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. If you live in The United States Of America and you have a TV, you know what season it is. Y'all, it is basketball season. Yep.

Erica: It is March Madness. And even if you are not a basketball fan, chances are you know about March Madness. Now I never really cared about it too much. I was always more of a football fan. I come from the SEC.

Erica: But after I met my husband, Dan, I was forced by marriage to learn a little bit more about the sport and to care a little bit more about the ACC. And living in North Carolina, y'all, we got three teams, three big teams, Duke, Carolina, and the NC State Wolfpack. And if you know, you know. But if you don't know, NC State is a little bit like the little brother here. Carolina and Duke always take center stage, always have their light shining bright, but right now, that little brother has stepped up and is shining, y'all.

Erica: Now you might be wondering, what are you doing talking about basketball on this podcast, Erica? And I get it. This is not a sports podcast, but they had a mantra this season that despite ending the regular season on a four game losing streak and having lost seven of its past nine games, fueled them into winning the ACC championship. Meaning, they defeated the number one seed, the Tar Heels, Carolina, and Duke all in the same week. And that mantra is one that I want you to adopt today.

Erica: Their mantra, why not us? Why not us? These three words have power, and I want you to take this on today and use it to help you overcome self doubt, to get creative and innovative, to build resilience, and to instill a sense of purpose. So today, I want you to say it, and I want you to believe it. I want you to think of your biggest dream, the boldest, most outrageous, audacious dream that you have.

Erica: And I want you to think, why not me? Why not us? Some people called it an irrational swagger.

Erica: Some called it a far fetched dream, and some called it outrageous even. And yet, they did it. They played five games in five days, and they won them all. This slogan turned into a rally cry that took over the news channels and helped foster a collective belief in their potential. It helped them focus on their capabilities, not their limitations, and it fueled their self belief, their resilience, and their determination.

Erica: So I want you to take this out of the basketball world, and I want you to take it into your own life. Why not you? Think of that big dream you've been dreaming, and I'll share mine with you. I wanna be the next Mel Robbins. Shoot.

Erica: I want Mel Robbins to be saying, I wanna be the next Erica Rooney. I wanna be on stages with tens of thousands of people, and I wanna have a top rated podcast that empowers people to smash the glass ceilings and any ceiling they place in their own lives. I want my message to be shared on stages across the world. And y'all, that's a big ass dream. And I would be straight up lying to you if I told you that I did not have moments of self doubt.

Erica: Sure. I believe that I can get on stages. I'm on stages. But Mel Robbins type stages? Mel Robbins type impact?

Erica: Y'all, you hear my voice getting high pitch? But if I take a page from the Wolfpack playbook, why not me? Why not me? Seriously? And there's nothing special and there's everything special about all of the most amazing people out there.

Erica: Think about Mel Robbins. There's nothing special about her upbringing. Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift, all of these amazing women, there is nothing, quote unquote, special about them except for they truly believed why not me. So what is holding me back? Well, if you think about it, the only things holding me back are, truthfully, my own sticky floors.

Erica: Why not me helps with overcoming that sticky floor of self doubt, that doubt that leads you to not take on new challenges, to not try new things, to not pursue your ambitious goals. Years ago, if I reflect back, I would have never ever thought I would be a c level leader, yet here I am. Why not me is going to help you shut down those doubts. It's gonna help you and encourage you to take on the things that you originally thought were well beyond your capabilities, and it's gonna help you stretch.

Erica: The Wolfpack did it one game at a time, and we're gonna do it one day at a time, one challenge at a time, one brave bite at a time. Now before I ever got on any stage to deliver my message, of course, I had those thoughts about who was gonna even listen to me, who's gonna pay me. But I did the work. I put in the reps. I invested in myself and in my community, and I took chances on myself.

Erica: And I started getting more and more confident that, yes, one day someone would be after me to get on the stage. But that deep belief that why not me gave me the fuel to show up, to write speeches for stages that I hadn't even secured yet. It fueled me to budget my dollars to support my dreams rather than spend them away on things I really didn't even need. Why not me?

Erica: Why not me also helps you get creative. And y'all, if you've got these big dreams, you have to be creative. You have to do things that others are not willing to do. The Wolfpack had to think outside the box about how they were gonna beat Duke and Carolina and how they were gonna do five games in five days. That is physically and mentally exhausting. I don't pretend to know anything about how you create a playbook in basketball, but in real life, you have to be creative to accomplish those big and bold dreams.

Erica: And when you believe in the possibility of success, that encourages creativity. When you think why not me, it encourages you to see opportunities where others see obstacles. And this mindset can lead to the most innovative and creative solutions to problems and creative approaches to different tasks, which in turn drives your success. Now I could easily say I'm a mom, I'm a c level leader.

Erica: There's no way that I can find the time to host a podcast, write a book, or I could be creative. I could wake up earlier and start writing and reaching out. I could schedule early morning recording sessions and late evening ones too. When do you think I'm doing this? I'm doing it before my workday starts.

Erica: And I know you've heard, where there is a will, there is a way. But the real truth is you have to start thinking outside the box if you want to achieve those big dreams. You have to start thinking, how can I make this possible? Why not me gives you that inspiration, and it gives you the motivation to try anything to make the impossible possible. Why not me builds resilience.

Erica: And if you are after those big dreams, you have to know that you're gonna be walking a path that is also filled with setbacks and failures. The why not me mentality fosters resilience, which does fuel you to bounce back from those disappointments, reframe failure, which is the key to success, and come back even stronger. You have to understand that challenges are a part of success. It's a part of the process. And if you can believe in your ability to overcome them, you are far ahead of most people playing the game.

Erica: Why not me drives your motivation. If you do not believe in your own potential, how will you ever be motivated to do the work? Seriously, if deep down you do not believe that you can do the very thing, you will never be able to do it. Me being the next Mel Robbins, that is a massive goal. And, yes, I've got those moments of doubt where I wonder how am I even gonna get there.

Erica: I think it's part of the process. But deep down, I believe in the message that I wanna share with the world. I believe there are people out there that need to hear it, because I know I needed to hear it years ago. And I believe that I am meant to be on the stage sharing that message, that belief in myself, and all of that drives my motivation. It was 5AM when I actually wrote this podcast out because I'm headed out of town next week.

Erica: I gotta get ahead of the game. But my belief in my own dreams, my belief in my capabilities, my belief that I am enough, that I am worthy, and that I am capable drives me daily. It drives me to put in the effort, the dedication, and the time, the work needed to achieve my dreams. I could be sleeping in. I could be working out.

Erica: I could be doing a million other things, but I believe why not me. And that why not me instills a deep sense of purpose and commitment to show up every single day and to show up even when I don't want to do the work. So today, friend, I want you to take a page out of that Wolfpack playbook. I don't even care if you're a basketball fan or not. I want you to take a page out of their playbook because they know what's up.

Erica: They have an unwavering belief that they can win the championship, that they can achieve greatness even if they're the little brother, even if they're the underdog, even if no one thought it was possible, even if no one else believed that they could beat the number one seed, the Tar Heels. But they believed, and they put in the work, and they showed up every day without fail. Now I love studying athletes because they all believe in themselves. They all put in the work, massive amounts of work. But this gem, this why not us mantra, this is one that anyone can take forward in their own lives.

Erica: So today, my message is simple, and it is this. Believe in yourself. Do the work. Show up. Show up for your damn self.

Erica: Show up for your daughter, your sister, your friend, show up for your family, for your team. Show up, show up, and believe in yourself. Shut out the doubt, because it might not be you, but oh, why not you. Alright, friend.

Erica: Thanks for listening. I am so glad you're here, and I hope you enjoyed this March Madness episode. If you did, I would love to hear it. Please make sure that you rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast as it truly helps it land in the hands of the person who needs to hear it the most.