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. Alright, everybody. It's November, and I have a huge announcement to make. And that is that this book, Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors Shatter Your Limiting Beliefs and Toxic Behaviors to Uncover Infinite Possibilities will be available live live live live in your hands on November 12. So y'all, I have spent over two years on this master masterpiece.

Erica: It is the single most biggest piece of work in my life, I guess, outside of having kids. But it is birthed into the world starting on November 12, and I could not be more excited. So today is going to be all about glass ceilings and sticky floors, why I even wrote this book, how it came to be, who it's for. I'm gonna talk to you about the snap method and why it's important, but we're also going to talk about the science behind this book because I'm not a woo woo girl. But I am so thrilled and just I'm excited.

Erica: I'm also a little bit terrified if I'm honest with you because there is a lot of vulnerable stories in this book, And that means people are gonna read it, and that means they're gonna know all this about me. So you see what I'm talking about? We're uncovering these sticky floors. I always have this sticky floor of worrying about what other people will think of me. And that's why this book and the work and the science and the information in this book is so important.

Erica: So without further ado, you are listening to The Glass Ceiling and Sticky Floor podcast, the podcast that will empower you to shatter limiting beliefs and toxic behaviors to uncover infinite possibilities so you can live your best life. I'm Erica Rooney, and I'm on a mission to bring more women into positions of power and keep them there. I'm obsessed with all things growth and abundance, and I'm here to talk you through the tried and true secrets to get you to level up your career and your life. We do talk about the hard stuff, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, fear, and burnout. So pull up a seat, pop in an earbud, and let's dive in.

Erica: Alright, you guys. Can you believe it? Like, I feel like I've been talking about this book for way too long. It almost feels like it was never going to happen, but here it is. And, like, we're in November, so that means it's gonna be flying off the shelf.

Erica: It's gonna be coming into your home, into your hands. And like I said, I'm excited, and I'm terrified. But I wanna talk about this and, like, how it came to be because I never thought ever in my life that I would actually write, like, a book like this. But a woman named Cassandra Worthy, who was also a keynote speaker and the author of the book Change Enthusiasm, was so gracious. She got on the phone with me one day, and we just started talking about this podcast and the work I'm doing and my passion for helping women.

Erica: And she said, Erica, you have got to put this in a book. You have got to start getting on stages, and you've got to start talking about this because this gender equality stuff is so important. And, like, as a female c level leader with two small kids, like, it is extremely it's it's just a different world for us if you're talking about corporate America. Now what's also interesting is, like, I didn't even really have the idea for this book, but I had already had this podcast going on, and I had started to notice all of the women who were on my show had themes. Like, it was either perfectionism.

Erica: It was imposter syndrome. People were struggling with knowing their worth. And, like, I just started putting all of these sticky floors into different buckets, and those buckets became chapters in the book. Now here's where the book really differs because I do not just, like, love the woo woo. Like, I love it.

Erica: Don't get me wrong. I'm here about manifesting and visualizing, and that's huge. But I'm big on the science. I wanna know the why behind it. I wanna know about how my brain works, why I think the way I do, why I act the way I do.

Erica: So I really dove in and started looking at the science behind it. So I talk a lot about positive psychology in the book. I talk about the brain and neuroplasticity, our bias towards action, you know, but we also talk about, like, negativity bias and the internal locus of control and activation energy. So I take all of this information, and we talk about the science in the first part of the book. And then we move into the sticky floors, which are, like, a lot of different stories from other women, from myself, from things I've seen and learned.

Erica: But here's what I wanna do next. I wanna talk about the actual snap method because that is really what this book is about. It is what how you shatter all of these sticky floors. And because people like myself and you, we always have these sticky floors that just kinda live deep with inside of us, like, for me, the fear of what other people will think of me, I have to work through the snap method all the time. So I will actually work through the SNAP method with you with my fear that what are people gonna think about me when this book goes out there?

Erica: So really quickly, the SNAP framework is a four step science backed framework that will help you shatter whatever limiting belief you have. Okay? The first is stop. Stop and take note of those physical sensations in your body because these limiting beliefs that we have, they often live in our unconscious mind. And when they're back there, like, we can't necessarily control what's going on.

Erica: We just get these thoughts into our brain of, like, I'm not good enough. I'm not thin enough. I'm not pretty enough. You know, nobody likes me. Everybody hates me.

Erica: Guess I'll go eat some worms. Right? Can't you tell I'm a mom? Anyways, so you wanna notice because the body keeps score. So for example, if you've ever geared yourself up to ask for a promotion or to ask for a raise, you might feel like your heart racing.

Erica: You might feel anxiety. You might feel nervousness. You know, be tapping your foot up and down. That's what I do a lot. So you might notice this.

Erica: And when you notice those physical sensations in your body, take a minute and stop and take notice of what those are. Now, fair point, you might not be in a place or situation where you can really sit and contemplate, no wonder why I'm feeling this way. But just make a mental note in your phone, or, like, write it down somewhere of, like, hey. I noticed that I was feeling this way right before x, right before I asked for a job, right before I told my partner I needed more help. Right?

Erica: Write it down so that you can revisit it later on. Because the next step in the snap framework is to name that sticky floor. And here's why that is so important. When you name that sticky floor, you start to take control and you take back your power over that sticky floor. Now I once had a mentor that always loved to say you can't unring the bell.

Erica: And when you notice that you're really struggling with these sticky floors and you actually stop and you take note and then you name it, you then take that power back and you can actually start doing something about it. So with my fear of this book going out into the world and what people will think of me, I noticed the anxiety. It was it felt like it was just, like, fluttering through my chest. It was almost like this high energy butterfly wing, hummingbird type sensation that was just giving me a lot of anxiousness about it coming out. And so I stopped.

Erica: I noticed that restlessness per se. And then I named it. I named that I am worried people are now going to be reading this and having an opinion about it one way or the other. And, like, let's also be real that I need to be okay with people not liking the book. So this is gonna be a really great life test for me to get okay being not liked.

Erica: So that's great for me, I suppose, but it's gonna be tough. Okay. Moving to step three, the ask and answer. That's the a. So we've got stop, take note of the body, what's going on, name that sticky floor, and then ask and answer some deep and personal questions.

Erica: Now my two favorite questions to ask are, is it thoughtful? Now my two favorite questions to ask are, is this thought helpful, and is this thought true? Those two questions, 99.9% of the time, the answer is usually no. It's not helpful and it's not true. Or there's like a a variation of the truth somewhere in there.

Erica: But those questions really help you peel back the onion to help you understand why do you have these sticky floors? Why is your first thought one of a limiting nature, one of scarcity, one of fear, and not one of abundance growth and success? So when we talk about asking these questions, I've got a list of them. I'm happy to share them, but it really starts with, is this thought helpful and is this thought true? And when you're honest with yourself, you'll usually find that, no, it's not helpful and, no, it's not true.

Erica: So for me, getting this book out into the world, is it helpful that I'm having these thoughts that people may not like me after they read the book or that they might not like the book. No. It's not helpful because I have this book, and it's gotta go out into the world, and there are 8,300,000,000 people here. We are bound to have some people that do not like my book. So not helpful and not true.

Erica: Right? Like, there's a lot of people who've already told me they love the book. There are a lot of people out there who are like, wow. This is amazing. Like, I am so glad this book is out there.

Erica: It is this snap method has really helped me uncover these sticky floors. So that being said, though, we talked about, like, a variation of truth with some of these questions. So when I sit there and I say people aren't going to like me because of this book, is it true? It is a little bit true. There are some people that may think this book is shit, and they may think I am full of shit too.

Erica: But guess what? Back to that 8,300,000,000 number. There are 8,300,000,000 people in this world. Not all of them are going to like me, and I have to be okay with that. And that kinda takes me to the fourth step, which is the p step, the pivot.

Erica: And here's what I love about the pivot. It's just your opportunity for a reframe. Right? And I kinda just did that when I was talking to you about, hey. There are 8,300,000,000 people in this world.

Erica: Not all of them are gonna like me, and I have to be okay with that. That is a that is a pivot in a way, shape, or form. Right? And so you have to really embrace that pivot. And that really is this concept of I don't have to to I don't get to.

Erica: From rejection is bad to rejection is protection. From I've never done this before to I haven't done it yet. So you have one viewpoint that is filled with limitations, and then you have another that is filled with infinite possibilities. And I challenge you to really lean into the pivot because it might not work out. It really might not.

Erica: I might have 8,300,000,000 people minus one, my mother, you know, who think this book is trash. But what if it does work out? What if it becomes a bestseller? What if it changes the lives of just one person? Then you know what?

Erica: In my mind, it was all worth it. So if you're wondering if this book is for you or if it's just some other, like, help, self help woo woo book just like, do I really need it? I actually wanna read directly from this book who it is for because I wrote this, and I think it is powerful. But this book is for any woman who has ever been told that you can't have it all. For the woman who feels overwhelmed and exhausted from striving to do everything she can to break through that glass ceiling yet is still so far away from it.

Erica: For the woman who questions if she is enough, is she pretty enough, qualified enough, thin enough? For the woman who has ever doubted her worth, for the woman who has struggled to set boundaries, for the woman who used wine to numb out her pain, and for the woman who was the only female in the boardroom. I share that. This is for you. This is for you at any age, any stage, any weight, any time.

Erica: This is for you because I am you. I have dimmed my light. I have made myself small. I have sacrificed my own happiness for the happiness of others, but you know what? No freaking more.

Erica: No freaking more. It's time to stop putting ceilings on what we think is possible, and it is time to start smashing through them. So with all that being said, you can buy this book now on Amazon. Preorders do count. And as a because you're a listener, because you're watching this on YouTube, I wanna let you know I will be doing a campaign where the audiobook is on sale for, like, 99¢.

Erica: Can't beat that deal. Right? And if you want a signed copy, hit me up. You can buy it directly from me. I will send you a signed autograph copy.

Erica: But please do buy the book, rate it on Amazon. It really helps it elevate up the charts. It is so important for authors. And, you know, all that being said, like, I'm just so grateful for all of your support for just listening to this podcast, just watching it on YouTube, and really helping this idea of glass ceilings and sticky floors come out into the world. Because my biggest hope for this book y'all is that when my six year old daughter is old enough to read it and comprehend it, that she looks at me and she's like, mom, this book is bullshit.

Erica: Like, this is what you had to deal with. So that's my hope for the book. But please also rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast. Do it on YouTube. Do it everywhere.

Erica: Help a girl out, y'all. You know I quit corporate. I'm out here trying to make it in the world. So I appreciate you. I'm so grateful you're here.

Erica: Thank you for listening. And in case no one else has told you today, you're freaking amazing. So like, let's do the damn thing. Alright. I'll talk to you soon.