Erica: Hey, girl. By now, you know I have Her Collective, my online community for ambitious women who are done doing it alone. Her Collective is for the women who are smart, capable, and driven, but they find themselves stuck on the sticky floors like self doubt, burnout, and waiting for permission that quite honestly never comes. Inside HER, you get more than motivation. You get real support, real strategies, and real momentum.

Erica: We work on things like clarifying what you want now and what's coming next, building confidence without burning yourself out, navigating hard conversations, career moves, and leadership moments with clarity, and surrounding yourself with women who actually get it. This isn't about hustling harder. It's about moving intentionally with the right tools and the right people in your corner. If you're ready to stop spinning, start choosing yourself, and build a career in life that actually feels aligned, I'd love to welcome you inside her collective. You can learn more and join us at www.joinhercollective.com.

Erica: Because honestly, girl, you were never meant to do this alone. I'm gonna jump in today on this stepping stone, and I'm gonna talk to you about the four lies that you tell yourself that keep you stuck in your career. We tell ourselves all sorts of things to justify our decisions, our actions, or rather the lack thereof. When life is hard, time is short, situations are tough. We choose the easy way out.

Erica: You've heard the saying that if it was easy, anyone would do it dead on. Now the human body and mind are made to move towards the familiar, especially when it comes to our careers. That job you've been in for ten years is a hell of a lot easier to do on a daily basis than getting up early, job hunting, networking, filling out applications. It takes time. It takes effort.

Erica: It takes work. So we stay, and we say, maybe I'll start tomorrow. We go to work. We do the mundane. We come home unfulfilled, unsatisfied, but comfortable.

Erica: In short, we lie to ourselves because it is easier. We don't have to face the fear of failure. We don't have to face the fear of rejection. We don't have to face the fear of vulnerability. Now these are the lies that are gonna keep you stuck.

Erica: I'm going to tell you what you need to do to break free from that sticky floor and move on up. The first lie. I don't have the time. Dead wrong. You don't make the time.

Erica: Now that's a little bit of tough love, but it's true. Everyone has the same twenty four hours in a day. You must make the time to do the things. And think about it. Like, I tell myself this a lot of times too.

Erica: Right? I don't have time to work out. That's not true. I'm just not making the time. How much time do you spend scrolling through your phone, looking at Instagram, Facebook, and, you know, the one that keeps me tethered is TikTok.

Erica: Right? Like, I've done that. But what can you do? What's worked for me? Dead on time blocking.

Erica: So I hate to say it, but when I actually plan out my day with time blocking, I stay focused on the task at hand. I am a sucker for going into email throughout the day, in and out, in and out, you know, and what happens is it takes my attention to my focus away from the task at hand, which then leads me to actually taking more time to get it done. If you're a social media junkie, guys, this one has saved me. There are apps where you can plug in how much time you want to allow yourself to spend on social media apps, and then they actually lock you out once you hit that allotted time. Think like parental controls, but for adults.

Erica: So if you're somebody who constantly tells yourself that you don't have the time, try one of those things. The second lie we often tell ourselves is I'm not qualified enough. Now let me ask you this question. How the hell do you know? Not all companies are looking for a person who meets all of the qualifications.

Erica: Y'all, I am a chief people officer. I would much rather take someone who has the right attitude about things, the willingness to learn, than somebody who has all of the qualifications. People are looking for that person who knows enough that they can be trained. Right? The attitude.

Erica: Sure. Some rules call for a subject matter expert. I get it. But I'm telling you, it is the right attitude, the culture fit, and the positive mindset. All the skills and expertise in the world will not fix someone with a bad attitude and will actually cost you more overall in terms of culture, you know, bad hires, all of that.

Erica: So you need to go ahead and apply for the interview in the job anyways. You might surprise yourself. Now the one thing I know that I do well, sorry. I should say the one thing I know is that you do miss 100% of the shots that you do not take. So take the shot, take the interview, take the chance on yourself.

Erica: Remember, the job doesn't go to the most qualified person. It goes to the person who shows how they bring value to the position and in the best way, and that is not always through skill. Lie number three. I have never blank and insert that there. It could be I've never worked in the industry before, or I've never held this level position before.

Erica: I've never been a people leader before. I've never worked remote before. It could be anything that gives you apprehension, anxiety, and fear because it's not something you've done. But remember, everybody was new at something at some point. Serena Williams never picked up a tennis racket at one point.

Erica: Sheryl Sandberg had never given a public speech before, and you have never done all the things that you are now currently a badass at. So if this is a lie you tell yourself, I want you to do this right now. Shoot. Even if it's not a lie that you tell yourself, I still want you to do this right now because it is a great confidence booster. I want you to close your eye and think about something that everyone tells you you do really well.

Erica: What is it that people ask of you often? Do they ask you to make them that cherry pie? It's like the best cherry pie in the world. Maybe you give great life advice. Maybe you make the most beautiful paintings, whatever it is.

Erica: Take a moment and think back to the things people have said to you about that gift. And remember that you were once a beginner at that. And now look at you. Damn, you make the best cherry pie. You give the best life advice.

Erica: You make the best paintings. I don't know. But you have a gift. So think about that. Do you feel a confidence boost?

Erica: And the fourth lie that we often tell ourselves is that there are others out there who are better than me. So first of all, duh. No shit. Right? So unless you are the world record holder, the Olympian, that, yes, there are most likely out there, others who are better than you.

Erica: But do they do it in the same way as you? Likely not. So let's take me for example. There's plenty of people out there who host podcast. Plenty of people out there who have focused on empowering women.

Erica: So why me? Because there's no one out there who's like me. There's no other Erica out there who's doing this like me, delivering the message like me and connecting with people the way I do. There just isn't. You know, the wonderful thing about Tigger is that I'm the only one.

Erica: I'm the only Erica like that. So don't get it twisted. Right? Sometimes I gotta remind myself. Sometimes I gotta check myself.

Erica: Sometimes I need others to straighten my crown for me. K? But that is the truth. I am the only one. Now there have been a few times in my career, guys, that I have been pleasantly surprised.

Erica: At least I was surprised to land a job or a promotion or even a certain salary mark. Hell, one time I interviewed for a job and I was offered a salary. I came back. I countered a bit more, and they came back $10,000 over that ask because they wanted me. They wanted to seal the deal.

Erica: And, like, let's just take a minute to say their tactic freaking worked. I absolutely joined that company. I felt seen. I felt heard. I felt valued as a professional.

Erica: So I have one solution for you. This is this is it. This is the only thing you have to do. You have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. That space outside your comfort zone, you should go live there.

Erica: It's not easy. In fact, it can be really frickin hard. It can also be riddled with disappointment. I'm not saying that every time I step outside my comfort zone that I'm rewarded, but I have been rejected. I have been ignored and I've been downright laughed at.

Erica: But through each one of those encounters and disappointments, I have learned something. We lie to ourselves because it's easier, because it feels safer in that moment. We lie to ourselves and we keep ourselves small. But you are not meant to be small. You are meant to be big and to be bold and to be powerful.

Erica: You are meant to be living a life filled with purpose, with excitement, and to be filled up with things that just light you up inside. So it's time, guys, to stop telling yourself these lies. It's time to start living big.