UNFINISHED (eBook)

And Still Living Out Loud

Dr. Angela C. Hill (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
196 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-9922337-2-8 (ISBN)

Infos

Unfinished: And I'm Still Living Out Loud is a playbook for leaders who are navigating growth, change, and the ongoing work of becoming. It offers practical insights and real-world lessons to help leaders extract what's beneficial for their own development. Dr. Angela C. Hill challenges readers to reflect on their experiences, make intentional choices, and embrace opportunities that drive transformation. Focusing on actionable strategies and perspective shifts, this book equips leaders to move forward with clarity, confidence, and impact.

Dr. Angela C. Hill is a strategic HR consultant, leadership coach, and master facilitator dedicated to developing people and advancing organizations. With a career spanning corporate, government, and ministry spaces, she has worked with leaders across industries to navigate transformation with clarity and impact. As the founder of Created2Catapult, she delivers strategic talent solutions that help organizations align leadership development with business outcomes. Her expertise is rooted in both experience and observation-two principles that shape her coaching philosophy and leadership approach. She has guided mid-level leaders through pivotal career transitions, supported HR teams in designing talent strategies, and facilitated high-impact leadership programs. She brings a unique blend of insight, strategy, and real-world application to every engagement. Her book, Unfinished: And I'm Still Living Out Loud, is a deeply personal exploration of formation and transformation-how experiences, words, and opportunities shape who we become. Drawing from her own journey-from Southeast D.C. to global leadership consulting-she challenges readers to embrace growth, take strategic risks, and use their voices to make an impact. Dr. Angela's work reflects her belief that activation follows observation-that when people are seen, encouraged, and given the right tools, they can step into bold leadership and transformative change. Whether in boardrooms or ministry spaces, she remains committed to equipping leaders to show up fully and live loud.

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Unfinished: And I'm Still Living Out Loud is a playbook for leaders who are committed to growth, transformation, and making an impact. Leadership isn't about having all the answers-it's about learning from experience, making intentional choices, and embracing opportunities that stretch and shape you. Dr. Angela C. Hill draws from real-world insights to help leaders extract practical lessons for their own journeys. This book challenges readers to reflect on their experiences, recognize patterns that shape their decisions, and take action that aligns with who they are becoming. Whether navigating career transitions, stepping into new leadership roles, or refining how they show up, leaders will find strategies and perspective shifts they can apply immediately. This isn't just another leadership book filled with theories. Unfinished provides a practical framework for leading with intention helping readers identify what's working, what needs to shift, and how to keep moving forward. With engaging insights and thought-provoking questions, this book equips leaders to show up fully, lead with confidence, and embrace the reality that growth is a continuous process. The work of becoming is never finished. This book is for leaders ready to live, lead, and grow out loud.

Textauszug

Introduction: Unfinished is Beautiful

As I celebrate my 55th birthday, I find myself at a pivotal moment—not a conclusion, but a pause to reflect and honor the path that has brought me here. This milestone isn’t about reaching the end of a journey but about recognizing the beauty of being unfinished. My life has been a story of becoming: messy, layered, and intentionally incomplete. This book is my reflection on life and leadership. It’s a testament to living intentionally and unapologetically in a world that often demands compromise.

For years, I believed that perfection was the goal. I thought that if I worked hard enough, prepared long enough, or performed flawlessly enough, I’d finally feel “complete.” But perfection is a trap. It’s a pursuit with no finish line—just exhaustion. So, I let it go.

I didn’t lower my standards, though. I learned to trade perfection for excellence. Excellence creates space for growth, reflection, and grace. Perfection demands that you have it all together—right now, all the time. Excellence says, “Do your best with what you have, but keep becoming.”

This shift wasn’t easy. Perfectionism doesn’t just live in your mind; it shows up in how you view yourself, how you talk to yourself, and how you show up in spaces where you feel “not enough.” Learning to love myself, flaws and all, was an act of liberation. I’ve been delivered from other people’s expectations and, perhaps more importantly, from my own.

Self-compassion is something I’ve learned to practice every day. Extending grace to others can come more naturally but extending it to yourself is its own journey. I’m still learning to be gentle with myself. I no longer demand that I have everything figured out. Instead, I ask, “What can I learn from this moment?” I am committed to growing. I am committed to the process.

I am a work in progress, and that’s okay.

Unfinished

“Unfinished” is not just a title—it’s a reflection of my journey and a declaration of possibility. To be unfinished is to acknowledge that growth never stops and that there is beauty in becoming.

For years, I thought “unfinished” meant I was behind, as if I hadn’t reached some invisible milestone on time. But I now know that unfinished is not a flaw. It’s an invitation. To be unfinished is to embrace the freedom of false deadlines, to grow without limits, and to see the beauty in becoming. The world may measure success in terms of finish lines, but I’ve come to understand that true transformation has no end date. I am beautiful: unfinished.

Looking back, I see how every season of my life has shaped me. In my 20s, I was focused on building and laying a foundation for an independent and productive life. Those were the years of dreaming big, navigating early career choices, and learning how to stand on my own.

By my 30s, my focus had shifted to stability. I wanted my life to “make sense.” I worked hard to establish a solid footing, balancing purpose and practicality while striving to create a life I could be proud of.

My 40s brought liberation. Those were the years I began to release the grip of people-pleasing, perfectionism, and external validation. I learned to let go of expectations that no longer served me, discovering the freedom that comes with being true to myself.

And now, in my 50s, I have stepped fully into clarity and conviction. This is the season where I lean into the questions: “God, what do You want from my life? Angela, what do you want from your life?”

Each decade brought new challenges and revealed new lessons. Each called me higher, teaching me that I didn’t need to “arrive.” I just needed to keep becoming.

Unfinished doesn’t mean incomplete—it means evolving. This shift in perspective has freed me from the need to “arrive.” Instead, I focus on creating, contributing, and showing up fully, even when I don’t have all the answers.

And Still

“And Still” speaks to the resilience and perseverance it takes to keep going. It’s a reminder that even in the face of challenges, uncertainties, or setbacks, I am still here, still growing, and still becoming.

These two words—“and” and “still”—are central to how I build my faith, exemplify leadership, and cultivate legacy. Life is rarely one thing or the other—it’s both.

“And” reminds me that I can pursue growth and practice gratitude. I can hold purpose and imperfection together. I can chase ambition and honor rest.

“Still” speaks to perseverance and possibility. Even in moments of uncertainty, I remain committed to the process. I press forward, not because I have all the answers, but because I know the journey is shaping me.

Living Out Loud

One of the most defining influences on my life is my mother, Elaine Brumfield Hill. She was the daughter of a homemaker and a sharecropper, raised in the deep South under circumstances that often demanded survival over self-expression. Yet, she carried herself with quiet dignity and grace that transcended her roots.

A career elementary educator in Southeast Washington, D.C., she embodied strength, integrity, and intention. She believed deeply in the importance of presentation and carried the mantra, “I should see you before I hear you.” To her, being loud—making noise just for the sake of attention—was unbecoming, especially for a young lady. Decorum and dignity were not just expectations; they were tools for navigating the world with respect and self-respect.

But my mother didn’t want me to simply fit in; she wanted me to stand out. While she discouraged being loud, she nurtured in me the ability to live loud. She invested in my natural talents, placed me on platforms to shine, and encouraged me to seek growth as I matured. Her dreams for me were bigger than the fears she lived with—fears rooted in her own life experience.

Several years ago, someone asked me a question that stopped me in my tracks: “You often talk about how you are like your dad, but how are you like your mom?” After a moment of reflection, I responded, “I am my mom fully realized.”

When I shared that response with my dad, he agreed without hesitation. His words affirmed what I have always carried: my mother’s legacy is alive in me—not just in who she was, but in who she wanted to be. Her life was a quiet testament to living with purpose, and I honor that by living out loud. Her influence taught me that legacy is not about what you leave behind—it’s about what you live into. Her voice echoes through me every time I choose to lead with courage, clarity, and conviction. Her mantra, “I should see you before I hear you,” reminds me that the power of presence is just as important as the power of voice. But I’ve also learned that sometimes, you must be willing to be heard. Living loud isn’t about noise—it’s about impact.

At this life milestone, living out loud means being fully present and unafraid to own my voice, my story, and my path. It means resting in the legacy I’m building while still making moves toward what’s next.

The Heart of This Book

Unfinished is not just a title—it’s a reflection of my journey and a declaration of possibility. To be unfinished is to embrace growth, to resist the pressure to “arrive,” and to honor the beauty of becoming. At this stage in my life, I am deeply aware of the need to consider capacity—not just what I can do, but what I should do. I want to make an exponential impact, to live fully into my purpose, and to offer others the tools to do the same. This book is my way of extending that impact. It’s another way I am building a legacy. My legacy.

This book is for leaders at every stage—emerging leaders navigating new responsibilities, established leaders refining their impact, and visionary leaders seeking to align their influence with their values. It’s for those who understand that true transformation goes beyond achieving goals—it’s about behavioral transformation, the deeper shifts in how we think, act, and connect. Behavioral transformation is essential because it’s not just what leaders accomplish that matters; it’s how they show up, inspire others, and create meaningful relationships and lasting trust.

I cannot talk about behavioral transformation without acknowledging my faith. As a Christian, my faith is woven into every part of my life—how I grow, how I lead, and how I connect with others. It shows up in every encounter and experience, not as something I impose or showcase, but as something that is discovered by others through how I show up.

Throughout this book, you’ll find reflections on sacred texts to illustrate how the pathways of transformation manifest in the lives of others. They remind us that transformation is not a modern invention—it is timeless and deeply human.

While my faith is foundational to my journey, I recognize and honor that others may come to this journey from different beliefs or perspectives. My goal in sharing openly is not to exclude, but to invite. I offer these insights and reflections as an opportunity for anyone, regardless of their faith or worldview, to explore the principles of growth, transformation, and impact in a way that resonates with their own life.

Whether you’re...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 19.2.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Beruf / Finanzen / Recht / Wirtschaft
• ISBN-13: 979-8-9922337-2-8 / 9798992233728