Keynote
Written by Kitty Carlisle
As the Arizona’s highest ranked and most reviewed motivational speaker in Phoenix, Jean Briese discusses leadership, high performing cultures, empowering women, and more on her website. She’s also a successful entrepreneur, a sought after speaker, and a recognized business leader.
Her focus during Discover and Unleash Your Super Power, her online presentation for Career Connectors, was to share that extraordinary people who achieve extraordinary things are actually ordinary people who happen to share some important traits that she calls Super Powers. Jean relates her message to job transition and to surviving the move into a post-pandemic world. And, importantly, to living a happier life.
When you engage these Super Powers, they have the ability to be life-changing.
Five Super Powers:
- The Power of Habits
- The Power of Your Purpose
- The Power of Your Beliefs
- The Power of People
- The Power of Action
- The Power of HABITS
Jean highly recommends that we all develop proactive habits. She includes recommendations from high achievers or research to determine your habits by answering these questions:
• How do you start your day?
• What are your sleep habits?
• What is your fitness plan – body & spirit?
• What time wasters/distractions do you need to address?
• How do you HELP others?
• How do you spend your money?
Habits are what we do without thinking. We just do them.
Gold medal Olympian Michael Phelps credits his athletic success to his habits. He has banished “I can’t” from his vocabulary and he does not allow anybody around him to say “I can’t.” He also uses the power of envisioning by making it a habit of practicing in his head. - The Power of PURPOSE
Do you know your purpose? What is something you do and never get tired of? Pick one strength and become amazing at it. Do the tasks that support your goals, your purpose. Our culture loves the spectacular, but too often we strive to overcome our weaknesses instead of concentrating on our strengths.
Towards determining or solidifying your purpose, Jean recommends sending an email to 5-7 friends and asking them what they consider your top three strengths to be. Then ask them if there’s something you could do better. She did this with one of her successful teams, but was very disappointed at first when so many of the responses came back saying, “Jean Cares.” She was looking for a response she could put on her resume. She wanted action items since our culture is so heavily fixed on outcomes and she was always taught to produce results. But as it turns out, one of the key reasons her teams succeeded was because they felt Jean cared. It was, in fact, her Super Power.
Too often, we don’t get or give credit for our strengths because we feel society doesn’t value a strength that’s not tangible. However, the number one trait that recruiters are looking for when they want to hire a new leader is that person’s purpose. Because when you move in your purpose, people will follow you. - The Power of BELIEFS
Belief is the conclusion we’ve come to. What is our truth? Two kinds of truth include lower case truth and upper case TRUTH.
Jean’s “truth” is that she was abandoned. But that doesn’t mean she’s unlovable. It was a truth for only a season. Her actual “Truth” is something else.
We have to quit talking to ourselves in a negative fashion, Jean says. It is a conclusion based on experience or maybe because somebody told us something; it does not necessarily mean it is true.
And it’s essential to know that sometimes truth isn’t truth at all. - The Power of PEOPLE
In a study measuring stress levels, it was discovered that individuals who had a friend by their side found a hill easier to climb. So we really do need people – especially during a job search or career transition. It’s important to realize, though, that some people are lessons and some are blessings.
During the pandemic, we had people. And now that fears surrounding the virus are on a downward trend, we still have people. Some were with us from the start and a number of them may have shown up during all the uncertainties. People help us navigate this journey (life, career changes, successes, failures).
Use LinkedIn to expand your circle of people. Ask someone in your circle of influence to introduce you to others; you don’t have to go it alone. Networking is an important part of utilizing the power of people – not only for your benefit, but for theirs, as well.
Consider adding a coach or a mentor to your inner circle. These are the kinds of people you want beside you to help you on your journey – to guide you. Ask yourself who you are learning from. Your goal is to discover your absolute truth. - The Power of ACTION
Action is key! Did you know that only 10% of those who attend a conference or take a class ever take action afterwards? The number one reason we don’t take action is fear.
Even though many people in the U.S. still believe that the American dream is attainable, too many people will die without realizing their life’s dreams.
Jean watched a group called Zucaroh on America’s Got Talent with her daughter, who was ten years old at the time. The group introduced themselves as amateurs who wanted to improve, to be better. They accepted everyone who wanted to be in their group. They performed acrobatics Jean and her daughter had never seen before, and they received the Golden Buzzer, which meant the group went directly to the live show. Jean’s daughter turned to her and said, “I wonder how many fails that took?”
A great life lesson here is we ACT, we FAIL, we LEARN and we ADJUST. Repeat.
Four Steps to Engage Your Super Powers
• You must BELIEVE
• You must be DELIBERATE
• You must STRATEGICALLY PLAN YOUR TIME
• You must HAVE A MENTOR
In taking action, people are exhibiting their POWER of Choice – and sometimes the only choice we have in life is how to react. Reframe your thoughts from “I HAVE to do this” to “I GET to do this.”
Be HAPPY.
• Habits
• Action
• Purpose
• People
• Your Beliefs
Hiring Companies
Bank of the West
Doug Deyo
Bank of the West has been around for over 100 years and currently has more than 10,000 team members in 23 states. They have a diverse and inclusive culture and a generous benefits program.
Bank of the West is currently hiring in a variety of areas, including: Operations, Mortgage Operations, IT, Banking, and Loan Operations. Find details at BankoftheWest.com/careers.
IRIS USA
Christina Rudy
IRIS USA has corporate offices in Surprise, AZ, with other locations in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Texas. They are growing rapidly and did not have to lay anyone off during the pandemic. Some openings include buyer, programmers, full stack web developer, HR project coordinator and corporate recruiter. More information available at IRISUSAinc.info/careers.
LGE Design Build
Carrie Masters
LGE Design Build is a full-service general contractor, with both commercial and high end custom homes. They also have an architecture and interior design firm. A third entity under the LGE umbrella is a development and investment company. They have a very strong culture with these values: proactive, dependability, quality, communication.
Carrie is looking for Project Architects, Architectural Project Director, Business Development Professional, Staff Accountant and Project Manager/Estimator. More information can be found at LGEDesignBuild.com/careers.
WealthWave
Jason Wiseman
Wealthwave has been shaking up the status quo of the financial industry and shifting the advantage in favor of families all over North America. Their vision is a world where everyone is financially literate and has access to the tools and support they need to use that knowledge to create a better life for themselves and their children.
Their network of leaders offer:
• Turnkey solution
• Licensed profession
• Ownership
• Digital Marketing/Media
• Start part time
• No layoffs or furloughs
• Hands on training and mentorship
• A long history of helping families
If you’d like more information or a free copy of the How Money Works book, contact Jason at Jason.Wiseman@wealthwave.com.
CLOSING & RESOURCES
Jessica closed the meeting by thanking our speakers and volunteers!
Our next event is Thursday, June 10, 2021.