Episode 55 Speaking Confidently About Your Fears with Becky Paroz

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Ron opens by asking guest Becky Paroz to introduce herself.

• Becky discusses her background growing up in an abusive household, working on many large construction projects, and writing books.
• After prompting from Deb, Becky shares the story of how she didn’t fit in, and how she managed to change that story.
• She recalls how introverted she used to be, all the way through engineering school, until the dean of her school helped her recognize the forefront she was at.
• Becky shares stories of how unwelcome she was even after moving into the working world, where she began her journey to figure out how any why she didn’t belong.

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Ron read that Becky has a passion for project management, and asks what about that lights her up.

• Becky explains her reasoning of why she finds project management empowering, getting to be behind the scenes of making the world go round.
• She continues discussing how the process of creation fuels her, and how she also funnels that drive to create into writing.

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Deb asks at what point Becky felt like she could truly be herself in her work.

• Becky says she realized this when she took her first coaching course, which allowed her to realize the narratives she’s had her whole life, and work through them.
• Through this realization also came a gratitude for her own life, and the life she had built for herself.

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Ron works through Becky’s transition from an introvert spending time in a library, to now being a public speaker and on magazine covers, and wonders where the missing links are.

• Becky says that each step along the way she would push herself further and further, refocusing after different struggles.
• She kept the mindset of, “what do I have to lose,” that kept her trying new things and excelling at them.
• She then recalls a story of her first time public speaking, the reaction she received, and how that drove her to seek out more opportunities to speak in public.
• Deb asks how she relates through humor to her crowds, and Becky explains the likely reason that others are able to connect to her speeches.

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Ron asks Becky what is next for her.

• Becky says that she’s never quite sure and she often figures things out as she goes.
• She also says that due to her lifelong illness, and shortened life expectancy, she doesn’t let others or their thoughts about her get in her way of doing something.
• After listing off the things she’s currently involved in, she realizes what’s next for her might be just relaxing, as she feels she has nothing left to prove.

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Deb notices how Becky speaks her fears very confidently, and reflects how she is still afraid to do so, and then asks Becky if she has always been that way.

• Becky says she was not always like that, and that doing that is a learned behavior.
• She touches on her history, and then says lots of things in life are scary, but just started to do those things anyways.
• Ron asks what she line she tosses people when she realizes they have fears, to which Becky responds, “what do you have to lose? Do it anyways.”
• She walks through her mindset around being afraid of doing things, and how she uses that as a reason to do something.

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Becky asks Deb what she used to do, and asks Ron where the concept of the Story in Your Head came from.

• Deb describes how she used to be an electrical engineer, but after a long corporate career found her passion helping people navigate difficult situations.
• Ron recalls the rewarding parts of his career was when he was working with difficult teams, and building the teams up by helping everyone recognize the stories in their head.
• Ron talks about how we all make up stories in our own heads, and this podcast is aiming to help people recognize those stories so that they can rewrite those stories themselves.

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To learn more about Becky and her story, check out her website here: https://wordsofbek.com.au/

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Join us to hear how understanding the idea of “self-talk” — and what you can do about it — could change your relationships and life for the better.

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Visit www.macklinconnection.com

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