We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lolita E. Walker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lolita E. , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Three small words changed my life forever, “no thank you.” After working at a thriving business leader for almost twenty years, my manager called me into his office and offered me a lucritive and exciting new opportunity to relocate to a new city and help start up the same department to which I was leading at my current location. Without thinking too much in the moment, I simply uttered those three words. In that moment, I remember feeling pride, nervousness, joy, bravery, certainty, and “what did I just do,” all at the same time. I remember walking from his office and straight into a stall in the restroom to take a huge deep breath. I’d said no to a role and in six months, I would no longer be working for the company to which gave me my start in the corporate world.

This was only the beginning to what was risky at the time and one of the biggest leaps that I’d made in my life. Next was what happened after my “mini retirement.” While at home doing all of the things that I could not because of a hectic working life, I’d realized that all of the walls around me began closing in all at aonce. I remember falling to the floor in tears on all fours and realizing that I had no income, was paying for a house, had a very young son, and no real plan of action. My original plan to leap back into the corporate arean had moved further away from what I wanted to do and entrepreneurship had not een crossed my mind. I remember thinking to myself, what the heck am I good at?

As I asked others and remembered those who I always said I wanted on my team if I ever “made it big,” I realized that coaching and speaking was it. Now how could I once again leap and take the risk of betting on me?

Lolita E. , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Lolita E. Walker. I am a single mom of one amazing son, caretaker of four generations, including myself, a business owner of a personal and professional coaching, speaking, and consultancy, 2x author, podcaster, PhD student, instructor at the collegiate level, elected official, and PTSA mom to name a few. Beneath it all is my core foundation of my faith and my strengths which have wings that protect my fall daily.

I am at the helm of a movement which powers busy women and diverse teams to shift to intentional action to achieve personal and professional success beyond where they stand today.

I am most proud of betting and believing in myself. I am even more proud to be an example to each of you and my current clients of moving fear, anxiety, stress, fear, and others expectations of myself from my path so that I could and can leap to my continued unknowns. If you would have asked me ten years ago if I would be doing what I am doing now, the answer would have absolutely been no – yet look at me know. I love helping others realize that that their best is yet to come.

To know me is to know that I have been where you are and am eager to help you get to where you want to be. I love what I do and I love the transformations that I see through my clients daily. Whether my services, women and corporate retreats, podcast, products, or books, my mission to meet you where you are and increase your clarity, confidence, and commit shine through as the umbrella to which I excel.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In my most recent run for PGCPS Board of Education representation for my district, resilency is one of the core strengths that shone through. What was originally deemed by some as a “no way possible” for a woman who didn’t know the political landscape or a political backing, I was victorious in my run. This is an example of resilency shining through by sitting on faith, strengths, and being surrounded by a small community of those who see greatness within you.

When others doubted me, I sometimes doubted myself.
When influential support mounted for my opponent, I continued to run my race.
When days were long and competing priorities rose, my community stepped in.
When my son needed more mommy-time, I reorganized my schedule to accomodate.
When I felt deflated at times, I remembered my future self and why this position was so important to me.

Remembering one of my affirmations that “I am greatness that others have yet to see,” kept me lifted and pushing forward through this time.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When I said those three words, “no thank you,” I had to think through tough decisions such as does it make sense to continue to pay for housing and utilities from a savings account while I work to build my new business. I remember the nervousness calling my mother to ask if I and my son could move in for a few years while I created a legacy. Having no entrepreneurs in my immediate family, she didn’t understand how it would work and didn’t answer me right away but I thank God of a pivot in life. I believe that God puts us in places and spaces and we have been there for each other through surgeries, the matriarch of our family moving in, childcare, and so much more.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lolitawalker.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heycoachwalker
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/coachingcocktailsconversations
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lolita-e-walker
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lolita-e-walker
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcj7pMlERV0VW4m0JDp18bQ
• Other: https://podcast.lolitawalker.com

Image Credits
Photo Credits: Jamal Hardman of Hardman Portraits Photo Credits: Good Morning Washington