Disrupting the Status Quo: By Staying True to Your Values

Shared values + shared actions = shared profits

This is the business model that was shared with us by our guest on episode 70 of the Embracing “Only” podcast, Cindy Gallop . We spent the episode delving into disrupting the status quo.

Cindy is a trailblazing entrepreneur, brand innovator, and advocate for social change. She has been described as a woman who will change the way you think about sex and money. She’s the alchemist turning advertising lead into gold and the voice shouting ‘show me the money’ to a VC world that seems to have misplaced its checkbook when it comes to female founders.

Listen to the episode or scroll down to read one of the highlights of our conversation ↓

Have you taken the time to identify your values?  

“The secret to happiness is living your life and working your work in a way that is always true to you, true to your values.” - Cindy Gallop

That’s what we’re discussing in today’s newsletter.

1) Identifying Your Values

Cindy speaks about chasing a path that is aligned with your values. If you don’t automatically know what your values are, Cindy recommends taking a long, hard look into yourself and identifying:

• What you stand for.
• What you believe in. 
• What you value.
• What you're all about. 

“When you do that, it makes life so much simpler because life still throws at you all the shit, it always will. But you know exactly how to deal with that shit in any given scenario, in a way that is true to you.” - Cindy Gallop

And if you have a business? Cindy recommends that businesses do the same thing.

“Take a long, hard look into yourself as a business and identify the reason you were founded in the first place, what you stand for, what your values are, what your values should be if you've lost sight of them over the years. And those should inform the way that you operate on a daily basis.” - Cindy Gallop

Cindy explains that when brands and businesses come together with their constituents around shared values, they can make things happen in the real world that will benefit the consumers, the employees, and society as well as the brand and the business.

“You will never truly bond with anyone if you don't share the same values.” - Cindy Gallop

2) Attracting Your Tribe

Identifying your values will not only help you to live a simpler and happier life, but it will also help you to attract your tribe.

Cindy has famously said, “I like to blow shit up. I am the Michael Bay of business.” 

She explains that that soundbite came from a lighthearted statement she made when she was talking to some potential consultancy clients about her approach to consulting.

“I thought actually, that is a very good way of characterizing what I do. And so I've been using that tagline ever since.” - Cindy Gallop

However, Cindy explains that she doesn’t use that tagline as just a bit of fun, she uses it very deliberately.

“I'm a big believer in being your own filter. When I characterize what I do in that way, it attracts to me the people who want what I do, it repels the ones who don't. And I want to repel the ones who don't because they're a waste of time, effort, and money.” - Cindy Gallop

Cindy explains that what you put out there is what you will attract. By being your authentic self, you will attract your tribe to you and you will keep away the people who are not for you.

3) Overcoming Fear

In one of Cindy’s talks, she said that fear of what other people think of you is the single most paralyzing dynamic. 

“To live and work your value is what overcomes the fear of what other people think because then all that matters is that you know you're being true to you. And when you make that your Northstar, you don't give a damn what anybody else thinks.” - Cindy Gallop 

To hear the full conversation with Cindy Gallop on the Embracing “Only” Podcast, scroll up and hit play – or click here and tune into episode 70.

EMBRACING “ONLY” PODCAST: 

👉 Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere you find your podcasts!

Women – particularly women of color – are constantly bombarded with societal and systemic hurdles that they face professionally with no balance in solutions. 

News, media, and coaching tend to focus on our differences and obstacles but don’t provide thought-provoking solutions to help people regain control of their lives and find direction. 

The Embracing “Only” Podcast seeks to provide a community for women to share their lived experiences and not feel alone in their journey to claim their power and purpose in the communities they seek to serve, transform, and impact.