Successful Rule Breakers: Sasha Laghonh Of Sasha Talks On How To Succeed By Doing Things Differently

An Interview With Chad Silverstein

Improve an existing skill set. No one is a finished product. Take a skill that you’re good at and work at becoming even better at it! Some people only focus on acquiring new skills that they forget to hone their existing ones. Reinventing the wheel is not always needed to gain a competitive advantage. Focus on improving your blind spots and weaknesses that matter but refrain from investing all your time and energy in totally eliminating your weaknesses. You’re a human being, not a machine. There’s a reason why people are brought together to complement and supplement their skills when working together.

In the world of business and within every industry, there are forward-thinking leaders who go against the status quo and find success. Their courage to take risks, embrace innovation, and inspire collaboration separates them from the competition. Until 2002, Apple’s famous slogan was “Think Different”. This attitude likely helped them become one of the most successful organizations in history. This interview series aims to showcase visionary leaders and their “status quo-breaking” approach to doing business. As part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sasha Laghonh.

Sasha is the Founder of Sasha Talks, an educational and commercial platform that integrates self & professional development into nurturing meaningful outcomes. As a speaker, broadcaster and author, she partners alongside global clients to capitalize upon their talent and resources. Visit sashatalks.com to learn more.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us your “Origin Story”? Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

My childhood traces back to California prior to life opportunities introducing me to other parts of the United States and abroad. While growing up my social activities focused on the arts, social service, writing and sports. The latter opportunities complimented my commercial interests when I was pursuing my education and getting started with my business career. As I acquired various commercial experiences by working among different industries and roles, I recognized the need to create a platform which granted me an opportunity to share my business acumen without isolating any skill sets. I wouldn’t have to choose which skills I can apply to secure a role in the market. Once upon a time having several skill sets was frowned upon because employers would grow frustrated when they couldn’t put me in a specific box, or they would project their insecurities by assuming I wouldn’t commit to a specific craft. Times have changed. Well, the inception of Sasha Talks granted me the autonomy and creativity to expand my portfolio of professional interests without adhering to intellectual constraints projected by the corporate realm.

Can you give us a glimpse into your journey into this industry and share a story about one of the most significant challenges you faced when you first started out? How did you end up resolving that challenge?

I already had experience working within the academic, publishing and commercial sectors that the transition into this industry didn’t result in a culture shock. As with any new endeavor, the creator needs to study and engage among the intended audiences to understand what the space is about, what is working well and then reflect upon its blind spots. Having a fair understanding of the space isn’t good enough because it creates a vacuum for one to form assumptions which yield no merit in the long run. Raising awareness of what you have to offer can be communicated through creative means but I encourage people to narrow down their target markets before making any investments. It will save you time, resources and sanity in the process. Since I come from a marketing background, I leveraged my prior professional experiences to situate the platform among relevant spaces for specific time periods during the early stages to connect with general then niche audiences as its identity materialized over time.

Who has been the most significant influence in your business journey, and what is the most significant lesson or insight you have learned from them?

I would like to credit Josh whom I met when I started out in my career. He was an entrepreneur from the age of thirteen that it required a lot of mental stimulation for him to feel excited about any professional collaborations that sought him out during his brief corporate career. He already knew what he wanted to do that he officially transitioned to entrepreneurship and never looked back. He kept insisting that one day I’ll find myself working in such spaces because I too required mental stimulation, a quality that can’t be down played for too long. When a personal or professional environment isn’t aligned with your positive growth, it’s best to leave instead of thinking things will change. People make up organizations and if the mindsets in some of these organizations don’t change then it’s best for individuals to make a responsible choice to seek an environment that can nurture their growth. It’s important to remain reasonable because if you’re not in alignment with some of these commercial spaces, either you’ll need to mature to explore the opportunity, or you’re simply seeking the wrong environments (for you) based on false premises.

Get to know and invest in yourself. With time you’ll know where you’re needed in life. There are no glass ceilings if you’re managing your growth instead of relying on others to dictate those terms.

Can you share a story about something specific that happened early on that you would consider a failure but ended up being a blessing in disguise or ended up being one of the most valuable lessons you had to learn on your own?

I recall years ago I was contacted by a vetted organization to pen an article on a specific topic. It was meant to be published and shared with attendees at their annual industry event. I was given a deadline of a week with specific parameters to meet for the delivery. I covered a legal topic that was unfolding with vetted testimonies, active legal cases confirmed by specific law firms, and open legal cases that welcomed new plaintiffs to come forward. Since the article was reporting facts, the publisher conveniently changed their tune following my submission by claiming the backlog of articles may impact my reporting to go live in time. Instead of publishing the report on a specific date to accommodate their industry event, they deferred it to a later time frame. I was in kosher standing since I met all of their requirements for publishing, after all they had sought me out.

When the article was published, it turned out the content was shadow banned. It remained that way for 72 hours until I confronted them for their hypocrisy. If an association claims to only execute their mission based on facts, then it’s interesting they won’t publish content that is based on facts because it goes against the grain of their superficial existence. If their values change to accommodate a fleeting wave of trends, then it tells us such sources lack a backbone in their identity especially when they’re representing an entire industry. If the association functions in such a manner, then I can only imagine what values the members represent when conducting business.

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I had taken action to retain my creator rights permitting my content to be used for another opportunity. Since the ‘real world’ didn’t witness the reporting, I was able to repurpose it through an educational resource that purchased the content to implement in one of their business cases as part of their teaching curriculum.

The lesson is to maintain your stance even when others may adjust their values to accommodate fleeting trends. Facts are facts. Facts don’t care about how we feel. Facts still need to be communicated in a dignified manner. Also facts remain the same whether we revisit them a day, or a decade from now.

This comes down to knowing your negotiables and non-negotiables when going about your day to day life.

Leading anything is hard, especially when grappling with a difficult situation where it seems that no matter what you decide, it will have a negative impact on those around you. Can you share a story about a situation you faced that required making a “hard call” or a tough decision between two paths?

This has to do with forming standards and adhering to them. It’s a two way street when working with individuals and organizations. It’s important when standards are communicated that they’re also enforced. Not everyone and not everything can be an exception, or it defeats the point of having a standard in the first place. Pay attention, you’ll know when it’s an exception, or a typical occurrence of a situation.

We make thousands of decisions in a day, don’t make it harder than it is. Don’t lower your standards to make things work when it comes to people and opportunities. Let them meet or exceed the set standards. There’s wisdom in it.

Let’s shift our focus to the core of this interview about ‘Successful Rule Breakers’. Why did you decide to “break the rules”? Early on, did you identify a particular problem or issue in how businesses in your industry generally operated? What specifically compelled you to address this and want to do things differently? Please share how you went about implementing those changes and the impact they had.

I’ve historically marched to my own tune when it comes to brainstorming ideas and how I make decisions in my life. Many people have tried to label me and put me into a mold but life doesn’t work that way. I believe it’s narcissistic when society tries to project their theories of how you should best apply yourself. If you’re not serving a specific audience well, then they’ll start speculating why they can’t reign you in. We’re not animals, we’re human beings.

I’ve never received complaints from people whom I’ve served by helping them fundraise money and attract revenue to fuel their enterprises. When people engage in retaliatory speech and behaviors it’s because they aren’t in positive alignment with what you stand for and offer to the world. So if I’m ever asked why a specific prospect isn’t a match for collaboration, I can reference their subpar behaviors for affirming my decision to not engage them. The latter is an example of breaking rules because a lady isn’t expected to hold an opinion and make it known even if it will improve the environment around her. Female disruptors in these business spaces are encouraged to be less apologetic for having standards and informed opinions regardless of whether people agree with them or not. No one is perfect. Speaking up for the right reasons shouldn’t be treated as an offense.

It’s interesting because I’ve remained indifferent towards the notion of being a rule breaker. I’ve always been aware that I didn’t fit a specific mold in the commercial markets yet with time smart investors started leveraging my skills. There are infinite books available on business planning and execution to guide prospective professionals in different market spaces. Acquiring guidance from the external world is one thing, it’s still important to develop yourself as a person because the latter will play a more significant role in your success in the long run. Some people treat success as a fixed formula where you plug in resources and actions to yield an outcome. This can work for a certain period of time, but if one lacks a good understanding of themselves as a person the best resources will still stunt one’s potential.

I’ve let the platform evolve over time while keeping its nucleus the same. I’ve grown alongside the platform which reflects the offerings available through the consulting services but I haven’t abandoned who I am in the process. It’s important to keep the main thing to be the main thing in business. It’s fine to expand one’s portfolio of work by building verticals and exploring partnerships, although it shouldn’t come at the expense of going against yourself.

Often I recognize newcomers are very keen on serving everyone with the hopes of jumping on the bandwagon of trends but they fail to question if any of those activities align with who they are and whether it serves their mission. React less, instead take time to respond better to opportunities in the market.

In the ever-changing business landscape, how exactly do you decide when to adhere to industry norms versus “breaking the rules” and forging your own way? Can you share an example?

They’ve been times where I’ve been the early adopter for exciting projects out there. To the contrary, I’ve also been mindfully slow to embrace tools and resources available that could supplement the platform. It’s because for every idea that works well, it also creates more work for me to oversee the process from inception to launch then managing it over time. I believe in some industries, the norms still reside that you adhere to specific interests without crossing over in other spaces due to fear mongering related to competition, or the possibility that one will compromise their credibility if they are multi-tasking by representing different initiatives. It comes down to focus and choosing the key variables that work for you and the market. Sasha Talks contributes to the entertainment, business services, education and lifestyle sectors. It didn’t require me to reinvent the wheel. It was a matter that required a firm decision on how to translate different aspects of my life into a structured market.

All the Executives that I personally know adhere to multiple channels of engagement to raise awareness of their craft. If someone were to frown upon how I operate in the industry, it’s a reflection of their lack of understanding, or projection of fears when they choose to forego risk. Everything in life comes with risk. There are no handouts. Money doesn’t come free, you need to learn how to create it. There are no guarantees in life. It will come down to what degree do you trust your judgment. I rarely seek guidance from others but when I do it’s always from personalities that have a proven track record to go with it. Anyone can prop themselves up as a self significant source in today’s age therefore I only encourage to engage vetted sources.

What guidance or insight can you offer to new entrepreneurs trying to follow existing and accepted industry norms while at the same time trying to differentiate themselves in the marketplace?

My only guidance is to make sure why you started out in the first place. If you choose to integrate any third party ideas/norms into your work, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Every decision has consequences for better or worse. If you make the decisions for the right reasons, it will be easier to pivot when the execution needs attention.

Business is like life, there will be ups and downs, you’ll need to know how to fly the kite even during severe weather conditions. If you blindly follow others, you won’t know what to do when a tornado hits because you forgot to focus on your lane. Remain true to yourself because it will shine through what you offer in the marketplace. There is someone for everyone to connect with so refrain from letting the silence or delays overwhelm you. Take those moments to reflect and strengthen your identity in the market.

To make an impact, you have to champion change, get creative, and take risks. Please think back about the decisions you’ve made that have helped your business get to where it is today, and share your top 5 strategies or decisions that helped you succeed by doing things differently.

1 . Remain true to yourself. There will be many temptations to exercise different ideas that can possibly deliver miraculous results. It can be exciting but remember you need to leverage time in the near and long future. Stay true to your values without seeking shortcuts that can lead you back to the starting line. Good things take time to develop if you care about longevity. When making decisions don’t go against who you are in order to make third parties happy, or to accommodate fleeting trends. Instead become a trendsetter yourself.

2 . Uphold your standards. It’s normal to yearn for immediate results in the marketplace that sometimes people manipulate circumstances to yield specific outcomes. If you’re inflating yourself to be significant, you won’t survive when the going gets tough. Take life as it comes and organically align with the demands of the day. Don’t lower your standards to make yourself feel better. Make sure you meet your standards, at a minimum, before expecting others to adhere to them. If you claim you have standards, hold yourself accountable to them and also enforce them when others enter your realm. Do your best to surround yourself with people that can help you become a better version of you. You will thank yourself one day.

3 . Keep learning. You’re a student of life, not a specific milestone within your life journey. Keep an open mind to learn from people, experiences and vetted sources of knowledge that can feed your evolving perspective on life. It will also deliver new ideas that can make your life more joyful and your work more efficient when serving others. There are seasons in life when we learn about ourselves then there are seasons when co-existence is needed to learn from others. Both are necessary for our progress.

4 . Improve an existing skill set. No one is a finished product. Take a skill that you’re good at and work at becoming even better at it! Some people only focus on acquiring new skills that they forget to hone their existing ones. Reinventing the wheel is not always needed to gain a competitive advantage. Focus on improving your blind spots and weaknesses that matter but refrain from investing all your time and energy in totally eliminating your weaknesses. You’re a human being, not a machine. There’s a reason why people are brought together to complement and supplement their skills when working together.

5 . Live your life. There’s no need to be anchored by a desk or computer to extract inspiration to do work. If you give yourself a chance, most of your ideas will seek you out when you’re going about living your life. There’s no formula or magnet to attract ideas. Real work unfolds when you’re busy living doing the things you enjoy and taking care of yourself. Become open to the idea of living as a whole instead of becoming too restrictive of when and how you’ll discover better ways of bringing your ideas to the marketplace. Some people work well under constraints, others work well in relaxed atmospheres. What does this all mean? You don’t need to have all the answers to get started. If you can accept this then you can cope better with the timing of how plans fall into place.

As a leader, how do you rally others to align with your vision? Also, how do you identify those who may not be fully committed or even silently sabotaging or undermining your efforts? What steps do you take to address these situations?

In recent years I speak on ‘finding your tribe’. Leading by example is one of the ways to invite others to align with your vision. I don’t believe in investing time to preach or deliberately projecting ideas onto people because the platform has always welcomed people from all walks of life to engage when there’s a need. Those who share similar values, goals and interests will join when it’s their time. Anyone who falls outside that genre can go elsewhere. If anyone engages in deviant behaviors or strays from operational protocol that requires further attention, those scenarios are handled by legal and appropriate parties.

Imagine we’re sitting down together two years from now, looking back at your company’s last 24 months. What specific accomplishments would have to happen for you to be happy with your progress?

I would have to really reflect upon this because the platform’s evolution has unfolded organically in real-time before audiences. I suspect there would be more conversation surrounding the intellectual and educational aspect of the platform. Sasha Talks has always appreciated the insights of people who can marry their life and professional experiences to bring valuable offerings to the market. One size doesn’t meet all. People have been able to accomplish this in many ways regardless of their educational standing and life experiences. The on-going conversation among audiences and clients is always changing due to the needs defining the state of the global marketplaces.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I encourage people to contact the one person that has unknowingly impacted their life for the better. People don’t realize how their presence can make a positive difference regardless of logistics and time. Let them know how their presence has made a difference in your life. If the person is no longer among us, you can make a small donation in their memory to a cause that aligns with how they impacted your life.

How can our readers continue to follow you or your company online?

People are welcome to visit sashatalks.com and drop a hello through the Contact page.

Thank you so much for sharing all of these insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Thank you Chad! I appreciate answering your insightful questions.

About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com