What is the Secret Weapon in Leadership? With Jim Fileding
What happens when you decide to show up as your true self?
Jim Fielding shares how embracing authenticity completely transformed his career and life. From leading at Disney and DreamWorks to becoming an author and coach, Jim’s journey is nothing short of inspiring.
In this episode, Jim opens up about the pivotal moment that led him to write his book All Pride, No Ego. He discusses the power of embracing pride, vulnerability, and kindness in both personal and professional life. Jim highlights how being true to yourself helps you step into your fullest potential.
This episode is packed with wisdom for anyone looking to live and lead with confidence and authenticity.
Tune in to discover how being yourself can lead to true success.
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
Jim’s journey from corporate leader to author, coach, and mentor
The moment Jim embraced authenticity and its impact on his career
How writing All Pride, No Ego marked the start of his new path
Why pride and vulnerability are crucial elements of effective leadership
Jim’s favorite lessons from his book
The importance of kindness and authenticity in leadership
How embracing your true self can lead to personal and professional success
Jim’s advice on overcoming fear and living authentically
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
"It’s not about grand sweeping changes, it’s about making your corner of the world a little better than you found it." - Jim Fielding
"Authentic kindness is more important than being right or being first." - Jim Fielding
“Own your story, you are a unique unicorn and that's what you're supposed to be. And if you just embrace that, you're going to have a much easier path than the one you're on right now.” - Jim Fielding
“ if they're not going to be your friend but if you own your truth and they're not going to accept you, then they're not supposed to be your friend.” - Jim Fielding
“ Control the controllable, but leave space for the possible.” - Jim Fielding
“It’s never too late, whatever age you might be, embrace who you are today." - Courtney Turich
About Jim Fielding
Jim Fielding is a leadership coach, author, and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights with over 30 years of experience in senior executive roles at top brands like Gap, Disney Stores, Claire’s, DreamWorks, and 20th Century Fox. He started his career on the department store floor, where he developed a passion for direct interaction, which led him to leadership roles in retail and media.
Throughout his career, Jim focused on developing talent and building inclusive cultures, believing that people perform their best when they can be their authentic selves at work.
Now, Jim spends his time coaching, speaking, and writing to help leaders and organizations create environments where everyone can thrive. As an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, he strives to inspire others to build workplaces that foster safety, authenticity, and high performance. His work focuses on empowering individuals to lead from a place of authenticity and inclusivity.
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A Team Dklutr Production
BLOG TRANSCRIPT
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Courtney Turich: Hey, everyone. It's your host, Courtney Turich with Bold Moves, and Confident Choices. We're here to talk with leaders and entrepreneurs about making fearless decisions and taking charge of your own path. Let's get real, get bold, and take charge of your future. I am super excited today to share with you a very special guest.
His name is Jim Fielding. He is a respected leader. and a C-suite veteran in brand strategy, consumer products, experiences, and best of all, storytelling. He has worked at some of the world's largest media and retail companies, including Disney, DreamWorks, and 20th Century Fox. He is passionate and an advocate and philanthropist for the queer community, higher education, and diversity equity, and inclusion as the author of All Pride.
No Ego. He is committed to safe and authentic spaces for all individuals and communities. Jim spends his time as an executive coach, a speaker, and now advocates and gives back through his work with bravery and mentoring. The Indiana University Foundation Board, The Point Foundation, and various local community efforts in Atlanta.
So without further ado, I am excited to welcome Jim Fielding to the stage! Hi Jim! Hey!
Jim Fielding: How are you?
Courtney Turich: I'm fantastic. How are you today?
Jim Fielding: I'm good. It's a beautiful morning here in Atlanta. We're back to normal weather patterns. As you know, it's been a little cold lately, but it's back into my southern, my southern winter. So it's nice.
Courtney Turich: That's great. You know, we can all take a reprieve from the heat, but it has been pretty cold for us here in the south.
Jim, again, I am just so excited to have you here today. You have such a vast experience of so much in your life. And I think a lot of what excites a lot of us in that, you know, behind the scenes, Disney Fox, you know, DreamWorks reality store.
Courtney Turich: Okay, here we go. And without further ado, I am super excited to bring Jim Fielding to the stage.
Jim Fielding: Hi, thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Courtney Turich: I am so excited to have you, Jim, when we first connected, you just had so much experience. And I was just in awe, listening to all your stories. So, I mean, whoa, but again,
Jim Fielding: That's another way of saying I'm old, but thank you.
Courtney Turich: Like that's, I did not say that, Jim,
Jim Fielding: it's me. I feel it, but thank you. Yes, I have a lifetime of stories. Well,
Courtney Turich: Jim, okay, we're going to jump right in, cause we have a lot to talk about before. I get to some big questions. Just tell us a little bit more about you.
Jim Fielding's Journey From the Midwest to Hollywood
Jim Fielding: For sure. I mean, I'm a proud Midwesterner, a product of Toledo, Ohio, I grew up in a very, you know, middle-class family.
My dad was a fireman, my mom was a stay-at-home mom. Very Midwestern values, very Midwestern, you know, public school education, went to Indiana University, I think that was probably one of my big pivots, like life-changing to kind of leave the state and go six hours away from school, studied overseas in Denmark my junior year.
And then really career-wise, I lived all over the Midwest for the first 67 years of my career and then 25 years in California. And the first half of my career was really pure retail department store. The gap. The second half of my career is consumer products and experiences within media and entertainment.
So Disney, DreamWorks, Fox, to your point, and I had an amazing, I mean, a successful career, definitely proud of what I've done. Lots of stories to share, but interestingly, you know, and we'll get into this, I now live in Atlanta because I was at a pivot moment in my life and career when the pandemic hit.
So I always say that the pandemic. I was already sabbaticalizing and thinking about what I wanted to do next. And like the pandemic basically just accelerated that. And so I initially moved back to the Midwest for about a year, year and a half, and then ultimately ended up in Atlanta. And I actually moved to Atlanta because I got into a relationship.
It was the first time in my life I ever moved because of a relationship. And now been in Atlanta for years. So it's like me and my partner, fiance to be married this September, and my two dogs, And I'm learning it's the first time I've ever lived in the south, like I've lived a lot of different places. That's my first southern experience.
So yeah, I'm excited and it works for my life for a lot. Not only for that, but it also works for how I'm working now because of the great airport and access. It's good.
Courtney Turich: That's awesome. And I, you know what I can attest. It's the first time for me living in the South. Yeah. So from the Midwest.
So we have that Midwest connection. Asking you, those red glasses you have on, is that for IU?
Jim Fielding: It could be. I, I have a glasses problem, Courtney. Like I freely admit. There's this brand, I should get paid, so we'll just put it on your thing, because maybe you can get money. Caddis. C A D D I S. Yes. And they're, they're readers.
They're not, they're blue light readers for the computer, but I will admit that I'm in double digits on pairs. And I thought red looked nice with what I was wearing today, so.
Courtney Turich: I think they look fabulous.
Jim Fielding: I have lots of different colors, different shapes, different colors. It's another sign of age, not to get hung up on age, but it's another sign of age that I need readers and blue light. I love my age, but there's just certain realities.
Courtney Turich: So this is Jim. I'm into readers to believe it or not. And I do have a pair of accessories.
Jim Fielding: Yeah.
Courtney Turich: I mean, it just is life. So might as well have fun with them.
Jim Fielding: Totally.
Courtney Turich: So, okay, now we're getting off track here. The big question, Jim, I have to ask, and everybody is wanting to know, what would you say was the big bold move or confident choice that took things to the next level for you personally or professionally?
The Bold Move to Publishing and Career Reinvention
Jim Fielding: Yeah, I mean, luckily for me, I think it's, it's a combo planner for what we're talking about. I mean, it was making the decision to write the book and actually getting a book published, which, as you know, is not easy, you know, there's so many great books out there that have never been published. And I'm sure that has changed everything personally and professionally to the point of where I quit left corporate, you know, I was working for, after Fox and after the Hispanic Lives, running for an incredible independent media company called Archer Gray. But I left that last summer, basically end of August, 2024, to focus full time on my coaching business, my speaking business, and writing more books.
And so I always say that the book. Was kind of the catalyst or the enabler of everything else that gave me the confidence that I knew intuitively this is how I wanted to spend my time, but I needed the confidence to take that leap. I mean you and I talked about courting when we first met. I mean, I've had a paycheck from somebody else, I was 13 years old, I'm midwestern, right?
Like my parents Put me to work because they were like your allowance is never going to feed your tastes like that there was a there was a disconnect between how I wanted to spend my money and how much they were willing to give me an allowance and so You know, when I got that last paycheck, which I remember August 31st, 2024 that had been, you know, 46 years of paychecks and benefits.
Think about that. And then, as you know, then I became an entrepreneur, right? A solopreneur, whatever this term is, but it all goes back to the book.
Courtney Turich: So Jim, there's a few things there and that's amazing that it really goes, that book was the foundation for you, like that big pivot moment.
So you mentioned getting published and I want to bring this to the surface because there are so many people nowadays, we hear about writing books.
Jim Fielding: It doesn't
Courtney Turich: necessarily mean they're published. Is that right? Can you help us out here?
Jim Fielding: Well, I mean, I think the publishing world has gone through so much, especially with the advent of social media and all these platforms like Medium and Substack and things like that.
And there are many options for an author who wants to publish a book. You can self-publish, you can, there are many different sizes of publishing houses. I was lucky enough to get published in one of what they say, the big five. So I'm with John Wiley and Suds. And I liked being with John Wiley and Sons because they're known for leadership books.
They're known for inspirational books. And as a first time author, I'm very coachable. I'm a coach, but I'm also very coachable. I needed the structure of a large publishing house to be like. Okay, this is how you do it. And we're going to help you write, not help you write, but help you organize and help you design your cover and give you deadlines and give you a grammar editor and give you, you know, I mean, all of those things.
And so I'm, I'm extremely grateful. And, you know, my main editor who really helped 15-page treatment and got picked up for the book, but then all of a sudden, yeah. So I wrote a treatment first.
Courtney Turich: So hold on, Jim, a treatment. Can you explain what a treatment is for all of us?
Jim Fielding: So a treatment is basically about a 15-page document and what most, most traditional publishers want is a working title, like kind of a chapter outline, uh, and then they want a writing sample, right?
So I actually wrote like the first 10 pages of my book, almost verbatim, the first 10 pages of my book are. Made it to the end because they want to see your voice, they want to see your style. They want to see what makes you unique and differentiate, and then of course, they look in the marketplace and decide this is a marketable book?
I mean at the end of the day, it's you know, it's a business company. Yeah, it's a business so they need to know it's going to work and the editor that I was with which I know is going to get into one of your other questions But the unlock for me is after that like then you have this moment of panic as a first time author like you get the deal and you're like, oh my god What did I just sign up for and i'll be honest to you with you courtney They're like you need a 60 000 word book.
I had no idea what that meant, so I googled how many pages is 60 000 page book, right? It's like 230 pages and I was like, oh, I don't think I have that right and she was so amazing because I was 56 at the time when I was writing the book, and she said, I'm gonna make this so easy for you. I want 56-year-old Jim to write the book to 25-year-old Jim that you wished you had when you were 25.
And so, it became a very selfish, cathartic process for me because I was like, oh! Like, and so the book, I mean, I know, I know your listeners and viewers don't know. The book is organized around 10 life lessons, and they're literally 10 life lessons slash leadership lessons. That I wish I knew when I was younger that I knew, you know, the benefit of wisdom, and that now it doesn't mean that we didn't play with the order.
It doesn't mean, you know, I always knew what the first one was going to be in the last one. It's very clear on what the first lesson was on the 10th lesson was. But the in between we played with, and that's what an interviewer helps you do.
Courtney Turich: So you get this book deal, Jim, how, like, how much time did you get to write this book?
The Writing Journey and Finding Inspiration
Jim Fielding: Oh, you're such a good interviewer. The original deal was 14 to 18 months, like, and because I had a full-time job, right? I mean I I was consulting I was I had clients and so I was literally this was a night to weekends my quote side hustle uh And as I was turning in chapters, I remember when my editor her name's shannon vargo I can say it called me and said We want to move up your timeline.
This is looking really good, and we want to get you out. I was originally going to be spring of 24. They're like, we want to get you out in fall of 23, because we want to get you out before the election cycle, because obviously the subtitle of the book is, A Queer Executive's Journey to Living and Leading Authentically.
We knew that it was going to be a political year. Yeah. So, she called me and said, You're about halfway. Can you basically deliver almost eight months early, and I was like, okay, you know what I mean? Like because again, you're a first timer, Courtney. You're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I can And then, you know, sure then like moments of panic because I was like, oh i've got 22, 000 words written and I need 60 right and then by the way you write more than 60 for all of your viewers Because stuff gets edited right and you make mistakes.
And so I was like, oh, get it to write like 65, 000 70. Um But I didn't, you know, and, and again, God bless this, this man I'm going to marry because We, in November of 22, yeah, I have to make sure I have the dates right, I was about at 40, 000 words and I had to have it in by the end of December. And we had a previously planned trip, which we needed because it was, you guys remember it was like the middle end of pandemic, like we hadn't traveled and we flew to Puerto Rico because it was a direct flight, beautiful resort, and for whatever reason, the writing bug hit me.
And I literally said to him, have fun. Go do whatever you want to do. Take the car. And I think I wrote 18 000 words that week. And so by the time, even on the plane on the way home, I was, it just hit me. And that for me was probably my biggest learning as an author, because at first you're getting to know me, Courtney, but I would be like, I'm going to write an hour a day between seven and 8 am.
That was a trainwreck. And I'd be like, Oh my God, I haven't written in a week. And I'd become like my inner saboteur would be like, you're not worthy. And they should have never given you this book deal. Like you're, it's horrible. Right. And then I learned, and I talked to some other authors, that like you write when it strikes, when you feel it.
And so for me, that meant I was in Puerto Rico on vacation. I was getting up at six 30 in the morning and just going, making coffee and going to the computer. And, um, So I basically finished the book, the first draft, almost on the plane from Puerto Rico. So I delivered it actually about three weeks early because I thought, I don't want to deliver it during Christmas.
That's weird. Like I, even though 1231 was my deadline, I backed it up. And then again, we're teaching people who want to be an author. First draft, and there was a second draft deadline, third draft deadline, final, final for me had to be ready, like April 1st, 2023to be out in fall.
Courtney Turich: Right. You know, just listening to how this came about for you, I can only relate to posting on LinkedIn, for example.
Like Jim, I have tried so hard to pre-plan post, and anytime I do, it does not move me. I am a girl in the moment. I've gotta feel it. And when the timing is right, I strike. Yeah. So interesting. You talk about, it's like you took yourself away from reality, and you were in this magical place, and it just took ove,r inspired
Jim Fielding: I, it was a water thing.
I realized because most of the book. Was written looking at Lake Michigan when I was living in the Midwest, and then looking at the ocean of where I'm at. I'm in areas. I'm a fire sign. So I think I need water to call me. Right? And
Courtney Turich: I'm fired.
Jim Fielding: Yeah. And so I love what? Oh, I love that. My sister's Sagittarius.
I love that, but water is a huge inspiration to me. And so I think. Waking up, sitting on the deck, looking at the water with a cup of coffee was very reminiscent of looking at Lake Michigan, which is where the first part of the book was written for some reason, it just worked. And God bless him for never, of course, I ate dinner with him.
I don't want your readers to think I'm horrible. Like, we, I did take breaks, but I didn't, I just, I was like, listen, when I'm in, and he knew. When I'm in the mode, let me go, you know,
Courtney Turich: well, it says a lot about him as well, and the respect he has for you completely
Jim Fielding:. And the fact that he's independent and can entertain himself.
Right. Like I always say, I love our relationship because we're interdependent. We're not codependent. Right. So. He just went off and did his thing and snorkeled and swam and sightseed. Sometimes he brought me home really nice lunches. I didn't know where he got it, but I was like, okay. And then I always made sure, like the afternoon and evening, cause I'm very much a morning person.
And so I would definitely Peter out. Like, and then, you know, then it would be playtime. So that's nice.
Courtney Turich: Well, okay. So through this journey and writing this book, all these deadlines, the real struggle, like what was the, where was the emotion? Like, Oh, something, I got something.
The Power of Truth Tellers in the Writing Process
Jim Fielding: Well, again, this is so good. Like you can retitle this, like how to write a book.
Like one of the things my editor did is I had 15 early readers and I was like, I would subtitle them truth tellers, and so it was people in my life that I respected and I trusted to be confidential and to give me direct honest feedback and I would share chapters or pages. Not necessarily with all 15 of them at the same time.
It wasn't like this mass email and my sister was by far the number one truth teller because she, I had to fly to Phoenix and have the conversation with her and my mother, because my book is very personal, but guess what? It's not just my story. It's their story too, right? And so I had to make sure that they were comfortable with that she, my sister, Jill, was unbelievable in telling me to go deeper.
Like, she's like, you're skimming the surface. If you're going to do this, just go for it. And I was like, okay, are we ready? You know, and she was like, yeah. And then I had a couple of dear friends actually who had written books before. And one, um, It doesn't matter who it is, but one said to me, because at one point, the book kind of at the beginning of the prologue said, this is not an autobiography.
This is a leadership of life lesson book. And she, she's kind of cried BS on that. And she said, Jim, this is completely your story. Like, why aren't you just owning it? Right? Like, just yeah. Own it from the beginning that you're telling your story and your anecdotes it hopefully to help other people learn and once you know, so those early readers and truth tellers were huge influencers on.
Me basically going more vulnerable, going more honest, telling the hard stuff. And I wanted to do that, Courtney, because I, you know, people look, even when I was listening to you introduce me and people are like, Oh my God, this guy's had like this magical career, magical life. What they don't see is all of the insecurities, all of the failures, all of the mistakes, all of the self doubt.
That riddled, you know, that career path. Right. And I thought it was so important for younger people in particular to be like, it isn't all milk and honey. Right. It's, it's work. And I personally and professionally had to grow and had to take risks and had to make mistakes and had a coach and had a therapist.
And I needed to share that because so many times, I think, particularly when you mentioned like LinkedIn and Instagram and Facebook, people are like, it's a little bit of that Facebook fake thing. And I'm like, no, like it's, it's, I'm proud of what I've done. I love the people I've worked with. I'm at a great place.
But let me tell you, there were some dark moments and that's normal. Like I had to normalize, but I needed permission, particularly for my sister to go over some of the hardest parts.
Courtney Turich: Yeah. Wow. And, you know, those are truth tellers. We all need truth tellers in our life.
Jim Fielding: 100%. 100%. I mean, I, they're like your board of directors or your board of advisors, right?
Yes. Like, for sure. And then a lot of them are my personal board of advisors, but they also happen to be good for early readership. And I made that they had to volunteer. It wasn't like I drafted them, but it was a job, right? To be an early reader was a job.
Courtney Turich: So Jim, now, you know, we've talked about all ego and all pride, no ego is the book, correct?
Yes. Before we get into the big last question, I want you to share what do you think, and this might be very hard. Do you give 10 life lessons? What are your favorite top three that can lead us?
Top Life Lessons for Personal Growth and Self-Awareness
Jim Fielding: Oh, I love this question. it's lesson, it's lesson one, three, and ten. So lesson one is control the controllable, but leave space for the possible.
lesson ten is authentic kindness is more important than being right or being first. And lesson three is don't let anyone dim your light and those three are my personal favorites, I would say, particularly lesson three, when I'm out, you know, speaking to, you know, groups or on the book tour, lesson three really hits home for people.
It's also kind of known as the bully chapter. And there's a couple of other ones. I mean, there's, I like all my lessons, but those are my three. I think the one that makes people laugh, there's two that make people laugh one. Lesson nine is selfish is not a bad word. And there's a life lesson that's called, how do you define it?
How do you define enough makes people laugh? There's a lot of it. And the way the lessons go, there's kind of a dark one and then a happy one.
Courtney Turich: Way to take us on a rollercoaster.
Jim Fielding: But those three, one, three, and 10.
Courtney Turich: Well, those first three, I will tell you really got me and actually made me a little emotional because it's something that really resonates with me.
Jim Fielding: Yeah, for sure.
Courtney Turich: so thank you for that.
Jim Fielding: They're very, it's, they're very personal and very, to your point, very universal. I mean, I tried. Even though the subtitle is a queer executive's journey I tried to make sure that the life lessons were applicable to everybody It wasn't like I always say the life lessons say don't say control the controllable But leave space for the possible and be a gay man, right?
Like that's not the life lesson, I wanted I wanted universal my truths, but I wanted them to be universal truths too.
Courtney Turich: So this book is for everyone
Jim Fielding: for sure.
Courtney Turich: And with your stories to help it to become relatable to us all. And to do that reflection upon ourselves, which we all need to do.
Jim Fielding: It's all about self awareness.
Self actualization in a lot of cases. I mean, some of my favorite moments on the tour are, you know, people who come up and say to me, like, oh, my gosh, we lived a parallel life. How did I not know about you or someone who looks completely different than I do says, you know, I really learned from your book.
And that was really my goal of. If everybody could take away one or two things from the book, like, it's not a manifesto. It's not a do this and your life is going to be perfect by no means. In fact, I say that about 10 times in the book. Please do not. This is, you know, the to-do list but if you can take away one or two things and it, you felt like reading the book or listening to the book added some value to your life, that's all I can hope for.
Courtney Turich: That's a win. Yeah,
Jim Fielding: For sure.
Courtney Turich: Okay, Jim, I'm going to jump in because I can't believe again, time is just fine. Exactly. So Jim, you've alluded to this earlier in the conversation. It sounds like you definitely know the answer to this. And what would you tell Jim Fielding, your 18-year-old self today?
What Jim Would Tell His 18-Year-Old Self
Jim Fielding: Well it's personal.
I mean, I would tell 18-year-old Jim to embrace your authenticity and own your story at 18, which was, I was gay and I was in denial and calling myself bisexual and thinking it was a phase. And, you know, I had been socialized. You know, it was a very different time, Courtney. Like, you know, I was, I was going to school in the 70s and 80s.
It was not an easy time to be queer then, it was the AIDS crisis. There was just a lot. And I had so, at 18, I had so much angst and self loathing, quite honestly. And at 18, I wanted to change. I thought I was broken. I thought I was not going to have a happy life being the way I was, and so I was trying to figure out what I needed to do and I literally was praying about it.
I was talking to my confidence. There were very few people who knew my truth, but I had a few and, um, I, I wish I could have relieved. I wish I could go back and relieve 18-year-old Jim from that burden. Because I loved college. I think I would have loved it even more if I wasn't worried all the time. I think I would have chosen a different company to start with when I graduated at 22.
I think there were a lot of decisions that were made based on me not liking myself, beyond that, not loving myself. And so I basically would say at 18, accept yourself unconditionally. Own your story. You are a unique unicorn and that's what you're supposed to be. And if you just embrace that, you're going to have a much easier path than the one you're on right now.
For sure.
Courtney Turich: Jim, this is exactly why I have this podcast. Yes. That right there. If we can all just embrace that. And if we, if we're not there today, wherever age you might be, do it now. It's never too late.
Jim Fielding: No, for sure. And seek the help. I mean, that's the other thing. I mean, yes, I had a few people I talked to, but I, it was a very inward journey for me.
It was a very, and I should have sought resources because there were resources and, and I should have trusted my parents more, to be honest. It took me a lot. I didn't come out to my parents till I was 26. They could have handled it and they did handle it, but they could have handled it at 18. You know, we could have had the conversation then.
So I, but I didn't trust him. Honestly, I was afraid. It was fear. I mean, I think so much of our lives, especially when we're 18, is fear-based that you uh, and that inner saboteur negative talk that you know, I I didn't trust them. I didn't trust my sister. I didn't trust my parents. I didn't trust my friends. You know, I have friends from when I was 18 and now, you know, get ready to turn 6,0 that are my ride or die posse that I didn't tell them till I was 26 or 27.
I should have told them at 18. It would have been okay. Like that's, that's what you go back and tell your younger self. It's going to be okay.
Courtney Turich: It's going to be okay.
Jim Fielding: Another and if they're not right, and if they're not going to be your friend, if you own your truth and they're not going to accept you, then they're not supposed to be your friend.
Like, you know, but I also firmly believe, as you know, Courtney, everything happens for a reason, and I wasn't ready at 18. I wasn't.
Courtney Turich: Yeah.
Jim Fielding: It took me, it took me until I was 25, 26.
Courtney Turich: Well, Jim, your story has been remarkable. And I will tell you, I cannot wait to, I'm going to listen to your book, All in Pride, No Ego.
Jim Fielding: Me talking. Yeah. So for sure.
Courtney Turich: You have lured, you've lured me in. So thank you.
Jim Fielding: I encourage anybody. Like. A lot of people who have listened to it say, it's like, I'm talking to you for six or seven hours. Like, it's like having a conversation and I, I was skeptical about the audio version, but I think it's pretty popular.
Courtney Turich: So Jim, with all of this today, is there anything you want to leave us for, leave us with before we walk away today?
Jim Fielding: I mean, I think it's kind of the way I add up, I end all my talks is, you know, the, the mantra that has guided me really, I mean, it was in my high school graduation speeches, maybe leave our corner of the world a little better than we found it.
And I would just leave that with everybody in that, especially I think now for those of us that live in the United States, it's, it's not the easiest time. We're not, there's a lot of civil discourse. There's a lot of anger. There's a lot of fear and frustration. And. I think now more than ever, we have to double our efforts to just be those random acts of kindness, to smile more, to try and take care of each other.
Uh, because we'll get through whatever you're going through. We will. But I think, I, I really come back to that a lot. And, and it's, it's your corner of the world and it's a little better. Like, I'm not asking for grand sweeping changes. It's just, I, I try to think every day, did I make a positive impact?
Courtney Turich: Yeah. That's awesome. I love that. And so Jim, where can people find you?
Jim Fielding: So easy. my website is HiJimfielding. com. That's a very easy place to find me. LinkedIn, I'm Jim Fielding, like I'm Jim Fielding and I'm hijimfielding on Instagram. Those are the three easiest places to find me, the book is available everywhere.
I mean, Amazon, Barnes and Noble which is a great LGBTQ online bookstore and audible. I know it's an audible. A lot of people ask me about audible Spotify. It's, it's everywhere.
Courtney Turich: All right, Jim. I can't thank you enough for being here. Thank you, Courtney.
Jim Fielding: This is amazing. Amazing.
Courtney Turich: It really has been wonderful.
I've learned a lot. I've soaked in a lot and to our audience, I hope you also took away a lot of gems and pearls today, but as I leave you always. Please go be bold, be confident, and be you. Until next time, see you soon.
Jim Fielding: Bye.
