Gateway to Growth

Betting on Yourself: Dr. Jonathan W. Solomon ,on Career Pivots, Burnout & Building Men's Community

• Jamal Cornelious

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 31:40

What does it really take to walk away from the career you thought was your calling? How do you know when passion for your work has quietly turned into burnout? And what can losing 200 pounds and finishing a marathon teach us about what we're actually capable of? 🏃‍♂️💪🌱

In this episode of Gateway to Growth, our host Jim Cornelius sits down with Dr. Jonathan Solomon, Partnership Director at an ed-tech company, to explore what it takes to reinvent yourself — professionally, physically, and personally.

Jonathan's own path winds from growing up between Cleveland, Minnesota, and Los Angeles while he and his sister were in foster care, to becoming a first-generation college student at Langston University, to eventually pivoting out of higher education and into ed-tech for the sake of his own health. He shares how his family's struggle with addiction shaped his early identity around school and learning, and how that same intensity later put him on a path toward burnout.

Throughout the conversation, Jonathan breaks down the self-preservation instinct that pushed him to leave higher ed after nearly a decade, how his wife helped him recognize blind spots he couldn't see in himself, and how losing almost 200 pounds and completing the LA Marathon reshaped his understanding of his own capacity. He also offers candid advice for anyone standing at the edge of their own career pivot.


This episode explores:

  • Jonathan's personal story, from foster care in Cleveland to first-generation college student at an HBCU.
  • Why he made the leap from higher education student affairs into ed-tech.
  • The self-preservation instinct behind walking away from a “calling.”
  • How his wife helped him recognize burnout blind spots he couldn't see himself.
  • Losing nearly 200 pounds and completing the LA Marathon while cramping from mile 8.
  • Building men's mental health community through Yoga With Your Bros and the Run Crew.
  • Why he chose Saint Louis, and how he built (and was built into) community there.
  • Practical advice for anyone considering a career pivot, and sitting with fear instead of waiting for it to pass.


Whether you're navigating your own burnout, weighing a career pivot, or just need a reminder that you're capable of more than you think, this conversation is a powerful look at what it means to bet on yourself.

Connect with Dr. Jonathan Solomon

Instagram & TikTok ▶ @dr.jsolo


🎙 New episodes of Gateway to Growth drop bi-weekly on Monday

🔔 Subscribe for future episodes exploring leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation, and career growth.


🎧 LISTEN ON:

Apple Podcasts ▶ https://apple.co/36ycuuO

Spotify ▶ https://spoti.fi/3svGoqS


🔗 CONNECT WITH STL BUCKET LIST:

Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/stlbucketlist/

Website ▶ https://stlbucketlist.com/


🤝 WORK WITH STL BUCKET LIST

Interested in partnering or sponsoring an episode?

Email ▶ show@stlbucketlist.com

Website ▶ https://www.bucketlistcreative.com/


The “Bigger Pie” Philosophy of Community

SPEAKER_00

I was inspired from the run crew to run my first marathon this year. And as someone who was four hundred and twenty one pounds. And the most beautiful part of that journey was that I started cramping at mile eight. And so I had 18 miles of cramping um to be able to complete the race. And I did. And throughout that journey, like I learned that I am so much more capable than what I thought I

Welcome to Gateway to Growth

SPEAKER_00

could do.

SPEAKER_01

Welcome to another episode of Gateway to Growth, a part of the STL Bucketlist Podcast Network. I'm your host, Jamal Cornelius, an executive coach who focuses on team development and helping individuals navigate their growth and challenges. We have a conversation today with someone who's also specialized in helping people navigate challenges, transitions, and has had a few transitions themselves in the career. I've been excited to dig into this conversation and really talk about, you know, the changes that you've made. So welcome to the podcast, Dr. Jonathan Solomon.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01

And the doctor's newly minted, right? Uh yeah, within the last couple of years. All right. All right. Well, welcome. Thanks so much for joining us.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. So to ground us in the conversation,

What Jonathan Does Today in Ed-Tech

SPEAKER_01

I'd love to get a sense right now, just tell the audience what you currently do, what your work is right now.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. From a career front, I am currently a partnership director uh for an ed tech company. And so really what that means is that um I work for a company that uh leverages AI-backed, uh, human-centered student communication platforms. And I work with many of our partners that are universities, college access organizations, some workforce organizations who are supporting like frontline staff on the retention side. And I help them think about and dream about like how you can leverage technology to support students and um frontline staff in in terms of like just their support and retention.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and that's super necessary considering the the shifts in higher education right now. I think being able to help provide tools, get

Origin Story: Cleveland, Foster Care & School as Refuge

SPEAKER_01

people in the forefront. But you recently had a career shift as well, and I'd love to really get into your origin story and what led you from into the education space and to now. So what's your superhero origin story?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so I have always had this uh affinity to education um in a lot of different ways. And so as a kid, um I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and um I also moved around a ton as a kid. And so a lot of my childhood was between Cleveland, Minnesota, and then Los Angeles, where I graduated high school. And very early on, um, both of my parents kind of struggled with addiction. And so me and my younger sister um were in foster care. And one of the constants um during that time was like my teachers and school as an escape. And so I found a lot of, I think a lot of my identity was attached to school and learning and being affirmed by teachers because I was a really good student. And so when I decided, like what I was thinking about like a career very early on, it was about money. It was like, okay, I want to go to business school and work on Wall Street. And when I arrived to college, and so I went to Langston University in Oklahoma, which is a small historically black college, and I caught a Greyhound bus from Los Angeles, California to Oklahoma, and just

Landing at Langston University (HBCU)

SPEAKER_00

was like, this is the beginning of the life that I envision um myself having. And during that time when I was there, it was uh a continuation of my experience in education before. And so it was like professors and folks just really investing in me and affirming me in a way. And so during that time, I decided that I wanted to work in education because I wanted to be that person for folks who would have a very similar upbringing and story to me. And I have worked in education now um since I graduated um undergrad in 2012. And so um before I was working in in the tech space, ed tech, I was in higher ed student affairs. And so uh working at different universities, that's actually what brought me to St. Louis and um just supporting students um during their journey, helping them um understand the beauty of the college experience and what it can mean

From Higher Ed Student Affairs to Ed-Tech

SPEAKER_00

to their personal development, and supporting them throughout and to their careers.

SPEAKER_01

That's phenomenal. It's cool to find both your calling from the people who have modeled this and been there for you, and you realize that, you know, other kids are gonna need the same thing, the same supports, the same anchors that I had, the same people who can have your back. And one of the things that strikes me, I remember in college as well, there were so many kids who were like first generation, who hadn't experienced this before, and there was someone on the staff who was there to just, you know, help them peek behind some corners and make sure that they, you know, moved over a few stumbling blocks. If they hit a roadblock with financial aid, if they had challenges just in certain classes, there was always somebody who had their back. And those people were kind of the unsung heroes of getting a lot of folks who were new to that experience across the finish line.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, 100%. And that was that was definitely my experience. I think um, as someone who was first generation low income, neither one of my parents graduated from high school. And so for me, getting to college, um I think very early on, I knew that that was something that I wanted. Um, I can reflect like end of elementary into middle, like beginning of middle school, I would request college view books just to like visualize myself on campus. And so, like for me early on, I think one of the messages I got from a lot of folks is that college could be a way out of poverty. And so I saw it as that. And so for me, it was important to visualize. And so once I got there, there were so many folks um who just kind of like put me under their wing and mentored me and kind of helped me navigate that experience, um, whether it was financial aid and like having to input stuff for my parents because they just didn't know how to do these things, um, and just like navigating the very like complex systems that higher education can be. And so because of that experience and because I saw how important it was, like it encouraged me to be that for someone else. And so even today, you know, working, and I think how that translates to me working in tech now is that I get to help many of the the staff members who were also like me in terms of like their support for students, understand how to reach students in a different way. And oftentimes, like we're on our phone, and so how can we leverage technology from an educational equity standpoint to make sure that everyone understands like the resources that they have? And so, like reminding them, hey, like it's it's it is summertime, like this is a great time to be doing these things. And this is these are the resources that you can leverage. And so being able to do that now um on a larger scale has been pretty, pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01

That's awesome. And I'm glad you were able to not only find this path, but also find a way to help scale it so you can reach even more students and do the work, you know, really expand the impact that you have. Um I know you mentioned that going from higher education to ed tech was a pivot. And I'm really curious about that career pivot and what precipitated that, and also what have been some of the challenges making that shift because you having worked

The Career Pivot: Why He Left Higher Education

SPEAKER_01

in in adjacent to higher ed, but also directly in ed tech as well. They're very different. The pace is different, the personalities are different, like culturally, those couldn't be more different experiences, even though they're serving the same people.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah, I, you know, I think when I made the decision to make the pivot, um, so it started off with um a colleague that I used to work with who reached out to me as I was fit finishing my PhD program. And so uh my research centered around um the experiences of academically gifted black men at HBCUs. And so she knew um a startup founder who had they had just secured a partnership with an organization that was doing a lot of work at HBCUs, and so she was like, hey, like there's this guy who's doing some really cool work in the tech space, um, could probably like benefit from having a conversation and learning a little bit more about HBCUs. And so what started off as a conversation then went into me doing some consulting work with them while I was still working in higher ed. And then once um the pandemic hit and we were at home and I was beginning to think about uh what my next step could be, it it transitioned into a full-time career. But really, I think what what influenced

Self-Preservation & the Cost of No Boundaries

SPEAKER_00

me to make that jump at the time um was self-preservation. And as much as like as passionate as I was about the work that I was doing in higher education, I think because of my lived experience and like how passionate I was about it, I was not creating the boundaries I needed to really take care of myself. And so what that looked like was seeing myself and so many of my students that I was investing so many hours after work into their personal life, which was beautiful in a lot of ways because I felt really connected to the work and I felt really passionate about it. But how that manifested in me taking care of myself, like I was um in really bad shape um health-wise. And um, I just I really needed to and I knew that the institution was not going to take care of me in terms of like these are things that I need to do. Like, I need to take care of my health, I need to prioritize um my mental, social, emotional health, and all of these things. And so when I made that decision, it was really about self-preservation, like finding a different career that would give me the flexibility to really kind of

Losing 200 Pounds After Leaving Higher Ed

SPEAKER_00

like take back some of that time and spend time taking care of my physical health. And so and how that's translated is you know, since I left higher ed, I've lost almost 200 pounds. And and that has been like having the like the space in terms of time, but also like the mental capacity to think about what's most important. And you know, because I love like people and and serving people, like how can I do this for a longer time? Um, and that is gonna be like taking care of myself so that I can give more um to others.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, you you see this a lot in people who are in service professions, people who are whose role is to give. Yeah. You see that in teachers and nurses, you see it in people who are in the nonprofit space, you know, coaches, people who are pouring into other people, and they see it as their responsibility. And it's phenomenal that these people have that calling, but oftentimes they haven't practiced building up the boundaries necessary to say, hey, here's where I draw the line, because here's where I also have to be present for my family or for my friends or pour into myself. I'm spending time helping you get better, but all the while I'm ignoring all the things that I need. What were some of the I think we we see a lot of people kind of hitting that precipice of burnout, whether it's from a place of compassion fatigue where they're giving, giving, giving, or it's just from a place where work is hard right now, the economy's

Recognizing the Warning Signs of Burnout

SPEAKER_01

struggling sometimes for people, so things are a little bit harder, so they're just burning the candle at both ends. What were some of those, those flags, those indicators that you saw or others saw kind of around you that helped to ring that bell and let you know like maybe it's time for a shift?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I think two were really clear to me. I think one when we so I think when the pandemic um during the pandemic when campus closed and it was time for all of us to kind of work from home. It was a change of pace where I think because I wasn't just moving, moving, moving, go, go, go, like I finally like I had to sit with like how exhausted I was. And so um I loved the change of pace in terms of like I was at home, my schedule looked a little bit different, and I I had to sit with like the reality of where I was. Um and so that was a big thing. I think realizing how exhausted I was, and um, and and then when things began to open back up, it was like over going back to normal. It was just like wow, like is that the normal that I'm prepared to go back to? And

How His Wife Helped Him See His Blind Spots

SPEAKER_00

so that was one huge thing in internally that I got to see within myself. Um, but I really credit so much of it to my wife. Um, and at that time, um, we were not married, but we were I was preparing to get engaged and and all these things, and she just had a way of um like questioning my capacity and what I was giving and saying, like, hey, like you're doing a lot, um, and in a way that felt really uncomfortable for me early on. And so I was just like, hey, this is my calling, this is what I love to do. Um, you know, you have to get with it, like this is what it is. And I think maturity and sitting with things realizes that um I needed that in a way that I didn't know that I needed because it really put into question like how are you taking care of yourself and how are you investing in this relationship? Yes, I want to support like who you are and how you give to the world, and that is really important, but first, like how do you give that to yourself so that you can give more to the world? And so I think just her like helping me think about those things, um, and and almost it almost felt like forcing me to like sit with sit with like taking care of myself first, um, really was a game changer and in in ways like being a blind spot, like I had a blind spot to a lot of things, and she kind of helped me see those things.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I think I saw somewhere that they said that finding the right partner in life is the ultimate cheat code. Like if you find somebody who can see you and support you, especially in those moments where you are feel like you're doing everything possible and everything right, but the one person you're ignoring is yourself, and they see that, and they're the ones who can bring you back to really say, Hey, let's think about what you need for you so you continue to show up as your best elsewhere. Because you can't be your best out there. As they say in the church, you can't pour from an empty vessel, right? Yeah. So what are we doing to refill our cup to really prioritize ourselves? And those who are just wired to give and want to help, it's usually the last concern you have is me. Until somebody points it out, like, hey, if you're gonna keep doing this great work, we need you here for the long haul. So maybe let's prioritize you and find a little bit of balance.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah, that perspective shifts. Like, I think the the shift in the perspective from like it's important for me, like because I feel called to this work before I because I feel like blessed by the experience that I had and have like and have made it out on

“Refill Your Cup” — Giving Your Best to Others

SPEAKER_00

the other side, like I feel so called to this work that I want to invest in it, I want to do it. But then, you know, perspective, maturity, having people like challenge how you're thinking about it is if I have been blessed to do this work and um it is something that I'm passionate about, like how can I do it in my best ability? And so for me, I think it's it's really been about how do I take care of myself so that I like my best ideas, the best creativity, the the best that I'm able to give is when I feel rested. Um, and so like how can I like center that instead of like pouring everything um and then like having to not knowing when I'm gonna be refilled?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. And from what I've seen on this journey, you've used that as really a calling card for you to step into another calling. And really, you've done a lot of work around now stepping into supporting men who are navigating this space and men's mental health and navigating burnout, navigating the challenges of you know being this ultimate

Yoga With Your Bros & the Run Crew

SPEAKER_01

provider that you've visioned in your mind versus how do you take some time to take care of yourself? And I see it in all of the content you're posting, everything from the work you're doing with the run crew, and shout out to Ricky and the Run crew, but also yoga with your bros, which is a really cool concept that you all have you've partnered with Alonzo on. And I'm curious if you could talk about some of the how you've brought in some of that calling, but thinking about how it can support people who are also in a similar phase of life as you and not just, you know, pouring back into the next generation as well.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. And I I I would also credit this to some of that reflection that happened during the pandemic. And so I was involved in all these things. And so like I have a lot of things that I'm passionate about, and um, I've I've been involved in a lot in a lot of different ways in terms of community work. And I think during the pandemic, I also began to think about okay, like how can I find really like the areas that I'm most passionate about and where I am right now in my life? And so, like, as I've made transitions, as I am prioritizing my health, my mental health, um, connection with other men, um, and vulnerability, how can I do those things like within the community? And so it has yoga with your bros has is kind of been like an avenue where um myself and Alonzo had some early conversations about like what it meant to bring men together to have some really rich, vulnerable conversations and then like move. And so I've been able to do that through that, um, and also the run crew. Even you know, this this past month, we we held and I I credit Riddy Ricky for like allowing so many of us to bring like our ideas to that space, and so like it is running and it is connecting with people, but also because we're so passionate about this space and we've been changed by like the act of running and movement, but also like community, that we've been able to do things like host a men's mental health month run where we've had some really rich conversation as well. And so I think for me, like I I feel called to this type of work because I know how important it is both for myself and for the folks that I'm in community with. And through the the mini transitions, the career pivot, like the the physical transition in terms of like me losing so much weight. Like I've just I've had so many different transitions where I've had to sit with myself and think about what's important. And my community has changed during that time. And so where I was reluctant and resistant early, like I've really like embraced it because I've seen the beauty of like new people that have come into my life and the community that I've helped to cultivate from like helping men have these conversations and prioritize their mental health and unpack the lessons that we learned, and knowing that it just creates um a much like freer experience for us and everyone who is associated with us. Like, I think we get to be better for others, similar to the work that I've done, um just career-wise, but like we get to be better for others when we prioritize like doing the work for ourselves.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, absolutely. And it's powerful, and those spaces are, I think, too few and far between. And I credit you and everyone that you're partnering with to think about how you can create more of those intentional spaces. It's so necessary, so needed. And, you know, I think one of the the powerful things in life, especially as adulthood, is just finding community that works for you, that is there for you. One of the things that I've noticed is I I don't

Choosing (and Being Chosen By) Saint Louis

SPEAKER_01

know if I moved as much as you when I was younger, but I moved around a little bit, lived in three different cities, and then even as an adult, we lived in Chicago, then Atlanta, and then here. I found that in my journey here in St. Louis, that if you step outside and seek something out, there's a lot of room for you to help get connected to a community, but also help shape that community. And I'm curious what your experience having lived in these other places and then planted roots here in St. Louis, what that looks like for you and what's really kept you here.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So I chose St. Louis. I think it was a little bit of me choosing St. Louis and St. Louis choosing me at the same time. And so when I when I first made the decision, so I moved to St. Louis on New Year's Eve 2017. And so, like coming into 2018, um, I had got a job at the time before I was um, I had been working in Detroit and then I had a short stint back in Oklahoma. And um, I got the offer to um pretty much build the Trio Upper Bound College Access Program Um at McClure High School through Harris Stowe. And so I feel that like it was a decision because it for me it came down to I was choosing between St. Louis and the Bay Area. Um, and this so there was a choice there. Um, but I think also it was a choosing of me because I knew that that was an opportunity for me to do college access work with first gen low-income students from the Ferguson, Florida area. And so as someone who's always been passionate about, you know, communities that need um that type of support the most and youth, I felt like it was a call to come in. And so that is what brought me here. And I think through that work, through the connections that I was able to make um with with Paris Stowe, like meeting new people, um, being engulfed in the city, and then you know, doing work and moving over to to Wash U. And so like I think that I've because of those different changes in my job, it helped me meet a lot of people. But I think just over time, I've been someone who really like sought out community. And so I was always looking for what are the spaces, first off, what are the things that I'm most interested in? And so I immediately I think one of the first organizations I joined when I got here was Black People Who Hike, and so like I've I've always been someone who wanted to get outdoors, and so seeing that there was an organization of people who looked like me who were hiking, it was like, okay, that's one avenue for me to get involved, and then my fraternity, and then other things um that I was just been really passionate about. And so I think what like has has helped me fall in love with St. Louis very early on was that it felt like there was always a community of people looking to do something similar to me. And even if it wasn't, like if I had to start something, like there were folks who who sought like friendship and community in that way. And that is really what's kept me here is that it feels like it's there's some similarity to Cleveland. In terms of like what feels um I feel at home in those ways in terms of like the dynamics of the city and the opportunities and the energy from people who are from here. And um I've just been able to build some some really some rich relationships and community with folks who are either from here or other expats um who have moved to the city. And so it feels like this, it just it feels perfect in a lot of ways because of the size of the city. Like as someone who lived in LA, I I love LA and I love the diversity, but it's so huge that it oftentimes it's just like where do you go to build and sustain community? And so uh being here has it's been that for me. And so um this is home. I don't plan on going anywhere, and um, I have a great community even with um my family, my wife's family, and uh yeah, it's been great. So I love it here.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, man. We're lucky to have you. It's I I say similar things, man. I think the energy in St. Louis, the people, there's a quintessential Midwesterness. Midwestern cities have a different type of people, and those people have a level of authenticity, but also warmth. They'll give you some real talk, and if they don't like you, they'll tell you they don't like you, but in a nice way. But it's all the things that you would want to really understand how to build community because it's easier to navigate once you just get outside and start talking to people. And when people see that you want to do something new, interesting, and it it's something that's worthwhile, they'll get behind you.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So I love because you've spent your time helping others navigate transitions, whether it's a transition to college, out of college, also, you know, folks navigating their career pivots and navigating those of your own. I think there's some opportunity there for you to share some

Advice for Anyone Considering a Career Pivot

SPEAKER_01

nuggets of wisdom for folks who might be pursuing or interested or thinking about a pivot at this point. I'm curious, what advice would you give to somebody, even thinking about maybe that mid-career pivot? Like they started off doing one thing and they thought that was what they were supposed to do, but they're starting to hit a wall, starting to encounter burnout a little bit, and they think that they need to redirect their energy. What would you say?

SPEAKER_00

Um You know, I think one of the things that has really helped me is so when I made my pivot, there was a ton of fear. Um, like, am I making the right decision? You know, financially, is this gonna work? You know, if it does not work, and I sought the advice of some close friends, some family. Um, some folks were excited and some were afraid as well. It's just like, hey, like this is yeah, it's it's it's fearful. And I I think that for me, um it really um made me like sit with sit with God um and ask questions um and just like seek reassurance and knowing that my reassurance was not necessarily gonna come from people, um, I think folks were gonna be excited for me and um like I was was also excited about like the possibility of something new. Um, but there there was a lot of fear attached to that. And so I think what I learned in that moment is that like it's okay to be fearful like while you're making a big transition, um, and just like trusting in what is inside you to like guide you um through that process. And so I I think uh maybe a a better way of saying this is that pivots are scary, but I'm almost like more afraid of like what happens if I sit in something that I know um is not for me. Or like if I sit in a season too long and I know that I already have that nudge um that I need to be moving around, um like what happens when you do that? And so um just doing it afraid and being willing to jump in is is really important. But I also think the community that you have around you, people that reassure you um of who they know you to be and um just encourage you even in the midst of that has been um really incredible too. And so another point of that is just like being vulnerable with folks. And I think I've gotten to a point where you know there's I've had a lot of accomplishments and um there's things that from a traditional success standpoint, like I've been able to do that. And it's almost I think while I was making a transition, it's just like, oh, like, do I share all of my story with folks? Am I just a a a success reel? Like, who do I, what is the community that I've built that I feel um safe enough to like share all of me and all of the things that I've kind of gone through? And so having built that community and being real with people and saying, like, hey, like I am fearful. I don't know this, the I don't know this field. Um, they're talking in acronyms, and I'm having to Google everything that they're saying. You know, what languages is, yeah, but there's also a beauty in that. It's just like you're you are challenging yourself to learn something new. I went into a field that I knew nothing about. Um and I got to learn during that time that I am capable of of just about anything, yeah. And so I I think like that is that's one of the beautiful nuggets that kind of came out of that transition. And I'll say also,

Running the LA Marathon Through the Cramps

SPEAKER_00

um, I was inspired from the run crew to run my first marathon this year. And as someone who was 421 pounds, and like outside of my weight loss goals, my major goal was to do a 5k. And so I think seeing folks running around in my neighborhood, like I always translated like running with a pillar of health. And so um, yeah, being around a community that kind of inspired me to to do the thing, and then I ran um the Los Angeles Marathon this year, and the I think the most the most beautiful part of that journey was that I started cramping at mile eight, and so I had 18 miles of cramping um to be able to complete the race, and I did. And throughout that journey, like I learned that I am so much more capable than what I thought I could do. And so I was very much willing to I think when when cramping started at mile eight, like I called one of my friends from here and was like, Hey, I'm cramping, like this is crazy. We got 18 more miles, it's 90 degrees. What am I supposed to do with this? And during that, is when I finally crossed the finish line, I was just like, Wow, like I I want this experience, I want this feeling for for everyone to just be able to tap into something new and know that you are so much more capable than you think. And so I think that translates back to the pivot in that I was fearful, I didn't know um how this is gonna pan out. Like, all I could do is just like continue to work towards it. And I now am in my career where I feel incredibly strong, I'm incredibly valuable to my partners, like I and I've I've done really well on that front, and I'm someone who didn't traditionally have that background. But I just kind of like went out on faith um and trusted and believed that like this was the right thing. Um, and I had people around me encouraging me in that. And so yeah, there's just a lot of parallels that you get to draw from like life experiences where you maybe didn't think that um you were making the right decision or like this wasn't gonna pan out the way that you wanted to, but you unlock something in yourself that reminded you that you are capable.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I think it's when

Fear, Faith & Taking the Leap

SPEAKER_01

we're looking at a pivot, sometimes we have to really ask ourselves, what's the worst that could happen? If I'm in this place right now, if I'm struggling, if I'm burnt out, if I am hitting a wall and I don't take this leap, or if I take this leap and I fail, worst case scenario is I'm still stuck in this place where I'm already not doing well, where it's already not serving me. But that fear can be crippling. I I had a great conversation with someone, and it's been something I pass on every time, but they always said that all good things in life are on the other side of fear. Doesn't matter if it's your relationship, your career growth, whatever it is, getting up the courage to go ask that girl out on a date, getting up the courage to apply for a job that you don't feel like you only meet 50% of the qualifications. Just go for it. Throw your hat in the ring. The worst that could happen is you're stuck where you are. The best thing, best case scenario is you get to see what you're made of. You get to start cramping at mile eight and then realize that you can push through and push harder and farther than you ever thought.

SPEAKER_00

100%. Yeah. That that resonates 100%. That's a that's a great way of wrapping it. Like wrapping that up for me. Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Well, Dr. Jonathan Solomon, we really appreciate you coming out and you know, just sharing some time with us, sharing your experience. I think your story's gonna resonate with so many folks who have navigated being the first and making transitions and leaving a place of certainty to take a leap and that leap paying off,

Where to Find Doctor J Solo

SPEAKER_01

or some folks who might be on the precipice of taking that leap, but they just are trying to get past that fear. So we really appreciate you telling your story and just staying in St. Louis, building community here. And we invite folks to find you wherever you are. You want to tell them where to find you on socials?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, sure. Um, I'm most active on Instagram and TikTok. Um, I do a lot of uh storytelling, I think, just from that experience, from my different experiences. I just like love connecting with people through my story. And so um you can follow me at Dr. So D-R period J-S-O-L-O. So Dr. J Solo.

SPEAKER_01

All right. Well, Dr. Dr. J Solo. We really appreciate you coming out to Gateway to Growth. Thanks for the conversation, and we'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_00

Sure thing. Thank you.