How to say “yes,” use humor, and keep perfection in check! Episode 218

Show Notes Episode 218 Part 1 of 2  Guest: Karith Foster Title: How to say “yes,” use humor, and keep perfection in check THIS WEEK’S TOPIC:  Ever have self-doubt and perfectionist tendencies keep you from saying yes? Yes to the big assignment, yes to the new, “stretch” job, or yes to the new client because you’ve convinced yourself they will say “no” before you even bother to make your pitch?  We essentially talk ourselves out of even trying because we are afraid we might fail. Does any of this sound familiar?  This week, we’re tackling the importance of overcoming self-doubt and fear of failure in order to say “yes” to those stretch goals and big opportunities, even when we may not (and frankly shouldn’t) have all the answers up front!   But, the story doesn’t end there. What happens when saying “yes” holds some complications that make it more challenging than we could ever have imagined? What then?  This week’s guest is our “Sherpa” for how to make sense of an incredibly difficult experience. How to use humor, reframe the story (and the pain) into something that can actually lead us closer to where we are ultimately supposed to be, and how that process is incredibly important for building our influence in a way that can also have a real and powerful impact for ourselves and for others.  THIS WEEK’S GUEST:  Karith Foster is a reformed stand up comedian and journalist who found a way to make humor a transferable skill. Her company Inversity Solutions was born out of an experience that forced her to take a good, hard look at what was most important and how she could use her talents to help others.  Her incredible resume includes: working for Barbara Walters in the early days of The View, managing Human Resources at Estée Lauder, countless gigs in television, rapid and film, and working as on air talent for Don Imus at Imus in the Morning. Today’s she’s the founder of her company “Inversity Solutions,” which is taking a different approach to diversity training and to bringing people together.  Karith has written two books including her latest: “You can be perfect or you can be happy: how to let go, worry less, and enjoy life.”   KEY TOPICS in Part 1, Episode 218:  “INVERSITY”: what it means and why words matter in helping us find common ground, and why Karith built her company on this concept.  SAYING ‘YES’: What Karith learned about missed opportunity, and how it propelled her into her most challenging job.  USING HUMOR: Is humor a good choice for everyone? What if you just aren’t that funny?  HOW HUMOR BECAME A ‘TRANSFERABLE SKILL’ for Karith.  WORKING FOR DON IMUS: Karith tells the story of