Episode 96: Successfully Connecting To Career Opportunities with Michelle Enjoli Beato

Welcome to The Career Clarity Show, where we help you find a lucrative, soulful, and joyful career path for you!

Today’s episode of the Career Clarity Show is a fabulous conversation about how to navigate real life questions, career changes, and adjustments throughout the course of one’s career path. So many of you who find us here at the Career Clarity Show are on the precipice of making a change. You’re thinking about how you’re not feeling totally fulfilled or not totally sure what would be next for you. 

Here at Career Clarity Show we are big proponents of finding lucrative, soulful, and joyful work. If you’re missing any of those components, or missing any of our four pillars, then your work may not feel sustainable and life giving in the way that you want it for the long term. I’m so excited to have Michelle Enjoli, a bilingual international speaker and career coach, join us to share her personal story of navigating career changing pivots, reinvention, figuring out what’s next.

Want to learn more about our strategic framework for successful career change? Download The Roadmap to Career Fulfillment ebook right here!

SHOW NOTES:

• Michelle Enjoli
• LinkedIn: Michelle Enjoli
• Instagram: @MichelleEnjoli
• Roadmap to a Fulfilling Career eBook

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Transcript:

Lisa Lewis Miller  0:04

Welcome to the Career Clarity Show. If you want to create a career path you’ll love, you’re in the right place. I’m Lisa Lewis Miller, career change coach, published author and your host. And each week, we’ll bring you personal transformation stories, advice and insights from experts about how you can find a more fulfilling, soulful and joyful career.

Lisa Lewis Miller  0:31  

Hello, hello, clarity seekers. It’s Lisa Lewis Miller. And I am delighted to have you with us today. As always, today’s episode of the Career Clarity Show is going to be a fabulous conversation about how to navigate some real real real life questions, pivots, career changes, moves, adjustments throughout the course of one’s career path. Because I know that a lot of people who find us here at the Career Clarity Show are on the precipice of making a change. You’re thinking about how you’re not feeling totally fulfilled? You’re not totally sure what would be next for you. You’re also feeling a little bit of South self doubt, wonders are worried about Can I do this? Will this make sense? Will I be happier as the grass gonna be greener? And sometimes one of the most helpful things to have in that case, is a story of a real deal person who’s been through similar changes, similar questions, similar wonders about Can I make a pivot? Is there a way that I can make what I’m doing right now work and feel better for me? versus Is it time to leave to make a bigger shift? Do I need to make a more potentially higher risk, but also high reward change into doing something new, to satisfy the feelings that I’m craving and to get what I’m eating out of my work, because if you’ve been listening to the Career Clarity Show for long, you know, that we are big proponents of a lucrative soulful and joyful work. And then if you’re missing any of those components, or missing any of our four pillars, that you might be any work that works for you For now, but it may not feel sustainable, and life giving in the way that you want it for the long term. I’m so excited to get to have a guest on the podcast today, who’s going to share about her personal story of navigating career changing pivots, reinvention, figuring out what’s next and all the pieces in between so that you can hear somebody else’s thought process around making these kinds of changes. Today’s guest on the podcast is Michelle Angela. Michelle Anjali is a bilingual international speaker and career coach who motivates and teaches strategies on how to successfully connect to career and business opportunities. She was a first generation college student who was able to get her dream job before she graduated as a television producer. Since then, she’s worked for global brands in TV broadcasting like Univision, Telemundo, ABC, NBC, and CBS, and marketing for Mercedes Benz USA and Delta Airlines. Michelle also has an idea worth sharing and will become a speaker at Southampton, England inaugural TEDx event next, in mere weeks here, I believe her when this episode comes out. And we’ll talk even more about that today, too. So Michelle, welcome to the Career Clarity Show.

Michelle Enjoli Beato  3:20  

Thank you for having me. Lisa, I’m really excited to talk to you.

Lisa Lewis Miller  3:25  

Well, one of the things about your story that so stood out to me and really was exciting. And something that I wanted to share with our listeners is that, you know, I I sometimes feel a little hesitant, bringing people who are career coaches on to the Career Clarity Show, to just riff about career coachee things because I feel like if you don’t have a compelling personal story of how you’ve navigated career questions and challenges, it’s sometimes hard to take somebody seriously. And I feel like you have a such a cool story of all the different twists and turns and pivots along the way in your own work, that I want to start that as the basis for our conversation to share with listeners about how does one think about some of these questions and worries and wonders that come up? So can you start us from the very beginning, even back in undergrad with how you were thinking about career and what you wanted? And what was possible for you?

Michelle Enjoli Beato  4:21  

Yes, sure. So yes, I can definitely relate and do have a very interesting story. And, you know, you know, one of the things that you know, helped me in undergrad first figure out what’s next for me, right? That’s a big question that as I talk to a lot of undergrad undergrad students today, right, there’s so many opportunities, right, but how do you get those opportunities? What opportunities do you want to pursue? That’s kind of like the confusing question, right? For many people today. So for me, I was actually a little lucky because, you know, growing up, I always loved stories. So I was a reader I loved you know, talking to people asking questions. And so luckily, while I was acquired College, I cooked up this a dream that I wanted to become a news producer. And it was interesting because I actually like did my research and have like a very specific job in mind, which was I wanted to become a news producer for human interest stories. Like I loved talking to people, I loved hearing stories, share your stories. And I’m like, and I’m a morning person. So ideally, it’d be great if it was for a morning program. So I chose to study broadcast journalism in college. And while I was there, so I went to school at William Paterson, which is right outside of New York City. And of course, New York City is the number one television market in the country. And so I had bright dreams of, you know, hey, I would one day love to become a producer in this market. But when I was studying, I had a couple of people. And it’s interesting, because I always think, but I really wish I could find this person today. It was a gentleman who was another student and an older gentleman. But he said to me, when I expressed to him, you know, what my goals were, I was so excited. He basically said, well, pursuing that is like trying to be on the cover of Vogue, right? It might likely never happen, you might have to work in 10 different markets for 10 years, and then you might get a shot at it. So that was kind of a little discouraging, but I didn’t let that stop me. And so what I did was, I actually loved connecting with people. So I took something that I was naturally good at and enjoyed, and started literally strategizing. Okay, who can I talk to, and I used, you know, my teachers, I used fellow students, I used friends of fellow students, parents, or fellow students, anybody who had access to information about how to get how to break into broadcasting in New York City. And I would literally have coffee chats with people and through coffee chats was how I was able to land my first internship at a local television station outside of New York City. And at that internship, having coffee and connecting with people was how I landed my job while I was still in college, which was amazing.

Lisa Lewis Miller  6:58  

That’s awesome. And I think that one of the things that people who have been listening to this podcast for a long time have heard us harp on is that being willing to be curious and be vulnerable, and have conversations with people asking them for their advice, their perspective, their lessons learned, is a huge, huge piece of having the ability to have doors open for you, so that you have choice in what you go into next, again, so that you can have the best possible opportunities and the best possible options ahead of you as you’re making that choice.

Michelle Enjoli Beato  7:33  

Yes, no, definitely. And that was one thing that, you know, it took a lot of, you know, thinking it took a lot of confidence, it took a lot of courage. And I will say, as an undergraduate student, like many of them today, you know, I have won a lot of doubts that I would ever make it just because of, you know, the stories that I had heard people have given me certain recommendations, I’ve had a couple of, you know, ideas that were either dead end. So there were a lot of like twists and turns throughout that process. But the one thing that I would say, credited I credit to actually obtaining that goal that I had for myself was being courageous. Yeah, reaching out to people, you know, hearing the word know, and not letting that deter me, right, continuously educating myself. So I think that’s something that, you know, what do you do have a question of, Okay, what’s next? Or how do I get from point A to point B, it’s figuring that out of just be a little bit resilient and courageous in seeking out, you know, that information or that assistance?

Lisa Lewis Miller  8:31  

Yeah, and I’ll I’ll piggyback on that, just to say that it’s important to make sure that you’re seeking out that information and assistance from multiple people. Because, you know, poursuite, undergrad, you could have taken that one interaction with that older gentleman who said, like, best of luck with that, and treated that like that was the God’s honest truth, like could have treated that like that was the law. That was the only way of seeing things. But the fact that you didn’t let that one interaction and that one piece of what I’m sure he believed was advice and reality. It was awesome that you didn’t treat that like that was the only advice and only reality and that you were diversifying the sources of wisdom that you were seeking out in your world.

Michelle Enjoli Beato  9:16  

Yeah, definitely. You bring up a good point, Lisa about like diversifying, right. It’s not just only diversify, like your sources of information, but also to like, you know, how do you learn, right, where you learn people, usually, especially at that age, traditionally assume that, okay, I’m in college, right? That’s the only source that I have to learn. And there are so many ways of learning, which is through conversations with people, right. And today, you know, now fast forward to 2020. You have you know, podcasts like this one, you have videos, right? You have, you know, many online courses, there’s so many different avenues. And so it’s really, really important to make sure that as you’re thinking of the what’s next or trying to figure out, you know, where you want to go to next diversifying who you talk to to how you educate yourself.

Lisa Lewis Miller  10:03  

I love that. Well, let’s keep going in your story here. So you land this job while you’re still in college, working in television and working in the New York City area. And you’ve, you’ve done your dream, right? You had this dream as an undergrad, you have achieved your dream, you are in it. You’re working in it. Talk to me about what happened next.

Michelle Enjoli Beato  10:24  

Sure. So yes, I was in working in television. So for a number of years, I actually then after that initial dream job, which is I would definitely my dream job at the time. I then moved on and worked for another company, which was a broadcast PR relations firm, where I was then doing now television segments for all different types of shows for CBS affiliates, NBC affiliates, Telemundo affiliates, I mean, we even did segments for shows as big as the view, right. And that was super exciting, super challenging, super exhausting. And so after a couple of years of doing that, right, I kind of hit that wall. And that’s the wall that I’ve hit a couple of times in my career. And I think that we all naturally will hit those walls. somebody like me, and I believe you as well are people that when you hit that wall, we want to figure out and we actively go and seek out. Okay, well, what’s next? So I hit that wall, I was like, Okay, well, what’s next for me. And so same thing. Throughout my career, I consistently kept connecting with people, that’s something that I never stopped. I know, typically, in the job search process, especially with young graduates, once you land a job, people typically stop, you know, connecting with people and tend to kind of, you know, put themselves in a certain environment and stick to that environment. And that’s something that back to diversification. I never allowed myself to just, you know, live in, I actually continue to interact and connect with different people. And so when that question came up, I actually was recommended for a role at Mercedes Benz USA. So after a couple of years in New York City, they actually had a television production studio in their headquarters, which was extremely, extremely interesting, right, you would never think that a big automotive brand at their corporate headquarters would have a production studio in the basement of their headquarters, I would have only found that out through the connections that I made, this wasn’t a job that was posted, this wasn’t something that was, you know, well known. So that’s why you know, I believe so much in the power of connection. And so I landed a job there. And so this is where the second career pivot happened, where I was working in production there for a couple of years. Fast forward to 2009 2010, as things were getting more and more digital, right, digital presence was was increasing for all brands, the need for a digital presence, I then was recommended to go work for the digital marketing department. So that was where that shift happened from television production, heavy work, video production, heavy work into digital marketing work. And so that was when the second shift happened. And I became a digital marketer. 

Lisa Lewis Miller  12:56  

And so I will, yes, so let me ask you a question about that piece, because that’s a pretty significant role change and shifts to go through. And I can imagine, the way that you’re telling the story, it sounds like somebody came and sort of approached you and said, Hey, you should go do this, rather than it being something that you were really seeking out. Talk to me about the the decision making process and the considerations that you went through, as you were deciding if making this pretty dramatic, right, turn with your skill set? Was the the ideal next move for you?

Michelle Enjoli Beato  13:28  

Yeah, sure. So it’s interesting, because, um, you know, it was it was, it was a lot with relationship building. So when I was, you know, doing the video production work, I had to build relationships with other people in the company. So that’s, uh, you know, and so building those relationships and working with other people, the company kind of naturally allowed me again, me, I love asking questions. I love learning. So I actually asked a lot, you know, a ton of questions, I started learning a little bit more about, okay, you know, because I was contributing to that departments work, I kind of was able to get, you know, firsthand a firsthand look inside of that department. What do they do? So that natural shift wasn’t so much of a decision of, Okay, I’m going to end this part of my career and completely pivot, it was sort of something that was like a natural shift, based on the relationship and the level of work that I was doing, it just seemed something like, a natural progression for me.

Lisa Lewis Miller  14:21  

So it sounds like the desire to learn and keep growing was the biggest thing that moved you in that direction? And am I hearing you right, that you’re feeling like you’re hitting a bit of a ceiling, sort of staying in more of the traditional production? swim lane, if you will? 

Michelle Enjoli Beato  14:34  

Exactly. Yeah. So tactically, so you know, going from the big world of television networks, a big big production to going into production for a corporate company, right. I’m not going to get the same amount of growth that I would traditionally have I been in, you know, working for a network, right? So yes, I was hitting like a little bit of a wall. And then yeah, that desire to learn and that it was interesting because I would call it almost like a it was like a natural conversation. If that makes sense, right in talking to people that I was working with in that department, and when that need came up, it was sort of caught up like a natural like, Ah, that, you know, that might be something interesting to do, it’s still gonna use a lot of the skill sets that I have, right and that I’ve learned, except that now it’s going to add that little bit of a challenging factor, which is something that I suggested recommend people always look for, right. And their next move is, it should be something that you qualify to do, but shouldn’t have some challenging factors to it, and that kind of fill the spot. So it was almost like the natural progression of the natural conversation that fit the need, that I was looking for at the time.

Lisa Lewis Miller  15:37  

Well, I feel like that’s really important. I want to underline that for listeners here, too, that on paper, it might have looked like a really big shift to go from television broadcast to style production to digital marketing. But that it was the product of having these conversations with people who knew your skill set, who knew your capability, who knew what kind of stretching and growth you you were able to do? Who could help you to see how this was a really natural next step and a really natural progression for you. Because I think that there’s a big fear when we’re thinking about a change in what’s next. But if we’re going to make a pivot, that we have to start over from the bottom, that we are going to go back to the you know, the entry level stage, and we’re going to be treated like we have no experience, and that none of our skills and gifts are going to transfer over. And that it’s it’s just like detonating a bomb on your career. And I love that your story is, is actually that you wouldn’t have gotten into this digital media world in this digital marketing world, without the foundation of all of the skills, all the experiences, all the relationships that you’d been building your after year. So it was not a starting back over from the bottom story. But it’s really a How do I keep growing and advancing and building on this foundation that I’ve I’ve created?

Michelle Enjoli Beato  17:00  

Yeah, that’s extremely important. Because Yeah, one of the things that, you know, I talk a lot about is when you’re making, you know, shifts in your career, you don’t lose that experience, right, that past experience, that skill, set your background, that’s actually what makes you and can make you uniquely qualified for a new role, right, you don’t lose that part of you. That’s part of your identity. So I, you know, I try to let people know that don’t ever try to hide that. But also, you know, emphasize that that’s part of your experience. And when you’re looking to make a career shift, either if you’re interviewing for something, that’s the pivot, right, explain how those past experiences will make you uniquely qualified or better qualified for your new role.

Lisa Lewis Miller  17:43  

Love that. So you follow this really natural progression from the world of production into the world of digital marketing? And then what happens next there? How long does it feel good? When do you start feeling an itch to try to grow and stretch into something new? What did that look like?

Michelle Enjoli Beato  18:01  

So it’s interesting, because this is where the interesting part of the story comes into play. And it’s, it’s it this is where the lightbulb like really went off about pivoting career wise and making sure that you’re constantly seeking new connections and new challenges. Because a few years later, in 2015, the company decided they were relocating their headquarters. So from New Jersey to Atlanta, Georgia. So now and if you put the position this was a company that was a very well established company had been in the New Jersey area, since I believe it was 1970. Right? You had family members, grandfather’s sons and grandsons that work there. This was just a staple of the community. Right? That was the big shock. And with that decision to move came careers at the company ending, you know, transition, right? You know, there was a lot. So within a span of a year, I had to make a choice, as long as well as many of my colleagues won, whether I wanted to move to Atlanta with the company, but then also had to make the choice of, you know, figuring out like, Okay, well, is this something that I want to do, right? I’m in the New York area where marketing and television production jobs are abundant, right, because of the area, do I want to make this choice? And so I decided, once again, that was where the second time the question of what’s next came out of like, Okay, how do I make this decision? And so I did that by evaluating what are some of my future goals. But this is one of the interesting, interesting perspective kicked in where I saw many of my colleagues go through a very challenging time, people who’s, who thought they were going to end their career at a company where they no longer found out that that was the case, people that had to make a shift career wise for the first time in 30 years. And so that really stuck with me. And that’s kind of like all the work that I do today began because I actually had to help a lot of my colleagues figure out, well, how do I do a resume? How do I even interview I’ve never even interviewed for a place other than where I’m at. And that’s sort of where I was like, Oh, wow. There’s an opportunity here to help people one navigate that they change, but also continuously educate people about the importance of consistently networking, right, consistently challenging yourself because something like this can happen at any time.

Lisa Lewis Miller  20:16  

Can I think that if 2020 taught us nothing, nothing else, it was that things that seem like certainties and safe bets, and sure things. Even those have space to be disrupted, to collapse to disappear overnight. And that the more that you can be creating your own safety net in advance of when you need it, the more gracefully you will likely be able to navigate the unexpected twists and turns that life throws at you. And yeah, there are there are limits, right. I mean, I think everybody knows somebody who, for whom 2020 was a, like a kick to the face.

Michelle Enjoli Beato  20:57  

Yeah. 

Lisa Lewis Miller  20:57  

And who threw everything, all their best efforts was not able to land on their feet in a way that felt good felt authentic belt, right. But I think that thinking in this kind of a way of how do i do some contingency planning, and network and create connections and be prepared, can allow for you to feel like you’ve got a lot more control. If you find yourself in a situation like it sounds like you and your colleagues did where you were sort of getting pivoted before you were ready, or before you decided you wanted to make a pivot.

Michelle Enjoli Beato  21:32  

Yes, definitely. And so that was like the first lightbulb moment of like, hmm, there’s something here, right. And it just for me, it was just devastating in the sense where, you know, I was making a big move, right, but I was, you know, going into something that I chose to do, but it was devastating for me to see, you know, colleagues struggle. And so, you know, I moved down to Atlanta. And so now I’m at, you know, Mercedes Benz USA in Atlanta, Georgia, which now is pretty much a brand new company, just because in my specific area, a lot of people did not choose to move to Atlanta. And so there was a lot of mass hiring happening, there was a lot of, you know, different changes. And so now another light bulb hit, when I started working out at the headquarters here in Atlanta. And now we went from a pretty, I would say, tight knit big group of in the in the marketing area of people that either had known each other the company in New Jersey was a place where you had to know someone to get into the door right now working in a place where people were being hired, you know. And so now we found ourselves in a much more generationally and culturally diverse environment. And so now that presents that presented a bunch of challenges and opportunities, which is how do we now communicate in this new company by essentially a new company, with people that are coming from different generations, different cultures, there’s differences in work styles and communication. And that’s where I took that opportunity, because people would naturally come to me based on my interactions with them. And I created this business resource group called Connect, where literally, that was the mission of was facilitating connections between different employees, employees, with leaders, leaders, with their own employees, so that they can grow and develop themselves. So that’s kind of like where that my work initially started, it began.

Lisa Lewis Miller  23:24  

I love that. And one thing that I think is really important about your story that I want to make sure listeners are hearing too is that you noticed an issue in the workplace in the culture in the way that people were having conversations and collaborating. And you chose to propose a solution and to create an opportunity for the company to address that internally. And I want to highlight that because first and foremost, you know, there’s no wrong decision, right? If you had gone into that same situation, you’ve made the move to Atlanta and realize, like, wow, this new culture, and this new set of employees just does not feel good to work with this is not feeling fun. This is not feeling life giving, there would have been no shame in your game in leaving and finding another place that did feel life giving that did feel aligned, but it did feel like it was a better fit for you. But I think it’s really interesting that you made the choice to say, I’m seeing a need here. And I’d like to see if there’s a way that we can create a resource group and create some opportunities and some tools to help people address this from where we are, rather than feeling like the only option is to head for the door.

Michelle Enjoli Beato  24:36  

Exactly. Yeah, no, definitely. I mean, I definitely had love for the company. I you know, I wouldn’t have decided to move with the company if I didn’t see a value, right? And it’s a great brand. And so I decided, right we have all of this, you know, new talent that’s thirsty, they want to contribute, right? They want to be seen and you have you know, leaders also that did want to assist and so I figured why not create something and it was great because I did get you know A lot of support from our executive management in creating this platform. And it was great. I mean, we did everything from facilitate one on one workshops. So if you are working, say in one area of the company, and we’re like, you know, I just wanted to get in the door, but I really, really want to learn about marketing. And you currently work in legal, we make those connections possible via, you know, one on one workshops or, you know, small group settings. And then we even did something like a, we did a networking session where we literally took all the leaders in the company, and we put them together in a room and literally did a session where everyone had like five minutes with each leader in order to, you know, ask questions and get to know them, it was sort of like an exercise where they were then graded and winners received, you know, a session with a professional coach in order to, you know, develop their communication skills and things like that. So there was a lot of opportunity for those types of, you know, events to happen to help facilitate that learning and that growth, because it wasn’t just facilitating communication. But it was interesting that one of the things that I noticed, and I’m sure you come across this a lot in your work, is it helped increase to the confidence, you normally wouldn’t think that it would happen just in the younger, right demographic, but it helped increase the confidence in the older demographic as well, because, you know, as mentors as the leaders, it actually did help them also, you know, kind of kickstart into that mentoring, right, showcasing their skills, while the younger generation, right, were able to kind of help, you know, get their communication skills feel a little bit more confident. So it was something that like, helped both parties, which is extremely, extremely interesting.

Lisa Lewis Miller  26:43  

Very nice. And I imagine that it put yourself in the position of having to do like a networking, speed dating exercise, is a great forcing mechanism of like, Oh, you haven’t been working on your your elevator pitch, you haven’t been working on your why I do this work statement? Well, guess what, you get to play with it, and experiment and do it with an audience 20 times today in order to really figure out what’s resonating what’s feeling good to say, what’s getting the kind of response that you’re wanting from the listener? You know, are you having people ask you the sorts of questions, or dig in on the particular points that feel exciting to share about and feel like they really light you up. So I love that that kind of a an environment creates a little bit of kind of healthy pressure to do things that are important for you to do professionally anyways, in a space where it can also have an immediate sense of return on investment, because you’ve made stronger relationships internally, your brand recognition internally is going to increase, you have a better sense of the resources within the company that you can be pulling on to help advance your work. There’s some really cool pieces to that.

Michelle Enjoli Beato  27:51  

Yeah, no, it was great. It was really, really an awesome event. And so, you know, that was something that, you know, that work really, really gave me a lot of joy. And, you know, it’s interesting, because, you know, after that, you know, I then, you know, went over to Delta Airlines. So I got recruited for their, you know, digital marketing department, I moved over to Delta Airlines. And so that work, it was interesting, I left that piece of work right at that organization at Mercedes. However, as I moved into a different company, I still kept getting called for advice, right, for help based on the work that I had done. And so, you know, this is where I would say, the third career pivot happened to what I do today, which was, you know, I love the work that I do, I loved marketing, I loved digital marketing, I loved every aspect of brandy. And that still goes hand in hand with a lot that I do today, right? I actually help people, you know, market themselves and help you know, that, you know, help them market themselves. And so, because I was still getting that reach out, I had a moment. And it was interesting, because I wrote down the date. It was October 18 2018, where I was actually coming home from an event and literally had that what you call epiphany of like, Hmm, I really I do enjoy what I’m doing, but I feel like I could be doing more. And it was it was interesting, because it was back in 2007. I want to say that I had that same like pivotal moment. And so I said, well, Michelle, you know, you are mid career like what is something that you see yourself really, really wanting to do for the rest of your life? What’s something that gives you purpose? What gives you joy? And you know, what’s super interesting is that little did I know that this will become a very popular thing. later on. I actually quarantined myself in my apartment for about three days and literally did a bunch of exercises to help me figure out like, Okay, what is that one thing that I want to do?

Lisa Lewis Miller  29:45  

Well, I’m, I’m curious. For this sort of epiphany moment, this realization moment. Had this been something that had been creeping up on you for a while, like you’d been sort of feeling a little bit of discontent or worries and wonder And it smacked me in the face like a two by four for some reason, or did it feel much more sort of like sudden or dramatic in the realization?

Michelle Enjoli Beato  30:08  

I think it was definitely creeping up because I will say, when I was doing the work that I was doing at Mercedes Benz, I felt it wasn’t work. So typically, right when you are, you know, in a Business Resource Group, like we consider that like a project, right? in corporate America, you’re part of a project, and there are things that you have to do. It’s not all fun and games, right? There’s a lot of coordination, you had a team to put together, there was work involved. And what was interesting to me that when I did that, like self reflection, it didn’t seem like work. To me, it was completely fun, right? It was a lot of fun. And even like, the tedious tasks that go along with planning an event, the coordination, all of that didn’t matter. It didn’t matter. It was just like, everything seemed like it was just like a fun, joyous thing, almost like a hobby. And so that was pretty interesting to me, because I’m like, Wait a second, this is something that, you know, requires a lot of work, right requires a lot, you know, out of me, but yet, every single part of it, including some of the tedious parts of it don’t seem like work to me. And that’s what really stood out to me. I was like, this is something really interesting. And that’s kind of like where I started as my baseline to figuring out okay, well, what could be my next route? And how can I give back in a way that, you know, fuels me, but also doesn’t feel like work. And that’s kind of like how I made that connection.

Lisa Lewis Miller  31:25  

That’s awesome. And I, it’s funny, in my own story, I had a really similar moment of noticing that the most joyful part of my day, back when I was doing digital marketing, was when I was helping and supporting my direct reports and employees and interns and teammates. And I kept noticing like, Man, this is like, 5%, of what my job description is, and how I’m using my time during the day. And what would it look like for that to be a bigger percentage of my time, the what possible options are there. And so I think for anybody who’s listening, if you’ve been feeling this sort of flow, but sure drumbeat of discontent in your heart, starting to pay attention to where the bright spots are, and the things that feel good, can be a great foundation for starting to think about and explore what could be next. And so Michelle, and your own story, I know that this question of what’s next for me, continue to pop up in lots of different ways throughout your, your professional twists and turns. And what kind of advice do you tend to give people today who are wrestling with that same question?

Michelle Enjoli Beato  32:34  

Yeah, so what I what I tend to say to people today that are wrestling with that is one is to take the time for some self reflection. And what I mean by that is, you know, kind of be very purposeful with it, like, I was like, I literally, you know, dedicated a weekend to doing some exercises and kind of just really, really thinking about it, reading books, reading, you know, articles, whatever it was, that could help me get to that point. And some of the things that I talked about is, you know, going back to a point that I made earlier about not forgetting about your past, right, your past is your asset, right? What are you good at? What are the things that you’re good at? And I sometimes recommend just taking like a journal, right? And starting with the simple questions, or like, what are the things that I’m really, really good at? So what are some of those, like innate skills that you have writing those things down? That Another thing I suggest is, what are some of the skills that you’ve learned along the way due to your past experience, right, that you whether it’s via education, or whether it’s through, you know, working, what are some of those things, jotting those down, and then another great exercise that I love to tell people to do. And I’ve done this now, actually about three times. And I think they coincide it with those pivotal moments, which is ask, you know, I would say five to 10 people who you have a relationship with, but the type of relationship is important. It’s someone that you feel could give you constructive feedback. So we could be anybody from it could be like a family member, but maybe like a friend that you respect, a former colleague or current colleague, or former boss, everybody you know, that you have, and ask them the question of, you know, what do you think of me, right, our interactions? What is what are some of the words that come to mind? When you think of you like, you know, for example, am I a problem solver? Am I someone that makes you laugh? Am I someone that you come to for to solve problems? And I tell people to ask people to give you, you know, as many words as they want 123 words, but it’s interesting, how would people do that exercise and it was even surprising for me how sometimes you you don’t realize the value that you’re giving to others, until others point that out. And so I think that that’s very important to part of this exercise of figuring out what’s next, what is the value that I’m giving to others. And that’s a great exercise to kind of get all that input from people that you do respect and regularly interact with.

Lisa Lewis Miller  34:54  

I love that. Well, let me ask you this because I know that in the beginning We sort of teased that you have a TEDx talk coming up, which is very exciting. I feel like one of the tragedies of 2020. And how it really destroyed opportunities for live performance is that, you know, a whole year’s worth of ideas worth spreading, and we’re sharing didn’t get to be shared in the same way. So when you think about what prompted you to want to pitch a TED talk, and that idea worth spreading that is at the core of what you want to share? What was the inspiration for that?

Michelle Enjoli Beato  35:31  

So it was definitely literally what we’re talking about now. Right, this question of what’s next? Because, you know, I, you know, and I’m sure you can relate to this, as well, because I’ve made that shift in my life, you know, it was a pretty big shift. It definitely piqued a lot of people’s curiosity, people around me. And so, you know, people have asked me, well, how did you make that shift, especially when you work in corporate America? Traditionally, right? It’s been viewed as a very, you know, safe place to work, right? There’s, it’s traditionally been viewed as very prestigious. But as I saw, you know, five years ago, you know, there really aren’t any safe jobs anymore out there, there’s a lot of change that can happen, change that can, you know, interrupt your life at any given moment. And so, you know, thinking about that, thinking about the work that I’ve done, this question kept popping up, and I’ve solved it a couple times for myself. And, you know, in conversations that I’ve had with former colleagues, with friends with clients, people that I’ve helped, whether it was interesting, because this question about what’s next was not something traditionally, people assume that this is something that someone in undergrad is right as they’re about to graduate? No, this is a question that comes up in your 20s, and your 30s, and your 40s, your 50s and your 60s, right, as I happen to see, you know, when I was looking at Mercedes Benz, there are people that are their 40s and 50s. Were now having to think about what’s next when they were never planning for it to happen. So that was sort of like the inspiration for me is how can I help people and inspire people to start thinking about, you know, what’s next for that. And so that’s what kind of like, you know, the whole idea came from.

Lisa Lewis Miller  37:08  

I love that, well, and if anybody is wanting to be a part of your TEDx experiences, there’s still time to pick up tickets. 

Michelle Enjoli Beato  37:17  

Well, actually, so the actual TEDx I will be, you know, doing it live in Southampton, England on May 6, and so therefore, the tickets will be sold, you know, on site there, but it will be then broadcasted on their digital platform. So once that’s ready and available, I’ll definitely share that with all of you. But I’m excited. 

Lisa Lewis Miller  37:35  

So for any of our listeners who are based in the UK, you still have time to go make it there and be able to see Michelle in person, which would be amazing. But for any of you who are stateside or elsewhere in the globe, you’ll be able to get an access to be able to watch that and learn from her brilliant once it is out on the internet.

Michelle Enjoli Beato  37:53  

Yes, definitely.

Lisa Lewis Miller  37:56  

Well, Michelle, for anybody who’s been listening to this conversation, and who has been really appreciating your perspective on exercises to help think about what’s next, and the power of connections and relationships and the strategy around diversifying your career assets so that you can always navigate twists and turns and pivots as gracefully as possible. Where are some places that they can go to learn more about you and your work? Sure. So

Michelle Enjoli Beato  38:20  

I’m very, very active on LinkedIn. I love you know, the platform and love interacting, and I’ve made many wonderful connections on there. So you can find me on LinkedIn. I also share a lot of content and motivational advice on Instagram and then also on my website, so www dot Michelle Angela, calm.

Lisa Lewis Miller  38:38  

Wonderful. Well, Michelle, thank you so much for being here with us today and for allowing us to use your story as inspiration and thoughtful fodder for other people who are navigating similar sorts of what’s next questions. 

Michelle Enjoli Beato  38:52  

Thank you for having me.

Lisa Lewis Miller  39:01  

And that’s a wrap. Let us know what you thought about today’s episode. leave us a review on Apple podcasts. Because not only can your stars and words help us find great guests and topics to feature on future episodes. Your input also helps other people find the resources they need to discover the work that lights them up. And make sure to check out my book Career Clarity Show finally find the work that fits your values and lifestyle. For the link to order it go to getCareerClarity.com/book. And don’t forget to get your other tools resources and helpful goodies at GetCareerClarity.com/podcast. Thanks again for joining us for the Career Clarity Show today. And remember, if you don’t love your work, we should talk because life is too short to be doing work that doesn’t light you up. Talk to you next time.