Byte: Christiane Schroeter ~ The Miracle Of The Choice!

Hello,

Everyone,

And welcome back to the very next episode of the podcast.

This time,

I'm introducing you to Christiane Schroeder,

Who is a speaker,

A leadership strategist,

Professor,

And bestselling author,

Who also holds a PhD in health economics and is a professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at a top US university.

She is just incredible.

She has her own podcast,

Which is ranked in the top 1% globally.

She is a joy,

She's funny,

And she shares among several of her stories this week,

She shares a really powerful reminder of how grandparents and family are so important and can change our lives in ways that we almost don't begin to understand until we're older.

And you know me,

I love a good heartfelt story about people coming together and grandparents being there for us,

And Christiane actually shares a really great reminder of why these people are so important and integral to our lives,

Especially when we're young.

Christiane is funny,

She's enchanting,

She's engaging,

And once again,

I found another human being who I get along with like a house on fire.

We laugh,

We joke,

We share deep conversation,

And Christiane once again reminds me that this world is full of good people doing powerful work and showing up for those around them with integrity,

Grace,

And beauty.

So without further ado,

Here's my conversation with Christiane Schroeder.

I always look at myself when I was in Germany and I always feel like I wasn't quite the same whole self as I am now because sometimes I was told like,

Oh,

Don't be so loud or something like that or anything like that.

And when I came to the United States,

Like,

Wow,

Like people are much more like bubbly and loud.

And so I was like,

Ooh,

Home.

Well,

Actually,

I'm going to go back to that TEDx talk because for me,

This is what happened in 2025.

Until that point,

When I made that decision,

Which I actually looked up recently was January 2025,

I hadn't even shared with my husband of now 20 some years that I wanted to appear on a TEDx stage.

And I talked to somebody about it,

And she said,

Well,

Christiane,

What's like a big thing you always wanted to do?

And I was like,

A TEDx talk.

And then after that talk,

It was actually via Zoom,

I was like,

Well,

Why don't I figure out how to do that?

And then I contacted a friend.

She had given a TEDx talk,

So I said,

Yeah,

I need to talk to you.

And then I connected with her on Zoom and she gave me some pointers.

And it doesn't cost anything to apply.

I always tell my students and my clients,

If it doesn't cost anything,

Just apply for it.

Just apply for it,

Because there's really it's just the cost of your time.

But if you don't apply for it,

Clearly you cannot get accepted.

Right.

So just go for it.

So I applied.

I applied to San Diego and I applied to Folsom and I applied to a few other places.

I only applied in California because I was like,

Well,

If I do get accepted,

I would prefer driving in my car than like flying somewhere and making.

I mean,

Like some of these dates are like totally in the middle of the week.

And I was like,

Well,

I mean,

I have a full time job as a professor.

So first one,

I didn't get accepted.

And now this is like the bad thing.

I was really bummed.

And there's people in this world that apply to hundreds of these events.

But the first one was like that was the one in San Diego.

I was like,

Oh,

Well,

I guess I'm not going there.

Right.

And I was like,

Why in the world am I disappointed about this?

So here's now my suggestion to you.

If you apply to multiple events,

Whether that's TEDx talk or keynote talks or podcasts or writing a book or whatever you do,

Don't think of it that way,

Because these people in San Diego,

They might have never even opened my fully memorized video talk in case people from San Diego,

In case you're watching this right now,

I did memorize the talk.

Well,

In any case,

They might have never even opened it because the way that it works,

It's it's like an art gallery.

And if you think about art galleries,

There's always a theme,

Right?

So when they look at your application,

They're like,

Does this person fit?

Does their piece of art fit into the theme of my gallery?

And maybe you're the most amazing piece of art,

But just for what they planned in terms of like the theme,

It doesn't really fit.

So it's nothing against you.

You are still a piece of art and maybe a very valuable one,

But just not for that particular gallery.

And maybe that San Diego one was just not my gallery.

Right.

Doesn't mean like maybe next year I would get accepted because it's a different theme in the gallery.

So then the second gallery that I applied to,

Right,

Folsom,

I was accepted.

And again,

The theme was education,

Which kind of like makes sense because I'm a professor.

But at the same time,

It also focused on looking into the future at 2050.

And so my petite practice really ties in with the shorter attention span that we all have.

And so I was like a piece of art that really fit well into that gallery.

And so now.

My takeaway point for you is if you get a no,

Don't oh,

Don't think of it as like a end of the road.

No,

This is like just next opportunity.

No.

No for next opportunity.

No.

And don't take it personal because you are still a piece of art,

Just not for that gallery.

The right thing is just going to wait right around the corner.

So just keep going.

OK,

Yeah.

End of story.

And that's it,

Listeners,

That's a wrap on another episode of the podcast and another reminder that this world is full of magic,

Mystery and very,

Very potent miracles.

I really enjoyed my conversation with Christiane,

And I'm so grateful that she agreed to come on the podcast and share her very poignant stories.

There's no doubt in my mind that she is here to change the lives of all of us,

Of so many people.

And her wisdom is very simple,

But we need to hear it because life is busy and stressful.

And these reminders that sometimes small things can change worlds is one we need daily.

So thank you to Christiane for being on the podcast and sharing stories of her life.

I want to thank each and every one of you who listens.

It means so much to me that you are willing to take time out of your day,

Out of your week to hear stories of magic,

To hear stories of enchantment and to support the people who come on the show and share vulnerable moments from their lives.

I'm so grateful to each and every one of you.

And as 2025 wraps up,

I just want to say it again.

Thank you.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

If you feel like you appreciate what you are hearing,

Please do consider leaving a rating or writing a little review.

Those ratings and reviews mean so much to me and they help keep me going because this podcast is a hustle,

Babes,

And I think you all know it and your kindness and your words.

Well,

They help me keep going.

Thank you for listening.

And here's my one request.

Be like Christiane.

I mean,

Do things that scare you.

I'm not saying jump off a cliff or go bungee jumping or anything like that,

But we can have these moments in our lives where we're asked to step into something that might seem unnerving,

That might make us a little scared because maybe we can't even conceive that we can do this task or we can accept this invitation.

It's really scary putting yourself out on a limb and creating something entirely new for the world.

But,

You know,

Maybe start with baby steps.

I don't know what it is that scares you because each and every one of us is going to be different.

But hey,

Why not live largely and boldly and take that chance?

I'm so excited to see what you all are going to bring into the world,

Because honestly,

Each and every one of my listeners is just a brave,

Big hearted soul.

And I know we're all dreaming big and envisioning big and imagining a world where everyone gets along and that we all actually like each other and that we're all bringing beauty into the world for everyone else.

So be like Christiane and dream big and then and then have the guts to bring your vision into the world.

And that's it.

That's my message for this week.

Be like Christiane.

And I'm just going to sit back in this lazy boy as this year wraps up and just wait and watch to see what all of you are going to bring into this big,

Big,

Beautiful world.