177: Removing the Mask of Success and Facing the Realities of Depression with CEO Lisa Brown Alexander

Lisa Brown Alexander  grew up in Montreal, Canada, the daughter of conservative Jamaican parents, who taught her the importance of hard work. During her childhood in Canada, Lisa says she was oriented to social causes and organizations, an influence she had no idea would play such a major role in her later work.

After graduating from Howard University and rising up through the ranks in other organizations as an HR executive -- to the point where she had the corner office with the rubber tree plant -- Lisa had to face her reality: she wasn't professionally fulfilled, no matter how "successful" she seemed. She decided to take a major leap of faith and start her business, Non Profit HR, while pregnant at the time with her third child and going through what later became a divorce.

Nearly two decades later, her Washington, D.C.-based business -- Non Profit HR -- is thriving and is considered one of the country's leading human resources firms with clients such as Amnesty International and the ASPCA. But Lisa is first to admit the journey was not easy, and in her book, Strong on the Outside, Dying on the Inside, she bravely outlines her struggles with depression along that journey and how she had to move beyond the stigma attached to it. On this episode of the Support is Sexy podcast, Lisa speaks candidly with us about those first few years of entrepreneurship, the moments you have to walk alone, how she experienced and overcame her depression and why she wants to empower other women to take off "the mask" and get the support they need.

On this episode you'll learn:

How to get through those early years of entrepreneurship.The value of focusing on your niche, especially one that is undeserved.What many non profits get wrong about staffing.How success in parts of your life can sometimes obscure depression.How to get beyond the "shoulds" that we base on our success.Dangers of keeping up appearances when you're actually depressed or in pain.How to realize when work is your drug of choice.Why you MUST get help if you are depressed.The importance difference between having a bad day or being in a funky mood and depression.Removing the stigma around depression.How depression shows up differently for each of us.How to remove the mask and be honest about what you're experiencing.Why sometimes you have to let some people go.Resources of where you get support. 

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Show notes, links, contacts and resources for this episode may be found at supportissexypodcast.com.

[Music: "Easy" by SPCZ]

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