Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
As icon Heather Monahan always says,“at any moment you’re either building your confidence or chipping away at it” — which will you choose today?
Heather is a 2x best-selling author, podcast host of Creating Confidence, Top 50 Keynote Speaker in the World (2022), and TedX Speaker. After successfully climbing the corporate ladder for nearly 20 years, she was one of the few women to break the glass ceiling and claim her spot in the C-Suite. As a Chief Revenue Officer in Media, Heather was a Glass Ceiling Award winner named one of the most Influential Women in Radio in 2017, Thrive Global named her Limit Breaking Female Founder in 2018, and in 2021 Girls Club named her Thought Leader of the Year. Her first book, Confidence Creator, ranked #1 on Amazon’s Business Biographies and Business Motivation lists within its first week. Forbes named the book one of the 5 must-have books for women in business 2021. Heather was named one of the Top 40 Female Keynote Speakers in 2020 and Top 50 Keynote Speakers in 2022 by Real Leaders. You can also find Heather as seen on USA Today, CNN, Forbes, Gary V’s Audio Experience and The Steve Harvey Show.
I discovered Heather when her first book, Confidence Creator, came out. It was composed of inspirational stories on how she confidently kept going for the next goal, bet on herself, and made opportunities happen despite adversity. It taught me so much about going after what you want in life, no matter how impossible it may seem.
Fast forward a year later and I had the opportunity to meet Heather live at an event in Boston where she was the keynote speaker. During that event, I watched as she stood up on stage and completely owned one of her valley seasons in life with complete and total confidence. She demonstrated the beauty of setting yourself free by owning your past instead of trying to hide from it. Needless to say, I left that day with a renewed sense of possibility and my next-level came the second I granted myself the permission to just own it (Thanks Heather!).
If you’re ready to courageously own your next-level with unbreakable confidence too, then keep reading! They say when someone’s at a level you desire to get to, learn how they think. So with that, here’s the gift of an exclusive interview with the one and only Heather Monahan that certainly delivers…
Q: Tell us a little bit about how you got started in your current business/career. What inspired you to pursue it?
A: After over 20 years of leadership in corporate America, I found myself unexpectedly fired by another woman. That was the redirection I needed to write my first book, Confidence Creator, which led to my speaking career, podcast and second book, Overcome Your Villains.
Q: I truly believe emotions can be powerful creative forces, which we often see exemplified in “comeback” stories. Do you have a comeback story that you attribute to being a pivotal part of your path to success?
A: Going to work for myself was definitely my comeback story. I had never planned to work for myself but now that I do, I am grateful to do the work I do everyday. It definitely hasn’t been easy. Any time you start out as a beginner at something it’s going to be challenging. The key was to not give up and consistently take action and move the business forward. There are days I miss leading a huge team and days I couldn’t be happier working on my own, but in the end this has been worth all of the risk I have taken.
Q: What life advice would you give to your younger self and why?
A: I would have told my younger self to stop pleasing others and start pleasing myself. For many years I would defer to others to make my decisions and I should have been listening to the one voice that matters, my own.
Q: What do you believe to be the most powerful characteristic a person can bring into the work space and why?
A: Honesty, integrity and confidence are critical to success. If you don’t like the position you are in but you don’t say anything, then the team loses. If you don’t share your opinion or speak up when you have an idea, then the team loses. It is so important to remember that you have been invited to the table, now it is your duty to speak up and share your perspective.
Q: What daily habits/routines do you practice in order to protect your feminine energy?
A: Feminine energy is something that I have struggled with, as I didn’t understand it and I was afraid to let others help me. I actually did a podcast episode about this topic recently because it is so important to me. Most of my life I simply outworked everyone around me, I would muscle and push my way through any challenge. This year my word for 2022 is receiving. My mantra is that I am open to receiving all of the blessings the universe has for me and I will trust and move with the flow of the universe. This is very new to me and is definitely a departure from how I traditionally operate. Feminine energy is about allowing support and having gratitude for it.
Q: What does self-love mean to you and how does your hustle nourish it?
A: Self-love can mean different things at different times in your life, but the biggest thing it means to me is putting yourself first. That means standing up when you see things being done that are wrong and honoring your voice and opinion. It means firing your villains and protecting yourself from negative energy so you have space to think and find peace.
Q: For someone in a position right now where they feel like giving up on their goal, what is one piece of wisdom you would share with them?
A: What if you are so much closer than you realize? Don’t you want to see what happens if you don’t give up? I applied to 100 TedX opportunities before I landed my TedX talk. I pitched my book proposal to my agent 14 times before she said yes on lucky number 15. The majority of people will fold long before the breakthrough, I challenge you to be in the minority and see what happens if you don’t give up.
Q: What’s your favorite quote?
A: I love the Steve Jobs quote about not being able to see the dots connect looking forward. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future”. This is very powerful as I remember getting fired and having no idea what I would do for a living. Fast forward 4 years and I can see how the dots had to connect the way that they did. The key is to trust that they will.
Q: Clearly you’re a strong woman! Tell us, how do you continuously build your confidence and resilience?
A: In every moment we are either creating confidence or chipping away at it. When you simplify things to this level it is very easy. Life is a series of choices that we all get to make, I leverage past challenges for future success and as indicators that I will be able to handle the next challenge ahead. I also share my 3-step process to overcome any adversity in my new book, Overcome Your Villains. This process has been a game changer for me.
Heather’s Closing Thoughts:
What is possible for you is always changing. Never let another person tell you what is available for you. Only you decide that.
Instagram: @heathermonahan Website: heathermonahan.com
Podcast: Creating Confidence Books: Confidence Creator / Overcome Your Villains
