IAM168- Motivational Speaker, Podcaster and Author Helps Clients Cope with Unique Societal Challenges

Judy Davis, aka The Direction Diva is a sought after motivational speaker, entrepreneur, author and host of the Mighty Parenting Podcast. She is an expert on parenting, stress relief and teen suicide prevention as well as an influencer in the military spouse community. Judy is passionate about providing programs and resources to families across the nation and is the CEO of DASIUM – a brand leading the way in depression, addiction and suicide prevention in teens and young adults. Her books Right Side Up and Warning Signs: Is Your Teen at Risk are go-to resources. To learn more, visit TheDirectionDiva.com

• CEO Hack:  Airtable to track all our data
• CEO Nugget: Capitalise on the moment as they happen, it's the small moments that bring us success
• CEO Defined: Opportunity to make a difference on someone

Website: http://thedirectiondiva.com/ 

DASIUM.net

Facebook: http://facebook.com/thedirectiondiva/
               http://facebook.com/DASIUMo

Full Interview

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Transcription:

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:26

Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO Podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Judy Davis of DASIUM and the Mighty Parenting Podcast. Judy, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Judy Davis 0:38

I'm excited to be here and thanks for inviting me on. I love what you're doing.

Gresham Harkless 0:42

I appreciate it. And I love everything that you're doing too this is why I was super excited to have you on the show and wanted to read a little bit more about Judy, so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And Judy Davis, aka The Direction Diva, is a sought-after motivational speaker, entrepreneur, author, and host of the Mighty Parenting Podcast.

She is an expert on parenting stress relief and teen suicide prevention as well as an influencer in the military spouse community. Judy is passionate about providing programs and resources to families across the nation and is the CEO of DASIUM a brand leading the way in depression, addiction, and suicide prevention in teens and young adults. Her books Right Side Up and Warning Signs: Is Your Teen at Risk are go-to resources. Judy, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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Judy Davis 1:29

I am ready

Gresham Harkless 1:31

Awesome, let's do it. So the first question I had was the hear a little bit more about your CEO story and what led you to start your business.

Judy Davis 1:37

Gosh, if you had asked me five years ago if I would be doing suicide prevention and parenting things. No that was not on my radar. I've been a speaker for a long time. But personal experience our son was in college and attempted suicide during his sophomore year. And in sharing our story, I was shocked at how many families we're dealing with depression, addiction, and suicidal ideation in their teens and 20 somethings. Their kids didn't have the coping skills. And so I wanted to make sure that no one experienced what our family did.

And my son felt the same way after he got out of treatment. He's now celebrating six years clean and sober. He was addicted to prescription meds. That was his coping strategy for the depression, he was feeling. And when we started sharing our story, we realized that parents didn't know what to look for. And kids didn't have the coping skills that they needed to be able to deal with the unique challenges that they were facing.

And more and more, we learned that parents had no idea how to give their kids the skills to deal with things like technology and social media and the added pressures that they're feeling because they're in competition. Their competition pool is so much bigger.

And we didn't have to deal with that kind of stuff when we were young. So as parents, it's really hard to give skills when you've never experienced that. So we saw this huge need to bring hope to teens and young adults because we felt they really need that and to bring information to parents that would help us provide upstream solutions to this crisis that we're facing as a nation with the rising suicide rates and things like that.

So we just began to share our story. I believe that experiential support is the thing that's helping us grow so quickly. I mean, we are able to connect in a way that traditional medical medicine doesn't, in that when they hear our talks or use our resources, they know that someone gets what they're going through.

So the kids are able to say I need help. And the parents are able to go, gosh, I have a resource where I can go to find out how to provide my kids help. So it started out by searching for what we needed as a family. And then I partnered with my business partner who been, the two of us have just taken it to a whole different level when our son my son speaks with us.

And the three of us really have this passion for making a difference for families. And that's how DASIUM, started. And we ended up helping in that space and we had parents come to us and say wait a minute, we want to get ahead of that we want to prevent that from happening.

And Mighty Parenting was born. And that's what we started with as a podcast earlier this year. And it's exploded into a business of its own because parents are hungry, parents that are raising teens are feeling very isolated, they're alone and they need help and we can provide that and help them know that they are not it takes a village and we can be that village.

Gresham Harkless 4:56

And I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper. I know you touched on it a little bit to hear a little bit more about, everything you're doing with DASIUM. And tell us a little bit more about the podcast as well.

Judy Davis 5:05

Well, the podcast, as I said, started out as this place where we could kind of bring topics that are relevant to parents of teenagers. And we have been able to bring on guests from all over the country that has specific topics, and we discuss all the real raw and relevant stuff. We're not afraid of topics like suicide, we're not afraid of addiction topics.

And we talk about dating, we talk about how to communicate with your kid. And one of the things that I love about it is that we're in there, we're parents, we have 20-somethings, and we are not afraid to say all the things we did wrong, and really kind of pull at the heartstrings of our experts, and share our experiences because that's how people learn.

And what we're finding is that our listeners are guiding us to what they need. How to talk to your teen is a topic that is huge, and how to deal with stress. So what we've been able to do is create not only live programs, so we go to universities, we go to high schools, we go to military installations, we go to PTA organizations and local groups, where we can talk about what is really going on with our kids, what are the challenges they're dealing with, and how we as a community, or we, as a parent, can actually parent through those challenges.

So those are our live programs. And then we have a couple of books on the horizon, and we have a parent workshop that's in the making on how to actually communicate with your team.

And it's really more than just talking parents think that they just have to talk and lecture. And it's really about listening, our kids need us to listen. And in the day and age where everyone is so glued to their technology, and paying more attention to what's going on on their screen. Our kids and parents are feeling very left out. So we're we have resources from cards to deal with stress and anxiety that you can carry with you to like I said programs to outreach campaigns.

So we can help schools, we can help organizations get to their communities, as well as help them create things that actually meet the needs of the people that they're working with. So we work with the end user, but we also work with the individuals that are serving our end users, the parents, and teens.

Gresham Harkless 5:24

Right, Yeah, that's huge. Because obviously, you're going direct to the people that need help, but you're also going to those avenues where they also might go for assistance as well, too. So that's a very smart way to kind of spread.

Judy Davis 7:53

Yeah, so we do B2B, B2C, it's all of those kinds of things. And depending on the needs of the people that we're talking to, we're really into customizing because depending on the demographic, or where they are, or if we're dealing with a group of college students or something, their needs are very different from high schools, kids need, or even just a parent group. So we really do customize everything, as well as have our general products that they can use.

Gresham Harkless 8:24

And I wanted to ask you what I call your secret sauce, and your secret sauce might be for your organization, or it might even be for yourself, but do you have a secret sauce you can share with us?

Judy Davis 8:33

Don't give up. I mean, it's one of those things every day, there's a moment and I call them direction moments, actually. But every day, there's a moment in my business, or even in my personal life that I question, Am I worthy? Am I doing the right thing? Because things work, and they don't. And we oftentimes put so much effort into something and then we find out it was just the wrong effort, or we think that something is not going to work and some little connection turns into the biggest contract we ever got.

So it's one of those things that I focus really hard on not letting the little things or the day-to-day things trip me up, just focusing on what is it that I'm trying to do long-term. And as long as I'm moving forward, I have to let go of the speed at which that happens the way in which that happens. And just look at everything with a critical eye, let go over things that aren't working, continue to put the effort in but just let go and truly, not get so caught up in the day-to-day, roller coaster ride that we all can be on and just take care of my mind. I think that's the biggest key. I mean, they kind of go hand in hand. That's why it's hard for me to pick one.

As an entrepreneur, I think the hardest thing is to keep your mind right and know and not let it get the best of you. And just truly keeping that long-term vision and not letting the naysayers and the doubters, get in there and create those little pockets where you can just hide. Because it's really easy to sit behind your computer and go, Oh, I'm going to advertise something on social media. Oh, it didn't work. Aha, my failure. Yeah, it's not like that, we have to get back to the, there's more than just putting your stuff on the internet is the way to success in a business.

And I think that that's really, those three key things are part of the secret sauce and sometimes I do it really well. And other times I don't, I'm not gonna lie.

Gresham Harkless 10:42

And now I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an app or book or a habit that you have, but it's something that you feel makes you more effective and efficient as a business owner.

Judy Davis 10:53

Airtable by Far. Airtable, I don't know if you use it.

Gresham Harkless 10:58

I don't have one, but I'm curious to hear about it.

Judy Davis 11:00

Oh, my gosh, so Airtable, think of a database, and spreadsheet all in one. Literally, we track all of our podcast things, all of our images, and all of the bios of every guest, and we can search within it to find topics. And let me tell you, it has been a lifesaver. My business partner lives in Michigan, I live out here in the Seattle area. And we are able to utilize that technology and that service in 100,000 different ways. I'm not kidding, it was a game-changer. So I encourage everyone to check out Airtable. It is a business owner's best friend.

Gresham Harkless 11:46

Now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And you might have already touched on this. But this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice or if you can happen to be a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Judy Davis 11:55

Capitalize on the moments as they happen, and don't get discouraged. If they're not happening at the rate that you want them to. I mean, every single moment that comes to us as entrepreneurs, is a chance to either move forward or move back. And it's up to us. And if we let those moments pass, because we're afraid to make that phone call, or we are intimidated by the success of the other person or we let ourselves get in our own head. It's those small little moments that will bring us success. And we need to learn to have them move us in the right direction.

Gresham Harkless 12:35

And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of being a CEO. And we're hoping to have different, quote-unquote, CEOs and looking at entrepreneurship and business exactly what that means. But I wanted to ask you, Judy, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Judy Davis 12:48

Oh, that's a tough question. I think being a CEO means that I have an incredible opportunity to make a difference in a very unique way. I think that I can take something that I'm passionate about and motivate other people to help me make a difference. And I think that's what I can do as a CEO lead and make a difference in the lives of people who are hurting. And who may have children that are hurting? My business is so intertwined with helping parents and helping families.

And I think that's really a responsibility that is unique. And I'm honored to do that. And I think that's the, as a CEO, that's the thing that I keep forefront in my mind that I'm humbled that I get to be in the space, where I can really make a difference in the happiness that someone has or the joy or the stress, they feel I can give them relief of that. And that's what fills me up. So I don't know if that answers your question.

Gresham Harkless 13:58

It absolutely does. I think that's an incredible thing to kind of remind us of, and we all should be aware of is that the impact that we can have, and by doing the daily things that we do we can have such a high impact. So I think that's definitely an incredible definition. And I appreciate you for sharing that with us.

Judy Davis 14:13

Although, it makes me tired. Weird. Being a CEO is tiring.

Gresham Harkless 14:19

Yes, it is. Have you ever been on a treadmill for 24 25 hours at 24 hours?

Judy Davis 14:25

10 years.

Gresham Harkless 14:31

Exactly. Well, Judy, I truly appreciate your time. And obviously, with all the awesome things that you're doing what I wanted to do is pass you the mic just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and our listeners know and then how best they can get a hold of you. And of course, subscribe to your podcast and grab your books.

Judy Davis 14:46

Yeah, well there are a lot of different things that we do and hopefully, you've heard something today that you might need or someone else that needs or you can put us in contact with an organization or university because we really want to help make a difference. And you can just go to DASIUM.net or mightyparenting.com. And also the Mighty Parenting Podcast is available to all the players. We are any of the podcast players out there we are often so we'd love to see you over in that community.

Gresham Harkless 15:17

Awesome, awesome, awesome. We'll make sure to have those links in the show notes so that anybody can follow up. But again, Judy, you are awesome. This podcast was awesome. So I appreciate you and hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Judy Davis 15:27

All right, great. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

Outro 15:30

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co

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