119. Small Steps to Big Change, One Petite Practice at a Time (Dr. Christiane Schroeter)

What if the secret to reaching your biggest goals wasn't about working harder — but about taking smarter, smaller steps? In this warm and wisdom-filled conversation, Serena Low welcomes Dr. Christiane Schroeter, TEDx speaker, bestselling author, professor, and business and wellness coach, to explore how introverts and quiet achievers can break through self-doubt, find their voice, and create meaningful success — one petite practice at a time.

Whether you've been putting off a big goal, shrinking on the stage, or wondering how your quiet strengths translate into real-world impact, this episode is your gentle nudge to begin — today.

IN THIS EPISODE WE EXPLORE

•   The Petite Practice framework — how breaking big goals into tiny, doable steps creates lasting transformation (and why "massive action" weekends so often fail us)

•   Public speaking as an introvert — practical strategies to manage nerves, anchor your presence on stage, and connect authentically with any audience

•   Shifting from self-focus to service — why reframing your talk as a message you owe your audience is the quiet achiever's most powerful confidence tool

•   The introvert's entrepreneurial edge — how empathy, deep listening, and attunement to others' needs make introverts naturally gifted entrepreneurs

•   FAIL as a First Attempt In Learning — embracing the missteps, pivots, and plateaus as essential parts of the journey to the red dot

•   The danger of upward comparison on social media — and the liberating practice of looking back to see how far you've already come

•   Dr. Christiane's upcoming book Step Into Your Voice — and what it means for introverts to claim their voice as an act of courage and service

KEY TAKEAWAYS

•   Your message matters more than your nerves. Instead of asking "What if I fail?", ask "What if I change someone's life?" Shifting from self-consciousness to service is the quiet achiever's most transformative mindset move.

•   Small steps compound into extraordinary results. Dr. Christiane's Petite Practice method shows that a 10-minute walk beats a never-started marathon every time. Consistency in small actions builds the confidence that big leaps never can.

•   FAIL = First Attempt In Learning. Every misstep on the way to your goal is not a setback — it's a curriculum. Share the runway, not just the red dot, and you give others permission to begin their own journey.

•   Introverts are not broken extroverts — they are gifted connectors. Empathy, attunement, and depth of thinking are entrepreneurial superpowers. The ability to truly listen and align with others is the quiet achiever's greatest competitive advantage.

•   Don't keep your goal a secret. Voicing your goal aloud brings it into the present moment. Share it, then take one small step today — because the world deserves your superpower, and so do you.

ABOUT DR. CHRISTIANE SCHROETER

Dr. Christiane Schroeter is a TEDx speaker, bestselling author, business and wellness coach, and professor of marketing, innovation, and entrepreneurship at a top-ranked US university. Holding a PhD in health economics, she has earned national and international recognition for her ability to translate academic expertise into real-world strategy that actually works.

As the host of the Happy Healthy Hustle podcast — ranked in the top 1% globally — Christiane shares high-performance strategies that weave together productivity, business growth, and holistic well-being. She is the author of three books, including the Amazon #1 new release How to Master Your Goals, and her signature Petite Practice framework is now at the heart of her latest works, Discover Your Superpower, and the companion Petite Practice Planner.

This episode was edited by Aura House Productions

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to the Quiet Warrior Podcast. Today's guest is Dr. Christiane Schroter. Dr. Christiane Schroter is a TEDx speaker, business and wellness coach, professor, and best-selling author who helps entrepreneurs achieve big results through small strategic actions. With a PhD in health economics, she is a professor of marketing, innovation, and entrepreneurship at a top-ranked U.S. university, earning national and international recognition for her work. Christiane blends academic expertise with real-world strategy. As the host of the Happy Healthy Hustle podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally, she shares high-performance strategies that integrate productivity, business growth, and well-being. Christiane is also the author of three books, including the best-selling, How to Master Your Goals, which debuted as an Amazon number one new release in adult education. Her latest releases, Discover Your Superpower and the companion Petite Practice Planner, Build up Her Signature Petite Practice Framework, which we will dive into today. Welcome, Dr. Christiane Schroter to the Quiet Warrior Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

I am so excited to be here today. And audience, welcome. This is really going to be a fantastic episode.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

So excited. So first of all, congratulations on your TEDx talk on big small steps leading to big changes.

Why Small Steps Beat Big Goals

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Yeah, that was definitely a wonderful moment standing on the stage. A lot of preparation that went into it. And it felt just amazing when it all came together. And yeah, really how small steps really led to that big change, really, literally speaking, how the whole preparation for the TEDx talk really paid off. Because now when I watch the video, I remember all those moments that went into it. And I'm exceptionally happy at how it all turned out.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Let's go into that a bit further because you know I really like the idea of small steps and big changes. I've been to a lot of personal development seminars where we are exhorted to go for massive transformation and challenged to set really, you know, almighty goals for ourselves, and we have to exceed those goals. And then, you know, when the weekend is over and Monday comes around again and you go back to your normal routine, it feels like a dream, like, oh, that's unattainable. What was I thinking? You know, setting goals like that. So I want to dive deeper with you into this the idea of small steps, big action, and your petite practice. Tell us more about that.

Shame Perfection And Serving Others

SPEAKER_01 2:42

In my talk, in my TEDx talk, and of course I invite the audience to check it out, and not just because of, you know, it's a TEDx talk, but there's a really great message, which is why TEDx talks are so meaningful and powerful. So what I really shared in my talk was that when you think about something you always want to accomplish in life, or maybe even like your personal life, how you have certain things that you set for yourself, like let's call it your bucket list. These things are so intimidating and overwhelming. And I love how you mentioned that maybe they seem great on a Friday, because it's far away that Monday. But then when the present moment really comes around, that all of a sudden it does seem like, oh my gosh, what was I thinking two days ago and even planning this? It is much less intimidating if you just plan on that Friday, on that Monday, instead of going for a 20-minute run, maybe just going for a 10-minute walk and see how I just broke this down into half the time, into maybe half of the effort. But on Friday, if you plan something like that, you can actually get this done on Monday because it is doable. And at the same time, it's not something that from zero to 100% you need to exert effort, but you're actually feeling I can ease into this, I can actually get this done. I'm just doing a small step towards that run that eventually might happen. But right now, I'm just feeling comfortable with going for that walk because at the end of the day, it's Monday and I'm getting started. That's really leading eventually then to maybe 15-minute walk, a 20-minute walk, and then eventually maybe going to start that run. So, see what I'm doing right here is that I'm taking small steps towards your goal. And there might certainly be always be that little reward to be a feeling that walk gets a little bit easier, that run feels a little bit better, and you're also going to feel stronger and of course more accomplishment because you're taking those small steps towards your health. And that's exactly what I'm sharing in my talk. I'm sharing some success stories of transformation for my students, but also for my personal life and how I use this system to reach my big goals.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

What I find particularly helpful, because our audience are introverts and quiet achievers, is that a lot of the times the quiet achiever sets sometimes what seems like an impossibly high goal. And so and there's also a lot of um underlying emotion around not achieving the goal. For instance, there could be shame. And that shame could come not from themselves, it might come from somebody else, somebody who is influential in their lives. Maybe it's from childhood, maybe things were said to them, and they took on this belief that, you know, if I don't set high standards, if I don't achieve those high standards, if I don't do well or do better than expected, then I'm not good enough. How do you speak to that?

SPEAKER_01 5:58

Oh, it's it's beautiful that you actually bring this up, and we want to stick to this whole ed X talk situation right there. That is an immense moment of public exposure, is use that word. You're standing on a stage in front of a thousand people, everybody looks at you, and yeah, you are essentially performing at that moment. And your first thought is when you get on the stage, oh my gosh, what if I'm going to fail? What if people are going to start laughing at me? What if I don't remember my script? There's all these what ifs, what ifs. And think how all this really like becomes this inward spiral of like moments where you might not perform great. You really need to think about this as even though you might be an introvert, your message is far more important than how you will be perceived because the audience will actually connect more with you when you stand on the stage and you seem like a real person. So instead of thinking, what if I stumble over my words? Or what if I forget a line? First of all, nobody will notice if you forget a line. And second, if you stumble over your words, nobody will care either because it just makes you human. Think more how important that is that the message gets out. What if you change somebody's life that's actually sitting in the audience? And that person walks away and feeling empowered, feeling stronger, feeling inspired. And that is really what you're doing. So instead of thinking, well, I can't do this, and I don't think I have it in me, rather think I owe it to my audience to share my message. And if I don't share it, I'm stealing my knowledge from them. And I will not make them stronger for the transformation that I underwent, but I'm kind of like letting them be in their bubble and not ever really empower them to step to this other side. And I think that is so important for entrepreneurs that you always feel in service of others, you're helping others. So don't worry so much about yourself because the audience really shows up to see themselves in you, to see their story of transformation in how you transformed your life. And that's what you're really there to do.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

I love that you've shifted that burden, that mental burden of I need to get it perfect, I need to get it right. And you've moved that over to being in service of something bigger than ourselves. And I think that's where the quiet achiever has an advantage because usually they're also very motivated by things that are beyond themselves. There's that spiritual kind of yearning to be of service in something for the cause of something bigger. And so what you've done is very elegantly taken them out of the equation so there's no more pressure to perform, but rather the focus is on how can I amplify this important message? How can I inspire one person? How can I be, you know, say the thing that they need to hear, that they came to hear. And you are right when you say that the audience sees themselves in the speaker, because I know when I sit in the audience and look at someone who's on the stage, I'm internally rooting for them, I'm cheering for them, I want them to do well. And I'm amazed, I'm in awe of the fact that they have the courage to stand up there and expose themselves, as you say, to public scrutiny and be vulnerable and share something wise and amazing that I can then learn from and apply to my own life. So I'm actually very grateful to the speaker. And I think when we as speakers take on that kind of awareness, it shifts the energy in us, doesn't it?

Speaking Tips For Introverts On Stage

SPEAKER_01 10:12

It does, and and just think of the moment when you enter that stage that everybody in the audience, they're just people. And they are just humans leading normal lives, and they are there in that particular moment in getting a little glimpse of your normal life and how you're sharing that with them, and maybe how you can improve their normal lives. So I read this amazing book by Brene Brown, and she always says, people, people, people, and that's how you need to think of this. When you are a little bit nervous, that's great, because it means you're taking it serious. But at the same time, instead of thinking, oh, I'm scared or I'm anxious, just rather take the fuse out of that fear and fuel it into a positive energy of excitement. Like, oh my gosh, I can't wait to get on this stage and improve somebody's life in the audience. And you can even focus on one person in the audience and just kind of look into the audience and see how their faces change when you look at them. And then maybe you can look around more. But at the beginning, you don't have to stand on the stage and think you're speaking to a thousand, just speak to three or ten. And then eventually you're going to feel, oh, there's actually other people around there too. But that sometimes helps, especially if you're an introvert, that you don't immediately think there is this big audience in front of me. Just think, well, no, it's just a room of people here, and there are just people.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Beautiful. I love that you've cut through all that overthinking and just focus on one word, and that's people. And people are special. People have made the effort to show up to that event. People are there to learn, people are receptive, people are engaged. I think it's also what we tell ourselves about people. And the introverts' advantage is that they're very good at speaking with people one-on-one or one to a small group. So, what you just suggested there, I think is a great recommendation. Just focus on that one friendly face or those those few friendly faces and talk to them. And everyone will by nature, we will we will think that that speaker is talking to us personally because that's how we take in information, that's how we listen to stories, we personalize them, right? We put ourselves into the story and we start seeing things through the speaker's eyes and we start imagining. And I think that's the power that we can exercise regardless of how big the audience is or how small.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

Exactly. And I love that you said focus on that one face. You could even like whatever, look for your family or look for friends, look for faces that you recognize that are familiar to you. And then that's at least my trick when I when I present or I give a keynote talk, that I become familiar with that particular person where they sit. And then after two minutes or so, when the nervousness has died down a little bit, then I let my eyes wander a little bit. But at the beginning, I don't want to just look around too much because I first need to get like somewhat accustomed with the stage, the lighting, with my words. And then after a while, I'm feeling all right, now I can change that energy. And a lot of people, what they do is they get on the stage and they start pacing around and immediately like walking back and forth. And that's sometimes just nervousness and getting that out of them. I'm actually completely the opposite. I'm more a speaker. I just want to stand and want to focus on people and let my eyes wander from person to person. But at the beginning, I always focus on one and then eventually I start shifting around. And that works for me because it kind of anchors my thoughts down. And when I'm feeling they're anchored, then I can let go of the ship and then my talk just takes off.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

I love that. I love the the anchoring, the grounding, the rooting, that feeling of it's like something inside you has become very still, very centered. I remember the last time I did a live workshop and I could feel the nerves coming on. I could feel myself trembling a little bit. So I moved as I was talking, and that helped work out some of the nerves. But also I noticed that as soon as I got into the zone, as soon as I became very present to my material, it's it's like everything else goes quiet. And you are in this special place where you feel I'm really communicating. I'm communicating from deep within me. It's no longer just from my head, it's no longer just from the script that I've memorized or that I'm referring to. It's coming from a very deep place. And I think that's when the audience really connects with the speaker as well, because we can feel that energetic connection. And that's so special.

Petite Practice Through Feedback And Replays

SPEAKER_01 15:50

I completely agree with you. And I also would recommend for all those speakers out there that are nervous, it sounds intimidating, but really film yourself and see what you do with your body, with your hands, with your eyes, even with your head, how you move around. Because thinking what you might do and looking at yourself, what you're actually doing, are two completely different things. So before I got on this stage, I recorded myself so many times, with or without people in front of me, sometimes just via Zoom and recording myself and then re-watching it, and it was just so helpful. Because you also want to feel that there is um emotion in your face. And in fact, actually, I can share this with you right now because it's somewhat of a funny story. I'm a very positive person. And I presented once to my audience, it was actually high school students, and I went through the whole talk and then I looked at them and I said, So what did you think? And one of the high school students said, I absolutely loved it, and it was a fantastic talk. And you are such a positive individual, but there were moments in your talk where I felt you cannot smile, and I thought, oh, that's actually great feedback. Because he's completely right. While it's important to smile, and sometimes we forget about this when we present, we are just so in the zone, as you mentioned, that we don't smile. But for me, it was like, I was like too positive. And he said, Well, there are moments in your talk when you definitely need to look more serious. And I thought, great feedback is that? That's absolutely amazing. Because he's right, I should change my emotion and the pacing of my talk depending on what feeling I want to get across in my audience. And that's something you will notice when you watch yourself, or as I mentioned, you present in front of a live audience because they will give you this feedback. And I asked them from the beginning, I said, please don't just tell me that it was amazing. I of course appreciate that, but you have to be honest with you, with me, because I want to do a really good job in terms of when it is recorded, that it's something that lives forever on YouTube and that I actually want to feel like the emotion comes through. And they told me that. And I thought it was great. So yeah, make sure that when you connect with somebody, you don't just like look at that face and you start immediately smiling, like, oh, look, there's my family, but rather think, all right, what am I talking about in this particular part of my speech is not beware rewarding a smile. Maybe I need to look more serious. So I thought that was great. And I just want to share with you petite practice also means that you're taking small steps, you get honest feedback, and sometimes the steps are also a step forward or a step backward of learning because you feel you mastered the speech itself, but then there is something else you're still learning. And I always say the fail, F-A-I-L, is just your first attempt in learning. So after I memorized the speech, I still realized there were so many other elements that I didn't master. My hands. I knew the speech, but then I realized I was kind of like, my hands, I didn't know what to do with them. I was like making fists, I was like waving them around. And I was like, oh my gosh, there's a ways to go with that. And then, like I say, my face, I was like so happy, and I was like, well, I have to work on that too. So there are so many small things and the petite practice, just that, right? All these small steps that really line up to giving a great speech, that it is really something that for me, the TEDx talk was just like the ultimate climax of how all elements of our learning and speech come together. Because it is not just the words, it's also the visuals, the face, hands, what I did with my body, right? The little pauses that I added in there. And then, of course, everything what I said, the content. So even if you read my transcript. So we are all different learners, and I wanted to make sure that I'm appealing to different learners, not just the people that watch me, but also the people that listen to me, and also, of course, the people that just read the transcript. And that is so important for introverts to really figure out how you can tap into these different learning styles and how you honor that we appreciate that we actually take care of that, that we respect different learning styles. I think that is so important.

Empaths As Entrepreneurs And Teachers

SPEAKER_00 20:49

That is a very thoughtful point you've just highlighted there, because introverts, acquired achievers are usually also very thoughtful and attention-oriented, uh detail-oriented, so very attentive to detail and little things like that make a difference because when we are aware of our own learning styles, so then we recognize also that somebody else might have a different way of taking in information because not everyone is like us and we're not like everyone. So, therefore, how can I honor the learning styles of everyone in the room? How do I make sure that everyone is able to receive what I am communicating? And so catering to that, being thoughtful and sensitive in that, I think that creates that repo and that trust with the people who are listening. So thank you for pointing that out. I want to segue side um and talk about your career so far because it's an interesting career. You you have an academic background, and then you are also an entrepreneur. Talk to us about how all that came together.

SPEAKER_01 21:54

Oh, that's a brilliant question. I think in terms of my Career already as a child, I knew that I liked interacting with people a lot and the communication. And I always felt I had a special power in connecting with people and really being an empath. Deep down, I knew how they felt and what they needed in that moment. And then if you think about good entrepreneurs, that's exactly who they are. They can connect with the ideal client and they can figure out what the ideal client needs and wants and connect them with a product and service. So in reality, empaths or introverts are really the ideal entrepreneurs because they can not just talk to an audience, they can talk with an audience and align their product and services exactly with what they need. So it's a unique gift and it's a great combination. So when I came out of academia, I was first very much tuned into creating scientific papers until I realized that the students I was seeing in the classroom, that was like frequently totally over the head. So thinking again about what I just said, I felt I wasn't aligning my knowledge with the people I was teaching. And then I felt I needed to change some of the scientific language in the way that I was teaching it. I couldn't just publish academic papers for the top-tier PhD level audience, but I also had to transition that knowledge into the classroom, or maybe even verbally explain it, or maybe make a video of it so they could visually see it. And I think that's really what happened. So my academic career was always anchored around I have knowledge, but I don't want to just go down one funnel. I felt I had a key, but I wanted to use the key to unlock multiple different doors and not just the one. I felt like no, no, no. This scientific paper will be great for an audience that goes to this conference. But what about using the key and maybe unlocking classroom knowledge or unlocking video content? So I also have a podcast and a YouTube channel. And I think that's really what happened. So empath and being empathetic and introvert is a unique gift and a unique key to being able to do that, to tune into these different audiences.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

I like that you've continued from this idea of catering to different people's learning styles to then seeing what channels, what platforms can you share your message on so that they can receive it in the way that best suits them, in the way that they are already drawn to consume information. And that is that is then what an entrepreneur does, isn't it? We are looking for the solutions to people's problems and we are helping them solve those problems. So what has it been like for you making that transition from academia to entrepreneurship? What do you see as the most common challenges that entrepreneurs face?

Imposter Thoughts And Sharing The Struggle

SPEAKER_01 25:22

That's a great question. I think, well, there's always the moment when you think, oh, it's all been done. It's all been done, it's all been said. There's other people do it better. And um why do I even like what do I even add? I mean, all these imposter phenomenon issues to where you're either way feeling you have a lot high ability but low confidence, or vice versa, right? You're you're maybe having um low ability and high confidence too. That could happen as well, right? Um, so I think as an entrepreneur, the self-doubt and the negative self-talk kind of going hand in hand, you always need to think a little bit that there is a day when things are going great and you're feeling you're unlocking people's mind, and it's absolutely amazing. And then on the next day, it could be that you're full of self-doubt. And that is the hard part of being an entrepreneur, especially if you are a solopreneur, that there are those days when you're feeling, why am actually doing this? Things are not working out, or you are just feeling that it's always an uphill battle. Because all that you see is other people's successes, and they don't talk enough about those hard days. So now this is the challenge. When I coming back to that TEDx talk, people know I would encourage you, don't just look at my TEDx speech in a way that I got out on that stage, and it was absolutely fabulous, and it was a moment of joy, and that's basically what happened on August 16th. Because I can honestly tell you that pretty much between April 16th and August 16th, that is what I did. And there were so many days and sometimes even weeks, where I felt like things are not working, or I had doubt and struggles. And I think as an entrepreneur, that is the hard part that we don't see that enough. When when other people struggle, they feel they can't share it. Maybe they're afraid of losing face, or maybe they are afraid of just stepping out into the world and saying that it is hard. But I think that's what we all deserve. That moment when things are hard, that that's when you may be getting on camera and you're saying, All right, today, yeah, not such a great day. And I did that plenty on Instagram. I shared my whole journey, I called it the runway to the red dot. And I shared the days when things were not working out, and then things when they were working out, sometimes I laughed about myself, how I messed up. And I think that is really something that made all the difference at the end that I felt I owed it to my audience and sharing how hard that is, and and not just sharing the final talk, but sharing all the little missteps leading up to it. Because my husband told me, he said, you want to talk about small steps, big wins, you have to you have to share with them the small steps that lead to the big win. But I did. And as entrepreneurs, we all owe it to our audience to do that too.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

I like how you framed it that we owe it to them because we see so much on social media that is this pressure to openly share our wins. And we we love that. We cheer for people when they succeed. We feel it a little bit in awe of them. Sometimes we may feel a bit envious, sometimes we may be curious. How do they do that? How do they get there? Does that mean it's possible for me too? But it can also sow self-doubt. As in, they can do that, but can I do that? I'm not like them, I'm not there yet. And then we tell ourselves the opposite story about how it's difficult, how it's impossible, and so on. And so what you've done in sharing your runway to the red dot is so powerful. You've uh literally invited people into your world, into your little inner circle to see what it's really like behind the scenes. We think it's all glamour, it's all perfection, and that's only certain people are worthy to stand on that red dot. But maybe if more of us were willing to do, you know, to talk about the other half of it and be honest about what it takes to get there, it might give other people a gr a more realistic sense of what it takes. And then they might realize that's actually life. We do have to put up with, you know, both the light and the shadow, you know, the difficult times and the good times, and all of that is part of the experience in getting to that red dot. And so what people see is you know, 10 seconds of fame, but behind that, maybe there was 10 years of hard work. And I think we don't talk about that enough. So thank you for for that integrity and that honesty and transparency in in sharing about that. And I love that you have in your TEDx talk and just as well defined fail as first attempt in learning. And there will be so many first attempts. You know, it's almost like over and over again, we need to learn and refine, you know, your through your petite practice method, those petite steps. Whether I should go forward, whether I should go sideways, whether I should turn around and you know, do a U-turn or do a detour or something. Like when you go on a hike in an unfamiliar place. And sometimes you stop and look at something and you admire something, and sometimes you follow another track and it's not the usual signposted one, but it does lead you somewhere quite spectacular and very surprising. So I think it's also giving ourselves the room to explore and to have an adventure, to enjoy the whole experience and not only to say, I have to get to that red dot.

Celebrate Progress And Build Your Voice

SPEAKER_01 31:38

Completely true. And I think that when we when we compare ourselves, we tend to unfortunately mention earlier social media, we tend to unfortunately look at everybody who is ahead of us, and we don't really think about ourselves where we were five years ago. So we always do an upward comparison instead of a downward comparison. Because think of yourself that there is a person that is where you were five years ago, and that person is looking up to you, and they are exceptionally astonished where you are right now, but you don't even remember this. So sometimes we owe it to ourselves and just pausing and reflecting on how far we have come and really celebrating that moment of hard work that went into getting to this point here today. I always tell my students, winning is not comfortable, right? Because you in that moment, you are exceptionally proud of yourself, but you also have to remember the journey that got you there. And that's really where the learning happens. Um, I mean, like I say, I'm I'm really happy about doing a TEDx talk and experience when that went into it. Would I say would I say this was easy? No. The one word I would describe it is intense. It's kind of like uh, you know, like running an Iron Man or anything. People think, oh, I want to do that too. That sounds so cool. But then the preparation that goes into it, it's intense, right? Um, and I have not run an Iron Man, so I don't even know really what goes into it. But I'm just like right now saying that a lot of people compare some goal or ultimate accomplishment that they see to um the happy face that the person has when they cross the finish line. When I got up that red dot, I actually was making like this little jump uh across the stage. And my husband said later on, Oh, I hope that they filmed that. And I'm sure somebody filmed it. Um, that was like pure joy in that moment, but that was like my feeling of, yeah, I I actually did it. I'm so happy and I'm jumping here for joy. But that was a lot of relief that I felt in that moment, and I think that nobody in that audience knew what went into that. And so it's just so important to feel that it's not comfortable to do this. There's when somebody looks at you and thinks that was easy, then you did an exceptional job. Because in that moment, they don't see the whole story behind it. So that's your journey now that you have to share. And I'm actually going to write a book about it. The Runway to the Red Dot is the name of the book that I'm going to write, because I want to actually pull back the curtain and I want to share why it looked so easy in that moment, why I looked so happy and so exceptionally joyful, what made me so confident on that stage? And I think that is exceptionally important, that other people will get that same feeling, the same joy, the same happiness, the same pride, and what led them there.

SPEAKER_00 35:01

That's amazing. So that will be book number four for you. Is that right?

SPEAKER_01 35:05

Yeah, so this is a great question. Um I'm currently actually working on a confidence-building book that will really help you to step into your voice. That's the name of the book, Step Into Your Voice. And then I'm also tying a little bit more of my personal story in with that, because a lot of people ask me after the TIDX talk of sharing more of my personal story. So it might be in the works in 2027. So I'm I started working on this, but right now, yeah, this could be book number six or something like that. So currently I'm I'm working on a workbook that's called Step Into Your Voice that will come out early December to get ready for the holiday season and to get ready, of course, for New Year's resolutions in December. Maybe this will be a great Christmas gift. This will be a gift to yourself, and this, of course, will help you get through the hustle and bustle of finishing off the year with all the stress and the frazzle that you might feel to step into your voice.

SPEAKER_00 36:14

I think the ability to step into your voice, particularly for introverts and quiet achievers, is going to be valuable no matter which day of the year it is. Every day there is somebody who is discovering their voice, reconnecting with their voice, getting used to hearing their voice for the first time and being reflected back to them, maybe on a Zoom call or standing on a stage. And that moment, that feeling of wow, I can do this. And this is me, this is one aspect of me that is so powerful. And I have this ability to connect with people in such a significant and possibly transformative way. That is a very special, very sacred moment. So thank you. Thank you for your work. And what is one thing you want our listeners to take away from our conversation today?

Key Takeaways And How To Connect

SPEAKER_01 37:08

I would like that you take away that it's not necessarily a secret what you really want to accomplish. Share it with the world because just by saying it, you're already bringing your goal into the present moment. And then once you share it, think a little bit about that big goal. What can you do today to maybe tackle that big goal with just one simple step? And what can you do tomorrow? And let's get started today before you change your mind. So use those petite practices and just getting started. Because we use that word, you owe it to the world in getting started, but you also owe it to yourself in really tapping into that superpower and tapping into that voice. And I would love for you to share your special superpowers with the world and sharing what your unique value is. But I always think that we tend to put ourselves, especially as introverts, on the back burner. Let's not do that. Let's just think about it for a moment, what you would really, really like to do. And then let's get started with that today.

SPEAKER_00 38:17

Thank you so much, Christiane, for sharing your time and your wisdom with us today about the power of your petite practice method, about breaking things down to small steps that have that can create big changes. The the power of standing on the stage, connecting with people, speaking your truth. And I I think the thing that really stood out for me was this concept of owing it to, owing it to yourself, owing it to other people. Because when you frame it like that, it becomes a moral obligation. And I think that is very aligned with introverts and quiet achievers who want to be part of something more meaningful, some something bigger than themselves, that really helps them to look at the whole thing, not from a me perspective, but from an aspirational uh collective kind of perspective. I'm doing this not just for myself, yes, for myself too, for my self-expression, for my integrity, but also for other people, for the good of other people. And if one person, 10 persons are transformed or you know, somehow change their minds or become braver and also discover their own voice, then that is amazing. Imagine what ripple effect we are having in the world just because we were brave to take that first step, like you suggested. So thank you very much for today. Thank you. If you're ready to be seen without having to perform extroversion, join our visible introvert community at serenaloe.com.au. This is where I share the skills on how to be memorable and impactful without diluting the essence of who you are. See you on the next episode. I'm so grateful that you're here today. If you found this content valuable, please share it on your social media channels and subscribe to the show on your favorite listening platform. Together we can help more introverts thrive. To receive more uplifting content like this, connect with me on Instagram at Serenaloo Quiet Warrior Coach. Thank you for sharing your time and your energy with me. See you on the next episode.