Finding Your Voice, navigating cultural expectations, and going after your dreams with Elaine Lou Cartas, trauma-informed & award-winning woman of color business coach (Ep. 156)

In this episode, we dive deep with Elaine Lou Cartas, a trauma-informed and award-winning woman of color business coach.  

Elaine Lou Cartas is a trauma-informed and award-winning woman of color business coach, a certified executive coach, and a speaker for women of color and allies. In the past 6 years, Elaine has worked with 7,000+ clients in 58 different countries.  Elaine is recognized as the #1 thought leader by LA Weekly, best leadership and executive coach by MSN, a top 5 business coach by Apple News, and a top career coach for women by Life Coach Magazine. Elaine offers a trauma-informed certified space to acknowledge your experiences and that your definition of happiness in work and life can continuously evolve.  She lives in Los Angeles with her partner, and loves Muay Thai and Hot Yoga in her down time.

We explore:   

• The challenges and triumphs of navigating life as a first-generation Filipino immigrant, including the impact of cultural expectations on career choices.
• The importance of self-awareness, recognizing the distinction between being a "human doing" and a "human being.”
• How to prioritize mental health in the face of toxic work environments.
• How to manage burnout, getting fired, getting laid off, and the healing power of therapy.
• Key strategies for making successful career pivots, negotiating effectively, and redefining success on your own terms. 
• The dangers of vanity metrics.
• How to redefine success by embracing “enoughness.”
• The importance of work-life balance, and the power of play and inner child healing.

How to connect with us:  

• Connect with Elaine on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/elaineloucartas/, her website at https://elainelou.com/, or podcast at https://elainelou.com/podcast/.   
• Follow Samorn on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/samornselim/.
• Get a copy of Samorn’s book, “Belonging: Self Love Lessons From A Workaholic Depressed Insomniac Lawyer” at https://tinyurl.com/swpc578c.
• Get weekly career tips by signing up for our advice column at www.careerunicorns.com.