Tech Exec Wellness Podcast: Conversations to Reignite Your Soul
In the fast-paced world of technology, where innovation and disruption are the norm, tech executives often find themselves caught in a whirlwind of high-pressure decision-making, long working hours, and constant connectivity. The relentless pursuit of success and the demands of their roles can take a toll on their mental, emotional, and physical well-being. However, a new narrative that emphasizes the importance of tech executive wellness as a crucial component of sustainable success is emerging. This is the story of the tech executive's journey to rediscover balance, prioritize well-being, and ultimately thrive in their personal and professional lives.
If you're ready to embark on a wellness journey that will empower you to live your best life, I invite you to subscribe to Tech Exec Wellness, Navigating the Digital Balance, wherever you listen to podcasts. Together, let's cultivate harmony within ourselves and radiate positive energy to the world. Each week, we'll explore a wide range of topics related to wellness, inviting experts, thought leaders, and everyday individuals who have transformed their lives through mindful living, self-care, practices, and holistic approaches. We'll dive deep into areas such as nutrition, fitness, mental health, spirituality, mindfulness, personal growth, and more.
Tech Exec Wellness Podcast: Conversations to Reignite Your Soul
From Life Pivot to Cybersecurity - Stacey Lokey-Day’s Journey is Pure Inspiration.
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Introducing Stacey Lofi-Day
Speaker 1Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Tech Exec Wellness Podcast . I'm your host , mel , and we're here to have conversations , to re-adopt the soul , so today I've got a great guest . Stacey Lofi-Day is currently a part of Mission Control at WIZ and in corporate security . She is there to protect and defend wizards from various threats and attacks on the ground , ensuring the team can focus and do what they do best in the cloud . Over her tenure as an NDR analyst , stacey has impressively investigated a whopping incidence , taken the lead in more than 64 of them and navigated thousands of alerts to uphold a safe and digital space . If she's somebody , you want to make fun of people . Despite having a focused career in cybersecurity now , that wasn't always the case she's also an anime lover , an overthinker , a wizard , a mom and an absolute normie . So , stacey , before we get started , we ask all of our guests this question what is your favorite music genre and what is a memorable concert or concerts you'd like to share with our listeners ? So , welcome .
Speaker 2Wow , okay , we're starting off with a thing , then . So music genre I feel like this is true for a lot of people these days , but like my playlists vary . I mean , I have some country in there , I have rock , I have kind of like oldies . Rock and roll really depends on my mood . I
Music and First Concert Memories
Speaker 2work out before work , so usually it's something upbeat . But in terms of my favorite concert , it was the first concert I ever went to and my grandmother had actually won tickets and she took me and it was to Alabama . I know , and like you know , I've since gone on to see like Drake and Warped Tour and other things , but that that concert just sticks with me as like that was my first experience at a concert . It was fun , my grandma was there , I had a friend there , you know , it was just an experience and it was just wholesome and it was a core memory .
Speaker 1Now my goodness , I don't know what year you went to see him , but me and my bestie from Apple we're going to go see Alabama at the Ravinia Outdoor Theater . It was raining and storming . I'm like I'm not going out there . I mean , if it was Led Zeppelin or the Sons ?
Speaker 2I would go to .
Speaker 1Alabama . Oh , my goodness , I'm so delighted to have you here and what a phenomenal just background , and I think , before we get started , you know we talked about working out before work . So , since we are a wellness podcast , what is that important to you and what type of workouts are you doing before work ? What does it do for your day ?
Speaker 2Yeah , so the biggest thing it keeps me from going stir crazy , like I am definitely an indoor person but on the flip side you know working long hours . At one point in my career I was working 12 hour shifts and that's a long time to be sitting at your desk in front
Morning Workouts and Wellness Routine
Speaker 2of a computer and so just kind of for my own sanity , I needed an outlet , and so that's kind of what working out does for me . I get it done in the morning , because after work , you know , I just kind of want to veg , I kind of want to be a potato , get my dinner and just kind of relax . So I'm not motivated enough to do it after work , and so it just kind of starts off my morning . Right , I do my , my husband .
Speaker 2He's actually a firefighter , so we work out two days . He works like two days , he gets two days off and then one day on , and so we lift those two days when he's off and then when he's at work I usually do like a cardio day and so that'll be like stairs and not running but inclined walking , and then the other two days we do a variety of lifts , nothing crazy . But yeah , that's that's kind of what I do to stay healthy and active and prepare for , as I get older , that I'm still strong and able .
Speaker 1Can you share with our listeners how you got into security , especially at Riz ? What pulled you into this ?
Speaker 2world . Actually , the way I pivoted into cybersecurity was out of necessity . So I got married pretty young and I was married for nine years and during that time I had children and was investing in my husband's career and thinking
Pivoting Into Cybersecurity After Divorce
Speaker 2like , ok , we just got to get him through . You know , he was in the military , just had to get him through his schools and whatnot , and then we could make it . And then , when we hit our nine year of marriage , he decided that he wanted different things and I was no longer a part of that journey . So I had to reenter the workforce and that was tough Initially . I just needed a job . I just needed to make $15 an hour and I could . Just I could figure out how to live on my own without moving back home with my parents . And so I initially I got a job at 911 and it was terrible .
Speaker 1I was scared and they were scared . It was just- . Where else was that Stacey ?
Speaker 2Yeah . So I worked at 911 for about six months , you know , in the area where I live in Augusta , and it was just I couldn't handle it . I did not have the mental fortitude to deal with that type of day-to-day interaction Like my personality . It just it took too much from me . So I had to pivot because I needed a job , otherwise I was going to move back home with my parents , which , you know , nothing wrong with that . But I wanted more and so I looked online .
Speaker 2I was on Facebook and different groups trying to figure out what to do and luckily , where I live in Augusta , I'm close to a military base , and that military base is a signal base , and so I had heard that with the right certifications , I could land a contracting job on base and make decent money and have a career . And so that's initially what got me interested into cyber . You know , I didn't have a four-year college degree at that point . I mean , I still don't , I only have a two-year and so I kind of needed something that was like flexible and I don't know it , just it seemed . It seemed like the right move , there was opportunity there , and so that's what I leaned into and , lo and behold , about four or five years later , here I am talking with you . It worked out . It was definitely a struggle . I started off as a phishing analyst . It was a contracting physician for six months and it was night shift , 12 hour shifts definitely intense , but it got my foot in the door and that's what I needed .
Speaker 1That's impressive , the 911 operator thing that I've seen TV shows and like along with Halle Berry and she's trying to find . You know I just it really takes a certain kind of person . Did you get burned out in those six months ?
Speaker 2Yeah , again , kind of like what you said . It takes a certain type of mental fortitude and I think maybe now doing 9-1-1 , I could , probably I would be in a better position . But the reality was I was still healing from my own marriage , the end of my own marriage , and still trying to figure out who I am . And people who call 9-1-1 , they need you not to be a mess , they need you to be calm and be able to give directives
Lessons From Missed Opportunities
Speaker 2. You know there was just too much personal healing that I needed to do to be able to be that bedrock for somebody else , so in that sense it just was not the right fit . Those women and men who work that were like the strongest people I have ever met in my life to do that . You know it's somebody's worst day of their life and they're calling you for help and you know you end one call and then you pick up another and do it right again . I mean it's just , it's so insane . Well , thank you for sharing that story .
Speaker 1So , when I went through your bio , it says you described yourself as a normie , a wizard , an animal lover and a mom . So there's a lot there . What are those identities took in your work , especially something like cyber , and , you know , can you share some of the animal or a little bit about those things that I just mentioned ?
Speaker 2Yeah , you know , working at 9-1-1 , the way I approached it , because this was me entering the workforce after nine years . You know , I was a stay-at-home mom up until that point . When I entered the workforce at 911 , the person I was was really quiet . I only spoke when spoken to . You know , I was just unhappy and so when I decided to make this pivot into cyber , I told myself we're going to go all in and we're going to be ourself . We're not going to be what other people want us to be , we're just going to embrace who we are and like let's see what happens . And so this is what happens .
Speaker 2You know , I've been able to be me and honestly , it's , it's allowed it to become like a superpower because I'm unique . I am a mom of two boys , I do like anime , I have sparkly emojis and I like the color pink and you know , I think sometimes as women , as individuals , we can think like maybe I need to act a certain way to be , you know , to be liked or to be chosen . But I think there is real power in owning who you are . And then , you know , people gravitate towards you because of the uniqueness and the different perspectives you bring . And so , honestly , being me has also given me a freedom and it's helped me grow my confidence and it's allowed me to just be uniquely me , you know , and that's what makes you so awesome ?
Speaker 1We're going to go back to wellness in a second here because I want to dig into that , but you've investigated over 284 incidents and read more than 60 . Is there one particular breach or incident that has stuck with you ?
Speaker 2You know it's . It's funny because you know you have all those successful incidents that you lead and you know I'm sure there's a lot of them that I kicked butt on . But the reality is is the ones that stick with you the most are the ones where you mess up , the ones where maybe you didn't call the right thing out or maybe you missed something . And I think cyber is so brutal because you know you can have all the wins and it just takes one or two misses to be like . You know it leaves an impression . One of my first misses and it like it's truly a cornerstone and I love telling the story because it taught me so much . There was and it was just an alert . It was , there was an alert , it was a binary , it was reaching out to some weird domain and it looked . It looked it was sitting in the queue . I grabbed it , it looked bad . It was sitting in the queue . I grabbed it , it looked bad .
Speaker 2And at that time I had just started on shift but I didn't have the communication skills or the confidence needed to really communicate that to my peers . So , like , when I called it out in the room , I was like , hey guys , I think , I think , I think maybe this might , this might be bad . You know , I don't know I'm crazy . I don't know I'm crazy , I don't nevermind ignore me .
Speaker 2And so what did everyone do ? They ignored me , like I dismissed myself , like why were they gonna take me seriously ? And then , not five minutes later , a male colleague he called it out and he was so concise
Overthinking: Saboteur to Superpower
Speaker 2. He said hey guys , this looks weird , we need to escalate , we need to let the customer know and we need to isolate this hose . And everyone sprang into action . And there was a lot of different lessons I took away from it . I mean , the huge one is I knew what bad looked like in that moment , but it was terrible to not be able to call it out and action upon it . And I think that is like the biggest one that stuck with me throughout all of my career , because that was the worst feeling .
Speaker 1Do you think I want to dig into that for a second . Do you think it was because you weren't confident in what you found or how you would be perceived by your teammates if it wasn't something ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I think it's probably both Like I didn't really have the skills and then , well , I didn't have the communication skills , like I didn't know how to effectively deliver a line . It took me a long time in the SOC especially to stop apologizing . I would ask people for help and I'd be oh I'm so sorry , I'm so sorry , so sorry . And that was a terrible habit that was really hard to break , because the truth is , everyone in there , you know , we all kind of have a similar skill set .
Speaker 2You deserve to be in , like if you got hired and got the job well , then you know what You've earned a seat at the table , then you know it's what you do with it . And then I do feel like part of it was a confidence , because I was new and so maybe I was wrong and I was worried that I was going to lose credibility . But again , if , if you're playing it safe , if you're not making those , if you're not making a little bit scary choices , if you're not kind of challenging yourself , are you really growing , are you really developing your skills ? And the answer is probably no . You're probably staying in a safe zone where you're not going to evolve long-term , and we want more than that .
Speaker 1It's interesting that you say that , because I think a lot of women in business have had that . If I come out and I speak , do I look aggressive , do I look assertive ? And I think , especially in cybersecurity , we're seeing a lot of championing and support from our male colleagues . Do you ever think intuition guides as well ? I mean , obviously you're trained , you're a certified professional , but do you think sometimes intuition ?
Speaker 2helps you as well ? Well for sure , yeah , and I think it's hard because you have to learn to trust that inner voice , like you said just that intuition down in yourself . But sometimes you said just that intuition down in yourself . But like sometimes again , you know one of the things I said I described myself as an overthinker , and so that can play a role too . Then you know , then now you're listening to all the voices and then you're overthinking . You know your intuition . So it's , it can be a slippery slope , but intuition does play a role . Sometimes you just got to go with your gut . Even to this day , I find myself , if I'm saying it's weird , like three times no , then there's something there and I'm digging in . That's kind of like my little indicator that I try to hone on . And if I keep saying that's weird , no , and Stacey , let's dig in , let's figure out root cause here . What shaped your career ?
Speaker 1and cyber strength or saboteur ?
Speaker 2Probably in the beginning it was definitely sabotaging me because I was thinking of all the things that could go wrong , right , and that was doing me no help at all . It's just catastrophizing everything that , every problem , every alert . And then it was like you're paralyzed by fear and that's debilitating . I've seen and it's interesting because I've seen this happen to analysts where they start off strong , you know , and then as their career goes on , it's like they kind of miss the boat and they get crippled by fear of making the wrong choice or not knowing , and so I think that's a real struggle every analyst face and some people are able to overcome that and , you know , find their sense of self and you know their true north . But other for other people , you know they can't . And then you know , being a SOC analyst , being on the front lines , like that , it's not for everyone and sometimes it can be hard because it is kind of high stress .
Speaker 2However , you know , if you are able to overcome that , then your overthinking does kind of come into , become a superpower in the sense that you know users and users are downloading things from all sorts of weird areas . Sometimes you don't have all the visibility you need of weird areas . Sometimes you don't have all the visibility you need . So you need that flexible thinking to think like , well , where else can I pull logs from , or where else might he have got , he or she might've gotten this binary from ? And so then that overthinking kind of plays into like it helps you right , helps you navigate and pivot and use all the resources available to you to find root cause or , at least you know , find some answers , and to be able to bring home the alert into a safe spot . And so that way you know to resolve the alert or at least give the customer or your bosses some resolution into what exactly happened here and the gaps that we might have had and how we can fix it .
Speaker 1You brought something that really resonated with me and somebody that's been in the journey for over 20 years . I do agree
Being Your Authentic Self
Speaker 1with you when you say that there's maybe one hiccup I don't think those were your words that you have this one situation where it didn't go as well as you thought , and it's the one thing that plays out amongst hundreds of achievements that you've accomplished . How do you protect your mental space when things like that happen ? What boundaries or practices help you stay grounded in doing that ?
Speaker 2truly , it's truly not . It's truly not easy , right ? I think we all have ebbs and flows in our careers . You know , even even you know nowadays , there's still times where I find myself getting burnt out , or there's still times where I find myself struggling to understand . Let's be real , there's always something new to learn . This field is endless .
Speaker 2And then there's other days where I feel like I'm untouchable , I'm in my flow state , I belong here and so , unfortunately , I don't think it ever goes away . I think you just have to get comfortable with this journey and sometimes it's going to be uncomfortable and you're going to have headaches after work and just be kind of a little grumpy . Or there's other days where you're going to be flying really high and celebrating a cool win . But I think it's understanding that this is a journey , this is not a pathway to a single destination , and you just kind of have to buckle up and get ready for what the road brings you . And you know it know it could be bumpy , it could be a layoff , it could be a new job , it could be , you know , a pivot that you weren't expecting . But I think people who have really successful careers in tech , in cyber , are the ones who can navigate change really well .
Speaker 1Yeah , and you know I immediately think I think about the people that have come to the show and myself yourself , all different , say , we're those four kids because we have so many different interests outside of work . Deanna's born in Alabama and when we come to work , just as unique and cool and special . I really liked that you said that and I think people are leaders here . We need to understand that it's okay to fail and it's okay to recover from that and not stay in that spot . So thank you for sharing that with us .
Speaker 2Yeah , no , honestly , I kind of love that it's okay to fail , it's okay to struggle , and I think sometimes maybe you know , and social media does this right I mean I'm definitely guilty of it too . I mean I post a lot of my wins online and so people see like the highlight reel . But the reality is is like my life is not been this smooth sailing . There's been tears , there's been frustration , there's been uncertainty and I think sometimes , looking on the outside , people might not realize that it wasn't this linear path of success . That's . That's just not realistic . There there's been , there's been failures , there's been crash outs , but there's been recovery and there's been work . So I love , I love that you highlight that .
Speaker 1No , you know , that's one of the reasons I decided to do this show is because I have my own pump and the grill load and I thought I can't do the other one out there . So , as I began reaching out to peers and everyone within the industry , yeah , I'm going to talk about this . Yeah , I think it's important and it's true . You have to not be with that as a devil down my mind , right ? So you don't want to share those pitfalls but you want to share the good stuff . But , to your point , you know you're only getting the good stuff , you're not getting all the ugly stuff and going with it . So , speaking of that , what does wellness look like for you ? If your work style were an anime character , who would you be and why ?
Speaker 2Oh , wow , you know I . So the animes that I really really like . There's a whole genre of animes where people get transported into another world , like their life was so their their original life was so boring . And they get transported into another world and usually they have these cool superpowers and my , my husband doesn't like them . He thinks they're really like cliche and kind of boring . But to me they're just like , really it's like comfort anime , because it's just like they're living out their , you know , their overpowered fantasy of just , you know , getting to be the hero .
Speaker 2So those are the animes that I really like . But the style of anime I really gravitate towards , just because I like the color , are like the magic ones , like the magical girl , like I just I love , I love like glitter and you know sparkles and sunshine and stuff like that . And I think part of it's because cybersecurity sometimes can be dull , you know comparative , like reading logs isn't necessarily thrilling all the time , and so when I can infuse , you know , bright colors and a little bit of magic , like that's my comfort after work , that's that's kind of rejuvenates me and makes me feel excited .
Speaker 1Okay , I have questions , I have a million questions is it is the anime character , like sims , where you're ? I mean it sounds really cool because you look at beyonce , she has sasha fears who she is on stage . So can you dig into that because I'm interested . I think this is cool .
Speaker 2So there's this one anime I really really like and it's like it's called Campfire Cooking in Another World , and so he dies and he goes to another world and then he gets this overpowered skill of cooking and then and so like everyone loves him because he has all these cool , like he's bringing all these modern food to like this magical world or whatever , and I honestly I don't know where I was going with that , but I just I don't , I just it just is like comfort , it's like it's so nice . There's no like high conflict . I know a lot of times my boys and my husband they like watching these , like these thrillers , like the terminal list . There's another , you know these really intense kind of murder , adrenaline shows .
Speaker 2And yeah , I think after work , after trying to figure out , you know , resolve alerts and you know I do a lot of documentation it feels like these days and threat hunts and whatnot . It's like after work . I just want something simple , I want something nice , I want something concise , easy . I don't want to have to overthink the plot , I just want something that you know can take my mind off of work and kind of get me back to like a neutral space , and so I find these lighter kind of shows , really the perfect segue to get me to that space .
Speaker 1That is really cool . I don't know if you know , on tiktok video , whatever , that's . That's one of my 50 pleasures , but one of the things that when you were talking about the anime , I was automatically thinking of what they call self-concept . So there's some women on tiktok that totally like just reinvented themselves , and a lot of them . They didn't say they were anime characters , but they said that's a promise persona on what I wanted to be . So then brought up to beyonce with her family , whatever , but when she's on stage she's sasha fierce . So it kind of reminds me of the self-concept being delusional , if you will , and having those like two personalities . So I think that's really cool .
Speaker 2Yeah , you , that's actually probably pretty true , having a dual personality because , again , at work I am pretty outgoing , I am , I'm , almost a bigger version of real life Stacy at work because , you know , I want to take up space , I want to feel free to share my ideas , I want to be OK if I'm wrong , and so , you know , I try to take up as much space as I can at work so I can be fully me .
Speaker 2And it's really funny because in my personal life , in my social life , I'm super introverted . My husband's the outgoing one , he's the one who , like , drives all the conversations and wants to , like you know , go out and like , I am totally fine being at home , I am totally fine being introverted and staying in my little bubble . But it's funny because sometimes I tell people at work that , like you know , oh no , I'm really introverted and shy , and they're like , yeah , right , and so it goes to what you're saying is like , yeah , it's . It is kind of the split persona because , you know , at work I definitely am one way , super outgoing and whatnot , but in my personal life , no , I am super introverted , I stay in my little bubble and , yeah , I don't know why it's like that , but it just is .
Speaker 1I love that . I immediately thought of you know , I'll wear a suit or whatever , go to meetings , work , whatever . And then at the time I worked with a doctor , I worked with EDM . I like the sparklers , I like the makeup yes , what are they called those things ? Space bones , yeah , all of those . And you would think , wow , who is this person ? You know she definitely doesn't work with you , but at the same time , I like what you said , because I can be this
Investing in Yourself as a Woman
Speaker 1person here and that person there , and I think when you talk about the animator , that's what life is right . We're predicting from the inside out on who we are and what the Lord perceives in internally .
Speaker 2Yeah , yeah .
Speaker 1I get a little deep sometimes with this stuff .
Speaker 2I know we got , we got super deep with that . I love that , but it's so true . I mean I don't really I don't sit here and reflect on it often , but you're right , I mean it is . It is kind of like a dual world we have going on , and I think it's by necessity , because I couldn't operate , I couldn't be introverted , stacey at work , I wouldn't have the career , and likewise I couldn't be extroverted Stacey at home , I would be exhausted . So it all kind of works out right . It's a balance .
Speaker 1That's awesome . So what's one belief you hold about security or leadership that others might find ?
Speaker 2unexpected . One belief I hold you know what , when you ? I love this question . I don't know there's there's so many different ways . Okay , so one thing that I hold about security that's a little bit of a hot take is even though that wasn't directly the question , but that's the way I interpreted it is you know , I used to work for a managed detection and response security provider , and so they had a wide range of customers and you know , some of their customers worked in the hospitality industry and a lot of times that you would see people who work in this industry , they have to deal with the public a lot , and so oftentimes they would have a high volume of true positives and sometimes , like the consensus is like , how could they click on this ?
Speaker 2Like you know , this is so obvious . Like , why were they downloading free PDFs ? Consensus is like , how could they click on this ? Like you know , this is so obvious . Like , why were they downloading free PDFs ? Or like , why did they click on this phishing link ?
Speaker 2But in my mind , it's like those people , like they have to be right 100% of the time and their job is literally answering emails .
Speaker 2Or , you know , the one that gets me the most is when people download free tools and when it's like usually like a PDF converter , because that person isn't downloading a PDF converter for fun , they're probably doing something for work and they need to convert a PDF PDF , and so it feel my heart goes out to people , kind of like in my mind , on the front lines , because they're trying to do their job and it puts them at risk , like they're exposed and they can be right , you know , 99% of the time , but you know they're gonna get it wrong a few times , especially when they're dealing with emails day in and day out , or you know they're not provided with the tools that they need .
Speaker 2And so I feel like sometimes , as practitioners , we can get a little bit jaded with , you know , some of the attacks that we see end users fall for , but their world looks completely different than ours and their day to day looks complete like their priorities are so much different than my priorities , right , and so sometimes I feel like , as practitioners , we can have more compassion and grace for their realities , because it's not the same , it's not a one-to-one Granted , you know , security is a company-wide initiative but at the same time I feel like they deserve some grace and compassion just because their job just puts them in the line of fire .
Speaker 1You know ? It's interesting you say that when I started that crawl years ago , I'm just like wow , does everybody not know that ? You're not supposed to be this . I had given one of my peers a social media training at one of the large insurance companies and I was just I felt when people said I didn't know that , I didn't know that , I didn't know this . I think , at least speaking from my perspective , I shouldn't assume people know about this stuff . Like you said , we got to give them grace .
Speaker 2Yeah , yeah , I it's . You know I think sometimes you know we forget that our world is different and the things that we're exposed to , and you know our normal looks completely different than their normal . And you know our normal looks completely different than their normal . And you know it's just , I don't know I cause I can just feel for them . You know , way back when I used to be a concierge , I'm right out of right out of high school and you know you have you had like members yelling at you for their tea time or wanting to book their hotel reservation and you're just trying to like , you know , please , the customer . And so I definitely my heart goes out to some of those people who work in the service industry .
Speaker 1I worked in the service industry in high school as well and I'm always nice and considerate to servers . Because it takes so much , I just , I just keep being mean to somebody . If you don't like coffee , wrong , big deal , big deal .
Speaker 2Yeah , no , totally agree .
Speaker 1It seems like your role is more reactive . How do you stay proactive in your role without burning out ? Because I mean , from what you're talking about , that's a lot of different things that are going on .
Speaker 2Yeah , I mean , I think as much as it can be . It's about balance and it's about boundaries . I'm personally pretty terrible about boundaries . I know my boss tries to okay , you know , don't answer Slack messages . You know , put your palm tree up like go on vacation . But it's true , like you know you got to , you have to learn to step away . I mean , you just drain yourself dry if you stay plugged in 24 seven . But you know it's one of the lines I like to use actually is protecting my passion and you know I don't want to overdo it with cybersecurity , with security , with InfoSec , because I wanna be in here for the longterm . You know I want a full career out of this and you know , sometimes I catch myself like overdoing it and I try to remind myself protect your passion , you want to be doing this long term .
Speaker 2You know , real quick a story my before , before I pivoted into cyber , my husband he's a firefighter and I thought he was so insane because he would wake up for work and be so stoked to go and he'd be like oh , you know , I hope this happens . You know we're going to do this training and it was so foreign to me because at that time I was still working 9-1-1 . It was so foreign to me that he had this like love for what he . I was like , how do people have , like , why do people like you exist and like , how do I become like that ?
Speaker 2And you know , fast forward to now , like I'm one of those people , like I'm not one of those people who resonates with the memes that like , oh , I hate my job or oh , I hate you , that's not me at all . Like I love what I do . I feel incredibly blessed and so , to your point , I really try to be mindful and listen to my body when it's just fatigued , when I'm getting moody , because I can . I want to continue to be one of those people who loves what she does and , you know , is passionate about it and wants to come back the day the next day and wants to wake up on Monday and go to like . I want to be that person , but you've got to nurture that . You can't don't take it for granted and don't overdo it .
Speaker 1Well , I think you know podcasts like this , guests like you , guests like everybody that I've had . I love that you're coming on here and talking about how passionate you are , but also having the well with them to say you know what . I've got to take a break here and set boundaries . I really applaud you for doing that . And I don't know . I never see anybody that says they hate their job , but I could see where somebody would if they were sitting in front of the screen all day . So I think you know , as a leader , I want to . When people are doing something , I want them to continuously learn . You know , hey , you've got this . How about AI ? What about this ? I like to see people elevate within their careers , not just stay in one place . I hope you've got somebody like that is looking at things in the future for you , because I think someone like yourself , you're going to be able to handle some really good stuff .
Speaker 2I appreciate you saying that . Yeah , you know I am really lucky . You know , working at Wiz in particular , my leadership has been so supportive of the different things that I've been wanting to pursue . You know , I really wanted to dig into Threat Honey and they were . They were not only open , but they were like encouraging and uplifting and celebrating it . And so you know , to your point , like I have been very blessed with great leadership throughout my career because , you're right , you can't stay in the same role forever . Growing and evolving is so important for career happiness and just for self fulfillment . So I do think that is something important that everyone should look for when they're trying to find that right role , that right company . You want to find somewhere that's going to nurture and help grow your skill set .
Speaker 1No , absolutely , and , coming from a military background , I did six different jobs in four years . Yeah , and I don't see anything wrong with that , because if somebody you know say I see people probably do this like the you know the back of your hand or someone up here can probably do that , to do this like the you know the back of your hand or someone over here can probably do that , and I think it's always important to keep building that person's uh skill set and giving them more things to take on . So I'm believer in I don't think somebody should stay in the same room forever . Let's elevate them , let's get them out . They're doing , you know , cool fights , leading teams and being mentors , so I think that's phenomenal . I love that about cyber .
Speaker 1Yeah me too , that stigma . Here's a question for you . If you could send a message , well , there's a lot of people that will probably listen to this . What would you say to every woman out there that's thinking about getting into cybersecurity ? What advice would you ?
Speaker 2give . So I have like two core pieces of advice that I give to people when they ask me . So when someone wants to enter cybersecurity or is asking for advice to help grow their career , my biggest thing is to tell them to chase opportunities . Especially at the beginning of your career . You don't really know what you want yet , and so I feel like collect as many opportunities as possible and then later on you can , you know , decide I like that , I didn't like that , I have a , I have a real natural talent for this , or if I want to do this , I'm going to have to work you know that much harder . So I think it's so important to chase opportunities . I've done that in my career and it's just helped me blossom and grow and and get opportunities .
Speaker 2Like it just , it just compounds , right . It's like you say yes to one thing and then two more things happen and then you say yes to another thing . You know it's just , it's really this , this beautiful sequence , ultimately , like experiences , are things no one else can take away from you . So if you're saying yes to all these things , you know , regardless of what happens , if it doesn't turn out , no one can take that time away from you . And so look at it like that that's something you're gaining and you can add to your resume , you can add to your skill set . At the very least , you know if you liked it or you didn't . So that's , that's the biggest thing .
Speaker 2And then for women , I have a different kind of subset of advice that I usually give . And it's no matter where you're at in your life , never stop investing in yourself . I was married for nine years and then my husband left and we fell out of love , and there was obviously different things that led to that . But on looking back , like reflecting on my own mistakes , one of the biggest things that I did is I just stopped investing in myself .
Speaker 2And I'm talking about , like , maybe even smaller things , like I stopped working out . I stopped , you know , having hobbies . I stopped caring about what I look like . I stopped . I stopped treating myself as a priority , and now even smaller things like I like to invest in , like , you know , taking time for a face mask . Working out is important to me . You know , feeling cute and dressing up is important to me , and I don't think you have to do all these things and I don't think you have to do something huge , but I want women to know that you are worth it , no matter where you're at in your life , no matter where you're at in your career . You are worth it and you deserve to be invested in . So never forget that and keep doing that throughout your entire life .
Speaker 1I mean I'll always end up making me teary eyes . No , it's been a good podcast , Seriously . That's such a beautiful message and that speaks to your leadership and who you are as a person Stacey , to take your own experience and empower other people , other women and I think that's so great . I think a lot of us have fallen into that before . You've been to marriages and it's just like , okay , I'm not going out , I'm not doing this anymore , but yeah , you have to take time out to work out , do your makeup , get your hair done . Like they say , if you don't love yourself , how can you love anyone else ?
Speaker 2Yeah , and it's just like you know , I get it . Like being a mom can be tough and tiring . You know , working can be tough and tiring , having to just make dinner every night can be tough and tiring . So I definitely get it . I get why it happens . And , as generally as women , I feel like we are such givers and we want to take care of people and we're always worried about somebody else . But you know oftentimes like who's worrying about us ? Like we have to take care of ourselves . We are so worth it . We are so capable and so wonderful . So just don't forget to , no matter where you're at in your life whether you're a stay-at-home mom or whether you're , you know , a CEO just remember to keep investing in yourself . You are so worth it , that's a beautiful message .
Speaker 1Just wow , any questions , if that's okay . Okay , you have a message , just uh , well , the questions , if that's okay . Okay , it is really what is really lighting you up , like in your life or at work , like what's the lady ?
Speaker 2something you would just yeah , okay yeah , I have , um , a couple things lighting me up right now . I have , um , two big conventions coming up that I'm actually really excited to have , like the pto and just the time away , you know , different scenery . And then what's lighting me up professionally is , lately I've been getting to shadow our product security team . My normal day to day is corporate security , but I've been getting to hang out with product security a lot , and so that's been really fun and interesting . And you know stretching new muscles that you know maybe I haven't really flexed in a long time and haven't really been like grown , and so it's exciting .
Speaker 2Right , You're back in that uncomfortable , like what is this alert ? Like you're just it's . It feels exciting and new and scary , but at the end of the day I'm learning so much and I feel like I'm growing . It's kind of a I have a good thing going on . I have two big conventions coming up I'm really excited about . And then at work I'm getting to hang out with a cool new team to get to see and learn as much as I can .
Speaker 1Well , they're definitely lucky to have you on that team . You're an extraordinary person , so they're definitely lucky to have you on that team . You're an extraordinary person , so they're very lucky . The last question do you have a mindset or belief that stays with you right now , whether that's in tech or
Growth Mindset and Looking Forward
Speaker 1outside ?
Speaker 2Is there one mindset , and you know , I've , I've , I spent most of my 20s stuck in one spot and so , like my mantra now is , like , when next year comes , I want to have , like you know , all these different experiences . I want to have this growth , and that only happens if I make myself uncomfortable . I skate , I say yes to scary things , I try new things . So that is like my biggest mindset . Next year is going to come . Things , I try new things . So that is like my biggest mindset . Next year is going to come .
Speaker 2How am I going to be different ? How am I going to make sure that Stacey today is different than Stacey , you know , tomorrow ? Like I want growth , and so that's kind of what I'm obsessed with these days and it's just maximizing , like how can I ensure that I'm getting the most out of this life ? Like I think I was quiet and I was shy and I was a little bit afraid and that Stacey no longer exists and this Stacey is ready to tackle the world and see what it has to offer . And so I think that's probably my biggest thing is I'm chasing growth , I'm chasing new opportunities , I just I want to max out life , you know . Good question .
Speaker 1Do you think the anime has empowered you in some way ? Because I think that's interesting , what you just said .
Speaker 2Oh , probably , I mean it has to . You know honestly , like it's going to sound corny , but it's done so much for me . It's been a safe spot when I needed it to be . It helps me relax , it's a nice escape , you know , for most of it they're positive stories that are uplifting , where you get to be the hero and you , you know you're saving the day , and so probably I mean it's honestly like my happy place , like I'm talking about it now and I'm like actually smiling so you can tell . So to say no would be a total lie . So , yes , I definitely think it's played a role in just sustaining me and just , you know , keeping me happy and I don't know , yeah , it's yes , it's definitely played a role .
Speaker 1You know , with every guest I'm always surprised and delighted , as I am today , but I'm so glad you took the time to come and talk with us and I would definitely like to have you back on the show . We're having some repeated guests that come back on because people are like , oh my God , this changed my life very publicly , so we would definitely like to extend the invitation and have you on again .
Speaker 2I would love that , oh my gosh and give you guys updates . Yeah , no , this has been so great . I love the questioning and not even that . It's felt more like a discussion and a conversation , and those are my favorite , because then it's like then we're just talking , you know , we're getting to know each other and that's a huge one . Love that .
Speaker 1Thank you Again , everybody , stay safe and have a good day . Don't forget to subscribe .
