Unstoppable Grit: Breaking Through Roadblocks and Overcoming Burnout with Danielle Cobo, Episode #190

Danielle Cobo spent 15 years in corporate America working in the medical device industry at a Fortune 500 company. The company she worked for was acquired and the culture changed drastically. She left the company she thought she’d retire with.

Danielle lost her mother unexpectedly and shortly after, the world shut down due to covid. She felt like her life had flipped upside down.

So she started building a brand on LinkedIn. People started reaching out for career coaching and speaking engagements. She took her passion for mentoring, coaching, and speaking and turned it into a business. Her goal? To impact as many lives as possible.

Danielle is now the best-selling author of “Unstoppable Grit” and hosts the globally top-rated podcast, “Unstoppable Grit Podcast with Danielle Cobo.”

Listen in for some great takeaways about Danielle’s journey from Fortune 500 executive to being a best-selling author, podcast host, and entrepreneur.

What “unstoppable grit” means to Danielle

Angela Duckworth defines grit as “Passion and perseverance toward long-term goals.” But Danielle believes that grit is the refusal to give up when we face challenges, to push forward despite all odds. And to have grit, she emphasizes that we need clarity on what we’re passionate about.

When Danielle lost her mom, and she was writing her obituary, it forced Danielle to think about what she wanted people to say about her when she passed. Danielle wrote her own obituary from the perspective of a colleague and the perspective of a family member. She kept two questions in mind:

How did she want people to feel?
What did she want people to say about her?

She realized that she wanted to make an impact on people’s lives. That realization led her to understand her why—and what launched her journey to entrepreneurship.

What does having an impact look like for Danielle?

Danielle hopes to inspire and empower people to become better versions of themselves, professionally and personally. She does this by teaching principles and strategies to help people thrive in all areas of their lives. She teaches from tried and true experiences, backed by research.

Why Danielle launched the Unstoppable Grit podcast

When Danielle started her business, she was helping people develop their brands, negotiate salaries, etc. Then her business evolved into keynote speaking.

So her podcast evolved into covering topics like career development, leadership development, and burnout prevention. The goal of the podcast is to help people develop resilience and thrive in their careers.

She wanted a tool and resource to help people who may not be able to invest in her services but she still wanted to impact. The podcast gives her reach to a broader audience. She’s been able to interview some of the top authors and keynote speakers in the world.

How adversity helps you internalize grit

Grit is both innate and learned. You can fall victim to the challenges you face or you can embrace them as learning experiences. You can use those learning experiences to develop skills that will help you overcome future challenges. Each stage in life prepares and develops us for the next stage.

For example, Danielle hopes that the decisions her children make aren’t permanent. You can only learn to make better decisions when you have to deal with the consequences of poor ones.

What Danielle wants readers to take away from her book

Have you lost a family member? Made a big career change? Experienced burnout? Danielle hopes her readers relate to how they felt experiencing a similar situation. She provides the tools to prevent and overcome burnout, gain clarity on what they want in their careers, and break through roadblocks that keep them from achieving goals.

There are seven signs of emotional burnout. Danielle breaks them down in three chapters in her book. You have to cultivate a high level of self-awareness. When you identify what triggers you, you can overcome it with the right tools. Danielle shares how you can identify emotional burnout within yourself so that when you see the signs, you can understand why, and implement practical ways to overcome it.