Lead as Yourself: Stephen Minix on Authenticity, Courage & Empowering Others
The Audacious Living PodcastShow Notes
What if becoming a better leader isn't about commanding more attention—but creating more space for other people to discover what they're capable of?Sometimes the most powerful way to lead is simply to show up fully as yourself.───Signature QuoteSignature Quote"You are enough as you exist today for anything that's about to come your way."— Stephen Minix───Why This Quote MattersThis idea sits at the heart of Stephen's message: you don't need another title, credential or version of yourself before you can contribute. Believe in what you already carry—and then be willing to act on it.───Episode DescriptionWhat changes when you stop trying to look like a leader and start leading as yourself?In this energizing conversation, Stephen Minix joins The Audacious Living Podcast to explore authenticity, courage, relationships and a different way of thinking about leadership. A former high school PE teacher and basketball coach who helped build a technology company connecting nonprofits, funders and impact investors, Stephen brings a point guard's mentality to leadership: create opportunities, connect people and help others recognize the greatness already within them.Stephen also challenges the idea that leadership belongs to the person with the biggest title or loudest voice. Sometimes courage means speaking up. Sometimes it means stepping aside so someone else can step forward. And sometimes it means walking into the room without putting on an "avatar mask" and trusting that who you genuinely are is enough.This conversation is an invitation to rethink success, influence and impact—and to consider how much more powerful leadership becomes when it stops being about me and starts becoming about we.───This Episode Is For You If...you're learning to trust who you are instead of performing who you think you should beyou're trying to lead without needing the title or spotlightyou want to empower other people to recognize their own potentialyou're navigating fear, uncertainty or a new opportunityyou believe relationships and collaboration can create greater impact───Guest BioStephen Minix's path doesn't follow the conventional leadership playbook—and that's precisely what makes his perspective so compelling.A high school PE teacher and basketball coach by trade, Stephen eventually helped build UpMetrics, a technology company working with nonprofits, funders and impact investors to use data, information and storytelling to work more effectively together. He still sees much of his work through the eyes of a point guard: understand the floor, connect the right people and put others in position to succeed.At the centre of Stephen's approach is a belief that leadership isn't reserved for the person at the front. Everyone carries leadership potential, and great leaders learn how to help people express that potential in a way that is authentic to them.───Guest LinksUpMetricshttps://upmetrics.comLinkedIn — Stephen MinixStephen identifies LinkedIn as the best place to connect with him.───Listen on Major Platforms🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2jVR6V7X2kRiCCDXE0FTyl?si=IR3TsfEWR3WA6BzfBRnVXQ🍎 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-audacious-living-podcast/id1547447345📦 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/9f7902bb-dec8-4bd9-918d-d1fef21b7c67/the-audacious-living-podcast?ref=dm_sh_pGv57yQvAmAQVp2IIaXoDwtFt───Call To ActionEnjoying the show?Share this episode with someone who needs to hear this.⭐ Leave a review:👉 https://ratethispodcast.com/audacious
More from The Audacious Living Podcast
Relationship strategist Janice Porter shares why the follow-up is everything: her five rules for building trust, the daily practice of asking who needs to hear from you, and the thank-you card that stopped a church organist from quitting. A warm conversation on turning connections into real relationships.
Clinical hypnotherapist Rochelle Cook explains why willpower keeps losing to the subconscious mind, and how the childhood stories we learned are still running our adult lives. She shares why worry is a prayer for what we don’t want, and the small daily practices that interrupt old patterns.
What if your dream is not stalling for lack of passion, but for lack of a plan?
Some books take a weekend to read and twenty years to write. Paul Lapsey knows, because his sat on a shelf for eighteen of them.
You have an idea. Maybe you have had it for years, sketched on a napkin or sitting in a journal. The difference between you and the inventor on QVC is not talent. It is knowing the right way to move. Signature Quote "Do not share your information until the ink dries." Lisa learned the hard way that an unprotected idea is a vulnerable one. This line from her book is the rule she lives by, and the one she wants every new inventor to hear first. Lisa Ascolese, known as The Inventress, has spent decades turning everyday frustrations into products that sell. Her first invention came from being embarrassed to breastfeed in public, so she created the Bosom Buddy nursing cape. A sock she used to tie her hair into a church-ready bun became the Bun Tie, her first product on QVC. A lost pair of scissors while wrapping gifts became the Wrap and Store organizer, which sold out on QVC. In this conversation, Lisa shares what inventing the right way actually means. Do your due diligence. Build a working prototype before you ever call a patent attorney. Do not add so much to a simple product that it can never get made. And keep your idea close until it is protected, because the naysayers will talk you out of it before it has a chance. She also talks about the audacity it took to pick up the phone and call buyers and celebrities, including a 30-year relationship with Dionne Warwick that started with one cold call, and why she founded the Association of Women Inventors and Entrepreneurs to lift other women up. This is a practical, no-fluff conversation for anyone sitting on an idea. This episode is for you if... - You have an idea sketched somewhere and no clue what to do next - You have wondered whether to patent first or prototype first - You want to get a product onto QVC, HSN, or a store shelf - You have been burned before and want a trustworthy guide this time - You believe inventors should lift each other up Lisa Ascolese is known as The Inventress, a name her publicist coined years ago and one she has since trademarked. Born in London and raised in Brooklyn by West Indian parents, she was inventing as a child, taking things apart around the house and making them work for her. Her first product, the Bosom Buddy breastfeeding cape, sold nationally and internationally, and she went on to sell multiple products on QVC, including the Bun Tie, the Wrap and Store organizer, and the Perfect Pockets organizer, which she later redesigned for HSN. Today Lisa helps inventors go from a napkin idea all the way to the marketplace, teaching them to do it the right way with due diligence, working prototypes, and protected ideas. She is the founder of the Association of Women Inventors and Entrepreneurs, now celebrating its 13th year, and host of The Inventors Podcast. Her book is "The Inventress Guide to Inventing the Right Way: All or Nothing, Now or Never." Her mission is simple: lifting each other up two hands at a time. 🌐 Website: https://inventingatoz.com/ Her podcast, The Inventors Podcast, and her social channels are all linked from her website. Listen on Major Platforms 🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2jVR6V7X2kRiCCDXE0FTyl?si=IR3TsfEWR3WA6BzfBRnVXQ 🍎 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-audacious-living-podcast/id1547447345 📦 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/9f7902bb-dec8-4bd9-918d-d1fef21b7c67/the-audacious-living-podcast?ref=dm_sh_pGv57yQvAmAQVp2IIaXoDwtFt Enjoying the show? Share this episode with someone who needs to hear this. ⭐ Leave a review: 👉 https://ratethispodcast.com/audacious