Ignite Your Confidence with Karen Laos

Declare Who You Want to Be (and go be it!) with Jess Ekstrom

Episode Summary

Jess and Karen talk about the power of authenticity, resilience, positivity and making your mark (the way you want to!). You can be a thought leader exactly as you are. Jess talks about her biggest mistake in business and how a time when she didn’t speak up led her to create what she does now - helping women become speakers and authors.

Episode Notes

Jess and her husband “pretend declared” that they were living in an Airstream doing a book tour - and it actually happened! This speaks to the power of “trying it on.” 

Listen for what Karen first thought of Jess when she saw her video ad from the Nashville airport and how that led to a milestone moment in September 2019 when she signed up for Jess’s Mic Drop workshop. This led Karen to create a formula for women called the 3D’s: Decide, Declare and Deliver.

Tangible Takeaways:

• You can reinvent yourself at any time.
• We have permission to choose who we are and what we do.
• If you believe you’re solving a problem, then the problems you encounter along the way won’t be big enough to stop you. 
• Declare to others and yourself that you’re speaker, writer, author, etc.
• Hit publish, go live, go for the gig: go for it!
• The more we engage with the world, the more amazing things are going to happen. Be open. 
• Be confident in knowing that everyone is just as insecure as you are 
• Write the testimonial you want to have
• Try on who you want to be and ask yourself, “What would that look like?”

About Jess:

Jess Ekstrom is the founder and CEO of Headbands of Hope, a company that donates headbands to kids with illnesses with every headband sold. Headbands of Hope has been featured on the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, QVC, The View and worn by celebrities like Kelsea Ballerini and Khloe Kardashian. More importantly, Headbands of Hope has donated over 1 million headbands, reaching every single children's hospital in America and 22 countries.

After starting her company, she wanted to use her ups and her downs to help other women become valued as experts in their industry. In 2020, she started Bright Pages: a guided online journal for doers and creators. 

Jess is also the bestselling author of Chasing the Bright Side and creator of online courses + communities for women to become paid keynote speakers and get book deals. Jess lives and travels full-time in her Airstream with her husband, Jake, and their 70 lb dog, Ollie. 

Connect with Jess:

www.instagram.com/jess_ekstrom

www.facebook.com/jessekstrom

www.twitter.com/jess_ekstrom

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-ekstrom-59160342/

About me:
Karen Laos is a keynote speaker and leadership coach equipping women to stand out with unshakable confidence. She specializes in communication: executive presence and compelling messages. Karen champions female business leaders to own their value and find their voice so they can be seen and heard. She also works with teams to create cultures of trust and function at their best.

Karen has coached leaders at Facebook, Google, Netflix, Uber, Sephora, Sony, Microsoft, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Trip Advisor, Bacardi, Levi, and more. Karen’s style is fun, encouraging and results-oriented. She immediately moves past the “fluff” and gets straight to the issue (just ask her clients).

Connect with me:
Website: https://www.karenlaos.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenlaosconsulting

Facebook: Ignite Your Confidence with Karen Laos: https://www.facebook.com/groups/karenlaosconsulting

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenlaos/

Clubhouse: @karenlaos

Episodes also available on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEwQoTGdJX5eME0ccBKiKng/videos