Pathways with Amber Stitt

Focus on Talents: Creating Confident Professional Communications with Amy Scruggs

December 12, 2023 Amber Stitt
Focus on Talents: Creating Confident Professional Communications with Amy Scruggs
Pathways with Amber Stitt
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Pathways with Amber Stitt
Focus on Talents: Creating Confident Professional Communications with Amy Scruggs
Dec 12, 2023
Amber Stitt

🌟 Tune into this inspirational episode of The Amber Stitt Show where our host, Amber, welcomes the multi-talented Amy Scruggs. They delve into an enlightening conversation on maximizing your skills, building confidence, and seamlessly blending various careers to unlock new opportunities. πŸŽ€πŸ’Ό

Amy Scruggs, renowned for her expertise in mortgage and real estate, as well as her remarkable journey as a recording artist, spokesperson, coach, and author, shares her unique perspective on professional development and personal growth. πŸŽΆπŸ“–

In this episode, you'll discover:

- How to switch out your filler words for powerful pauses πŸ”„

- The significance of confidence and resilience in the business world πŸ’ͺ

- Strategies for mastering public speaking and effective communication πŸ—£οΈ

- The impact of professional consistency on credibility πŸ›‘οΈ

- Tips for embracing technology and working with diverse generations πŸ‘₯

- Redefining retirement and community involvement 🏑

πŸ“š Amy's lessons are a treasure trove for those aiming to combine their talents and passions in innovative ways. Whether onstage or in the boardroom, these insights are designed to help you cultivate a fulfilling career path.

πŸ‘οΈβ€πŸ—¨οΈ Don't miss Amy's personal anecdotes about her family's role in her music career and how embracing creativity opened doors to an exciting blend of keynote presentations and entertainment. 🎹

πŸ”— Connect with us at www.AmberStitt.com for more insightful podcasts, books, and articles that can guide you on your journey both at home and at work. 

To learn more about Amy Scruggs please visit her website at: www.AmyScruggsMedia.com

Show Notes Transcript

🌟 Tune into this inspirational episode of The Amber Stitt Show where our host, Amber, welcomes the multi-talented Amy Scruggs. They delve into an enlightening conversation on maximizing your skills, building confidence, and seamlessly blending various careers to unlock new opportunities. πŸŽ€πŸ’Ό

Amy Scruggs, renowned for her expertise in mortgage and real estate, as well as her remarkable journey as a recording artist, spokesperson, coach, and author, shares her unique perspective on professional development and personal growth. πŸŽΆπŸ“–

In this episode, you'll discover:

- How to switch out your filler words for powerful pauses πŸ”„

- The significance of confidence and resilience in the business world πŸ’ͺ

- Strategies for mastering public speaking and effective communication πŸ—£οΈ

- The impact of professional consistency on credibility πŸ›‘οΈ

- Tips for embracing technology and working with diverse generations πŸ‘₯

- Redefining retirement and community involvement 🏑

πŸ“š Amy's lessons are a treasure trove for those aiming to combine their talents and passions in innovative ways. Whether onstage or in the boardroom, these insights are designed to help you cultivate a fulfilling career path.

πŸ‘οΈβ€πŸ—¨οΈ Don't miss Amy's personal anecdotes about her family's role in her music career and how embracing creativity opened doors to an exciting blend of keynote presentations and entertainment. 🎹

πŸ”— Connect with us at www.AmberStitt.com for more insightful podcasts, books, and articles that can guide you on your journey both at home and at work. 

To learn more about Amy Scruggs please visit her website at: www.AmyScruggsMedia.com

Amber [00:00:00]:

Hello, and welcome to the Amber Stitt Show. I am your host, Amber Stitt, and today we welcome the talented Amy Scruggs. Welcome to the podcast today, Amy. I'm so thrilled to be with you.

Amy Scruggs [00:00:11]:

I've actually been really looking forward to this. We've been planning it a while, and here we are.

Amber [00:00:15]:

And I met you through another media webinar. I think it was considered a webinar through (shameless plug) Women in Insurance and Financial Services. The Phoenix chapter had an amazing webinar and you were our guest, and you were teaching everybody about how to get media ready, which is something I love talking about all the time, if I can. But I have to sell insurance. So, yeah, I'm trying to bridge that cool insurance topic and then media, too, right? We make it work.

Amy Scruggs [00:00:42]:

We make it work. But it all pairs together in today's world.

Amber [00:00:45]:

Everything is, and we're going to dig into that. I think we'll dig into that quite a bit today. So I'm excited about talking about marketing. It's one of my favorite things. My husband says, if you could do the one thing, it would be marketing. But I'm like, "No, I want people to get organized and take action for their families, so we got to do both." But as business owners, there's a lot we can do and even employees of businesses, and so we'll tap into that. Really love to give takeaways when I can.

Amber [00:01:08]:

Some application. You're the perfect girl for the job, I believe. So why don't we tell the audience a little bit about like, you know, give me a day in the life of Amy.

Amy Scruggs [00:01:16]:

Goodness, after 20 years of combined careers, and that's what it takes. It's combining your talents and careers, so it really becomes one big bundle that you're proud of. For me, 20 years in mortgage and real estate and sales and sales management, of really helping professionals. And then when the industry disappeared and we'll talk about that a little bit. I've also been singing and performing music since I was three years old. So I took the skills of being in front of professionals, of understanding, asking for the business and put it into my career as a recording artist. And so the last years, I have toured and opened for some of the biggest names in country music. I spent three years as the spokesperson for the American Veterans for the State of California, and currently I am still a media and communications coach.

Amy Scruggs [00:02:01]:

I help professionals really become confident in front of camera. It's how we met with the webinar. But I also have new music out on radio, so I am still recording professionally and all the careers came together. And I am an author of a best selling book, "Lights, Camera, Action", again, about coaching. And it all comes together. No matter what we're doing, we have to have that confidence. And I know we'll discuss that today, but that's what I do.

Amy Scruggs [00:02:24]:

I'm also a wife and a mother, four of my own kids that are grown. My son tours with me as my lead guitar player. My youngest is now in college, plays five instruments, and then I have two bonus children, as well, that are grown. So six total. And that keeps us busy.

Amber [00:02:39]:

That keeps you busy. I keep pretty busy with one, and I think I do so good with the one.

Amy Scruggs [00:02:43]:

Yeah, I have extras if you'd like.

Amber [00:02:45]:

I do too. Back home, like, I have these other siblings. There's five others. And that's where I think I just decided mentally young, I'm having one because I was the oldest of a lot of kids. So okay, for the audience that just listened to Amy and might know me, we can bring a lot to the room and be overwhelming in a good way, good energy. But I want to dissect and kind of take this back a little bit because I love what you say about that bundle. We grow up thinking, like, stay in your lane, do this one thing that maybe sometimes what our parents think we should be involved with.

Amber [00:03:18]:

But you're pulling talents in from being young. And it took until years later that you took what you liked even as a young child. And then you're like, I'm doing it in my adult life after working in the business world. And that's why we call it the "Pathways of Peak Performance", because you can take different pathways. And I know with my daughter, I want her to see me working, but I want her to find her favorite thing about maybe what I do. So I'm not asking her to be in it with me because that's not cool. So, I mean, I'm guessing the guitar player. There was probably a combination of things happening there you can maybe share about that, but showing that leadership and then letting people come along for the ride and plugging in where they're talented. As a Gallup certified coach, I did that years ago, didn't really make sense at the time.

Amber [00:04:02]:

I was going into my own business after being in the business for five years. I went out on my own in 2018, and I was like, I just want to go get this other credential because I love learning about personalities. So there's so many of those out there. But focusing on what you love can really make work not feel like work. And I feel like you embody that. Did you always have the confidence, I guess, if you're performing young, but how did you take it up a notch and bring it into the business world?

Amy Scruggs [00:04:29]:

Some of that answer came from just that bare survival. So even when I first started in the real estate and mortgage industry, this is my first big girl job, per se. I had done the little jobs and waited tables and worked at a pharmacy when I was younger, but I had the kids young. Then, at 29, really stepped into that career. And I had an amazing woman take a chance on me. She was a cancer survivor, mother of three. She said, I like you, you're tenacious, I'll take a chance on you. But I did not even understand how to read a rate sheet. And I was going out in one of the most competitive professions at that time, in the early two thousands in the mortgage industry in Orange County, which was the Mecca and the hub of all of it.

Amy Scruggs [00:05:07]:

So yes, I was terrified. Yes, I lacked confidence. Yes, I knew I was about to get eaten alive, and I cried in my car every time I got back in from another appointment. But what I figured out very quickly was utilizing the skill that I had from being a childhood performer: "Wait, I'm comfortable in front of people. So let me look at this." Like memorizing lyrics to a song and using that skill of just memorizing the rate sheets, memorizing the talking points without fully understanding them yet being able to present them, started getting business. Then I learned as I went. Then it started absorbing, "Wow, okay, now I'm really understanding what this means."

Amy Scruggs [00:05:40]:

I understand the margins. Now I understand what this is looking like and how it's coming together. And I was also so grateful for this woman that took a chance on me that I felt that I needed to succeed for her. That drive to help her caused me to succeed even more than it was for myself, and needing to provide for children that needed to be fed and a mortgage and a roof over my head. So it was a lot of survival mode. Like you just pointed out that instinct to learn and then learn as I go, putting in the confidence of I'm okay in front of people, I'm going to use that to set myself apart.

Amber [00:06:13]:

Okay. So I left Nebraska, came to Arizona when there was the buzz in 2004 of just everything was booming. And in the West, Nevada, California, Arizona, right, and other states, I think Florida was a big one. It's just I got into the industry too, so I don't know that you knew that I was a loan processor way back, and I was too scared of being in sales, so I never got into sales because I'm not great at math, and I'm scared of talking in front of people. So I just gave that up back in my 20s, just said, "No, I can't do it." Which is why I advocate for people now to find their own way. But you're mentioning consistency.

Amber [00:06:46]:

And so I've had other executive coaches or others that in my community say fear is really coming from something you just don't understand. So understand it. Like if you don't understand the rate sheet, you're still saying, okay, if I can get the numbers straight and get that consistency, you can be more comfortable, and then you're taking that framework, and then you dial it into the next thing. If I'm guessing, you gave yourself some grace at the beginning and said, "We got to figure this out. I have to figure this out. Kids or no kids. Got to get after it." But the other thing, too, is our fifth step of the Pathways

Amber [00:07:18]:

to Peak Performance is focusing on community. And I just left this WFS National Conference in October with being a moderator for a next generation panel. And I just wrote the article for the group about this, where what I got from the younger people is that, are we really supporting each other? And if you're reflect on that, are you really supporting the person around you that needs to have that voice from you, like that person was for you? If not, try to bring that out and give that to somebody. Because my business partner now, he was the original one, like, you need to get up there and start talking. And I'm like, "OK", and that was the catalyst. It wasn't the best performance my first time, but I just said, "Okay, got to brush it off, and I got to do it again."

Amy Scruggs [00:07:58]:

And how much you learned from that.

Amber [00:08:00]:

But I had to tell myself, stop with the negative, because all the thoughts were swirling. I forgot to do this. I forgot to click my PowerPoint slides. I stood there with the wrong shoes, wrong dress, and all these things postpartum pumping upstairs in the hotel room, like, minutes before...the guys don't get it...in this dress. But I just said enough. And I told myself, stop talking to yourself like that. This is your first time. It's going to get better.

Amber [00:08:22]:

But I had to tell myself that and then go, all right, what's the next thing? And I was around COVID, where everything shut down. So I did a virtual, almost like an improv acting style, kind of a voice presentation, coaching, and it was so much fun, but awkward.

Amy Scruggs [00:08:35]:

It is awkward, isn't it? I work with professionals day in and day out, and I always say, this is going to feel awkward. You're going to feel like a cartoon character, but I need you to trust me. This is where we're going to find your voice for real, and one that resonates with your audience, and that makes all the difference.

Amber [00:08:50]:

So I like that you obviously figured out professionally, okay, we got a couple of things going on here, and you're still doing multiple things to this day, but as you became a subject matter expert, you're like, "Hey, I've been there. Yes, I've learned these things." So a lot of what you do is consulting, and it's probably global now. I'm guessing you could help anyone anywhere.

Amy Scruggs [00:09:10]:

Yes.

Amber [00:09:10]:

And so that's become something that brings you joy. So let's talk about that a little bit. Like, how are you helping people? Or is there something that maybe a little teaser that you see people constantly fighting with that maybe people could apply today. Is there any little teaser thing that if you just fix this little thing, it's a game changer?

Amy Scruggs [00:09:26]:

Well, the number one, if there was something that I say you have to fix immediately if you're going to work with me, it's the filler words. That is the...

Amber [00:09:35]:

OK, besides, "like", what's the main filler word that people are doing these days?

Amy Scruggs [00:09:39]:

"Um", "yeah", "so", "like", "right?"

Amber [00:09:43]:

Have you heard the "Right?", I'm looking at this aqua cup right in front of me, this mug. "You like this aqua cup, right?" Hearing so many say the "rights" or the "likes" and Amy, do you feel like if people are saying this, it's almost I'll start absorbing it too. If I'm around people that are doing it and I have to turn it off.

Amy Scruggs [00:10:00]:

I have to cleanse. After working with different clients, I will absorb a word, something I'm trying to help them get rid of, the next thing I know, it comes out of me from nowhere. And it's not something I've used before. So I have to stop and do my own dialogue practice again to cleanse those words. I think the most overused word right now, and you're going to notice this a lot as you listen to interviews, and especially as a professional interviewer like yourself, is that so many people start everything with "absolutely". And then they go into their point.

Amber [00:10:28]:

"Absolutely", and then go. It's not unnecessary. Pause.

Amy Scruggs [00:10:34]:

Take out those filler words. Pause and breathe. And start a sentence with a sentence. I've never opened an email that starts with "Yeah, so, um", and I've never opened an email that starts with "Absolutely..." Let me share my point. We take so much time typing out a nice message, making sure that we come across professional and eloquent, but we're not putting that into our spoken presentation. So really bringing that cohesiveness there that you're representing yourself the same way can create confidence, it creates credibility, and it allows your message to resonate more with your audience, whether that's a one on one audience or a workshop or a business meeting or keynote speaking.

Amber [00:11:12]:

I mean, that's the thing. You could leave your house, go grab a cup of coffee. Your future client could be sitting standing in that line next to you. I forget who it was that talked about the digitization of your reputation. It is what you bring out into the world every day that you go. You don't always have to be hair, makeup ready on the go all the time. But we talk about AI and technology. Some people are scared, but it's like, lean into that and how do you become more effective, but then make sure that your communication skills are on point because no one can replace you.

Amy Scruggs [00:11:40]:

Exactly.

Amber [00:11:41]:

That is the main thing we should be working on all the time. And I've done a big pour in of personal development in some of these groups that I belong with for more of the insurance planning and just scaling business and growing teams. And I needed that this year. But that's where I know that you're essential, especially when it comes to media and how you are helping people dial that in. This is the thing we need to be focusing on because how we interact is huge and that could just bring so many opportunities and you just never know. Could you agree with me on this as we're speaking, the audio fillers, but don't text with them either, because I feel that if it's important enough to bring some awareness to somebody, say a client, try to watch that.

Amy Scruggs [00:12:21]:

My go to for my communications with clients and important messages, whether it's to family, friends and professionals, is I send a video message. I turn on my camera on my phone. I'm here. Just wanted to ask if it's okay if we move that meeting back 30 minutes. I really appreciate your patience in that. Let me know if that's going to be an issue. I make my message. You can see my face, you can hear my delivery.

Amy Scruggs [00:12:41]:

I click send. I delete it out of my phone. Those video messages really help to make sure that our communications are clear and concise.

Amber [00:12:49]:

Yeah, and I know that when you do some of your teaching, you talk about how that's essential, but then how to do that and become more comfortable on camera. And I think it's just one of those things. You just have to get used to it. So for me, podcasting, more conversational, those types of conversations are easier for me than say, on stage. But I think that they can be all important and so you have to get comfortable. Now I'm just worrying about my "so's". So now, Jay, edit out the "so's".

Amy Scruggs [00:13:14]:

Edit out the "so's"!

Amber [00:13:16]:

Or don't, because it's a blooper, but see, we all need to work on that.

Amy Scruggs [00:13:20]:

We also threw a lot of conferences. I mean, especially before COVID but now during COVID there was the webinars and after, we're all excited to get back out of those in person conferences in whatever industry we're at, whether we're doing personal development, we're there for our careers, whatever it is. And there'll be multiple speakers in these things. Nine times out of ten, you've got a handful of speakers that are doing a full day conference. We all remember the one that resonated with us. We will think about that one. That you can just see you as a polished enough speaker, comfortable on stage to catch our attention. Now, the truth is, inside that person had the same butterflies before they went out there because it is the most common fear is public speaking.

Amy Scruggs [00:13:57]:

The difference is those that take the training to say, "I'm willing to get past it. I'm willing to understand my talking points and what's going to connect with my audience." And that preparation will override any lack of confidence and allow you to connect. And when you see an audience give you that, "Aha". Or maybe laugh at your funny story because you landed it correctly, or maybe start to take notes, when you see an audience taking notes or screenshotting your slides, you know you're doing a good job. When you look into an audience not doing it or looking down at their phones and not paying attention to you, that's also a sign. And that's when you realize, I need to make some adjustments.

Amber [00:14:36]:

And the pauses, right? Yeah, those are important, the pauses, the uncomfortable ones, they're necessary, but sometimes our brains go, fill in all the space.

Amy Scruggs [00:14:45]:

But it's magic. The pause. I will walk up to a stage, and I will pause first before I ever say hello, because I want them to feel my energy. I want to feel the energy of that room. I want to take that moment that we all realize we're sharing this space and we're about to embark on a journey here together. Whether it's ten minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, the pauses are incredible. They allow your audience to understand what it is you're sharing, to receive it, to purge it, whatever it is they need to do with it. Giving that space allows so much more mentally, intellectually, and emotionally for your audience.

Amber [00:15:19]:

Well, and if it's that important, it needs to soak in too.

Amy Scruggs [00:15:22]:

Yes.

Amber [00:15:23]:

So, Amy, let's shift over to talking about family being involved in the business. And the thing is, people talk about it being potentially it's a family business, or saying, I have family in the business. It's almost giving this respect factor that it's just, "Oh, they're not just here because I couldn't find somebody else," but just no, they want to be here because they're supposed to be here, and they're the talented ones for the job. So the guitar player that's why I just wanted to go back to that, if that's okay, and celebrate writing. And are the stories in your family or through your experiences part of where these lyrics come from? And did the kids always like this part of growing up?

Amy Scruggs [00:16:02]:

Well, there's multiple kids, so there's different answers for each one of those. My son Ryan started playing guitar by ear at 13, and his words for me then was, "I will never play for you. Don't even think it." And I would be starting I was just really starting to go out and tour. This was during that recession time. He said, "I won't do it. Don't even think it." Well, I put a band together, and he had to come along.

Amber [00:16:24]:

I don't think we told everybody this. You literally did this when you shifted.

Amy Scruggs [00:16:28]:

I had to shift.

Amber [00:16:30]:

You weren't always performing?

Amy Scruggs [00:16:31]:

I was always performing, yes. I was performing outside of my mortgage career, so I was doing concerts in the park, performing around Southern California. The kids always had to come with. They hated it, of course, but that's what we did.

Amber [00:16:43]:

Never doing this. Mom.

Amy Scruggs [00:16:44]:

The recession hit and wholesale mortgage...I was a wholesale rep, which means I represented the bank on behalf of the bank to the mortgage broker. I never met the consumer, the actual homebuyer or refinancing homebuyer. I was only dealing with the mortgage broker. That disappeared. That recession caused that job to completely disappear. So everything I knew that was providing for my family was gone. But I had this talent to perform. I had just gained all this confidence in business over these last years and seen the success of that.

Amy Scruggs [00:17:11]:

And I realized, what if I put these together and come up with a very quick business plan and action plan to start performing full time where it's going to really provide for us? And we did. Within six months, I was opening for Clint Black on a national stage in Arizona, at Camp Verde, Arizona on the 4th of July, because I asked for the business. I used the same confidence, put together a marketing plan and went and asked for the business. A lot of music artists don't understand they have to run it as a business. I was booking my own PR. I was booking radio station and TV interviews. I was getting features in newspapers to say I was coming into town. So I utilized this business plan to create that visibility and momentum and that's what allowed us to go out and succeed.

Amy Scruggs [00:17:52]:

And I did. I put a band together first and they were wonderful. And my son, who's now a musician watching this, finally realized maybe he had made an error in judgment and that he would play for me. So he had to start as a guitar tech. He was a roadie. He was selling shirts, he was packing the truck. He was driving the truck before he joined us by the time he was 18. And so that made the difference.

Amy Scruggs [00:18:15]:

But he earned it. He wanted it and it came together so that he was able to do that for me. Now, the songs, a lot of the songs we do are written for us by great writers in Nashville. But Ryan wrote a few songs for us that were really for the heart of the veterans and the work we did with the veterans and some of his experiences. He's a great writer, but he only chooses certain songs that I actually get to perform and record. And it's an honor that he allows me to. I never assume that what he writes is for me. I ask permission to be able to sing some of his songs and that's worked out well.

Amy Scruggs [00:18:46]:

There's a respect element there for us when we work together that we respect. It's not mom and son, it's work together. And the mom and son issues are off the stage.

Amber [00:18:54]:

That's amazing. Well, thank you so much for sharing about how that even works. And I think for me, when I mentioned the Next Generation panel that I was on, we focus on next generation wanting to bring younger talent into whatever industries that we're in and lean into where they've come from because they've come from a different place with their generation where we can almost be annoyed with them on technology. "Get off your phone". But there's this element of creation and they're not going to wait for things to happen. And so there's that dynamic element from the younger generation. I think that they have seen what we have experienced over the last few generations and they don't want that. They want more for the world or the economy and so on.

Amber [00:19:32]:

So I'm excited for that. But I'm also excited about anyone's next generation, any age. Because what I'm seeing, and I know that as you work with leadership and consulting, there's this period of time where like you had that time back in 2007. Correct, in 2008, yes. Then we have this COVID situation where people might be retiring early or let's just call it straight retirement. People might be shifting into a different world for themselves and they don't really know where they're going to land or they've been pre-programmed to think that retirement is this thing and then they're just going to relax and enjoy life, but we're going to live for a long time. So how do we balance all of that? So before we wrap up today, I want to talk about bundling those talents and how to really initiate that and trust yourself that just because it doesn't make sense right now doesn't mean you shouldn't consider it to be a real thing for you. So let's wrap up with that today.

Amber [00:20:24]:

Yes.

Amy Scruggs [00:20:24]:

And I love that you tapped into the retirees, because I do speaking in front of a lot of retirees. And what's wonderful is so many of them are motivated to be out there doing their outreach and nonprofit work. So they're retired, but they're in the community trying to make a difference. And so these skills are just as important because if you're raising funds for an organization or you're the voice for an organization, you're volunteering. Maybe having comfort being in front of media or comfort speaking about it is still just as important as when they were in their careers and having some of these skills. And I love that you brought up the youth because what I share a lot is allowing those youth to help those retirees say, "I will help you put this on social media, I will help run this for you," and get community service points or what they need for their college apps if they start working together. These students are getting valuable time with seasoned professionals. And at the same time, those retirees and seniors, seasoned professionals, are able to utilize bringing the youth into that world of service, into the world of young professionals with something that they can be proud of that they're doing.

Amy Scruggs [00:21:24]:

And it's a great connect if we stop putting that divide in there of, "Oh, these are boomers versus Gen Z'ers", come together and say we each have skills that we need from each other, and I've seen it happen in that combination is magical.

Amber [00:21:38]:

There's wisdom, each one, even though the X'ers & millennials are like, "I don't want to be over here." It's kind of a joke, but really respecting all pieces of it. And from what I've heard or learned is that the Z'ers are almost having this boomer mindset about money. So I'm very excited. Some people think I might be a little bit too positive about it, but again, when I say they're not waiting for classroom, they're not waiting to create a solution, because as you know, you're creating opportunity with solutions that you can provide. You've done that, Amy, multiple times. They're going to do that and they don't know any better.

Amy Scruggs [00:22:12]:

Right?

Amber [00:22:12]:

I think they're just going to go out there and do it. So I think also with the older demographic, my grandmother being 92, she very much participates in all her grandchildren's lives and she's very much involved in their businesses and so on. I think that's part of her being so stimulated mentally is staying involved. Yes. And that's why she's just still doing her thing and happy and thinks she's got another decade to go. She says she's in the middle of a remodel, kind of taking a while, but I can't imagine it would turn that fast with hers. But there's so much more life to have. So I think that when you're talking about when you're working with some of that and seeing the young working with the older, there's some beauty in that.

Amy Scruggs [00:22:51]:

There's a lot of beauty in it. I'm seeing it firsthand, especially in Rotary International. You have your rotaract and your interacts and then you've got Rotary, which has a lot of older demographic. And watching them come together, I'm watching that make an impact and really start to influence this next generation with such positivity and outreach and at the same time helping those older ones to pull in some of today's trends in technology and how to utilize them for the right reasons. And so if everybody's in it for the right reasons, there's a lot more cohesiveness in how they have these conversations and what they're wanting to help with, and if it's really helping the community, which, as you said, these Gen Z'ers, they want to save our planet. They're terrified. They want to save the world. And we need to help them with the tools we have and let them use the tools they have to get it done.

Amy Scruggs [00:23:36]:

And it's a beautiful combination.

Amber [00:23:37]:

Teamwork, you always inspire me. So how should we get people to find you?

Amy Scruggs [00:23:42]:

If you google Amy Scruggs, I promise you cannot miss it. You will find me on all socials. If you Google, you cannot miss me. Thankfully, it's a unique name. And you'll see my music out there, my speaking, everything, and it's really exciting to see how it all came together. I'm able to now do a keynote presentation, comfortable in front of an audience with the experience I have in business and performing, and then I can end it at the piano with a performance to my audience. So I'm able to take all of those things, impacting outreach, and professionalism, and yet still be an entertainer.

Amy Scruggs [00:24:13]:

And that's the bundle.

Amber [00:24:15]:

That's the bundle.

Amy Scruggs [00:24:17]:

I like it.

Amber [00:24:18]:

If only I kept up with piano, my piano playing skills.

Amy Scruggs [00:24:21]:

Yes.

Amber [00:24:22]:

One regret. The one regret. But I probably could figure it out.

Amy Scruggs [00:24:26]:

I hated piano lessons as a kid, and now look what I'm able to do with it.

Amber [00:24:29]:

Yeah. And again, you don't have to have all the answers, and that's really what I want my daughter to also know, too. And just for the younger people that come out of high school, go to college, and you're supposed to know everything, the most successful, I'm telling you, could be like 30 to 50 years old before they find that. And it's not to be discouraging. There's a lot of fun along the way, and there could be a lot of money to be made in different regards. But it's okay not to have the absolute answer yet. It can layer itself with time.

Amy Scruggs [00:24:54]:

It's okay to figure it out. My youngest is in her second year of college, and we have this conversation every day. It's okay to figure it out. It's okay to have do overs. It's okay to change your mind. I've had five different lives in the last 15 years. It's okay. Let it evolve.

Amy Scruggs [00:25:09]:

Use your talent.

Amber [00:25:10]:

Yeah, for you, Amy. I've seen it for myself. Obviously, you have a lot of that that you've shared today, and that's where I just want people to have the opportunity to again, give themselves some grace and just figure out if I could create, conjure up this thing that I would just love to do. I believe you can, and I'm sure that you're seeing it every day with your clients.

Amy Scruggs [00:25:29]:

Yes, completely. When people find that creativity, that new voice, the possibilities are endless. Finding the voice, being confident to find the voice and know your message can allow that creativity and allow those new opportunities.

Amber [00:25:42]:

Well, I think that's a beautiful place to end today, and we'll link up how to find you. But like you said, I can Google you and find you anywhere, but we'll give people the links to find you and look forward to hearing new music. And it'll be a great '24, it sounds like. Yes.

Amy Scruggs [00:25:58]:

More to come.

Amber [00:25:57]:

Well, thanks. More to come. Thanks, Amy. Thanks so much. Thank you for joining us on today's episode of The Amber Stitt Show. For more information about the podcast, books, articles, and more, please visit me at: www.AmberStitt.com. Until next week, enjoy your journey at home and at work. Thank you for listening.