Latest / Six-Figure Chicks / Episode 28: Forged in the Fire with Cheryl Rhodes Alexander
Transcript
- speaker-0: Hey there, welcome back. Six Figure Chicks Podcast. I am joined by a woman I just recently met, but I'm so glad she's in my little inner circle now. I have a Cheryl Rhodes Alexander here with me. so Cheryl, why don't you share a little bit about your awesomeness with the community? speaker-1: Thank you so much, Mel. Excited to be here and glad we made the connection. I am Cheryl Rhodes Alexander. I am the founder and CEO of Cheryl Rhodes Alexander LLC. I am an executive HR strategist and organizational leadership advisor with more than 30 years of experience in the corporate HR and leadership roles. But the reality is, I'm also a woman whose story. Whose life story was forged in the fire, and whose deepest wounds have become my greatest wisdom. In addition to my corporate work, I also lead life design coaching, which is my hard work. And that's where I get to lead and guide women who are navigating identity shifts, personal growth, and life transitions and what I've discovered. And doing that work with both areas, is that our personal lives and our professional lives are holographic. So how we show up and how we lead in one area is always reflected in the other areas of our life. And we can't separate the two. And in the work that I do, whether it's in the organizational arena or in the personal growth arena, it's the same strategy, same focus. Alignment, clarity, and wholeness. speaker-0: I love that. So is your logo, like I love it, the butterfly kind of has that flame color in it. Is that what where that's from? Yes. speaker-1: Yes, yes, forged from the fire. And that was given to me by a a coach I was talking to. We were having a conversation. And she says, That's a flame. That's a butterfly. You're you're a butterfly coming through the flow. okay. And voila. speaker-0: And there it is. Like I love how things like that just come together. And then you're like, wow, okay. What was that? Let's write that down. Or let's not forget this moment. I'm like that because I'm getting older. So I'm like, hold on. Take a note. But okay. So like all the giggles, what's one fun fact that not many people know about you? speaker-1: One fun fact about me is that I'm the founder and creator of Baskets of Faith, which is a gifting ministry. So I create faith-based gifts and journals. I custom create journals based on whatever the client wants or whatever, however, the spirit has led me to design a journal. And I and I love it. That's that's my passion work. speaker-0: my gosh. So did you do that before your business? speaker-1: That was the calling, yes. That was the call that l opened the door to the corporate and the personal growth word. speaker-0: Okay, I love how that goes into each other. And yes, baskets are great because we're always looking for something different, right? you know, it's that's like one of those little bitty challenges we all face. I was just talking to my team at Cloversy, and we have a client that that does exactly that. They're always researching the perfect gift to give, because they're we're so inundated by like all the same. Coffee cups and pens. speaker-1: Right. And I don't do coffee cups. I can if that's what they want, but that's not what I do. It's it's more of the the personal, the transformational. Yeah. Because I again I just see the intersection of our lives on so many levels and just doing my own personal work where I'm very reflective about things and I think about it and it also motivates me. And like I said, my story came from really reflecting on those deepest wounds and now they serve as my greatest source of wisdom. And that's what I love and with hope for everyone that they have that opportunity to be able to pull from their experiences from those moments that have been painful or challenging for them and find a nugget of wisdom in that. speaker-0: Yeah, I love that. So you're helping give them the tools so that they can find those gold nuggets. but tell me about you, like what challenges have you surpassed in maybe, you know, your current business or your past business experience? speaker-1: wow, it's all the same, really. the biggest challenge for myself was realizing that success and alignment are not the same. And what I mean is throughout my career, I was always striving, I was always leading, and everything was tied to achievement, accomplishment, my titles, my roles, or compensation and things of that. But the reality. I was just operating in a cycle of patterns and not really knowing who I was. And one of the defining moments in my life, not just my career, but in my life, was when I was the victim of identity theft and a cybercrime. And in the process of restoring my physical identity, I discovered or rediscovered. my spiritual identity and that shifted everything for me how I showed up because I realized they didn't just take my identity and they didn't just take money from me. They took my identity and that was huge. speaker-0: Yeah, that's scary. Like it's you know, I just my business insurance, they're like, You need to be cyber protected. I'm like, I speaker-1: yes, that shifted on so many levels for me, not just what I do in business, but even personally. I'm very guarded about my identity and things. When I see offers to do this or that, let me do some research first. Yeah. See how legit you really are. Let me call the Better Business Bureau. Let me do the all of that. speaker-0: Yep, doing your checks and balances. speaker-1: yes. So that was a costly lesson. speaker-0: Then like Yeah. gosh, right. and that's what we do. We teach a lot from our our life lessons. because as simple as we think it is, or you know, once we understand something and we use it, so many other people are like, wow, okay, I didn't even think about that. so what's one piece or what's a tip that you would give somebody else facing kind of like this same roadblocks? speaker-1: I would say don't just evaluate your strategies, evaluate your patterns, how you're operating, because how you operate always shapes how you perform and what your outcomes are going to be. speaker-0: Mm, I love that. Okay. So I always tie this into six figure chicks just because kind of like you said, you know, our personal and professional lives go together so much so and impact our future. So many of us forget what happened or what we went through 20 years ago. But those moments, those chapters of our life help shape who we are today. And so then What would you tell your younger self if you could talk to her now? speaker-1: If I could tell the younger Cheryl of me, I don't have to prove my value by overextending myself. My presence, my voice, and my perspective carry the weight already. I don't have to do I don't have to try to do more to be more. I'm enough. And I don't have to separate who I am from what I do or how I lead. And had I learned that earlier. I would move with much more peace and a lot less pressure or trying to prove my worth or value, not just to the world and to others, but more so to myself. speaker-0: Yeah, no. And I love what you said about, you know, thinking back to when it was like working to get the next title and you know, like my corporate days, women didn't come together and uplift each other. We just like were who can get to the top the fastest and yeah, right, have the biggest title and pay. Yeah, you know, and so like what would you help somebody now? kind of stand above this crowded marketplace, especially as entrepreneurs, because, you know, coaching, virtual assistants, they're everywhere. speaker-1: For me, what how I see myself as different how I differentiate myself is I work from the intersection of leadership and identity because those two have been the cornerstones of my career, of my life. And as I said, throughout my professional career, I thought I had to separate the two. I could not show up as the professional, as the strategist, as the leader, and bring my lived experiences along with me. I had to park those at the door or leave them behind. But the reality is they're they're interconnected. And had I not had those lived experiences, I couldn't lead at the level that I did. It is from those lived experiences that my leadership was deepened. And that's what I think sustained me throughout my career. And I know that for so many of us women, we have we're in a position where we feel we have to choose one or the other. And the reality is we don't. speaker-0: Right. Yes, we we don't. And I love that you said, you know, you matter, like we do matter. And for us to be able to stand up confidently in that crowded marketplace or that job that you just do not think does not think that is gonna go forward, you know, just take a step back and and look at the bigger picture because you know, you all deserve so much more. and so with that, it's like I I love asking the the guests on the show about like the favorite song because like even when we're down it's like okay let's just put on a song it's change our attitude like even before the show you were like you look like you're grounding yourself. So sorry, before we get to the song, tell me about that. Because like when I was, I usually bring the guests on, we chat, make sure everything's good. Then I I give the forewarning, we're going live. Are you ready? But then you just kind of like quiet it down, close your eyes. What is what what did you do? speaker-1: For me, that means I got to connect to for me, my divine source, which is is God. And I need, I need him. I need his presence. I need his power. I need I need to feel his touch in that moment because I'm not sitting here in my own strength. I know it's his strength that has allowed me to be here, that allowed us to meet and to connect. And so I just need to honor that. speaker-0: I love that. my gosh. Thank you so much for sharing that. Because so often we do just need to stop and take a pause and like just be okay with what we're going to be doing. And I I appreciate you sharing that a little bit more, you know, personal side of like because so many people can connect with you and be like, yeah, Cheryl, like I need to do that more. speaker-1: Well again, like I said, we've been conditioned that my personal cannot be aligned with my professional. I w it's one or the other. And I refuse to at this stage stage of my life, I refuse to settle or have to choose between one or the other. I can't be the professional that I am if it weren't not for the personal growth and the things that I've experienced and the wisdom that I've gained. So if you want to see this HR strategist, this expertise come. Then you gotta have the whole package. It's not one or the other. You gotta take it all. speaker-0: You gotta have all of Cheryl guys. speaker-1: I love me. speaker-0: Okay, so all of you, what is your song? speaker-1: My go to song is Trust in the Lord, Trust in God by Elevation Worship. I don't care. When I hear that song, it just shifts the atmosphere for me. speaker-0: Okay, I am gonna have to listen to that. So I'm gonna find it on my Spotify and I'm gonna listen to it on my way because right after this I'm going to a photo shoot with some fellow six figure chicks. So that's where your song is gonna be on our playlist. speaker-1: I I'm telling you, it's gonna shift the atmosphere while you're in the car, listen to it. Anytime I hear it, that's it. speaker-0: so excited like that's probably the most excited I've been from a song. so as we wrap up, tell tell the audience, share with them the best way to find you online. We'll we'll definitely share all your links and all that good stuff, but how can they find you online? speaker-1: Best way to find me is through LinkedIn under Cheryl Rhodes Alexander or visit my website, lifedesign.com and life design is spelled different. L-Y-F-E-D-S-I-G-N.com. speaker-0: I love it. Okay. Well, thank you so much for being on this show and sharing some golden nuggets with our audience. speaker-1: Thank you so much for this opportunity and I love to be able to connect with those who are listening. speaker-0: Yes, yes. So definitely everybody have a conversation with Cheryl. You are gonna be all smiles just like I am. And those light bulbs are gonna go off. but thank you so much for joining us. Together we rise, together we change lives.