Ep 242: Holly Sharp – One Hundred Possibilities

Two-thirds of American adults regret their college major and are not happy with their career choices. That is so much wasted time, effort, and money. So many people are disengaged with their jobs, meaning, they feel no real connection to their jobs, and thus they tend to do the bare minimum. There are actually a large number of reasons as to why employees might feel disengaged with their work and one root cause is not having enough choices as a child to discover their true passion. Today’s guest is on a mission to help kids discover their interests and potential career paths in hopes of creating a generation of happier adults.

Holly Sharp is an award winning children’s book author and writer of “Dream It & Do It: 100 Possibilities, Stories and Real-Life Role Models.” Her book explores career role models for the next generation of rebels, dreamers and change-makers. It is a must-read for dream chasers that introduces children and parents to the possibilities of the future through reading and play.

YOUNG HOLLY

What did you want to be when you were a dream chaser in your teens? As a child, Holly wanted to be an advertising executive. When she was young, her attention wasn’t on the TV shows for children but rather, on the advertisements. Her eyes would light up whenever the commercials came on and as soon as the ads were over, she would go back to playing with her toys. With a love for advertising ever since she was a kid, Holly spent most of her life focusing on this career path. She believed that advertising was the most interesting way to communicate. 

Following her love for advertising and marketing, she began her career as an intern in an advertising agency. She then moved on to a marketing and product development career for the last 15 years. From ice cream, to bug killing products, to cleaning products, Holly’s career in product development spans a vast array of industries.

TWEET:

[bctt tweet="I do wish that I could talk to teenage Holly and say there’s a great career where you can be your own boss. I wish I’d known then what I know now, but at least I got here. @Dream_Itanddoit #chasingdreams" username="aimeej21"]

JUMPING INTO A NEW CAREER

What were your thoughts around jumping into the new area of children’s book writing? Holly was blessed with parents who instilled a strong self-esteem in her which gave her the confidence to do anything she set her mind to. She always believed that she can finish anything she starts. Despite being afraid of failure, she needed this book to exist for her daughter. She knew that if things go wrong and the book doesn't sell, she would have created a powerful book for her daughter and it would have been 6 months well spent.   

ONE HUNDRED POSSIBILITIES

Why did you choose this topic for your book? A self-proclaimed problem-solver, Holly loves to think about the things that people need and always tries to find out how to make those things come to life. “Knowing in high school what I wanted to do with my life set me up for the right path.”

She wanted her child to have the same opportunities, so she searched for books to guide her, but came up short. That’s when she thought, ‘why not write the book for my child that she needs and that will also help others?”

Her award-winning book, Dream It & Do It introduces children and parents to a wide range of career possibilities. In it you will find 100 stories featuring 100 role models, each one showcasing a different career choice. She goes deep into the details of the challenges and lessons that these role models have learned in their journey. 

TWEET:

[bctt tweet="Holly wanted to make sure that all types of kids could see themselves in her book.

Two-thirds of American adults regret their college major and are not happy with their career choices. That is so much wasted time, effort, and money. So many people are disengaged with their jobs, meaning, they feel no real connection to their jobs, and thus they tend to do the bare minimum. There are actually a large number of reasons as to why employees might feel disengaged with their work and one root cause is not having enough choices as a child to discover their true passion. Today’s guest is on a mission to help kids discover their interests and potential career paths in hopes of creating a generation of happier adults.

Holly Sharp is an award winning children’s book author and writer of “Dream It & Do It: 100 Possibilities, Stories and Real-Life Role Models.” Her book explores career role models for the next generation of rebels, dreamers and change-makers. It is a must-read for dream chasers that introduces children and parents to the possibilities of the future through reading and play.

YOUNG HOLLY

What did you want to be when you were a dream chaser in your teens? As a child, Holly wanted to be an advertising executive. When she was young, her attention wasn’t on the TV shows for children but rather, on the advertisements. Her eyes would light up whenever the commercials came on and as soon as the ads were over, she would go back to playing with her toys. With a love for advertising ever since she was a kid, Holly spent most of her life focusing on this career path. She believed that advertising was the most interesting way to communicate. 

Following her love for advertising and marketing, she began her career as an intern in an advertising agency. She then moved on to a marketing and product development career for the last 15 years. From ice cream, to bug killing products, to cleaning products, Holly’s career in product development spans a vast array of industries.

TWEET:

[bctt tweet="I do wish that I could talk to teenage Holly and say there’s a great career where you can be your own boss. I wish I’d known then what I know now, but at least I got here. @Dream_Itanddoit #chasingdreams" username="aimeej21"]

JUMPING INTO A NEW CAREER

What were your thoughts around jumping into the new area of children’s book writing? Holly was blessed with parents who instilled a strong self-esteem in her which gave her the confidence to do anything she set her mind to. She always believed that she can finish anything she starts. Despite being afraid of failure, she needed this book to exist for her daughter. She knew that if things go wrong and the book doesn't sell, she would have created a powerful book for her daughter and it would have been 6 months well spent.   

ONE HUNDRED POSSIBILITIES

Why did you choose this topic for your book? A self-proclaimed problem-solver, Holly loves to think about the things that people need and always tries to find out how to make those things come to life. “Knowing in high school what I wanted to do with my life set me up for the right path.”

She wanted her child to have the same opportunities, so she searched for books to guide her, but came up short. That’s when she thought, ‘why not write the book for my child that she needs and that will also help others?”

Her award-winning book, Dream It & Do It introduces children and parents to a wide range of career possibilities. In it you will find 100 stories featuring 100 role models, each one showcasing a different career choice. She goes deep into the details of the challenges and lessons that these role models have learned in their journey. 

TWEET:

[bctt tweet="Holly wanted to make sure that all types of kids could see themselves in her book. @Dream_Itanddoit #chasingdreams" username="aimeej21"]

KICK-STARTING IMAGINATIONS

Holly’s goal with this book is to make the next generation of kids happier with their jobs. One of the things that she does with her book is taking the careers that are more traditional and explaining to the kids what makes them challenging or special. She puts detailed descriptions on the career path of each role model and their triumphs and challenges along the way.

Through her books, she shows kids and parents that although these career choices may be top of mind, a lot of hard work goes into achieving these dreams. Dream It & Do It is also a great read for parents to open their minds and see that there are so many more career options than before and they should expose their children to all these options for them to choose from. 

This isn’t a book only for kids. It’s a book of possibilities for all ages. If you are feeling unfulfilled with your career, check out Holly’s book to help spark your imagination and to kick-start your research and figure out how to pivot and live your best life. 

TWEET:

[bctt tweet="We should be spending our whole lives trying things, having interests, and hobbies. We should use our years in university as a jumping off point. @Dream_Itanddoit #chasingdreams" username="aimeej21"]

Holly’s advice for dream chasers

What is one mistake you think the majority of dream chasers make that holds them back? For Holly, one of the things that she finds paralyzing is creating lists and having to check everything off these lists. According to her, dreams aren’t work projects. Dreams aren’t tasks that have to be ticked off of your checklist. Her advice for dream chasers is that if you have a goal, resist the urge to make a massive checklist because it will overwhelm you when you think of all of the to-do’s. Just focus on the one thing you can do to improve each day. 

What is one thing that dream chasers can do today to chase their dream? Turn the TV off. If you think about your week and how much time you invest in watching TV, that’s so much time that you could instead commit to your dream. 

TWEET:

[bctt tweet="If it’s a dream in your heart and you love it, it’s probably better than TV. @Dream_Itanddoit #chasingdreams" username="aimeej21"]

Guest Recommendation: ONE action for a dream chaser to take–

“Don’t be overwhelmed. Take things one day at a time.”

OUTLINE OF THE EPISODE

[03:00] Young Holly’s dreams

[06:30] Taking the leap into a new career

[08:30] Not letting fear stop you

[13:05] The importance of diversity

[18:40] Spending our lives trying new things and having interests

[19:18] Not seeing enough career possibilities

[21:48] Normalizing choices

[25:58] Being victims to the knowledge we have

[26:30] A better way to spark interest in children

[27:09] Having deeper conversation about children’s career choices

[30:17] Go through the motions of dreaming

[34:03] Holly’s advice for dream chasers

[34:35] Turn the TV off

Resources Mentioned

Holly’s FacebookHolly’s InstagramHolly’s LinkedInHolly’s WebsiteHolly’s Book“Dream It & Do It”

FAVOURITE QUOTES

Research shows that kids who have hobbies make happier adults. Kids only know what we share with them. Kids respond better to examples than being told. A lot of the people who are enjoying their life are those doing something they are passionate about.You don’t have to wait to be a grown up to chase your dreams.

TWEETS YOU CAN USE

2/3 of American adults regret their college major and are not happy with their career choices. That is so much wasted time, effort, and money. @Dream_Itanddoit #chasingdreamsMy hope is that I can inspire the next generation of kids to figure out earlier what things they are interested in as a jumping point for their careers. @Dream_Itanddoit #chasingdreamsI hope that this book enters into places where kids have the opportunity to think outside of the box. @Dream_Itanddoit #chasingdreamsI hope that this gives parents the opportunity to have that next-level conversation with their children about career choices. @Dream_Itanddoit #chasingdreamsThe cool thing about dreams is that you’re not on a strict timeline. Dreams aren’t work projects. @Dream_Itanddoit #chasingdreams

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