Emily Bauman

I received two pieces of advice that have really shaped my approach. The first was from a business owner who told me that while you're building your business, act like you have no money. Don't spend the money you earn so that you're in a better position to make good decisions later on. Rather than work and just spend it all, take as long as you can to act like you don't have money and plan it well. That was really powerful advice from a money perspective because a lot of times people earn money and then they spend it, and they don't think about 10 years, 20 years down the line. The second piece of advice was about time being the most precious commodity because it's the only thing that's not renewable. We can always work and make more money, we can always do so many different things, but time is not renewable. So make sure that you are really thinking about how you're spending your time, with who, and what you're doing, and matching it back to your values or your goals. Being aware of both of those two major resources, if you slow those down a little bit and really think about them, those are really the best advice I ever got because I think they fit in every area.

Don't believe that you have to wait. I'm a big advocate that I would love to see more women, or anybody, anyone running for government office have more life behind them. But in general, whether it be government or anything, don't think that you have to wait until... and then fill in the blank. If you want something, or if you feel like you're ready for something, then go for it. Try it. It's the idea of shoot for the moon, and if you miss, you're still falling among the stars. I love that because if we never shoot for the moon, we're never gonna get it. You advance yourself faster when you take a step. You don't go anywhere if you don't at least take that step. So take that step. It does mean doing some preparation work, but still take that step and do that preparation work.

The biggest challenge I see is an interesting dynamic that happens at every level of government and organization. Since you only need the majority to get the vote, sometimes not everyone is included in the conversation. There's this thing called whipping votes, and it's the funny nature of politics, but I've seen it at all levels and in nonprofits as well. You only need to talk to enough people so that you can get your motion passed or your idea passed. That's the biggest challenge because I'm different. I've got 7 people on my council, and I talk to all 7 of them. If I've got something I want to pass, I talk to all 7 of them, regardless of whether they're going to vote for it or not. That's not the normal. You hear it at all levels where you just need enough to pass. I think that is a challenge for me as well as a lot of people because if you're not asking the questions and doing the things and having a very good discerning vote, it's really difficult to make sure that it's actually good for everybody. If I'm not needed as one of the four, in my case, but again you see it at every level and in nonprofits, some people sit there and say I never know what's going on because they're not needed for the vote.

One of my biggest values is what I call trustworthy. A lot of people say integrity and other things, but this comes from my coaching side. I don't have control of whether someone trusts me or not, but I do have control of whether my actions are trustworthy. So as long as I'm making actions that are trustworthy, and I do that in different ways. If somebody asks me a question and I've got to tell them an answer, I'm going to tell them the honest answer, even if it's uncomfortable for me, or they might not like the answer, or they might not agree. I'm not gonna give an answer just because I want them to agree with me or because I want to make peace. I will tell you the answer and I will take the consequences of whatever it is, because lying is not something I want to participate with. So I talk about trustworthy being in my control. I can be trustworthy. My actions can be trustworthy. Whether someone trusts me or not, that's on them. I put it out in front of me, meaning that there's an element that I ask other people to step to that level. I wish it wasn't a high bar, but it's hard because if people are not doing those actions, then it makes it difficult to work with them. The other value is making an impact. I believe in ripples, meaning I can make a small impact today that will have long-lasting ripples. That's powerful for me. It may not be the splashy thing, but if I know that something I can do can make a positive impact that will last for a long, long time, those are the areas I like to really work in.