Thanks again to our good friend Brandie McCallum for making another awesome introduction to today’s guest, Julia Rosien. Julia and I met for a conversation on Skype after the nudge from Brandie. I’ve been inspired by the work Julia does to help the community, both online and offline, especially for women (which is near and dear to my heart personally).
In today’s conversation, Phil and I were excited to talk to Julia about all the work she’s done to inspire and empower people through her writing and speaking. Little did we know she would announce her entry BACK INTO corporate full-time. It’s rare we talk to people who leap back in the other direction… believe me, you can still learn a lot about the fear that exists in any transition, regardless of which direction you jump.
Share Some Shut Up Love –> Being an adult is not about being perfect. It’s about unlearning all of those things and discovering the world. @juliarosien #shutupshow (click to tweet)
Fun Facts:
- Julia Rosien is the founder and Chief Idea Officer of SocialNorth, a social media strategist firm
- Julia is the founder and owner of GoGirlfriend, a travel-based website for women
- Julia is the 2013 Chairman for Withit.org, a non-profit organization for women in the home and furnishings industries
- Julia is Chief Marketing Officer of a startup tech network for women – Women Powering Technology
- Julia co-founded Canada’s first 140 Conference and its master of ceremonies as well as a presenter atTEDxWomen Waterloo, Impact99, Tweetstock.ca, Women in Biz Conference
- She was named one of the most influential women in social media and was a nominee for the Roger’s 2011 Women of the Year celebration
- Julia is now the Brand Engineer for Restonic.
Defining Shut Up Moment:
I really wanted to pretend I was perfect… then I had two really defining moments in my life.
The first thing happened almost 15 years ago. A prison opened up here in my home town. For some reason I decided I wanted to work there. I applied for a job in their school. For me it was a huge step. I was living a fairly sheltered life before that. I was home with my kids and worked from home as a freelance writer. I was really facing some really big fears. I was teaching and working with tools and big machinery with women who had killed other people.
Around that time, I was going down my journey as a travel writer. As I was arranging my travel press trip, at the last minute my travel companion canceled. I kept thinking about all the things I can’t do by myself. While talking about this to my husband, he said, “You can go. Or, you can cancel it and be ruled by your fear.” I thought whats the worst that can happen? I’m already working at a prison where things are rough every day. That’s when I realized being real, getting back to basic understanding that who I am is not this perfect image I want the world to see, but the person who is wiling to explore, discover, be afraid and be vulnerable.
Shut Up Tips:
Connection is our lifeblood. If we devalue that connection, we miss opportunities, growth and healing in our life. – Julia
If we try to focus on either what’s in common or what’s different and ignore the other half, I think we often miss the opportunity that exists with us. – Phil
It took me about 30 or 40 essays to figure out my mistakes in writing. Now I share my mistakes and walk my readers through that. At the end, I leave it and not wrap it up jn a pretty bow. I let people realize I’ve been through this experience that has changed me, helped me grow, and that there’s not black-and-white answer. – Phil
I think a lot of people get stuck in ‘getting stuck’ in the story. – Berni
The person you are at 12 years old is actually the person you are for the rest of your life. If you can connect to that 12-year-old at different points of your life, you can connect to your authentic self. – Julia
Being an adult is not about being perfect or polished or professional. It’s about being willing to unlearn all of those things and get back to that person who’s willing to discover and explore the world. – Julia
I don’t want to be an evangelist for someone who says it’s great to fail. I’m one of those runners who runs, but doesn’t like to run, or does hot yoga but doesn’t like to do it. I’m not a fear person. I like getting to the other side. – Julia
They’re going to believe what I have to say because I haven’t lied yet. – Julia
Julia Recommends:
See what Julia’s writing about for others.
Find Julia:
Julia’s social media strategist firm is SocialNorth.
Julia’s a travel-based web site for women is GoGirlfriend.
Tweet with Julia at @JuliaRosien.