Business
You have to know your workplace, the environment you’re operating in and you need to know yourself. You may not be funny. So if you’re not funny, find someone who is. - Cyn Epler Meet Cyn Epler Raised in suburban Ohio, Cynthia Epler grew up interested in foreign adventures and at 18 years old, boldly crossed the northern border to attend the University of Michigan without a passport. After completing her highly marketable degree in German and French, she purchased a one-way ticket to Austria where she taught English, American history, and US pop culture as part of the Fulbright program until landing a Euro-dot-com job in London. After sufficiently mildewing, she finally traveled to Washington DC where she found the lowest paying job possible working on international democracy development at the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES). Since joining the Defense Department, Cyn completed six tours in Afghanistan, advised four-star generals, and otherwise found life with the military rewarding work. The hardship tour in Hawaii, where she learned how to surf, didn’t suck either. Based out of Florida since 2011, Cyn enjoys writing humor, torturing her Midwestern friends with how awesome the Sunshine State is, and beaching it with her beloved, fuzzy sidekick Fiona. Fiona and Cyn are available for Bar/Bat Mitzahs, family reunions, and other events, which might result in a Jerry Springer-like mayhem. Connect with Cyn: LinkedIn Instagram On this episode, Stacey & Cyn talk about... What Cyn wanted to be when she grew up and how it plays out today (3:00) Working for the government and department of defense/defense intelligence after 9/11 (6:01) Bringing comedy and humor into her life and work (11:08) The struggle of bringing humor to her job and dealing with serious people (20:08) What to know and look for as an emerging or established leader when using humor at work (24:58) Cyn's current side gig teaching people how to use levity in the work place and how she unlocks the humor muscle in other people (29:00) Biggest formality Cyn had to shed to get to where she is today (35:15)