Dr. Seku Gathers

Good people,

This week’s episode of The Truth Prescription brings a great conversation with a lot of great energy. I speak with Jodi Womack, leadership coach/trainer, author, and co-founder of the Getting Momentum Leadership Academy. She, along with her husband, Jason created the program in 2012.

Jodi, of course, shares her personal and professional truths; shining a light on the importance of identifying the things that are important in life and creating priority around them. She shares with us how we can leverage more time in our days to set ourselves up for success, moving out of a space of constant ‘catch up.’ She also speaks to her experience as an introvert and one who’s created a career largely comprised with a lot of time spent sharing stories in front of large audiences. Something that really resonated to me throughout our conversation is the importance of understanding that if you leverage your own experience you will be undefeated and open to create an abundance of momentum.

Host: Dr. Seku Gathers

Guest: Jodi Womack

Resources:

• Get Momentum Leadership Academy
• Get Momentum – Book

Time Stamps::

6:28: Personal Truth: A Few years ago, Jodi went home to visit her parents. She hugged them and realized that her mom seemed really skinny, almost frail. She suggested that they go to the doctor, which led to 8 months of visits with specialists. Her mom was diagnosed with early onset dementia and was so thin because she was forgetting to eat. Jodi was devastated and felt terrible. She says she knew that she had to step her game up as a daughter and had to figure out what that meant in terms of taking care of her parents. In addition, when her husband accepted a new role, they relocated from California to Alabama and were even further from her parents. The truth was, she really had to decide what was important in her life and that’s helped her prioritize and realize that the things she thought were really important, that she thought she wanted pale in comparison to how she wants to show up for the people that she loves the most.

12:09 Professional: “Introverts can speak to groups.” That’s been her biggest challenge because she didn’t know she had it in her. Jodi used to work for another speaker; she managed operations and would always decline when he asked her if she wanted to introduce him. When she started hosting women’s networking events, she would hear all kinds of stories about the hardships and struggles they were having. When they returned to the following event, there would be stories about their progress and overcoming. These women were managing real life and Jodi realized that you can’t learn adulting in a book. She likes to share real stories, keep it real and let people know that there’s support available to make it through. She’s shifted the narrative and now speaks to friends, not audiences where she’s just sharing stories, not teaching; something she’d do in coffee shops with friends all of the time.

24:33: 30/30 Rule

Jodi calls it strategic planning for life and says it would be great to have learned this in high school. The 30/30 Rule is working on something for 30 minutes that isn’t due for 30 days or more. This came about because there were things on Jodi’s calendar that kept surprising her. She says that shouldn’t have been the case because the things on the calendar are the things that she’s already agreed to do. She says most people look at today and tomorrow, some look at the full week and, as a result, we never get the vision of “up and out — getting ahead.” Many of us are always playing catch up and Jodi says there are 3 time zones: “Catch Up, Keep Up, and Getting Ahead.” The 30/30 Rule was created to help us get ahead.

30:09 Finding Mentors

Jodi says when trying to find mentors, you want to build your team. There are mentors, who you don’t pay for, who care for you and are vested in your growth. Coaches, teachers, and therapists, who you pay for, are also apart of that team of people who are helping you to think new thoughts. She says if we keep thinking the same thoughts, asking the same questions, we’ll only continue to see more of the same. Building a team helps us build that momentum. We can also leverage podcasts, books, videos to learn more about the paths we want to be taking.

40:09 Yes or BS:

1. Public speaking is easier than writing a book?
2. Change your diet and change your life?
3. Women make better leaders?
4. Getting improper rest is similar to being intoxicated?
5. Love, at first sight, is a myth?
6. Creating momentum is much easier for men?