No Boxes, Just Brilliance: Tashyra’s Multihyphenated Life

🎧On this episode of What’s Next? With The Chief Librarian, I sit down with Tashyra, author of Multihyphenated Life, to dive deep into what it really means to live beyond a single title. From juggling multiple passions to rewriting the narrative for women of color, Tashyra shares her journey of resilience, creativity, and authenticity. We explore the challenges and triumphs of living a multihyphenated life—and how you can embrace your own path with confidence.

🤏🏽If you’ve ever felt like you don’t fit neatly into one box, this episode is for you.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:05

Welcome to What's Next, the podcast where we explore life's pivotal moments and the decisions that shape our next chapters. I'm your host, the Chief Librarian, and each week I sit down with inspiring individuals who've dared to shift gears, whether it's in their careers, relationships, or personal growth. Together, we'll uncover their stories, challenges, and lessons to inspire your own journey. So are you ready to find out what's next? Come on now, let's go dive in. Welcome back to What's Next with the Chief Librarian. I'm your host, the Chief Librarian. And today's conversation is for everyone who's ever been told to pick one lane. My guest Tishera is one, is the author of the multi-hyphenated life and a living example of what it looks like to embrace all of who you are without apology. We're diving into what it means to thrive as a multi-hyphenate and how to balance multi-passions and the power of owning your full story. Trust me. This episode is packed with gems you don't want to miss. Let's get into it. So I want to start with a quote that's on your email. And I wanted to share this with the world so that they know what we're about to get into. Yes, ma'am. So put your name in front of voice and take ownership of yourself, the Shara. Yes. Tell us about this quote and where it came from because it gave me chills. And so I know.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Yeah. Yeah. Well, first of all, thank you so much to the chief librarian for having me here with you and your lovely listeners and your audience, your viewers. It is an honor to be here. And I'm looking forward to this conversation. That quote is, I can't even tell you how old it is in terms of like when I first when it came to me and then when I decided to start using it. But it really essentially talks about ownership. And whenever you see, if you think about it from the just literally the English language, right? Whenever you have an apostrophe S after a thing and then the word, it is literally referring to a level of ownership as in a sentence structure. And so when I think about what Tashra's voice is, right, which is all my social handles, Tashira's voice, it is literally me taking ownership of my voice, but and not just my voice, but also my sound. So that has two contexts to it. So it is your voice in content and it's your voice in context, but it's also your voice in what it sounds like. So from a very practical perspective, I used to, I still am. I'm a published voiceover amongst many things, but a published voiceover, you can find my stuff on Amazon and ACX.com. But as as share, share, girl, share. There's work there and there is an audiobook coming for multi-hyphenated life as well. But one of the things when it comes to voice acting or voiceover talents, when an author is looking for someone to voice their book or a movie is looking for someone to do animation or anime or promo or intro, outro, there's a very specific sound that they're looking for. And in their audition request, they'll say, you know, male sounding, your voice even has an ethnic attachment to it. It has a cultural attachment to it, along with accents and things of that nature. Now, if you're an exceptional voice actor, you can cover all that up and be a blanket, be a white piece of paper and whatever you need to fill in, you will. So, from that technical perspective of what your sound is to the things that you talk about often, the things that you coach people on, you give advice on, you mentor on, the things that when you speak, people respond. Or when you speak, the environment responds. When you find yourself being the voice of reason or the person that people come to when they need a decision made, or in my case, and a lot of the environments that I'm in, I seem to be the person that's always telling people to get it together. I don't know, I don't always like that though. I have to be honest, I don't always like that. But that's my voice, and that's what I was gifted with, and that's what it's designed to do. So when I say take ownership of your voice, you're taking ownership of your sound, you're taking ownership of your texture, you're taking ownership of the content and the context, and you're taking ownership of the outcome. What happens when your voice enters a room? If we think about echoes, echoes reverberate even after you leave. Is your voice leaving a lasting, what I call voice print, like a fingerprint? We all have a unique voice print. And so, like you have children, I have a child. When we're in a store, it could be a million kids in the store, but your child can call your name and you will know out of a million children who your child is. Exactly. No, that that came from me. That sound came from me. So now it like, you know, that's the kind of ownership we need to have. And I think when our voices are overused, or should I say, used so much, we don't think about it as an instrument. And so what you're owning is also the instrument of sound, the instrument of voice that when you say it, when you speak it, when you declare it, when you would say a thing, you're establishing that audibly so that it manifests tangibly.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

Listen, you do we end the episode here? I mean, there was no I'm the gems that you just provided. Yes, ma'am. Uh in that introduction. I just I'm gonna let you do this episode. No, I love, I really do. Uh Tashera, I love it. And your name, Tashera Airs.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

Yes, yes, yeah. It says it all. That took some getting used to. So when you talk about ownership, you know, owning your voice, you have to own your identity and be okay, be settled in that. You know, my name is unique. I was called everything but the name, but to Shira. But Shira. And and yeah, but it's a statement to Shira Ayers.

SPEAKER_02 6:40

But if you listen to it, Toshira Ayers, listen, that's a podcast, that's a radio show. That I mean, because when you hear it, we talked about this briefly before the podcast, but royalty. Yes, also Air Jordan's. I mean, it's the it's you know, it's because it's the range of an individual. Understood.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

I like that's good.

SPEAKER_02 7:07

It's the range. So we we've talked about it here first, but you can continue. It's yours. That's my gift to you.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

I will definitely give you credits for that. That listen, y'all. The chief librarian, Tiffany Austin, she has the credit. Don't try to come take it clocky. Clock that, all right? Okay. So your story. How did you become multi-hyphenated? Wow, now that's a very interesting question. That's a very interesting question because my mentor and spiritual guide, who is also the author of the forward, Dr. Matthew L. Stevenson, we we did an interview with a, she's actually my first mentee. Her name is Latea. And Latea, I got her when she was 17. She's now 29. I feel old. Oh, wow. But we were preparing for my book release. And in preparation for that, I thought it would be a full circle moment if she sat down and interviewed myself and my current uh mentor and guide. And, you know, Latea is now working with GMC or GMA, I think it's GMA New York. She's in New York now, so she is a producer for that show. And so it was a complete full circle because she came to me when I was doing sports radio, sports. Okay. Yeah. And so to see that full circle. So when we had this interview, one of the things that came up was is a multi-hyphenate born or is a multi-hyphen it learned, or is it either or both? So are you naturally this or can you learn to become that? And what was so interesting about that, I don't even think it was a question. I think we just were kind of led into that conversation just naturally. But what was interesting about it at that moment was Latea shared things with me that I did not know in terms of our mentorship. And one of the things she said, she said, Miss T, she said, you've been this before this was a thing. She said, You've been this multi-hyphenate. It's not a buzzword for you, it's not a trend for you, it's not a hashtag for you. This is who you are. And she began to tell me things that she observed with her 17-year-old eyes that I didn't even know. I had no idea. And it wasn't until that moment, and then at the event itself, was she able to share more. And my eyes honestly were open even more about myself because the thing is, you live with you. You are you. And so when this is a natural state of being, you don't consider what you're doing extraordinary. You consider it ordinary because it's like breathing for you. And so I would say I was born a multi-hyphenate even before the language was here to define it.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

Yes, I love that.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

I agree. There are gifts that we have, and I'm sure you'll talk about this that we kind of take for granted sometimes because it just comes naturally to us.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Yes, yes. And taking it for granted, ooh, it's like being casual with who you are. Like you're casual, you're laissez-faire, you know, there isn't a lot. Sometimes there's no urgency behind it because it's so natural that it also becomes the downfall. And so it's like, do you put extra time into it? Do you put extra moments into it? Or do you just get up and whatever happens with this natural state of being you, just go with that? So it is true. It is true. You have these natural gifts, you have these natural talents, and then there's skill. I think gifting and skill are two different things. A gift in, you know, in the way I believe was given unto you. I believe in Jesus Christ, right? So I just believe that it's gifted to you, and it's, you know, a gift. So it's like whether it's your birthday, if it's a holiday, someone gives you something as a token of their love, of their honor for you. And you don't necessarily, you don't ask for it per se. You may not even earned it, but it's because of who you are. And so they gift this to you. And so that is their expression to you. And your response to that is to use it, to open it, to appreciate it, to take care of it. Whether you say that to this person or not, usually those that have, you know, that kind of, we just naturally go there. Oh, this bottle of perfume is so beautiful. Oh, it's so wonderful, right? Thank you for this book, right? A multi-hyphenate life. I'm gonna read it and I'm gonna find my, you know, that kind of thing. The skill, on the other hand, I think is learned. I think you can go to college, you can obtain a level of expertise around it. So I would say yes, you become comfortable with your gift, you become casual with it. And sometimes, child, even now, sometimes it's the hardest thing to pull yourself out of. It is.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

Does that make sense? It makes a lot of sense. I want to say thank you for the gift of writing multi-hyphenated life. I'm so excited to read it. I have not read it yet, but what I've heard of it, I look forward to it. And we can come back and talk more about the book once I have read it. Sure. I would love to have you back already. But let's talk to the listeners and let them know what led you to writing. So we know how you got there. But now what led you to like actually writing it down and sharing your gift with us?

SPEAKER_00 12:39

Yeah, now that's a good question, too. So I think that it's a collection of moments that led to the okay, now it's time. Does that make sense? And so it's like years of experiencing myself in different sectors of life, different pillars, corporate America, media, entrepreneurship, you know, mentorship, coaching, and as a mother, right? And then I think, you know, this is probably gonna sound so cliche. You just have to be aware of the time. There is just something that tells you that now is the time and today is the day. And it just felt like it was the right time to share this story. And then it grabbed me. It snatched me up. It was like it wouldn't leave my mind. It was in my thoughts, my dreams. I woke up thinking about it. I went to bed thinking, no matter how many other projects I had going on, it was present. And I think we just need to go with the grace. If that is there, instead of fighting up against the tide, begin to swim with it.

SPEAKER_02 13:53

Yes. Like swim in the direction of and not against.

unknown 13:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:58

So yes. Oh my god. So many people struggle to explain themselves beyond one title. How do you advise others to be their multiple identities?

SPEAKER_00 14:11

That's so good. So I want to actually, if you don't mind, can I read something out of the book? Yes. Would you mind as like to help answer that question? Yes. So there's two very tiny things I want to. So this is the introduction, and I'll show your audience this.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

Here it is.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

And I'm gonna make sure that you have what you need. Okay, so this is how I define a multi-hyphenant, right? It's one that specializes and effortlessly functions across multiple pillars with extraordinary composition. You tap into the common thread that intersects your pillars, which creates unparalleled success, right? And so to answer that question, the part about tapping into the common thread that intersects your pillars, I call that the intersection or the intersection, right? So if we were to all consider ourselves multi-hyphenate or don't know that we are and just naturally function effortlessly across multiple pillars, there is that thing that always comes alive in you, no matter what you're doing. There is some people call it a niche, some people call it a specialty, a gift, a talent, but there is something about you that shows up no matter where you are. That piece is the intersecting piece. That is the foundation, that is the groundwork, that is the nucleus of everything that you do. So as a multi-hyphenate, I don't know if we would consider it multiple personalities or multiple. I think it's all you. And what happens is you identify the expression of you that is showing up in this season. And so, you know, so that's the other thing. Remember, I said earlier, it wasn't one particular moment that said, put it out now. It was a collection of life moments. And then I'm attentive to the season, the moment. I'm like, okay, now is the time. Because what's happening in the air, you know, what am I perceiving? What do I expect to happen based on the trends, right? People follow trends or in the moment of trends, but then there are trendsetters. And that's the other thing. The second thing is outside of identifying that intersection, that common denominator, some of us are trendsetters. And so we can't be afraid. Listen, you're going to be misunderstood. People are going to look at you like you're crazy. You're not going to have an amen corner because half the people are in the moment and you're ahead of time. Okay. The peanut gallery is sleep. Okay. It's just not going to happen. And sometimes it can feel like, so now we're getting into like the emotional, mental, psychological part of things. It can feel like a lonely walk.

SPEAKER_03 16:56

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

Because when you're ahead, you may not necessarily have a blueprint because you are the blueprint. And so you just have to be accepting of that as a command. I'm the blueprint. I'll give you this real life example and I'll be quiet. My friend, my best friend, shout out to Michelle. So I don't know. This was pre-pandemic. Like, pandemic is like an earmark for time, isn't it? It certainly is.

SPEAKER_02 17:26

It's an earmark for time. Yeah, like it was the before times and then the after.

SPEAKER_00 17:32

One or the other. One or the other. Is it the pre-pandemic or post? That's it. Yes. This was pre-pandemic. And I remember I was going through a transition in my life. And we sat down and we had a conversation. I'll never forget it was at Chick-fil-A. Shout out to Chick-fil-A.

SPEAKER_02 17:47

Okay, come on, sponsor.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

That's what I'm going. That's what see. I love you. I love I'm in like. I'm in like.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

So we were there, and she said to me, and I don't even know if she remembers this conversation when she hears this interview. It's going to be funny. She said to me, She said, you know, to Shira years ago when we were kids, because when we were kids, I've known her since I was like nine, 10. And when we were kids, it was like five or six of us. And she said, at the time as we were getting older, getting into our teens, you know, the crew used to think I was a little judgmental. And I was like, really? And she was like, yes, they used to think you were judgmental. And I'm like, why would you think that? And she said, now she realized, or at that time, when we had this conversation, she had just realized that it wasn't I was judgmental. I was just perceiving things before they happened.

SPEAKER_02 18:40

And so the curve.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Yeah. Yeah. So like we talk about those things on social media. It's sexy. It's a hashtag, but I don't think we talk about the reality of what that does in your day-to-day life. To the relationships that you have, to the people that you love and care about. She thought they thought I was judgmental because they didn't see what I was perceiving early, but later on in life, the full circle moment comes, you know? Like, and I was a little brash and harsh, or just, you know, straightforward. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 19:13

Well, yeah, because it's the to your point, it's the pre. It's the pre-motherhood. It's the pre-experience. It's pre-living completely. That's good. So don't be too hard on it, right? This is where we got to give ourselves grace because it was the pre-moment.

SPEAKER_00 19:29

I love that. I love that you just said pre-life.

SPEAKER_02 19:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 19:35

Because lived life brings experience, right?

SPEAKER_02 19:38

There it goes. And we don't often give ourselves enough grace to recognize that. That's the evolution, right? It's an evolution. It's not saying that, oh, I'm excusing it, but it's the evolution. That means it shows your growth.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

That's so good. That's so good.

SPEAKER_02 19:53

That's so good. We could do this. We may have to jump on lives. I'm here for it. Serious and give it to the world because I'm here for it. When you hear, you meet that person that can understand because I've always been what they called wise beyond my years.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

I'm not perceived that. I can see that.

SPEAKER_02 20:18

I'm like, why am I? I'm just saying what it is. So when you just said that, it really resonated with me because that's the way when I grew up, I'm the second and my mom's of second children. And so in the birthright. And everybody thinks that I'm the oldest. And my oldest sister's probably wincing right now when she hears this. Like she thinks she stopped my home. But it's not. I could always see it. I love your friend, your best friend. You know, it's always that one. So it's Michelle, right?

SPEAKER_00 20:47

It's Michelle. Shout out to Michelle.

SPEAKER_02 20:49

Hey, Shirley girl.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

Don't be sad at me for giving you a nickname.

SPEAKER_02 20:53

But I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

She is, but I love it. I love it. I can't wait to send her that. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 21:01

No, I I love, you know, what you say and how, you know, how you speak about it. But I think that's what it is. You are ahead of the curve. And, you know, at the time, like you said, it's straightforward. It could come off as judgmental when we are inexperienced and we don't see. Because we're looking at what we don't know and what we don't hear in the moment. But I think that you personally manage and balance between your different roles. Well, I can perceive that. So I want to know can you give us some advice specifically how to manage and balance between different roles and avoid burnout?

SPEAKER_00 21:37

Oh, that's so good. So there's a chapter in my book called it talks about burdens, burnout. And one of the things that I'm always asked when it comes to this topic is about balance. And I'm actually like flipping through my book for those of you that are like, I'm like, what chapter is? Okay. So it's chapter seven, and it's called Burdens, Boundaries, and Burnout. And because that is a real thing, right? So it's amazing, you know, to think about that you have the capacity to do so many things until that amazement turns into anxiety. And like, it's it's there's a section in it called the burden of the blessing. And it talks about the passion and the venturing out that we do as multi-hyphenates with our interests being so widespread. You run the risk of burnout when you put on a Superman cape that because burnout is a risk for everybody. Let's be real. It's a risk for everybody. But the thing with multi-hyphenates, and how do I know? Because I live the life. The thing with multi-hyphenates, we sometimes have a misconception that we can just take anything. And here's the reality. I do believe that a natural multi-hyphen, I mean by natural, somebody like born with it, and even someone that learns to become it or has a skill that they've sharpened to become it, there is a capacity and a depth that you have to have to be able to even do all of those things, even if you don't have the language for it. And your burnout meter may be a little higher than other people's. Your threshold and tolerance for projects and travel and do, and maybe the threshold may be a little deeper or higher. But at the end of the day, you still have a threshold.

SPEAKER_02 23:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 23:27

Let's be clear. We're not Superman and Superwoman. I think that we put on the cape more so to rescue someone else and we take it off when it comes to ourselves. So we're not listening to what it is that we have to do. Here's the thing with balance and preventing burnout. Because I asked that, I get asked that question, like I said, a lot. So on one hand, I would say I don't know if it's balanced as opposed to prioritizing. And so, you know, because you know what I mean? So when you are in a space when you are, you can be at one job handling multiple projects. I also talk about this in the book as well. So it's not just multi-hyphen it from the perspective of I am, you know, a corporate executive, media personality, you know, mentor and God. It could be you are this one individual in this one place and you're tasked with multiple things. What makes you unique versus the next person that's tasked with multiple things is your approach to it and your outcome from it. That's what makes you unique in that space there. And sometimes, excuse me, I've seen where multi-avenate people, their attention span is a little shorter too. So they're doing monotonous tasks. They're like, all right, now wait a minute, something else has to give. What it looks like is okay, how do I prioritize all of these things? What are my goals right now? What do I need to get out of this? It may not necessarily be putting something away. In this instance, I'm referring to, it may just be prioritizing from what's important to what's least important. On the other end of that spectrum, going back to my earlier answer about, you know, reading the room, tapping into the seasons and times, you may not, what's pulling on you in this moment may not be what's needed from you in five years or what was needed from you three weeks ago.

SPEAKER_02 25:24

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 25:25

So another way to maintain a level of sanity, whether it be through balance or prioritization, is what does the moment call for? So we as multi-hyphenates can't always show up thinking that all 12 of us, all 12 things that we're able to do, is going to get used right now. Right. Right now, maybe it's just six of them, maybe it's three of them. And then in three months, the other three or all six. So I think it's really, again, it's prioritization, it's reading the room and understanding the season that you're in, and then it's just identifying what's necessary, you know, even for the moment to prevent that uh no, the third thing, taking that cape off. That's probably the foundation. Take that cape off.

SPEAKER_02 26:08

Listen, if you pick up something new, put down something old.

SPEAKER_00 26:12

That's good. That's good. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 26:14

Yep. So, what unique challenges do women of color face in claiming a multi-hyphenated identity?

SPEAKER_00 26:23

Girl, this podcast is about to go somewhere else. This is about to go somewhere else. Because as a black woman who wrote this book, this may sound, you know, but I remember not remembering that I was a black woman. And this is what I mean by that. You understand what I mean when I say that? I didn't go into the room leading with I'm a black woman. I didn't go into meetings, boardrooms, roundtables, conversations, Starbucks, wherever your local coffee shop. I did not go anywhere with the conscious thought that I'm a black woman entering this space. Why should I have to? And I'm so naturally a black woman that I don't need to wear that name tag across my chest because it is naturally, organically maternal and paternal, how my mother and father came together for them few little seconds and made me who I am. Right.

unknown 27:26

Right.

SPEAKER_00 27:28

So I think that it was also a wake-up call because I didn't know I didn't lead that way until I needed to lead that way. And so it was like an epiphany I had years later. And then what started happening was in my memory, I started to remember different things that happened over my life and my career. That I was like, oh, that was a moment that they was like, oh, this black girl ain't getting in here. And I'm standing there like, why are you saying no? Why are you giving me a hard time? Why don't you want to give me this raise or whatever the case may be? Because I didn't enter the room with that mindset. They saw that first. And then they saw Tashira. Let's be clear. Okay, that's a conversation. But I think for black women as a whole, I typically you won't find me feeding into the narratives a lot. I just, I'm not that kind of person. And when I say feeding into it, I'm not avoiding it. I'm not ignoring that they exist. But I also realize that a lot of the things that are perpetuated across the board are things that are exactly that perpetuated. Speak, girl. Okay. No, serious. They are perpetuated. Nobody stops to ask, is it true? Nobody stops to ask where to originate from. Nobody stops to ask what mood, hear this, the person was in when they started the rumor. Like, did your mother just was she sick? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Did you did you not get in on the night before? Did your kids up to like it could be anything that would trigger an emotional assumption? And because we're intelligent people, then we start to promulgate untruths, but we grab them as if they are. And then here's the kicker: we start living life as if they are. That's why I started off by saying I didn't used to enter a room thinking I was a black woman. Right. And so I think for black women, there is a benefit to it. Now, I'm not saying be ignorant of the fact that we are who we are. Right. But I think if we always enter in from that space, the response is going to be from that space. Yes. There is a proverb that says, if you look for the applause of man, that's your reward. So if you're waiting only, now I'm not saying that's not necessary because affirmation is necessary. You know, we need to love one each other. We need to fall in like with each other, you know. We do need to celebrate one. I'm not saying that's not needed, but we also need to celebrate ourselves. That's my we need to affirm ourselves. That's what I'm saying. If no one else says good job, there is just a part of you, like I said earlier with the multi hyphenate, people are not going to understand you right away. Yeah. Not going to get it. It may be five. Years, ten years from now. Or never. Or never don't get me started. Right?

SPEAKER_01 30:06

Because we gotta live. Never.

SPEAKER_02 30:08

There are people who see you but don't see you.

SPEAKER_01 30:13

Okay.

unknown 30:16

Hey.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Now we do, you know what? Now we need to go on live.

SPEAKER_00 30:20

Because this right here does not this is a conversation. Because now where my mind is, regardless of why they don't see you, because then that's a conversation. Some of them don't want to see you, and some of them don't want to as the closest people to you. Now, I don't know if people are ready for that conversation.

SPEAKER_02 30:37

No, uh well, we can talk about it. And guess what? I'm not here. So anyone who knows me, and if you don't, welcome. Introduce what did Jay-Z say? Let me reintroduce myself.

SPEAKER_01 30:51

Right.

SPEAKER_02 30:52

Okay, my name is Chief. Okay. So if you don't, you know, I'm kind and all of those things, but to your point, some of the closest. Some people align themselves with you just to try to break you down. Some people align themselves with you with the lack of understanding and the envious spirit. Right?

SPEAKER_00 31:13

The spirit of envy. Envy is jealousy. That's major. Envy is dangerous, and you got to be careful.

SPEAKER_02 31:22

So, you know, there are people who align themselves with you because they don't know and they can't see. They are trying to figure out why your natural gift or your gift or your talents are elevated, and that's what they want to be. So, yes, we we should take this off to a live because I think a lot of people would engage and understand it would help for people to understand that it's not you. I've been in there in a moment where I'm like, oh, this must be me. Why do I feel crazy? And then I had to shake it off and say it's not you. And this is not me not taking accountability. This is I'm not owning other people's ish. Oh, you know what? You know what? You know what? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:02

You know what? Ricky, why did you introduce me to her a long time ago?

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Okay. Thank you. We could put a pen on that with black women because we tend that Superman Kate. We advertently or inadvertently own other people's stuff. We come into people's rescues, we saving elections, we saving babies. The other day I saw a bunch of black grandmoms saving some random person's grandchild from like it's just in us that it is. We can talk to a black woman in Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, California, New York, or Virginia or DC. Yeah. And we will find a common language with us. I think to answer, and I know there's a bunch of answers I gave, but to answer that question to find someone else like you.

SPEAKER_03 32:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:51

And that person may not be right up under your nose. That person may not be in your immediate sphere. It may be someone that understands you. And may not, when I say like you, doesn't mean that they're not multi-hyphenate, but they understand you. That's why Shelly is still around. Shout out to Shelly.

SPEAKER_02 33:05

Okay, Shelly. Well, thank you, girl. So, what's one myth about being a hyphenate that you like to bust?

SPEAKER_00 33:15

I pose this question in the book. I pose two questions and I pose them as an answer, right? Are you unorganized or are you unorthodox? Are you scatterbrained or are you scaling? We can you can be scaling up or scaling down.

SPEAKER_02 33:34

Yes, that's good.

SPEAKER_00 33:35

Right? So am I scatterbrained or do I have the ability, the capacity, the depth, the bandwidth to think about multiple things concerning one solution that will bring me to the outcome of do I need to grow this or do I need to focus on a minimum product? And that could be a number of things. So, you know, real-time example. When I was in corporate America, I did a lot of business development and I did about 20 years in corporate and business development, corporate and civic relations, community stuff, things like that. Work with a lot of like politicians, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. Whenever a project or an event was being like curated or thought about, my brain literally went from beginning to the end of the thing. And that caused some trouble because you have different people that have different roles. You have a communications professional, you have the director of funding and sponsorship development. You know, you have different people that are hired and brought into a room to achieve a goal. One of the difficult things I had to learn was scale down some of that and learn how to stick with what it is that I was asked to do. That was said to me by a woman, her name, we called her mom Sarah. Rest in peace to her. And she said, you know what their problem is? Their problem is not you, their problem is you without them. And so, you know, the myth or the idea that we're scatterbrainer all over the place, that is exactly that. It's a myth. Do we need someone in our life that's single focused? Yes. I think single focus individuals and multi-hyphenate individuals work together like well-oiled machines. We need somebody to keep us focused. Yeah. We need somebody, and when I say focus, it's like, okay, but you just talked about this. Like some of my mentees are multi-hyphenate. And I'm like, girl, girl, you know? Are we here or are we here? You know, where are we at? And she'll say, Well, all of them. I said, okay. Well, now let's work backward. And working backward, I call it begin with the end of mind, back into the driveway. We're already in the driveway. How do we get to that place? So the end is concluded. How did you get there? And if you can't give me a pathway there, whether the pathway looks like this or straight, then we need to reassess. So the myth that we are unorganized and the myth that we are scatterbrained or crazy or out of our mind. I mean, I've had family members tell me, close family members tell me, you're just in love with work. You just don't know what else to do with yourself. You know, all the things that make sense to them to define me when the reality is, you know, I can lay down. I've taught myself to sit down somewhere. I have. I've taught myself to sit down somewhere. I taught myself to take five to ten minutes between tasks. I do that. I'll turn everything off for five minutes, 10 minutes, I'll put the timer on, don't answer nothing. And just that short period of time helps me recoup and transition to the next thing. But it is really, I would just hope that people's minds would open up and not be, you know, narrow to not. I mean, look at Tabitha Brown. Look at the heart. Look at Chris Brown.

SPEAKER_02 36:45

Right.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

Chris Brown to me is one of the most talented people walking the face of this earth. And I know a lot of people may not prefer him as an artist or a person, but if you look at the different things he's able to do with his artistry, it's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 36:58

But um, but that Chris Brown is uh example of two things can be true. He is amazing in his skill, but maybe his personal was, you know, but we also we recover from things. We evolve and we grow. And I'm not saying he did or didn't, but two things can be true. He can be that amazing entertainer, that talent that people are still going to the concert.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

Yeah. Sold out, I heard.

SPEAKER_02 37:25

Okay. Everywhere. So low key.

SPEAKER_00 37:28

I was looking at a ticket.

SPEAKER_02 37:28

I was like, listen, my girls were like, October 5th, DC. Girl.

SPEAKER_01 37:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:37

So I Are you okay down there in DC?

SPEAKER_02 37:40

Girl, that another, another live.

SPEAKER_01 37:42

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 37:43

Send help.

SPEAKER_00 37:44

Okay. Send I want you to be okay. I want you to be okay.

SPEAKER_02 37:48

But you know what? I'm okay because your children are okay.

SPEAKER_00 37:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 37:53

Listen, we're as okay as we can be in the moment.

SPEAKER_00 37:57

I hear you.

SPEAKER_02 37:57

I hear you. That's a real talk. But I want to shift gears a bit to ask how can libraries, schools, or workplaces better support multi-hyphenated individuals?

SPEAKER_01 38:09

Ooh.

SPEAKER_00 38:11

This is so good. Give me this question. Okay. All right. So this summer, I you can tell I'm a storyteller, right? This summer, I love that I had an opportunity to. So I'm an adjunct professor at York College, City University of New York, York College campus. And so I teach fundamentals of oral presentation, poetry and prose. And so I taught a summer session this past summer, just ended earlier this month, and a couple of the students wrote my purchase my book. So I was shocked, surprised. Some of the staff and faculty, they purchased the book as well. And then we had some, so they were incoming freshmen. Then we had some older students that were helping as aides. They purchased the book, one of them for their mothers. And so what I taught, what was so interesting in a collegiate setting is to hear the kids talk about how school streamlines them to one thing. And more often than not, it's the workforce. It's the workplace. But as I'm talking to them, both the incoming freshmen and the 19 and 20 and 21-year-old, they're like, I have this idea and that idea and that idea and that idea. And we actually sat down after my classes at least once or twice a week. I was looking forward to, I miss them, miss y'all, miss y'all. Yay. Coming in, and I would just share with them what that actually could look like in their lives. Even one of the professors, he was teaching aviation, and his whole mindset has been aviation. He's not a multi-hyphenate, but my conversation with him was okay, so you teach aviation having come from learning how to fly. You already enlarged your capacity by transitioning it from you being the pilot to now you teaching. So that's an element of that. And then I started, he was teaching about throne drones. And so I said, okay. I said, do drones record? Like, yes, they record. They take camera, they take footage. And I said, Well, do drones play music? And it was like, I don't know. And I said, I feel like a drone could be a DJ, right? An overhead music. It could, you know, so it doesn't look like for that individual, you know, it didn't look like five different things with one intersection that you would identify within yourself. It was one thing that was able to branch off into multiple spheres. So you enhance your product mix, you know, they call that in marketing, you deepen your product and all of that. But what I realized with talking to the students, and this is something that I think schools, educational systems from a collegiate level, high school level, and even down to elementary, is we have to start shifting our mindsets as adults and educators from the traditional trajectory of someone's career to saying, hey, these are now potentially millionaires by 20 by going on YouTube. Like we have to start, you know, I know, you know, and it was so interesting because talking to them, the students, the incoming freshmen, their perspective on AI, their perspective on politics, their perspective on social justice, their perspective on college, to me is contrary to what we think they're thinking. They are not. Now you said you have a 15-year-old. So like okay. They are not. They don't care about what we think they care about. They're not concerned. They don't have the concerns that we think that they have. And I think as adults, we project and we put the problems on them. I had my son when I was 14 years old. My only son, I have one son, had him when I was 14. And I had a difficult life. My mother passed five years later, and I had my brother. So it was like life was life. But I realized I projected a lot of my hurt because I didn't want him to experience it. But what you're doing is introducing trauma that he didn't have to live. And so now everybody got to heal, and he don't even know what he's healing from because he didn't experience that life. I think we're projecting onto them instead of listening to them to receive and hear what they think and what they believe. So I think overall, from a multi-hyphenist perspective, single focus or just your everyday Joe, I think we just need to do a better job being in having intergenerational conversations.

SPEAKER_02 42:39

I love that. Yes, Les. Yes. So I have two more questions for you. And then I'm gonna do a rapid fire.

SPEAKER_00 42:48

Okay. Okay, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 42:50

So what do you hope readers walk away with after finishing your book?

SPEAKER_00 42:56

Oh, that's good. I would say my favorite number is three. I was gonna say two, but probably three. I want them to walk away with one, understanding who Tashira Ayres is as a multi-hyphenate, as someone who is challenging the idea of singular focus and who is reclaiming the truth. And the truth is that some of us were engineered for more. I want them to walk away with knowing that there is someone named Tashira Ayers that has provided language for you, that has lived a part of life that hopefully you won't have to live. And if you do, then you know someone out there is with you and has given you a guide that will help you journey through those moments of being misunderstood, being lonely. I want you just to know Tashira as an author, but also someone that has lived a life. This again is not a buzzword, it's not a hashtag, it's not a trend. This is the life I lived. And in the book, I do I ask this question where was a me when I needed a me? And so I want you to be able to ask yourself that question and say she's here. Her name is Tashira. I think what we can do in that case is begin to replicate ourselves across this world. And so that other Tashiras, other chief librarians, other folks will find them in Asia, we'll find them in Australia, we'll find them in Europe. And so now they don't feel alone. So there's a network of connection being made because of that. So yeah, I would say one that you know who I am, and not because of fame, desire to be fame, or trend or go viral, but you know who I am as someone who has, again, provided language, lived this life. So I have it, it's experiential writing in here. And really that I'm challenging the idea that singular focus, living on doing one job for 50 years and sitting on your porch for 15 of the rest of years, drink eliminate is the life you have to live. No, we are engineered for more. That's I would say it is a main thing. The second thing is, and I believe this as a life principle. The book journeys from my personal story. Do not skip the introduction. I'm gonna repeat that. Do not skip the skip the introduction. Read the foreword, read the introduction. Do not skip the introduction. It is in the truest sense of an intro, it is exactly that. And I take you through this journey of me being a 14-year-old mom and not telling anybody I was pregnant until four weeks before I had my son. So I had no prenatal care, no doctor's visits, no nothing. And my son, right now, literally, this was I was gonna say this to you earlier as well, literally just came back from tour in South America. He was torn with Thundercat. He's been working with Lauren Hill for the last three, four years. This is a 14-year-old mom's son. I know that's right. You could not have told me that this would be the case, right? So, again, you know, that story is in the introduction and it sets you up for the rest of the book. And I go into the science behind things, I go into very specific steps. So it's a book, but it's also a guide. It's a memoir and a guide. That's how it's categorized, right? So you have step, how do you prevent the burnout? We talked about that. There are seven steps that I list to prevent that burnout. Um, at the close of each chapter, I ask you reflective questions and I encourage everyone to answer those questions. So it is somewhat interactive, but don't skip the forward, don't skip the introduction. No, I got it. I received. Listen, I have my homework, I know what I'm gonna do. And and I would say the last thing is you're not crazy. That's it. Very simple.

SPEAKER_02 46:40

That's important.

SPEAKER_00 46:40

You're not crazy. That's okay.

SPEAKER_02 46:42

It's important. I want to add this one. I know I said two more, but um, it's okay. Who are or who is one of your own role role models in the multi-hyphenated space?

SPEAKER_00 46:54

Oh, that's so good. So I think that has changed over time. I think that may differ in space to like the Panola space I'm in. So I think coming up, I think my mother may have been more multi-hyphenate than I realized she was. Yeah, I think that thank you for that question. Thank you for that question. Yeah, thank you for that question. Rest her soul. She's been gone since 2003, but she was more multi-hyphenate than I thought she was. And again, because I didn't have the language, nor did she, we weren't able to engage to that depth. But I watched her, she could draw, she was an artist, she loved drawing, animated and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse characters. She was an extraordinary caterer and cook. So she had a catering company called CeC's Catering. She was a singer and a songwriter. She directed and wrote songs for choirs and groups and quartets and things of that nature, yes. And, you know, she was a mentor, of course, and a spiritual guide for many. So I think that she was more, again, more multi-hyphenate than I than I thought that I would have had the language at the time to think that. And it makes sense because her father was too, my grandfather. He owned an insurance company. He was also in the military. Like he had multiple things going on for his time as well. As of late, I would say the author of the foreword, Dr. Matthew L. Stevenson, who wrote the foreword for the book. He absolutely, and behind me, you see it, it's like right there. Yes. He wrote the foreword, and he is, um, like I said, my mentor and spiritual guide, the epitome of multi-hyphenate, the epitome of it. And it's beautiful to watch in men as well. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 48:42

Say that, sister.

SPEAKER_00 48:43

Please say that. Yeah, it is beautiful to watch in men. Women, I think we naturally can multitask. Yeah. Even our, and this is something that I think I may release soon. Our anatomies speak to that, right? How we're developed and built. We are the receivers who are incubators of life inside of our wound. Like we're designed to multiply.

SPEAKER_02 49:04

We are designed.

SPEAKER_00 49:05

We are made to multiply, which is the back of the book, made to multiply.

SPEAKER_02 49:08

Listen. Gems everywhere. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 49:12

Yeah. Yeah. We are made to multiply. So to see that function and be executed in a man is very refreshing. But it also looks different, if that makes sense. And it the I think the biggest difference is the approach and then the mindset and then the outcome, like how they come out of a thing and move on to the next thing. Sometimes as incubators of life, or we're made to receive. So sometimes it's hard to let a thing go.

SPEAKER_02 49:42

Yeah. Say it.

SPEAKER_00 49:47

And that was a learning curve for me was letting go. And I and I want to say that to all multi-hyphenids. You will have to let some things go because it's time to let them go. Everything that you put your hands to is not a forever thing. You know, sometimes it's meant for you to plant the seed, other times it's meant for you to water the seed. But you may not be around. Now, this is hard for me. I'm telling you, this is this part is something I live through. Well, this part not so much. I'll tell you what really is, and I'm actually experiencing it right now. But you may not be around to see the increase. We have to accept that. One part that I that is like uh that keeps me humble and before God is when you ready someone for something else, when you ready an environment for someone else, that's when you ready the present for the others to be able to enjoy. But that's when you think about it, that's what a trendsetter is. A path finder is. You found a path that wasn't there, pathfinder.

SPEAKER_02 50:51

That's listen, this is a whole sermon. It is. This is a sermon. No, you you came on here to testify today.

unknown 51:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 51:02

Well, one of the things I am, I am a pastor. That's something I don't now.

SPEAKER_02 51:07

Did I know that? Did not, but did I feel that?

SPEAKER_01 51:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:11

I mean, that you you really have blessed my whole soul. I'm a pastor, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:16

And shout out to All Nations Worship Assembly, New York, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:19

Okay. Um, I gotta shout out Walk by Faith Ministries out here in Baltimore.

SPEAKER_01 51:24

Yes, love that. Come on, Walk by Faith Ministries. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 51:32

Oh man, thank you so much. So, of course, I have to ask you the question: what's next for you in your multi-hyphenated journey?

SPEAKER_00 51:43

Because it is a journey, right? So, what's next is so I have a pop-up event in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 6th. So anybody from Philly, New Jersey, Delaware, or hey, if you're in DC, be more, want to travel, it is nothing but a car ride, train ride, whatever. But yeah, so I'll be at a local library called Booked and Chestnut Hill section of Philly Saturday, September 6th, which is not this Saturday, next Saturday, starting at one o'clock. And then I'm just doing a live authors talk, authors read QA, and I'll be signing some books and doing some giveaways there. And I'm gonna do another pop-up. I did a pop-up last month in New York. I'll do another one in New York as well in September. But my team and I are planning and preparing for the made to multiply to multiply conference. It's a one-day event, Saturday, October 11th. We'll start pushing everything out on my social platforms. It is a one-day conference designed for men and women. And I'm excited about the speakers. It's a combination of panel discussions, breakout sessions. We will have lunch with keynote speaker and some really great partners and sponsors for this event. And the the I'm gonna be there. I'm just telling you that.

SPEAKER_02 53:01

I'm gonna be at both. I'm coming to both. I'm I'm coming September 6th. I'm gonna put it on I'm serious. I'll be there September 6th, and I'll be there October 11th because I am loving this. This is the type of energy and the space that I love to be in. I love to share. And if I can volunteer, if you need my help, you let me know. We'll talk about it.

SPEAKER_00 53:19

Oh my goodness. I would love to have you. That is exciting. I have a meeting with the team, and so I'm gonna tell them.

SPEAKER_02 53:25

Yeah, absolutely. Seriously, let me know what I could do. But I love this. So it sounds like you got a lot of stuff on the horizon that is coming up. Like I said, I would love to have you come back on because I just feel like it's so much, and we just, even though we have been on almost an hour, I have not been able to cover everything that I want.

SPEAKER_00 53:44

Real. Probably because I answer my answers are so long-winded.

SPEAKER_02 53:48

Nobody, but your answers are very real, they're authentic, and they're very helpful. Like you don't understand, very life-changing, even for me. Like, I'm here, and I although I'm asking the questions, I'm like, oh, I'm doing too, I'm being multi-hyphenated because I'm here like fangirling and like trying to stay focused on the questions so we can keep things rolling. But I just want to thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 54:12

It's a pleasure. It has been a pleasure. Thank you for having me. Moments like this revive me, they refresh me. What's not often talked about is, and we could talk about this another time, just sometimes the fatigue you feel with being so much, and as much as I am a professor that teaches oral presentation and the communications degree and all that stuff, sometimes I just don't feel like talking. Can I talk about sometimes I just want to sit in silence and watch a movie and not say anything to anybody? But these moments here, they do refresh me. And I appreciate this because this gives me the energy to go on to the next thing. And so I appreciate this deeply. I really do.

SPEAKER_02 54:59

Well, Tashira Ayars, I want you to tell our listeners where they can find you, your website, your socials, your book before we close out.

SPEAKER_00 55:09

Yes, ma'am. And thank you for that opportunity. So I'm on all socials, TikTok, threads, Instagram, Facebook. I know Facebook's kind of like, uh-uh. But if you're still there, Tashira's Voice on all social media platforms, LinkedIn as well. So it's T-A-S-H-Y-R-A-S voice, Tashira's Voice. Uh, you can go to Tashira.com, T-A-S-H-Y-R-A.com and purchase my book directly on my website. You'll get an autograph book if you purchase there. Or you can go to Amazon and get the Kindle version. So it's available in Kindle and a paperback on Amazon. Just search my name, Tashira Ayers or a Multi-hyphenated Life, and you'll find the book there. Yeah. And so please, please do follow me on socials and you'll get more information about September 6th and October 11th. Those dates that are coming up. So the brilliance of both and brilliant. I love it.

SPEAKER_02 56:02

Wow, what a powerful conversation, Tashira. You reminded us that we are more than one title and that our purpose isn't about fitting in the boxes, it's about breaking them.

SPEAKER_01 56:15

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 56:15

Make sure you grab her book, Multi-hyphenated life, and connect with her at Tishaira.com. And as always, thank you for tuning in to What's Next with the Chief Librarian. If you love this episode, share it with someone who's ready to step boldly into their multi-hyphenated journey. But until next time, challenge accepted. Bye, friends. Bye. Thanks for tuning in to What's Next with the Chief Librarian. I hope today's conversation sparked new ideas and gave you a fresh perspective on life's transitions. If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, leave a review, or share it with someone who might need a little inspiration. For more stories and updates, follow me on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn at The Chief Librarian. And until next time, keep exploring what's next to you. Bye.