Episode 27 - A Conversation with Dr. Shanell T. Smith
This episode features Dr. Shanell T. Smith, who is the founder of Shanell T Smith Consulting and the creator of the Accelerate Your Doctorate method. On this episode, Dr. Smith shares about her background as well as the work of her LLC, Shanell T Smith Consulting, which has two focuses of 1) aiding doctoral students with accelerating through their degree program, and 2) aiding organizations and leaders with further developing their leadership abilities and with enhancing their overall productivity. Additionally, we talk about the topic of prioritization and the importance of prioritizing one's energy, one's time, and most importantly, oneself.
Watch the vlog of this episode here: https://youtu.be/zwXKiZWHS0g?si=0FVltRKCQ7v0tKJF
To connect with Dr. Shanell T. Smith:
Website: https://www.accelerateyourdoctorate.com/
Email: drsmith@shanelltsmithconsulting.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanell-t-smith-phd/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shanelltsmith
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanelltsmith/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shanelltsmith-doctoralexpert
X (formerly known as Twitter): https://x.com/shanelltsmith
Linktree: http://linktr.ee/shanelltsmith
Additional Resource for Doctoral Students:
FREE! 12 Simple Steps to Accelerate Your Doctorate: https://bit.ly/12_Simple_Steps
Listen to full episode :
Here is a transcription of Episode 27:
0:17: Hello and welcome to the Broke PhD Podcast where we build relationships or kindle emotions with every episode. I'm your host, Dr. G!
0:26: On this episode of Broke PhD Podcast, I have a conversation with Dr. Shanell T. Smith. During our conversation, Dr. Smith shares about her background as well as the work of her LLC, Shanell T Smith Consulting, which has two focuses of 1) aiding doctoral students with accelerating through their degree program, and 2) aiding organizations and leaders with further developing their leadership abilities and with enhancing their overall productivity. Additionally, we talk about the topic of prioritization and the importance of prioritizing one's energy, one's time, and most importantly, oneself.
1:01: [Dr. G] Hey, y'all, and welcome to this episode of the podcast. And today I have Dr. Shanell T. Smith with us.
1:08: [Dr. Smith] Hello!
1:09: [Dr. G] Thank you so much for being here! And Dr. Smith, can you please, can you please share about your backgrounds so the listeners can get to know you a little bit more?
1:19: [Dr. Smith] Yes, well, my name is Dr. Shanell T. Smith. [*Directed towards YouTube Viewers*] If you seen my eyes going this way it’s because I'm trying to see the beautiful Dr. Green’s face in this little screen. I am Dr. Shanell T. Smith. I am a doctoral expert and an institutional consultant. I earned my PhD in less than four years with two kids. So yeah, I'm bragging about that.
1:39: [Dr. G] As you should.
1:40: [Dr. Smith] Yes. And after eight years of being an associate professor, I resigned to work full time for myself. It was, yeah, that was a journey. After talking to like my mentors and also definitely the support from my husband, I said, you know, I feel like I'm at like a, a crossroads, you know, and I've always been working with like doctoral students all through my career as a professor. And so I said, there's something here, you know, because I had a lot of tips and strategies that worked for me. And I'm like, I'm sure there's other people. Who can benefit from that, right. So I decided to start my own business. And actually when we made the decision I had already, I stayed a professor and owned my business for one year at the same time. Yeah. So I had a business coach because I knew how to coach doctoral students, but I never ran a business. So I invested in myself and got that done. And then after a year, I was like, you know what, you know, being a professor started to be the distraction. You know, I still love teaching. I still do. I'm still part of the Academy, but that's not where I felt called to be at that at that time. And so that's where I decided to bet on myself and Dr. Shanell T Smith was on and popping all by herself. All by herself. You want me to get into what we do?
3:04: [Dr. G] Yes. If you want to talk about your program and what you're doing
3:09: [Dr. Smith] Yeah. So it actually progressed over time, but basically, what we do is help people thrive while they succeed.
3:18: [Dr. G] Can I pause? Can you say the name of it? Because we want to make sure listeners know where to go.
3:22: [Dr. Smith] Shanell T Smith Consulting, LLC and then also, I'll talk about the two things that we do. And then I do have a website for the doctoral students, the name of my company is Shanell T Smith Consulting and there are like two branches, right? So on the one hand, we work with doctoral students, so we help doctoral students whether they're individuals or with institutions. We partner with them to help students successfully navigate all stages of their program. So whether you're applying all the way to go on the academic job market and everything in between to help you finish faster in record time without sacrificing the quality of your life. That's the main thing. Without sacrificing the quality of your life or of your work, right? So we use that by using our proven Accelerate Your Doctorate method, right? So that's on a doctoral side. And what we do is not about, you know, just finish faster, finish faster. It's not about zooming through your process so where you're not learning anything, but it's about using the right strategies while prioritizing yourself because we found that a lot of doctoral students, they feel as though, you know, they want to give their blood, sweat and tears to these programs. Meanwhile, their health is deteriorating. Their families over here like what's going on, resentment and all of that. But the very thing they need to flourish, their health, their family, their lives are the, the very things they're relegating. And I'm like, no, you got to flip. That doesn't work. So that's one half of what we do and I'm actually proud to say that majority of our clients finish about 25% faster than they would on their own. And I have their, you know, all of their client testimonials and videos too. And that site is accelerateyourdoctorate.com. So if you are an institution or a doctoral student and you want to learn more about what we do on that end, it's accelerateyourdoctorate.com. Very easy. So the cool thing is all of the strategies and like the blueprints and action plans that we do for doctoral students also works for leaders, executives, corporate America because workplace productivity. Leadership development, right? Prioritizing yourself as well. So we also do workshops and also programs and trainings for institutions. And sometimes we have institutions or organizations reach out to us to train one of their employees to help them, you know improve a skill, especially with regards to productivity. So those are the two branches, if you will, of Shanell T Smith Consulting. And that's how it began.
6:02: [Dr. G] Ohh, I love that. And for the listeners, I'm going to have Dr. Smith's contact information, the links, all that she described in the bio in the description box below so that y'all can go and reach out to her and check it out for yourself. And I love that you're working with both populations because there's so much overlap as far as skills, as far as what you need to do in both of those avenues.
6:23: [Dr. Smith] Right! And I, you know, I love working with doctoral students and I don't want to be boxed in. I feel as though I've been called for something so much bigger. And I actually had a client tell me the other day, Dr. Smith, you playing small? I'm like, what? You know, so, you know, asking God to enlarge my territory and bring me into spaces where I need to be.
6:44: [Dr. G] Yes, yes. And sometimes, again, we put ourselves in those boxes because, you know, we can only think so far sometimes. That being open to any opportunity that comes your way and as your client said, sometimes you gotta think bigger or be ready for any bigger things that come your way. So that's awesome, I love that! And yeah, don't put yourself in a box because we don't have to, right? We are multifaceted people. So again, work with both populations as it will work well. So yeah.
7:15: [Dr. Smith] And I love it! And one of my missions is also to help women, especially people of women of color, because we are the main ones who relegate our health trying to take care of everybody else. And so working with women to help them prioritize themselves as well as be productive without having to give their entire lives to do it is definitely one of our missions as well. So, it's exciting.
7:39: [Dr. G] I love that! And speaking of that, specifically, in our previous conversation that we had before this podcast recording session, I remember you saying that one of your client’s spouses had said, Can you help me get my wife back? And can you just elaborate on that again, kind of that node to women having to sacrifice themselves, especially that client of yours and feeling like they have to just give their all to this program and not be able to, you know, have enough for others and for themselves, especially.
8:10: [Dr. Smith] Right! That's one of the main things and I, I just did a live the other day and I said, you know, this traditional way that doctoral students have been pursuing the doctorate is so yesterday. It is unacceptable. It is disrespectful and it needs to change, right? Because that's why 50% of doctoral students who enroll don’t finish. And then out of the 50%, who do 57% take *up to* 10 years. And I'm just like I tell, just like I tell my my leaders and my doctoral students. God forbid something happens to you, all they're going to do is admit another student. All they’re going to do is hire somebody else. And so that particular client and she's doctor now, so I'm excited for her and her testimony here actually on the website. But when we had our first consultation, her husband was on the phone because I said, you know, bring all decision makers on the phone. Let's just all ask questions. And I said, OK, you know, I, I don't remember his first name. And I was like, you know. Do you have any questions? And he was like, can you help me get my wife back? Because she's working full time. She's also taking care of children. She also has aging parents. And she's doing her doctorate full time. We don't spend time together. Dinners is just like whoever, you know, we're sitting at the table, but she's over there, you know, eating and also working at the same time. And we're like, this cannot continue.
9:36: [Dr. G] Not sustainable. No.
9:37: [Dr. Smith] No. And so I told him I was like, well, and she was on the call, I said, if your wife is coachable, yeah, you can get your wife back, you know. And after our first call, because the very first call that I do with my clients is audit their schedule. Make them ask them those tough questions like did you really have to say yes here? Why are you doing these presentations that has nothing to do with your research topic? Can you say no or can you refer to somebody else? And then when are you eating lunch like this is, no, we're not doing that. And so I audit their schedule and then that combined with the strategies that I teach them to help them do more in less time, which gives them more time to do other things like live their lives and go on dates with their spouses or whatever. That is what helped him get his wife back, right? So it's not just ohh, you know, yes, it's strategies, but it's also about being efficient with your time, making sure that you have boundaries. And here's another thing, and I'm like, let me know if I'm on my soapbox.
10:40: [Dr. G] No, keep going keep going.
10:41: [Dr. Smith] But here’s another thing, I tell people, and it's a book that I read - It's called “The Big Leap” by Gay Hendricks. It's a really good book and he reminds us that we own time. Like we own time. Everybody gets the same amount, 24 hours a day. And I tell them the reason why you don't have time is because you chose to give it away. It's always our fault. So as like I give the example of my son before he got his license, he said mom, can you drive me to the mall? And I'm like, no, I don't have time for that. Actually, I should say no, I don't want to use my time for that because I got the time. I just don't want to use it for that. So we have to turn the, I guess the, you know, look at ourselves in the mirror and be like, why don't I have this time? Why do I keep saying yes? Why am I a people pleaser? What's going on there? Can I say no? And then I share different strategies on how they can do that if they feel bad for saying no. And so it's so important to make sure that you prioritize yourself, whether you're a doctoral student, executive leader, it doesn't matter business owner. Put yourself on your calendar as an immovable meeting. Because that's the first thing that gets scratched off when something else needs to happen. Yeah. And I'm like, no, and I'll tell you a funny story and it's going to end and I don't even care. Like, I don't even work there anymore, but I had a standing hair appointment every Thursday at noon when I was a professor. Like clockwork. And we had our meetings, you know, our faculty meetings, there's a whole bunch of committees, task force and all of that. And every time somebody would say, well, you know, what about Thursday at 12? I'm sorry, I'm unavailable. Full stop. No is a full sentence, first of all, we don't need to give explanations. But they're looking at me like why? I'm like.
12:36: [Dr. G] It's not your business.
12:37: [Dr. Smith] What is that, that meme? It was like he looking at, what is it? He looking at me? I'm looking at you. Whatever that is. And I'm like, no, I said you they got, two, two choices, right? They can either reschedule or somebody can give me the notes. That's it. And so once I learned, because the things that I'm teaching my clients, like I'm still learning. My business coach is like, she's helping me with the same stuff. And ironically, she says the things that we are, do best for other people in the same thing our coaches need to help us with. And so I'm, you know still a work in progress too. I've gotten a lot better, which is why I can teach it and train on this stuff. But once I realized that I am the maker of my own schedule and I have agency and I own my own time, my whole world just opened up.
13:27: [Dr. G] Ooooo, we got to say that again, we own our own time. Like that's so important. And I know, like, it sounds so simple, but it's so profound.
13:34: [Dr. Smith] Because we forget.
13:36: [Dr. G] yes, yes.
13:37: [Dr. Smith] We forget. And because society is like, you know, number one if you're not giving your blood, sweat and tears, walking around looking haggard. If you're not, you know, looking like so overwhelmed and exhausted you ain't doing it right kind of thing. It's the thing, you have to redefine what success looks like. It's not about ohh, you know, I went to bed at midnight, woke up at four in the morning, That ain’t sexy. That’s not sexy at all.
14:03: [Dr. G] And the amount of people that brag about that be like, ohh, yeah, I was able to only get five hours of sleep. Like I, I honestly used to be one of those. I'm like, ohh, I could just, I could run on six hours, five hours. That used to be me. I'd be like, ohh, I'd be fine. I wasn't fine.
14:15: [Dr. Smith] Yeah, I tell my clients all the time, we do not subscribe to hustle culture. It gets to be easy. It does. But you've just got to be open to it. You gotta resist that narrative of, you know, you have to, if you're not sacrificing yourself, you're not doing it right, whether you're a doctoral student or not. And if you're open to learning a better, healthier way then let's talk. Right, so I only work with doctoral students who want that unfair advantage. If you want to go into your doctoral program and wing it, you'll finish. The question is, when are you going to finish and what frame of mind you going to be in when you do? And the thing that I try to get that doctoral students, especially, to understand is when you get enrolled into your program, your institutions, they're banking on you being in there for at least five years, minimum. And like I said, 57% who finished stay for *up to* 10 *years*. So they are banking, literally and figuratively, on that money that you keep giving them. And I'm just like, OK, if you, and I make them do the math, like I'm when I'm on a consultation with them. And I literally had a client, this is not even exaggeration, when she signed up to work with me, she had been stuck, meaning walking around doing everything else but her dissertation for 18 months. She had been paying, she paid over $108,000 in continuing dissertation fees but they'd rather do that just so they can say I'm working on my doctorate instead of investing a one-time fee, which is a lot cheaper than that, into doctoral coaching. I mean, offer premium coaching, you know what I mean? And you can get in and get out, right. Now, I'm not going to say we're the cheapest, but we're also not the most expensive. But you will get the results.
16:10: [Dr. G] Yeah, that's, that's wild! When you think about, yeah, those continuing fees that it's when you think of education sometimes when it comes to higher education specifically yeah do you gotta think of a business aspect right. That the school, the university they're trying to get money they're trying to get students enrolled and so if they can keep that doctoral student who doesn't want to like finish quickly yeah.
16:33: [Dr. Smith] Right and, and it's a psychological thing because so long as somebody can say I'm working on my doctorate, that's like bragging points, right? But I did a post a while ago, I was like, some of you say I'm working on my doctor for so long, it's part of your identity. Is it your middle name, now? Like, no! And there's also just like this, the culture of investing in oneself, is just it's not there. It's just not there. You know, and I laugh because, and I give this example, I'm like, OK, you're saying, you know, we do what we want to do when we want to do it. I've had people say they don't have the money for investing, but when Beyoncé’s concert came out the opened up charge cards. And I saw the feed on Facebook, I opened up a new credit card. I got my, you know, my cowboy boots. It was a set. Yes, it was. It was the cowboy, the Carter.
17:23: [Dr. G] Cowboy Carter Tour, Yeah
17:24: [Dr. Smith] Yes, and still, but they don't have the money for coaching. That's OK, That's OK. Do you Boo like still. But we do what we want to do, you know, and the way that we make it easy is easy as we can. You know, like I said, different, well, I haven't said this part, but different payment options. We even use, what is it, Klarna for buy now pay later like we make it as accessible as we can and as my business coach like to save money is figure out-able. We just need to know if you want the results and what you're willing to do to get it. And that's whether you're an exec or doctoral student it doesn't matter.
18:03: [Dr. G] Oooo, you just dropping knowledge like yeah, yeah. No and I and I, I connect to that so so much. I think that's why I also kind of pseudo accelerated my own program because I finished in three years because I was like I don't wanna I don't wanna pay y'all for continuously like no, I'm in and out like the amount that I'm here, I want to minimize that, right. I don't want to owe that much. I don't want to have that much that I have to give to y'all. That we're not going to extend this. But I know others in my program who have been there for 8-6 years, not because they weren't trying to accelerate, but because they encountered other roadblocks. Whole story like, right? And sometimes I wonder like are, you know, behind the scenes like are not to be like, speculating of sorts, but yeah, you have to think about some universities they want those doctoral students to be in for that amount of time so they can make extra money. Unfortunately.
18:52: [Dr. Smith] The thing is, you know, a lot of doctoral students are struggling. And it's not. The onus is not all on them. They haven't been taught how to pursue a doctorate and some of them go in there with that master’s program energy, I'm like, that's not gonna work. It's a whole different ball game. You, different rules. No, you know. But the thing is you get, when you go to orientation, you get your doctoral handbook, a checklist, you might go on a tour, meet some faculty, blah, blah, blah, but they are not going to teach you how to do what they are expecting you to do. So a lot of doctoral students are in their programs long because they sit at their computer. It's not like they're not working. Yeah, they show up day after day after day, but they're spinning their wheels trying to figure it out. That's where the time comes in. Yeah, you have the, you know, those who aren't really doing anything, but it comes to the point where they're frustrated. Or imposter syndrome raises its ugly head. And they’re just like, I don't even think I can do this anymore. Or everything else seems to be more important because they want to feel good about something they accomplished because the doctoral program ain't working. So there's so many different things that can come together that makes doctoral students stay in their program a lot longer than they need to. But as I said before, you know, it gets to be easy. And at any one of you're watching this podcast or you see one of my videos on TikTok, if you have heard anything that I said, now you are without excuse.
20:21: [Dr. G] Hmmm, she said it. So definitely reach out so that Dr. Smith Can Help you!
20:27: [Dr. Smith] You are without excuse! Right! Go to - accelerateyourdoctorate.com. We have so many different levels of coaching, but all of it is premium, you know? And if I can't help you, I'm gonna let you know. I'm not out here chasing the dollar. I'm chasing results, you know, and helping people do what they need to do. Because your doctoral program is, when you think about the grand scheme of life, it's but a blip, of it. That's it. You know, And just one more thing on why I believe doctoral students are in their program so long is because many are treating their dissertation like their magnum opus. Their life’s work. I'm like, it's an assignment. My first viral video on TikTok - Your dissertation is an assignment. Right? Get in and get out. Come back later after you get them letters behind your name and then go add all those bells and whistles. Why are you doing mixed methods? I mean, that's a whole nother podcast, but anyway, but I'm just saying, especially if you're not good at it, why are we doing it?
21:32: [Dr. G] Why do it now? What do they say? Like a good dissertation is a done dissertation, like come on.
21:38: [Dr. Smith] Right. And even when it's done, it ain't really finished. And I mean, who's really reading it? You and whoever's on your committee, not the world. That’s three to four people. That's it.
21:51: [Dr. G] And then maybe whoever is, like, in the same field might, like, come across it and use as a reference. Yeah, but yeah.
21:57: [Dr. Smith] But by then you’ve done already finished.
22:00: [Dr. G] But I love that and yeah, that it's not the end all be all right, that this isn't like your life’s work and like everything else. Like yes, you put your all as far as that program goes into writing your dissertation because it's like the completion of it, right? That the dissertation’s the final project you're doing to get the degree. Which mine is just sitting on my it's on the side right now. You can't see behind the flowers.
22:23: [Dr. Smith] Mine is over here. It’s down there somewhere still.
22:25: [Dr. G] It’s beautiful, I love it. But it it's, it's right there. It's it's a very expensive piece of paper. And so, but it's, it's worth it if that's the path you want to go on. I will personally say it didn't help me like build my career or have the building blocks for this, that and the other thing. I didn't use it for that purpose. It's more of it was a goal of mine, and I wanted to be kind of the first in my family. So that was my own goal, but whatever reason people want to choose, you go for it. But it is not, it doesn't define you. It doesn't encompass all of you. It's just a part, a part of you. And now we get some fancy letters in front of our name like that’s it.
23:05: [Dr. Smith] I think one of my videos says, you know, your doctorate doesn't make you somebody, you already are. So, and, and it's just like your doctorate is the vehicle, right? It helps you to do what you feel God has called you to do. If you don't need it, don't get one. And, I know, it's an unpopular opinion, but I don't believe in a hierarchy of degree, of degrees. You get the degree you need, to do what you feel God is calling you to do. That's it. You know, and, and The Academy is not the only place that you, is not the end all be all. There are so many things you can do with your doctorate. You know, I have clients come to me like, I'm not going into the Academy, but I just need it because people wanna asked me, you know, why should they listen to me right, if they're if they're on the speaking circuit or if you have a nonprofit and they just need those letters. Some, like you said, first one in my family bragging rights. I just want that. Others is like I'm running my business, you know, or hey, it’s an increase in my pay raise, in my, at my job.
24:09: [Dr. G] Yeah, yeah. People are doing it for various reasons. So you have to think about what is yours. And I want to also touch upon something that we had shared before, which might be, it might be a controversial, controversial idea and we'll see. You know, I say controversial but take it with a grain of rice, but, you don't believe in a work-life balance.
24:28: [Dr. Smith] I knew that was coming.
24:29: [Dr. G] Can you elaborate on that?
24:32: [Dr. Smith] Yes, for many, many, for majority of my life, I've always tried to have a work-life balance. That's what everyone talks about, right? But who's ever found it?
24:43: [Dr. G] Noone
24:44: [Dr. Smith] No, it's ever elusive. That's why I say. The work-life balance is a myth. I teach my clients about prioritization. You try to do a work-life balance, the scale is always tipped over. And then there's stress because it's like, you know, you have one of my good friends. She's also a New Testament professor, Dr. Jennifer Kaylin, she said, you know, we all have a lot of, a lot of balls in the air, just don't drop the glass ones. You know, right. That hit me. That hit me too. But it's so true. When you are trying to balance, something always falls short. So you're setting yourself up for some type of failure, whether it's work or what you consider life. But when you prioritize, you can't lose because number one if you, you know, you can choose what's number one for you, but for me is, you know, health and family. That's always number one. And then you do whatever the top three things that must get done today or the top two things. And I used to be one of those that had like, you know, those yellow leaguer, legal pads. My to-do list was all the way, like, you know, all the way down. And then what are you doing the next day? You write it all over again because you only did one thing. No. My, my coach, I mean, I'll just mention Her name is *Rosetta Thurman* and she's brilliant and I've had several brilliant business coaches but she said get an index card, top three things, that's it, that has to get done today and if you're in business it has to be the money makers, right? The thing that's going to keep your business afloat right but and then, after that, celebrate what you were able to do, celebrate yourself, and then let it go. Tomorrow's a new day, brand new most, mercies and just keep going. But no, I don't believe in a work life balance because you can never find it and instead I teach prioritization. Because you can't go wrong with that.
26:48: [Dr. G] Yeah. Ohh, I love that. I agree. Work-life balance is a myth. Like it doesn't it doesn't really exist that I think it was just fed to people, for people be like, ohh, yeah, well, if you like balance it out, it'll be fine. And you can do this like no, like you said, prioritize the things you need to prioritize and you want to prioritize because that is more accessible and attainable and realistic. Hmm, again, y'all are dropping knowledge. Again, go check out, Dr Smith's information is down there. Go check, go reach out to her. Listen to her!
27:21: [Dr. Smith] I would love to talk. Yes. Doesn't matter, doctoral student, corporate doesn't matter.
27:28: [Dr. G] So another thing I want to bring up is we again, we're talking about, you know, no work-life balance, talking about getting my wife back, and talking about people in programs and then also connecting this to people in career, right? That we have seen, both you and I, that a lot of people are drinking from what we're calling the all or nothing Kool-Aid. That they believe that they have to give their all or give nothing like that. That's it. There's no in between. So can we, let's talk about that a little bit.
27:55: [Dr. Smith] It’s kind of, it's kind of like, right, we like we drank, we drank the Kool-Aid, right? You're looking at who came before you. And even if you're looking at your family, if you're looking at, you know, just the this whole doctoral enterprise or corporate America, right, success has been defined as those who are just running ragged. Giving your whole blood, sweat, and tears, you know, I'll sleep when I'm dead kind of thing I'm just like no right someone has to be that change and be that intervention you know which is what we do you know as Shanell T Smith Consulting, like that plug, anyway but, seriously, it's, it's so important because if you don't, like I said earlier, they're just going to replace you like that, just like that. And I've had, I know one doctoral student, I know several doctoral students, who are in their early 30s taking high blood pressure pills. One had a stroke. I know a lot of, a lot of faculty members, my colleagues, who their health not good, not good. And then, you know, the hardest part of what I do is getting people to be open to doing something different because I can see it just as clear as day. Just like you said, it's a simple solution, but you have to be open to and it's like, no, because if I'm getting help, then that means I'm a failure or I'm not qualified to be here. Or if I'm not, you know, the badge of struggle or honor or being in the trenches. I can't stand that. Then you know I'm not doing it right. No. What happened to embracing ease? What happened to offering yourself grace? It's not all or nothing. Because if you give your all, they're not gonna give you nothing back but that paycheck that's from nine to five that you work for. Meanwhile, you working from beyond those hours. Why? You're not getting paid for that, you know. And then at the end of the day, your family, your friends, your health, everything that does matter is suffering. But you're running that rat race. You're running, you're just running on E thinking that you're being successful, but you're only succeeding in the, you know, making your health go down or even, you know, resentment in your families or anything, your relationships. I can't tell you how many times doctoral student, you know they’ll talk about, you know, I finally was able to go to an event. I was like, I couldn't believe how big this person is. Like, yeah, well, if you came around more, you would, you know. But they can. You don't have to stay, you don't have to say no. And when you have the strategies on how to be more efficient with your time. How to do more in less time, how to stop spinning your wheels because you know exactly how to do what's expected of you. It becomes easy. And then you're able to breathe. You know, I cannot, there's so many people in the world today who are just, If I were to ask them, you know, how are you breathing? They don't realize they're panting. Because they're just like trying to, you know, I gotta do this, I gotta just everything. And I'm like, you're not even breathing deeply. You know, and all of that matters, you know. And I used to be that way, you know, and before, you know, thank God for therapy. And if anybody, especially if you're a doctoral student, please get a therapist. I'm a big advocate for therapy, it does not mean that you are weak. It means you want to remain strong. OK. I have had a therapist more than more than how what? More than half of my life? But, I've been successful, you know, I'm still here, got my wits about me, but before, before I was all about, you know, self-care or whatever. I would do it like, I'd go get my massages. I'm like, yeah, I went for massage today. But as soon as I left the massage parlor, it was like the weight came right back. And I asked my therapist, like, why isn't this working? And she's like, because you are not doing it from a place of self-love. You are doing it from a place of resistance. Of feeling like your back is against the wall. So you're still fighting. Once you learn how to just let everything go, know that you're doing this out of a place of self-love and everything is not trying to fit everything in, but you got room to breathe, then your body's like, ohh, yeah, all right. This feels good. It's not like anticipating the work, the load to come back on you soon as you leave, you know, get off the table. And so that's what I've been able to not only hone for myself, but also to teach anybody who’ll listen right that it doesn't have to be as hard as it is. You know, and it's such a beautiful life giving thing to teach somebody how to just be.
32:52: [Dr. G] And I know it sounds like when you hear you're like just be, right, but and hearing you talk about self-care, I don't know where I heard it or I saw a video of some sorts that sometimes when we all think of self-care, we think of, you know, going and getting our hair done going and getting massages, those kind of like I would call them surface level self-care things, but we're not, like you said, we're not, we're not in self-love. We're not digging deeper. And that part of getting to the root of like, OK, why am I feeling this way? Why am I reacting this way? What's happening this way? What are my emotions? That part of self-care is something that we often neglect. And so we do the things, you know, we, we go and get our nails done, we get our hair did, we do all of those things, but then we're like, so why do I still feel not great? It's because we're not digging deeper and doing that shadow work, that, that root work, that core work, because that, that part is the part of self-care, that we need to do.
33:45: [Dr. Smith] My therapist said that, God created us to be human beings, not doings. I'm like, OK. I’ll receive it.
33:54: [Dr. G] OK, Yep, apparently I needed to hear that today. What?
33:58: [Dr. Smith] But, but to to just be or to to take a minute? It's not praised. Not Celebrated. No, it's not. You know, and, and it should be and this is what this is, and I'm just like, Lord, just please let me be able to just reach, get past, get past the, this wall of just trying to do all the things and getting nothing done at the same time. And only hurting yourself in the process.
34:34: [Dr. G] Yes, yes. OK. So as we are coming towards the end of our conversation, is there anything that…
34:41: [Dr. Smith] Already?
34:42: [Dr. G] I know, I know. I said towards the end, we're not at the end. We're getting, we're just like, yeah, we got a lot today, so we're here. But is there anything additional that you want to talk about in this moment? That is kind of, you know, popped up on your heart. Anything you want to share additionally in this moment that we haven't talked about already?
34:58: [Dr. Smith] And I was trying to think of some of the topics that we've talked about. We've hit everything. I really just want people to know that it does get to be easy. It's your God-given right to prioritize yourself. And show love to yourself. Offer yourself grace, you know. And it's up to you to decide. And when you get sick and tired of being sick and tired of doing the same things and getting the same results, which means that you're overworked, you're overtired, you're stressed out, and you're overwhelmed, then you'll make the change. But you got to be open to it.
35:36: [Dr. G] And hopefully hearing this, you'll make the change before that happens because being burnt out is not a, it's not a fun place. It's not something we're idolizing.
35:43: [Dr. Smith] Your body will sit you down and you don't want that. The only, I guess the other thing that I wanted to and I know you have the links, but I do invite all future doctors to get I have a freebie. It is the 12 simple steps to accelerate your doctorate, get in, yes, you will be on the mailing list. I don't, I can put that out there because you already know. But guess what, there's an unsubscribe button right at the bottom. So, you don't have to keep it, you know, but there's some very valuable information that I share and also on all of my socials. But I really have a fun time on TikTok. I just love it, you know, with all the memes and the, you know, the dances and I'm like, I can't keep up with a lot of them. I'm just like, we just kind of, I’m gonna let y'all have that, but I would love to connect. Let me know who you are and if I can just do a just a word to doctoral students, I just want to remind you that you are brilliant. You are brilliant. Everything you need to finish and complete your doctorate is already within you. It's already within you. If you didn't have you know what it takes to complete your program or to handle the rigors of academic life, you wouldn't have gotten accepted. So I want you to remember that. Offer yourself some grace, and when you are ready to have the doctoral experience that you deserve, I invite you to apply for a call at accelerateyourdoctorate.com or just message me to say hello.
37:14: [Dr. G] Ohh. I love that. Ohh. Thank you so much for being here, Dr. Smith.
37:20: [Dr. Smith] Thank you. Thank you. And that goes for anybody. Listen, if you want to get your life back as you are successful, let's have a conversation. I'm so grateful for what you do, Dr. Green. No I’m serious. Because we need platforms like yours to get messages out that will help people. You know, and I can already tell that this is part of your calling even in the, the pre-call that we had. You know, she's about her business, y'all. She's about her business.
37:50: [Dr. G] You’re gonna make me cry over here.
37:52: [Dr. Smith] She asked how can we help the people? What can we, can we can talk about this. Is there anything else? Any other words of wisdom that you have? And I love the fact that you don't just want to talk about the doctoral program because we are more than that. And so I appreciated the question about, you know, what else do you do talk about anything else, anybody else that you help outside of the doctoral program? And so I just asked that God will continue to enlarge your territory, that your platform will just go as wide as far as you would like it to go and that you be successful. So I want to stay connected and thank you for inviting me.
38:30: [Dr. G] Thank you so much you! You got me over here crying! I, I'm an emotional being and I love and embrace my emotions so I'm over here crying y’all that's, aww thank! I needed to hear that today.
38:39: [Dr. Smith] And you can just tell. you can just tell you.
38:41: [Dr. G] Thank you!
Well, that concludes this episode. But if you have enjoyed listening to my conversation with Dr. Shanell T. Smith and you would like to check out more episodes, then please check out my website – brokephdpodcast.com – to continue to follow along. I thank you for being here and remember – YOU GOT THIS. Again, I'm your host Dr. G and I hope you have a wonderful day!