This post is sponsored advertising content by State Farm®. All thoughts are my own.

Personal finance is closely tied to almost every aspect of your life. You can’t really separate your life from money. A few weeks ago, I shared the money lessons I learned from our Color Full Lives podcast guests, but that wasn’t all I learned. During Season 4 of the podcast, I also learned a few valuable life lessons from my counterparts and our guests that will without a doubt have an impact on the remainder of my year and how I plan for 2019.

Here are a few non-finance lessons I learned from this season…

1. Thriving After Surviving

My co-host Aminatou Sow recently defeated cancer. Prior to meeting Amina I had never really interacted on a personal basis with a cancer survivor. During this season I learned about how her body was changing as a result of her fight but was most impressed by her strength and focus following her diagnosis and treatment.

Not only did Amina continue to press forward to her cancer-free diagnosis, but she also continued to attract and capitalize on business opportunities which ultimately enabled her to pay off all of her medical bills and continue to save a substantial amount of money.

While medical emergencies set some back, spirit, and support enable others to thrive after their diagnosis. Amina’s triumph encouraged me as I worked through my first and second trimesters of pregnancy. She also reminded me to check on my friends who are going through life events, both minor and major events because support in all forms is important.

2. How to Properly Pitch Your Idea

Starts at 19:48 Episode 8: Listen here

Angela Benton is the founder of the NewMe accelerator and her companies have raised more than $43 million in funding, so she knows a thing or two about pitching ideas. Angela shared that pitching is essentially storytelling, but you should always have a one-liner that compels the person to ask more.

So often we want to tell a new contact everything at once without piquing their interest. Angela suggests developing a one-liner that gets them to ask questions and once you open that door be prepared to give your actual pitch which should be about two minutes.

During that time you should fill them in on the problem, the solution you’ve created to solve it, the market size, who your competition is, how you’re making money, and the team behind it. Your goal is to arm investors with the high-level idea so that you can secure a meeting.

As an entrepreneur you’re always pitching and, while I may not be pitching a multi-million dollar idea, I think this formula could be used to start future conversations with potential partners and collaborators.

3. The Power of Weekly Accountability Check-Ins

Each week we kicked the episode off with accountability check-ins. As I mentioned on Episode 3, I never had that type of support because I’m typically that support for others. By having two other people who were as committed to achieving their goals as they were to supporting me and encouraging me, I accomplished quite a bit this summer.

I didn’t want to let myself down, but I also didn’t want to let them down, and when things didn’t go as planned, my co-hosts Angela Yee and Aminatou Sow boosted me and helped me look at the bright side. I’m going to miss that about the Color Full Lives podcast, but have implemented those weekly check-ins with my team so that I’m still working towards my goals.

There is power in allowing other people to support you.

Joining the podcast as a co-host has no doubt been one of the highlights of my personal career. I’ve learned so much and we have helped so many listeners realize they aren’t alone and that even successful women stumble and have much to learn.

What’s one non-finance lesson you learned from this season of Color Full Lives? Let me know using the hashtag #LiveColorFull on social media!
This post is sponsored advertising content by State Farm.