Finding Alignment, Understanding Priorities & Taking Control of Your Goals
Olivia recently held a workshop with some women leaders who wanted to understand how to win in the workplace. Three themes kept on coming up - getting clarity on what you want, getting comfortable talking about money, and stop waiting to be tapped.
It’s time to stop living out of alignment and design your dream life.
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1) Getting Clarity and Living in Alignment
The first topic that came up was, “What do you want?”
Olivia asked this question at the workshop - “What is your primary concern in the workplace today as a woman in corporate and what do you want?”
90% of the room had a hard time clearly articulating their answer.
This is an issue that Archita is very familiar with.
“I would say that I was very clear on what I wanted when I was at corporate until I realized what I wanted was following someone else's version of what I should have.” - Archita Fritz
Whose want are you chasing?
“Are you doing what you're doing right now because it is in alignment with your values, because it allows you to live the way you want to live, it allows you to make the money that you want to make, it gives you the flexibility that you need for whatever reason, or are you doing what you're doing now because some yahoo told you that you couldn't do it.” - Olivia Cream
This is a trap so many of us fall into.
“If you're 10 or 15 years into your career, you should not be chasing some yahoo's nos as your yeses. That's just a waste of your energy, your time, and quite frankly, just quit your job.” - Archita Fritz
Not only is it a waste of your time and energy, but it is out of alignment.
“Women, especially minority women, are suffering from stress-related diseases. Chronic diseases that are stress-related. Where does the stress come from? It comes from misalignment.” - Olivia Cream
Symptoms like hair loss, hormone imbalances, fibroids, and arthritis can all be stress-related.
“When you hear misalignment, it should alarm you because it has real consequences for your overall health.” - Olivia Cream
We aren’t only talking about work responsibilities here. Your responsibilities both inside and outside of work can all add up.
“Something happens that's out of your control one day, and then you finally start asking the question, what am I aligned to? What am I chasing?” - Archita Fritz
It’s at this point, that you can be led by fear.
“These external factors will then potentially lead you to making decisions you probably were not ready to make.” - Archita Fritz
Therefore, when things are “comfortable” take the time to ask yourself if you are in alignment.
“What experiences and relationships and goals are worth trading our time for?” - Archita Fritz
If you don’t deliberately set this exchange rate for yourself, things will naturally fill your time and you may find you have no time or energy for the things that you actually want to do.
A great place to start in terms of alignment is to write down all the experiences, relationships, and goals from your past week and see which ones were worth your time and which ones were not.
2) Understanding Your Priorities
Often we tend to just think about our work as our main priority, but there are so many other things that make up your life.
Your spiritual life
Your health and fitness
Your mental well-being
What you want to do for vacations
The mission you want to pursue in the world
“There are so many categories for you to think about because your work plan should include all of you. You shouldn't just be compartmentalizing. A sure sign to figure out if you're in misalignment is if you can only be a sliver of yourself at work and nothing else is getting tended to.” - Olivia Cream
If you never stop to question if you are in alignment, you may miss out on truly living and accumulating the true luxuries of life.
Archita shared a Clint Eastwood quote that resonated with her: “Luxury isn't about what you own. It's about what you feel.”
He says there are a few ways to reclaim the real treasures of life:
When was the last time you laughed until it hurt?
When was the last time you stood outside and let the rain wash away your inhibitions, your worries, your fears?
When was the last time you jumped into the sea and just let the vastness of what nature has to give you really pick away at what you have?
When was the last time a simple embrace made you feel whole?
“I have been so off lately because I got sucked into the grind again. I got sucked into hustle culture and I started to forget that this world is here for us to enjoy. We came down here on this planet at this point in time to learn how to love, to learn how to have all sorts of different experiences, not just to work our bones away until we retire.” - Olivia Cream
Olivia has started journaling the things that have her feeling her best.
“The patterns for myself are starting to become clear. These are the things that breathe the life into me as I am expending all of this energy. That's the stuff that replenishes me.” - Olivia Cream
She encourages us to do the same.
“Take note of when you really feel your best self. What are you doing and how can you create those experiences more often in your day to day life? This is designing your life.” - Olivia Cream
When you design your life, you need to do it in a way that allows you to be the best, most healed version of yourself.
“When you are operating in alignment, in the best, most healed version of yourself, the money is going to come.” - Olivia Cream
Archita has felt this clearly in her own life recently.
“I can't stress enough, you start attracting opportunities when you act in alignment.” - Archita Fritz
3) Don’t Be Afraid to Talk About Money and Know How Much Money You Need
The second topic that came up was a fear of money - both talking about it and doing the math to know how much you need to live the life you want NOT just to scrape by.
“We care about the number where you first define how you want to live your life. You have to take care of an ailing parent. You have to take care of kids. You want them to go to the best school. Maybe you're a traveler and you want to travel to some epic places six times a year. Maybe you are a traveler and you need something remote because you just don't want to be tied to an office. Once you understand the way you want to live, then you go back into how much money do I need to live in my ideal state?” - Olivia Cream
This information is so important in designing your dream life.
Then you have to have conversations about money which can make people very uncomfortable.
“We're taught not to talk about money because people might think you're trying to show off or it's taboo. Who benefits from these social norms? It sure isn't you. [...] So if you don't want to talk about money, fine, stay broke.” - Olivia Cream
If you don’t talk about money, you are choosing to be limited in your financial success.
“You're choosing not to unlearn everything that you were taught to keep you controlled. So you're going to stay broke.” - Olivia Cream
Olivia explains that if we intend to close the gender pay gap, we have two things to work on:
Systemic change
Personal accountability
“We need both sides of this coin in order to really make real progressive change.” - Olivia Cream
Today, you can start doing the work for yourself by not being uncomfortable talking about money.
And once you do, there is so much you will learn:
How much your job is really supposed to pay.
If you are overpaid or underpaid.
If you’re selling yourself short or not.
You might actually learn that you're a lot closer to your dream than you think you are.
“You have to create a plan and money and comfortability with money has to be a part of that plan. Otherwise, you will forever trade time for money. And in some cases we're selling our souls for a paycheck.” - Olivia Cream
If you constantly come home from working a job you hate, you’re in a bad mood, and you yell at your kids and partner, there’s a reason for this.
“Because you are selling your soul for money instead of being in alignment and designing your life.” - Olivia Cream
4) Taking Control of Your Goals
The third topic that came up was waiting to be tapped.
“Waiting to be tapped is just as bad as not knowing where you're going.” - Olivia Cream
It also relates to being burnt out.
“You're burnt out because you're saying yes to things that are taking your time and energy that are not moving you forward at all. You're just like spinning in place.” - Olivia Cream
Olivia explains that we have these trauma-based responses to continue to stay in motion even if the motion is doing nothing but depleting our energy.
What ends up happening is that we put our heads in the sand, work super hard, and wait for somebody to recognize us for our brilliance.
“Ladies stop waiting to be tapped. Know what you want. Drive towards your goal, take the reins on your career, and stop waiting for someone to recognize your brilliance. You recognize it and choose what you're going to go do with it.” - Olivia Cream
One way to take control of your career and future is what Archta likes to call breadcrumbs.
“You might go do a bunch of different things, but as you're doing them, think strategically about how they form the breadcrumbs towards where you want to go because that's how luck happens.” - Archita Fritz
These breadcrumbs lead to opportunities. For example, you may be at an event discussing your work and this may lead to an amazing collaboration opportunity with a like-minded woman.
“Strategically identify your breadcrumbs that take you to where you want to go.” - Archita Fritz
5) Thriving Despite the Statistics
There are so many statistics out there saying how impossible it is to live your dream life.
“Whatever the statistics are today [...] that are telling you how difficult it is to get ahead, I want you to silence that noise.” - Olivia Cream
You can thrive in your corporate space and if you decide you want to change directions, you can thrive in that new direction too.
“You do not have to be a statistic unless you believe and you make a choice that those numbers are relevant to you.” - Olivia Cream
However, you have to be prepared and willing to do the work.
“A lot of the work is just having courage and being willing to stop moving for a second and to sit down and ask yourself some questions and develop a strategy.” - Olivia Cream
If you enjoyed this conversation, here are a few more episodes you might like:
Episode 73: Owning Your Authenticity and Making Fearless Decisions
Episode 70: Disrupting the Status Quo
Episode 54: Changing the Face of Wealth: Empowering Women in Financial Literacy
To hear the full conversation, scroll all the way up and tune into episode 78.
About The Hosts: Archita And Olivia
ARCHITA
Archita Sivakumar Fritz is the Host and Producer of the Embracing Only Podcast. Archita is a MedTech and Life Science Strategist. She is a LinkedIn Top Voice for her insights into product strategy and nonprofit management, and the creation of inclusive cultures that champion a 'speak up' philosophy.
Following a successful 19+ year corporate career she now helps C Suite across organizations as a Fractional Product Marketing Leader through her company Ready Set Bold.
She works with individuals with 10+ years of corporate experience to find new paths away from toxic or underappreciative environments, enabling both personal fulfillment and broader organizational impact.
→ Grab your FREE resource to build your career transition here: https://embracingonly.com/cubicle-escape-blueprint
→ If you want to work with Archita you can reach out to her here: www.readysetb.
→ Book her as a speaker, moderator, or coach for your next company event or workshop.
OLIVIA
Olivia Grant Cream is the host and producer of the Embracing Only podcast. Nothing makes her happier than providing a platform to women who are changing the world.
Olivia is a proud US Veteran and HR Leader who is passionate about changing the face of corporate America by helping underrepresented people reclaim their power and live the life of their dreams.
She is an advocate for transitioning military members seeking second careers in the corporate landscape.
Olivia is a proud Jamaican and enjoys mentoring, coaching, classic cars, and nature. The way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
→ You can work with Olivia here: www.oliviacre
→ Book her as a keynote speaker or moderator for your next ERG or company event.