Episode 16

10 Lessons from My Corporate Career
40 Lessons from 40 Years of Life (Part 2)

with Risa Kawamoto

The Journey Podcast: Why I Created The Journey Podcast

Episode 16

10 Lessons from My Corporate Career – 40 Lessons from 40 Years of Life (Part 2)

with Risa Kawamoto

The Journey Podcast: Why I Created The Journey Podcast

Welcome to another episode of the Journey Podcast!

In this episode, I’m sharing 10 lessons I’ve learned in my corporate career of 20 years. This is Part 2 of the 4-Part Series – 40 Lessons from 40 Years of Life.

Part 1 was my 10 lessons from my personal life, and you can listen to this episode here.

The remaining two episodes will be lessons I learned from my Yoga journey, as a student and teacher, and starting and building my own business.

Here are the 10 lessons from my corporate career – tune into the episode to find out the journey I’ve gone through to learn these lessons!

1. Don’t be afraid to try different things!

After college, I explored various corporate jobs and completed various courses and qualifications, from accounting to yoga and web design. Don’t be afraid to try different things, even if they don’t work out or you end up deciding it’s not for you, if you don’t try it you never know!

2. Your education, job title, grade and profession don’t determine your self worth

I struggled with my self-worth after facing so many job rejections. However, I realised that I was seeking external validation through titles and career progression. I had to let go of this societal conditioning and realise that my self-worth comes from within.

3. I’m not anti-social – I’m an introvert and that’s ok

For years, I thought there was something wrong with me as I often felt drained in social and office settings and needed time to recharge my energy. Or when I had nothing to really say in a meeting or struggled with small talk and felt like I had nothing to contribute. Until I realised that this is normal as an introvert. I am now passionate about raising awareness of bias against introverts at work and embrace my introversion fully.

4. I enjoy public speaking!

I always thought that I wasn’t good at public speaking because I struggled in big group settings. However, that changed when I started teaching yoga after completing my training in 2014. I discovered that I actually enjoy public speaking when I’m passionate about a topic, and I now embrace opportunities to speak, teach, and deliver workshops.

5. My health & wellbeing is my most important asset

After experiencing burnout three times in my career, I learned to prioritize my health and wellbeing. I now set boundaries at work so that I don’t experience burnout again by openly communicating my needs and boundaries with colleagues.

6. When we do things in a rush, we can exclude people

We live in a society where productivity, speed of delivery and high-performance is valued and praised. However, rushing can lead to unintentional exclusion. I learned the importance of inclusive behaviors and the need of careful planning and consideration when it comes to delivering the work.

7. Not having a formal education or degree should not hold you back (even if it can be challenging!)

I always struggled with the feeling of “less than” due to lack of formal education and degree, especially in a career that often demands such qualifications. I also struggled with finding role models, but I now embrace my own journey and my mission is to inspire others with similar backgrounds who want to pursue leadership and success.

8. Don’t be afraid to challenge the norm

I’ve always been passionate about challenging the norm. Since I was a young girl, I learned to get creative and do things my way and I am now passionate about challenging the norm within the workplace and creating positive change.

9. I learn from my team members everyday

I learn so much from speaking with my team members and observing them. It really makes me happy to witness how much wisdom they already have and they are my inspiration and motivation to become a better manager and leader.

10. Gratitude practice

Even though I experienced ups and downs in my corporate career over the past 20 years, I always come back to my gratitude practice. I am ever grateful for my job that provides a good, stable salary, amazing benefits and flexibility to pay for all the necessities and enjoy my life to the fullest.

If you enjoyed this episode or inspired you in some way, please rate and leave a review so we can reach as many people as possible, and take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories and tag me @risa_kawamoto or share on your LinkedIn and tag me there!

Fall in Love with Your Career Again!

If you are a passionate aspiring leader, who wants to be more confident and secure your next promotion or new role, but as an introvert you find yourself having to present yourself as someone you are not and are struggling to progress in your career in what is mostly a corporate world that seems to celebrate and value extroverts, I would love to invite you to my 1:1 coaching programme – Embody Your Authentic Self. 

Embody Your Authentic Self is a 6-month journey where you will develop the confidence to showcase your talents and skills, speak up in meetings and ultimately feel more energised, motivated to progress in your career and love your job once again.

If this interests you, I’d love to invite you to schedule a discovery call with me. I look forward to connecting with you!

Risa Kawamoto (she/her)

Risa Kawamoto (she/her)

 

Hi, I’m Risa! I’m a Career & Confidence Coach, Yoga Teacher and the host of the Journey Podcast.

I help and guide introverts who want to feel more confident, get recognised for their hard work and secure their next promotion or new role, using the powerful tools of somatic (body-focused) practices, transformational coaching and Yogic wisdom.