Meet Nicole Walker of She Leads Podcast in Global

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Walker.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Nicole. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My desire for a meaningful life, and realization that a meaningful life was possible created the Nicole L. Walker everyone knows and loves today! Realizing I had the power to live the life I envision as opposed to accepting the life that I found myself living, was a true game changer. One day I decided to be the change I want to see in the world, and I have not looked back since. I choose to right the wrongs I have caused and experienced by sharing the lessons I learned and the strategies I used to beat the odds. My story was shaped by planted seeds; seeds I planted myself and seeds others planted along my way. I am what others would consider a diamond in the rough, or a rose that grew from the concrete. My life choices and experiences impacted me drastically in both a positive and negative manner, all leading to my becoming.

Growing up as a child, teenager, and young adult I did not value myself completely. I lacked self-awareness and self-respect. I did not realize how amazing and powerful I am. I have been one of the smartest people in the room my entire life, but I didn’t know this. I didn’t realize how special and unique my intelligence is, because I thought everyone knew what I knew. I recall one of my cousins telling me that I was book smart but not street smart, which took me years to believe and understand. Being pregnant at 17 and also graduating in the tenth percentile of your high school class does not usually go together, but for me it did. I made life harder for myself too many times to try and remember! Although I do not regret any of my decisions, I have dedicated my life to helping others avoid the roadblocks and traps I blindly welcomed into my life.

I have been on both the giving and receiving end of bullying, knowingly and unknowingly. I never understood why people treat each other so badly, yet I was guilty of treating my loved ones badly at times. As the saying goes, hurt people hurt people. Over time I noticed a trend of people being set against each other, without giving one another a chance. I don’t like it, and I am no longer for it! For this reason, I go out of my way to embrace and celebrate others. I believe that if we try we can find something great about every person we come in contact with, and I am leading this charge by modeling this behavior as often and as much as possible.

I bet on the underdog and I love a comeback story! This isn’t hard to believe considering I am an underdog myself, and have come back from many disadvantages many times over. The odds were stacked against me from birth by being female and stacked a bit higher by being a woman of color. Women of Color are not usually set up for success in this world. We have to work harder to be considered equal and still aren’t always taken seriously or paid equally. I have a major problem with this! As a result, I created She Leads Podcast and dedicated this platform to showcase Women of Color because it’s about time we get our shine.

The decision to create She Leads Podcast, was nowhere in sight for me before November of 2017. I knew I wanted more out of life, but wasn’t exactly sure of what that more could be. After relocating over 1,200 miles from my hometown, attending various business workshops/expos, and hiring my first business coach I was inspired to start a podcast. At the time, this was completely foreign territory for me. Initially, I decided to start a podcast before taking into consideration the work and time commitment required. I love to plan and am certified in Project Management, so I immediately began working on a plan for my podcast. I decided to discuss leadership because this is a problem area I have witnessed and am adamant about fixing. Upon finding out the demands of podcasting, I changed my mind about creating this platform. For some reason, I thought it would be a breeze and wasn’t sure if I wanted to add this heavy load to my already heavy load. Ironically, a few weeks after I dismissed the idea of starting a podcast I attended a podcasting workshop that changed my mind. Within two weeks of attending the podcasting workshop, I finalized my podcasting plan and started interviewing guests. And, within six weeks of attending the podcasting workshop, She Leads Podcast was launched.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I can honestly say my road has not always been as smooth as it is for me today, due mostly to my decisions and mindset. I felt I needed to learn lessons the hard way, and that is exactly what I got until I changed my viewpoint. For most of my life, I didn’t know better so I couldn’t do better. To overcome this struggle I had to become comfortable being uncomfortable, open and receptive to feedback, and look my true self in the mirror. Acceptance is a major key to changing and evolving, yet it can be a long and difficult journey of endurance.

When I was a teenager I tried to commit suicide. I took numerous amounts of pills and ended up in the hospital having to get my stomach pumped and drink tar so I didn’t die. I’ve struggled with self-leadership and mindset for a long time. I am eternally grateful to have a better view of life now and work diligently to share this insight with the world.

Anyone that has been bullied knows that this is not fun at all. As a result of being bullied, I went to a very dark place, that I didn’t understand or desire. It took me a long time to realize that I was not the problem, and nothing was wrong with me. In fact, I started mutilating myself while being bullied which forced my parents to send me to therapy when I was a preteen.

Having to juggle parenthood while obtaining a higher education and working full time is not for the faint of heart. At the young age of 18, I had to maneuver and find ways to achieve the goals I set for myself while managing all the moving parts of my life. This was hard, yet it was instrumental in building my tenacity. For me, tenacity means determination. I have always been determined, yet for many years I lacked direction.

Over the years I also suffered from depression, yet for a long time I did not know I was depressed. After living in the same condition over a period of time, it became normal. Depression was my norm until I refused to pretend any longer. People of color are known to be resilient and push through regardless of the circumstances, which can be good and bad. It’s one thing to keep pushing, yet it is a different thing to be ignorant about what is going on. Mental health has been a taboo topic for people of color; however, thankfully it is beginning to get the awareness needed to make a change.

I was led by many ignorant leaders, which hurt me and led to me being an underdeveloped leader. For a long time I unknowingly modeled the behaviors that negatively impacted my life. Having to endure these experiences and realizing I was also guilty of not being the best leader is what birthed my desire to teach effective leadership. Once I learned that there was a better way, I became adamant about spreading the good news so others can also “Be Empowered and Empower On!” (Nicole Walker, 2018)

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a podcaster. I created, host, and produce She Leads Podcast: Leadership Empowerment for Women of Color. She Leads Podcast launched on March 1, 2018 in commemoration of Women’s History Month. She Leads Podcast is the first and only Woman of Color Leadership podcast featuring Women of Color Entrepreneurs. She Leads Podcast is a platform that provides personal and professional success strategies for those looking to grow, elevate, and expand. At She Leads Podcast, we aim to teach others a better way. It is uncommon for a podcast to cover all of the topics we cover in one episode of She Leads Podcast. Our topics range from childhood through adult life stories, leadership principles, mindset, adversity, entrepreneurship, and productivity.

She Leads Podcast is a seasonal production, highlighting 18 Women of Color Entrepreneurs per season. To date, we have showcased 90 stories equating to over 2,700 minutes/45 hours of content to be consumed. We are content curators. We catalog and spread the messages of Women of Color Entrepreneurs to the masses. During each episode of She Leads Podcast, listeners can gain insight on Self Discovery, Self-Leadership, and Personal and Professional Best Practices. She Leads Podcast gives listeners the ability to get to know Women of Color Entrepreneurs on a personal and professional level, while giving guest speakers the opportunity to increase visibility, show transparency, and build trust.

· It is a statistical fact that Women of Color are systematically disadvantaged by being both a woman and a person of color. She Leads Podcast represents for the underrepresented by solely showcasing Women of Color because we matter!!

· Stories are impactful, and help to influence others. She Leads Podcast proves that Women of Color are a conduit to affect positive change, promote growth, and spread knowledge by sharing the personal and professional insight and stories of our guests.

· Many people, including myself, take a long time to understand the importance of self-leadership and the necessity of having a positive mindset that can derail or prolong their journey to greatness. She Leads Podcast provides the insight and tools needed to stay inspired, maintain motivation, and take action both personally and professionally.

She Leads Podcast is known for leadership content; however, we provide much more than this. She Leads Podcast shines a light on those that are normally overlooked and undervalued. She Leads Podcast asks the questions required to get a thorough understanding of our guest’s experiences and insight. She Leads Podcast believes in collaboration over competition, and we are showing the world that women can come together to embrace and celebrate each other.

As a company, we are most proud of sticking to our laurel of being a Woman of Color platform. Although this choice has not been the fastest in growing our numbers, we stand behind our premise and are excited to learn about the amazing Woman of Color Entrepreneurs all across the world. We have been approached by many high profile individuals of all races and both sexes, including a person who was running for 2020 presidency; yet, we held strong to our merits because we value our mission more than the numbers.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was a cool nerd, that didn’t know about the nerd part. I have always been adventurous, caring, and driven! I was also broken, jaded, naïve, and strategic. An extremely diverse mixture, to say the least.

I loved projects, and creating things which has followed me into my adult life. I have always been very crafty; it is one of my many gifts. I was extremely talkative and always asked lots of questions. Some would call this nosey, but I like to call it inquisitive. Now I understand how I ended up with an interview style podcast. I have been called bossy on more than one occasion growing up. I see this being the beginning of my leadership capabilities.

I was not into sports, but I did excel in the classroom being on the honor roll for most of my formative years. I liked to dance and sing, yet I am not sure I did either very well. I wrote poetry and even had one of my poems published in the National Library of Poetry in 1994.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.nicolewalker.net/blog
• Email: info@nicolewalker.net

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