The Confident Podcast
The Confident Podcast, presented by Lead and hosted by certified coach and Lead President Lisa Tarkington, is your go-to resource for mastering confidence and leadership. Whether you're battling self-doubt, imposter syndrome, or just looking for a space to feel understood, this podcast offers real conversations, practical tools, and expert insights to support your growth. You’re not alone in your journey—no matter where you are in life, you'll find motivation, connection, and strategies to step into your full potential with confidence.
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The Confident Podcast
EP 196 | What’s In and What’s Out for Personal & Professional Development This Year
What’s in and what’s out for professional development in 2025? In this episode of The Confident Podcast, I break down the trends shaping how we grow—ditching outdated, cookie-cutter approaches and embracing strategies that truly align with our values. We’ll explore what habits, mindsets, and leadership styles are worth investing in and which ones are holding us back. From prioritizing well-being over hustle culture to embracing emotional agility and mindful productivity, we’ll discuss how to step into your ‘zone of genius’ and leave behind distractions like toxic positivity and drama. Plus, I’ll share a powerful practice my husband and I use to set meaningful goals and sync our aspirations for intentional growth. Whether you're crafting your own 'ins and outs' list for the year or looking for fresh ways to elevate your leadership, this episode equips you with the insights to navigate 2025 with confidence and clarity.
- 0:00: Leveling Up
- 10:59: Personalized Development and Well-Being Shift
- 23:48: Navigating Trends, Growth, & Productivity
- 34:41: Setting Impactful Goals
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And when we don't take these breaks, when we are not thinking about our own well-being, we are not showing up our best selves. Heck, we can't be as successful when we don't do that. Welcome to the Confident Podcast. I am Lisa Tarkington, your guide to mastering confidence and leadership. As the business and life coach, keynote speaker and the driving force behind LEAD, I am here to help you break free from self-doubt, silence the imposter syndrome, and step into your power as the person you're meant to be. If you press play today, it's because you're ready for something bigger. Each week, I'll bring you real, raw conversations and actionable insights that will empower you to redefine your leadership, reclaim your confidence and transform into the unstoppable force you've always known that you could be. This isn't just another podcast. It's a journey we're on together, so buckle up and let's dive into this transformation. Your next level awaits. Hey everybody, welcome back for another episode of the Confident Podcast. I'm your host, lisa Tarkington, and I am excited for an amazing year, so we've already had some amazing guests already on the show this year. We're already two months into the year and this is my second solo podcast, so normally I have more, but we've just had some amazing guests coming on to talk about their stories, about confidence, about being vulnerable, and you're just going to see that theme through the rest of the year. You're going to see us show up ourselves, who we are, being authentic and then really helping you guys be inspired through our tips, our stories and just our guests. So I'm really, really excited for today's topic. So we're going to be diving in to a topic all about leveling up. So this year, for me, my word is discipline. I had that word last year, but I really truly believe that setting the word, setting your intention for the year, is really important. I also think it's important to think about well, what am I going to take from 2024, so the year prior and bring into 2025? What am I going to leave out? And so this episode is going to be all about what's in and out for personal and professional development for this year, and this is my take. So obviously, there's a lot of research out there. I've done a lot of digging, I've done a lot of research on things, but I'm really excited for this topic for today because when we start the new year off, we're like new year, new me, we have our intentions, we set our goals.
Speaker 1:We were out to dinner the other day with some friends and it was really cool to hear how many of them, as couples and as individuals, were deciding to set goals and think about how we want our year to look. And when we think about those things, it's also checking in on those goals. So normally what me and my husband do is we have this like cool thing we've been doing since we were dating where we would write our goals in December for the next year and subconsciously we would just remember them. We would never look at those goals. Now, I had them somewhere else, a little bit for me, but some of the goals I just didn't look at and we would always put them in an envelope and put them away. We wouldn't look at them to the following December, which was pretty cool to look at.
Speaker 1:What did I accomplish based off of what a year prior self wanted to have and to do? But this year what we did is we created a notes app on our phones where we can collaborate and we have them all listed out because we have more goals, I guess, as a couple, this year than we normally do. Usually we have them very separate and maybe one or two that are together, but this year we just had a lot that we were really aligning on. I mean, we've been married a little bit longer than the year prior and what we wanted to do is just make sure that we were doing that. And so the other thing that we discussed is what are we going to do this year? That's in, what do we want to be intentional about and what do we want to let go of? So there's going to be a lot of advice for today. There's going to be a lot of gold as well, and so I promise you that you're going to take a lot of tools away. You're going to take a lot of tips away, because I've done some digging, I've looked at the trends and then I've really taken all of it and distilled it down to really help you focus on what to leave behind in 2024, but what to also bring in into 2025. And so this really matters.
Speaker 1:This whole subject really matters a lot to me, because I love personal and professional growth. I'm one of those individuals who takes a course every year. Yes, I'm taking two right now. My husband probably wants me to take a break sometimes. I'm taking two right now. My husband probably wants me to take a break sometimes, and I just got Mel Robbins' book Let them in, and so I'm going to be reading that with my best friend as well.
Speaker 1:And so it's important because when we're looking at what's in and out for the year, we have to think about like, well, the world is evolving, things are changing. Sometimes there is these flashy trends out there, sometimes we're chasing the wrong thing and sometimes we just need to go whoa. I need to step back and think about where I'm spending my time, where I want to spend my time and what I want to do with my time. You know, and I think it's really cool to think about how what could be in is like you know, how different generations are working, how we're using AI, how we're really going to be more intentional with our time, and so this episode is really going to cut through the noise and zero in on practices that I feel really strong about. I also see a lot of trends around, and I see this with my coaching clients and just whenever I'm doing a keynote, speaking what people come up to me about, and I really want to help you move the needle this year on your confidence, on your leadership, your well-being and just who you are as a person. And again like this hits home for me very much because, like I said, every year I set goals and every year I look at what I want to focus my time on, and with my word being discipline.
Speaker 1:This year, one of the actions that I've taken in my life is, every morning I have a to-do list. I make sure I get five things done before I can do anything else throughout the day. Now we're only two months into the year, but I'm doing a pretty good job right now and so hopefully I continue to do that as we move forward throughout the year. But we'll be diving into that in the ins and outs. So what you guys can expect today is I'm going to take you through what is out for this year. What is out? You know we're already two months in, so you've already kind of felt like you know, what am I going to stick to? What am I not going to stick to what feels right?
Speaker 1:I'm going to be talking about what's in, what's that fresh approach that you could be looking at, or maybe these are already things that I talked about in the podcast last year, but I'm bringing them back. They're in, they are gold and I want you to really focus on them. And, of course, I'm going to give you tips and strategies and I really just want you to dive in. So if you're driving, if you're multitasking, go ahead and listen, but if you can touch your phone or grab a notebook, I suggest taking them down. You can also check out our show notes for some more information, as well as our social media as well, because we are going to be giving you guys all of the nuggets. So it's time to dive in, because I can't wait any longer, because I have been thinking about this episode for about two to three weeks. We're recording it, we're in studio and we're going to be talking about what's out, what are the trends, what are the mindsets, what are the strategies that are no longer serving us, that we're leaving in the past, that we're not bringing into 2025? And if you already have starting in the year, that's okay, Just kind of like shove them out for a little bit. So I really am excited for this. We're going to start with the outs and then we'll get into the ins.
Speaker 1:So the first one is outdated network tactics, and I really thought about this one a lot because I struggled a lot with networking in last year, trying to be very authentic, be who I am, try to make relationships really strong and really understand, like well, what has been effective for me when it comes to networking and what hasn't been effective and I will tell you what is not effective is just handing my card out, handing my card out to whoever. What I've really noticed is, when I'm intentional about who I'm networking with, I'm not going to be able to do that. I'm going to be able to do that. I'm going to be following up with them. Setting up time with them and getting to know them has been a game changer. Also, what I've also done is I'm going to call it a Rolex or one of those real things that you used to get all your context cards in. We don't do those anymore. I don't think maybe my mom's the only one that does that, but I've been kind of going back into the archives of people who have been part of my journey for a long time and I'm reconnecting because I already have a relationship with them. So I think what's out this year for outdated networking tactics is just being blind with your networking. What's in this year with it is being intentional, right, being intentional with our time, being intentional with people's times and being honest about, well, what do I want to get out of this? And I will tell you that I've already seen a big game changer of making time for these individuals in my life already in this year and watching my networking change. So again, outdated. Get rid of just throwing it to the wind. Make some genuine connections.
Speaker 1:The next one overconsumption without action. So I just shared earlier that I love personal and professional development. I absolutely love it. But this year, what is out is endless consumption of self-help books, podcasts and courses without action. So I'm still all about consuming these things. You're going to see me. I just shared the book that I'm reading. I've actually already read two this year because it's very easy for us to say I need to learn more, I need to learn more and just like consume, consume, consume because we feel that's productive, but really what we need to do is switch our gears and say, okay, I just learned this. Now how am I going to put this into action? What am I going to do to change these things? Because we can talk about it all the time.
Speaker 1:I'm one of those people like I've had multiple conversations in 2024 about oh my gosh, I'm going to do this and I want to do that, and I finally stopped myself and I said, okay, then just do it Right. And so what's in this year and like what's out is really like over consuming, over consuming things without action. Make action After you listen to this podcast, make an action. Be intentional about what is your list of outs, what is your list of ins? What are things that I'm sharing today that you're like, oh yeah, I need to add that to my list. Add it then do it right. It's so easy to say like I'll just listen to a podcast again, I'll just listen to this, I'll read this other book, but what I want you to do this year is action. So overconsumption without action is out.
Speaker 1:The next one one size fits all development plans. So I have been a teacher and an expert in this area for years almost a decade now and one of the things that I believe is truly out this year I think it should have been out for years, but it's really about how development isn't one size fit all journey. So whenever I'm doing a keynote, whenever I'm doing a workshop, especially whenever I'm doing one-on-one coaching or group coaching, I have to also make sure that whatever I'm creating is a roadmap or a blueprint for everybody, and then they can take it and make it their own. What I really used to struggle with as an individual is I would look at what other people were doing and say, okay, I need to do that, that's working for them. I need to do that Instead of taking that strategy, looking at my own life and say, okay, I need to do that, that's working for them. I need to do that Instead of taking that strategy, looking at my own life and saying how does those two pieces fit and what are some things that I need to do to customize it for myself. So one size fit all. Development is out. This year.
Speaker 1:What I want you to do is, no matter what you learn, whatever tactic it is, whatever strategy you learn, make it for yourself, align to your values, align to your mission as a person. There is no cookie cutter roadmap for anybody. Everybody is different. We are all unique. I love that about us and I really want you this year to think about your development as what do I personally need? And then you can take the courses. You can take the coaching. You can take the group coaching, the courses. You can take the coaching. You can take the group coaching, the workshops. You can download Lead Within our platform with Lead, whatever you need to. But take those things and then make it your own. And I think one of the things that I probably press probably a little bit more on people than they probably realize is, is that for me, that's why coaching is so important and that's why being a coach coach is so important to me, because it is not about development for one size fits all. It is literally customizable for everybody on their journey. And if you haven't invested in coaching or even thought about it, I would just suggest looking into that, because that's going to be in this year and it is a game changer. So, again, what's out is a one-size-fits-all development plan Next up, ignoring well-being in pursuit of success.
Speaker 1:This one's out, this one's been out. But if you haven't taken it out, I want you to take it out of your system. I want you to take it out of your year. I want you to take it out of your week. Now I'm not saying don't pursue success or hustle or grind when I'm in my area of. I just want to get all of these things done. There's no stopping me. I love it. I love it. I get so excited. But many times what we do is then we put the well-being of ourselves, our families, our community relationships on the back burner. And that's out this year. Because breaks are super, super important and when we don't take these breaks, when we are not thinking about our own well-being, we are not showing up our best selves. Heck, we can't be as successful when we don't do that. As someone who has burnt out a few times one time that's landed me on bed rest for a week I have never felt more strong about this one, because what I have learned over my years is that hustle's so fun sometimes. The grind's fun. Sometimes.
Speaker 1:Being an entrepreneur has its highs and lows, even if you're not an entrepreneur. I have friends in corporate small businesses, stay-at-home moms or stay-at-home dads. Everybody's got their highs and lows. But when you're pursuing success and pursuing your goals, you cannot put your well-being on the back burner. And if you are noticing that you are, I just want you to have that reality checkup. I already said that's out. I need to go to the gym, or I need to do a meditation, or I need to go for a walk, or I just need to take a break or a day off, and I really want you to hold yourself accountable this year, because pushing and ignoring well-being in the pursuit of success is out this year and I do not want you to bring it into your life at all, because I promise you you will be a much, much happier person.
Speaker 1:The next one, this one's going to be a little hard for me, but I really like this one. At the same time, it's going to be toxic positivity. So hear me out when I say this. But how many times in a day do we say I'm fine, I'm fine, everything's fine, I'll get through it. I'll get through it. It's no big deal, but inside we just like, have this feeling of like our hearts racing, we have anxiety, we have no idea what's going on and all we're doing is trying to stay positive because we think that that's going to get us through it. Now, I'm not saying don't be positive, because I am all about it. This is what I teach.
Speaker 1:I have seen a strong research around how positive mindset has changed your life. I see it for myself. But the difference is is when we force ourselves to not feel what we're feeling, we are missing out on opportunities to really challenge ourselves, to grow as people and reflect. And so if you keep telling yourself everything's fine, and so if you keep telling yourself everything's fine, pretending it, it's going to eat you alive. It's going to really frustrate you, and for me, I think I did that a few too many times in my 20s, where I just acted like everything was fine and then I would have a mental breakdown. Your life you're going to have challenges, but what I want you to do is you can stay positive, but that doesn't mean that you go without acknowledging your challenges, without acknowledging how you're feeling, without having real emotions and having space for those, and then also focusing on how I'm going to get through these things, how am I going to be resilient? And so making time for this is going to be extremely important, because I think what we do many times is we act as a society as everything's fine. We post all these things on social media about how life is perfect and life is amazing, but it's okay to have these challenges too. Heck, I will say, like some of the podcasts that I listen to, things I read on social media or people that I relate to is when they're positive, but then they're also very honest about what's going on in their life. So you can find that balance. So toxic positivity is out this year.
Speaker 1:Taking care of your health isn't always easy, but it should at least be simple. For me, the journey to feeling my best has always been about small, sustainable habits. That's why, for the last four years, I've made AG1 part of my daily routine. Actually, it's part of my whole household's routine. Every morning, it's just one scoop mixed with cold water. Every morning, no exceptions. It's my go-to for a simple yet powerful way to support my health and feel energized for the day ahead. With AG1, I'm covering my daily dose of essential vitamins, minerals and pre and probiotics and much, much more, and it's all in one step. So I have noticed for myself I have much better, improved digestion, I'm in a healthier mood and I have more energy. And let's be honest, when I feel my best, I can give my best to my friends and my family and work, and that's why AG1 is not just a product I use, but it's part of my commitment to self-love and taking care of myself. What I love most about it is how easy it is to stay consistent. If I'm at home, I mix a scoop of AG1 into my water first thing in the morning, especially before coffee, and if I'm on the go, I have my individual travel packs ensured I never miss a day. It's just a small benefit that adds up to big benefits, and that's why I just love AG1.
Speaker 1:So, with this new year, try AG1 for yourself. It's the perfect time to start a new healthy habit. As a special offer, ag1 is giving new subscribers a free $76 gift when you sign up. That includes a welcome kit, a year's supply of vitamin D3 and K2, and five free travel packs in your first box. So visit drinkag1.com slash theconfident to grab yours today. That's drinkag1.com slash theconfident. Let's start this year off a little bit healthier. Drinkag1.com slash the confident. Let's start this year off a little bit healthier.
Speaker 1:Are you ready to take control of your growth and make lasting, impactful changes? I know what it feels like to be stuck to wanting more clarity, confidence and direction, but not knowing where to start, and that's why I've created my one-on-one coaching program, designed to meet you exactly where you are. With years of experience coaching leaders, entrepreneurs, executives and inspiring professionals, I've helped people just like you overcome limiting beliefs, find balance and achieve their goals with personalized strategies that actually work. My approach is all about practical, actionable tools tailored to your unique challenges and dreams. Whether you're a business owner building sustainable systems, someone craving more confidence and balance, or a leader looking to step into the next level of their career, this program is for you. If you're serious about creating real change and ready to invest in yourself, visit lisatarkingtoncom slash coaching, fill out the form online and I will reach out to you directly, or you can follow me on Instagram at lisatarkingtonofficial, and you can just DM me the word coach and I will send you the information. Also, if you're still not sure and you just want to dive a little bit deeper into your personal professional growth, just send me a note again the word mailing list to my DMs and I will add you to my newsletter. So let's unlock your potential together, because your future self deserves it.
Speaker 1:The next one sticking to your comfort zones. It's time. It's time Whatever is in your mind of like. I really want to do that this year. Do it. I really have learned so much about getting out of my comfort zone in the last three years. You've probably heard it so much on this podcast about rebrands, name change, getting new roles, taking on new responsibilities. I have seen so much space for me where I have not been able to be my comfort zone Heck. Honestly, it's been a little bit uncomfortable for me for the last couple of years, but I will tell you I have had probably the quickest growth I've ever had. If you look at the last three years and then you look at the five years prior to that, I am way, way stronger in my growth. Because I got uncomfortable, because I listened to my intuition, because I listened to like okay, I don't want to do this anymore, or I really want to do this, or I've been given opportunities and I've put all of my effort into there. So when we play safe and we stick to what's familiar, we hold ourselves back, and what I want for you to do this year is to put that out. I don't want you sticking to your comfort zone anymore. Now there's a difference between sticking to like what you're really good at, which we'll get to here in a little bit, but like sticking to your comfort zone because you're scared. I want you to use this year as your moment of like. Just pick one thing. That's going to be a little uncomfortable, but I promise you it will show growth. So, sticking to your comfort zones is out this year. Okay, I have a few more, because I have plenty of outs this year.
Speaker 1:The next one is overworking without purpose. So a lot of times I hear people talk about being busy. So this one really has to do with busyness too. It's like I'm busy, I'm busy or I'm clocking long hours, but what they do is it's all of these tedious tasks that we just feel like we have to do without sitting back and be like what is the purpose of all of this? How does this align to my purpose? How does this align to my core values? And don't get me wrong there's things I have to do that I don't always love to do, but we have to. But if you're spending most of your time in that space, what I want you to do is think about am I overworking? Without knowing the purpose behind things. Start to ask yourself questions like what is the purpose behind this? Why am I working all of these hours? And when someone asks you like how are you? And you say busy, share with them what busy means. Like being like saying busy we have to stop using it as a status. And like being so happy about being busy. Like I love how busy I am, but it's busy being fulfilled with certain things, with my purpose, and so sometimes I like to hear when people say like, well, I'm busy, I'm like with what? Tell me what's going on with your life. And if they can't answer that, that should be a reflection to ourselves of I don't even know what I'm busy with, right, and how do I align that back to my purpose. So this year what's out is clocking long hours without a purpose and busyness like get those out.
Speaker 1:The next one is really thinking about how we follow trends blindly. So how many times have we bought something or did something that doesn't serve us or doesn't fit for us anymore? Well, that's me, that's definitely something for me that I have done a lot of times, like I've jumped on the trains, I've jumped on the trends, I've done all these things. But what I found is that chasing the trends maybe for a quick buck or to look a certain fashion or anything, it only lasted so long. But when we really chase what's meant for us and focusing on ourselves and our strategies and what aligned to us, it's a game changer. So no longer following trends that are not going to serve us long term, we can kind of see those trends. We also can see the trends that come back. So following trends blindly without really understanding them, or just doing it because we need a quick feel, is out this year.
Speaker 1:The next one that's out is wasting energy on drama and gossip. So this one feels really, really strong for me because I can just see how easy it is for us to focus on other people's stories. We focus on everybody else's journeys. We talk about each other. So, and honestly, drama, gossip, gossip and negativity is just like out Like. I feel so strongly about that because I have seen how it drains people, how it takes people's time up, how it distracts you from your goals, how it creates this unnecessary tension. So, instead of doing all of that, I want you to think about, like how do you kind of like make your mind focus on, like well, what am I doing to make the world a better place? What's the impact that I'm making? How am I focusing on my goals? And I have really worked on this this last couple of years because I just like don't enjoy talking about and having gossip about other people and I have found that the more that I've like stepped away from it, I have been a way more positive person and, honestly, I've had a lot more time to focus on my goals. So wasting time on drama and gossip is out. Okay, my last one. I had a lot of outs this year, as you can tell.
Speaker 1:The next one is not spending time on your zone of genius. So I talk a lot about zone of genius. I know my zone of genius. If you don't yet, I'll send you. Just DM me on Instagram and I will send you our Zone of Genius episode for 2024. It's perfect. I want you to spend more time there. I want you to spend more time on the area that you're really, really good at, where the area that, if I gave you a full day to do something and not get bothered with you could zone in and make something beautiful you would be happy, you'd be fulfilled. It aligns to your values. Something beautiful, you would be happy, you'd be fulfilled. It aligns to your values, it makes you smile and it gives you so much energy.
Speaker 1:And so not focusing your time there is out this year. It's out. I want you to spend more time there, because if we look at our structures of our day, of our week, of our month, the more that we neglect those things, the more unhappy we are. So that was a lot of outs. I had a lot of them because I didn't, I could not pick. I had so many outs because I've learned so much over the years. And so now we're going to dive into the ins, the good part, the feel good. So we got the icky stuff out, we got the negative stuff out. So now we're going to talk about like what's good for us, what do we want to do in professional and personal development this year? And these are kind of you're already going to see probably a trend with some of the things that were out like the opposite of those are going to be in this year, and the first one is mindful productivity.
Speaker 1:So focusing on what truly matters, being intentional with our time, prioritizing deep work over multitasking, setting boundaries with your time and creating space to reflect, that's a game changer. So, thinking about what are some tools that you can do to time block Are you journaling? Are you spending some time with meditation? Are you spending time with friends and family? Back to well-being? Are you blocking time off in your calendar to do that? I shared earlier that I have really focused on time blocks and it has been a game changer already this year. So I did it last year, but I also allowed a lot of people to still call me during those time blocks, and this year what I've done is say like, yep, I'll call you back this afternoon, or okay, awesome, I know that you need me to review this. I'll look at it later and it's really helped me to really zone in on being productive productive for me and then being able to find space for my family.
Speaker 1:So what's in this year is where we spend our time, how we spend our time and being intentional about that. I'm all about catching up and having conversation with people, but I also know that I also have to be productive in certain areas. So sometimes that's productive, sometimes it's not so kind of looking at your life and being like, where do I want to focus my time. The next one is emotional agility. So I am all about emotional intelligence. It's what I teach. Self-awareness is in Understanding your emotions, is in Getting uncomfortable, is in Just really understanding where your emotions are coming from, like, oh, when someone said this, this really triggered me. Oh, when I went through this, this really like frustrated me. I am all about these things because I see this with every client that I work with.
Speaker 1:We all need to focus on our soft skills. We all need to grow in. What are these skills for us? How are we going to become better humans? Because all of these leaders that I work with this is what I hear from them, every research that I hear everything is that when someone is more emotionally intelligent, emotionally able to have a conversation, that just brings out their hard skills as well. And so there was a recent article that came out from Canva and if you've heard of Canva, you probably have. It's an amazing, amazing tool for marketing and just different activities around that, and one of their VPs of human I think it's she's like the human person director or something like that. I'm totally saying the name wrong, but she talks a lot about how what's in this year is soft skills. Read that. I just smiled so big because that's something that has been so important to me for years, especially in personal and professional growth. So if you have not focused on that, or if there's a tool or a skill that you're like I really need to focus on that, call me. I'm happy to help you. There's also a lot of other things out there that can help you as well, but I think that that is truly in this year.
Speaker 1:The next one is leveraging technology for growth. So I love my chat GPT. I ask that more things than I do Google, and this doesn't really like fit under too much. I just like had to throw this in here because I'm like this is in. We just need to like embrace technology for what it is. We need to use that for our personal and professional growth as much as possible. There's so much coming out for technology, and I will tell you that it will be a game changer in your personal life as well as your professional life to be up to date of what is going on. So if you are like, oh, I don't want new technology, I don't want all those things, I'm just going to tell you. You know, my parents probably said that about cell phones and internet and computers. I shouldn't say my parents, I should say my grandparents, and look at where the world is, and so you can either get on board now or be behind, and what I want for you this year is to be up to date on things. I will tell you this is a trend that's not going away, and so, while I would just embrace it because it's going to be awesome. Next one is I already touched on this with the out, so I'm just going to do this one really quick but personalized growth plans. So, like I said, the one size fit all development plans are out. They're out. So what I want you to do this year is really look at things and figure out how does my values and my mission, who I am and what I want to do with my life align to a blueprint and how do I bring those together to customize them for myself. It is a game changer. It is going to help you so much in your career and in your personal life when you can figure out how do I take all of these tools and make them resonate and work for me.
Speaker 1:The next one is building strong communities. So I think communities is just a beautiful thing. When I started Self Love Beauty, now called LEAD, we actually started out with an ambassador program and a community program, and I don't think I knew at the time how important community was going to be to me. But everything that I do, everything I do in my life, community has been important. What I noticed with the trends over the last couple of years is that COVID really took away from that interaction with community of an in-person thing, and it kind of even took it offline for a while. And what I've seen as a trend in the last couple of years is people are longing for community, they're longing for connection, they're longing for relationships, and so what I'd love for you to think about is well, what do I want to do to build my community? That doesn't mean it has to be for work. It could also mean just like building friendships, building relationships with people that have unique skills and sets and things that you also resonate with. Maybe join a running club, maybe join a sewing club, a reading club. Community is going to be so important in everything that we do.
Speaker 1:The next one is sustainable goal setting. So this one's in this year for me, because I am one of those people that have set goals that are just so, so big, so big, and I'm like so proud of myself for that, but also I've had to really learn of how to sustain them without like overworking myself. And so that's what I want you to think about this year is how am I going to set goals that are really ambitious? I'm still going to set those goals, but how am I going to work backwards to meet those goals? That is in, having plans but then having the action behind them. I think that that's so important. And then you know, I have to say, operating in your zone of genius. That is in this year. And the reason why that is in is because I I just want people to see that when you are doing what you're meant to do, when you're in your expertise area, you are going to be so much happier. I have seen that in my own life, I see that in my husband's life and I see that in my friend's life. I also see it in people's lives that aren't doing that. And for me, finding your zone of genius, diving into it and being the best at it, it's just going to make you such a happy person.
Speaker 1:The next one is really making an impact over your image. So when we're thinking about what we want to do with our lives, the legacy that we want to leave, I want you to think about the impact that you want to make this year. So that's it. I want you to really think about how am I going to set this impact to really help people, because that's why we're here, right, we want to grow as humans. We want to be more confident, we want to have more leadership skills, we want to, you know, have more well-being. But it's usually because we want to show up our best selves for other people. And so when we think about the impact that we want to make, it's really great to see, like, how do I take everything when it comes to personal and professional growth and make sure that I'm making an impact not only on myself but other people? So that's in this year, how is the impact that you're going to make?
Speaker 1:And the last one is balancing challenges with support. So, for me, I'm a leader. I've been a leader my whole life. It doesn't matter if it's personal or professional, but I really, truly believe that there is this amazing balance between challenging people to be their better selves, to reach new heights, and then providing the necessary support to achieve those goals goals. So I have really high expectations for myself and for those around me. So I think that's great. I think that that's awesome to have expectations. But then it's about how am I going to support people, or are those the expectations they have of themselves? And what I have learned over the years and what I've seen with trends is that we have gotten really soft with being scared to challenge people because we don't want to make them feel like we are being hard on them, and I actually disagree, and I think that's out this year.
Speaker 1:I think what's in is like how do you really challenge someone? But then you support them along the way? Because, as an organization any organization that I work with they have goals. As an organization any organization that I work with they have goals. They have goals that are qualitative. They have goals that are quantitative. Families have goals. They have goals as the culture of their families that they want to have, but you know, they still have to put food on the table as well. They want their kids to achieve amazing things. They want to achieve things themselves, and so I think it's really important that what's in this year is that we are working to not only challenge ourselves to be better, but we're challenging other people. But then the next piece of that is is then how are we going to support them? You can't just challenge someone to be better and then leave them in high water, and I think that when we do these things, we will really drive results without really like feeling like a bad person, you'll have a lot more self-compassion, and it's a two-way street, and so I just love communication, I love teaching it, and I think it's so effective when you do it right, and so this one's really in for me, which is balancing challenges and communicating how to help people grow, but also supporting them along the way. So that's what's in this year.
Speaker 1:Guys, there's so many things that I think are out this year. There's so many things that are in this year, but I couldn't do this podcast without covering all of those. I probably still have like a laundry list of like five other things I could think about, but I'm just going to take a deep breath here and just say that this year, what I want for you is to really make your list Now. Steal whatever you want from this podcast, please Like. This is my outs and ins for this year. This is the trends I'm seeing. This is where I really want people to grow and to see what's out, what's in, but set those boundaries for yourself.
Speaker 1:Listen to our past podcasts from 2024. They're amazing. 2025s is just as amazing, maybe even more amazing than the prior years, as we grow as humans and as an organization. But as you're looking at these things, put tips to things, put tricks to things, put strategies behind what we're doing and then stick to them. So this year, when you're thinking about what's in, what's out for yourself, look at it every month, make those lists and look out have I been sticking to those? It's okay.
Speaker 1:If it changes right, something could change. You might add something to the list, you might cross something off. That's how we evolve as humans. That's part of the journey, but it's about having a starting point and this has been really beneficial for me. Just as a human, I use this list and the other day I actually used that and I literally had my hands up and I said to my husband I'm not putting my energy there this year. I promised myself I wouldn't, so if I do, please catch me. And it's just been kind of really great for me to really focus my time on my ins this year versus focusing on the things that I promised myself I wouldn't bring into this year. So start this year off strong for yourself.
Speaker 1:So I hope that you took away so many key things for your outs and ins of what's to come or what should be for personal and professional development from the thought leader of Lisa Tarkington, and I am honored to be sitting here just talking to you guys weekly, bringing you so many great things, and so, if you haven't subscribed to our YouTube channel, I highly highly suggest that and check us out on Instagram, check us out on all socials we're on them and tune in to more podcasts. We are going to have such an amazing lineup this year, which I'm really excited about. And if you haven't checked out Lead Within, our Lead Within platform has all of the tools that I've talked about. It has growth mindset, it has goal setting, it has confidence, it has leadership. I just love it so much. And if you're looking to have more of a customizable plan where you want to work one-on-one with someone, just DM me I am more than a. Dm me at LisaTarkingtonOfficial on Instagram, or you can visit my website, which I'll have in the show notes as well. I'm happy to work with people, because this is something that I just find really, really important is finding your roadmap for your personal and professional development. So, like I say on every podcast, continue to spread love and kindness to everybody that you meet and have a great day.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Confident Podcast. If today's episode resonated with you. Head over to leadconfidentlyorg for today's show notes, along with discounts to our services. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button, leave a review and follow us on Instagram and YouTube at the Confident Podcast. Your feedback means the world to me and it helps more people discover the show. And hey, if you're feeling inspired to dive deeper, let's connect. You can find me on Instagram at Lisa Tarkington Official. Drop me a message and let's explore how I can support your journey to confidence and leadership. Remember you have the power to choose confidence every single day. Keep showing up, keep striving and keep believing in your potential. I'm cheering you on and I'll see you next time.
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