Doing it Scared with Latham Thomas | Courageous Conversations, ep197
Three years ago I started a series on my podcast called Courageous Conversations.
I invited folks I was inspired by who I believed embodied what it meant to be courageous. These were intimate and vulnerable conversations about the pivots and leaps they had taken in their lives.
I started the series because I think courage is misunderstood.
We often mistake it for the big grand moments in our lives like quitting our jobs or leaving our relationships. But what we don't realize is that courage isn't just about the big moments, it's really about all the small decisions and risks we took to get to that big grand moment.
So, for the rest of the month of May, over on the podcast and here on the Wholehearted Coaching blog, we're going to be exploring what courage actually means.
This week's guest is the incredible, Latham Thomas. I honestly, am still stunned that she said agreed to be on the podcast. You see, Latham is a bit of a superstar.
She's been on Oprah Super Soul 100 list. She has two best-selling books. She's the founder of Mama Glow, an internationally recognized doula training program. The list can go on and on...
What stood out to me about our conversation is that even though Latham has had so much success in her life, she still gets scared before she takes a big leap. This episode reminds us that we can both be scared and have total faith in what we are doing.
Trust me, this is a conversation you will most definitely want to listen to. I've already listened to it twice.
Before we dive in…
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About 5 months after I had launched Wholehearted Coaching, I was asked to appear on The Today Show. They were looking for a mindfulness expert to do a segment on practical mindfulness tools.
And this wasn’t going to be just any hour on the Today Show but the prime hour. I mean, Al Roker was going to be there.
At the time, I felt like a total mess.
I had no idea what I was doing as a first-time business owner. On top of that, I was unsure of my skills and ability as a coach. I mean, I was only a few months into my coaching career.
And then all of a sudden in the middle of all this "mess", I got an email from a producer at the Today Show asking if I could appear on the show as a mindfulness expert.
Me? An expert? I wasn’t an expert in anything. They had the wrong person!
But I knew I had to say yes. Something inside me knew I could do this.
I soon found myself at 30 Rock, getting my hair and makeup done next to Carson Daley (??!!!?) and I was a total ball of nerves.
What if I blanked on camera?
What if I tripped and fell?
What if I forgot what I was supposed to say?
But even though I was so full of worry, deep down, I was going to be okay.
And in that moment, I realized that faith and fear can exist concurrently.
I could believe in myself and still be scared.
I could have total faith in myself and still be worried.
In short, you can have total faith in what you are doing and also be totally terrified.
It doesn’t mean that this isn’t the right step for you or that you’re not good enough or qualified enough. It just means that you’re doing something new, something that means a lot to you. And that’s scary af.
And that’s what I was doing on that day when I stepped in front of the camera to be interviewed by Hoda and Kathie Lee.
I was in awe when I later got to see the actual clip of the segment. The person in front of the camera seemed like she had done this a million times.
She was both scared and full of total belief and she let her belief win.
So love, remember sometimes we just have to do it scared.
If this is resonating with you, I cannot recommend this week's podcast enough. Latham drops some incredible gems and will leave you feeling so damn inspired. And if you want to check out my Today Show clip, head here.
Journal Prompts:
Try out the following prompts and see what comes up, love:
When you're about to take a big leap and fear shows up, what does it make you believe?
If you were to accept that the fear can be present AND you can still have faith in what you're doing, what would shift?
What comes up for you as you reflect on your answers?
Want to dive deeper through more journal prompts?
If you want to be in the know and get each Mindset Monday straight to your inbox complete with journal prompts to take you even further, get on my email list.
About your host, Shirin Eskandani
Hi, love! I’m Shirin.
Coach, speaker, writer, and life alchemist.
I teach you how to listen to your intuition again, tune out all the BS, and let your heart lead the way.
Because once you strengthen your inner GPS, decisions become easier, boundaries become clearer, and belly laughs become a daily thing.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME:
I’m a certified life coach (accredited through the International Coach Federation)
My husband and I met on Instagram and we live in Brooklyn, NY with our plant babies
I have a masters degree in Music and was a professional opera singer for twelve years. I worked all over the world singing on stage at Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera (more on that later…).
I believe in the woo just as much as I do the work (internal and external). No amount of crystals and affirmations will make up for a lack of a healthy mindset and aligned action.
I love all the Real Housewives franchises. Don’t make me choose one… seriously, don’t.