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How to Know You’re Ready to Speak Even If You Don’t Feel Like an Expert with Aleya Harris | Ep. 65

• Allison Lane • Episode 65

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Think you need more credentials or a polished pitch before you start speaking? Think again. 

Allison Lane sits down with speaker mentor and bestselling author Aleya Harris to uncover the real reason accomplished authors still feel like they’re not ready to be on stage. Spoiler: it has nothing to do with qualifications and everything to do with permission. 

This is your call to stop waiting, start showing up, and realize that your story is more than enough. If you’ve ever said, “I’ll speak when I’m more experienced,” this one’s for you.

Press play and find out what’s actually keeping you from the mic, and how to move past it.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

  • How to reframe self-doubt and claim your voice.
  • Why waiting to “feel ready” is sabotaging your author platform.
  • The surprising truth about what audiences actually care about.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

TIMESTAMPS:

  • 12:04 – What “not feeling ready” is really about
  • 24:41 – Why credentials don’t create connection
  • 45:22 – The myth of needing permission to speak
  • 58:19 – Aleya’s story of unexpected alignment
  • 1:04:33 – A success-list exercise to clarify your story

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Aleya:

Waiting leads to withering. If you are trying to do something with this finite time we have, you need to be an active participant in your own story, in your own creation, in your own becoming.

Allison:

Okay folks, welcome back to the Author's Edge. You know why we're here because you need to step it up. I'm inviting you, actually, I'm shoving you out of the nest'cause you know you're ready. And sometimes you just need somebody to say, here's what you have to do. You know, but you're like, is this really what I'm supposed to do? Yes, you are. You're ready. You are a big effing deal and it is time. You know that, but the challenge becomes how do you make someone stop and listen or stop and lean in or stop scrolling and actually hear and react to your credibility, into your perspective and your knowledge. And this isn't about flashy slides on a webinar, and it's not even about credentials or super polished delivery. It's about story and how you connect with someone. And not just any story, but the story that only you can tell. One that's first of all true. Let's start with true. And where you firmly believe in what you're sharing, something that's sculpted and sort of comes together. It isn't held together by indignation and passion, but that's what we want. Something that you're like, this is the hill that I am willing to stub my toe on. I'm not gonna say die'cause nobody, we're not there yet. But we are ready for you to think bigger. And that's why I'm here. I'm Allison Lane. I'm your Sherpa through getting you out of your comfy seat at the head of the table'cause we know that's where you are. You're the top banana. And getting you further. And this is a world full of like how to tips and what you should say, scripts. And that's not what this conversation is. This is different. This is a call to stop air bunnies performing. Nobody wants you to be super practiced. I don't follow a script for this. I know you're shocked, fallen outta your seat. But I am fueled by passion and my drive to help you think bigger. This is a call to stop trying to be so polished and performy. Start connecting. Build your discoverability, your visibility, and your platform. We know we do. Around the voice that's already inside of you. You don't need to go to you know, speaker camp to learn what you actually feel and believe. You already know that that's already there. But you do need help tapping that and discovering that the thing about you that makes you freaking awesome is probably something you're overlooking. And that is sometimes you just need somebody to be like uh, you skipped over the good stuff. So, whether you want to give your first keynote or you're pitching yourself to a podcast, or you're wondering,'is my story enough? Is this the story I should be telling?' I hear those words a lot. Is this the story? Do you think this is worth it? First of all, it is, you're ready, but this is for you. Today, we're going to talk to an expert, someone who's helped so many people turn their mess into their big message. And transform their voice in their head to a vehicle for impact. So let's meet the woman who helps others spark the stage literally and figuratively. Today's guest is a powerhouse, a firecracker. Aleya Harris, thank you so much. And let me just say this is kudos to me for reaching out to someone who I did not know'cause a cold request of, please come on my podcast'cause I think you're a badass, works. Now, Alayah is prepared to blush, but she's your go-to if you are ready to stop playing small. Or you think I'm already a big fish, but why aren't I keynoting these other conferences outside of my industry? It's because you've gotten really comfortable in your industry. It's really easy to stall out when you're at the tip of the top, but in a silo. Aleya is a bestselling author of Spark the Stage and her path is anything but ordinary. So, if you are thinking, oh, I have to climb the ladder and I have to do these steps before I get to where I wanna be, Uhuh, that's old thinking. That is baloney. Aleya was the private chef, to Stevie Wonder. Hello, we're gonna talk about that. Turned powerhouse speaker and storytelling strategist. How do you get from one to the other? The unexpected path is the interesting one, and it's the one that allows you to leapfrog and catapult way more than you would think. So, this episode we're gonna get into what most speakers are missing and how to move through stage fright, please, and why your real voice and not a polished version of it, but why your real true message is your biggest asset. So, if you have a message that needs a mic, you are in the right place. Let's get into it. Thank you so much for being here. I am over the moon.

Aleya:

Thank you, Allison. Thank you so much for having me. It is a pleasure to be here.

Allison:

I'm super honored and I think that people are eager to know what you know, because they want to put into practice the things that they hear that they see other people doing. They're like, why does she have that? And how did she get that gig? I'm the department chair for this Ivy League school department of public affairs. Why am I not getting this? And the reason why is often not evident to those people, but it's evident to someone like you who sees that the person who doesn't get that opportunity hasn't made the decision to go big. What keeps highly accomplished people who are leading companies or departments or entire fields from stepping on the stage, what keeps them playing small when it comes to speaking.

Aleya:

It's so funny because people assumed just because you are a big wig in one area, it means that you must have every other area on lock. So, the first thing that I wanna say, Allison is to all of the people who are like, oh my God, yeah, she's talking about me. It's okay. It is okay. I crush it on stage. I love consulting, I love coaching. The thing that I hate doing. Sitting at my desk and recording video, I will put it off until if I could. Recording social media video, and everyone's like, but Aleya, you need to be on social to make it big. You're playing so small, you're playing so. We all have our things. So, the first thing I wanna say is I am not in here in a glass house throwing stones. I have my things too, and I still do it. I show up on video. If you follow me on social, you see me on video all the time. The reason though, is different for every person. And on a surface level, we use words like, I don't have time, I don't have money. Then, you get a little deeper. And then, you start saying words like well, I'm not an expert in that area. Or the syndrome.

Allison:

That one kills me.

Aleya:

Yeah.

Allison:

I didn't call myself an expert.

Aleya:

I've done it for 15 years, but I've never spoken about it on stage. I haven't been published 50 times, so I'm not an expert. Women do that to ourselves a lot. So, that's the next level, right? I'm not an expert. Then, you start really getting into the real reasons. Why would someone listen to me? I am not valuable. My story is not worthy. I do not have the power to transform myself. So why should someone listen to me? My story is not done. It is not big enough. Those are the real reasons.

Allison:

Oh my God. I'm getting full body chills and a little bit nauseous because yes, those are all the reasons I'm like, I'm not done. Maybe when things settle down has anything ever settled down for the person who says when things settle down? It doesn't.

Aleya:

Settle down.

Allison:

Yes, if I could just, yes. Wear a sash saying things will not settle down. When I retire is another one. Maybe when I step down from being chief of staff at the hospital. like nobody's gonna care what you say when you're not doing the thing that makes you the expert. You are not a celebrity, so you have to be in the position of what you do.

Aleya:

it's so funny because that particular excuse is like a double-edged excuse. On the one hand, you're like, oh, I'll do it when I have the time and the availability. Of course, we all know we make time for the things we want. And that's you doubting yourself. But on the other hand, you're actually being cocky and assuming that when you retire, this magical speaking career will form in like the two weeks after you retire and before you go off on your golf trip to Florida. And that's not how this works. Being very blunt with you speaking careers that are worth anything, take years to develop. I have a program called the Corporate Speaker Accelerator, which shortcuts that.

Allison:

Oh, thank God.

Aleya:

It shortcuts it by years and hundreds of thousands of dollars, but it still takes a long time. So, why not develop it now? I'm not gonna say who. My relative, how about that? Just in case they listen, my relative, an older relative. As long as I've known this person has been waiting to feel confident. This person is in their eighties.

Allison:

Ah.

Aleya:

They're still waiting to feel worthy. They're still waiting to feel attractive. They're still waiting to accept their body. They're still waiting. And in the process of waiting, they've gotten smaller and more petty in the process. And waiting causes your power to leak out from the cracks. If you're honest with yourself, are you, I'm strategically planning my time, or are you just waiting? Nothing happens in an inactive game of waiting, except for the fact that waiting leads to withering.

Allison:

Ooh. Say that again. That was a mic drop moment.

Aleya:

Waiting leads to withering. If you are trying to do something with this finite time we have, you need to be an active participant in your own story, in your own creation, in your own becoming. In order to do that, you have to take steps forward. They don't have to be huge leaps. You don't have to run, you don't have to gallop. But you do have to move forward. And it's most likely going to not involve you posting something on social media, and not involve you sending that email, and not involve you just getting a mic in your hand. The first steps are those underlying beliefs of, I'm not worthy, I'm not ready, my story's not ready to be told. Just like you said, Allison, you are ready.

Allison:

You really are.

Aleya:

You really.

Allison:

I think people forget that we, I'm in my fifties, I know I look 27. When you burn on the way to the driveway, like you just learn that the sun is not your friend. So really sometimes I'm like, ow, I need a hat. So, this is a lifetime of Allison, go sit underneath the tree. Which is the seventies. And sunscreen.

Aleya:

And sunscreen.

Allison:

Yeah. And sunscreen. Even back when sunscreen just felt like battery acid. Do you remember those days? In the seventies when it was like, it didn't work, but it was like liquid? It came out. It was just alcohol. Just alcohol. Yeah. Those are the days. So, because I started working when dirt was new and God was a boy, that was before caller ID when my first job was literally, please stand by the fax machine in the fax room. Does anybody have those anymore? And all I just.

Aleya:

I hope not. I genuinely hope not.

Allison:

The smell of fax machine exhaust can really do a number on you. Anyway, you learn back then that there's a hierarchy to getting the opportunity that you know that you're meant for. And if that was you, and that certainly was me of growing up in PR agencies. And then going in-house at Quaker Oats, which became Pepsi, and then I moved to Unilever. You know, you are an assistant manager, and then you're a manager, and then a senior manager. And these itty bitty increments until you're like, oh, I'm leading the department. At any point in that time, I could have said, you know, I'm also going to be speaking on these stages that are not about PR cause yes, of course I spoke at the PR industry conference. Not because I decided to, but because the PR association, PR RSA reached out like, could you come speak'cause we see you everywhere? You're quoted in the New York Times every week. Like it never occurred to me. Why? I don't know. But now I know because I thought I had to get to a certain place. And if that's you, you know, as you're sitting in the target parking lot waiting for your daughter to come out with another strawberry, something refresher drink, whatever. Yeah. This is my life. You don't have to wait. You don't have to decide. You don't have to ask permission. You can decide this is something I'm gonna speak about. And it doesn't need to be the thing that you do for a living. It might mean that maybe you talk about the illness that your daughter contracted and you become a patient advocate. Or big trauma, little trauma, you know, and as a whatever it is, you can do it. And you don't have to wait for an invitation like I did or permission or for your peers to be like, oh, that makes sense. Screw your peers. They're not your friends and they're not your family. And your family probably won't they wanna protect you, so they'll always wanna keep you small, ps. So, ask people who say to you. Wow, you are so amazing. And if you can't figure out who those people are, you can email me.

Aleya:

You need new friends.

Allison:

Yes. Your friends know. The people you're in a writing group, they know. So, Aleya, but what you're saying is that people can get visible in the right way, but they have to have a goal. It's not take a baby step. You still have to know where you're going. Otherwise, you may not ever get there. Right?

Aleya:

That's actually a very good question. Do I need to know where I am going? I know I'm supposed to say yes. But that's not been my story as of late. So I always, I'm a type a Enneagram three, wing two. I always think I know where I'm going. I have my top 10 goals for this year. That's backed up. A hundred page planning document.

Allison:

Ooh.

Aleya:

That's good version you're dealing with. I also rub crystals on things and do like or magic and have aar so.

Allison:

Lot layers.

Aleya:

A lot of layers, but I always think I know exactly where I'm going until I leave room for spirit. And whether your spirit is your highest self or your great donut maker in the sky, God, whatever. Until I leave room for that voice. And sometimes I'm spot on and sometimes I'm just like. I didn't want to hear that. I'm gonna ignore that. That's usually, I'm really honest. That's the first thing that happens. I rarely remember oh yes, I'm gonna completely change what I'm doing because you're absolutely right. I'm on the wrong path. I usually am like, I'm gonna ignore you several times. And then it's gonna get louder, and then I'm gonna change. I think that a balance of knowing and not knowing where you're going that actually gets you to where you are supposed to be a lot faster. So, you set the goal that's more immediate so that you can, you gotta sit in movement because life can't help you if you're sitting still. Like it is very rare that you're praying for love, praying for your match, and all you do is sit on your couch all day. If you happen to fall in love with your Amazon delivery person, more power to you. But most likely that's not gonna be the case. Right? So, you need to stay in movement and it's, you pick a direction to move in while making sure that you are light footed and not wearing cement boots that lock you into place so that you take a step. Then you listen, you take another step, then you listen and you might need to adjust. You might need to backtrack, you might need to run, but having a set goal of I want to get on stage can mean so many things. My set goal was I want to become an international speaker. I eventually did do that. I'm an award-winning international speaker. Never once, did I have a set goal of I wanna be a speaker coach, not even a little bit. Not even on my best day. Not even on my worst day. And I actually, the time of this recording, after developing a speaker coaching program, a speaker coaching accelerator program, writing a bestselling book about speaker coaching and writing and having a podcast about, you guessed it, speaker coaching. It is not until about a week ago after a conversation and my 50th existential crisis for the month. Did I actually go, oh my God, I'm a speaker coach. I never stepped into that identity. It was not on my goal list, but I just walked and I listened and I walked and I listened and I guess I needed to look up. I must have been looking at my feet and look around and go, I built an entire speaking coaching business. Why is that? One because it wasn't in my original goal, but I was listening and I'm exactly where I need to be. Thank God's Spirit knows more than I do. And two, because my limiting belief gave me judgments around the word coach. For me, those that can't do, teach those who couldn't cut it.

Allison:

Ouch.

Aleya:

I know I am a speaker coach. Trust me, I'm cutting into myself. It's not just you. I realized that was what my subconscious was telling me that I couldn't be two things at once. An international award-winning speaker and a coach, because coaches are those who are no good on stage. They're just good enough to get someone to believe them that they could do it in a half-ass way. I know you can do it too. So, I had to reconcile my identity before I was able to open up a greater stream abundance. And this happened a couple, like a week ago, right? I shoot you not sorry, I swear like a sailor. I'm working on it. I shoot you not Allison. In the past week, I've attracted an additional$10,000 to my speaking coaching business. How did I do that? Did I launch a new thing or, yeah, I did, but it wasn't through that. It was just from the fact that I was finally in alignment with who I was. I didn't wait and then wither, I didn't ignore the identity. I faced who I was, and then I stepped fully into the power of that. And then, I continue to listen, to hear whatever the next step is. So do you need to know exactly where you're going? No. Do you even, I mean, you probably should look up and see where you are so you don't have to have a ridiculous moment that I just had, which I know sounds super ridiculous. You don't need to have all the pressure on yourself to know all the things. You go after the feeling. I became a speaker coach. I prefer speaker mentor because I still have some issues with the word coach. I know I'm working on myself. I became a speaker mentor because my footsteps listening, stepping listening, were all around serving people. I kept coming across women in particular had a story, who wanted to tell it, who wanted to transform themselves and others, and I just wanted to help. And so, I started taking steps to help and look where I am now. I have a six figure speaking coaching business that I denied until a week ago.

Allison:

Well, welcome to your business. And

Aleya:

you.

Allison:

Your role.

Aleya:

I, I feel like I need to throw a party or something like, it definitely feels like that, Allison.

Allison:

I think I have some confetti. I will throw it at you. That's the thing everyone around you can see that you are a powerful mentor for people who are meant to tell their stories, to inspire others and offer perspective. But to claim that is so there is a limiting belief. Or, oh, there's the pride is maybe not what we're going after, but people wanna be humble and I just wanna take it on their shoulders and go,

Aleya:

This is who

Allison:

you can't see it.

Aleya:

Yeah.

Allison:

And you know that you can see it in the people who come to you and say, I think I have a story. And you go, oh my God, I've never heard a story like that. Yes. This is happening. We're gonna do it. And it's so clear to you. But of course they're not sure, and they're also not trained and skilled as you are to see that the story they should be telling is actually right there.

Aleya:

So because of that, I'm gonna give you the homework that I within the week have given myself and done.

Allison:

All right.

Aleya:

I want you, Allison, and everyone listening write a success list. Think back. It helps you to do it in stages. Think back to the past 30 days. Think back to the past year, 5, 10, 15, 20 years. And do it in stages. And write down all of your successes, all of the things that you, I mean, everything from landing the deal, starting the business, having the baby saying no to that guy, saying no to that chocolate cake, saying yes to the chocolate cake. Whatever it is small and large. Write down as many successes as you can think of, and at the end, read it and you should feel fricking unstoppable. Then I want you to kind of nerd out on yourself a little bit. I want you to look at your list and see what themes develop. Why did you consider that a success? What did you overcome that made that a success? What do you regularly overcome? And what do you regularly feel proud about yourself for?

Allison:

Okay, give me those questions again'cause we're gonna put them in the show notes as well.

Aleya:

Okay.

Allison:

I am writing my index cards'cause everybody knows around here, I do love a three by five card. They're so portable.

Aleya:

Yeah, they are. They are portable. So, you're writing down all of your successes and when you're in that high, you're reading your list and liking and you're feeling good, and then you're asking yourself what themes have developed? Do you regularly overcome that and that's why you consider that thing to be a success? What do you regularly help other people? How have you transformed yourself from the oldest success to the newest success? And what stories have you told yourself for better or for worse, that have caused you to be successful? Doing this exercise will allow you see yourself in the way that your best friend sees you that mirror, so that you become aware of who you are through your successes. People are like what about my failures? I'm a whole person. I failed a lot. Yeah, no, you do that on your own. You do that enough without me, you don't need help with that.

Allison:

Yeah. No, that's plenty. And also, what voice was that?

Aleya:

I guess I, my

Allison:

yeah,

Aleya:

idea.

Allison:

I love it. I'm concerned for that dude. But yes.

Aleya:

You should be. He definitely has emphysema. So that's what I want you to do to gain awareness not only of where you are, but who you are. Speaking is not about the information that you can give, it's about how you transmit it, how you connect, and how you facilitate someone taking the next step on their transformational journey. The only way you can do that is if you are clear on where you are in your journey and how you can help other people. And you do that through your successes.

Allison:

I am just letting that sit for a second'cause that was super duper powerful. And I made a stack of three by five cards for myself

Aleya:

I'm glad.

Allison:

Outside and sit underneath the tree and do the work.

Aleya:

That sounds very pleasant.

Allison:

I'm in Boston, so it's not crazy hot here. People think it is so hot here and they're like, oh, I'm burning up. Like you're wearing a sweater. It's August.

Aleya:

You wouldn't be burning up if you.

Allison:

Yeah, I think you're fine. Very different than when I lived in North Carolina when it was so hot.

Aleya:

And hot.

Allison:

Like the surface of the sun. A lot of experts deliver talks that are filled with credentials or they start with I'm here because of this list of resume items, or case studies, or let me tell you the like facts. And they're not all that captivating. And they haven't said anything that like lands, even though maybe what they're sharing is powerful and important. But it doesn't automatically translate to being seen or connected with or understood. So, how can people who should be speaking reposition their expertise so that resonates with the people who are very clearly out there looking for inspiration and solutions and perspective.

Aleya:

The first thing that comes out of your mouth is the most important sentence of any stage talk. Every sentence you say earns you the right to have someone listen to the next sentence. The people in the audience. Yes. Even you, when you are in the audience, and even me when I'm in the audience, we are all narcissists with short attention spans. Is it about me? Can you make it about me? Oh I'm sorry. Is it about me now? Okay, cool, cool, cool. As long as it's about me, I'm going to listen to you with the most love. No one cares about your credentials or your passion unless you can paint how your passion help them facilitate their own transformation. So whenever I hit the stage, I make sure that the first thing I say is a hook that gets them to pay attention because people talk about how an audience can be distracted by their devices, their phones, their honey child. If you are boring, the dirt underneath their fingernails is more exciting than you. It doesn't take any effort for them to tune out, and human beings are essentially very lazy. We do the thing that requires the least amount of effort possible to get the desired result. Even if I've paid thousands of dollars a sit in that conference and listen to you if you are either right before happy hour or right after lunch. I don't care. My brain is overwhelmed. It's shut off. I've heard a bunch of, sorry, bad speakers up until this point. I've taken probably way too many notes that I'm never going to use. I need you to wake me out of my blur and make me pay attention to my own transformation because by this point in time, I have forgotten about it. Even if you are the opening keynote, no one has spoken before you. Most people go through life in a blur. They are not paying attention truly to what matters in that moment, which is themselves figuring out how to be the highest version of themselves. Your job from that stage is to wake them up, suck them in, and keep their attention for 45 minutes to 60 minutes so that by the time they are done, they are one enamored with you. Two have realized that the whole thing is about them, and three, they are excited to take the next step in their own journey. I get introduced on stage. Someone reads a bio, which no one listens to, and I do not ever have a slide in there unless it's somehow requested by the speaker organizer, which I don't enjoy. I don't ever have a slide in there about myself. No one cares.

Allison:

They get enough reading the bio of like, why is this person here? Oh, okay. They're a speaker mentor. Got it. They assume that you have a bio that is full of bad assery.

Aleya:

Uhhuh.

Allison:

They don't need it.

Aleya:

The event organizers picked you for a reason,. So, you are not just some random Joe Schmo off the street. So, the best way to articulate your expertise is to use it. Show me your expertise.

Allison:

Yes.

Aleya:

Right now, show me how you can help me. Everyone is singing that song. What have you Done For Me Lately?

Allison:

Do not make me do it.

Aleya:

now. Lately means how are you helping me in this moment?

Allison:

Yes.

Aleya:

Not five years ago when you won that award. I don't care.

Allison:

Yes. Oh my word. So, what should people actually do when they want to break out of their silo? It's usually people who reach the top early, like me. I was running PR for Unilever, north America at 31. Where do you go from there? And it was a lot of administration, like a lot of meetings instead of like the fun part.

Aleya:

Yeah.

Allison:

I got to dance with Omar Epps

Aleya:

Okay. That's a fun part.

Allison:

At the penthouse, the Gucci mansion. I was like, this is like a life.

Aleya:

Yeah.

Allison:

It was fun. But also I was traveling. I was tired. I didn't get to sleep in my own bed. It was like, woe is me. I had a very glamorous job, but still, I was like, where do you go from there?

Aleya:

Yeah.

Allison:

And for the person who's saying, okay, now I'm in the department head and I've done that. Where do I go from here? There's still a ways to go, but you get to decide. So, what do we need to tell people so that they remove those self-imposed boundaries, which we lovingly call limiting beliefs, but they are self-imposed so that they can take themselves seriously and move forward.

Aleya:

There are limiting beliefs. They are self-imposed. I 1000% agreeing. But some of it is also like burnout and stress. If the person that you described and yourself, if that is your lifestyle, you do not know how to do anything but that. Besides running a marathon 24 7.

Allison:

Yeah.

Aleya:

So, the first thing that you need to do is visualize something else. Ask yourself. What could my life look like if I were more balanced? What could my life look like if I moved up the Maslow's hierarchy of need closer to self-actualization? Because there is more than just food, clothing, shelter, and making money and leaving a legacy and all of that. There is more.

Allison:

Yes.

Aleya:

And when you get into the more and the more is related to the greater more, that is you start to dream and seek. That's the first step because if you can't see it to take your first step towards it. And then continue to listen and step towards it, go anywhere you only feel like you are limited because you've finished a chapter of the book. But the books' is not done'cause you're not dead. So, you still have some writing. Right? Until you're dead. And then I haven't, I don't remember the last time I died assuming something happens after that. But until then you got some writing to do of your own life story.

Allison:

Yeah.

Aleya:

So, what do you want that to look like? That's the first step. The next step after you get at least a kind of idea, like I do want something more, something different. You sit back and you think, if I could transform someone else, which you can't, but if you could. Transform someone else in the way that I have been transformed my life, what does that look like? This is the giving back. This is the educating, this is the sage, this is the co-creation experience, right? Then once you figure out what that transformation is. You ask yourself, okay, now what do I go say about that? So, like for me, let me give you an example. One of the ways that I've been transformed in my life is from someone who dreaded money, really wanted it, but dreaded talking about it, dreaded it coming in, dreaded it coming out. Wouldn't have said it that way, but that was anything to do with money terrified me.

Allison:

Yeah.

Aleya:

Except I wanted a lot of it. To someone who lets abundance flow. And it does. Thank goodness. So then, what do I gotta say about that? Well, shoot. I have this problem that came up. I remember this situation. I remember when this was my lowest, I remembered when this was my highest. Then I did that, and if only known A, B, C, D. Write down all those things. Those are the stories people wanna hear about from stage. It is not about you overcoming your limits. It's about you using them to the benefit of yourself and someone else. If you wait you overcome all of your limiting beliefs before you get on stage, you will never get on stage.

Allison:

That is true.

Aleya:

If you believe in karma. It will be several lifetimes before you ever get on stage. Ain't nobody got time for that. So, instead of framing it as I need to be perfect and I need to be the sage on stage, come with your full self. The imperfections, the wounds, the scars. Say that's how I got this battle scar. Here's how to not do that. I have another one. I have one that's still healing, so I'm still a work in progress, but I do have some things that I can offer for you. That's how you step into your power on stage.

Allison:

Oh my gosh. This is so important. So many people need to hear this. Let's shift gears for a sec. Tell me about a book you loved, something that shaped you or stayed with you.

Aleya:

Oh man, there's so many. I like Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline, miss Momentum by John Roger. Made to stick by Chip and Dan Heath. Gosh.

Allison:

Love. Money. Money loves you.

Aleya:

Money Loves you. Yes.

Allison:

Yeah.

Aleya:

that

Allison:

You mentioned that before.

Aleya:

Many, many a time. Oh, ask and it is given by Abraham Hicks. That's a sincere favorite of mine. I also love building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller. Marketing Made Simple by Donald Miller.

Allison:

Yeah. Oof.

Aleya:

My own book. Haha. Spark the stage. Viol Harris. You can get it on Amazon. Great. It's my favorite. That's my ultimate, that's my favorite book. So.

Allison:

That goes for, yeah, obviously. And we'll have all of these in the show notes because people are often too busy to scroll through. You just want somebody to tell you, this is the book you need to read. You don't have to try and figure it out. Here's the list, right?

Aleya:

Absolutely. And even in my book, spark This Age, that's not another shameless plug, but for real, in my book. One of the chapters is about the power of reading to be able to speak. And I have a link to my favorite book list because I love love reading, love it.

Allison:

Ooh, can we include your book list?

Aleya:

You can include the link to my book.

Allison:

Obviously Yeah, we will. And I guess what I'm asking is do you have a like a book list, like a shop on Amazon where someone could go and like just see everything?

Aleya:

I do have that.

Allison:

Cool.

Aleya:

What's in the book is that when you buy the book, then you get access to the spark box. And then within the spark box you get all kinds of digital resources.

Allison:

Ugh. Awesome. Okay, we're gonna have that. People are gonna want it. Before I ask you the final question, I'm gonna slip one more in here. Can you say more about your speaker coaching program? Because I know if you don't say it, I'm gonna get emails.

Aleya:

Absolutely. So, I actually have a couple of different options. My first baby, my first love is Spark The stage. Spark The stage is a 12 month group coaching and on demand course program that helps authentic people tell compelling stories from the stage to a captivated audience. It includes 12 months group coaching every Friday morning right now at 9:00 AM Pacific time. It also includes access to me on Slack as well as an on-demand course that takes you from soup to nuts on how to be a speaker. Whether you're a current speaker or you've never been on a stage before you can absolutely leverage spark the stage. The other option is for those people who want to be on stage and they want to do it quickly.

Allison:

Yeah.

Aleya:

Spark, the stage corporate speaker accelerator. It's a two day collaboration where you get three experts working solely for you, whereas spark the stage my 12 month program is done is kind of like DIY. I'm right alongside of you, but I'm not doing any of the work. The stage the corporate speaker accelerator has done for you and done with you. That is a two day experience where it's me, a ghost writer, and a NLP master coach. We write your talk for you, we write your pitch for you, and we help you get over your limiting beliefs in a two day VIP section. And then, we also include pitching you to 250 targeted decision makers in your niche.

Allison:

Whoa. That's huge.

Aleya:

Yeah.

Allison:

People are like, I'm ready. But they don't have time to do it themselves or like people I work with are like, I have a staff for this sort of thing. I don't want to take your class. I want it to be done.

Aleya:

That is exactly who this is for. I just want it to be done. So, for the spark, the stage, the corporate speaker accelerator, it's aleyaharris.com/spark-vip.

Allison:

Well, we will include links to everything you shared. Last question before we call this podcast complete. What's one thing everyone can do today to get in touch with the speaker they know they should be?

Aleya:

You can forgive yourself. You can forgive yourself for judging yourself. You can forgive yourself for forgetting that you are divine. You are right on time. You have not made any mistakes. Everything you've done up until this point has created the beautiful human. You are, and the journey that you are on. Forgive yourself for forgetting that you are perfect.

Allison:

I can't follow that up with anything. You are perfect. Thank you very much. If you know that you need to get in touch with Aleya, go to the podcast notes. Everything you need will be there. You can also send me a question and I'll make sure that she gets it. If you know someone who needs this, please pull over. Don't do it while you're driving. And forward this to someone because they're too busy to filter out everything and to find it themselves, and you're really doing somebody a solid. I listened to this. I thought of you, fast forward to minute 12 or whatever. I do this a lot where I'm like, you don't have to listen to the whole thing, but you need to listen to this one moment because it's the answer that you said you were searching for the other day. People appreciate when you do them a solid and you open a door for them, so be that person. And it wouldn't hurt if you leave a five star review because it makes the algorithm happy. And I so appreciate it. And we will see you next week giving you more of an edge on your path as an author.

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Allison Lane

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