#190. Future-Proof Yourself: The Human Skills AI Can Never Replace with Stephanie Sylvestre

#190. Future-Proof Yourself: The Human Skills AI Can Never Replace with Stephanie Sylvestre

If AI has you feeling anxious, confused, or left behind, this conversation is exactly what you need to hear. Host Desiree Stanley sits down with Stephanie Sylvestre—CEO and co-founder of AvatarBuddy.ai and a barrier-breaking leader in technology and social impact—who has spent over a decade building AI solutions that amplify human potential rather than replace it. Stephanie's take is both practical and refreshingly hopeful: AI is a powerful tool, but the most powerful force in the room is still you. Stephanie demystifies the tech landscape with clarity and zero condescension—explaining what large language models, AI agents, and agentic AI actually mean, and why she compares unsupervised AI to handing a 15-year-old the keys to your bank account, your email, and your most important client. She also tackles the elephant in the room: the AI job displacement narrative. Her take? The layoffs aren't really about AI—they're about companies using AI as cover to do what they've wanted to do for years, just like they did in 2008. And the antidote isn't fear. It's continuous learning, adaptability, and refusing to let your skills go stale. The conversation turns to the five quintessentially human skills that no algorithm can replicate: critical thinking, creativity, resourcefulness, resilience, and problem solving. These aren't soft skills—they're the wisdom and discernment that allow us to evaluate what AI produces, push back when it's wrong, and imagine what it never could. Stephanie's message to artists especially: AI can only produce what it's already seen. It cannot dream, riff, or see a purple sunrise the way a human can—and the world will always need people who can. Beneath all the noise and fear around AI, Stephanie offers something rare: a clear-eyed, hopeful view of what's actually happening—and why the skills that make you human aren't becoming obsolete. They're becoming more essential than ever. Bio:Stephanie Sylvestre's journey is the story of what happens when relentless curiosity meets the cutting edge of technology—and refuses to leave humanity behind. From her early days as a barrier-breaking leader in corporate America to her current role as the founder of an AI company dedicated to preserving Black history through digital twins, Stephanie has always been ahead of the curve. She's not just talking about the future—she's building it, one innovative solution at a time. But what truly sets Stephanie apart isn't just her technical expertise or entrepreneurial spirit—it's her unwavering belief that the most powerful force in the age of AI is still the human mind. Stephanie has helped organizations and individuals navigate seismic technological shifts, all while championing the skills that make us quintessentially human: resilience, creativity, resourcefulness, problem solving and critical thinking. Her story is filled with moments of bold reinvention—like when she leveraged AI to give underrepresented youth access to digital mentors, or when she turned a chance encounter with a government official into a groundbreaking public sector partnership. Stephanie's approach is practical, inspiring, and always rooted in real-world impact. Connect with Stephanie:Email: stephanie@avatarbuddy.ai [stephanie@avatarbuddy.ai] Website [https://avatarbuddy.ai/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/avatar_buddyai/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-a-sylvestre/] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7WJI0FupsR6CTMmI6-MEeQ] Books mentioned:All Rise: A Lawyer's Evolution from Prison to Purpose by Rashmi Airan – Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/116550/9798891386723] | Amazon [https://amzn.to/4oufL1X] ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Enjoyed this episode? Leave a review and share it with a friend. The more we educate, inspire, and empower each other, the further this conversation goes. Questions or just want to say hi? Find me at PocketsofKnowledge.com or on Instagram @desireedstanley. Thanks for listening! This podcast is intended to educate, inspire, and empower you on your personal journey. Guests may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services mentioned. Nothing here is medical advice—I'm not a doctor. Please consult a qualified health professional for any medical concerns.

#189. Finding Your Voice: Speak Confidently & Lead Authentically with Lauri Smith

In this rich, soulful conversation, host Desiree Stanley sits down with Lauri Smith—speaker, author, coach, and host of the Untamed Leader Podcast—who helps wild-hearted leaders stop performing and start transforming the energy of the room when they speak. Drawing on decades in theater and coaching, Lauri's work is rooted in a simple but radical belief: the most charismatic, compelling version of you is the one you were born as, before the world told you to tone it down. Throughout the episode, Lauri explores why being heard isn't just about finding the right words, but about what your body is doing when you say them, how your breath is (or isn't) moving, and whether you're playing offense or defense before you've even opened your mouth. Her reframe: instead of trying not to do it wrong, set an intention for what you want the room to feel—and lead from there. Lauri also tackles the difference between assertive and aggressive, why "scarecitement" might be more honest than either fear or confidence. Her book, Your Voice Matters: A Guide to Speaking Soulfully When It Counts, is the quieter, introvert-friendly entry point for anyone who has a message but isn't quite ready to step into the room yet. If you've ever walked into a room and immediately made yourself smaller—pulled in your energy, chosen your words carefully—this conversation is for you. Lauri has a way of making you realize that the version of you that got quietly tamed over the years isn't gone. She's just waiting for permission to show up. And your voice? It's not just yours. It's a necessary part of the human orchestra—and the world actually needs to hear it. Bio:Lauri Smith is a speaker, author, coach, and host of the Untamed Leader Podcast. She treats leadership as a sacred art — one that raises consciousness and guides people home to their true selves. Theatre was Lauri's first spiritual home. At 7 years old, her mother found her in the backyard talking to herself and signed her up for acting class. Surrounded by deeply present creatives, it was the first place she felt fully alive. Years later, while juggling an office job by day and theatre by night, someone asked her to fax something — and a voice inside screamed, Don't you know I'm meant for greater things? She stopped hiding. She stopped performing. She crossed a threshold back into everything she'd been told she couldn't or shouldn't be her entire life: Wild. Emotional. Raw. Intuitive. Untamed. Radiant. She let go of who the world told her to be and remembered who she actually is. That moment reshaped how she leads, speaks, and lives. Today, Lauri helps wild-hearted leaders stop performing and start transforming the energy of the room when they speak — so they can ignite meaningful change. Connect with Lauri:Website [https://www.Voice-Matters.com] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646] Resources: The Speaker Alter Ego Quiz [https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/] – Reveal the mask that dims your one-in-eight-billion radiance and step into speaking and leading from your untamed, soul-aligned voice. Books mentioned:Your Voice Matters: A Guide to Speaking Soulfully When It Counts – Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/116550/9780996803939] | Amazon [https://amzn.to/4ucS7bD]The Soul-Sourced Entrepreneur by Christine Kane – Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/116550/9781950665440] | Amazon [https://amzn.to/4fxEY9x]The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/116550/9780062315007] | Amazon [https://amzn.to/49MncM3] Podcasts mentioned: Untamed Leader Podcast with Lauri Smith [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/untamed-leader/id1761929336] | Everything is Energy with Cathy Heller [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everything-is-energy-with-cathy-heller/id1191831035] | The Bridges and Beacons with Kelly Myerson [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bridges-and-beacons-podcast/id1603063964] ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Enjoyed this episode? Leave a review and share it with a friend. The more we educate, inspire, and empower each other, the further this conversation goes. Questions or just want to say hi? Find me at PocketsofKnowledge.com or on Instagram @desireedstanley. Thanks for listening! This podcast is intended to educate, inspire, and empower you on your personal journey. Guests may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services mentioned. Nothing here is medical advice—I'm not a doctor. Please consult a qualified health professional for any medical concerns.

#188. Solo Travel & the Search for Belonging: How Getting Lost Helps You Find Yourself with Tracy Smith

What if getting lost is exactly how you find yourself? In this warm, adventurous conversation, host Desiree Stanley sits down with Tracy Smith—memoirist, solo traveler, and author of The Purpose of Getting Lost—who at 49, after divorce and decades of people-pleasing, booked a one-way ticket to Iceland and never really stopped. What began as an impulsive yes became a four-year journey across continents and a profound reckoning with belonging, identity, and what it means to finally take up space in your own life. Tracy shares how solo travel gave her something she'd never quite found at home: freedom from the pressure to fit in. When you're clearly the outsider, you stop trying to belong and simply get to be. She also makes a distinction that resonates far beyond travel: she hasn't reinvented herself through these adventures. She's simply recognized that she deserves space alongside all her other roles. Not reinvention—recognition. And she's slowly, imperfectly learning to bring that same permission home. Along the way, Tracy opens up about the harder lessons—the holiday moments that didn't go as planned, the loneliness of transitions, and what it took to start showing up for herself without waiting for the right circumstances or the right destination. Her biggest shift has been learning that every moment with someone you love is already the special day—and that releasing the pressure of specific days to carry all the meaning changes everything. Tracy also pulls back the curtain on her next chapter: The Geography of Connection, a year-long project studying how belonging shows up in the smallest human gestures across cultures and continents. Whether you're navigating an empty nest, longing for more adventure, or simply trying to understand why you feel more like yourself somewhere else, this conversation will make you want to raise your hand and say: hey, I'm here too. Bio:Tracy Smith is a memoirist, solo traveler, and storyteller whose debut book, The Purpose of Getting Lost, chronicles her journey from decades of pretending and people-pleasing to rediscovering herself across continents. At 49, after divorce, surgeries, and a lifetime of feeling like she didn't quite fit in, Tracy booked a one-way ticket to Iceland—and kept going. Today, she uses her global adventures to explore belonging, courage, midlife reinvention, and what it really means to choose yourself. Her work resonates deeply with women navigating transition, reminding us that it's never too late to rewrite your story. Connect with Tracy: Email: tracytravelseverywhere@gmail.com [tracytravelseverywhere@gmail.com] | Website [https://www.tracysmithauthor.com/] | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577993567521] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/tracytravelseverywhere/] | Substack [https://substack.com/@tracysmithphd] Books mentioned:The Purpose of Getting Lost: A Story of Finding Myself by Tracy Smith – Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/116550/9798993320717] | Amazon [https://amzn.to/4uGX1OS]Anything by David SedarisUp in the Old Hotel by  Joseph Mitchell – Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/116550/9780679746317] Substack:JJ Rose [https://substack.com/@jjrose007] ——— Enjoy this Podcast? If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can also share this with your friends so that they can be educated, informed, inspired and empowered! Questions? Contact me through my website, www.PocketsofKnowledge.com, or find me on Instagram @desireedstanley. Thanks for listening! ——— This podcast is intended to educate, inspire, and empower you on your personal journey. Please note that individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

#187. What Every Woman Must Know About Money, Planning & Life's Unexpected Turns with Paula Harris

Most of us know we should be better prepared financially—but few of us know what "prepared" actually looks like until it's too late. In this warm, practical conversation, host Desiree Stanley sits down with Paula Harris—co-founder of WH Cornerstone Investments, TEDx speaker, and author of Rise Up: A Widow's Journal—who brings both the financial expertise and the human compassion to help women navigate some of life's hardest transitions, from retirement planning to sudden widowhood. Paula walks through the essential financial preparation every woman should have in place before she needs it—named beneficiaries, and your own credit card in your own name. She also offers clear, compassionate guidance for women who have just lost a spouse: don't make rash decisions and above all, don't isolate. Let people show up for you. Beyond the documents and the dollars, Paula challenges women to think more expansively about wealth—not just saving, but investing in your health, asking for the raise you've earned, and aligning your financial decisions with your actual values instead of society's expectations. She also reframes retirement entirely: instead of racing to retire from something, she encourages women to retire to something—a purpose or a community—because a paycheck isn't the only thing work gives us. Whether you're in your 30s just starting to think about this, approaching retirement and wondering what's next, or navigating the loss of a spouse and unsure where to begin, this conversation offers both the practical roadmap and the reassurance that it's never too late—or too early—to get your financial house in order and build a life that's truly yours. Bio:As WH Cornerstone Investments' co-founder, Paula Harris is part financial planner and part dream architect who takes great pride in helping her clients, particularly mid-life widowed women, obtain financial peace of mind while they get back on their feet, rise up and navigate their path forward. Paula is assisting women in the life planning that goes hand-in-hand with financial planning. She is a Return on Life Advisor™, as well as, a Certified Jack Canfield Methodology Trainer in Jack Canfield's Success Principles. She is a TEDx speaker: "Low Tech Love: The Power of a Handwritten Note." Paula is the author of "Rise Up: A Widow's Journal" and "Rise Up: A Grief Journal", as well as, a co-author of "Life Lessons in Success". She is also the founder of Rise Up Success Training and has run several Rise Up weekend retreats for women in transition. She also has a YouTube channel called Wisdom Wednesday | Paula Harris where she shares her ponderings, positivity and prayer. A graduate of Providence College. Paula lives in Massachusetts with her husband & business partner, Bill Harris. Together they love to travel to remote places, go fly fishing, and seek new adventures. Connect with Paula:Website [http://whcornerstone.com/] | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/WHCornerstone] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/whcornerstone/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/wh-cornerstone-investments/] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@PaulaHarris1] Resources:TEDx talk [https://youtu.be/ebYIOdzqNWI?si=1ctjYjQhXhHD1Y6U] | The Hallow app Books mentioned:I'm Dead, Now What? Planner [https://amzn.to/4v7If3N] | What if ... Workbook by Gwen W. Morgan: Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/116550/9781502583888] | Amazon [https://amzn.to/3PKdm6u] | The Correspondent by Virginia Evans: Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/116550/9780593798430] | Amazon [https://amzn.to/4nPr6cN] | Theo of Golden by Allen Levi: Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/116550/9781668236512] | Amazon [https://amzn.to/4dwxz93] | Rise Up: A Widow's Journal by Paula Harris: Amazon [https://amzn.to/4nR7yF1] | Rise Up: A Grief Journal [https://amzn.to/4a37UCr] Podcasts mentioned:Unique Ability with Julia Waller [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-unique-ability-podcast/id1867504960] | Darren Hardy Daily on Demand [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/darrendaily-on-demand/id1449270369] | The Resetter Podcast with Dr Mindy Pelz [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-resetter-podcast-with-dr-mindy/id1503897906] | The Dr. Hyman Show [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-doctors-farmacy-with-mark-hyman-m-d/id1382804627] | Saint of the Day [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-saint-of-the-day-podcast/id1628634137] ——— If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can also share this with your friends so that they can be educated, informed, inspired and empowered! Contact me through my website, www.PocketsofKnowledge.com, or find me on Instagram @desireedstanley. Thanks for listening! ——— This podcast is intended to educate, inspire, and empower you on your personal journey. Please note that individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

#186. Breaking the Cycle: Love Addiction, Codependency & Reclaiming Your Self-Worth with Chaya Garcia

What if the work of finding the right relationship has nothing to do with finding the right person—and everything to do with becoming the right person for yourself?  In this candid, eye-opening conversation, host Desiree Stanley sits down with Chaya Garcia—dating and relationship expert, CEO, and host of the 100% Podcast—who shares how a painful breakup at 26 became the catalyst for two decades of research into why smart, successful women end up in unhealthy relationships, and what it actually takes to change that pattern for good. Chaya introduces the concept of love addiction—how waiting for a text, craving approval, and staying in relationships that hurt you follows the same physiological cycle as any substance addiction, including the highs, the lows, and the intermittent reinforcement that keeps you hooked. She explains the critical difference between "finding" a partner (which comes from need) and "attracting" one (which comes from wholeness), and why codependency shows up not just in romance but in friendships and work relationships too. She also offers a powerful reframe for anyone considering whether to stay or leave: it's not about having a broken home—it's about protecting your children and yourself from broken people destroying the home you have. Throughout the episode, Chaya shares her signature inner child work—including mirror work, daily self-talk in a gentle tone, and the Rise and Shine framework from her Epic Love Mastermind—as practical tools for rebuilding self-worth from the inside out. Her guiding philosophy: you are 100% imperfect and 100% lovable at the same time, and your happiness was never anyone else's job to create. When you genuinely believe that, the wrong people stop having power over you. Whether you're navigating a difficult relationship, freshly out of one, or simply trying to understand why you keep ending up in the same patterns, this conversation offers both the clarity and the compassion to start choosing yourself—not someday, but right now. Bio: Chaya Garcia is a LMSW and she’s am on a mission to change marriage dynamics through training women (and men) how to love themselves, re-empower their inner child, be honest with who is responsible for their happiness, educate them on healthy and unhealthy signs of behavior during the dating process and ultimately feel secure and confident in making the decision on who to marry that will ensure healthy dynamics and a safe space for each to grow and fulfill their purpose Connect with Chaya: Website: https://connectwithchaya.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEpicLoveExpert/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chayasarahgarcia/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EpicLoveExpert [https://www.youtube.com/@EpicLoveExpert] Resource: https://marriedin2025.com/ [https://marriedin2025.com/] Books mentioned: Women Who Love Too Much by  Robin Norwood - https://bookshop.org/a/116550/9780593716779 https://amzn.to/4fbGNc7 Podcasts mentioned: The 100% Podcast with Chaya Garcia - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-100-podcast/id1855653894 Mel Robbins - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mel-robbins-podcast/id1646101002 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mel-robbins-podcast/id1646101002]