Have you ever considered how you can become centered and authentic in your business? In this episode, Camille welcomes Sharon Reed, an Emmy award-winning journalist and co-host of Start Your Day with Sharon and Mike on The Black News Channel. And she will be sharing with us how authentically sharing your voice can help you boost your business.

We’re not perfect, but we can keep going. We can be better. We can be fun. We can be beautiful. Whatever it is you want to be, let’s do it.

—Sharon Reed

Sharon shares her journey as a beginner journalist to now co-hosting her show. She dives into the challenges and lessons she’s learned throughout her career, how she was able to pivot to focus more on motherhood, and how she has stayed grounded in her beliefs while also authentically sharing her voice in journalism. 

We have to learn to trust our human animal instincts because the answers I actually believe lie within. It doesn’t mean we’re perfect. We’re not perfect, but trust the process… How can you appreciate happiness if everything’s utopia?

—Sharon Reed

She gives advice to young aspiring journalists and shares the dynamics of the broadcasting industry. She also discusses social issues such as racism and the role that journalism plays in raising awareness, speaking the truth, and advocating for change.

Since it’s going on anyway, we all need to be forced to watch. My daughter has to look over her shoulder. She’s no less than yours. And we’re not going to get to a place where we can take care of these things until you feel the same thing I feel, until you are scared and have to watch that too.

—Sharon Reed

Whether you are interested in learning more about the broadcasting industry or trying to find out ways to better connect to your audience, tune into this episode to learn more about how to achieve balance and authenticity both in your personal and work life. 

The truth is just like you can go out and exercise and sculpt your body, you can sculpt your mind.

—Sharon Reed

Resources:

Interested in becoming a virtual assistant? Enroll in the 60 Days to VA Course: https://camillewalker.co/60-days-to-va-master-course

Access the 5-day email sequence to help you discover your purpose: www.callmeceopodcast.com

Connect with Sharon:

Follow her on Instagram: www.instagram.com/sharonreedlive

Follow her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sharonreedlive

Connect with her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sharon.reed

Connect with Camille Walker:

Follow Camille on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/CamilleWalker.co

Follow Call Me CEO on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/callmeceopodcast

SHARON REED [0:00]

I don't want friends who just do whatever I say. I want friends who challenge me and we love each other and it's real. And that's what I love about this network. I'm allowed to be real, not perfect, not manufactured, just real.

[MUSIC]

CAMILLE WALKER [0:16]

So, you want to make an impact. You're thinking about starting a business, sharing your voice? How do women do it that handle motherhood, family, and still chase after those dreams? We'll listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know. This is Call Me CEO.

[MUSIC]

CAMILLE [0:35]

I think it's fair enough to say that this past year with the pandemic has been quite overwhelming. What stories and voices can we trust and how do we authentically know how to tap in with our own intuition and create a life that we love and feels true to who we are in our mission here in life? Well, today's conversation with Sharon Reed is going to answer those questions for you. She is so delightful, such a wonderful, beautiful person. I cannot wait to dive into this with you and be ready to listen to your inner voice. What is it telling you to do today?

[MUSIC]

CAMILLE [1:10]

Welcome back everyone to another episode of Call Me CEO and I am thrilled for today's episode because if I'm honest, I'm a little nervous. It's the first time I'm interviewing an award-winning broadcaster, an Emmy award-wining broadcaster, so a little pressure there. But from all that I know about Sharon Reed, who is our guest today, she is so kind, so authentic. She says it how it is, but she's really nice too.

So, I'm really thrilled to have her today. She is the co-host of the Start Your Day with Sharon and Mike show, which is on The BNC, The Black News Channel, which has grown from 2.5 million to 52 million viewers in America in the last five or six months, so incredible growth. But what we're going to dive into a little bit today is who Sharon is, how she got involved in broadcasting, and where it's brought her to where she is today. So, thank you so much Sharon for being here today.

SHARON [2:05]

Thank you so much for having me and I almost didn't recognize who you were introducing, but yeah. Besides The BNC and Start Your Day part, but I really appreciate it. I know you do great work too. And so, I'm just excited to have a great conversation with you.

CAMILLE [2:17]

Awesome. Now I have to tease you a little bit because I was watching a video that you recorded at the beginning of 2020. And it was so interesting because your daughter had said something like, "Isn't it time for you to get back to work?" Because you had taken a hiatus from being in the news room. And she's like, "Okay. What are you doing mom? What is going on here?" And then, the pandemic hits and you were at a turning point in your career really where then you really had to analyze where you were.

But one thing that you said that was really I think foreshadowing of what was to come is that you said that you really wanted to do something that matters and produce content that you enjoy sharing authentic stories. And my goodness, you've done it. That was exactly where you hoped to go. So, what was that transition like being at home with your daughter and then having to pivot again?

SHARON [3:06]

I've got to tell you, probably early on in my career, I would not have been as centered. I would have been trying to control what's next. Actually, I find it to be quite privileged in a way because I just did not have that angst or bad energy. When the pandemic hit, I was afraid obviously of what is this COVID thing and how do we keep from catching it? So, thank goodness, we've made it through that part thus far.

But I just said, "You know what? Sharon, you don't control this. But what you can control, you should." And so, when certain calls would come in for certain things, I'd say, "You know what? Respectfully, I don't think I want to do that." I really think I've earned the right at this stage of my career and motherhood to really do something that checks all the boxes. I really mean that. And I think that having that resolve and trusting yourself is something that takes us particularly as women sometimes decades to achieve. We say we do, but do you really?

And so, I really just try to trust myself, so yeah. I probably got on Ava's nerves and she wanted me to go back to work and get off of her TikTok and snooping in her phone. But it was a special time to bond together, to see what was going on with her school-wise, to double down on that. I thought I was very engaged as a mom, but it allowed me to be even more so. You hate that it has to take a pandemic to refocus it even more, but it did. And so, I just think that I've really just worked hard to stay in the moment and not worry about what was going to happen to us if that makes sense.

CAMILLE [4:51]

Now, there are a few things that you said there that I want to dive into a little bit. Do you think that centeredness and being able to say no, where did that grow from? I know that it comes with time, but talk to me a little bit about that. And then, also do you think that the pandemic allowed you to develop that presentness even more?

SHARON [5:12]

I'll answer the last part first. Yes. I think all of us throughout the world were forced to refocus and just get along as best we can in that moment. And so, yeah, for me, for sure. What allowed me, number one, Ava's almost 10 and I don't really remember before she was born. I got to be honest with you. That's the funny thing about children. It's not about you anymore and I knew that instantly before I even gave birth to her. Once I knew I was pregnant, I'm responsible for this being who did not ask to be here and I really took that seriously.

So, motherhood was the first thing that set the table and the foundation for me to be able to say this is what I have to do and this is what I want to do and to release some of that control. So, when the pandemic hits or a pivot career-wise hits, I don't have the luxury of having it all fall apart and just go to the amusement park. That's just not what I can do. And so, once you know that, you can just say, "Hey. I can figure out anything and maybe I don't have it all put together in that moment, but it'll come."

And sure enough, Ava says what she says, but I remember at some point, I thought about what I really wanted and I maybe was asked about it by a friend of mine who works in the film industry who I was going to do a little bit of work for. And I said, "I would love to do a morning show. I'd love for it to come out of Atlanta. I'd love for it to be super authentic." I literally said all of these things. And the next thing you know, my agent said, "Oh, I want you to meet with Princell Hair."

And as we sat and talked and I thought too even though I had had that conversation with myself and somebody else, when I sat with Princell and I heard about the network, I thought, "Oh, well, this will be interesting conversation." But I thought, "I want prime time. Why do the boys always get to be on prime time?" Years ago, that's what I wanted. And as he sat across from me socially distanced, he began to say exactly what I had said, "I like you for mornings. I think this is a good idea." And I bought into all of it and drove afterwards for a couple of hours around Atlanta, which is one of my favorite things to do to clear my head and I was so excited. And I said, "Oh my goodness. This is exactly what I wanted."

And I can't think of anything different that allows me to be number one, Ava comes first. Number two, my work is meaningful too. And I believe certain things and I'm not willing to suppress those things anymore. I'm just not willing to do that. I want to be able to authentic and real with people, Camille. And I think that I'm a spiritual person. I believe in God. So, I'll be honest about that too. I felt like in that moment, God delivered exactly what I had held out hope for and I was determined to create my own if it didn't come. But here we are and Start Your Day was born and BNC was getting that burst of energy. And I say it all the time, this is the best job I've ever had. You know how people say certain things, do they really mean it? I actually mean it. I actually mean it.

CAMILLE [8:42}

Wow. When I heard you say that in that interview, it's been, gosh, almost two years ago now. I don’t know if you believe in manifesting. I love that you believe in God and that we're placed on this Earth for a purpose and that he wants what's best for us. I believe in God too. And would you say that in that moment when you were doing that interview that you ever could have imagined what you have now or do you think it's something that was always living in the back of your mind, you just hadn't quite sorted that out yet at that point?

SHARON [9:14]

I think I hadn't quite sorted it out. There's a lot of us in this industry who achieve certain things, who tend to have control issues. Like I said, years ago I felt like I could control everything. I would literally take out a piece of paper and write down, "And so, in this year, and then two years, and then 36 months from now, I'm going to do this." And that's not what life is about.

So, the manifestation part to this day is still a little difficult for me because I think you can't let other thoughts enter. You have to be purposeful about your thoughts. I love Iyanla Vansant who I really couldn’t figure out how to say her name until probably a couple of years ago, but I knew I loved her. And that's something that she talks about and I'm drawn to people in social media who talk about this because the truth is just like you can go out and exercise and sculpt your body, you can sculpt your mind and I do believe that.

I actually believe that and it's just something that it's a work in progress for me, but yes. I do think I had thought about it so much and then it was delivered. If my thoughts led to that, sure, I'll buy it. But am I as purposeful as I need to be there yet? Not exactly. But that's what life is about, working on it, living it. And I do get that you have to practice it almost every single day if you want to achieve that result.

CAMILLE [10:40]

I agree and I want to share that. You'll have to share me her link or her social handle because I would love to share that with our audience who you're referring to. I don’t know that I follow her, but I agree. I think that when we are practicing the strength of our mind, it can do so many things. I've actually been listening to a book called The Confidence Gap and it refers a lot to how we can allow thoughts to live within us and either harvest them and allow them to grow or we can observe them and watch them pass if it's something that we don't want to grow whether it's a worry or a negative thought.

And watching your career as a woman, you have put yourself in so many situations where you've had to have a lot of confidence whether it was sports broadcasting or being on TV or taking on a new network and helping it grow. Where do you think you've harvested and been able to build so much confidence?

SHARON [11:35]

Well, I think a couple of things. I think my parents would tell you I was a strong-willed child. I was athletic and did sports and ran track. And I hated every second of track by the way. I hated every second of it.

CAMILLE [11:50]

Me too. I did it for one day.

SHARON [11:51]

Okay. I did it for much longer all the way through college and the thing I hated about it was even if you're on a relay, Camille, it's just you out there in that moment running that leg. But what I prided myself on was not letting my teammates down, whatever level. There was lots of people better than me, but I didn't want let people down. I wanted to at least in my lane be dependable.

And so, I think I did develop toughness early on. And I think along the way, I faked some of that confidence where I would marry in my mind, I knew what was right even if it wouldn't be necessarily what I would do. I knew people had a right to do certain things. And as a journalist, I felt strongly that we should be truthful about that. We should and honest with people and fair. And so, even if it made me uncomfortable, I tried to not back down on that. And I think a lot of times strong will is stubborn. I was a stubborn child.

As I became a mother, I think that stubbornness and some of that fake confidence grew into real confidence because I know I can't be happy if I'm not being honest with myself, with others and it just didn't work for me. With my child, I'm not one of these parents who believes that it's okay to lie to your child. You can figure out the language, the appropriateness, whatever it is. I'm not someone who we want to achieve, we want to earn lots of money and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just not at all cost. That's just not me, not at all cost. If it can come in something that I believe in, great. Let's do that. But if it's something that I'm not sold on, it's not going to work out because at some point hopefully early on, I'm going to be like, "You know what? As much as I would love this, I can't do it. I can't do it."

And so, I think we have to really again end up trusting ourselves. I remember hearing years ago and I don't know who said it that at the end of the day, we're animals. And just like when a tsunami is coming and we've read about it in some of the most horrific incidents around the world that the animals trusted their senses. They began running from the shoreline and warning others. But as humans with iPhones and clutter and teaching ourselves not to believe in ourselves, people didn't smell the rain, didn't look around and take heed. Instead, they stayed and you can't blame people for that.

We have to learn to trust our human animal instincts because the answers I actually believe lie within. It doesn't mean we're perfect. We're not perfect, but trust the process. You can't learn how to be a winner if you haven't failed. I believe in that. You cannot be happy if you don't feel some sort of pain or disappointment in life. How can you appreciate happiness if everything's utopia? It's one of the reasons I don't like perfect people because I don't believe them. And we see lots of them perfect people in the job that I do and I've learned along the way not to judge them. It might seem like I'm judging them sometimes. I have an opinion about a lot of stuff, but just to observe and realize that audiences just want us to be like them, human.

CAMILLE [15:24]

Yeah. I think with the age of TikTok, more than ever what's made that so refreshing as far as social media is concerned is that it is very authentic and unpolished and relatable. And I know that that's a goal for you with your show, Start Your Day with Sharon and Mike. You're taking on a lot of hot topics and you didn't start during an easy year. It was probably one of the most controversial heated states I can imagine in my lifetime. What is your goal with your show and if you could walk away at the end of the day years down road, what would you say would be the most rewarding part of being in this show and what you can share with others?

SHARON [16:05]

For me and you're right, to start when we started on the eve of George Floyd and everything else that we were going through, it dominated us. It dominated the conversation. And at some point, Mike and I and the great people who work with us on the show had to sit back and say, "You know what? We believe in everything we're saying here. Don't get me wrong." But at the end of the day, I'm not just that. Okay. I'm like you. I have a full life. I have love. I have laughter. I have other things. And that's not to diminish or dismiss the terrible things that are going on and dividing us and what we're going through.

And I will always speak about that no matter who it makes uncomfortable. I think uncomfortable is good sometimes. I really do. I think you have to sit with it and that's when you learn and grow and stretch. That said, we had to find our rhythm where we still talk about those things, but live a full experience for our audience. So, for me, I think the goal is to walk away one day saying, "We changed some things and we didn't fake it and we broke that fourth wall." We allowed ourselves to be so authentic which is different than diarrhea of the mouth, which we all have sometimes. It's that authentic trust that you have for an audience where you're not trying to gain them and you're not trying to even persuade them. You're just there on the journey with them.

When I watched some things along the way over the years, the thing that bothered me the most in local news and beyond, it's not just limited to local news, is not trusting and respecting the audience. You don't have to clean it up necessarily. You don't have make it fit into your box where we go into a room and we start out the day and we say, "This is the story of triumph for Mrs. Jones." I don’t know if it's a triumph for Mrs. Jones or not until I get there. Let Mrs. Jones tell her story and let it land where it lands. Trust the audience.

So, for me and we're all a work in progress, I hope that as the show grows and I'm just so excited to be part of it. It's a sincere honor. It really is a sincere honor that I don't want to give up. I hope as we grow that that part doesn't change because shows go through twists and turns and they end up with more staff and bigger and better graphics and whatever it is. That part, the realness, that must always remain and I do think that's the beauty of BNC because it's not just, "Let's go to The Black News Channel." It is about truth. I've been a lot of other places with a lot of great people. I don't know that the truth was always evident in our reporting and I don't know that we worked hard enough to be that and to trust that people can take it. They can take it.

CAMILLE [19:12]

Yeah. I agree. And you can just hear the authenticity and how much you care. If you had someone, a young person that was listening to this and wanting to get into broadcast journalism and the way that it's changing, I'm curious what advice you would give to them as well as your opinion on broadcast in live form like the app Clapper and things like that? Do you think it's changing to more of a live raw format? Do you think that's affecting the journalism career?

SHARON [19:42]

I've got divided opinions on this one. I really do because on the one hand, I started my career very young alongside some people who had been doing it forever and they weren't always great to me and didn't always want me around. But I was there and they would call themselves purists and say, "Well, a young person like her doesn’t belong." They didn't know anything about me or what I was about. And maybe I didn't represent who I truly was.

And so, I tend to think that you can have it both ways. We all know those broadcasters years ago said that, "Why are we going live? This scene's been dead forever." The business has changed. Live is where it's at and that's what we're doing. And those people shifted and left the conversation and you didn't hear from them. And then, social media came. "Why would I do that?" And then, those people had to exit. So, I think you can grow. You can be all things.

I think if a young person wants to enter broadcasting, figure out why. I always knew who I was, which is a blessing. I always knew that. If you just want to be on TV because you're pretty, I guess just be honest about that too. There's plenty of places for you too and maybe you don't have to go that deep. Okay. But if you want something else, boy, you can have it. This whole thing about the business is changing, the business is made up of people. And it's a push pull every day in this industry to see who's going to win, just like the news rooms I've been in where you have some really great people, maybe there's a handful of them. And then, you have some real people who are saying, "Yeah. I just want to be negative." And then, most of the people are in the middle. And who's going to win that fight for those people in the middle? Just like anything else, politics or anything else.

And to me, that's the same as this industry. We're not perfect, but we can keep going. We can be better. We can be fun. We can be beautiful. Whatever it is you want to be, let's do it. And I would tell that to the young person. I would tell that to the middle-aged person who wants to pivot. I think we should have more senior people in the industry and not just because of me coming closer to their age, but because they have something to teach us. I learned. I got my butt kicked and learned from people who had been around.

But to me, I will say this, it's a living, breathing industry that's always changing and that's what I love about it. I love that about it. Every day is different and every day you have another opportunity if you're blessed to get before the viewers and do it again. And I think as long as you're representative of who they are, I always like to say that sometimes we cover bad people who mean you no good. Okay. But most of the people who land in the news, I always felt like they're just like us. You may not have done what they did, but they're people. Good people, who may have done something in a moment, in a flash that landed them there. Maybe it’s not even fair that they're there. So, that's where the non-judgment to me comes in and I find that audiences are so, so, so forgiving. The one thing they won't forgive is that fake. When the curtain comes down, that's not even who you are, Wizard of Oz type stuff. Okay. I think they're too smart for that and you've got to respect it.

CAMILLE [23:18]

Can you think of a time specifically where your mind was changed whether it was a mentor that was with you or maybe a time that you got knocked down and then learned from that and growth in your business that you could share?

SHARON [23:32]

A time when my mind was changed, I can think of an example early on. I don’t know if my mind changed, but it was an awakening. I was a young journalist right out of college. I won a contest and I ended up on this national show because they wanted to bring in young viewers. And how I got the job, one of my parents was like, "I don't know how you got that job either. You described the interview process." I froze. It was horrible. Why did they hire me? They did.

And I remember one of my first assignments, I spent probably two days with Snoop Dogg and his protégé, this woman, The Lady of Rage, and she was on top of the charts and they were linked in this incredible music game. This was when he first rose to prominence. He was everything. And I remember I hung out with them and I interviewed along the way. And I was backstage somewhere. They were about to do a concert or just finished. And number one, I wasn't really a drinker. I never did drugs. I assure you I could not have been tested that night or I would have lost my career. The contact from what was going on behind the scenes with these people was a whole another matter. Okay. But set that aside because now we're in an age where that's pretty legal around the country.

I remember asking Snoop something about his music that I noticed because think about how we grew up. It was a hard life. There was gang violence. He had been linked to some things and beat the rap we'll say. And I said to him, "You rap about so much that's authentic. It's a life that I don't know." But it does seem very authentic about his upbringing in California. And I said, "But I noticed something and it strikes me. Here you are, a black man in America and I never hear you diss white people in your music. I never hear you talk about white people, the man, anything."

And he shared something that was so authentic to me and that's never left me. Snoop said, "Because more white kids in the suburbs buy my music than anyone else." And what that did was it was an awakening to me. Here I was young, wide-eyed. I just loved Snoop. I was happy to meet him and God, I got to spend all this time. And I realized it's a business. And as authentic as he was and is, I didn't even realize that because he said, "The one thing they can't do is rap to me saying this or that about them. That's not a fun experience for anyone." And I remember listening over and over to every track that I knew every word to and saying, "Oh my goodness. He really doesn't." And I would listen to some of Tupac's music and I would say, "Oh, wow."

And I began to notice this trend. Not in everything because you had some groups that were out there being all the way raw so to speak. But I remember thinking that again the story is not what you want it to be. And if you go into an interview and you just shut up and listen, the opposite of what I'm doing here. If you just shut up and listen, you don't need to write all these questions. You can go ahead and put subjects down. But if you are a good listener, even a celebrity who's been interviewed a thousand times, I used to hate interviewing celebrities because their publicists like Tim's on the line now right there to shut you down.

But if you listen, oh my goodness, it's incredible what they'll give you because it dawned on me. It's not that they don't want to do these interviews. It's that they don't want you to coop their story. They're willing to tell you the truth if you just give them the time and the energy. So, that taught me a lot about conducting interviews. I’m still long-winded. Okay. We all know this. I'm a very long-winded person. Okay. But when I do shut up, I just want to listen and notice things and look at body language.

Those things matter to me because I do think every story, there's got to be a hook. I would tell that to young journalists. Don't ever think that you're going out to cover the same old fire because this isn't the movies, which we respect and love. It's real people. And if you just stay with it, they'll show you the story that day. So, I don’t know if I answered your question. I think I just talked about what I wanted to talk about.

CAMILLE [28:06]

You absolutely did. I think that's really such a poignant moment to think, "Okay. He's telling me his truth and also giving a new perspective." And I think that that's what real good journalism does is it gives you a new perspective and that authenticity of the why. My husband, first of all, would be super jealous that you spent the day with him. But that's what we need. I'm sure that that was a process he went through of coming to that conclusion and then perhaps thinking these young white boys are going to form new opinions about black men. And what a powerful thing that is. Wow. That's really incredible.

SHARON [28:45]

Yeah. That was a fun moment that I've never forgotten. One of many, I really thought that that was eye-opening and I still think about that when certain songs come on the radio and some certain artist put out different things. Part of it breaks my heart because I just want authenticity. But again, what Snoop knew is that there's a whole story out there. It doesn't have to be one lane in our stories about more than just that. Even though it does enter every corner of our lives and our existence, racism and some of the things that go on in this country and really globally we should say.

But we're not this one flat thing. We're round. We have layers. And in that regard, I do think we have to make the point that we are more alike than we are different. We all want to Bounce to Snoop, that track, that Snoop Dogg track. We don't want to feel bad about doing it. So, I just found that to be eye-opening and I don't even know what made me ask him that question in that moment. Maybe I was even challenging him looking back instead of me saying to him like, "You're not keeping it real." But the answer I got was, for me, eye-opening and proof that you can't go into these things thinking that you know everything. You should be as blank as you can and just let it flow like a river where it's going to go.

CAMILLE [30:10]

And one last question, do you feel like with all of the reporting that's been done this past year, really over the past couple of years, do you feel like we as a country have made a lot of progress? Do you feel like we're anywhere near where you'd hope we'd be looking at it from two years ago and where we are and what the reporting has done? What is your perception of where we are as a country?

SHARON [30:35]

My perception depends on the day to be honest with you. There are some days where I'm so full of hope. In the middle of George Floyd, there were stretches where I was so full of hope. And as sick and twisted as it was, I was giddy that we were all forced to watch what so many of us already knew. I knew I had friends, girlfriends like you, who through no fault of their own, they actually believe that all police are good and that if you just obey the laws, these things won't happen.

And my thought was, since they are happening and as a black person in America, I knew different I would think close to birth. Since it's going on anyway, we all need to be forced to watch. My daughter has to look over her shoulder. She's no less than yours. And we're not going to get to a place where we can take care of these things until you feel the same thing I feel, until you are scared and have to watch that too.

But I think that most days I wake up and say, "Things are changing." Other days, I say, "Not fast enough. How come no one's been arrested? No one's been jailed, tried from Breonna Taylor to Ronald Greene?" Can you imagine speeding away from police and finally pulling over and have everything beaten out of you? And your family's told you've just had a car accident. And nothing and no one seems to urgently want to get this thing under control because that's just who we are and that's still who we are today on July 20th, 2021 whether you like it or I like it. That's still who we are. And there are still people who don't want to hear me talk about that pain and that truth and want to tell me if I don't like America to leave it. And then I want to say, "You go. My blood line has helped built this country. You go."

So, it just depends on the day. And what I like about Start Your Day is if I wake up hopeful that day, maybe Mike shares a different perspective and we've got to balance each other out or if I wake up with a little bit of an edge, he's going to be the one who maybe pumps the brakes and opens my eyes. And I get a cup of coffee and we can have an honest conversation where he doesn’t try to change my mind, but he very well may and vice versa.

And isn't that what we want in life? I don't want friends who just do whatever I say. I want friends who challenge me and we love each other and it's real. And that's what I love about this network. I'm allowed to be real, not perfect, not manufactured, just real. And so, when we talk about a place, it doesn't surprise me at all that it's the fastest-growing network because they've made the commitment. They've been put in the resources. They're staying the course. They're not panicking and look what's happening. They're growing and growing and we hear from people. And I just desperately want to be part of this because it's my career therapy that I also get paid for, Camille, and I love it.

CAMILLE [33:57]

Well, I'm grinning ear to ear listening to that because I think it's about time and you are the perfect person to be in that driver's seat representing that voice and that authenticity. So, I'm thrilled for you. I think it's been such a joy to spend this time to hear your calm tranquil voice and how at peace and centered with your mission and your purpose and I think that you have followed that path that was meant just for you. And that's the greatest gift. So, thank you so much for taking this time to do this interview with me.

SHARON [34:27]

Thank you so much. I appreciate that you care and I mean that. I actually mean that very sincerely. I can tell that you care and that's all we want, a sincere conversation. So, thank you, Camille. Thank you very much.

CAMILLE [34:39]

You're very welcome. And if you could please share with our audience where they can find more of you? If you want to share the channel information as well as your personal information, how can our audience get in touch with you and listen to more of what you are sharing online?

SHARON [34:54]

Well, BNC is in 62 million homes now. And so, you check your local listings. We're all over the place, which makes me very happy that I can get it no matter where I am. Online, I am @sharonreedlive and @sharonreedbnc. You can find me. Mike and I are on Start Your Day with Sharon and Mike at 6 AM East Coast time, weekdays Monday through Friday and our family's growing there too. We've just added some more members and I love it. So, I hope people will tune in and I hope they'll get on the journey with us, bark back. Talk back to us on social media during the show because we love all of it.

CAMILLE [35:34]

Awesome. Well, thank you. Thank you. It's been such a pleasure.

SHARON [35:39]

Thank you, Camille. Have a great one.

CAMILLE [35:41]

You too.

[MUSIC]

CAMILLE [35:42]

Oh my goodness. Don't you just love her? Sharon Reed is such a breath of fresh air and I feel like she made it a really vulnerable authentic space for she and I both to really connect on a human level and I'm so grateful for that. I would love to have you join the conversation. Tell me what you think about this episode. And if you think that you have a friend, a family member or someone who could benefit from this episode or any of my episodes here on Call Me CEO, I would love for you to share it.

Sharing on Instagram or anywhere else that you see fit is a huge win for everyone when we have conversations that are raw and authentic and real like this one. Thank you so much for being here. Please DM me. I'd love to hear from you. And until next time, I hope you follow your inner voice, you connect with your authenticity, and you have a wonderful day.

[MUSIC]

[36:34]

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