I Discovered I Am a Black Man at 19 | Rick Hightower

I Discovered I Am a Black Man at 19 | Rick Hightower

Rick Hightower grew up in an all-Black neighborhood in Atlanta, arrived at TCU (a university in Ft Worth, TX) at 19, and discovered for the first time what it meant to be a Black man in a predominantly white world. That discovery shaped his entire career. In this conversation, Beth and Rick explore the survival patterns that navigating race creates, Rick introduces the concept of aversive racism, and Beth shares her own unconscious bias story and asks whether it crossed into how she led. Today’s lesson: conscious living. Chapters: 00:00 Cold open 00:10 Intro 00:45 Meet Rick Hightower 03:25 Two heart attacks and a wake-up call 05:20 The courage to speak up before retirement 12:00 Right under your nose but you don’t see 13:15 “I haven’t had any major trauma” 14:48 I discovered I was Black at 19 16:32 The calculus class that changed everything 20:00 Working harder and watching others get more 22:05 The false arrest at TCU 24:00 Black professionals and the exceptional standard 27:45 Conscious living and picking your battles 29:50 Prepare to be wrong 32:05 What navigating race costs your relationships 35:03 Seeking joy and setting boundaries 35:35 Beth’s unconscious bias story 39:56 Aversive racism explained 43:13 The mask, the pandemic, and conscious living 47:10 Close Connect with Rick Hightower: LinkedIn:   / rick-hightower-3405bb179  [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFAxYjlQV0JpRWlCb3NMYTkxQUwxX2lZWkRUQXxBQ3Jtc0ttNjg2NllJbHEtZG1rd0RCUTd6WDVMb0dmWEpfbEk0OW9UTHlMNzJZZDhwcmplN1BJSHgtMXFCMmpweTM4ZWd4MXVaeldJVUhvVzZQamZUSVltdXY5Q1huNUItaHBWNGpBYU52V2JWMjNXWFQ3aUdJUQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Frick-hightower-3405bb179%2F&v=faNid_V6oXM] Instagram: instagram.com/hightower_rick [http://instagram.com/hightower_rick] Facebook: facebook.com/rick.hightower.7 [https://substack.com/@bethjoneshealingmentor]Website: therickhightower.com [https://substack.com/@bethjoneshealingmentor]Connect with Beth: beth@empoweredsurvivors.com empoweredsurvivors.com Substack [https://substack.com/@bethjoneshealingmentor]

When Success Is the Wrong Fuel | Molly Moore Smith

What happens when the fuel running your entire career is a lack of self-worth, and you don’t realize it until the validation spigot turns off? Molly Moore Smith spent over 25 years in the tech industry, rising from entry-level to VP while her entire identity ran on external validation. In this episode, Molly names the survival patterns that drove her leadership for two decades — perfectionism, people pleasing, control, and numbing — and shares the moment she uttered the scariest words of her adult life to her boss on a Zoom call. Chapters: 00:00 Cold Open — “If success in this role means I have to spend 50% of my time doing these things, then I’m not the right person for the role” 01:02 Introduction: Molly Moore Smith 04:50 Where the Drive Began: Scarcity, Divorce, and the First Job That Rewarded Effort 06:27 External Validation as the Only Fuel 08:50 The Validation Spigot Turns Off 11:30 The Cost at Home: Mommy Guilt and the 80/20 Marriage 14:35 Naming the Survival Patterns: Perfectionism, People Pleasing, Control, Numbing 17:55 The 2019 Health Pivot 20:10 The Biggest Funk: Misalignment, Stopping Drinking, and the Zoom Call 23:00 The Scariest Sentence She Ever Said to Her Boss 26:40 What Healing Freed Up: Writing a Book, Spiritual Awakening, Energy Healing 30:20 The Emotion Code: How Trapped Emotions Drive Leadership Behavior 36:52 What Would You Say to Her? 39:42 You, Too, Can Heal Connect with Molly Moore Smith: http://nextbeststep.co [http://nextbeststep.co] linkedin.com/in/molly-smith-cecp-24345712 [http://linkedin.com/in/molly-smith-cecp-24345712] http://youtube.com//@mollypositivepants [http://youtube.com//@mollypositivepants] Through The HEAL Framework™, Beth helps leaders recognize, examine, and change these patterns. Connect with Beth: beth@empoweredsurvivors.com [beth@empoweredsurvivors.com] http://empoweredsurvivors.com [http://empoweredsurvivors.com] Substack: @‌bethjoneshealingmentor Subscribe wherever you get your podcast.

When Survival Mode Becomes Your Leadership Style | Chason Forehand

What happens when the survival strategies that got you through childhood become the leadership behaviors your team has to navigate every day? Chason Forehand spent years leading teams in hospitality while carrying unresolved trauma that shaped how he showed up: trust issues that became harshness, emotional walls that shut down empathy, and a need for control that kept his team at arm’s length. In this episode, Chason and Beth name the survival patterns that drive leadership behavior, where they come from, and what it takes to recognize them. Through The HEAL Framework™, Beth helps leaders understand that these patterns can be recognized, examined, and changed. Chapters: 00:00 Cold Open — “I was failing at that because I was struggling myself.” 01:02 The Leadership Series Begins: Why This Conversation Is Long Overdue 08:05 Chason’s Story: From Childhood Abuse to Running Restaurants 10:22 How Addiction Morphs — From Substances to Workaholism 17:55 Trust Issues at Work: When Survival Becomes Harsh Leadership 20:39 The Mask of High Performance: Succeeding While Struggling 28:09 What Emotional Intelligence Looks Like After Healing 29:48 Three Questions That Changed Everything: What Am I Feeling, Where Does It Come From, What Do I Want to Do About It 30:57 Why Healing Is a Career Imperative for Leaders 31:43 You, Too, Can Heal Connect: beth@empoweredsurvivors.com [beth@empoweredsurvivors.com] | empoweredsurvivors.com [http://empoweredsurvivors.com] Connect with Chason Forehand: Chason Forehand | Linktree [https://linktr.ee/chasonforehand?ltsid=b7edcad3-39c6-42cb-a52e-e68bda2b3b98] or Chason Forehand | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chason-forehand-rcf1222/] Subscribe wherever you get your podcast.

50 Episodes of Healing — And Where We’re Going Next | Let’s HEAL! with Beth Jones

Fifty episodes. And now, a new chapter. In this special solo episode, Beth Jones — your HEALing Mentor and Leadership Performance Strategist — reflects on the first fifty episodes of Let's HEAL! What they taught her. What they proved. And where the show is going next. From the healing toolkit to faith and forgiveness, from the courage it takes to tell your truth publicly for the first time, to the bridge between survival patterns and high-achieving leadership — this episode honors the journey and opens the door to what comes next. Because healing is not just personal. It is professional. It is organizational. Starting with Episode 51, Let's HEAL! is going into the business world — conversations at the intersection of leadership performance and healing the survival patterns that keep us from achieving real success. You, too, can heal. And when you do, you lead differently. You love differently. You build something that actually lasts. 0:00 Fifty Episodes — Sitting With the Milestone 0:33 What This Show Has Always Been 1:23 The Healing Toolkit — What the Body Knows 3:00 Healing Through Faith, Forgiveness, and Fire 4:48 The Courage to Tell the Truth 6:28 Episode 44 — Two Healed People 7:14 The Bridge to Something That Lasts 8:35 Episode 50 — Full Circle 10:12 Where We’re Going Next Connect with Beth: beth@empoweredsurvivors.com [beth@empoweredsurvivors.com] | Empowered Survivors

Ep 50: Finding Your Safe People: Unconditional Love and Healing Trauma

In a milestone Episode 50 — intentionally released during Child Abuse Prevention Month — Beth Jones is joined in person by the two women who were present the night her healing journey truly began. Wendy Wysong flew in from New Zealand and Cara O’Brien flew in from New York City — both already in Dallas to stand beside Beth at her wedding two days after this recording. It is a rare and full-circle moment: the same three women who sat at a tiny lobby bar table in Hong Kong six years ago, together again in the same room, celebrating the victory of Beth’s healing journey. Approximately three weeks after a hypnotherapy session surfaced childhood sexual abuse that Beth had long since dissociated from, she was in deep despair. Carrying fragments of memory with no clinical language to contain them. She gathered her courage and told her truth for the first time. Wendy, drawing on her early career as a victim advocate, gave Beth words that changed everything, including dissociation and trauma therapy. The next morning, a single Google search led directly to Beth’s trauma therapist, Monica Borschel, and the TALK Hong Kong survivor support group, both foundational pillars of her six-year healing journey. This is also the final episode of Let’s HEAL!’s first healing-focused chapter. Beginning in May, the show expands to explore the intersection of healing and leadership performance because the survival patterns that protect us in crisis become the invisible barriers that limit our leadership. Everything that follows begins here. Chapters: 00:00  Introduction — Episode 50 & Child Abuse Prevention Month 05:00  Meet the Tribe — Wendy Wysong & Cara O’Brien 14:00  The Rebirth — The Aftermath of the Hypnotherapy Session 18:00  The Night in Hong Kong — Summoning the Courage to Speak 25:00  Holding Space — The Gift of Presence vs. the Urge to Fix 31:00  Dissociation & Word Soup — Giving the Pain a Clinical Name 40:00  The Google Search — The Hand of God, Monica, and TALK Hong Kong 51:00  Unconditional Love — Redefining Friendship, Faith, and Belonging 66:00  A Time to Celebrate — Healing as the Foundation of Everything That Follows -- FREE RESOURCE -- 🎁 Download: The Healing Quick Start Guide → https://empoweredsurvivors.com/heal [https://empoweredsurvivors.com/heal] -- WORK WITH BETH -- 🤝 Mentoring (1:1 / group) → https://empoweredsurvivors.com/work-with-me [https://empoweredsurvivors.com/work-with-me] 🎤 Speaking & Interviews → https://empoweredsurvivors.com/speaking [https://empoweredsurvivors.com/speaking] 📖 Book: “Becoming an Empowered Survivor” → https://empoweredsurvivors.com/books [https://empoweredsurvivors.com/books] -- CONNECT WITH BETH -- 🌐 Website → https://empoweredsurvivors.com/ [https://empoweredsurvivors.com/] 📱 TikTok → @BethJonesHEALingMentor 🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethjoneshealingmentor/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethjoneshealingmentor/] -- CONNECT WITH WENDY & CARA -- 🔗 Wendy Wysong LinkedIn: Wendy Wysong [https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-wysong-4130196/] 🔗 Cara O’Brien LinkedIn: Cara O'Brien [https://www.linkedin.com/in/carao/]