Finding Your Voice + Resiliency with Dr. Christiane Schroeter (part 2)

Fire fades. Momentum stays if you know how to rebuild it. In this episode, Dr. Christiana Schroeder shares a clear system for turning goals into action. Her STEP method—Simplify, Tell, Examine, Praise—helps you speak goals into existence, track small wins, and understand where real resilience comes from on both strong and weak days.

We talk about voice as more than tone. It’s your message, your work, and your purpose. Christiana walks through her journey from the runway to the TEDx stage. She talks about preparation, nerves, and what happens after the spotlight fades. Planning the “after” matters as much as the moment itself. Scheduling the next step keeps momentum and prevents the post-goal crash.

The conversation moves through vulnerability, leadership, and growth. Admitting what you don’t know builds trust faster than trying to look perfect. It’s how founders and students learn faster and lead better.

We cover the tools behind Step Into Your Voice, her coaching program built to turn reflection into results. You’ll also learn about a free superpower assessment that connects your strengths to your goals.

You will leave with steps to apply now:
 • Simplify your goals
 • Speak them out loud
 • Examine progress with honesty
 • Praise small wins

If you want to regain focus and keep moving forward, listen in. Follow the show, share it with someone who needs direction, and leave a review to share your next step.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome To Reignite Resilience
• 0:46 Step Into Your Voice Defined
• 1:44 The STEP Method Explained
• 3:20 Resilience In Entrepreneurship
• 6:09 Vulnerability As An Advantage
• 7:31 Aligning Superpowers On The TEDx Stage
• 11:30 The Runway To The Red Dot
• 14:46 Coaching And The Next Step Program
• 18:06 Avoiding The Post‑Goal Void
• 21:23 Lead Into Your Superpower
• 23:51 Resources, Assessments, And How To Connect
• 25:33 Closing And Listener Invitations

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:06

All of us reach a point in time where we are depleted and need to somehow find a way to reignite the fire within. But how do we spark that flame? Welcome to Reignite Resilience, where we will venture into the heart of the human spirit. We'll discuss the art of reigniting our passion and strategies to stoke our enthusiasm. And now here are your hosts, Natalie Davis and Pamela Kat.

SPEAKER_03: 0:41

Tell us a little bit more about Step Into Your Voice. I love the title of that.

SPEAKER_01: 0:46

I think the number one problem really is confidence. And when I'm referencing the voice, it has like two meanings to it, right? One is like you could say, all right, so it's like how I speak. What about how you read? And then of course, you could even think, well, voice, that's also vocation, like my calling. So it's not just how I speak and write, it's also what I do. There's so many things that tie in with your voice that in a certain way, once you really step into it, you're learning how to speak up more, how to actually express what you really want, which a lot of people don't do enough of. And once you do that, magic will happen. You've referenced magic a couple of times.

SPEAKER_02: 1:31

Does that come into your body of work?

SPEAKER_01: 1:33

Yeah, so I do a lot of research about manifesting and really speaking things out loud. And in my TED talk, I talk about that. The German or European efficiency really comes in with my step system, which is the S for simplifying things. Frequently we overcomplicate problems. So start by simplifying. The T for telling somebody, and that's what I just mentioned. The magic happens when you express what you really want, even like saying it to yourself out loud, it really brings your goal into your conscious. It's not just something that lives in your brain and nobody knows it, but it's actually becoming reality and it's bringing it into the present moment. Like sometimes my husband says, I can't read your mind. And I'm like, You can't? You didn't know what I want for our wedding anniversary. Yes. I have to actually tell you. First the simplify, then the tell. And then thirdly, you have to examine it and think a little bit what worked, what felt good, what you will do then in the future. And then thirdly, the P stands for praising progress. So what is it that you really want to celebrate? All these small moments and what you want to acknowledge in terms of the high five, the wins that you've got. So simplify, tell, examine, and praise progress. That's where I feel the magic's going to happen in that system that is over and over repeatable, but at the same time, where you're really feeling it's a flywheel and creates momentum in your life. And that's also the system I'm using in the step into your voice. It's the STEP.

SPEAKER_02: 3:17

And you're like, oh, yeah, there's a whole system behind all this. Exactly. The whole model is going to make its way over into the new book as well, stepping into your voice. Exactly. Yeah. It's the beautiful expansion of my TEDx talk. Love that. And you also do research in the space of resiliency and hence this podcast and what attracted you to us in this podcast. And we know that adversities can come in many shapes and forms. Do you focus on resiliency in profession, personal lives, business? Where has your research really concentrated in the past?

SPEAKER_01: 3:53

So I actually was very intrigued about the concept for a long time until I finally ended up giving it a name. Part of it was really that I teach innovation entrepreneurship. And I think to be become a really good entrepreneur, that you need to understand the on days are just about the same as like the off days. You're feeling business is not working and everybody's doing what I do, what's the point? Then you really need that resilience, that grit to keep going, to keep past the off days and get back onto the on days because guess what? They're going to come back. But you just need to think about the fact that it's like a pendulum and you just need to push through it. So even before I gave that an official name, I observed that tendency that some people give up quicker than others, others push through. What really makes them push through? And that's also how I stepped into that superpower research that I then used in my superpower book. Because I would like that you find that passion to push through the off days, to get back into the on days, and you find the passion to really get your business off the ground, even though sometimes you feel, I have no idea where this is going. But that is really how I got into this. Because I'm so firm of a believer that resilience is really at the end of the day, what is the difference between a great entrepreneur and amazing entrepreneur? If you look at those people, they struggle just as much as you do, but they just kept going.

SPEAKER_03: 5:28

Yeah. They didn't let it stop them.

SPEAKER_02: 5:30

Yeah. In the space of innovative entrepreneurship as well, kudos to your students and working in the space because you're not just simply building on something or creating something that already exists. I imagine that you're pressing them to expand and, like you said, answer that call, answer that need that we don't have the product or service that satisfies it yet. Where do you see that resiliency coming in with these? Are they artificial companies or do the students actually launch the companies?

SPEAKER_01: 5:56

Yeah, they launch companies. And then when they graduate, I sometimes keep working with them or have other clients that come in and they reach out to me. They didn't even go to my college classes, they just reach out to me and they need business consulting. I think that sometimes what happens is, and it goes back to that simplify, tell, examine, and praise progress, that we have a little bit of a fear in sharing what we do because we feel that either way other people are going to laugh about us, or maybe it makes us look inferior, or it makes us look vulnerable, and we don't want to show up like looking somebody that doesn't really know. But I always appreciate a good entrepreneur that just says, I don't really know this. Can you explain this to me? Sassa, just say, show me how does this really work? I don't really know this very much because that is just so much better than just pretending and showing up as somebody that really actually doesn't know. Because we are all learners deep down, but just asking the right question and showing when there's an area where you might not have the expertise, that's amazing. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02: 7:05

Level of vulnerability that comes with that as well. I want to do this, I'm raising my hand. I am committed to doing this, but I also have no idea what the heck is going on. That's a big piece. So you're wearing many hats. I want to know for you personally, what is the thing that excites you the most? Is it being an author, being a professor, being a mom, being a wife? What is the thing that really gets you going? What is your superpower?

SPEAKER_01: 7:31

I feel when I stepped on the TEDx stage, and my daughters were in the audience, my husband was there, one of my best friends sat there, and all the preparation that went into that moment and the message I was sharing, I felt it was all aligned. The message, the people, the meaning behind all that. I just felt like home. It was like, yeah, this is what I love doing. It was a really good moment. And when you watch the video, you can see that I'm super happy when I'm talking and the way that I'm presenting it. I show that confidence that I aligned my superpower with myself. So I really like that a lot. I really do believe that the message of the TEDx Talk moved people's lives. And to honestly tell you, Natalie, I presented it at home. And sometimes people started crying. I mean, I'm getting all emotional when I talk about this, because the message resonated with their own superpower that they didn't even know they had. So this is really cool. I sometimes shared the message, and then people are like, oh my gosh, it totally reminds me of that moment. And then they shared that with me. And that was really cool. And I think that's really why you give it hit X talk is to share something with the world that will make your corner of the world just a little bit of a better place, as I mentioned it earlier. And I have a cool acronym, it's your first attempt in learning.

unknown: 8:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_03: 8:59

Love it.

SPEAKER_01: 9:00

Your resilience, right? We're not failing. It's the first attempt in learning. Your first. Yes. Like sometimes think about when you're sharing something with others in how it makes them feel. And that's that's also important. And just by sharing it, you're already opening up your heart a little bit more and keeping the conversation flowing.

SPEAKER_03: 10:18

I loved watching your video when you found out that you got selected to do the TEDx. You could tell how passionately excited you were about that happening.

SPEAKER_01: 10:30

Well, and then, and this is also a good follow-up to this, and then when you have the TEDx recording, nobody in the audience can take pictures, of course, or can record this. So you walk on the stage, Pamela, and at first you don't actually even know how this all looked like. You just kind of show up and you're like, I think it was good. But in the age of using cell phones for everything and at all times, it's a little bit odd. And so I walked up the stage and I was like, it was good, yeah, it was good. We were like, I don't know, it was really amazing. And I was like, oh and then the TEDx talk came out on YouTube. And my friend that was also in the audience on that day, she actually lives in Alaska. She came just for that talk. And she said, This is what we're gonna do. We're going to both watch it on YouTube now, but we're going to listen to each other on the phone. Honestly, I started crying again. And so I recorded the second video when I'm like watching myself. And I'm like, oh my gosh. I'm like watching it. And she said, Yeah, no, no, you were so good. And I was like, I didn't even know. My gosh, this was actually like really how other people saw me on stage. So that was the second moment of cry. This was actually really my dream. It was always my dream to give a TEDx talk. And then I was like, Oh yeah, this actually worked out really good. So that was cool how we both watched it, listening to each other on the phone. And you could think, how did she celebrate? Those were like the moments how I celebrated, watching it with friends together at the same time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 12:05

Hearing your reaction, hearing her reaction. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 12:08

Exactly. And now some of my students in the class even asked me, so how do you do that? How do you give a talk? And I'm like, I'm going to write a book about it.

SPEAKER_02: 12:16

I love that.

SPEAKER_01: 12:17

And you can do it.

SPEAKER_02: 12:18

Exactly. And I don't want to hear about how you give a talk, but I am curious as to your process, the in-between, right? We have the video that captures you finding out. We have the talk itself and your reaction after watching it. But we know in between, like the preparation that goes into that, andor procrastination or not. Maybe there was just a ton of grit and no procrastination.

SPEAKER_01: 12:40

What did that look like for you? Beautiful, Natalie. There's another book that I'm writing that's called The Runway to the Red Dot.

SPEAKER_03: 12:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 12:48

Because I feel that TED X talk is kind of, I mean, I used the word magic before. It's definitely magic and life transforming, but at the same time, it's also a little bit mysterious. Maybe magic is mysterious. But I feel a lot of people want to do it, but they don't really know how and what it takes. Because I am a creator, a content creator, I created a lot of really cool secrets of how I prepared for that. And I will share them in that book, of course. So I'm basically going to line up my whole timeline from the moment that I applied with my very first application to getting the YouTube viewers past 5,500 views in just a few weeks. It's the runway to the red dot, but then you'd have to actually keep going past the red dot. Yes. So I will share it there. So there's a lot that goes into it. And for sure, I love that you ask about resilience. It is really a hard journey. And I wish now, Natalie, that I would have filmed some of the moments when I was crying. And that was not tears of joy. That was just tears of desperation because it is so hard. Like when I sometimes sat there and I was like, I can't memorize it. You have to memorize the whole talk. Or like when I was like, oh my gosh, I ordered this extra outfit on eBay and I didn't get here. I was wearing all white on stage. And I thought I'm probably going to be that person that spells coffee and then I didn't get here. And I got all stressed out, which hindsight is like totally ridiculous. You're watching this, you're like, no, but she looks perfect on stage. It could have been that somebody spilled something on me, right? There's all these small little things. Well, in any case, so yeah, I'm definitely now glad that I documented everything on camera, but some of the resilience, that's why I'm writing the book, because of the resilience. It's such an important element in this. And when will that book come out? So that's a really good question. I was thinking probably in February, because that's when they when I started actively applying. So it'll be a year after that.

SPEAKER_03: 14:53

Okay. To be continued.

SPEAKER_01: 14:55

To be continued, because as I say, I feel it's my obligation to write it.

SPEAKER_03: 15:00

Yes.

SPEAKER_01: 15:00

Somebody's got to write all this down.

SPEAKER_03: 15:02

Yeah, absolutely. I love that. A roadmap of somebody that's already gone through it successfully. That will change people's lives and maybe give them the courage to actually take a chance and do it.

SPEAKER_01: 15:14

That's exactly it. I want to be the light that keeps you going. That's beautiful. Like in the moment of darkness, they're like, oh, I don't know what to do. I hope you've kind of picked up the book and read it.

SPEAKER_02: 15:24

You'll have a tool that will help you. I love this. So three books for sure that we know are on the horizon. Yeah. What else is um in store for you? What else do we have to expect?

SPEAKER_01: 15:36

Yeah, so right now, what I'm really lining up with is using the tools as workbooks with coaching. Okay. Because while I appreciate reading a good book and my books are super interactive, they even have word searches in there and little areas where you can do like doodles and puzzles, and there's podcast episodes that you can listen to that you can scan and listen to in the books. I also think though that I would like to connect with people in person. So I'm really getting into launching the books along with launching coaching offers.

SPEAKER_02: 16:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 16:10

And of course, very fittingly, then the coaching is going to be called Step Into Your Voice. So really the book and what's called the STEP program will go hand in hand. So you could use the book and the coach, and at the end, maybe even have that TEDx talk lined up as your final outcome or whatever you want to step into. I would help you with that.

SPEAKER_03: 16:31

That's incredible.

SPEAKER_02: 16:32

I think that's super powerful.

SPEAKER_03: 16:34

Yes.

SPEAKER_02: 16:35

It's something that doesn't exist, and I think that it would be well received.

SPEAKER_01: 16:38

And Natalie, it's called next step. What's your next step? What is the next step? I like that. Yes. What is the next step? Because it took so many petite steps. And so what's the next step? And so it's called next step.

SPEAKER_03: 16:54

I love it.

SPEAKER_02: 16:55

Are you sharing this journey with your students? Because when we talk about innovative entrepreneurship, like this is it.

SPEAKER_01: 17:01

You're living it. This is a funny story. So in the summer, I always teach high school students and they come from all over the world. They come to campus and they're living in this beautiful area of California where I'm at. Again, they're not college students or anything. They don't even most of the time come from California and they come here. And they came up with this idea. So I'm really living and breeding what I just told you, that I'm listening to what they say. So they said, I love coming here and listening to you. And you totally changed my life. They write me all these cute little testimonials and like you're so sparked in energy. And I'm just feeling like you gave me ideas about the direction of my life. My parents were like this too. And then I thought, your parents would like this? And then all of a sudden I thought, well, yeah, what about creating something for business owners, for people that actually need to take that next step? They're not in high school anymore, they don't go to college. But what is the next step? Sometimes you wonder. It's like, where is this all going? That's how it came about. And just listen to what they say, and that's how the program was born.

SPEAKER_02: 18:09

I love that. As a serial entrepreneur, I have failed many times my first attempt in learning. We failed our way into this podcast, right? We had no idea. Yes, first attempt in learning. I love that. The first attempt, the petite practice, small steps, big change. Big believers. We didn't have the exposure to your work before, but I think Pam and I have lived it over the last decade in terms of the things that we've worked to create and what we've brought forward and coaching and training modules and the podcast and now the book, plural books. I love this idea of knowing like what is the next step because not everyone is willing, as Pam and I are, to not know what the next step is, but just say, you know what, we'll figure it out. Let's just do it and we'll figure it out anyway. So now there is this guide, this roadmap that you've created.

SPEAKER_01: 19:01

Yeah, it's nearly like you talk to about books. Sometimes you read a really good book and then you're done with it, and you have like this void in your life. You're like, oh, I don't know what I'm going to read next, because you're so good. You're like, oh I'm part of like a group that's called What to Read Next. And sometimes it's good to even line up what you read next before you're done with that book that you like so much, so that the void doesn't happen. So when I practiced my TED Talk, it was so in the preparation stage that one of my friends came over and she said, Christiana, just to let you know, on that five-hour drive back home from Sacramento, you might feel that void. And I said, Did what I said, well, that X is your life right now. If you're done giving that talk, what are you going to do? I mean, you can't keep practicing. You're obviously done at that point. And I was like, What point? And so it was good that she brought this up because then I started thinking about the book, the runway to the right job. I thought, I don't want to fall into the void. So resilience also comes from being aware about those little dips that will happen when you're on that peak of the climbings. That when it's done, like what are you going to do? And resilience really happens and pre-planning and thinking about all right, so maybe I know this will happen. August 16th is when I'm presenting. On August 17th, I need to have something lined up in my life.

SPEAKER_02: 20:30

Ready to go. That's great advice because I think we all find ourselves in that, right? We have the big project, the big thing that we're working on, the big whatever, and then it happens and back to life is normal, I guess, but we don't know normal because we've spent so much time, invested so much time in preparing for whatever that big thing was. Exactly. I don't know if I've done anything as big as the TEDx, but kudos. Congratulations. That is great. I love that piece. Anything else that you would like to touch on and share with our listeners that we haven't touched on today?

SPEAKER_01: 21:01

Well, I think it's important for the listeners to understand that no matter where you are in your journey, the beauty of the petite practice is you have to figure out what works for you. Any good coach can give you advice, but you have to be figuring out what works for you and be in control of your own actions. And you also have to be, of course, ready to take the action, right? So that's step one. But I always feel that really to lead into your superpower. So using another acronym, like leading, meaning like you have to be a good listener, right there. You have to also show empathy, figuring out who your target market is, you really can help. And then also be like really authentic and being the true you. And then lastly, really feeling all right, so what's my direction here? And I think that is so important because we sometimes feel like, oh yeah, I'm going to work with this coach, I'm going to create a company. But deep down, it's a lot about listening to others, to yourself, and figuring out really where is it that my pain point is, what pain point do I want to solve in this world here? Because there are so many problems that people go and they're not solved yet. One of those could be yours to solve. Go for it.

SPEAKER_03: 22:22

Yes. And you are solving many with your books that you already have and the ones to come.

SPEAKER_02: 22:28

Exactly. The next steps. I love it. I love it. And a coaching program to accompany. I've got some books to order. Exactly. I love this. Oh my gosh. This has been absolutely amazing. If folks want to get a hold of you, what's the best place for them to connect? And we'll make sure that we drop it in the show notes once you share as well.

SPEAKER_01: 22:49

Yeah, so connect with me on my website, drchistiana.com. Of course, check out my podcast, happy, healthy, hustle. And then all my books are available on Amazon. Check them out there. And of course, grab one, connect with me. And I would always be happy to help you wherever you want to go in your life.

SPEAKER_03: 23:09

And do the free test to find out what your superpower is that's on your website.

SPEAKER_01: 23:15

Discovering your superpower that will help you figure out how aligned you are with your true self. Yes.

SPEAKER_02: 23:21

I'm curious. I believe them pretty aligned, but now I'm just going to take the assessment as soon as we hop off, just so I can do a double check. Yes. It's actually fun.

SPEAKER_01: 23:32

Sometimes I have people like, oh yeah, I took it and then I took it again just to kind of like see how things changed. And I said, Yeah, that's cool. Actually, that's what we do in life. I sometimes feel like on some days we're a little bit more resilient than on others. And that's why it's so great to know how you can tap into yourself because on those days when it's maybe a little tougher, you can really draw from the battery that you build over time, from that happiness and joy that you created with being aligned with who you are. It's like a battery. Everything works better when you unplug it every so often. Yeah. Even yourself. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02: 24:08

Just plug in and charge up every so often. Every so often. Unplug. Well, we will make sure that we put all of your contact information and links to the books and everything in the show notes so our listeners can explore and learn more about you and connect with you as well. It has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for joining us. Thank you so much. Thank you to the audience too. Absolutely. Well, and for our regular listeners, you all know if you want to find out what's going on in the world of Reignite Resilience, head on over to ReigniteResilience.com. And if you have not already, subscribe to our Think Letter that comes out every week where we dive deeper into these episodes, giving you more insights, more takeaways, and our own aha's. And until next time, we'll see you all soon.

SPEAKER_00: 24:52

Bye everyone. Thank you for joining us today on the Reignite Resilience podcast. We hope you had some aha moments and learned a few new real life ideas to fuel the flames of passion. Please subscribe on your favorite streaming platform, like or download your favorite episodes, and of course, share with your friends and family. We look forward to seeing you again next time on Reignite Resilience.