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72 "Always be a first-rate version of yourself and not a second-rate version of someone else." —Judy Garland Cheryl Marchant, SVP, Default at Freedom Mortgage, concedes that it was tough to find her voice early in her career. "New to the business, I was eager to learn everything about mortgage servicing—specifically the default world—and that meant taking on challenges outside my traditional comfort zone. Learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable is where I experienced the greatest amount of professional and personal growth." STEPS ALONG THE PATH e first step you must take in your quest to find your voice is to uncover your passion. is can be a difficult thing to do with the non- stop noise, speed, and chaos that accompanies the day-to-day grind. So, make sure you are devoting enough downtime to ascertain what it is that you're most passionate about. ere are several ways to do this: » Try new things! Step outside your comfort zone to see if something interests you. » Determine if you need to say goodbye to certain people, work responsibilities, or other things that are a distraction and likely won't be a part of your future. » Identify what makes you happy and try to leverage and/or incorporate more of those thoughts, activities, and philosophies into your career. » Consider the values and characteristics of people who inspire you, or those who've left a positive impression on you. en, nurture those qualities within yourself so they grow to be uniquely yours. » Do your best to diffuse your fears and the vulnerability that manifests itself when faced with failure. Some of our best lessons are learned when we miss our mark. » Be self-aware. Know your strengths and weaknesses, forgive yourself for mistakes made, and learn from them. » Identify those values that are important to you—integrity, accountability, perseverance, adaptability, discipline, etc.—and cultivate them. Once you have honed-in on your passion, hold yourself accountable to it. Pursue things that will foster your passion in both your work and home life. When you do this, you'll begin to truly enjoy yourself. Having fun as often as you can is something we all can aspire to. STRIVE FOR WORK-LIFE BALANCE For Lauren urmond, a Partner at Hutchens Law Firm in Charlotte, North Carolina, achieving work-life balance means "getting enough sleep, exercise, and time with my friends and family to be the best version of myself for my loved ones and colleagues." She believes this can be best accomplished by being honest with your organization about what your expectations are regarding work-life balance. "My expectations have changed over time as my children have reached school age and there are events during normal working hours that I do not want to miss. I value flexibility at this stage in my life more than I did earlier in my career." Marchant defines work-life balance as "being fulfilled in both your professional and personal life. It's about taking time to enjoy the beauty around you at work and outside of it." She advocates for surrounding yourself with capable individuals who you trust to gain a stronger sense of empowerment. "When you're empowered, you have a platform to use your voice by being a mentor," Marchant said. "It allows you to share your experience to sharpen your team members' skill sets and increase their overall knowledge of the mortgage servicing industry so they can be successful for years to come." Personally, I am not a fan of the phrase "work-life balance." e definition of balance in verb form reads: "to keep or put (something) in a steady position so that it does not fall." at definition itself puts pressure on us to not let something fall by the wayside. To me, it seems impossible not to let something fall every single day, and therefore we are setting ourselves up for failure. Perhaps we should throw balance out the window and instead simply strive for harmony. is calls for work and life to blend together as one, providing opportunities for a disciplined structure to the management of your day. Be alright with allowing home to take priority over work sometimes and vice versa. Don't feel like you are choosing one over the other but rather the needs of one are the focus to keep harmony. How is that best accomplished? » Start by working with realistic expectations. As a new mother, I have never felt so insecure or guilty about … well, literally everything. And you don't have to be a It doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman, work for a mortgage company as a loan officer or have a role in default servicing, you must be able to stand up for yourself, your convictions, and your capabilities. To do this effectively, you must find your voice.