By Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta Oh, this topic is a doozy, but it’s universal. Everyone on the planet has come into contact with people who use manipulative emotions like hurt and anger to get their own way. Sometimes it’s obvious. Other times, interactions leave us blindsided by feelings of guilt or fear. No doubt about it, manipulative behavior can be powerful. It’s also a skill that gets tested and perfected from a very young age. I call it the “birth of a jerk” phase. Sounds harsh but stay with me here. Somewhere around three or four years old, kids begin testing Read More
15 Things to Quit Today to Stop Making BAD Decisions
By Motivational Keynote Speaker and Human Behavior Expert Connie Podesta Bad choices? Sure, we all make them. Hopefully as we get older (and sometimes wiser) though, we figure out that we can do better than that. If you’re ready to start making BETTER choices, let’s take a look at the top 13 things to quit starting today. Quit avoiding reality. Too many people live in an “if only” or “I wish” fantasy world—and not in the reality of what is actually going on at this moment!Be honest with yourself. Making choices based on what you wish would happen or should happen or might happen is Read More
Quit Accepting Yourself as You Are
By Motivational Speaker Connie Podesta I know, I know. As a motivational keynote speaker, I can’t tell you how many times I hear the battle cry, “Just be YOU! Don’t change! You’re enough!” And yet, here’s my question: How's that REALLY working for you? Be honest now. Got the house you want? Car you want? Partner you want? Wealth you want? Body you want? Job you want? Happiness you want? Health you want? Peace you want? Confidence you want? Success you want? Then maybe – when it comes to getting what you want – just being YOU isn’t enough after all. Listen, I’m all about being your own Read More
The Top 10 Things Great Leaders QUIT
To Avoid Feeling "Lonely at the Top"! By Leadership Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta We've all heard that it can be “lonely at the top.” Well most recent studies, books, and articles agree. They show that many top leaders feel isolated and weighed down by their position? With no one to talk to? And no one with whom to bear the burden of their job? And that isolation can play havoc with their confidence. The decisions they make. And their overall ability to lead effectively. I get it! I'm certainly no stranger to loneliness. I am constantly traveling – alone. I work in my home office Read More
HAPPINESS is FLAWSOME!
Learning to Celebrate Your Imperfections by Motivational Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta Perfection? Overrated. Unreachable. Exhausting. Impossible. Obsessive. Look, I’m not saying don’t stop reaching for more. Far from it. But no one—NO ONE—is perfect. Happiness is getting to that point in your life where you can say, “I don’t have to have it all, do it all, be the best,” and being all right with that. You know, there’s a very real difference between getting it perfect and giving it all you have. Happiness is about realizing that mistakes are part of life’s crazy plan so we can learn Read More
FIGHT for Your RIGHT to be HAPPY
For All Who Need It By Motivational Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta When I wrote my book Redefining Happiness, I did so with so many people in mind. My clients. Audience members. Online followers. Friends. Family. Colleagues. I wrote it because I think in our sometimes crazy world we tend to put a lot of things on the top of our to-do lists and somehow happiness, joy, and celebration seemingly creep to the bottom more often than not. We get busy. Overwhelmed. Worked and worked some more. And here’s the crazy part – you won’t believe how many people feel GUILTY about being happy. About Read More
Just Ask Connie… Forget Perfection!
“I am so tired of trying to be what everyone else wants me to be. When will it end?”……… That was the email that woke me up this morning. A result of a recently posted graphic in my social that said, “You’re allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously.” Wow. That sure opened up the floodgates. People were blowing up my inbox. “But Connie, NO ONE likes it when I am a work in progress”. “I’ll never be PERFECT, so who will want me?” “How do you keep it all together when deep down you’re a hot mess?” When will it end? When will other people stop pulling at us or Read More
Fight for What You’re Worth
Why it HAS to Start With You By Motivational Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta I’m very blessed to be able to share with amazing people all over the world. From the tens of thousands I speak to from the stage each year to my incredible friends on social media – one thing that comes up over and over I find is how people often put their “worth” in someone else’s hands. In other words, they don’t know their own worth, so the let someone else determine that value. Stop. Please stop. Here’s the amazing thing about you that perhaps no one ever told you before – you are unique and have gifts Read More
How to Get Out of Your Own Way
Life Totally Changes When You Do By Motivational Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta I recently made a Facebook post that went something like this: “So what's REALLY stopping you? From going for your dreams? Taking that trip? Taking care of yourself? Living life to the fullest? I can tell you what it is not - it's not someone else, something else, time or even money. We make happen what we make a priority. Isn't it time you moved yourself up the list of things that are IMPORTANT?” It was immediately followed by a volley of questions, messages, and emails from readers who wanted to know Read More
What I Discovered in the Nothingness…
And How it’s Changed Everything By Motivational Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta This vacation was my best ever. I did nothing. We didn't sightsee. I didn't learn anything new. I didn't read anything non-fiction. I literally -- did nothing productive! I read a romance novel. Drank mint and cucumber water. Watched Netflix. Had a crunchy salad. Walked along the ocean. Meditated. Had a watermelon salad. Snuggled. Snacked. Watched the sunset. Had a great white wine. Walked some more. Ate wonderful seafood. Slept. And slept some more. Floated in the ocean. Had a fresh fruit smoothie. Got a Read More