Mahara Wayman [00:00:05]:
Welcome to the art of badassery where I explore what it takes to live life on your own terms. Break free from the status quo and unleash your inner badass. Whether you're a rebel at heart or simply seeking inspiration to step outside your comfort zone, this podcast is for you. I'm your host Mahara Wayman and each week I dive into the stories, insights, and strategies of those who've mastered the art of badassery and are living life to the fullest. They smile when no one is lucky.
Mahara Wayman [00:00:41]:
Welcome to the Art of Balazsri podcast. My name is Mahara, your host. I'm so excited today to introduce you to Sarah Marquis. A Richmond, BC native and Vancouver based writer, Sarah is the cofounder of Better Workplace Humans and the author of her debut book, Can This Be Right? When she's not writing or transforming workplaces, Sarah loves playing ice hockey. Of course, she's Canadian. She loves strumming her guitar, baking, or exploring the out outdoors. So join us today as we dive into her very remarkable journey, her new book, and, of course, her insights on building better, more human centered environments, both at work and at home. Sarah, it is so good to have you on the show.
Mahara Wayman [00:01:23]:
Welcome.
Sarah Markwick [00:01:24]:
Thank you so much for having me, Mahara. It's great to see you and great to be here.
Mahara Wayman [00:01:28]:
For those of you that don't know, I Sarah's aunt is my is my BFF. I've been best friends with her with with her aunt for fifty years. So I was around when Sarah first joined us in this life, and I've watched her grow up into this amazing young woman. So I'm I'm doubly excited to have you on the show today because, really, the last time I saw you, you were a teenager, I think. It's been that long. So
Sarah Markwick [00:01:52]:
Yeah. It's been a really long time.
Mahara Wayman [00:01:54]:
Yeah. So, you know, I I often open the show with what makes you badass, so I'm gonna do the same thing for you.
Sarah Markwick [00:02:01]:
Okay. I I mean, when it comes to the book, I've started putting my money where my mouth is. When I when it comes to my, identity as an artist and trying to live my life more in keeping with that. So that's been, like, you know, exhilarating, but it's also been scary. Like, an identity shift is always kind of a a scary thing to go through.
Mahara Wayman [00:02:30]:
Of course. So let's back up, though. I I'd be curious to know what your definition of artist is.
Sarah Markwick [00:02:36]:
Oh, I think, like, for me, it's a way of slowing down and looking at the world. And, I didn't really do that before, or I didn't really give myself permission to do that before. Slowing down and taking notice and, getting interested in sort of the details of life around you and what you see around you was always something that I kind of felt myself doing, but it felt like something that was kinda childish or silly or or what is the point in slowing down and taking note of a sentence that came into your head or thinking I need to come back there with a sketchpad and and do that, or or thinking even of a creative post that you wanna do for your business that's a little out there. Yeah. It's sort of, allowing yourself to sort of giving yourself permission to do that more.
Mahara Wayman [00:03:27]:
Oh, I like I like what's coming up when you say that. I'm wondering if it's also if if it would be fair to say that for you being artistic is simply giving yourself permission to be.
Sarah Markwick [00:03:40]:
Yeah. Without Yeah.
Mahara Wayman [00:03:43]:
Because we and to your point, and we talk about this a lot on the show, is a lot of my badass guests have learnt chose to unlearn so many things to the point where they feel badass about that. And I'm wondering if you can share with us an example of your having to unlearn something so that you could simply be.
Sarah Markwick [00:04:04]:
Oh, gosh. Yeah. And that is definitely a work in progress. I am still unlearning, a bunch of things. But one of one of the things I needed to unlearn that kinda stood in the way of me feeling it like I could sort of embrace creativity more was this idea of, rationality, planning, and sort of black and white thinking, being a good way to a sensible way, a safe way to, approach life. And, rather than sort of listening to your gut, listening to what is trying to come through you, that feels very kind of strange and scary. It seems a lot easier and a lot more sensible to kind of stick with whatever plan it is that you have in mind for yourself and kind of ignore some of those strange impulses and urges that you don't really understand.
Mahara Wayman [00:05:02]:
You explained that really well, but I wouldn't be a good host if I didn't challenge you and say, okay. Tell us give us an example.
Sarah Markwick [00:05:10]:
Okay. Well, I guess, really, the beginning, middle, and end of my marriage and how all of that went. I mean, to me, life was about, making big important decisions that set you up for the future. You you had a plan, you stuck with it. If you worked hard, there was a payoff for that. In fact, hard work meant you were doing well. If things were painful, that was probably a good thing. If things were easy, that probably meant that you were slacking or not sort of fulfilling your full potential.
Sarah Markwick [00:05:47]:
And it took me a long time to realize what hard stuff didn't need to be hard, and a lot of the things in life that I thought, felt good because they were hard didn't need to actually didn't really feel all that great. And life doesn't really necessarily need to be as hard as it, as we make it for ourselves, and and sometimes we make it difficult because there's a rub between what we think we should be doing and what we actually are doing. And so if I hadn't let go of some of those things, I wouldn't have opened myself up to all the kind of goofy things that you might think and feel and experiment with, when you're figuring out what kind of a creative person you are.
Mahara Wayman [00:06:28]:
So, so good. And just to tie it all up with this idea of being a badass, badasses give themselves permission to be goofy. It is totally okay to be goofy. And often, especially with the work that I do with with my clients when I'm coaching, is they I remind them of how they felt as a young person, like a as a child, how much joy and exuberance they had, and how many times either their children, if they have kids, or themselves, they remember, walked through the day going, but how come? How come? Why? Why is it like this? Why is it why isn't it like that? Because so so many of us have lost that ability to question and to be curious. And I think badasses tend to be really curious. Okay. I wanna back up a little bit. Sure.
Mahara Wayman [00:07:13]:
Talk to us about the work that you do. Not we get to the book in a minute, but I wanna just give us a frame of reference for this amazing work that you do.
Sarah Markwick [00:07:22]:
So my business partner, Sandy Gunn, and I run a business called Better Workplace Humans, and that was something that came out of a podcast that Sandy and myself and another woman, Tara Kamish, started called Don't Be a Jerk at Work. And that was something that we did for fun and for free because we used to we're all in HR. We talk about the weird people stuff, and we're like, these conversations, we should record some of these. And that's what happened with the podcast. And when that ran its course, we did three or four seasons. We decided to wrap that, but, Tara ended up going off and moving to Thailand with, her wife. And Sandy and I decided, what else can we do together that would so I kinda further this message? And what came of that was a program called Everyone's a Leader to Someone, which was really about helping people get the things out of their way that make it difficult for them to show up the way they wanna show up in work and in life and, helping people out from that perspective. I think there a lot of us know, you know, why it's important to have a good, hard conversation, or why it's, important to be able to receive feedback gracefully.
Sarah Markwick [00:08:40]:
Not all feedback, but, you know, most feedback gracefully. But few of us, know what gets in the way of it us doing that well and sometimes what gets in the way of us doing that well with particular people. And that's what we decided to focus this program on, and it's been real real fun. You know? And, like, I'm sure you know this, Mahara. Like, when you're talking to people and you see them have insights about themselves, I mean, that is so powerful. You're just sitting there watching. You're not doing anything. They're just oh, and it's it's so much fun.
Sarah Markwick [00:09:12]:
It's so much fun to see that. That is why I do what I do, that that feeling when you see somebody realize something about themselves and then start doing the work to make a difference.
Mahara Wayman [00:09:22]:
Is this the reason you chose to incarnate in this lifetime, in this space to do this work?
Sarah Markwick [00:09:31]:
I mean, I think the reason I got into HR was because, I just think people are really interesting. And that morphed into coaching when I discovered what that was all about. I hadn't I didn't know really what coaching was, five, ten years ago. And that just seemed like such a great way to marry my kind of fascination with people. And I think I have this ability to create safe spaces for people pretty quickly, and that made this ability to have these kinds of conversations with people, feel really easy and give them the opportunity to maybe do some work. You know? Not everybody's ready to do stuff, but for the folks that are, it's been real real powerful to see.
Mahara Wayman [00:10:17]:
So as you were creating and have now executed this this program, what have you learned about yourself that was new?
Sarah Markwick [00:10:26]:
Oh, gosh. Well, I took this, program called Positive Intelligence, and it is all about the saboteurs, which are these voices that we have. You know? You're nodding. I know you know what these are. That sort of stand in the way of us doing a lot of shit. And so this was so new to me, that I had this high achiever voice that would serve me well in so many areas of my life, but then really destroy me in other areas. Controller, same thing. This judge that I thought was Sodi who just gave me tough love.
Sarah Markwick [00:11:03]:
Nope. That's real jerky guy who berates you. That is not helpful. I mean, that was eye opening, really eye opening to me. And, I just thought, man, I gotta try to share some of this stuff with people because so many of us don't don't know we have these voices.
Mahara Wayman [00:11:20]:
It's it's interesting that you say that because similar experience for me. I'm very familiar with that because I did take a course on it myself, but I was aware of it from years ago. But I remember and I have to share the story before on the podcast. I remembered when one of my friends called me out on things I was saying about myself. And I actually didn't even realize I was saying these things. I just didn't I didn't hear it. I was so used to the thought was in my head, and then somewhere along the line, I started to verbalize. And they were very derogatory things about myself.
Mahara Wayman [00:11:53]:
I said them jokingly when I was conscious of it. I said I phrased it as a joke. But when I got called out on that was really the first time that I realized what I was doing. And it was the beginning of my looking inwards. Like, why the hell would I say that? Oh my God. I'm such a nice person. Why am I so mean to myself? Like, where did that come from? And then when I started when I got certified as a mastery method coach a few years ago, I was blindsided by the inner work. And quite frankly, I was I was an ass because I'm like, I don't care about the inner child shit.
Mahara Wayman [00:12:30]:
I just wanna know how to like, I'm a nice person. I'm a happy person. Just tell me how to run a business. And the the lady that ran it was like, we'll get to the business at the second six months of this program. The first six months, we're gonna work on all of the tools to help you uncover your limiting beliefs and your inner saboteur. And all of these terms, half of them I'd never heard. And I remember being actually quite pissed off. I'm like, I don't give a shit about my inner child.
Mahara Wayman [00:12:56]:
She's done. Like, I don't even know who she is and I don't care. I wanna move forward. And then, of course, the minute I was having a coaching session with someone and we were practicing the tools, within five minutes, I was a sobbing mess. And I'm like
Sarah Markwick [00:13:11]:
Oh, yeah.
Mahara Wayman [00:13:12]:
Like, how is this possible? And, of course, that was bittersweet because then I'm like, okay. There is stuff back there that I gotta deal with if I'm gonna take my life forward. And it was incredibly exciting, and I'm so grateful for the experience. And I think I've lost complete track other than you recognize that there was stuff that really impacted you and you wanted to share it with the world.
Sarah Markwick [00:13:36]:
Yeah. And it was I mean, to your point about it impacting how we work, it was it impacted that too. I could look back on past coaching engagements and go, oh, I I see where I was working out some of my stuff through that person in that engagement, encouraging, like, an old version of me to do things that didn't really have anything to do with that person. You know what I mean? So it's been good that way, for sure.
Mahara Wayman [00:13:59]:
What's been the biggest surprise for you as you navigated being a single mom?
Sarah Markwick [00:14:05]:
Oh, man. What has been the biggest surprise? Man, really? I think how well my kid has adapted. I really thought that would be a lot harder than it was. But, yeah, how well my kid has adapted.
Mahara Wayman [00:14:22]:
Good for you, mama.
Sarah Markwick [00:14:25]:
Yeah. Thanks. I've, I've I've been I've been really lucky that way. And, I mean, I don't know if every single parent would say this, but there's some good stuff that comes from having your child 50% of the time, you know, for for somebody that likes having their alone time and doesn't like having their attention scattered. It really allows me to, like, do what I need for myself and what I need for the home and my son. And then when I'm with him, I get to have that focus time with him, and it made me think about what our weekends were like as a family. So there was two of us, but there was still a day that was we're gonna run around and hit all of the stores and do errands and, you know, all of that. And now I can arrange my life where I can spend quality time with him when I have him, and I can do that stuff on my own time on my own.
Sarah Markwick [00:15:14]:
And, honestly, weirdly, it's one of the best parts about having a marriage that ends in divorce with a child is being able to have focused time when you have the time and being way more purposeful about it.
Mahara Wayman [00:15:28]:
I love the reframe because to your point, you mentioned it earlier, and everybody talks about it on this show. We have these preconceived ideas, and they're not even preconceived. We're just we're taught that if you have a plan, if you work hard, if it hurts, then you're on the right track. So part of the plan in my world, anyway, my generation was you get married, but that's the plan. You get an education. You get you marry some nice person, nice guy or girl, and you create this life and you, you know, that's that's the that's the model that works and and that's accepted. So I I can imagine that part of your badassery could encompass this this willingness to say that actually didn't work for me. Oh, yeah.
Mahara Wayman [00:16:10]:
Yeah. Isn't the best.
Sarah Markwick [00:16:13]:
Well, you feel embarrassed. Right? Like, it's not like somebody foisted this plan upon me. I created this plan. I willingly participated. In fact, let it, probably more than anybody. And now all of a sudden, I'm saying, you know what, everybody? This is not for me anymore. And they're like, oh, what's the new plan? I something different. I don't know.
Sarah Markwick [00:16:35]:
And that has really, that's been very interesting. I think I think sometimes just what we're looking for in life really changes. And when I was making these plans, stability and security was something that was really important to me. The marriage ends opposite of stability and security, holy crap. Like my life tied to this person now separating from this person is creating absolute chaos. And then you create stability for yourself and realize, oh man, I can create safety and stability for myself. Actually. I don't need that.
Sarah Markwick [00:17:08]:
And so then what do I want out of a partner and do I want marriage? And what does that even look like for me now? No answer there really other than sort of not what I did before.
Mahara Wayman [00:17:21]:
Good stuff. Thank you for that, and I appreciate you're going down that very personal path. When you think of where you're at today, what would you say to the younger version?
Sarah Markwick [00:17:32]:
Oh, you know what? This is gonna sound like a cop out, but I don't think anything because she wouldn't have listened. I mean, I, I still don't like being told what to do. I mean, I self published. I run my own business. I'm a single mom. Maybe that has something to do with it too. Right? Like, Here's the thing.
Mahara Wayman [00:17:59]:
What what I actually said was, what would you say to her? It doesn't have to be that telling you what to do. So folks, just a little bit of insight here on coaching. You ask a question, be very clear be very clear that they're answering the actual question because she switched it on me.
Sarah Markwick [00:18:13]:
I know. Did you see what I did? I just my own shit just came in there, and I just took that somewhere somewhere else. Gosh. I guess what would I tell her? Don't be afraid to change the plan. Yeah. Or something like you can change your mind. I think that's a real powerful statement. You can change your mind.
Sarah Markwick [00:18:41]:
You know? Sometimes we just don't think that we can. And, yeah, that binary thinking can get problematic. It feels very safe, but it can also mean that we lose touch with whether or not we're still connecting with the plan.
Mahara Wayman [00:18:54]:
I wanna tie that back to something you said earlier, which is this idea of growing up with black or white thinking is is a safe way to go because you think this way or you think that way. The sky is blue. The sky is orange. Those are the only two colors the sky can be. It's blue when it's sunny out, and it's orange when the sun sets. But to your point and part of being a badass is allowing to explore the space in between because that's where the magic lies in life, I think. And I think a lot of badasses are are waking up to that and they're recognizing, yeah, I could stand with that crowd. I could stand with that crowd, but, oh my god, it's way more interesting here.
Mahara Wayman [00:19:32]:
You people are great. I can read you. I can read you, but this is called living. Like, this is the interactions, the connections, the questions, the emotions without fear, and the conversations without judgment, and the embracing, the touching without expectations. You know, all of these things. Well, this sounds like a nice place to be. I think I wanna hang out there more often.
Sarah Markwick [00:19:56]:
Yeah. It is a good place to be, and it it surprises me how often even though I'm aware of that now, like, don't do the binary thinking for all the reasons that you just said, Mahara. I still default to that a lot, and I have a friend who used to call me out on it all the time, which is really helpful. That's binary thinking, Markwick. And I'd be like, no. It's, oh, yeah. It it totally is. It's probably gonna be neither of those things.
Sarah Markwick [00:20:19]:
You know? And that initially freaks me out, and then then it almost releases the pressure. It's just sort of a reminder you don't control stuff. You don't actually know. You can just roll with it.
Mahara Wayman [00:20:32]:
What's what's the hardest part of rolling with it for you, though?
Sarah Markwick [00:20:35]:
It's not how I used to be. It feels really uncomfortable. It feels unsafe. I think it looks weird. I you know, when you try something new, is this working? All of that kind of stuff.
Mahara Wayman [00:20:52]:
I think for for for myself, what comes to mind for me, because I struggle with that, not struggle, but it's definitely, is this idea of no. No. I want I wanna know. Like, is it guaranteed? So I don't have time to fuck her up. I'm in my late fifties. I don't have time. I can't take five years to figure my shit out in business. Most part.
Mahara Wayman [00:21:12]:
I'm in my 50 I'm not in my twenties. Right? So there's there's this feeling of I've done due diligence. I'm a good person. Can you just tell can I just figure it out, like, now? I don't wanna have to learn and roll with it because it may not go where I need it to go.
Sarah Markwick [00:21:30]:
Yeah. I don't believe that. Because you're somebody who's curious. Aren't you interested in what happens along the whole way of the process?
Mahara Wayman [00:21:37]:
Usually, I am. But then there's that inner child or that person of me that says, you're gonna be 59 this year. Can you pay your fucking taxes on time?
Sarah Markwick [00:21:48]:
Yeah. Okay. Okay. I mean, I I struggle with that too. I've recently got into experimenting with oil paints. Okay? And I noticed this is the you know, a year and a half ago, I painted my first picture. Yeah. Was it great? No.
Sarah Markwick [00:22:03]:
It was not great. It's the first time I've used oils. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm messing around. I've seen a couple of free workshops. Okay. Let's try. Do you know how hard I was on myself at the beginning? Oh, this is garbage, Markwick.
Sarah Markwick [00:22:16]:
Garbage. You're never gonna be good at oils. This is, like, twenty minutes in. I'm like, holy crap. Like, what were you expecting? Something better.
Mahara Wayman [00:22:26]:
You're so funny. So let's talk about the book. Sure. How did that come about?
Sarah Markwick [00:22:34]:
Well, I started The Artist's Way, which is a workbook around sort of, connecting with your creativity, inspiration, all that kind of good stuff. And they ask you to write these morning pages, dream of consciousness, writing every morning, three pages. And, you do that for three months, and I did that and went and I had to go read them at the end. And I did that too and thought, jeez. I feel like there's something in here. I feel like maybe there's a book in here. And that feeling filled me with dread because I wasn't planning to write a book. I'd never written a book.
Sarah Markwick [00:23:11]:
I I love writing. I've done essays and poetry and little things like that, but nothing like a novel. But there was something that felt like it was saying to me, there is. And, that is really how it started. It came out of journal entries and and turned into an autobiographical fiction work that was a combination of the journal entries and then narration to tie them all together. But it really felt like something that came from outside of me. It really and I've never experienced that before. I've read about people that experienced things like that.
Sarah Markwick [00:23:43]:
No. I had never. And it felt like if you don't do this, I didn't know what was gonna happen, but it felt like the universe was like, if you don't do this, I I don't know, but it's not gonna be good. So I was like, okay. I'm gonna I'm gonna do this, and I did.
Mahara Wayman [00:23:58]:
This is the book, folks, and there will be a link in the show notes for you to get your own copy. Give us a brief overview of the book.
Sarah Markwick [00:24:06]:
So, it's called Can This Be Right? And it's about what happens when we ask ourselves that question, honestly, about the big stuff in life and realize that the answer is not yes for everything. And that there may be a delta between the things that we thought we wanted and the things that we have, and what do we do when that happens. It's really about an existential crisis, which I think for me came from just not asking myself that question enough. And then when I finally did, seeing that I was I was there was a big gap there, and how was I going to close it?
Mahara Wayman [00:24:46]:
Did you answer any questions for yourself once you finished the book?
Sarah Markwick [00:24:51]:
I think at the beginning, I really wasn't sure what was most, important to me, in life, you know, sticking with the plan, and sticking with the marriage, for the long term payoff. And, obviously, I came to a decision on that. So, that came through through the book. I think I also learned how important creativity is to me, and that it's okay to start building my life around that kind of stuff. I created, like, a studio space in my place where I can do work. I created a block in my day. I I'm I work best creatively in the morning, so where I don't have any meetings scheduled. And if I do feel like doing something creative, I'm I'm setting it up at the best time of day for me to be able to do that.
Sarah Markwick [00:25:40]:
And I also changed the way I looked at writing, which is not that it's this laborious job that you have to, you know, have a very regimented schedule around. That idea never really worked for me. But that it's something that you can do that's fun, that's playful, that brings you joy. And that is way more appealing to me to be like, let's play around for a few hours as opposed to let's get up at this time, have a coffee, and sit down, and we're doing eight pages or two hours or whatever it is before we're doing anything else. I didn't know how I could ever write like that, and changing my perspective on how I could create made a big difference in the amount I was able to do and the way that I looked at it.
Mahara Wayman [00:26:23]:
It sounds like you really got to know yourself better through that experience.
Sarah Markwick [00:26:27]:
Yeah. Yeah. For sure. It's all out there, man. Like, you know, it was it was also coming to terms with, like that book was an experiment on what happens if I put all of this out there. What happens for myself? What is the reaction from the reader? You know? What does this do? And that has kind of taken away a lot of shame. Like, now when I'm worried about doing something, you know, should I get on stage and sing karaoke? Well, you wrote about having sex, so what's harder?
Mahara Wayman [00:27:00]:
Really? You know? What about the reaction? Because it's been very well received. Can you share can you talk a little bit about that?
Sarah Markwick [00:27:09]:
I think my favorite feedback that I've gotten is this book made me uncomfortable.
Mahara Wayman [00:27:14]:
Oh, powerful.
Sarah Markwick [00:27:15]:
Yeah. Yep. So that's been fun. One thing I didn't expect was the amount of sharing I get back from folks who have read the book. It's almost like, it's given them permission to share something as well, or maybe they've read that and thought that must feel good to express, and they've done that too. And at times, that's made me feel a little bit like, oh, I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to respond to this, but, you know, I've just gone default to just listen and appreciate that the book has, made somebody feel something and wanna share it with you. So it's felt like, the kind of work that has, you know, either created an intimate connection with me and the reader or not, if it's not your
Mahara Wayman [00:28:02]:
thing. Well, it it kinda goes back to this whole definition of of creativity is, you know, our our artwork. You know, when we think about what's the reason for artwork or what's the reason for books and paintings and drawings and conversations and podcasts, all of this. Really, I think the reason is to connect and to learn and experience. So I wanna say kudos to you for having your first book be such a connector and such a piece of art that it moves people to feel, whether it's uncomfortable, excited, connected, alone. You know, whatever it makes them feel, that's a testament to the words and to the skill that to of the story that you were sharing. So I just wanna say, good job. And, also, guys, it is so badass to put yourself out there in the world.
Mahara Wayman [00:28:47]:
You think doing a podcast where, you know, handful or hundreds of people can listen to you? Putting your book out there is something else. It took me hours to hit. I self published my book as well. Took me hours, two hours in fact, to hit the publish. I labored over the editing for days and days and days, and my book's even smaller than yours. Right? But when I finally pushed the publish button, I burst into tears and sobbed on my front lawn. I was like, now what have I done? Should I take it back?
Sarah Markwick [00:29:19]:
Really?
Mahara Wayman [00:29:21]:
Oh, I was a mess. I was a total mess. And just like your book, I'll share that I had almost the exact same experience podcast, when I decided to do this podcast this podcast a year and a bit ago, I woke up one morning and I went, it's time to do a podcast. And I'm gonna call it The Art of Badassery, and I'm gonna start right fucking now. And within two days, the artwork was done. People were lined up. And, you know what I mean? Like, it was just done, and I realized that wasn't me. That was the that was the divine.
Mahara Wayman [00:29:59]:
That was the universe that's channeling me. I happened to just line up. It's like I I just opened up my eyes. I got to the right spot and everything aligned, and this idea came. And guys, that's part of being a badass is being open to the signals that you are on the track that you wanna be, that you're meant to be on. Right? So when you have that niggle, Sarah talked about it earlier, listen to the niggle, Whether the niggle is telling you to go forward or stop or look sideways, the niggle is there for a reason. And when it all comes together, you have these experiences where I'm exactly where I'm meant to be. Even if it's uncomfortable, I know I meant to be here.
Mahara Wayman [00:30:39]:
There's something greater gonna come out of my experience in this moment. Maybe it's a podcast. Maybe it's a book. Maybe it's meeting the love of your life. Or maybe it's just being happy in your body. Whatever the whatever the thing is, never stop looking for it because that is the crux of badassery in in my humble opinion. Okay. So you work.
Mahara Wayman [00:31:00]:
You have the book. You do this amazing work. Is there anything else coming down the pike for you that you'd like to share with our audience?
Sarah Markwick [00:31:07]:
Oh, so I'm thinking about how to continue to share this book. And so when you're starting out like me, total amateur author self publishing her first amateur book, right, you're out there kinda doing everything promotion wise yourself. A lot of that at the beginning stages is social media, and I I really dislike using social media. I mean, we won't go into that, but, I'm really uncomfortable with using it, to promote my stuff. It just doesn't feel right. So I'm currently thinking about like, the book in the book launches that I was doing, I did an author talk, and I did a couple of readings. I loved that. You know? I love talking.
Sarah Markwick [00:31:54]:
I love talking in front of people. I love that feeling of holding an audience. I love having hearing people laugh. That was so energizing. So I am on the lookout for opportunities to do that kind of stuff around Vancouver. And then I'm thinking about, like, do I wanna put a monologue together? Is that something one, that I wanna do? Monologuing. This is a thing? These are the things that I'm looking at right now. I'm trying to slow down a little bit though.
Sarah Markwick [00:32:21]:
Like, I'm so like you, Mahara, like, idea comes into my head. I'm like, oh, my gosh. Let's do all the things. Like, buddy, just your book just came out. Just chill out. It's fine. Just Christmas is coming. Just just stay curious, and you don't need to, you know, you don't need to go whole hog on this.
Sarah Markwick [00:32:38]:
I can't believe I just said whole hog. I never say that. Anyways
Mahara Wayman [00:32:43]:
That's brilliant. And I you're not Sagittarius by chance, are you?
Sarah Markwick [00:32:47]:
No. I'm Aquarius. Close, but no.
Mahara Wayman [00:32:49]:
You you sound a lot like me in in just and I did everything backwards. And I have said this before in the show. For starting your own business, I did it all wrong. Wrong. Well, I don't wanna say I did it wrong, but I totally went back at asked backwards. I created a coaching program before I even knew what a coaching program should look like, but I had it download. That was another time when I just somebody said I needed to do this. I'm like, I need to create a coaching program.
Mahara Wayman [00:33:13]:
Okay. And then literally, like, the next day, I woke up and I went, I know exactly what it's gonna look like. Six months. It's gonna be clarity, mindfulness, all of the stages. Like, I just I wrote it, did it, done. And then I'm like, well, okay. Now what? So I I kinda went every went through everything backwards, and that's okay. That was definitely my journey.
Mahara Wayman [00:33:31]:
So I love that you are being curious about how you can expand on this this niche of yours and get and get more people talking. That's so, so beautiful. And, yeah, what would you say, just to tie this all up in a pretty bow, what are some tips that you can share with our audience today on how you can cultivate your own feeling of badassery in your day to day life, whether it's personally or at work?
Sarah Markwick [00:33:57]:
Well, I think of badassery as being that a certain kind of confidence. And I think confidence comes from within, not to say that it's not important to pay attention what other people are are saying about you, but, ultimately, that's gonna come from from you. And I think what you said, Mahara, about listening to that niggly feeling, is so important. I think we're just told not to. I mean, we're told to make a pros and cons list instead. We're we're told to check a budget. As an HR person, I was told not to listen to that feeling because it could result in bias, and I could, you know, make a hiring decision and and leave us in a human rights mess. Don't listen to that voice.
Sarah Markwick [00:34:43]:
That voice is not helpful, And I think the opposite is true. That voice is a culmination of all that we've lived and learned and felt in our entire life and is our instincts and our body saying yes or no to something. To me, that is one of like, the most important thing. You know? I'm not saying just blindly leave with your gut and forget all the other plans, but for God's sake, take it into consideration serious consideration. And if you don't know why it's telling you something, try to figure it out.
Mahara Wayman [00:35:14]:
There's always a reason. And that's one of the things I say to my clients. I'm like, you're not triggered for shits and giggles. You're triggered for a reason. Some part of you wants you to go there. Some part of you need it's trying to protect you in some way.
Sarah Markwick [00:35:27]:
Yeah. And it's not always bad news. Like, I think when we get a funny feeling, we're like, oh gosh. Better put put that away. But I think it's super healthy to ask, can this be right about ourselves, about our lives, about what we want, all the time? Not I mean, because it changes. You know? I'm perfect example of that. It changes, and, we if we're not checking in, how do we know?
Mahara Wayman [00:35:54]:
Yeah. Checking in is great. And, you know, one thing that hasn't come up, but I I really I have to say this. I think part of being a badass is is being courageous, and it's incredibly courageous to question yourself. Why do I feel this way? Why do I think that? Why did that comment piss me off so much? Why do I get a gut clench every time I see that commercial on TV? Just keep asking those questions, and it can be very it can be very difficult. And that's why I think it needs it needs courageous action. But you've been very courageous in in everything that you've shared with us today, and I really appreciate it. Do you have a third tip? You've given us two already, but do you have a third tip to cultivating badassery?
Sarah Markwick [00:36:38]:
Keep listening to Mahara. Oh my god. Good stuff. I mean, I think, honestly, we're also a product of who we surround ourselves with. And, you know, if I'm surrounded by people that, you know, take physical exercise and nutrition, to be really, really important. Somehow that ends up osmosis on me. If I'm around people that are, like, doing creative stuff, I'm like, oh, that's kind of kinda interesting. And so I think surrounding yourself with folks that give you this kind of energy is is important.
Sarah Markwick [00:37:08]:
And so, yes, it's not just a plug for you. It's it's a it's a real thing.
Mahara Wayman [00:37:13]:
That is such a great tip, and I can't remember who said it. I should know this because I have referenced it before. But you are the sum you are the sum of the five people you hang out with the most is what heard. I can't think of who actually said that. So absolutely surround yourself with people that you wanna be and challenge yourself by hanging out with people that are a little bit higher up, further along. I don't wanna say higher up, further along their path so that you can rise to their level, like, rise to their energy level. And, again, guys, I'm not talking about money level or whatever. I'm talking about energetics and and the the well, yeah, the energy and the badassery that that they bring to their world.
Mahara Wayman [00:37:52]:
If that's something that interests you, then, you know, find them and hang out with them. Okay. Sarah, thank you so much. I have loved every minute of this conversation. You are an absolute you're an absolute gem, and I just wanna say thank you for all the work that you're doing. It's so important in our workplaces that we learn to get rid of what's standing in our way of being great leaders and great workers because this is what the world needs. We've gone through a period where that was sorely lacking in the workforce, and we really need it now. So I wanna say thank you to you and your partner for for doing all that.
Mahara Wayman [00:38:23]:
And thank you for the book. Everyone.
Sarah Markwick [00:38:26]:
You're most welcome.
Mahara Wayman [00:38:27]:
Can't wait to get into it. This has been the Art of Badassery. My guest, Sarah Marquit, today is a total badass, and I wanna thank you for joining us today. We'll see you next week on the Art of Badassery. Thanks for tuning in to another badass episode. Your support means the world to me. So if you enjoyed what you heard today, don't forget to like, share, and rate the episode on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback keeps the badassery flowing.
Mahara Wayman [00:39:00]:
And, hey, if you're ready to unleash your inner badass and conquer whatever life throws your way, why not book a complimentary badass breakthrough session? Just click the link in the show notes to schedule your session, and let's kick some serious butt together. Until next time, stay fearless, stay fabulous, and, of course, stay badass. This is Mahara signing off.
