Hi and welcome to this episode of the Awfully Quiet Podcast. Today is really special for me because today is July 30th and that means that it's my birthday. obviously when this episode airs, not when I'm recording it, but I'm already getting ready for that to happen. And July is filled with all sorts of major events for me.

It just kind of ends with this day with July 30th. Now it's my birthday, butat this time in the future, I will have seen Taylor Swift in concert for the very first time in my life. I've been wanting to for the last, oh, I'm not kidding you. 10 plus years.and now it's finally happening. I will have gotten married.

I should have probably said that one first, but the concert is first. Then I'm getting married. Don't ask me what the more important event is, but, obviously this is a big one for me too, towards the end of July. And then, yeah, it's my birthday and. what I wanted to do for this very special episode, at least for me, it's a special episode is to touch on some of the things that come with having a birthday towards the end of July.

And I'm hoping there is some of you in this audience that, can relate or that have a birthday end of July, beginning of August too, because. It's Leo season, and that means all sorts of things, but there's also a lot of what it means to be a Leo that is not often discussed, that is quite unconventional, that goes against what you would normally think, Leos are like from a personality perspective.

So I want to dive into that a little bit today, and I want to give you five signs. You might be an introverted Leo like me. So five things that I have discovered about Leo's in the past couple of months that I just sort of started to collect on my Pinterest and I've just found so, so interesting because as I said.

It's quite unconventional and, it goes against the norm of what you think a Leo would be like. I think we always think of Leos as like these strong, very, very confident, very charismatic personalities. Like people who've just got everything together, who are very outgoing, very sociable, very good in a crowd.

And some of that is actually not true. For Certainly not for me and for some of the other Leos out there, neither. So let's start here. Leo season is from July 22nd to August 22nd. So this is when you, if you're born in this month, you're a Leo. And for me, all my life, that has meant. I am born during peak season of summer, like in Europe, that's when you've got the best weather.

That's when you've got the most sunshine. Obviously there's always been years that have not been great from just mere weather perspective, but it's that time of the year where it's summertime or people are slowing down. There's, you know, usually a bit of a slump at work, not where I work, but for most people.

July is this kind of season where you, you know, tend to go on, take a little bit of a break, relax, unwind, enjoy the sun, enjoy life, outside with your family, with your friends, whatever this looks like.

There's a couple of things that stand out for me here that I want to touch on today. So the first thing that I found out about Leo's, and I never really knew what it resonates so much with me, is that Leo's are naturally introverted and selectively extroverted. Now, I always thought of myself as a little bit of a Leo that, you know, something's wrong with me because I'm clearly not that extroverted type person, but I can come across as extroverted.

So that resonates with me every once in a while when I share about my introversion and when I share about, you know, being, you know, needing more of an alone time to recharge, to re energize. People tend to say, oh, I didn't know that you're introverted. I thought you were extroverted. And that is because especially in a work environment or when I'm with very close friends, I can come across as extroverted.

I can be very talkative. I can be, I can thrive in the spotlight every once in a while. I'm liking the spotlight every once in a while. But. At the end of the day, after a full day at work or after a full day of socializing, I really need that time by myself. So I am naturally introverted, but selectively extroverted.

And I really, really like that sentiment for us Leos, because it just kind of goes to show that we can do all the things we can. Thrive at work. We can be outgoing. We can run meetings. We can facilitate workshops. We can socialize. We can build great connections and do all that. But at the end of the day, we know where our energy comes from.

And we know that our energy comes from within us. It doesn't come from those interactions. It doesn't come from socializing, but It's something that we create inside ourselves when we get a moment to relax, to unwind, to be in our own company. And I find that to be such a beautiful sentiment for us Leos.

That is number one. Now, number two that I learned about Leos that really resonated with me is being different is what a Leo loves. And this couldn't be more true for myself, you will always hear me talk about being unconventional about, you know, career advice. That's a little out of the box. That is different to what you would hear in the workplace and what you would hear a senior leaders talk about.

I always look. for things beyond the mainstream. Like you will never see me wear some of the things that everybody wears. I don't own Birkenstock. I don't own Crocs anymore. It's been a little bit of a phase, but all these kinds of things that are super, super trendy, you will likely not see me wear or consume or own.

Just because I like to look for the different and it's not just with the, the purchases I make or the clothes I wear. It's also with, you know, the kind of things I expose myself to and the kind of thoughts I put out on social media, the kind of career advice I want to be giving the kind of podcasts I want to be running.

I'm looking for different. I'm looking for something that. You know, it's, it's one true for me that, that deeply resonates with me, but also something that can inspire you to grow, that can inspire you to be different, that, you know, gives you just a perspective that is a little different to what you've been, you know, hearing and perceiving before, because I think that that's where the beauty lies.

That's where growth is at, is when we dare to do things differently. And for me, it's not only, it's not only, you know, that, you know, the, the benefit of growth that comes from being different, but it's also this inner inspiration that, that comes from it. And it just kind of feels truly like myself. To be looking for things out of the box, to be looking for things out of my personal comfort zone.

And now that I know this about my personality, and now that I know this about Leo's, it makes so much sense for me because it feels like it's this inner driver. It's this inner urge. And I can now explain it to myself. And I'm hoping that you see some of that in yourself as well, because. It feels like, to me, it might just not be a Leo thing.

It might just be an introverted thing. So, being different is something that I really want you to embrace, because I am starting to embrace it. More and more. And I feel like as introverts, especially in the workplace, we are often different. And for the longest time, we thought that that was a disadvantage.

We thought that being the quiet one in the room was a disadvantage. We thought that being the odd one out or the person feeling awkward during company gatherings or networking events was a disadvantage. And being the one in a meeting who clearly thinks this is total BS, what are they doing here? Why are they not focusing on what is really important?

Where is this conversation going? And I'm sure if you are an introvert in the workplace, you have had situations like this before. You have had meetings like this before where you felt awkward because you could point out All the things that are wrong with what's being discussed, with what is not being discussed, and how that is going to impact the business.

And for the longest time, we thought that we were the odd one out for thinking these things and pointing them out in our mind. But what we really need to do is start to embrace that, is start to You know, welcome the, how this makes us different and start to lean in a little bit more. Start to point these things out.

Start to speak up when we see things like that, because it may just be that you are the only person in the room who sees it, who perceives that something's wrong here. We need to stop. Talking about what we're talking about. And we need to start focusing on this instead. So I feel like as introverts, us being different in the workplace is our big superpower is our big, big strength.

And we're not leveraging it to the max yet. We're starting to do that. And this is why we're here in this podcast. But. It's just a beautiful way to think about being different. And whenever you feel different at work, just think back to this episode. Please think back to me and what I'm telling you about being different.

It's great. It's a great cue. And whenever you feel like the odd one out, it's probably a sign that you're in exactly the right place and you have a job to do. You have value to add. in being different and thinking different and bringing a different perspective. And I want you to embrace that. So that was number two.

Being different is what a Leo loves. Number three is Leos are happy all by themselves. Crowds can take away from their greatness. Now I find this to be a really unconventional one. And it's something that I was like, really? I always thought of Leos as like, you know, thriving in a crowd, being really outgoing, very sociable.

And so that's why I always felt like, kind of like a different Leo, but I really like this about Leos. And, it's something that, again, deeply resonates with me without knowing it before. for your time. I am certainly happy all by myself. Like I have spent years in my twenties, single, living by myself and obviously have great friendships.

I have great, great family, but I never really looked for somebody else. I never really needed somebody else in my life and it's great to have that, but I still feel like. Being by myself is really, really important for me. I will never tell you after a day of being all by myself that I felt bored ever.

I'm never bored. I always have something to do, to think about, to create, to explore. Like when I'm with myself, it always feels like this rich inner world. Like there's so much inside of me that I'm not, I'm not getting bored. It's my greatest strength. It's what I consider to be my sanctuary, my safe space.

And so that's where my power comes from. And it feels like that's where Leo's power comes from. That's why Leo's are so powerful. It's because they are so good by themselves and just kind of using that inner calm as their superpower. And then the sentiment of crowds take away from their greatness. It's like, it doesn't make so much sense because whenever I feel like I'm in a crowd, whenever I feel like I'm in a room that hustles and bustles and, you know, huge gatherings, networking events, I feel small.

I don't really feel like I belong. I don't really feel like I'm being seen. And it takes away from my greatness. For sure. And now again, it feels like so permission giving to be reading and to be perceiving this, to get this fact about Leo's and like, well, that makes a lot of sense to me. So instead of beating myself up for not performing well in a crowd at a networking event, at a big party, I can just accept that fact and think to myself, well, this is not where I thrive, but where I thrive is.

By myself. This is where I gain my power. This is where I get to, you know, be with, be in my own inner calm and sanctuary. And then I can again, go out into the world and perform in different settings. But it's just nice to know this is how it is accepted. Embrace that fact. Doesn't mean I can't go to parties.

Doesn't mean I can't go to networking events. But the expectation. That I have on myself is different and I hope it gives you permission.to, you know, to think, think of it the same way. You know, you can go to these events, you can go out, you can be outgoing, you can be sociable, but don't expect yourself to thrive.

Don't expect yourself to perform at your highest level because it may just not be you.

Point number four that really resonated with me about Leos is that Leos are shy and private at But then be prepared for some wild shit as you get to know them. Now, so this is a funny one because I have always been told exactly that when it comes to, you know, new relationships that I was building, especially in the workplace, I've often gotten the feedback that it takes people a long time to really get to know me because I am quite shy in private at first.

I will not. I will not open myself up right away to somebody that I've just met. And I keep thinking to myself, is this something I, you know, that needs to change, is this something where I need to become more comfortable, but at the end of the day, it has also always helped me. To a certain extent, and again, it's just part of my personality.

It's who I am, but then once I do open up, I open up completely. Like, if you are a very close friend to me, and if you are in this podcast community, I always feel like I'm treating this, this, this audience and this podcast as, you know, my very, very close friendships, because I do open up a lot, might just be the fact that I'm sitting in front of a microphone and not in front of actual people, but you get the idea.

so once that happens, once I am close to somebody, I do open up and it's, it's all or nothing for me at that point. And There are not a lot of, there are not a lot of people I am all or nothing with. It's a, it's a very few, select few people. That's also why this Leo is not celebrating a huge wedding because I don't do acquaintances.

I don't do people I know loosely. I don't do friendships where. I see people every once in a while and then connect loosely. And I am, I'm just not that kind of person. I think when it comes to friendship and people I know, I'm, I can get, it's, it's rather very intense. It's like deep, close friendships, people I will see time and time again, or every weekend, that kind of thing.

But it won't be people I see every couple of months. Of course, there's always. Friendships where you try to, you know, stay in touch and things like that. But my preference as a Leo, as an introvert is deep relationships and high quality relationships, fewer high quality relationships than loose acquaintances.

And I feel like, again, this is something that may not just be a Leo thing. It's probably an introverted thing. And I'm resonates with you. And then the point number five is one that is not super surprising as a Leo, but it clashes sometimes with the idea of being introverted. And that's the aspect of that main character energy.

I feel like Leo's often see themselves as the main character. And.

And just kind of make a lot of things about themselves. And that's certainly something that resonates with me too. I always, I always felt a huge inner confidence, in myself and my abilities. And I've been, that has been reinforced through my family, through my parents. My mom early on, you know, would always tell me, You know, you're doing great, you're super creative, you have lots of great ideas, you're gonna do really well, so that's something that has been reinforced for me, from my surroundings, from my, the context I've been raised in, but it's always been inside of me, and I've always had that little bit of a, of a main character energy.

And. It clashes a lot with being introverted, doesn't it? Because it feels like on the one hand, you think of yourself as somebody who's great, who's confident, you know, whatever I set my mind to, I can certainly achieve. And that is my truth. And on the other hand, this person who needs a lot of time for herself.

I'm shy at first. I'm very private at first. I do not open up immediately. I'm certainly not somebody who goes out and tells people, I, you know, I'm going to do great things and I'm going to be X, Y, Z. Here's my vision. Here's what I'm, what I'm here to do. And so that, that's something that clashes. And that's something I'm personally struggling with almost to a point.

And, I don't really have a solution for you on that one, if you feel like that.but I'm just inviting you on this journey and I'm inviting you to, you know, tune into some of these stories and some of the things that I have not quite figured out for myself because. I feel like that is important to talk about too, that clash of, you know, wanting to be the main character, wanting to be in the spotlight every once in a while, wanting to do great things, you know, achieving career success to a certain extent.

but also really struggling to express that and to share my vision. And I've seen this mantra for Leos. that really resonated with me against this point. And it said, I courageously express my visions to the world. And I find that very powerful because it's again, so permission giving, and it's just like, you can express your, your vision, what you're here to do, what you want to achieve and don't be discouraged by how the world is going to perceive it.

I often am held back by this limiting belief of who does she think she is? And I often think to myself, Oh, people are probably going to think that when I go out and start a podcast, when I go out and post things on Instagram, like, who does she think she is?and nobody ever thought that in my community.

Or probably didn't. I mean, nobody ever said that to me out loud.because it's working really well. The podcast is working well. We're getting new listeners. The community is growing. The, the career advice that I share on Instagram is working really well. It feels like there is this community of introverted professionals who are like minded, who want to grow, want to achieve great things in their career.

And they're commenting, they're engaging, they're saving the post. So it feels like things are working out and what I'm putting out there, the, the vision that I have for us introverts, it resonates, but I'm still very shy when it comes to sharing about this in my personal life. I rarely go out and tell people at a party, I have a podcast or I have a career platform for introverts.

And this is something that I'm personally, that I want to change. I want to say these things more openly. I want to channel my inner Leo and courageously express my vision and courageously say. Here's who I am. And this is what I'm here to do. And if you feel like that, I think it's absolutely okay to, and I think where we're going with this is we're just going to try it out.

We're just going to see how it fits. There will be some things on this list that I shared with you today that I think we can accept as part of our personalities. If you are a Leo, if you are introverted. Or if you're not a Leo and you're introverted, you will have resonated with a lot of these points.

And some of it is just there to give us permission to be who we are and to accept that to a certain extent. But then what is also part of that knowledge of understanding who we are and what our personality is like is the ability to challenge some of that is the ability to know, well, this is. Who I naturally am.

And here is how I need to step out of that comfort zone every once in a while. I naturally am somebody with huge visions, with big plans, with ambition, with that main character energy. And I also need to challenge myself every once in a while. To go out and say that out loud. To not only keep it for myself, to not only say it to the people closest to me, but to say to the world, to say, look, here's who I am.

I have a corporate job that I'm thriving at at the moment. I've started a podcast for introverts in the workplace to share my own journey, to give useful tips, to make sure that. We built this community of people that feels safe, that feels like an environment where we can all grow and we can all achieve our career dreams in a way that is attuned to who we are, but challenges us just enough to get out of our comfort zones and grow.

And I run a career platform for introverts that's doing just the same at a larger and larger scale. Every day.

Let me recap these five points for you. So five signs you might be an introverted Leo. Number one, you're naturally introverted and selectively extroverted. Number two, being different is what a Leo loves and an introvert loves. Number three, Leos are happy all by themselves. Crowds take away from their greatness.

Number four, Leos are shy and private at first, but then be prepared for some wild shit as you get closer to them. And number five is that main character energy. Leos courageously express their visions to the world. Now again, whether you're a Leo or not. It is Leo season. So some of that energy is for you right now.

It's all around us. It's in the air. There's that huge sun. Well, there should be, there should be sun in July. And I'm hoping for this day, for the 30th of July, whenever you listen to this, for it to be a beautiful day out for there to be sunshine for there to be that power and and Leo energy. Around you and for you to grab some of that and, you know, take it in, take it inside of yourself where, you know, you are most powerful, where you feel at home, where you feel safe, where you feel truly like yourself and I'm going to do the same.

And then let's vow to take some of that out into the world, whatever it looks like, whether it looks like taking a courageous step, whether it looks like voicing your opinion in a meeting, when you see that things are not going where they should be, use it to speak up, use it to express your future vision of yourself to the world.

This may be your friends, your family, it may be your manager. Use it to say it out loud, what it is that you really want. And finally use that Leo energy to be confident in yourself, to believe in yourself, to bring some of that main character energy into July, August, and the rest of the year. Take it all in and.

I hope you feel inspired. I hope you feel motivated. I hope that you take away some of that Leo energy. And I am really grateful for you to be here with me on this journey on my birthday during Leo season in the summer on what I'm hoping to be a beautiful day. Thank you so much for tuning in today and I see you next time.