Hitting Pause and Creating Space with Angela Lussier

“[I decided] I’m going to take a break from trying to force things to happen, and to force myself to build a business during a time when everyone is pretty exhausted, struggling, and trying to reinvent and rethink what they’re doing. I just hit pause.” - Angela Lussier Today I am doing something a bit different for the podcast, but it’s a conversation that I feel women entrepreneurs are not having often enough. You’ll meet a very successful woman who is open and honest about the challenges she faced in her life and business since the start of the pandemic, the crossroads she found herself at, and the profound lessons that she’s learned along the way.Angela Lussier started off as a self-described “shy girl” and is now an award-winning professional speaker, six-time author, two-time TEDx presenter, and entrepreneur. After starting a career consulting business in 2009 with no marketing budget, Angela decided to offer free workshops to become known in her field. In her first year of business, she gave hundreds of presentations, published her first book, spoke at TEDx, and started to receive calls from corporations and conferences asking her how much she charged to speak. This launched her into a speaking career she never expected to have.Today, Angela is the founder of the Speaker Sisterhood, one of Boston’s Best Speakers and she hosts Claim the Stage, a public speaking podcast for women. As you’ll hear, Angela has grown so much over the last year, and it was so refreshing to hear someone who has achieved so much share a behind-the-scenes look at what’s happening in her life. If you think that you are alone in struggling at this time, you’re really not. This episode is an eye-opener, and proof that each one of us is worthy. We just need to remember that it is ok to hit pause to enjoy the things in life that really matter.Connect with Angela: https://speakersisterhood.com/ Remember to hit SUBSCRIBE wherever you listen to podcasts!Are you a service-based business who wants to build your brand and get booked solid? Learn how podcasting helped Laura do that over at: podcastbrandlab.comWhat You’ll Hear In This Episode:The crossroads Angela recently found herself at, and the current events that left her wondering how to keep her business going [6:47]A big pivot she decided to take late last year, and what left her most disappointed in this transition [9:18]Why Angela decided to “hit pause” and the reasons it was so uncomfortable at first for her to do this [11:53]A time I left my own personal brand out of my control, and the lessons I learned from this experience [15:06]How her audience responded when she got real and had an honest conversation with them about her struggles [18:17]The ways that Angela is finding more joy in her life by pausing [19:31]What’s being created in her life and business through this transition and time of loss and chaos [24:43]Why our worth isn’t tied to how hard we work or how much we do [27:53]How Angela faced a fear of being “left behind” an has personally thrived as a result [32:12] Her best advice for others facing uncertainty right now [36:52] Additional Links & Resources:Angela’s Instagram & Email  Support the show