#88 Consistency, Joy, & Speaking From the Heart

Today, I interview Melahni Ake who was born in Florida, but shortly afterwards her family moved to their hometown of Indianapolis where her  grandparents had established a thriving church ministry. When her father suffered a sudden illness the family went back to Florida for his treatment, but he died quickly and they then returned to Indiana. Through all of these moves, Melahni had to learn to adapt quickly. She attended so many different schools and had so many new beginnings, she found ways to be resilient and communicate with people in lots of different situations. Melahni points out to us that during this time as a young child, she could have felt fear and dwelled on everything she was lacking. There were a lot of unknowns for her. But she says that despite not having siblings to lean on, and after losing her father, she somehow still felt an inner need to push through. She kept learning and felt driven to find ways to be of service and continue to develop herself. Her family had done big things in this world, and she knew she had a big purpose for her own life. So she chose joy. She joined a hockey league as the only girl, and stayed on for 12 years. Her confidence grew as she learned how to communicate with people who weren't like her. She uses the amazing analogy that she learned to look at life like a hockey puck, visualizing where it's going to be instead of focusing on where it is now. Another experience she relates to us is the sheer panic she felt over being eliminated at her job at age 50. She had a meltdown, as I'm sure many people would, and ended up in the hospital. Her anxiety almost killed her, and she no longer had a plan for her life. But she has realized since then that we have to harness our purpose and create a strategy for it – a complete mindset and way of operating. Now as a coach, Melahni thinks back to those magical years during her early childhood, using similar joyful inspiration to guide others toward their own paths filled with light and fulfillment. __________________ Melahni Ake is the founder of Everyday Leaders Professional Coaching and Consulting from Indianapolis, IN which provides leadership development resources and strategies to corporations, non-profits, and community programs to create sustainable systems for consistent growth. She’s been a Maxwell Leadership coach, speaker, and trainer since 2016, and in 2020 became the first US Affiliate WHY Coach with the WHY Institute. Melahni believes that consistent personal growth provides the clarity and the courage to overcome any obstacle in our life. She’s founded multiple womens leadership programs including co-founding SCALE for Women helping women achieve SALES Confidence and Leadership Excellence! Find Melahni here: http://www.everydayleaders.com/ https://m.facebook.com/groups/everydayleaderswithmelahniake/?ref=share https://www.linkedin.com/in/melahni-ake-everydayleaders https://www.instagram.com/everydayleaders50in50/ https://www.youtube.com/user/melahniake ___________________I'm your podcast host, Dr. Doreen Downing, and I help people find their voice so they can overcome anxiety, be confident, and speak without fear. Get started now on your journey to your authentic voice by downloading my Free 7 Step Guide to Fearless Speaking: https://www.doreen7steps.com.  Support the showI’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com​.