Quick Lift: Lead With Intention, Ask With Confidence

0:00 Welcome to Loud and Lifted, I'm your host Betsy Hamm and today's quick lift is a shot of bold truth and practical wisdom you can digest before your coffee gets cold. This week we're amplifying the wisdom of Julia Arpeg, founder of Align Recruitment and a powerhouse in values -based leadership. Julia didn't wait for permission, she made the brave choice not to take the job, to bet on herself and build a business that aligns with her purpose. Her journey is packed with courage, clarity, and conscientious decisions. and we're breaking it down into bite -sized takeaways with action items. Let's get lifted. Takeaway number one.

0:44 Your mindset needs a daily tune -up. Julie is successful, but she isn't just stopping there or stopping where she's at. She continues to work on self -improvement daily. I thought it was so interesting when she talked about her affirmations. She listens to a 17 minute recording now at this point. It's her own words and her own voices daily. And she talked about mindset is something that is not done mindsets every day and you have to keep leveling up. I love this and I think this is something that most of us don't spend time thinking about and especially listening to positive affirmations. It's one of the takeaways. I know that I'm definitely going to try. And this isn't just about the positive affirmations. It's maybe taking a minute to meditate, maybe just sitting in silence, thinking about all the things that you have gratitude for. We often get caught up on what we need to improve or what we don't have or what we're missing out on. But we all have so much to be thankful and to have gratitude for. So maybe it's sitting in the morning and being thankful for what you already have or what you're already doing. Do leave me the comment. You cannot live a thoughtful life if you do not think. clarity and pause.

1:51 Again, a theme that we've heard in other episodes, which means it's important when we have multiple women telling us the same thing. We need to take that clarity pause, we need to take a moment for ourselves, and we need to continue to work on mindsets. Maybe it's reading books. Confidence in abundance and focuses aren't just buzzwords, they're muscle. Julia uses affirmations and mental discipline to stay grounded and intentional. Action item here, create a morning or evening mindset ritual. Start with just five minutes. It can be so small. I know you can find five minutes in a day where you take the time to have reflection or affirmation or gratitude. Maybe you start journaling, but set your internal tone before the world sets it for you. Takeaway number two, design your life on purpose. Julia's schedule isn't about hustle. It's about alignment. She blocks time for what's important to her. For her, it's fate. It's family. It's fitness. And that's what she focuses on. I joked with her about, does she sleep? It seems like she gets so much accomplished in a day. And she does.

2:54 She goes to bed probably earlier than most of us, which is amazing. And that just shows you how intentional she is and how disciplined she is. And she takes time for the things that are important in her life. Now, she was quick to say, it's not perfect. There's days where her schedule gets off track, and that's okay. That's life. That's normal. But she sets out with a very disciplined, intentional schedule. The other big takeaway with Julia and her intentional schedule is that she sets boundaries. Now, she works for herself. She has the ability to shut down work at 3 p .m. Not all of us have that opportunity, especially if you're in a corporate environment or small business owner. But I think it's important just the thought around that of having intentional schedule times. And when you do, stop checking your phone. I love the fact that she puts her phone in another room because we all know how much time we get distracted on our phone. And if you're sitting here thinking about that you don't have enough time in the day, I highly encourage you to go on your phone and on Apple, you can see how many times you've touched your phone throughout the day or how many minutes a day or hours a week are on your phone. So maybe one of your goals is to lessen that time that you're on your phone. And don't tell me you're on your phone for work. Even though I'm sure you are, you can see the breakdown by where you're spending time, whether it's an email or on social media.

4:04 But the point is, let's limit our phone time. No one is good at multitasking and no one's good at always being on. You need that downtime and you need to be intentional about how you're scheduling it. Should be the comment that we're letting our phones run our lives and that's so true. So just try checking the list. The other comment that she made was a book she made a great recommendation for. It's called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. I haven't read it yet. I ordered it from Amazon, but I'm anxious to check that book out because I think that's something that we all can do a better job. The other part of being intentional with her schedule is, as Julia shared, she has her why. And she has a mission run company and that's an amazing thing that she was able to accomplish. But that helps her to fulfill those things that are very important to her.

4:51 And that is serving others. She wants to make the world a better place. So for running a very successful company, having four kids living in very different worlds with having teenage boys and then her little ones, as she called them, she has a lot going on, but she still finds that time to give back what she finds very important. It's about how you act, not what you say and being true to your values. Action item, audit your week, maybe two weeks. Does your calendar reflect your values? Are you creating boundaries? Are you protecting what matters most, even from your own to -do list? And are you spending time on the things that are most important to you? Number three, ask for what you're worth. Julia is a recruiter in the tech industry, so she gets to see the employee side as well as the company side of dealing with negotiation. And her advice was for negotiating for a job, ask for top dollar, do your research, then ask for more. Do it respectfully and kindly. But I thought this was a great quote.

5:53 Don't say their no for them. It's all in your approach. It's all in your research. And you just have to ask. And she made the point of maybe you ask for 10 % more and they come back and meet you at 5 % more. Well, that's 5 % more than you would have had if you didn't ask. It doesn't hurt. And as I mentioned on the episode, I realized I have not been a good negotiator in my past working for companies where a company would come back and say, hey, this is the amount. I'd be like, OK, sounds good. I didn't push for that offer because I didn't know. And maybe part of the reason why we don't do that is. or uncomfortable. Maybe it's we don't have the confidence, but at the end of the day, we have to have the confidence. We have to do the research. You have to be realistic.

6:35 Being on the hiring side, I don't want people coming to me saying that they want some outrageous number. That's not their value of that role, but you have to be realistic, but you have to definitely make the ask. And this isn't just when you are applying for a new job or you're going to accept a new job. This is in performance review time or when they are giving those salary or increases. This also happens I think a lot of times where maybe throughout the year you start taking on more work and more responsibility and you're not compensated for that. So when that happens you have to put together the reason why you're asking for an increase because of the additional work or the additional effort you're putting in. Do your homework, look at where you're at, and have the confidence to make the ask. Another book recommendation she had here, which I also ordered, is called Never Split the Difference. It's all about negotiation. So I'm really looking forward to reading that book as well. Action item here, prep for your next big ask. Know your value, ask with confidence, and remember Julie's mantra, don't say their no for them. Here's a reminder that clarity comes from courage. Confidence grows through action, and alignment starts with asking better questions.

7:47 Julia didn't wait for perfect timing. She created her own runway. So whether you're negotiating your work, building your schedule with intention, or making the brave leap into something new, know this. You're capable. You are worthy, and you don't need to wait to get aligned. Now, go build something that feels like you. Until next time, stay loud and lifted.