Latest / Cyrus Webb's tracks / Dr. Teresa A. Smith discusses her growing brand and services on Conversations LIVE

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Dr. Teresa A. Smith discusses her growing brand and services on Conversations LIVE · Cyrus Webb's tracks

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Conversations Live. I'm your host,
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Cyrus Webb. Glad you all could join us once again.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: For our radio audience tuning in in Mississippi, WYAD 94.1
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: FM and WYADonline.com, we're glad that you all can be
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: with us. Also, join us online worldwide via our podcast
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: at iHeartRadio and Amazon Music, as well as the Conversations
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Radio Network. We're glad you all could be with us
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: as well. We're excited to welcome back Dr. Teresa A. Smith, a.k.a.
• 0:23
  Speaker 3: Dr.
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  Speaker 1: Todd, to our broadcast today. You guys know her as
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: a best-selling author. She's a media personality. She's a speaker
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: and coach. I want to talk to you not only
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: about what's been a very busy year for her, but
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: also gearing up for busy quarters. We're wrapping up 2026
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: as well. We also want to talk about something you
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: all may not know much about, and that is her
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: parent company, DQ Consulting, how it all came about, some
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: of the services she's able to offer. Now she's hoping
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: to utilize that as she's wrapping up the year.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Dr.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Tiles, welcome back to the broadcast.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me, Cyrus.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Well, you know, when I was prepping for today, Taz,
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  Speaker 1: I thought about how so much of your work is
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  Speaker 1: about education. Not only, of course, you're being an educator,
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: but also educating people on the different things that Dr.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Taz does. What has that been like for you to see?
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: I know you made a post recently on social media
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: for people who may not know that you also cook.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: What has it been like for you to be able
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  Speaker 1: to not only introduce yourself, but also to reintroduce yourself
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: to the audience that you're building?
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: Osiris, it's been so wonderful because, you know, I realize
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  Speaker 3: when you're multifaceted, people only know you for what they're
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: interested in. And I said, well, but there may be
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: people who need the services that I provide, but they're like, well,
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: I didn't know Taz did that. So it's been really
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: fun for me to continually educate my audience about what
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: I provide. And as a lifelong learner myself, I realized
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: you have to continually do that. You know, no one
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  Speaker 3: ever knows everything and we know how technology and our
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: world is changing. So you're constantly educating yourself. And so
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  Speaker 3: I just sort of taking that stance, you know, even
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  Speaker 3: though I am an educator, I tried to do it
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  Speaker 3: a little differently on the social media side, but I
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  Speaker 3: realized that we all need information and we all assimilate.
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: I went to an education where we all learn differently.
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  Speaker 3: And so it's like, I'm going to get you, Si.
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: So it's like I have to constantly remind that. So
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: give people information in different ways because you still may
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: be the person that holds the key to what they're
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: looking for, but they don't realize it because of how
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: you give them the information. So for me, it's always
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: so exciting to be able to introduce and reintroduce myself.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: So I want to stay with that point because you
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: and I have had these conversations about this particular thing,
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: and I think this is something– that can help our
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: audience with as well. We could be the best at something,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: but if people don't know it, either because of us
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: not talking about it, which does happen, right, or the
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: way we talk about it, people may not realize that.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: Has that been part of the beautiful challenge of it all,
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  Speaker 1: of being able to wear so many hats, of making
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: sure that you are, one, being true to yourself, Todd,
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  Speaker 1: but also talking in a way that your audience actually
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  Speaker 1: understands what you're saying?
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: Now, Sasha, you know, I feel like I'm on the seesaw.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: Is that what we used to call it? You know,
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  Speaker 2: one person's on one side. Okay.
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  Speaker 3: And, you know, the heavier person, you know, they get
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: out and then you go up in the air. I
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  Speaker 3: feel like I'm on that all the time. I used
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  Speaker 3: to enjoy playing it when I was a little girl.
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  Speaker 3: And I feel like that's sort of, you know, we
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  Speaker 3: talk merry-go-round, but I think it's like that more so
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  Speaker 3: because you know what you do. And you understand it,
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  Speaker 3: even if you sometimes ask the people in your circle.
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  Speaker 3: But the thing is, they know you. They know what
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  Speaker 3: you do. So when they give you feedback, they're giving
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: you honest feedback, but they're not your audience. And if
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: your message isn't clear for the audience, then no, they
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  Speaker 3: don't get it. But you're the person they're looking for.
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  Speaker 3: But that's on me as the person to try to
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  Speaker 3: figure out how do I explain things in such a
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: way that the person gets it. And that's what I
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  Speaker 3: call that, you know, it's back and forth because you
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  Speaker 3: get it clear or you don't have it clear, but
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  Speaker 3: one person gets it. And the other people are like,
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  Speaker 3: what is she talking about? And that's hard because I
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  Speaker 3: think for us as content creators, we think then, okay, well, dang,
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  Speaker 3: no matter what I do, it's never quite right.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: Well, you have to remember, it's right.
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  Speaker 3: It's just not right for you. Meaning that, you know,
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  Speaker 3: you get it, but your audience doesn't get it.
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  Speaker 1: Well, you know, me being as simple as I am, Taz,
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  Speaker 1: the way I equate it is going into a restaurant
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  Speaker 1: and it may be something that the restaurant has that
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  Speaker 1: I would like, but because of the way they present
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  Speaker 1: it on the menu, it's not clear to me. So
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  Speaker 1: I don't know that that's actually something I like. You know,
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  Speaker 1: I need simple words. I need meatloaf. I need chicken.
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  Speaker 1: I don't need the bushes and the things, you know,
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  Speaker 1: because I'm like, I don't even know what this is.
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  Speaker 1: That's the way I look at it. You know, I
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: equate things to menus a lot because I think a
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  Speaker 1: lot of times when people go to places, what do
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  Speaker 1: we do? We look at the menu. When you get
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: a book, what do we do? We look at the
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  Speaker 1: back to see, okay, am I going to see myself
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: in this? Am I going to see something I'm interested in?
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: But I want to talk about those who do get it.
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: Because you've been able to have people get it when
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: it comes to your books, to your shows, to your services.
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  Speaker 1: How does that feel to know when you are making
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: that connection and people do get it, how does that
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  Speaker 1: make you feel about the work you're doing?
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  Speaker 3: It really kind of strikes stopping at the gas station
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: and getting some gas and I have enough.
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: Money to fill up.
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  Speaker 3: I'm just, my tank is full because then I'm like, yes,
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  Speaker 3: because they are receiving they are now able to benefit
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  Speaker 3: from that in their goals, their purpose, whatever they're working on,
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  Speaker 3: they're able to see the benefit of it. And, you know,
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  Speaker 3: to me, that's the reason why we do the work.
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  Speaker 3: Even if I were to just be just a traditional educator,
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  Speaker 3: I'm educating my students on whatever topic it is so
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  Speaker 3: that they can have a better life, so that they
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  Speaker 3: can then go and impact someone else's life. And to me,
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: to be able to do that and, you know, pay
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  Speaker 3: it forward is, That's what this world should be all about.
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  Speaker 2: That's the way I look at my life.
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  Speaker 3: You know, then my living would not have been in
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  Speaker 3: vain because I've helped someone else who then helped someone
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  Speaker 3: else and then so on and so on. So for
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  Speaker 3: me to be able to, you know, work with my
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: visibility clients, to work with my editing clients and my
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: nonprofits and to see them achieve their goals, oh, it's
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  Speaker 3: just wonderful. And when I can talk with, say, one
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  Speaker 3: of the clients and they now are like, Oh, I
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  Speaker 3: get what you're saying. Because I was thinking about it
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  Speaker 3: from my perspective. I wasn't thinking about it, as we're
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: going to use your language, from the audience perspective. And
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  Speaker 3: I'm like, oh, gosh, I guess I'm rubbing off on them. Because, again,
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  Speaker 3: you know, it's hard to make a shift. Even for me, guys,
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  Speaker 3: it's hard to make a shift when you only see
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  Speaker 3: it your way. And you know that you're doing everything great.
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: but you're not getting the results that you want. And
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  Speaker 3: for that person to basically say, that's a good idea
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  Speaker 3: because I've been on my side. I've told them what
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  Speaker 3: we're doing, but we're not telling them the steps for
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  Speaker 3: them to do what they need to do.
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  Speaker 2: And I thought, now that's great.
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  Speaker 3: So for me to be able to, you know, Oprah
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  Speaker 3: would call it the aha moment, to be able to
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  Speaker 3: facilitate that, that means then that I'm doing the work
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  Speaker 3: that I have to do in order to make sure
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  Speaker 3: that the materials, the content, the services that I'm providing
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  Speaker 3: are meeting the needs of the audience.
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  Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about the services, because here's the thing.
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  Speaker 1: Since your first book, Stronger, came out, you know, DQ
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  Speaker 1: consulting is something people see, right? But I have to say,
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  Speaker 1: you know, and it wasn't until you and I had
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  Speaker 1: a conversation, I wasn't even clear myself as to what
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  Speaker 1: DQ consulting was. other than, you know, the publisher of
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  Speaker 1: the book. Talk to us about DQ Consulting, how you
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  Speaker 1: decided to formatize, but also the different roles it now
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  Speaker 1: plays in your life and with your brand.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Sasha.
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  Speaker 3: DQ Consulting is, I've had it probably two decades, and
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  Speaker 3: DQ stands for Don't Quit. And when I created the
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  Speaker 3: company all those years ago, I knew I wanted to
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  Speaker 3: help people understand from a coaching perspective. And at that time,
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: I looked at career professional development, not understanding what that
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: foundation would become. So now what I am doing with
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  Speaker 3: DQ Consulting is I'm working with folks in disability. So
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: I've got my visibility clients. I'm helping position them. And
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  Speaker 3: that could be authors as well as organizations because organizations
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  Speaker 3: have to be positioned also. It doesn't even have to
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  Speaker 3: be office. Any type of business owner, entrepreneur, everyone needs visibility.
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  Speaker 3: But visibility can be easily.
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  Speaker 2: Gotten. Post a lot.
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  Speaker 3: People know you're there. It may not be the people
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  Speaker 3: you want to know, but somebody knows you're there. But
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  Speaker 3: positioning is something totally different. So I work with my
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: clients with that.
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  Speaker 2: Also, I work with programs and organizations.
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  Speaker 3: Regarding program reviews, policy reviews. I've been doing that for
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: probably over a decade because when I was at our
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: State Department of Education, I wrote policies for our state board.
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: And so, therefore, I'm very familiar with how policies have
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: to be written and the things that have to be considered. Also,
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: you know, I'm a 21st century after school grant writer.
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: I've also evaluated 21st century after school programs. And so,
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: And when I talk about after-school support, I'm not just
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: talking about 21st century. 21st century is federal money that
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  Speaker 3: comes through the U.S. Department of Education. But many communities
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: have after-school programming, and there may be local funds that
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: can support them. But how do you determine if your
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: program is working, getting the results that you need? How
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: do you determine if you're wanting a program, a more
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: formalized program, so that you can go after some funding?
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: How do you determine if you're actually ready? I've worked
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: with organizations who wanted 501c3s, and I've walked them through
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: that process. So, again, you know, from policy development, policy
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: reviews to program reviews. I've told some folks who I've
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: worked with, they're like, well, I don't have a program. Well,
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: I say program. Program is whatever service that you're providing.
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  Speaker 3: So if you are a– let's go if you do
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: lawn care, you have a program because you have a structure,
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: you have services that you provide that Well, you know,
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: their busy season is from spring to late fall. Well,
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: what do you do on your off-season besides being on
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: your vacation?
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: Oh, I never thought about that.
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: Well, let's look at what services that a customer would
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: need during the winter months that may need period that
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: you could do during the winter months that would then
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: give you a little additional income.
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: During the off-season.
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  Speaker 3: Well, they have a program. They don't think of it
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: as a program. It's their services that they're providing. So
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: I work with them on those sorts of things. And then,
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: of course, I work with my authors and other professionals.
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: It may be on content development. I got all these ideas,
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: but I don't know how to put it down into
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: a graphic or lay it out so that it makes sense.
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  Speaker 2: So I work with people with that.
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  Speaker 3: Again, I talked about professional positioning because positioning is everything.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: If I were to look at.
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: I'm trying to think who I could look at in
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  Speaker 3: the world that is, oh, I'm going to take Dolly
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: because I love Dolly. Dolly really positioned herself. Let's just
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: go from the education component. She wasn't an educator, but
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: she positioned herself with her book and the philanthropy of
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: giving those books back to students, making a way for
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: students all across the globe to receive books that when
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: people think, oh, gosh, Education and who has made an impact,
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  Speaker 3: Dolly did, and she will continue to make that impact.
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  Speaker 2: She saw a need. She didn't have children.
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  Speaker 3: But it was her way to give back to different communities,
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  Speaker 3: and it grew from there. That's called positioning. Did she
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  Speaker 3: do it deliberately to position herself that way? Probably not.
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  Speaker 2: Who knows?
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  Speaker 3: But she was positioned that way. And so when we
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: think about positioning, if you're looking at a particular market
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  Speaker 3: that you want to be in, you have to think
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  Speaker 3: about it. You have to plan what will that look
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  Speaker 3: like so that people will see me. And I won't
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  Speaker 3: just be one of a thousand people in that market.
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: And then a question of my book structure and development.
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: When I say book structure, everything has a structure. I
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: have a structure. Your job got a structure. They may
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: call it policy procedures. They may tell you you got
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: to do this when you come in. You got to
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  Speaker 3: clock in through the computer when you come in.
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  Speaker 2: That's the structure.
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  Speaker 3: So with books, you know, how do you want your
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: book to develop?
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: What is the audience?
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  Speaker 3: How do you want your audience to feel when they
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: read your book? Well, you have to think through all
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: those things because you then set up the structure.
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  Speaker 2: You set up the.
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: Roadmap so that they feel that when they pick the
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: book up from the cover to the last page. So,
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: of course, with manuscript development and review, The same thing,
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: what are you wanting here? And so we walk through
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: that process so that when your manuscript is actually developed,
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: it meets the goal that you want so that when
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: it then reaches the reader, you get the feedback that
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: you're wanting from your reader. And so, you know, with
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: DQ Consulting, you know, I do organizational support.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: I do the disability.
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  Speaker 3: I do the 21st century support. And then the media visibility.
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  Speaker 3: And most people probably know me, sorry, from the media
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: because they know I have the Talk with Taz show.
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: They know I have several shows, you know, Real Talk
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  Speaker 3: with Taz and Angelia, my show with my mother. And
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: then the special shows that I do. And they know,
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: of course, that I'm on the radio in Mississippi. I'm
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: also on Conversations Radio Network. So I do a lot
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: around helping other people, you know, make their dreams come true.
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  Speaker 2: So what does that mean?
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  Speaker 3: It may be that someone comes to me and says,
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: you know, I want to show, or if someone did
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: say to me they were on the ecosystem, I said, okay,
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: talk to me about what you want your ecosystem to
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: look like. Because you want an organization that functions in
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: many different ways, but it doesn't happen overnight. We have
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: to start small. And then we have to work out
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: your plan for how you're going to achieve that. So,
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: you know, again, with DQ Consultant, we offer a range
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: of services that I would never say that one size
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: fits all because I don't believe in that. So when
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: I work with someone, I want to get to know
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: the person. And then we walk step by step in
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: developing the product that they are trying to bring to
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: the market. That product could be a book. It could
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: be a program. It could be a business. It could
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: be their persona as they launch a show, a talk show,
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: a radio show. So again, DQ Consulting is my baby.
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: And she's growing up now, and so I'm so excited
• 15:51
  Speaker 3: to be able to share her with the world.
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: So, Taz, that was a lot there that you mentioned.
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  Speaker 3: Now he's going to talk about me, guys.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: No, I'm sure for the audience that was a lot
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: of information. But I want to ask you this, then,
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: about how Taz balancing that. Because there's DQ Consulting, and
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: then there is Taz, who is front-facing as the author,
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: as the media host, how do you balance how you
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: do your time when it comes to Taz, the personality,
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: and Taz, the individual who offers services to others?
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: I think that's a good question, Cyrus, for you to ask, actually.
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: And I think the way I will answer it, and
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: I know this is not going to be an example
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: that everybody can relate to, and something else may come
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: as I start to say it, The example that I
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: was going to say was that when I was an adult,
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: my master's degree, I worked full time.
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: So I went to work.
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: That was my job. And then in the evenings, I
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: went to college at night two or three times a week.
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: I went and I sat actually in a classroom. That's
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: the way I do it now. You know, I work.
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: I work. You know, and then I decide how much
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: of my time am I going to give to Taz
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: the personality. So maybe Taz the personality is going to
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: get two evenings. And then Taz the CEO, DQ consultant,
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: she don't get one. Because I have to have a
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: break from both of them in order for my mind
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: reboot so that I can see things with fresh eyes
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: And so I actively do it that way. Now, am
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: I sometimes out of balance?
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I am.
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: Sometimes, you know, DQ consultant has to be more upfront
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: because DQ consultant is not just providing services for my clients.
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: I am DQ consultant.
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: So therefore I have to think about what is it
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: that DQ consulting needs that I have to be proactive
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: in building in order to then deliver the services.
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: So that's the way I look at it.
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: And I think that, you know, looking at it from
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: work and then the other things that we do in
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: our lives, that's how I balance it. You know, single
• 18:26
  Speaker 3: moms or moms who their spouse may be deployed or
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: maybe work in a different state, they have to figure
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: out how do I work and then also take care
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: of all my child's needs and running them from this event,
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: this athletic event when my mate is not there. And, again,
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: it's the same sort of thing. I just figure out
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: what's going to work for me. And as I'm sure
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: most of those people would say, too, be willing to
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: be flexible because, you know, it works for these two
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: months out the year.
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: Then it's a different month, different responsibilities. You have to just,
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: you know, be flexible.
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: And I'll ask that question, Taz. For the multi-hyphenated people
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: that are out there that are listening that may be balancing,
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: you know, employment and then, you know, what their passion
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: may be and then, of course, other interests, how you're
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: able to balance those things. And then I appreciate, too,
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: the honesty thereof. It's not going to be perfect, right?
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: It's not going to be perfect. And I think that's
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: part of the thing for anyone who's doing multiple things,
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: trying to balance that. We're going to talk more about
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: that when it comes to the new book, though. I
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: want to say, for those who are just tuning in,
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: you're listening to Conversations Live, Dr. Teresa A. Smith is
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: back with us today, Dr. Taz. We're talking with her
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: about what it's been like for her to reintroduce to
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: many people her services through DEQ consulting, but also what
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: it's been like for her to be able to do
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: work that she loves not only for herself, but also
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: for her audience. as well. There's an interesting exchange in
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: your newest book, Cracks in the Empire, that I think
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: ties into this conversation that I've made a note of,
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: ties between the characters Desmond and Jasper. Jasper says to Desmond,
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: you keep searching for a finish line. That's the problem.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: You think rebuilding means reaching some perfect ending. It doesn't.
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: The work is a transformation. And then you write for Desmond,
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: his need for acceptance had taught him to measure success
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: through completion, recognition, and control. Now he realized that some
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: things are always a work in progress. Talk to us
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: about Taz in that. Because when I was reading this book,
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: I made a note of this exchange because I could
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: see Jasper's and Desmond in Todd's. What was it like
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: for you to have that revelation for Desmond, but also
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: to think about that revelation for yourself?
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: Oh, Sarge, you know, you're just so good.
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: It is, it's like, isn't it funny how life imitates art?
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: You know, from the perspective of, I hope I got
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: that quote right. Because it's like.
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: Those two men, they are in me.
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: And it's like a battle for good and evil because it's.
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: Like you think there's a finish line.
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: It's like, Teresa, there's no finish line. And I have
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: told myself recently, I was working on some stuff and
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: I said to Angelia, but I said to her, it's
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: a real talk thing that she get me straight. I said, Angelia,
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: I keep telling myself, if If you walked into somebody's
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: business and they did this, do you know it would
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: take them six months? And you worry because it's taking
• 21:40
  Speaker 3: you two or three weeks to.
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: Get this done?
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: Because I'm not thinking logically. Because I'm looking for completion. Well,
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: it's never going to be completed because I thought it
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: was going to be completed. And then I realized 48 out.
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: No, it's not going to be completed, Teresa.
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: Because as soon as you get some more information... Now
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: you've got to assimilate that information into what you're working on.
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: And I'm like, but God, please. And so to hear
• 22:08
  Speaker 3: you bring those two quotes out, you know, I'm Desmond
• 22:12
  Speaker 3: because I want to have completion. I want their acceptance,
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: meaning that my work is done and people get, I
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: get a chance to share it.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: That's control. But I don't control anything because.
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: Even if it's my work product, I still don't control it.
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: I don't control it.
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: And even if it's not that, you know, as Jasper said,
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: you keep searching for the finish line. Well, yeah, because
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: for me in my mind on my not so good days,
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: I think a finish line means control, but it doesn't.
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: And when you begin to understand that it's not that
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: the line keeps being moved forward and ahead of you
• 22:54
  Speaker 3: because you think you're almost ready to cross over. No,
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: it's not that it keeps being moved forward. You are changing.
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: So the line that you think that you're getting ready
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: to cross, baby, that's not the line. That's the reason
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: why it keeps moving. What you have done is just
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: grown and gained experiences to take you for where you're
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: finally going to go. But you won't get to that line.
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: Hopefully we will get to it before we leave this earth.
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: But some of us will never get there. But that
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: doesn't mean we're not successful. Because when we look back,
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: we'll be able to see all the things that we
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: built all the things that we nurtured, all the people
• 23:31
  Speaker 3: that we poured into that helped them to build things.
• 23:34
  Speaker 3: But we can look back and see it then when
• 23:38
  Speaker 3: it makes sense.
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: Well, I think it's appropriate then that the title for
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: that chapter I read from is Rebuilding Does Not Have
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: a Finish Line. I think, too, it's interesting that it
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: is Jasper's. that's able to remind Desmond about the work
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: is the transformation, which is a big key part of
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: what Dr. Taz has been able to share in her work.
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: So how does that then, having that knowledge of what
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: you just acknowledged here, Taz, totally unprompted by me, I
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: want to remind our audience that we don't control things.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: We don't, none of us, myself included. How does that
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: then help you to balance what you expect of yourself,
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: but also what you expect of others.
• 24:27
  Speaker 3: You know, I'm going to say this for the audience.
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: This work has been really good for me, Saris, because
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: I don't have children. When I, you know, when I
• 24:37
  Speaker 3: worked at the State Department, we had about 1.4 million
• 24:40
  Speaker 3: students at that time enrolled.
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: And I would say, you know.
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: That 1.4 million kids, because I don't have children. So
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: there's certain things that I didn't have to take on personally,
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: like the, I'm flexible guys, but you know, the patience
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: and the understanding where the child is learning, you know,
• 24:58
  Speaker 3: you got to keep telling them this, you know, then
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: they'll get that.
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: And then you have to teach them this.
• 25:03
  Speaker 3: I didn't have to do that because I don't have children.
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: So I don't really think from that perspective. So what
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: it did for me though, because I don't, is I
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: put unrealistic expectations on myself. And sometimes I put unrealistic
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: expectations on others because I forget we're not an island.
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: We have so many things that require our attention. And
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: so as I've gotten older and as I've done the
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: books that I've done and, you know, work is the transformation,
• 25:35
  Speaker 3: I'm realizing that, no, work is a transformation, Teresa. It's
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: still going to be work. Like on your real job, guys,
• 25:44
  Speaker 3: you know, you go in, there's always some work to do.
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: There's always going to be work with the things that
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: are our passion also. So give yourself grace. Because basically
• 25:54
  Speaker 3: that's what Jasper was trying to tell Desmond as he
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: was going through this new transformation. Because when you're shifting,
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: it's not easy. You know, you want to go back
• 26:03
  Speaker 3: to where you feel comfortable. You got some control. And
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: he was helping him to understand, no, you're.
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: A good man.
• 26:11
  Speaker 3: And it's not going to be smooth going forward. But
• 26:14
  Speaker 3: you can still achieve your goals in a different way,
• 26:17
  Speaker 3: working in a different way, but you've got to give
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: yourself grace. And so for me, I try to balance
• 26:24
  Speaker 3: those two men from time to time so that I
• 26:27
  Speaker 3: don't beat myself up and I don't beat other people
• 26:30
  Speaker 3: up through my unrealistic expectation of how things should be.
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: Well, as one book I read, Taz, reminds us all,
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: you know, change is challenging, right? And so... It is
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: one of those things. I think that's a great reminder
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: from Jasper. I read that somewhere. I don't remember what.
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: The book was, but I read that. Transformation.
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: Of course that.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: But Todd, it is great being able to see not
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: only how you are able to share what DQ Consulting
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: is doing, but also grow it and then find the
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: audience for it. And I think that is a great
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: reminder for our audience out there. As you said, I mean,
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: being able to let people know what you're able to do,
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: what you're able to achieve, but then, of course, give
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: them those tools to be able to do it. That's
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: the big thing for all of us to be able
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: to learn from. Again, everyone, Dr. Taz has been our guest.
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: Dr.
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: Taz, how can our audience stay connected with you to
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: keep up with everything?
• 27:27
  Speaker 3: Well, they can always find me on my website, which
• 27:29
  Speaker 3: is askdrtas.com. They can also follow me on Instagram, Dr.
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: Teresa Smith.com. They'll find my Linktree bio there that gives
• 27:41
  Speaker 3: them all of my social media. And they can subscribe
• 27:44
  Speaker 3: to my YouTube channel, which is at D-R-T-A-S. And they
• 27:50
  Speaker 3: can keep up with all of my programming there. And
• 27:52
  Speaker 3: also my Linktree bio is there also. And it will
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: point them to all the places where they can find me.
• 27:58
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: Well, Taz, great to be able to catch back up.
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: Congratulations on a very busy season. I'm looking forward to
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: our next chat together.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me, Cyrus.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: Glad to do it. And we thank your audience for
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: tuning in to another great segment of Conversations Live. Until
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: next time, I'm your host, Cyrus Worthing. As always, enjoy
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: your day, enjoy your life, enjoy your world. Thank you
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: for being with us here at Conversations Live. Let us
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: go make today amazing. Take care.