Carla Moore was already successful. She had an MBA and was an HBO executive. She was also constantly on the go, over 40, single, and she weighed 350 pounds. In one split second, she crashed into a concrete divider going 55 mph. She survived the crash, but it gave her pause to reflect on her life.

She realized that the life that she almost lost, was not the exact life that she wanted to live. She took time to get clear on what she wanted and took steps to achieve those things. As she worked on herself, everything in her life improved even her already successful career trajectory.

Carla is here today to share her amazing story with us. She talks about what it means to really transform your life and three steps that anyone can do to begin that transformation process. Carla has a quick wit and shares inspirational messages from her new book Crash!: Leading Through The Wreckage: Using Personal Power To Transform Your Leadership.

During this interview, we also learn how Carla is transforming her life yet again and beginning a new speaking and coaching career, so she can help others find their passion and purpose which will lead to their ultimate power. This episode is a must listen for anyone interested in living a life that is a little bit or a whole lot better.

Highlights

[04:31] A few years ago, Carla was in a car crash that didn’t take her life, but it did change it.
[05:04] Carla was caught in the rat race as an exec at HBO she was always traveling from city to city and not really connecting with her purpose in life.
[05:19] She was leaving the Chicago airport and her mind was wandering as she crashed head on into a concrete medium at 55 miles per hour. She was in a convertible and not wearing her seat belt.
[05:36] As she was lying on the emergency room table, it hit her that if she had died today, she would have died without living the life that she had imagined.
[05:39] She was over 350 pounds, turning 40, single, and had no kids.
[05:54] The very next day, she decided to live the life that she had imagined and absolutely have everything that she wanted.
[06:11] In one year, she lost over a hundred and fifty pounds, she ran her first 5k and triathlon, and traveled to Italy.
[06:20] She wrote down four things she wanted to do. Now, she was aware of her vision for life.
[06:39] After she had remarkable results, she knew it was her calling to help other people step into transformation.
[07:11] You have to write things down to claim it and make it real.
[07:42] What you see and think about the most you can draw to you. Carla envisioned the life that she wanted.
[08:33] She started taking steps for each thing that she had written down to make them happen.
[10:01] Crash moments are transformations in disguise.
[11:42] Crash moments are those pivotal moments in your life when you have to make a decision to fall up or fall down.
[12:23] Use your moment to pivot and create the life that you want.
[12:55] The first step when you find yourself in a crash moment is to acknowledge it.
[13:21] What is happening in this moment? What thoughts and clarity are coming from this crash moment? Write those down.
[13:46] Imagine what you want your life to look like outside of this moment. What you see in your head you literally can make happen.
[16:11] Passion + Purpose = Power This equation can help you if you don’t know what you want.
[16:54] What excites you, feeds your spirit, drains your soul. You have to have a foundation of who you are.
[17:38] Passion is for you and purpose is for others. How are you going to serve the world?
[19:49] Carla had been dieting since she was eight years old. She did the work, but the sustainable piece was the inner work.
[21:59] She had to find out why she was doing what she did.
[25:55] Most of the time we just have to be willing to keep going past the pain.
[26:32] What you want is just around the corner. To get what you want, you have to move with force.
[31:19] Carla carried fear, because she was moving in the world as someone who was morbidly obese. She had fear of stepping forward.
[32:58] Bravery is moving through fear anyway.
[34:20] She knew having an MBA would give her a leg up. She put herself in positions to win in spite of being anxious about meeting people. She knew what she should do, she just probably could have done things faster.
[36:17] Her career trajectory at HBO was so much steeper after her crash moment.
[37:04] Once a leader knows who they are, what they’re here to do, and what they’re in it for they will show up confident.
[37:47] Your personal transformation can lead to a career and leadership transformation.
[44:40] Women leaders bring nurturing and care for people and comfortable team environments. Sometimes we can be too soft. We need to stand in the space of our decisions.
[46:40] Carla practices self-care with spa days and turning her phone off.
[47:13] She surrounds herself with people who believe in her.
[47:19] It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress.
[48:04] Carla is expanding her business and starting a leadership training development business.
[49:17] Know who you are. Self knowledge is the key to any transformation.