On this episode of Ask The Experts, Alka Sharma talks to Tonya Gossage, a high performance coach, consultant, trainer, economist for Media Marketing And Money Magazine, and podcast host who helps entrepreneurs grow and monetise their visibility and influence.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• I started in corporate very young in banking, starting from the bottom and working up to a director EVP position which was my goal. I wanted to show people – mainly my classmates and family – that I could do something better and greater than they could, because I’d dropped out of school to get married, without a college degree. It wasn’t a pretty mission, it was more about proving something than doing something for myself at the time. But as time grew on it did become more about me.
• I eventually got my mentor’s job, which is what I wanted unbeknownst to him. That started a habit for me of setting goals, setting milestones to get to that goal, and mindset and visualisation is what has got me to every success goal that I’ve ever wanted. But, the last 3 years of that job I was stressed out, burned out, and I needed something different, so I left there after 34 years to start the career that I have in entrepreneurship today.
• You have to have the mindset to know where you want to go, you can’t let that negativity set in – and it will try to set in and attack you. Visualise yourself there, dress the part, and always be aware of what’s going on around you, that’s very critical to the visualisation too. I always watched the mentors and leaders that were in higher roles than me and how they did things, the way they dressed, and mimicked what they were doing and the way they managed.
• If you truly want to change and move forward you have a choice to make: You can make the decision that you’re comfortable in this negative position that you’re in (being comfortable in negativism is easy). But, making that step forward to a positive change, the ground is shaky and it’s hard because people are saying “Look at her/him, what are they trying to accomplish, they’re on a mission, they’re trying to be goody-goody-two-shoe”. When you make that decision people are going to start being uncomfortable around you and may not want you in that circle any more, or vice versa. So, it actually becomes an easy decision because you both want to make a common decision to separate. Go ahead and make the move, it’ll be over!

BEST MOMENTS

‘I had a mission, a vision, a passion, and a purpose to do something big because I dropped out of school.’
‘Write down three things that you’re going to do every single day to get to each of your goals, then take the step of visualising yourself getting to the end of each of those goals. This is a daily habit I formed.’
‘As you begin to visualise those things you’re training your mind to act in that way. When you act positively you train your mind to believe certain ways, and it will.’
‘You’ll be amazed at how many people want you to be successful.’

ABOUT THE GUEST

Tonya Gossage: I have over three decades of experience as a financial services industry executive. My career spans 34 years, leading community and regional bank teams in a wide range of practice areas including all aspects of deposit operations, customer service, and training.

I served as an executive for a regional bank during its eight-year reign as the top-performing bank in the nation. This experience provides unique insights and expertise to help financial institutions achieve higher performance in order to achieve outstanding results and gain a competitive advantage.

My experience includes integrating teams and processes through 15 mergers and acquisitions to achieve organizational cohesiveness and culture integration. I have developed, implemented, and sustained high-performance training programs. My strong leadership development skills include increasing motivation and developing passion in financial services professionals. My enthusiasm, high energy, positive outlook, and infectious personality create excitement and enthusiasm among front line and back office teams at all levels of the organization.

My endless energy, enthusiasm, positivity, and keen listening and communication skills create an environment for collaboration at all levels of your organization. My vast industry knowledge and experience across a broad range of functional areas position me to help identify opportunities to improve performance at the individual, department, and organizational levels. My knowledge across all aspects of financial services, including regulatory and risk compliance, competitive environments, and the evolving needs and expectations of customers, provide a foundation for helping your organization adapt and thrive in today’s highly dynamic financial services environment. My ability to help employees see and achieve their highest potential, combined with my enthusiasm, passion and high standards for excellence can help your organization achieve higher performance and market leadership.

ABOUT THE HOST

Alka Sharma is a Real Estate Investor. She has a zest for life, helping her clients gain knowledge insights into property investing. Alka takes her time to make sure her client’s needs are met.

Alka is an accomplished, professional ballroom dancer having competed both nationally & internationally.

Alka is grateful for all her experiences that have shaped her today as successful Entrepreneur, Real Estate investor.

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