I'm So Easy To Work For

About two years ago, I was on staff at a church as a worship pastor. My career took a bit of the turn, and I found myself traveling and speaking and writing a book. Eventually, I had to step down from the position at the church, and it killed me. My new career was exciting, but I realized that I was having trouble keeping up with everything, because I wasn't organized. About eight months ago, my husband the Attorney General left his job to come on board and help manage me. He realized he couldn't keep me on track or else he would've done it years ago. We realized, we had to find a person that was so organized that they could keep me in line without being too organized and causing me to run away. We found the amazing Erin Cuccio to hire as my Executive Assistant. Today, you get to meet the wonderful Erin. You can find Erin here: Beauty for Ashes Erin Cuccio on LinkedIn Show Notes [04:11] Erin is excited to be here. [04:52] How podcasts should be in the 30 to 40 minute range, and you can't talk about yourself all the time. [05:20] How Melissa loves having an assistant and it makes her feel so proud. [05:35] How Melissa and Erin connected. Erin's husband started a business in Lufkin. They were looking for a church and found Melissa's church. Erin thought Melissa was hilarious and started following her. [06:41] A few months later, The Red Ribbon Week video came out and Erin's friends were sharing the video. [07:06] Eventually, Erin went through Melissa's online bible study course This Sucks but God Is Good. [07:17] At the end of the course, Erin and David did a live video saying that they wanted to hire an assistant. [08:00] Melissa made a Mother's Day phone call to women who were experiencing some form of loss. When Melissa called, Erin was able to share some of her story and how she followed Melissa in the first place. [09:09] Melissa remembered Erin from the call when Erin decided to apply for the assistant position. [09:44] Melissa and Erin's personalities are very different, but they do get along. Working with Melissa has been a growing experience for Erin. [10:28] Erin said If she was young and single, she would've moved to Nashville and worked in PR and booking for a celebrity. She thinks it's amazing that God has opened that door for her in Lufkin, Texas. [10:55] Erin wasn't nervous about the podcast at all. She used to work in radio. She was a worship pastor. She worked in flower arrangements and a t-shirt company. She is a Renaissance woman. [12:19] Erin has always been independent and ambitious. She started working when she was 16. She worked for TCBY, she was a DJ for a Christian radio station, worked at a Christian bookstore, worked for an electrical contractor, worked in medical records, a real estate agent, a teacher, she ran a home-based flower and t-shirt business, she led worship, and now she works for Melissa. [13:32] This is been one of the first times in Erin's life that she has been able to do one thing. [13:52] Erin doesn't consider herself flighty, she just has somewhat of a gypsy soul. [14:19] Erin is so solid and grounded, she is really well-suited to bring Melissa back down to reality. [15:01] Melissa doesn't do one-on-one really well. Just the thought of it makes her really nervous. Traveling with Erin is really easy. [16:39] After Melissa speaks, Erin brings her chocolate and a Coke. [17:57] How David is very thorough. [18:32] We have a big event coming up May 4th and 5th 2018. It is right here in Lufkin, Texas. The Social Event of the season. It's a Friday night and most of Saturday. [19:29] Women tend to be nurturers by nature. It's important to remind women that they need to nurture themselves.They need time to refresh and refuel. [20:02] Melissa has so much to offer in her message, so to give women a weekend is a wonderful gift and a way to just hang out and talk about things that are important. [20:52] This is the first annual social event of the season. This is a social event for the churched and the unchurched the hopeful and the hopeless. [22:07] This weekend gives you a place to sit at the table. This weekend is going to have value and give women something that will refresh their hearts. There will be fun and laughter and also learning and growing and connecting with other women. [24:44] Dress comfortable, prepare to have a good time, and if you come alone you won't be leaving alone. [25:17] We love community. Erin and I also have one terrible horrible thing in common and that is that we have both lost a child. When you walk through something like this, you better have community. [27:05] How having an online community and bible study has helped teach Erin that it is so important to have a community backing you up. [27:46] Community is the secret to growing and living your best life. [28:48] At women's core, they want to belong. [29:16] This year's theme is called Live Known. It's so easy for us to hide behind things. Become what you truly are by living known. Women want to be seen. [31:09] How identity is a huge crisis that we all struggle with. [32:57] We are going to do heart work and ask ourselves tough questions and answer them. [33:32] There is a sense of empowerment in knowing who you really are. [34:35] We need to stop pushing our desires and passions down. God gave us potential for a reason and Melissa wants to help women find that potential. [37:53] Erin's lightning round questions. [40:12] Erin is one of God's most shockingly we never saw it coming gifts to Melissa and David. Just meeting Erin alone would make going to the event worthwhile. [41:38] How women push themselves down, because they always want other people to feel important. Women need to keep in mind how they feel. Thanks for joining us on Ordinary People Ordinary Things. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review. Just like your mother taught you. Links and Resources: Podcast Web Page Facebook Page @MsMelissaRadke on Instagram @msmelissaradke on Twitter Red Ribbon Week Video This Sucks But God Is Good (online course) The Social Event  Live Known Eat Cake. Be Brave. Beauty for Ashes Erin Cuccio on LinkedIn