Transformation: Navigating Change with a Positive Mindset in the Midst of Struggles
A great conversation about transformation, navigating change, and staying positive through life's challenges.
I was recently a guest on It Starts with Me, a webcast by the Tenacity Foundation, where I had a great conversation about transformation, navigating change, and staying positive through life's challenges.
Here's a recap of my thought-provoking and motivational discussion with host Joel Simmons.
Host Joel Simmons: Let's get into it today. So, we have here with us Lisa Masiello, and she is the founder and CEO of TECHmarc Labs. She is a business owner, author, and champion of women’s advancement and entrepreneurship.
As an author, Lisa shares the knowledge she has gained over 30 years of marketing in her career to write nonfiction business books, and now she has a current book for marketers and small business owners. It's called Trade Show 411: The Essential Guide to Exhibiting Like a Pro.
Lisa is a passionate champion of women’s advancement and entrepreneurship. She has sat on the boards of Girl Scouts and The Center for Women and Enterprise.
She is currently writing a book called She Did and I Will. I think that that is really interesting because sometimes it's like, “Hey listen, you know, if he could do it, so could I. If she can do it, so can I.” And so, her whole thought process, “If she did it, I will," is powerful. It’s a very powerful title. So, in this book, she introduces readers to inspiring stories of women's entrepreneurship in 10 countries around the world.
At this time, let us welcome to the front, Lisa.
Lisa Masiello: Hi Joel. How are you? I'm so excited to be with you today. Thank you for inviting me.
Host: Oh, absolutely. I'm so glad to have you here.
There's a lot of good stuff that's going on inside of your bio. I know that we’re going to want to dive into that, you know.
Lisa Masiello: Well, talk about transition. You're all about transition, and boy, I like transition. I like change. Some people are a little nervous about change, but I embrace change. So, I'm all in.
Host: Wow. That's a powerful statement because change is one of the most difficult things for people to really get a handle on, especially in the business place.
And I found that if you're not training your children to understand change and to work with change, it can be very difficult inside the household as well.
So, I just think it’s an impactful thing that you brought that up in the very beginning.
Lisa Masiello: Absolutely. And I use the word embrace change specifically because so many people, when change happens to them, it actually happens to them as opposed to moving forward and embracing that change. They sort of get that deer-in-the-headlights feeling. “Oh my God. What do I do now?”
And so, I actively embrace change.
You know, I've been 30 years in the tech industry, and you have some very high highs and some very low lows in the tech industry.
I was at my first company right out of college, my first corporate job, and after about three years, I got laid off. I thought it was the end of the world, and I was never going to get another job, and it was over. And, of course, it wasn't. I went out. I interviewed. I found another job in a technology company. I learned new things. I met new people. I was exposed to new resources and new opportunities, and it just enabled me to grow and continue on that path.
You never know where changes and new opportunities are going to take you. And so, they took me on some very exciting journeys, and here I am today.
Host: I love it. I love it.
Host: I'm curious when you say this because this was your very first tech job, and I can only imagine that you have put in a lot of work, a lot of schooling, and a lot of anticipation, and at this point in time, you're like, “Whew. Yes. I did it!”
Lisa Masiello: That’s right.
Host: It's kind of like you go home, and you tell your family, “I nailed that one.” Or like the kid just playing baseball, and they get a home run, their first home run, and like, “Yes! Out of the park.”
And sometimes people don't realize you have to do it again and again and again.
So, you get into this job, and after three years, you lost it. Is that the point in time that gave you the mindset to embrace change?
Lisa Masiello: It did in the sense that I realized that after some time at the second job, I looked back and I thought, “You know, that wasn't so bad.”
I got another opportunity. It took me a little bit of time. I had to do a number of interviews, but I got a new job. I experienced new things. It was a new opportunity.
So, I thought, as I progress on my journey, I'm gathering up all of these different things. These new experiences. New opportunities that I’m given. The new people that I’m meeting. And they're coming with me. They're my baggage, but they're good baggage. And I'm carrying those bags along my journey.
With every new opportunity, with every change, I just keep adding to those bags, and they get heavier and heavier, but in a good way. Because then I'm able to bring more of myself to another position or another opportunity.
So, I thought, you know, this is not the end. This is a new opportunity. Whether I get laid off, or I decide to make a transition in my career, or I do something different, it's always a new opportunity, and you never know where things and where opportunities are going to pop up in your life.
So, I try to embrace all of these different opportunities.
Host: Wow. Embracing the unknown. Yeah. That’s powerful.
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about a scripture, and in that scripture, it says, “Who is blind say my servant.” And I’ve always thought that was really intriguing because, like the Lord is saying, the person that is actually blind is the one that's serving me.
And that's who I have the greatest amount of guidance from, but still, it's like I’m walking blindly sometimes, you know.
Lisa Masiello: Right. And so, I actually have gotten to the point where I truly believe, yes, I have the ability to make decisions, but there is something guiding me, and I know that new opportunities will present themselves at some point.
And so, I have confidence when a challenge comes, or I lose my job, or whatever the situation may be, I know that at some point, an opportunity will present itself.
Host: I'm loving this. I am absolutely loving this.
Okay, so I want to go backwards, and just kind of like get an understanding if you will share with me the feelings and the emotional piece of the number one job through those three years into the number two job, and then we can go forward.
Lisa Masiello: In terms of emotions?
Host: Emotions. How it felt like. Walk us through and walk the viewers through what it felt like to have gotten this job, and then all of a sudden, it comes to an end, and you're searching for something else, not having this mindset that you have just yet.
Lisa Masiello: Well, first, I was terrified, like I said, because I thought that this was the end of the world and I was never going to find another position that was as good as the one that I had or gave me as many opportunities as the one that I had.
And the other challenge that I have had to overcome over the years is that I'm very much of a perfectionist. So, I want to be perfect from the beginning, and I always want to do the best job that I can and deliver the best outcome and the best project for the company that I'm working for, and be the best employee that I can be, and those kinds of things.
But in doing that, I never wanted to ask questions because I never wanted to appear that I didn't know the answer. That I didn't have the information. Because I was afraid of looking inadequate. I was afraid that if somebody knows that I don't know the answer, I might not get the next raise, or I might not get the next position or something like that.
And that, I have come to realize over the years, was the worst thing in the world. Because the more I started asking questions, letting people know that I didn't have the answer and I'm looking for your input, and your help, and those kinds of things, while the younger Lisa may have seemed vulnerable, the older Lisa knows that that is the way you can progress even much more quickly than you would have otherwise.
And you're able to do so much more because you're admitting I don't know the answer, and I do need help. So once I realized that—that I'm not looking foolish because I'm not asking the question—then the world opened. People were very forthcoming with help, with information, sharing what they know, being a real colleague to me in the business.
So that was really what started me on my journey to growth. To success. When I admitted that I didn't have all the answers and I needed to reach out to someone else to help me.
Host: Whew! That was a mic-drop, Lisa. Oh my gosh.
You know, going from being vulnerable to progressive or being able to progress through life by just letting it all down, and that's a huge lesson.
Lisa Masiello: Absolutely. It took me a long time to admit that. And finally, I started in my first corporate job that I got laid off from in 1991. I had worked for very large tech companies at the beginning of my career, and then in about 2007, I moved to small tech startups, so that was a different environment as well.
But in 2014, I decided that it was time that I was going to start my own business. And this wasn't something that I had thought of one day, and the next day I did it. This was something that I had wanted to do for a long time.
So, I thought I have all my ducks in a row. I've sort of gone through in my mind, “Okay, these are all the things that could happen. These are all the situations I could come up against. And these are all the things that I'm going to do to help make my business successful.”
And the day I started my business, I realized, “Oh my God, I don't have all the answers. I don't know the first thing about doing this. Do I establish an LLC or an S corporation, or do I go into partnership with someone else?” I mean, those were just basic questions. “How do I get a tax ID number?” Those sorts of things.
Again, I was still in that mindset. For those so many years, I was in the mindset of not asking for help. Not asking questions.
And finally, a colleague of mine, a former colleague, had invited me to a networking event, and you know, in the past, I had said, when it comes to networking events, I was always thinking, “Well, I'm busy” or “I have client work that I have to complete.” I always made an excuse why I couldn't go to something like that.
At this point, I thought, you know, I have so many questions. Maybe there’ll be somebody at this networking event that can answer one of my questions. So I went. And it’s amazing. When you open yourself up, and you say I'm a new business owner, or I'm a new dad, you know, it doesn't have to be business related. It could be in your personal life. But when you open yourself up and say I'm a new business owner—"I don't know about this, I don't know about this, and I don't know about this, do you have some advice for me?” the people attending the event that I spoke with were so open and free and helpful with information.
It was like I was joining a club. Everyone wanted to help me. So that's really when the light bulb went on. Finally, after so many years, I thought this is what I need to do.
Host: Beautiful. Beautiful. I was speaking with somebody that I mentor a lot, and I was telling him I said, “You ought to share your vision with others.”
And he said, “No, I can't do it.”
I said, “Well, why not?”
He said, “Well . . .”
I said, “Because if you share your vision with others, then you feel like you're gonna be held responsible?”
He's like, “Yeah.”
“And that if you fail, then you feel like people are gonna look down at you, and you have to apologize?”
“Yeah. Yeah. That's it. That's it.”
I'm like, “No. No. If you share your vision with others, then those that are for your development will offer you what you need.”
I think that that’s a powerful move.
I mean, there's also the other ones that will absolutely try to shame you but then you know not to be around them.
Lisa Masiello: Absolutely. And also you can turn that around a little bit as well and look at it from the other perspective. I had so many years of experience in technology, in marketing, and those sorts of things.
And people over the years had asked me, “Why don't you go and speak at a technology conference or a large marketing conference to help other people and teach them what you know?”
I thought, “Well, what do I know? Doesn't everybody know about these things that I know? Why would they want to listen to me?”
And so, finally, someone convinced me to go and speak about marketing for technology companies at a large US tech conference. I spoke, and after the presentation, some of the audience members came up to me and said, “Thank you so much. It was a wonderful presentation. We learned so much. Can we take your contact information and chat with you later?”
And I finally realized, boy, I really do have something to share. Not everyone knows what I know, and that was really a revelation to me. And this can be for anybody.
I'm in the industry 30 years, so you say, well, she's been in the industry a long time. She knows what she's talking about, but even in your personal life, for example, I work with an organization, and they have a group called TechWomen/TechGirls. We go into high schools to talk to the girls in the high school about technology careers, if they're interested in STEM, learning about technology or engineering in college, and maybe going into a tech company after they graduate. And I just sit there, and I talk to them about what I did, what my experience was, what my career path was, and those sorts of things.
So, you don't have to be in business for 30 years.
Everyone has something to share.
Host: Yes. That’s powerful. I love that. And I love your story about opening up and becoming more open-minded.
Stepping back into the vulnerability aspect of it, what was it that made you feel as if you were so vulnerable? Could you explain that?
Lisa Masiello: I think it was a family thing. As I said, I always wanted to be perfect. I always had to be better than I was. If I got an A -, I had to get an A. So that's how I grew up.
You couldn't show you're vulnerability . . . Not that you couldn't show your vulnerability, but I didn’t want to show my vulnerability. I wanted to appear perfect because that's what was expected.
Host: Are you a middle child?
Lisa Masiello: I'm an older child—the oldest child. That could be part of it as well. I think a lot of older children have that drive as well. So, I was certainly driven, but I think part of it was that I was driven because of what was expected of me.
Host: There's a high bar set for that first one out the door, you know. Sounds like you were rising to that occasion frequently.
Lisa Masiello: I was rising to the occasion frequently, but the challenge also was that it took over, and the career became the primary driver in my life.
I didn't have relationships. I've never gotten married. I don't have a spouse. It was my career. After graduating from college, I wanted to be the chief marketing officer or the CEO, and that's what my goal was going to be.
And so, there was nothing that was going to deter me from that goal. Not relationships. Not starting a family. Nothing like that.
So now that I'm a lot older, I look back on that, and I think if I could talk to the younger Lisa, I would say take advantage of all of the opportunities, the professional opportunities, the personal opportunities, and those sorts of things. You deserve that.
Host: That’s all right. Live a little, as they would say.
Lisa Masiello: Absolutely. Yeah.
Host: A lot of things to come down about this balance that we have to learn as we’re getting older.
So, as you were going through this phase of being this perfectionist based off of the values that you grew up with and how you interpreted those values into action, you came to a point where you allowed yourself to be vulnerable around other people, and that gave you a whole new mindset.
What did that feel like when all of a sudden you realize, “Hey, people are not necessarily against me.”
Lisa Masiello: Right. Well, I only did it not because I had an epiphany. I did it because I was backed into a corner.
I had started my business. I wanted to bootstrap the business. I didn’t want to take any funding from anyone, and I had enough . . . because it was something that I had thought about for quite some time . . . I had enough funds amassed that I could run my business for about a year and a half to two years without needing any additional funding. So that way, I could gather a client base, increase my revenue from my clients, and grow the business myself.
And it did work well, but after a year, I'm thinking, “Well, okay, this is working well, but I need to bring in more clients here, and I need to do it more quickly.”
So, there were still things that I didn't know, and I thought I'm going to get to a point . . . I'm looking at my financial runway here, how much money I have left, how many clients I have, how much money I have coming in, and I need information. I need to be able to talk to people who have done this, who have sort of taken this path before me and can provide me with some advice and some input and things like that.
So that's what it was. I didn't have a business partner. I had my own financial resource. I thought I'm doing well, but I need to continue to do well, and so, every month, I kept backing into the corner, getting closer and closer and closer. I thought, I really have to change my attitude here and open myself and say I need help, or I have questions, or can you provide me with some advice, how did you do it?
I thought, what's the worst that can happen? They don't talk to me? So that's what I did.
And, like I said, I was amazed at the generosity of other businesspeople sharing insights, connecting me with other people they knew, telling me about new resources that are great for small businesses, and those kinds of things. And, like I said, it amazed me how generous people were.
Host: Wow. That's good stuff. Not just for the entrepreneur but also for the career person, for the family members that are sitting at home, for people that believe they have to stay where they are in the situation that they’re in, in the mindset that they're in because I heard you when you said it felt like you were backed into a corner.
And the powerful piece that I took out of that was that you said you came to this thought, this mindset where you needed to make an adjustment. You need to change the way you think about things. You need to change your attitude. You had to open up because you see the end of the runway coming in your direction.
I mean, beautiful analogy. Either you're going to take flight, or you're going to hit those trees. One or the other. And how many people are in that moment?
I want the audience all over to hear this.
How many people are looking at the trees coming towards them, and they don't know how to pull that plane so that it rises above the trees and takes flight?
You're telling them right now what to do.
You know, get a coach. Seek advice. Open yourself up. Allow yourself to be vulnerable. How did you do that? I mean, you just said it, but it's like, pow!
Lisa Masiello: Right. Right. Well, that's it. I was backed into a corner. If I had stayed in the corporate world, if I had never started my own business, I would never be like this because I was living in an environment where somebody else owned the business. Yes, I did a great job for the companies that I work for, but it wasn't my business. So I could go home every day. I didn't have to worry about the finances, and ultimately if the company didn't do well, then I went and I got another job.
But when it's your own business, that's a different story.
You know, Woody Allen has a quote. I think it's “80% of success is just showing up.” I think that is so true.
Not showing up necessarily for a job or showing up to some location to talk to somebody, but I see it as showing up for your life. We just sit back, and we let life happen to us, and whatever happens, happens. We need to show up for our life. Whether it's a business situation you're in, or a personal situation you have with your children or your spouse, or whatever the situation is.
Show up for your life.
Host: I want to high-five you or give you a hug. I mean, that's powerful.
Showing up has got to be the number one thing. I think that there's probably a few things that you should do after you show up. What would you say about that?
Lisa Masiello: Oh absolutely. I mean, you have to be involved. You can't just show up. You know you have to get involved in whatever the situation is, but showing up is certainly the first step.
Host: That’s powerful. And then I think that one of the things that you did that like I said, was so powerful was not only were you showing up, not only were you getting involved, but then you made a decision.
What would you tell people that are listening to your story about making decisions and how important they are or not making decisions and how important it is understanding what you're doing then?
Lisa Masiello: Well, it's so difficult sometimes because whether we're talking about our business lives or our personal lives, we want to make the perfect decision. What is it— analysis paralysis?
Host: Yes.
Lisa Masiello: We analyze and analyze and analyze, and a day goes by, a month goes by, and six months go by, and we still haven’t made a decision.
So, it’s okay to make a decision based on the information that you have at that moment. If you make your decision and you continue on your path, and something changes, well, then you shift, and you move as the situation warrants.
You made the best decision that you could at the time with the information that you had, and now you have new information or something new happened, and so you pivot. It's okay for it not to be necessarily the perfect decision.
Host: It's okay. It’s okay for it not to be perfect. Wow. That's beautiful.
And I think that there is a lot of perfection in the imperfection.
Lisa Masiello: That’s right. Because don't forget, you are building . . . even if you take the smallest step every day, you are building. What you did yesterday and what you do today is going to build. And then you're going to build with what you do tomorrow. You are going to build some more with what you do the next day.
If I sit around and wait for something to happen or wait to make a decision for a month, well, at the end of the month, I've done absolutely nothing, and I'm still in the same place that I was a month ago.
But if I take 10 minutes today to make a decision and to make a change, and then I take 10 minutes tomorrow to do something else and make a change, and 10 minutes the next day and 10 minutes the next day, by the end of the month I'll look back and say, “Wow, I completed this project, or I really did something, and now I have the basis for something even greater.”
Host: That’s powerful. You know, my dad used to teach us all the time there's three types of people in this world.
There’s people that see things happen, and then that's it. They just see it happen.
There's people that make things happen.
Then there's people that say, “Hey, what just happened?”
Which one are you going to be?
You gotta make a choice. Who do you want to be? I definitely believe you're one of those people that make things happen. You make things happen. You create ways for you. And I love how you continue to circle back around on that whole thought process.
I mean, that was one of the first things that you said, embrace change because things should not just be happening to you. You have to start making those decisions.
How did you become such a positively minded individual?
Lisa Masiello: I don't know. I think because . . . I do know. I think it was because I realized that change isn't bad.
That first company that I worked for when I got laid off, and I thought it was the end of the world, and then as time went on and I got new jobs and better jobs and new opportunities, I thought, you know, every time I have thought that this was the end of the world, something new came along.
Maybe there was a slight bump in the road, of course.
At one point, I think it was around 2000 or 2001, the tech industry was in the tank, and I had to get out of it completely. So, I went into a completely different industry until the tech industry calmed down, and I could get back in.
So, of course, there's going to be bumps in the road. There always is.
But when you look back . . . I mean, I've looked back over a 30 year career now, and I've seen the progress, and the growth, and the opportunities, and those sorts of things.
I think I've come to the realization now that no matter what comes at me, yes, it may seem horrible at the time, but there will be light at the end of the tunnel.
Host: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I love it.
Do you watch basketball? Do you like basketball?
Lisa Masiello: You know, I watched basketball back in the 80s when Larry Bird played. I’m a Boston Celtics fan. I’m sort of a fair-weather fan. I watch when my different teams are in the playoffs, but that's about it.
Host: That's alright. I love basketball, but I don't watch too much. I enjoy working, and I enjoy spending time with my family, but I was going to say as far as transition goes, because you've illuminated so many different times, time and chance, and it's like the thought came to my mind . . . when you can't shoot, drive. Like drive to the hole.
And when you can't drive, defend.
And when you can’t defend, coach.
And when you can't coach, cheer.
There's always something that you can do.
So, if we stop focusing on what we can’t do, we can find what we can do, and we can do it so well that we can be as successful in those things instead.
Lisa Masiello: Absolutely. There is always an opportunity in that cloud.
Host: Yeah. And I just love that you talk about pivoting. Go ahead. Go ahead.
Lisa Masiello: I was going to say, I was actually speaking with someone yesterday, and we were talking about women in business and the pandemic, and burnout, and those sorts of things, and I said, you know, think about pandemic burnout as an opportunity. As a benefit.
Because so many people have felt so burned out, but it gave us an opportunity.
You know, before the pandemic, we were so focused. We were in our little narrow lane with our head down, focused on what we were working on, and then the pandemic sort of caused us to raise our heads up and look around at what was going on, and we came to the realization, “Look I don't like what I'm doing now. I don't like who I am now. I don't like the situation I'm in right now. I'm completely burned out. This is what I really want to do.”
And so many people have made that change. They are actually . . . it will be interesting to watch and see if there's any statistics that maybe we could look at in the future about people who have made the change, as a result of the pandemic, and then how their either business growth or personal growth has just exploded in a positive way because now they're doing something that they really love.
So, there's a drive and a passion for what they're doing, and they become even more successful now than they would have if the pandemic had never happened.
Host: Yes. I agree. I agree. I love it. I love it. I love it. And I enjoy everything you're saying.
When you were talking about pivoting and how you went from tech to outside of tech, and now you're back into tech, that was again another magnificent transition and movement in your life that is something that you can only see when you look backwards. It's hard to see it during that moment.
Listen, so how can people get in contact with you, Lisa? How can they reach out to you and employ you for your services?
Lisa Masiello: It's very easy. You can find out everything about me at LisaMasiello.com.
Host: That was very simple. You are in the tech marketing field, and what about your book?
Lisa Masiello: So, the book I have completed is for small business people and marketing professionals. It is called Trade Show 411.
Now that we’re in the post-pandemic world, people are starting to exhibit at trade shows and conferences and expos and things like that again in person, live, and in person, so I want to help people do that, you know, save money, get all the resources that they can that are available to them, and how they can be very successful in that.
Then I'm writing a book, as you mentioned, called, She Did and I Will. It is a book where I interview a number of different women entrepreneurs from a number of different countries around the world, sharing their stories and sharing the resources that are available to women in those different countries and really trying to be an inspiration to them to take the road that we took and start a business and really enjoy what you're doing.
Host: That's awesome. That's awesome. I love it. I love it.
So y'all, go out there. Get Lisa's book, She Did and I Will, and get the 411 on what's going on with the trade shows because these things are really building up.
I think Zuck was a little disappointed probably because he was really funding for this meta, the metaverse, you know, and people want to get out of the computer, so I think that's going to stall his metaverse launch a little bit. But, I mean, it's already out there.
What do you think about that, by the way?
Lisa Masiello: We’re tired of Zoom. It's great, but, yes, I can see you, Joel, and I can see your expressions and things like that, but it's not the same as when you're right in front of someone and you're having a personal conversation, and you're really interacting. There's nothing like it, especially in business.
Host: Yeah, I love it. You know, that reminds me because I think I left my current book or one of the current books that I'm reading that's called Work and Contemplation. It's like 100 years old, this book. I ruffle through the pages, and the pages aren't like the pages of today. They're very thick, and you can smell it, and I just love the touch.
Lisa Masiello: Absolutely. That's right. There's nothing like it.
Host: I appreciate you being on the show with us. Are there any final words that you would like to offer to the audience?
Lisa Masiello: Well, I think, you know, what I started with—embrace change. It can provide you with so many great opportunities.
Host: Beautiful. Beautiful. Everyone, Lisa Masiello. Thank you, Lisa.
Lisa Masiello: Thank you, Joel. Bye-bye.
Host: Well, Lisa was extremely warm and kind and very knowledgeable.
I think this story that she gave—there were many transitions in there. I didn't point all of them out, but I think that many of you all should have caught them.
Embracing change was very powerful, but the positive attitude, the positive mindset that she gained through embracing that change, I would have to say that that is my takeaway.
That if you can learn how to embrace your change and you can learn how to wait it out. If you can learn how to be patient in the midst of your struggle and make the choice, just make the choice, and if you gotta make another one, then make another one.
If you can do that, then it will positively affect your life because no matter where you are, no matter who you are, as much as it starts with you, it starts with me.
Peace.
