchange and interviewing top CEOs and really wanting to share my expertise and tools along the way. I started my own consulting firm. And I work with clients at Morgan Stanley and Thomson Reuters and hedge funds and really teaching professionals how to overcome obstacles, negative feedback, and really not letting it define you, but letting it motivate you, be the driver that kind of propels you forward to that success that you really do deserve.

And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?

Well, yeah, I get up because I do a lot of presentation coaching and training. I get a lot of this question, which is what happens when you're nervous, you know, before presentation or public speaking and how can you combat that? So basically what I tell people is that the reason why we're nervous is that we are self-doubting in that moment. We're worried that it's not gonna be perfect, that people will be judging us. So it's important to remember that there's no such thing as perfect. If you make a little mistake here and there, no big deal. You correct yourself and you just move on.

And what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry specific.

Well, yeah, look, people are not mind readers. They don't always know what you want. So you don't get what you don't ask for. So I always stress that. Make sure you tell your manager or, or your boss or coworkers what's on your mind so you can get what you want.

And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?

Well, yeah, I would tell myself that, you know, you are enough. You know, you don't need other people's approval and acceptance to be valued. And I'd also tell myself to basically stop looking, stop looking back and dwelling on something that happened that was a negative. Learn from it and just keep moving forward.

And it could tie in. So in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?

Key to happiness. Well, look, again, it doesn't have to be perfect. You are not perfect. Nobody is perfect. So stop putting that kind of pressure on yourself, you know, reminding yourself that I am enough. And, you know, being in relationships where you feel supported, whether that be at family, at work, feeling that sense of community is really, really important and the key to happiness.

And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?

Well, I love Dr. Sarno's, um, Healing Back Pain. Um, that book— I had chronic back pain for a while and basically the book and his theories healed me. Um, and the biggest takeaway was stop worrying about things that you cannot control. You cannot predict the future. You don't know what's going to happen. You can prepare for it. You can be try to be as prepared as possible, but you have to let go and stop worrying because you're just wasting your time and energy and it's putting additional stress on yourself that you just don't need.

And what is your favorite quote and why?

Well, I love Wayne Gretzky's quote, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." Okay. And if you don't go for it, you'll never know. So you want to ask yourself, what have I got to lose?

Yes, I love that. Well, listen, thank you so much for coming on. The last one I have for you before we let you go is where can our audience best find you online?

Sure. Well, my website is ElizabethKoratza.com. It's ElizabethKoratza.com. And my handle is @ElizabethKoratza. K-O-R-A-T-Z-A.

Perfect. Thanks again.

Thanks, Tyler Wagner.

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