Mic Drop

The Energizer (ft. Rachel Sheerin)

Episode Summary

This week’s conversation with Rachel Sheerin is filled with bright spots, from our discussion about what it means to love life, to our rediscovery of what it means to measure success. Find out how Rachel went from crying on the way to work to laughing through every day, and learn the secrets of being a great MC. (By the way, they're not the same as being a great keynote speaker.) You won't want to miss this energizing, fun, and funny conversation.

Episode Notes

The Energizer (ft. Rachel Sheerin)

On powering your life and the lives of others

OPENING QUOTE:

“A lot of those titans, in 2020 and 2021, they weren't ready to say the B word yet. It wasn't viral on TikTok yet.”

-Rachel Sheerin

GUEST BIO:

Rachel Sheerin doesn't just motivate, she illuminates. She doesn't just speak, she electrifies any room. Her keynote message of finding both passion and success in life and work is amazing, but what's really made her special and such an in-demand speaker and MC is her 1,000-watt onstage performance. Her tales of resilience, hilarious misadventures and powerful insights into burnout and recovery inspire and entertain audiences all over the world. Whether she's diving deep in the topics of personal growth, lighting the path toward professional success or sharing that infectious laugh, Rachel Sheerin is not just a speaker and an MC — she's an experience.

Links:

CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:

[3:28] - Famous Words, New Meaning

What does it really mean to love life?

Just a few years ago, Rachel Sheerin was miserable, burntout, and ready to set fire to her career. Then, she did.

What came next changed everything. She began looking for joy, rather than just the next project. She began looking for ways to “move the needle,” finding ways that her life was pulling her away from happiness rather than pushing her toward it.

Loving our life means changing our mindset and our circumstances, learning to embrace what we can’t change and push past what’s standing in our way.

[7:52] - Burnout as Overcaring

Burnout comes

There’s a saying that parenting is only hard for good parents, and the same is true of career burnout. A career is only a challenge if you care about doing it well. Rachel found that her burnout came from trying to be all things, for all people, at all times.

Soon, she began learning to prioritize what mattered most in a given moment. Sometimes, that was herself. Other times, it was her community. And sometimes, it was the entire world. Avoiding burnout is about managing our caring muscles.

[16:24] - The Difference Between an MC and a Keynote Speaker

Similar backgrounds, different roles

Having seen both sides, Rachel Sheerin understands the distinction between an MC and a keynote speaker. An MC is someone there for engagement and enjoyment and event management. It's the three Es that are at the core role of an MC. A keynote speaker can definitely do those things, but it's really about their thought leadership, motivation, and whether they’re an expert in their subject. To put it more succinctly: MCs excel at delivering an organization’s message. Keynote speakers excel at delivering their own message to organizations.

[33:41] - The People Who Don’t Look Like You

Benefitting from diverse perspectives

Want to expand your knowledge, empathy, and capability? Start by expanding your openness to diverse voices. As Rachel says, it’s not about hitting a benchmark or making a token effort on an individual or organizational level. It’s about opening yourself up to exposure from people who look differently, think differently, and do differently than you. It’s the moment when you star tasking: “Gosh, what else is out there?”

RESOURCES:

[2:48] Rachel’s Blog

Follow Rachel Sheerin:

Follow Josh Linkner:

ABOUT MIC DROP:

Hear from the world’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing tipping point moments, strategies, and approaches that led to their speaking career success. Throughout each episode, host Josh Linkner, #1 Innovation keynote speaker in the world, deconstructs guests’ Mic Drop moments and provides tactical tools and takeaways that can be applied to any speaking business, no matter it’s starting point. You'll enjoy hearing from some of the top keynote speakers in the industry including: Ryan Estis, Alison Levine, Peter Sheahan, Seth Mattison, Cassandra Worthy, and many more. Mic Drop is sponsored by ImpactEleven.

Learn more at: MicDropPodcast.com

ABOUT THE HOST:

Josh Linkner is a Creative Troublemaker. He believes passionately that all human beings have incredible creative capacity, and he’s on a mission to unlock inventive thinking and creative problem solving to help leaders, individuals, and communities soar.

Josh has been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which sold for a combined value of over $200 million and is the author of four books including the New York Times Bestsellers, Disciplined Dreaming and The Road to Reinvention. He has invested in and/or mentored over 100 startups and is the Founding Partner of Detroit Venture Partners.

Today, Josh serves as Chairman and Co-founder of Platypus Labs, an innovation research, training, and consulting firm. He has twice been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is the recipient of the United States Presidential Champion of Change Award.

Josh is also a passionate Detroiter, the father of four, is a professional-level jazz guitarist, and has a slightly odd obsession with greasy pizza.

Learn more about Josh: JoshLinkner.com

Episode Transcription

Rachel Sheerin:

... a lot of those titans, in 2020 and 2021, they weren't ready to say the B word yet. It wasn't viral on TikTok yet.

Josh Linkner:

Hey, Mic Drop enthusiasts. Josh Linkner here. Delighted to be bringing you season two of Mic Drop. I love our conversations with speakers and industry leaders alike, so we can unpack the industry and we can all perform better. Let's get after it and get better together.

Maria Cairo:

Mic Drop is brought to you by ImpactEleven, the most diverse and inclusive community built for training and developing professional speakers to get on bigger stages at higher fees with greater impact, faster. They're not just elevating an industry that we all know and love, they work with thousands of speakers to launch and scale their speaking businesses. Accelerating time to success, earning tens of millions in speaking fees, landing bureau representation, securing book deals, and rising to the top of the field.

To learn more about the ImpactEleven community, schedule a free strategy session today by visiting impacteleven.com/connect. That's impact E-L-E-V-E-N .com/connect.

Josh Linkner:

It's not often that you get to interview a human light bulb, but that's exactly what we have in today's guest, Rachel Sheerin. She doesn't just motivate, she illuminates. She doesn't just speak, she electrifies any room. Her keynote message of finding both passion and success in life and work is amazing, but what's really made her special and such an in-demand speaker and MC is her 1,000-watt onstage performance. Her tales of resilience, hilarious misadventures and powerful insights into burnout and recovery, inspire and entertain audiences all over the world. Whether she's diving deep in the topics of personal growth, lighting the path toward professional success or sharing that infectious laugh, Rachel Sheerin is not just a speaker and an MC, she's an experience and we're so lucky to get that experience here on today's Mic Drop.

My conversation with Rachel is filled with bright spots, from our discussion about what it means to love life, to our rediscovery of what it means to measure success. Find out how Rachel went from crying on the way to work to laughing through every day and learn the secrets of being a great MC. And by the way, they're not the same as being a great keynote speaker. You won't want to miss this energizing, fun and funny conversation.

Rachel Sheerin, welcome to Mic Drop.

Rachel Sheerin:

Thank you for having me, Josh. It's great to be here.

Josh Linkner:

Among many reasons I was looking forward to today, for some reason earlier on I was kind of grumpy. And I don't even have a reason to be grumpy, there wasn't a particular incident in my life, but I was feeling a little grumpy and it actually put a huge smile on my face knowing that I was going to talk to you. And I'm quite confident that after our conversation, my grumpiness will be eradicated. I wanted to start with your personal motto. I know you, I consider you a friend, I have so much respect. But I was doing a little extra research on you and your personal motto is, "Live the life you love and love the life you Live." Would you mind telling me about that? How did you come up with that and why does that resonate so much with you?

Rachel Sheerin:

Yeah, this isn't a motto that's necessarily bespoke to me. I'm sure you could credit it to hundreds of actually different people and uses throughout time. I think the Greeks probably made it the most famous. And to me, what that resonates, at least where I am right now, where the world is right now is for a long time I didn't believe it, Josh. I just thought I was in love with the narrative that if I was going to work hard, it was going to have to hurt and success came at a price, and that there was going to be sacrifice. And I'm very proud. I'm from a long line of people who worked very hard and sacrificed a lot, not as many as others, but we had our struggles, we had our challenges for sure.

And the model my parents set, my grandparents set was one of working hard and that American dream narrative of rising to the top and achieving your goals and the blood, sweat, tears. And the idea now that I'm on the other side of burnout, which is a passion topic for me and a calling topic for me. Now that I'm on the other side, first of all, I know that it doesn't have to be that way. And secondly, that what if it was fun mentality. That work-life balance people used to talk about, I think BC times, before COVID times, people used to say ignorant things like work-life balance. And I actually think the difference-makers of the world, like you and me, our fellow speakers, our agents, our management agencies, the people we serve, the people who make a difference, there's no balance. There's blurring all the time because there's someone who needs us more at one time or that person might be ourselves.

And the reality is at our core, what if we could love the life we're leading? What if we could live the life we love? And I will tell you, I'm a testament, the life I always dreamed of having and the life I'm living right now, Josh, they're the same life. They might be actually better in reality. And this is from somebody who six or seven years ago was crying on the way to work, and who was having very scary dark thoughts and who was, by the way, grade A resentful person. I was resenting the employees I had hired, the teams I was leading, I was resenting the clients in my previous career in meetings and events. I mean, I was almost impressively bitter. And it means a lot to say you're coming to the energy recharge station known as Rachel Sheerin today to feel a little happier because that's how I really feel, and I think everyone deserves that.

Josh Linkner:

It's so cool, and I'm so happy that you reached that place. What was the catalyst or what was the trigger that you went from being commercially successful, but sort of miserable as you point out, crying on the way to work, to being the joyful, awesome person that you are now? Explain how that bridge was crossed.

Rachel Sheerin:

Yeah, I would love to tell you that it was just this great intervention. I had this big aha moment. Reality was, Josh, straight up, I ruined my career, my income, my reputation in my industry. I mean I burned it down through a series of, honestly, meltdowns. I was just acting in a way that was so incongruent with the person I was or the person I, quote, unquote, used to be. And it really forced me into, first of all, I quit with no plan. So, nothing halts your life or your mind, it focuses when you got nothing to do. And this idea of the question of I'm a workaholic, what to do about it was one that was looming. And I'll share with you, Josh, I've always been a big proponent. I love speakers, I love motivation, I love reading. I'm a perpetual learner. And I was searching for all these self-help kind of topics.

I was searching for time management. Maybe it was that I was overwhelmed with my time. I was searching for health. It's true. I could have gone to the gym a little bit more, AKA ever. I wasn't moving my body, so I wasn't moving my mind in a way. And I was searching and searching and what I really discovered, I think along the way, a big turning point for me was, first of all, realizing that burnout wasn't because I couldn't hack it. It wasn't because I wasn't a hard worker. I wasn't intelligent. It wasn't that I was a fraud or that people had done a poor decision betting on me. Burnout comes because people care deeply. I like that I over care, I think that's a superpower. I like that you care a little too much about some things.

And that to me is where we move the needle. That's where you go from succeeding to exemplary. That's where you go from success as an individual to success on a community scale on a global scale. You kick open the door of opportunity when you care a lot. And what I started to realize was kind of twofold. Number one, burnout didn't happen because I couldn't hack it. It was because I cared a lot. And number two, I didn't want to say goodbye to the person that cared a lot. I just needed to get myself under control. And sadly enough, Josh, can I tell you, I was disappointed, my parents couldn't do it for me even as a grown adult. My parents couldn't do it, my siblings, my friends, my husband. I've got a rockstar all of those, and they couldn't do it.

Even the best leaders, the people I really trusted and really cared about their businesses like my own, they couldn't do this for me. It had to be an inside job, which is great because happiness being an inside job, I'm actually quite good at that now that I took the reins back. But sometimes you got to burn some stuff down to see a little clearly through the forest. And I think that's part of the reason I do what I do. I don't want folks to have to say goodbye to people they love and things they love and titles they love and careers that they love, just to be able to find that love again, because that's some scary stuff.

Josh Linkner:

So true. And I wanted to ask you, there's a lot of times you use work-life balance, and I don't love that word so much. I think integration is a better word because we shouldn't necessarily be one person at work and a different person in personal... We're a human being, and we have many dimensions of our lives. But part of the first quote that, "Live the life you love and love the life you live." That second part, "love the life you live," which to me, I interpret that as being kind of happy where you are and being grateful and accepting things instead of being dissatisfied in every moment, always climbing for something else.

How do you balance that which is a sense of groundedness and gratitude and purpose with someone who is ambitious, not in some bad way, but really has more stuff to accomplish and wants to contribute to the world in the most noble way? So, how do you balance noble ambition with gratitude and acceptance? Because I could see if you get it wrong, back to burnout, right up the burnout lane. How do you balance those two-

Rachel Sheerin:

Totally.

Josh Linkner:

... seemingly competing forces?

Rachel Sheerin:

It's so smart. It's such a smart question because I think it shows a little bit of your wisdom coming out here because you're like, "Wait a second, it seems maybe it can be incongruent." And I'm sure you've experienced this too. Burnout actually isn't just a one-time thing. It's a circular thing. It comes back to visit. It's like trick-or-treaters. You might as well consider it. And each year it's great because we're upgrading our treats. The goal isn't to ignore it completely, the goal isn't to never feel these flames, it's to be able to open the door quick. It's to give out the biggest candy bars, so they're all happy and the burnout just takes a hike.

But I think to your question, it's really kind of a twofold thing. The first one is just consistently asking and giving yourself permission to have the answer change of, "What do I want and why do I want it?" Josh, I got brought up in a system where I wanted the top office, I wanted the top paycheck, I wanted achievement on achievement on achievement. Especially if you told me, "I don't think you should do that," or, "I'm not sure you could." I was like, "Watch me." So, to me, I really thrive off of a competitive spirit. I like that. I think it's very fun to win. I don't have to, but I think it's fun.

And in solo business, I think especially for speakers and people in the professional influence industry, I think it's challenging to get sucked in the bigger stages, more speeches, more clients, more accolades, whatever that looks like. So, what do I want and why do I want it? Some years I want to go for half a million. Other times I want to go for 1.5. And then, I have to work backwards and say, "Well, why do I really want that?" And by the way, what are the other metrics of success?

To me, I always think success as we're billed it is this arrow that just goes up, up, up. You graduate, you get a job, you get promoted, you get married, you get the car, you get the house, you upgrade the house, you upgrade the spouse. You're successful, magically. And this idea is it's not true because success is a matrix. There's only a couple roles in my life, Josh, that I really care about being the best at. So, when I ask what do I want and why do I want it? What do I want? I want a ton of time with my husband. Why do I want it? I mean, have you seen him on Instagram, Josh? Total hotty. And that's okay to say. That's okay that that's a motivator for me, right? Is it okay that I want to be home to spend time with my dog?

The other side of it is it's okay to want to be on the road more, it's okay to not want to be home for Christmas. I don't judge. I don't judge you. I don't judge anyone. It's my job to know what I want and why I want it. And maybe the secondary side of it is thinking about what are all those roles you really care about? What are the actual metrics of success you're going after? To me, the way that I oftentimes think about my goals is I think about per client, I think about client goal numbers. I think about gig day numbers. And then, I think about nights away from home numbers because those are some of my three biggest indicators.

I like working with a good amount of clients, but I want more gig days with my clients. So, I'm booking multi-day engagements. I'm on multi-year contracts, and that's the way I like to build my business because, Josh, I'm sure just like you, when your clients return to you year over year over year, you get deeper knowledge, you get better connection, you start being one of the team, they start saying things like, "We can't imagine doing this event without you." And you're like, "I know. Me too. Let's do this." And said with love, there's probably a couple of clients a year that maybe I misjudge or we don't have that specific connection. And I say, "I've loved to be in part of your event and I have some great speakers to refer to you," or, "Here's a great agency to connect with about it." So, I might offer up those ideas.

Josh Linkner:

It's so good. And so, switching gears a little bit to your work as, because honestly I could just chat with you about human psychology. I know you're obviously a certified professional behavior analyst, that'll be for a different day. But focusing on speaking and MC work for a second, you do both. And not everybody does, but I think you're really exceptional of both. Can you unpack that for us a little bit? Not everybody understands the differences. They might think, "Oh, I'm a good keynote speaker. I could [inaudible 00:14:21] MC or vice versa." Maybe just tell us what are some of the commonalities and differences of those two, which are really distinct professional offerings?

Rachel Sheerin:

Totally. Well, I'll tell you the reason I got into MCing. It was a COVID baby for me, and the reason was actually threefold. It was number one that my clients were asking for me to come back and keynote again, either virtually or in-person. And Josh, I don't know if you've ever been in this situation, but I said yes a couple times to creating brand new keynotes. And then I got to the keynote a month ahead and I'm like, "Why did I agree to this? This is not a good idea. What are we doing? What are we doing? I know so many great folks, why not refer them?" So, it was part of folks asking me back.

Another one was that folks... Maybe it was a company. I think Silicon Valley actually is a great example of this. A lot of those titans in 2020 and 2021, they weren't ready to say the B word yet. It wasn't viral on TikTok yet. And I was in year four and five of speaking at that time, and they didn't want to talk about burnout, but they wanted people to feel better. And they were like, "Can you just make people feel better in between all this?" And I was like, "Sure. Yeah, I guess so." And then, the third side of things was that there was so much changing in the events industry. And that is my background, Josh. I come from meetings and events. I was part of corporate and social events for about a dozen years and I loved it, Josh. I have seen good food change everything. I've seen a father-daughter dance that makes me cry every time. I've seen the way events transform people, and I also know how much work goes into them.

And so, that was one of those things where as we were like masking, no masking, things were changing, we had Zoom participants, all this stuff going on, I started to tap into my previous superpowers and careers and my clients started to see, "Oh my gosh, Rachel, this is a superpower of yours." So, that's how I got there. So, did I plan on this? No. Do I previously think MCs were typically entertainers? Yes, a lot of times MCs come from that background. But if I were to say difference between keynote and MC, an MC is really someone there for engagement and enjoyment and event management to be honest. It's the three Es, engagement, enjoyment, event management. And that is at the core role of an MC, whereas a keynote speaker, they can definitely do those things, but it's really about that thought leadership, it's about that motivation, it's about they're an expert in their subject.

When I say motivation, listen, brilliance can be a motivator, insight, skill development. That doesn't mean you have to be a motivational speaker. But I would say keynoters really have their own message. And I think the best MCs, I am biased, but the best MCs, take the message of the organization, the event planner and the content and elevate all of it, making sure that we set the table of inclusion, and welcome, and energy. I've got very positive energy, but we navigate it. That's part of an MC's responsibility. When you've got deep sticky stuff you're talking about, how do you crescendo back into, "And I'm so glad we're here. And our next speaker is going to talk about X, Y, Z rainbow thing"?

Vice versa, when a CEO is giving updates and it's exciting and you can hear through the excitement. This is actually a lot of work for those 400 folks out in the audience. Honoring the truth and the lived experience of both the speakers and the attendees. And making sure that if we're running two minutes late, if we're running 20 minutes early, I'm biased, but an MC really comes in handy that way. And by the way, that's not everybody's idea of fun. So, I just want to shout out. People ask all the time, "I'm a keynoter, should I MC?" I go, "Does it sound fun when things change all the time? Does it sound fun to create or run a show to you? Does it sound fun to pronounce people's names correctly and research their books and watch hours of YouTube videos before having a fireside chat? If it does, you're on a good path. But if it sounds like a lot of work, then maybe you stick to the fun stuff." Again, we all deserve to love the life we live and live the life we love.

Josh Linkner:

Well, I want to just really emphasize a few things that you said there. The most notable one that I took from that is the level of intentionality and professionalism that a great MC really brings. If I'm a speaker, I'm like, "Hey, I've got a great personality. Of course, I can MC," don't do that because you're not honoring that role. You're right, it's curation, it's tying together themes, it's making people feel a certain way, it's curating an emotional journey. And I just love the intentionality that you put behind it. And there's no wonder why everybody would...

If I was having an event, I'd hire you too for sure because you take it seriously. It always bugs me in any professional, certainly MCing or keynoting, when people are like, "Ah, I got this. It's not that hard to do." Yeah, get into it. And to do anything at a high level of professionalism, it takes real work and sacrifice. And I just really admire that you're treating it with such. That's awesome. Again, not everybody knows that much about MCing work, and I've actually never talked about it on Mic Drop. You don't have to share yours specifically, but how do fees change? So, someone comes in, does an hour keynote, or someone does a three-day MC gig, how should we think about just ratio of fees for MCing versus keynoting?

Rachel Sheerin:

That's a great question. I think like every answer, it ranges. But I will share with you my experience. I think a lot of times, just like with keynoters, just like with trainers, facilitators, MCs come at a wide range of price points for sure. And a lot of times it does depend on the background work that they're doing. Some MCs write the script. I personally enjoy writing the script. It takes pressure off my clients and it gives them the ability to edit, which is much faster for them. Other folks are like, "No, write the script and I'll read it or maybe put my edits on there." I offer a package like that too. It's easier for me. If that's what you'd like to do, no problem.

But when it comes to pricing it out, it's typically by the day. And I personally give a multi-day discount, but it is in alignment with my keynote pricing. And the reason being is because that is taking days off my calendar, so that when I'm in Orlando for a three-day event, those are three days I cannot keynote for anywhere else. I will share with you too, I think MCing, the way that I sell it a lot of times is that a client will bring me in for my message of burnout and happiness and saying, "Okay, we love the energy." Then, the upsell is often the MC either at the event for that event I'm already keynoting, or it would be for additional events. And it's great because I get to bring my bureau partners along and other speakers that I love to refer.

And so, I'm actually making my job easier when I refer clients, again, and speakers, like you're saying, great energy. Awesome. We love that and I get to boost you up. So, that looks a lot of different ways. I will say as an MC as well, sometimes you are, or at least me in the way I've presented and offer my clients, I do present a lot more consulting on the beginning or pre-event side. So, we're having more meetings with the AV team. We're having talks about pre-event content, like videos or the way an app might pop up. And then, there I am explaining how to navigate the website. So, there's more pre-work on it. And so I don't actually charge for those things. That is just part of my daily price. And occasionally you'll see me discount for multi-days.

Maria Cairo:

Becoming a keynote speaker is an amazing profession. The top performers earn millions while driving massive impact for audiences around the world. But the quest to speaking glory can be a slow route with many obstacles that can knock even the best speakers out of the game. If you're serious about growing your speaking business, the seasoned pros at ImpactEleven can help. From crafting your ideal positioning to optimizing your marketing effectiveness, to perfecting your expertise and stage skills. As the only speaker training and development community run by current high-level speakers at the top of the field, they'll boost your probability of success and help you get there faster. That's why nearly every major speaker bureau endorses and actively participates in ImpactEleven. The ImpactEleven community provides you unparalleled access to the people, relationships, coaching and accountability that compresses your time to success. To learn more about the ImpactEleven community, schedule a free strategy session today by visiting impacteleven.com/connect. That's impact E-L-E-V-E-N .com/connect.

Josh Linkner:

I am really glad you shared all that. And again, I think if you're going to do it professionally with intentionality, for anyone that's listening now that's a meeting planner, just as a speaker, the events that I've been to and contributed to when there's an MC, a great MC versus no MC, night and day. So, if you're spending $4 million to bring your senior people to Vegas for some big event, invest the extra money to have a professional MC. It's just going to make the event tie together, everyone's going to have a better time. It's an absolute no-brainer. And of course, I highly recommend the one and only Rachel Sheerin for this work.

Rachel Sheerin:

Thanks, my friend. Josh. If I could, I think meeting planners, I come from this industry. I'm PCMA member, an MPI member, a NACE member. But I think some of the things that we don't see that are actually costing us when we don't use an MC... I'll tell you, every time the CEO says, "Ladies and gentlemen," that's exclusionary language, that's isolating people, even if you're a non-binary person, if you're an ally, right? And that's such a simple example, but I'll tell you, I have a CEO who is one of my favorites, former Walmart, C-suite. He's a great person, great leader, great dad.

And Josh, I can't pay this man to say anyone's names correctly. If it's not Smith or Brown or White, he butchers them. And I'll tell you that in this global organization that he leads, when we're celebrating people from all over the world with all varieties of names, that's part of their biggest motivator for bringing me in was they just realized, first of all, that's not a confidence builder for him. But I think even more importantly, it was not the level of respect that they wanted to give their speakers the impression that they wanted to give on their audience.

And I think those are some of the invisible costs when we think about an MC. Yes, is a great an additional person on your event team? Yes. Are they great energy? Yes. Are they insightful? Sure. But they're also... I think my role as an MC, I'm so privileged to be able to do this, I'm so lucky, that it's looking out and making sure that everyone leaves an event thinking, "Wow, I was in the right place. This was great. This was for me." And it's stuff like that that we do in our daily events and in our daily gatherings that erodes people feeling like, "Hey, maybe I'm not supposed to be here," and those are those invisible costs.

Josh Linkner:

It's so true. And by the way, this thing always bugs me. I call it the transfer fallacy, where your CEO didn't do that, they hired you, which is smart. But A CEO might say, "I'm a really good CEO. Of course I can be the MC." That's like saying, "I'm a really good CEO. Of course I could be an anesthesiologist for today. Someone needs to fill in. No problem, I got a mask. All good." That's a ridiculous thing. "Of course I could be a distance swimmer, I'm a great CEO." No one would say that. Yet, someone might say, "I can just be an MC." And what happens is if you're not filling that role professionally, that role is probably causing more harm than good. So, I couldn't agree more.

Rachel, I wanted to pivot a little bit because you touched on this notion, like you said, ladies and gentlemen can be an off-putting comment. Even though it wasn't intended to be, it could be. You and I have spoken about diversity several times and I know it's super important to you. What is diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging... Why is that such a priority to you personally? And maybe help us understand your deep commitment to this topic and your commitment to helping many of us elevate our own understanding and ultimately behavior.

Rachel Sheerin:

Well, I appreciate you bringing it up. It's definitely a passion point of mine. I like to say I'm not an expert, but I am an ally. And an ally to me is somebody that talks about it and brings it up and ask questions, and then is seen struggling and messing up, and then trying better. So, definitely not perfect here. But I think to me, one of the things that has always been very important is that idea of understanding and being seen. Josh, when I was a kid in middle school, maybe I had my first group of really tight girlfriends and we would call the radio station. Do you remember this? And we'd be like, "Play I Want It That Way from Rachel to Josh." And then, an hour or four hours later, we'd finally hear I Want It That Way, dedicated from Rachel to Josh. And we'd be like, "Oh, my gosh. This is great."

And it's funny, I think about that example a ton because all of that is having confirmation of wanting to do something and then having somebody acknowledge, and then also do it. It's just this ability to be seen. And it's a simple example, but I think as influencers, as speakers, as connectors, as agents of change and difference-makers, we have a responsibility to look at, first of all, what are we representing? And then, also how are we making it better for others? There's a Michelle Obama quote I love that says that, "When the door of opportunity opens and you walk through it, make sure you pull someone through with you." I am a plus size person, I'm a white woman living in America. I have immense privilege and I also have experienced bias for a variety of reasons.

When I moved to the South, I was raised Catholic, and I remember one of the first conversations I ever had in school. I was fourth, fifth grade. Somebody goes, "Well, what are you?" And I go, "Well, I'm Catholic." And they're asking about church. And they go, "Oh, well, we're Christian." And I was like, "Yeah, we kind of are like the OG Christians. We're the ones that said he's the guy. We called dibs on Jesus first." And I remember thinking like that. Weird kid, you've got to admit. But I remember thinking like that. And what does this mean about DEIB today? Well, I think about, first of all, the resonance that I have, being myself on stage, wearing bright colors, bringing that energy. Having, honestly, as a keynoter or and an MC, a lot of focus on me. I know I make it possible for different bodies to be up there.

I think about the people I've learned from in the past and I've looked up to, it's predominantly men. I like to say that I love white men, I even married one. I'm a big fan. And I know that there is so much value in listening to different people's lived experiences. I think there's a tradition of putting, quote, unquote, experts on the stage. And I've gone through life long enough to know, my goodness, the messages that we're hearing and the stories that haven't been told yet. It's so powerful. And I think us, as speakers, again, influences, different-makers, we have the opportunity. It's easy. Of course, I want to refer my friends. I look at my friends, they're all very diverse. My bookshelf, very diverse. And I'm proud of that because I think it makes me better, it makes you better, it makes the world better.

And I recently got to interview Michelle MiJung Kim. She's got a great book called The Wake Up. And as I was talking with her, one of her big messages is that our oppression and liberation are all interlocked. And it's a very interesting concept. I happen to agree with her. And I think the world needs a lot more freedom, a lot more space. And I think it's just one of my favorite parts of, I think my role on this Earth is to make sure that I am pulling those people through with me, and that I'm making space enough for all of us, no matter what we look like, no matter where we came from.

Personally, two things can be very true. High school dropout and law school, that's part of my story. I think two things can be true. Retired Catholic and Christmas fanatic. We're all a bunch of different stories. And personally, I think that's one of the great things about ImpactEleven. There's so many diverse folks and voices and I know you all are welcoming them and bringing them through, and working on it as a group, as a core group, as individuals and leaders. So, I appreciate that.

Josh Linkner:

Well, thank you. And I'd love to actually, if you're okay, stay on this topic. I know this isn't your body of work, but I appreciate and feel your passion around it. So, I'm asking sort of selfishly, but I think for many of us, there are some people that, let's call them bigoted assholes. I'm not even talking about that. I'm talking about people that are well-intentioned, but may have some unconscious bias or may not know... They're not trying to be mean, their heart's in the right place, but what can they do to get started? How can they get a better understanding?

Because the first step into a new topic areas is hard. So, what do you say to someone like me or others who are keenly aware, they want to be inclusive, they want everybody to feel great, their heart's absolutely in the right place, but maybe they're doing something really dumb or maybe they don't know any better? What are some steps or hacks even to help someone whose, again, heart's in the right place, move in this right direction so they can show up in more in service of others and in service of diversity and belonging?

Rachel Sheerin:

Totally. Well, I mean, I'll refer to, I think a way that I learn a lot is by following great experts online. I know we've got some in the ImpactEleven community. But people who do this work around DEIB, even if it's little bits along there, we have a very generous culture in a lot of ways. The stories on the news will tell you otherwise, but people, especially in our line of work, we love to help, we love to share, we're here to make a difference. To me, I think one big eyeopener that I personally had was I started to think very early on about the people I refer and the books I refer and that are on my bookshelf, even so far as the movies or music that I like.

And I know a passion for music is an understatement for you, Josh. And I know you've got a really diverse lineup of music that you really love and respect and can pull from. And I would just say check the stories that you tell on stage. Are we honoring a diverse group of voices? And are we making sure that... Actually, I see this a lot that people use maybe poor people, or people of different abilities as these feel-good stories and is that really of service to them? Might be some of the questions. And I'll share with you my bookshelf previously, I'll tell you that probably most of my favorite writers previously have been all white women and a couple white guys thrown in. But I did not diversify my bookshelf until very recently.

I didn't read Bell Hooks, I didn't read Toni Morrison, or Ibram Kendi, or a variety of other folks. And that's really helpful to me. I listen to podcasts much differently. I think when you start to realize that maybe you are just listening or learning from people that look like you, that's just an indicator to say, "Gosh, what else is out there?" I always like looking at what historically black colleges and universities, who are famous speakers from there? They do webinars all the time. Who are the people that they're learning from? Who's AAPI organizations? Who's speaking there? What do they have to say? What are they reading? I find, maybe like you, sometimes speakers will refer to other people's works. I want to read the other people's works, right? Let's go to the source on that.

And I think from a speaker perspective, I think we all have this in the business, where if I look around to my most referred folks, they are mostly women. And that is a natural human thing that I am a woman, so I will refer women, or you're a gentleman, so you might refer gentlemen. And I would just challenge us to say where we refer is where dollars are spent undoubtedly. And there's an immense amount of privilege that a lot of us operate in. Are we making sure that we're giving multiple options? Because I think, and this is maybe a challenge that we've had in the world, it's until you ask for a woman speaker, until you ask for a Black speaker, until you ask for a Latino speaker, you're like, "Oh, yeah, I know a great Latino speaker," but they maybe weren't the top of your pile.

I think does it say not to refer your friends? No, absolutely not. Does it say that spread the love and make sure that where we spend our referrals is going to the true diversification of the world? I think so. I think so because I'd be proud to represent lots of incredible experts that just so happen to be different in background from me. So, it's no pressure, but it is worth noting it's probably natural that we refer people who are very similar to us. And it does take that effort of, gosh, who's been some of the greatest speakers you've ever seen? I'll share with you the AV teams I work with... Do you know Nando, the gentleman who survived the plane crash?

Josh Linkner:

Yes. Nando Parrado

Rachel Sheerin:

Yes. Nando Parrado. Thank you so much. I will tell you, he is the number one most remembered AV team speaker I've ever heard. These AV teams normally gloss over listening to us, and they remember him so, so well. And I think about this example, I know it seems silly, but it's like even that as somebody who's like, wow, what an incredible speaker that they remember him for his kindness, his incredible story, the power and connection with the audience. That advocacy, when you start asking different people of different backgrounds in audiences, the AV team and I, we get along, but they typically have a totally different perspective than me. I appreciate that they love his story. I'm not going to repeat that story, that's his own story, but I certainly love MCing for him too. And when folks ask, impactful speaker, he's one of the folks that's on my list.

Josh Linkner:

So good. Thank you for sharing that. Again, I know while it's not your body of work, it's important to you. And I've learned a lot from you just kind of hanging out. And as I try to get better, and I've certainly not arrived, but I'm working on it. I'll just make one comment before I move off this topic, that as an artist and I consider myself an artist, a musical artist, and a speaking artist, hopefully, and not in a smug way, in a way of always learning and trying to improve. But when you study art and creativity, the more diversity of all types you have, the better the output. So, if you have diversity of inputs, the output's going to be more glorious. And so, my only point is that I think we should embrace the ideals that you shared, not only because it's the right thing to do morally or ethically, but actually we get a benefit from it because our work and our art is elevated. So, enough said on that, but thank you for that-

Rachel Sheerin:

Totally. Josh, let's be real too, it's so much joy from helping other people. That's why referrals in this business are part of the reason I do this business. When you help someone else, it's impossible not to feel good, and it's impossible to feel quite bad about your own situation. You're like, "Well, everything might be on fire over here, but I helped." And that, I think, to your idea of that creativity and that better, helping someone else when it comes to that cycle of burnout, I can tell if I have not been as generous lately. If you pick up the phone, you help someone out, you pull someone through that door of opportunity, it's wins all across the board.

Josh Linkner:

So true. So, I hope we can hang for much longer at some point. I know we don't have all day today, but I've been really looking forward to asking you this question. So, I've noticed the way you show up with such energy, and presence, and groundedness, and generosity of spirit. And then, you talk about burnout also. So, my question to you actually has to do with the mindset and/or preparation that you do leading into an engagement, and then how do you sort of recover coming out of it?

The reason I ask is that I have to imagine there's got to be some way you frame your mind to get all that... It's like you just take the stage and light the place up and in a way that I know that intentionality has to have some focus going into it. And you pour energy into an event for the three days and you've given so much. How do you emotionally recover so you don't end up, again, in a burnout situation? So, long way of saying, can you share with me either the mindsets and/or tactics that you use to amp yourself up for these peak moments and then ultimately recover afterward?

Rachel Sheerin:

Totally. Totally. Well, yes, and I'll do the converse. When I come down from events, I'll tell you the first one is that I almost always go home, especially after MC events. It's like any stint you've been on where you're go, go, go. And then, I think you've got to end the week at home. I'm also really lucky I have great clients. I rarely leave an event where I'm like, "Golly, that was difficult." Difficult, sure, but was it fun? And did we win together? Yeah. But I almost always come home. I'm really careful about my calendar that I don't overbook. I certainly have a max number of MC engagements I do a year. Similar to keynoting. I do believe there is only so much energy output. You've got to have double the recovery space in an ideal world. So, if you keynote three times a week, I think that you've got to be home for at least four days before you can go out on the road, maybe longer. It's different for everybody.

But those would probably be the biggest things. I also will just share. I always have a clean bathtub to come home to because I totally need to take a long hot bath listening to Enya or whatever I want to do. Just a bath at my house always feels super good. But on the first side of things, the hype up, I definitely am a huge music fan. So, I've got my hype up playlist. It's got everything from Meg Thee Stallion and Cardi B to Macklemore, to The Beatles, to Billy Joel. It depends on what I need in that moment, where I'm drawing from, who I'm serving, where I am, what's going on outside.

But as corny as this might sound, I think the way that I get into that energy mode is I just think, "God, I have the best life. I do." I think about all the things going on in the world, I think about all the things I've done for a dollar previously, from working as a roofer through the summer, to being a Dairy Queen associate. So, many internships. I worked at a tax law firm for a while, roof. I think back through it, and then I think about what I'm about to do, what I get to do, what I want to do.

And early in my career, Josh, when I got my first ever national speaking gig, I was working part-time to fund building my speaking business. And I got to fly from Vegas to Houston, and Houston was this big gig. And the plane within 30 minutes of taking off loses its engine. We're returning back to Vegas airport. I am silently crying. The masks are down. Here I go. I think this is the end. And it was my first ever national conference. We had 600 people in the audience, all this great stuff. And I remember, I... This is maybe two years after I had quit my job at this point. I remember silently crying and I wasn't scared that I was going to die, Josh.

I was so thankful that I had done this, that I had bet on me, that I had listened to this calling of serving others and spoken up and spoken out, and people believed in me. The first check I ever got was $250 and I just remember thinking, "Gosh." When I got to 2,500, I was, "Oh, my gosh." When someone wrote me a check for 25,000, "Ah." You have these moments. And I was just so glad that I had done it while I could do it. And if I could do it again, that'd be great, but I Had. I have great siblings, I have great family, I have a great dog, great husband, great work. I choke up thinking about it.

And Josh, I carry that. That story, it's a core story of mine that I share, depending on the audience. And every single time it gets me. I get to do this. This is the best. It's just the best. And when you're that deep in gratitude, Josh, how can you not get hype? How can you not be in service of the audience? How can you not be like, "Oh, my gosh, this is so not about me." When I'm up on that stage, Josh, it's not about me, it's about them, and it's about what is absolutely possible. Could you imagine? Because I know I've been served like that. And when you really feel it, when you know that it's not about me, it is about them, when you know that you are so grateful for this, Josh, like jackpot, we are the luckiest people that get to speak today, and I feel that every time. If you can tap into that, you're good.

Josh Linkner:

What a wonderful place to end our conversation. And I'm very lucky, we're all very lucky that we got to spend some time with you. What a privilege to have someone so full of life, so full of love and contribution. Ranging topics from diversity and belonging to Cardi B, and everywhere in between. What a wonderful conversation with my friend Rachel Sheerin. And I just want to end with wishing you that you continue to live the life you love and love the life you live. Thank you, Rachel.

Rachel Sheerin:

Back at you, Josh. Thank you.

Josh Linkner:

Radiant, bombastic, exuberant. I'm running out of adjectives to describe the gift that is Rachel Sheerin. We've been so lucky to have her with us today, not only because she's so fun to hang with, but because of the insights that she brought to Mic Drop. Here are some of my favorites. Number one, she showed us that burnout isn't a failure to try or not being able to hack it. It shows that we care deeply about something and that's never anything to be ashamed of. Number two, I was impressed by how candidly she talked about her experiences with burnout and the way it turned her into something that she just wasn't.

Can you imagine Rachel Sheerin being anything but Rachel Sheerin? It just goes to show the importance of her message, helping people get back to being the most authentic version of who they are. And number three, Rachel's made a career out of bringing people the message that she once needed most. If you're a new speaker trying to discover your own unique value, maybe that's a great place to start. Thanks, Rachel, for giving us a big boost of energy and confidence. You've lit us all up. And I know you'll continue to do the same for lucky audiences around the world.

Thanks so much for joining me on another episode of Mic Drop. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. If you love the show, please share it with your friends and don't forget to give us a five-star review. For show transcripts and show notes, visit micdroppodcast.com. I'm your host, Josh Linkner. Thanks so much for listening, and here's to your next Mic Drop moment.