Trusting Your Unique Skill Set Through Career & Life Transitions with Former ESPN Reporter Danyelle Musselman

The Women in the Arena

In sport and in life, there are always plot twists you don’t see coming.

In this episode, Paige Rene explores the fascinating journey of embracing the unexpected when it comes to career with former ESPN reporter Danyelle Sargent-Musselman.

From her humble beginnings, working behind the scenes at CNN, to her prominent role in front of the camera, Danyelle gets candid about her entire journey and how she balances all her responsibilities as a leader.

The two also explore how Danyelle transitioned from her former career to follow her newfound passion, proving that career pivots can happen at any stage in life. The episode illustrates how the journey to self-discovery and fulfillment is never linear, even for women leaders who are already thriving in their own arena.

Takeaways:

1. Exploring new career paths does not have a deadline. If you know and trust your skillset, you can always pivot and go for what truly makes you feel alive.

2. Authentic leadership can inspire and guide others towards success without the need to impose authority.

In this episode:

[1:25] Paige opens the episode by asking Danyelle to share the cliff notes version of her career. Danyelle shares how she used to work behind the scenes at CNN when she was starting out. They also talk about establishing work-life harmony amidst fulfilling all responsibilities.

[7:15] The two continue their discussion on juggling responsibilities and knowing the things to say no to. Paige talks about the uncertainties her clients face when plunging into new career paths. She then asks Danyelle if there was ever a time when she didn’t really know the outcome of the leap she was about to take.

[14:44] Paige brings up philanthropy and asks Danyelle how she transitioned from her former career to making this her passion. The discussion accentuates the possibility of pivoting to different career paths regardless of one’s age, current profession, and more.

[20:02] Danyelle talks about her leadership style which is leading by example. The conversation also transitions to social media—from Twitter, Instagram, to TikTok and the radical responsibility people have in how these platforms affect their lives.

[28:45] Paige wraps up the episode by asking Danyelle what really lights her up and how she

feels about being among the women in the arena who are going for what they truly want.

Resources

1. The Women In The Arena

2. Follow Danyelle Musselman on Twitter

3. Follow Danyelle Musselman on Instagram

4. Listen on Google Podcasts

5. Listen on Spotify

Quotes

1. "Passion is one of my favorite words because I live my life with passion..." - Former ESPN Reporter, Danyelle Musselman

2. "...Just because you are 40 or 45 and you wanna pivot, that's ok. And you can find just as big of success in your second or your third act as you did in your first act .And that's something I had to just learn by going through it.” - Former ESPN Reporter, Danyelle Musselman on transitioning to new career routes

3. “...A lot of times society and (the) media in general will talk about the downfall of some of those platforms…it's actually [that] the platform is neutral and you can take radical responsibility for how you're using it or how it's affecting you.” - Paige Rene, Host