Passion and Purpose with Theresa Szczurek PhD

Theresa Szczurek
Since I didn’t have the opportunity to take piano lessons or singing lessons. What I did was I converted, I redirected my passions into education in school, excelled there, and then have been able to really use some of my performance skills through my work, through my entrepreneurial ventures and, you know, helping lead my teams. And so I think that people can look at their core talents and passions and redirect them based on the hunger of the needs of the world.

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Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Welcome to Voices of Athena a podcast highlighting the personal side of the remarkable women that make up the Athena Alliance, a learning community for executive women. I’m your host Priscilla Brenenstuhl. Today we are joined by Theresa Szczurek, a global c-level executive, corporate digital board director, innovation guru, speaker, and author of the bestselling book, “Pursuit of Passionate Purpose”.

Prisilla Brenenstuhl
Good morning, Theresa.

Theresa Szczurek
Yes. Hello, hello. Nice to see you.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
You too. Thank you so much for being here today with me.

Theresa Szczurek
Oh, I’m so excited. Thank you for inviting me.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Theresa, please, how would you describe yourself?

Theresa Szczurek
Well, I’d like to describe myself as a sunflower. It’s my favorite flower, you can see that I surround myself by sunflowers. And this has come from some of my work in my book pursuit of passion and purpose, where I worked to define the traits of the most successful, passionate pursuers. So the characteristics aligned with the word sunflower, asks for self confidence, you for having unwavering curiosity. And for never quit, I’m relentless, I can actually be very determined, and you know, work to get the right things done. F is fervor, or another way of saying passion, which is actually my favorite word. L is living by the pursuit of passionate purpose process, which I’ll explain a little bit, it’s a four stage process where you find your passion, you align it with a meaningful purpose, you pursue it with a plan with the proper people, until you assess progress. And so I’m a firm believer in this four stage, and I call this the Zurich process, oh, is optimistic, always looking to the sunny side. W is bringing the whole self, the head, the heart and the hands. And also bringing the whole self in terms of both the work and the professional, personal and professional life. And then E is energetic, or enthusiastic. And are is resilience, the ability to pick yourself up and get back in the game, so to speak. So I like to surround myself by sunflowers, I call myself a sunflower. And you know, on top of that, I like to have joy along the way and in being a servant leader, you know, but being loyal, courageous, and a servant leader as a sunflower. Wow.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
So you haven’t thought about that answer at all. That’s beautiful. And I and I definitely think of sunflowers as joyful. And I love that you have sunflowers behind you on your desk. So it’s kind of this consistent reminder of who you are. And these attributes in your day are probably just so good to have put little, my own little reminders around, you know. So I like to see them behind you. And you’re certainly embodying enthusiasm and joy as you speak about it. And so that’s a fantastic, exciting answer. Thank you.

Who are what inspires you and why?

Theresa Szczurek
Well, I am really inspired by people who are passionately pursuing a meaningful purpose, even against great odds. For example, Marie Curie, you know, made big strides in science, you know, breakthroughs. She didn’t allow the status quo to stop her. But I love those who are working to bend the world toward justice. So Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Hillary Clinton is a great role model for me. And so I’m inspired by those who are just working to make the world a better place.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Yeah, that’s a great answer. And also, like you said, a lot of times, working towards justice is oftentimes against great odds. You in that balancing act, and it takes a lot of those attributes that you said, particularly resilience, you know, and it’s not easy to go against the grain. And to it takes a lot of strength and willpower, you know, to stand up and even like, if you hold a different belief to like, hold to that belief and not let it be swayed, you know, because it’s self doubt can really creep in. even me a lot of times I found when I’m going against the grain, and I believe something but then everyone else is talking against that belief or saying something else, I start to question myself like me, is there something that I’m missing? So just to kind of have that self preservation, and I feel like that really gets reflected? Well, and your answer is a sunflower. You know, they stand tall, and they, you know, kind of go towards the light or towards justice, maybe that’s one way of looking at it. So I feel like there’s a really beautiful overlap there.

Theresa Szczurek
Yeah, it’s, it’s true, that you have to have a strong self, in order to then work towards this justice to make the world a better place. And when I did my research, with 80, people from all walks of life on this pursuit of passion and purpose project, you know, I asked some of the most successful people, what were some of the factors that encouraged them? And what were some of the factors that held them back and self doubt, was the internal negative, nagging voice was there for so many people, men and women, and we you just have to quiet that you cannot listen to that. And as an entrepreneur, there’s so many naysayers who want to say, Oh, that’ll never work. But you have to listen to your inner wiser, older self, your heart and allow that to really direct you, it’s easier said than done. But that’s, I think, where the passion really blossoms.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Yeah, I gotta get your energy to keep going. It got to be something you’re really are steadfast and believe in. So it wasn’t in my questions. But now I’m just kind of curious. And I’m putting you on the spot here. I don’t know if there’s something you’ve considered. But if you could pass one law, you know, it can be as like imaginative, fantastical as you as you want it to be or as practical. But if you could pass one law, what would it be?

Theresa Szczurek
Well, passing the law is one thing, and the next thing is allowing it to live true. And I’d say it would have to be in line with diversity, equity and inclusion and really allowing everyone to live true to their own highest convictions, and to be, you know, accepted in that way. And so, you know, I have found that there are certain environments we find ourselves in, where you’re just not allowed to be your true self. And when you can unleash that it can bring out tremendous energy, passion, and you can make good things happen. So that would be the law, I guess, of just allowing your best self to emerge and, and be able to be you.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Speaking of being you, what song are you singing at karaoke?

Theresa Szczurek
Well, I love this song, This little light of mine, This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. And when I speak, I love to put in some singing in there, you know, breaks things up. It’s like, oh my gosh, she’s willing to sing. So very brave. Yes. So that would be one although the song that I have on my phone when my alarm goes off in the morning is the impossible dream, you know, to dream, the impossible dream. And so I think that those two together

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Yeah, and they make sense because I feel like a lot of times the impossible dream is to like, move forward. Like we’re talking with this resilience and light and to keep my light shining and to unabashedly show it and proclaim it to the world.

Theresa Szczurek
It’s really too bad that a lot of people for whatever reasons, feel inhibited and constrained and hold themselves back. So I think that’s what the world needs is our greatest light our strongest power? And, hey, don’t let others hold you back or constrain you. Be Your strongest self.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Yeah, it reminds me of the quote, I don’t know if you’ve heard it, but like, it’s not our darkness that scares us, but our light. yes. My favorite.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Yeah. That is your biggest fear?

Theresa Szczurek
Well, you know, I don’t have a lot of fears, or doubts. And I feel blessed because of that. But personally, it would be to not make a big enough impact in my life, you know, to not give us the talents, the gifts, the opportunities I’ve been given. And, you know, we have this one life to live here on Earth, I do believe that there is more afterwards. However, yeah, I’m that that would be a fear, in terms of my professional career, I think to not be prepared with the proper plan, to defend and protect and deflect and recover from cybersecurity risks. You know, there are I’m an IT cybersecurity, digital transformation guru. And so, it’s unfortunate, but there are those who would choose to bring us down. And so we have to prepare, and be ready to protect and defend. Yeah.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Again, not on the sheet, but I just, you know, I’m curious person stories, and one thing leads to another. And this may be way too big to answer or it may not. But now I want to know, what do you believe is after death?

Theresa Szczurek
Well, that is a great question. And I’m not afraid to answer that I believe our spirits live on. And that, you know, we’re here on earth to grow to contribute to learn, but that there is a afterlife with our spirits. And so I have read some of these books like embraced by the light, or you know, where there’s these near death experiences. And so, I believe that we will, our spirit will continue and may merge with other spirits that we’ve, we know, and we love, and we will be able to continue on our Infinite Journey. Yeah, I’m a longtime meditator. I’ve been doing Transcendental Meditation. And now I do have a positive meditation. And when I meditate, I get in to a state can get into a state of feeling this impermanence or this spirit flowing. And I think it’s wonderful in life here on earth to do things like movement, dance Chi Gong, where you can just get into the movements and allow it to flow. So I think that’s what happens. After we get freed of our bodies here. One of my wise friends said that we it’s like taking off tight shoes. And our spirits are free. And we can move on from there.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Well, maybe the spirits are trying to come through because as you started talking about it, there was like a little something going on with the audio and then the kind of horn went off here. Like the perfect I hurried up and muted myself, but I think some of it will be caught in the audio, but it’s like, you know, coming through via the vibrational audio waves to say yes. From the spirit side, and yeah, I’m a longtime meditator too, and I think I think that process of meditation has really made me more comfortable with the process of dying or death. Yeah, that’s definitely been one of its benefits.

Theresa Szczurek
I don’t fear dying, I don’t fear death because I know I’m living life here to the fullest. And that there’s even something greater, you know, coming along on the next phase of the journey. And so it’s sort of exciting to wonder what that will be.

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Priscilla Brenenstuhl
What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done, Teresa?

Theresa Szczurek
Well, on a personal note, I used to jump freight trains.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Yea, really? Holy cow!

Theresa Szczurek
with my, with my Bell Labs, engineering friends, we go out on the weekends, you know, and I’ve been on flatbeds, blacks, cars, engines, I’ve gone from Denver yard, I don’t recommend doing this now things. You know, I used to do this maybe 20 plus years ago, and now the security is higher, and it is a dangerous thing to do. But it was daring and adventurous with some of my friends to head west to head east, south and north. In terms of my professional career,

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Wait I’m sorry, but I just gotten a more. So was so Okay, was that were you doing it as a means of travel? Or just a means of fun? Or to mix fun and travel? And how long did you do this? Like, I don’t know, anything else I need to know more.

Theresa Szczurek
It was for adventure and fun. So we did this with some of my Bell Labs, buddies. And, you know, we did it on the weekends, you know, after work. And when we got, let’s say, West, we, you know, then would turn around and come back, you know, actually brought a, I brought a credit card with me, you know, but you get onto these box cars. And you know, there are really some people who are living there. And so do have to be careful, because it can be a dangerous situation, if they thought that you had money or whatever anew that they might try to take that away. I did always bring a credit card. So if I needed to catch your bus, right, I could or I could buy some food. And so I think it allowed me to see some of the country it allowed me to see how some other people lived. And it was took me out of the element. I remember coming back into my hometown, you know, Boulder. It’s not where I grew up, but where I was living, and I was wearing overalls, you know, and just to come off the train. And these people drove by in a car and yelled, get a job you bum. And I thought it was so ironic, you know, because here I was a contributing member of society, you know, designing telecommunication systems, but I didn’t look the part at that point. And I think unfortunately, sometimes our outer representation is misinterpreted, and people think that’s who we are.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Yeah, and I mean I mean, I of course years have gone by so I wouldn’t cast judgment. I think if if there was like one of those two truths and a lie, and there was trained jumping in it with you, you know, like speaking to you i That’s would be my lie that I would hate to say it’s shocking. You really shocked me I was not what I was expecting. And just a lovely answer. Just fabulous answer. Thank you.

Theresa Szczurek
Because I’m a girl scout leader. I have a troop of high school seniors and Ambassador scouts. And we went to our chalet, which is the International Girl Scout center in Mexico a few years back. And one of the things I love about Girl Scouts is they really encourage adventure. And in this week long trip, one of the things we did It was jump waterfalls. Now, I could not have believed it. And what they you know, was organized, we probably jumped on this hike, maybe seven or eight waterfalls, some were little small ones, and some were really big ones. And it’s like, Oh, my goodness, you know, you’re you have, of course the life jacket on. And you’re with some organized groups who know what they’re doing and where to go. But we actually jumped off of the the top of the waterfall into the water. And it’s like, Oh, my goodness.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Organized Chaos. It’s amazing. If not your current Oh, no, no, no, sorry, because I cut you off, you were gonna say a daring thing that you did professionally?

Theresa Szczurek
Well, I, I’m a rather courageous, bold person. And for whatever reason, I think maybe living true to my own higher convictions, I just at times have to say or do things. And so I remember, after I started as a member of technical staff at Bell Laboratories, it was the time when we were working to bring more women in the work environment, and to get a better work environment there. And so just a few months on the job, I interrupted the current power structure, who was dominating a meeting, in order to ensure that everyone in the meeting had a voice? And it was I’m glad I did it. But you know, I gently, you know, said, You know, there are other people around the table here who have some interesting things to say. And so at the right point in time, we’d really love to be able to speak also. And so the the leaders were actually really thankful that I had done that because it allowed a shift from one sort of discussion which was holding us back to a new discussion which was much more inclusive, and brought in the views of men. need other people around the table? So I think, yeah, living true to your own highest convictions is and not allowing yourself to be held back is so important. And I think that’s why I went on to start my first entrepreneurial venture, you know, I was climbing the corporate ladder at at&t thinking that that’s where I wanted to get to the top. And I ended up leaving, and starting my first entrepreneurial venture, radish communication systems, which we call radish one data. Oh, and so that was pretty daring. Although it was calculated risk, I knew that I had prepared and that there was opportunity. And, you know, I think Oprah Winfrey has said, luck is, you know, preparation meeting possibilities.

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Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Yeah. If not your current career trajectory? What, how would you be spending your time? What would you be doing?

Theresa Szczurek
you could take a look, because I, my first inclination in answering this question is, you know, to, um, look at, okay, I’m currently doing some consulting, I’m building my current tech company, radish systems, which is radix, 2.0, getting it ready for exit, and serving as a trustee for western Colorado University. And I’m open to the opportunities, I’m looking for the next executive position, and for the right board seats. I mentioned earlier, you know, my biggest fear would be not to contribute to my fullest not find a way to make an impact. And so it doesn’t, it could be through volunteering. It could be, you know, through paid positions, although I do love to get paid. And after having done a lot of volunteer work, I believe that women especially, we often give away our time. And I’ve done a lot of that. And yeah, I deserve to be paid. So I’m looking to the right paid board seats, like in corporate environments, both public or private corporations

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
with your resilience, but mixed with such a joyful positive outlook is will shine a light surely in any position that you undertake. I guess. Also, what I want to know is, if you were doing something kind of radically different, or something more in line, maybe I don’t know, maybe you wanted to be a board member when you were younger, but like if we think about what you wanted to be as a little girl, or, you know, me, I think, gosh, if I, if I really went for something, I’d be like an actress or a singer or you know, something like that. What would your answer be in that case?

Theresa Szczurek
Okay. Well, I have always dreamt of being on Broadway, you know, I want to be on Broadway, people. And so I never really had the opportunity growing up, like to develop my musical talents. And I always wanted to be a pianist. So that’s why I was so glad when my daughter really loved the piano. And with the Suzuki method, I was able to participate with her. So it might be something like that, a performer and see i Since I didn’t have the opportunity to take piano lessons or singing lessons. What I did was I converted, I redirected my passions, into education in school, Exceledl there, and then have been able to really use some of my performance skills through my work through my entrepreneurial ventures and, you know, helping lead my teams. And so I think that people can um, Look at their core talents and passions and redirect them based on the hunger of the needs of the world.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Yeah, finally find another kind of channel. And I think sometimes, you know, we’re forced to do that, like, I know, for me growing up first generation college goer, from a really kind of working class, like, like construction build, like, you know, background, I remember I was like the star in the school play and in, in college. And it really upset like everyone else at first until we became friends, because they were like, she’s not even a theater major. But for me, I was like, I can’t, I don’t have the luxury of going to school to be a theater major, you know, even though I came out with like, a liberal arts degree from a really radical institution by, you know, by a lot of people’s standards, so I don’t know that I went too far in the other direction. But, you know, I think a lot of times, and I hope, you know, I have my son in a in a Waldorf school, so where they focus on Play and all of that stuff, and I hope that we’ll get to a point where we’re able to where we’re encouraged to foster more of our kind of creativity and playfulness and, and maybe by way of people who are using channeling that energy into, you know, these professional settings that normally we don’t think of having creative aspects to them. Again, so in line with the sunflower, though, I feel like the sunflowers definitely a super performer. So we can see this thread, this performance, this exuberance, this joy, this steadfastness really carrying out through all of your, all of your answers,

Theresa Szczurek
you know, you and I have a lot in common because I grew up in a blue collar working class family, large in family in the suburbs of Chicago, first generation students and so I, you know, also I went the route of math and statistics and an engineering. However, I think that when you tap in to the performance in the the head in the heart, good because I was I had been dominated by my head though, rational, logical thinker, but it was through unleashing the heart the creative the feeling side, that I became a more whole person. And that is really so much more powerful. And we did Waldorf school for our daughter as well. Because we knew we had the engineering, you know, rational side but we wanted this wholeness that Waldorf brings of the creative side, the art so as to be a whole person

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
and to maintain an entrepreneurial spirit. And I think a lot of times you get to do that by hat like you said, you have to bring passion into it, where’s it come from, from the heart. So if you’re just constantly having measurements of success and you know, based in your head, then you know, your person is gonna laugh because you don’t have the heart and the passion like tied into it to really represent you fully and carry you along when other people you know, in the face of adversity. Yeah, I love that while there kind of fosters that entrepreneurial spirit. So, please tell me about a life changing or life defining moment.

Theresa Szczurek
Well, this is such a interesting and important question. And, you know, I can think of many times in my life, where serendipity or synchronicity came to play and made made a big difference. I even think about getting my first job out of college was AT and T Bell Labs, which put me on a different trajectory in terms of my life, I think of getting my master’s in operations research from Stanford, but the if I had to choose one, I would choose quitting at&t eventually to pursue the entrepreneurial dream. It I, you know, founded, funded, grew and ultimately exited from my company radish communication systems. I didn’t do it alone. I had a co founder with me Who I had originally worked with at Bell Labs. And when I was at radish, I was pursuing what I call the business plan. And we’re earlier at AT and T, it might have been the career plan, I divide my life into these different plans. I use that term. But so I went from the career plan to the business plan. But then I ended up marrying my business partner, the RAD Richard A Davis of radish, and this was pursuing the man plan. And it was, it was really convenient, because the weekend of our wedding, we raised enough money to carry the company, for enough stick for for another six months. So in lieu of wedding presents, we took investments, you know, into the company. And, you know, radish was sort of like my first baby. And what ultimately happened was that, you know, we went from being funded first by the founders, and then getting funding from friends and family, like through the wedding and such, and then we got venture capital. And it was through that process that we actually lost control of the company and the values. And company, to me, the core values of a company are so so important. What I found was that I could no longer I got, the company was doing well. But there were challenges. And I was no longer in a position to make all of the decisions. And so I tried changing the environment, I found I could not live true to my highest convictions at there, the company I started and so I tried changing it, you know, went to the CEO that we had brought in which to the other board members could not change it, I tried to live with it. And ultimately, I ended up having to leave my baby, which was heartbreaking. However, this led to some really breakthroughs, because I I had been trying to pursue the Baby Plan. When we were at radish, and I couldn’t get pregnant, it was just so stressful. And so it was interesting that leaving my first baby behind, I was able to finally pursue the Baby Plan successfully. And every intervention known to Eastern and Western medicine, did get pregnant and have our wonderful little daughter Annie, which was ultimately probably the most life changing moment for me to be a mother. And this was the epitome of integrate, you know, allowing my heart to emerge, you know, I was on this journey towards wholeness. And, you know, had the headpiece and now I had much more of the heart. And so
it was a life changing experience. And it’s not just the moment you know, getting pregnant and then having the baby, but then it’s, you know, the the Baby Plan. Trance is the shins into the family plan. And, you know, life continues, is through that process with the entrepreneurial venture, I did end up writing a book called pursuit of passion and purpose. And I did it my own story through the book, but I also interviewed 80 People from all walks of life, those who had found and successfully pursue their dreams and those who could not. And I came out with this formula for, you know, a success formula for getting, you know, pursuing all that you want in life. And so I then went on the speaker circuit, and after bringing the book out, Wiley luckily published it and was able to bring my message out with the hope that maybe some little piece of it would help others.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
That’s such a beautiful premise and endeavor worth embarking on. And it makes sense, like you said in in the vein of You know, your first baby being this business and then having to ultimately come to the decision to leave it behind? And, and then realizing that Oh, that was part of, you know, making room for the next part of my journey and, and how dreams change and shift and how, you know, kind of being willing to take the risks associated with what does come next? Or what might look different than you thought? And can you? Can you can you share a little bit of the formula that you got from these, these ad interviews?

Theresa Szczurek
Yes. So, the pursuit a passionate person, this process is a four stage process. And it starts by knowing yourself, you know, to thy own self be true, and you know, really figuring out who you are. And so, in this stage, you know, your passion, and passion comes from the alignment of your values, with your gifts. And in the alignment of those two, you find your passion. So stage one is passion, then stage two is to align that with a meaningful purpose. Because without a purpose, passion is aimless. And so this is where you take your values and your gifts where you have your passion, and you connect it with the needs of the world, the hunger of the world. And in that intersection, you find this passionate purpose. Phase three is to pursue that passionate purpose, with all your heart with all your soul, passionately with a plan with the proper people persistently, you can see I like keywords. And then you get eventually to the fourth stage, which is where you assess progress, how are things going? Are there some mid course corrections, or things going okay, and then you go back to the first stage, it’s really what I call the sacred circle of life. And whether you know it or not, this is going on, in all corners in all parts of our life. So find your passion, align it with a purpose, pursue it, and then assess progress, and continue this cycle. And along the way, there are certain success strategies that help smooth the process. But yeah,

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
I have to pick up the book to learn more well in

Theresa Szczurek
their site pursuit of passionate purpose.com People can go there and sign up for my complimentary e newsletter, where you can get for free 10 years of my monthly newsletter with all sorts of tips and, and insights, you know, or yes, you could you could get the book and invite me to come speak to your organization. I use this philosophy as my leadership approach when I’m leading organizations, because what I try to do is, unleash the passion in people so that they are really engaged, they’re doing something meaningful, I give them choice, help them understand that they have competence, and can see progress. And through that, those four things which actually align with the four stage process I mentioned. People become empowered and engaged and ordinary people become extraordinary, and produce extraordinary results when their passions are connected with a meaningful purpose. Absolutely,

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
absolutely. It can bring you back to life when you’re given the not only the permission, but the encouragement to pursue the things that light you up. And you are clearly lighting up the room lighting up the conversation. So thank you so much for your time today. Teresa, thank you for sharing your light your light of message or light of presence and wisdom with me and with our listeners. It’s it’s been a treat.

Theresa Szczurek
Thank you and I wish you well in pursuing your passion and purpose.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Thank you I am I’ve had a lot of this little encouragement along the way And now when I see a sunflower, that’s even going to you know, be that symbolism, keep going. Keep growing, keep showing.

Theresa Szczurek
I love that.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Have a beautiful light filled day.

Theresa Szczurek
You too.

Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Thank you.

Theresa Szczurek
Bye bye.

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Priscilla Brenenstuhl
Thank you for sharing your time with me today. You encourage me to continue these conversations which are a big part of my passion and purpose.

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