287: How to Elevate Your Creativity & Vibe with Actor, Poet, and Speaker Rashad Rayford

In this episode, Rashad Rayford brings the energy (and the poetry) with a fresh take on owning your voice, trusting your timing, and turning fear into fuel. From embracing boredom to battling imposter syndrome, Rashad breaks it all down with humor, heart, and a spoken-word mic drop you won’t want to miss. Rashad Rayford is an award-winning speaker, actor, and poet featured at TEDx, on NPR, and in The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. He's also a MOTH Story Hour GRANDslam champion. Rashad is known for his high-energy presentations that blend storytelling, spoken word, and actionable insights. 1.) How boredom was critical to him finding his calling 2.) Why you shouldn't try and microwave your growth 3.) How he 50% Rules poetry and keynote speaking 4.) How he almost didn't do the thing that launched his speaking career, and the simple acronym that helped him through it 5.) His improvised poem to you to make work suck less Website: https://www.rashadthapoet.com/ If you’d like quick tangible tips and practical corporate career advice to level up your authentic leadership, download the 10 simple “plays” to stop selling out and start standing out at https://bauthenticinc.mykajabi.com/freebie   To connect with Erin and/or Nicole, email: hello@bauthenticinc.com  If you like jammin' with us on the podcast, b sure to join us for more fun and inspiration!  Follow b Cause on Twitter (really it's mostly Nicole)    Follow Erin on LinkedIn or Instagram   Join the b Cause Podcast Facebook Group     Take our simple, fun and insightful"What’s your workplace superhero name?”quiz   Unleash your Authentic Superpower with Erin’s book,"You Do You (ish)"  Check out our blog for more no-BS career advice  Work with Us Or just buy some fun, authentic, kick-ars merch here DISCLAIMER: This episode is not explicit, though contains mild swearing that may be unsustainable for younger audiences. Tweetable Comments  ”Sometimes we don't see our light, we don't see our shine. We may see a little bit of it, but we may not see it fully until someone else is like, “Hey man, you're the sun. You're shining.” “ I like to bring right brain ideas into left brain spaces, and it helps folks to really unpack and see things from a different perspective.” “How do you connect with people in a way that says, ‘I’m supposed to be here, I belong here, and I have a purpose here?’”  ”Sometimes it just takes looking beyond ourselves and asking ‘How can we continue to grow?‘“