Dr. Kizzy Parks

Candice Bar: Why is entrepreneurship something we should earn?

Kizzy Parks: I believe we should earn everything. I don’t believe that there’s anything in life that should just be given to us. I think that sort of mentality comes from a place of ego. What’s really important is: one you’re building humility, and two, you’re loving the process. People think, “Entrepreneurship is something I should be given, it should just happen. I have this idea, why aren’t people going with it? Why aren’t I on a yacht?” When that isn’t true at all; this is a whole process. You have to put in the reps, you have to put in the time, and you have to cut things out of your life. Entrepreneurship is something you really have to earn. That is why so few entrepreneurs are actually successful; or that they’re profitable. They are able to be in business for long period of time. So many people get caught up in their ego and expect, “Hey!This should be given to me!” They give up way too soon, or they grossly underestimate the time, energy, and psychological resources that it takes to be an entrepreneur.

CB: Can you share a personal example of how you’ve earned something that you are proud of?

KP: I’ll give you two! I have a Guinness World Record Title for most skips of a rope in sixty seconds in flip flops. The record set is 182; which is more than 3 skips a second. I worked not only hard, but I actually had foot surgery beforehand and couldn’t walk for 3 weeks. While I healed, my goal to set a world record. I was really inspired by David Goggins, because he had a Guinness World Record at one time. I worked really hard at jumping, but also jumping in flip flops - like the really cheap flat flip flops that you know are going to break at the beach. I had to have special flip flops that had to be approved. The jump rope had to be approved, I also had to have 5 people there as witness. With Guinness vetting everything, recording it in slow-mo, and also open to the public to watch. An actual Guinness evaluator was there, complete with the jacket. While they couldn’t be there due to the pandemic, he and his wife had to watch the video slow-mo five times; that’s how fast I was going. I’m so proud that I set a record.

The second thing that I’m really proud of is, I took what is called an 8A Certification. It’s this government certification that allows you to get the benefits of sole source contracts for 1 million dollars. It really narrows the applicant pool for when you compete on different work. People look at it like it’s a golden ticket, so a lot of companies; thousands will apply for it. When they actually do receive the certification, they don’t do anything with it. I’m really proud of the fact that when I achieved it within a few months. I really expanded my business as a result, and was often used as an example by the Small Business Administration.

CB: Do you believe some people achieve success, without getting their hands dirty?

KP: I do believe this; for two main reasons. Some people don’t like to show you the kitchen; what’s behind the curtain. They don’t want you to see potential chicken in a container, not refrigerated – open containers of seasonings, etc. They want you to just view the positive, “You own a chain of restaurants and the food is fantastic; every time I go in here, you’re fully booked!” They only want you to see the front of the restaurant; the marquee. There are many out there who put on this facade that, “What I have came so easily, you don’t have to work all that hard.” The other half of this, is the explosion of social media. That adds another layer on top of the facade. Social media really allows people of all backgrounds to frame a certain point of view. It makes it seem like, “How is my neighbor able to go on this trip? They now have another business, how is this even possible?” This is why you’ll look at what’s on the different social media platforms and start to think, “This is easy, we deserve it, we don’t have to do much for it. We just sprinkle some water on some things and, bam! The money tree is going to grow."

CB: What do you believe are the pitfalls of the Law Of Attraction? Can it tip into the realms of being passive, and not taking action?

KP: I think the pitfalls are at a personality and a self awareness level. There are 5 different personality types, and one of the types is neuroticism. If a person is neurotic, and maybe they’re not self aware; they are expecting these things are just going to magically happen. I think it’s the person, not necessarily the Law Of Attraction - I love the Law Of Attraction, I love manifesting. I think it’s extremely powerful, but there’s definitely a, “However…” you’re going to have to put in the work. There are people whose disposition is, “I’m never going to put in the work,” or from day one they didn’t put in the work. There are people who put in a little bit, but they don’t want to keep at it. It’s really at this individual personality level of whether the theory is going to come about.

CB: When you have been awarded a significant federal grant, how much of that is down to your everyday actions and choices? Would this echo the premise that in most things in life, we have to earn them, rather than it landing in our laps?

KP: I would say at least 99% comes down to it. I firmly believe at least 1%, but probably way more than 1%, is God is involved. The other 99% is putting in the work. It’s showing up and doing what we said we would do when we work with the government. That’s number one. Number two is we’re really big on making lives easier. So it’s about making the life of all clients easier, the life of my team easier. And so then what happens is they are wanting to work with you more. If something happens, for instance, we had an agency who was waiting for funding and as a result they couldn’t pay us for six months. Instead of us complaining and going to the news or talking about it on Instagram, we said, “That’s alright, it’s okay”. After that, you know what happened? They ended up being awarding an almost two million dollar contract with us. It’s you putting in, and putting in, and showing up all of the time. Not just when everybody is looking, or when it’s time to spend because it’s the 4th quarter. You’re doing it all the time because you’re keeping their best interests in mind, your team’s best interests in mind, and that’s the priority, period. You had to have faith in belief, because I have never in my 10 plus years, have ever been stiffed by the federal government. I knew at some point in time they’re going to get their money.

CB: You love self leadership. As we bring this interview to an end, can you share your top self leadership tips for helping each of us to maximize and earn success?

KP: My top self leadership tip is: you must prioritize your wellness! Physical, mental health, nutrition, everything. Without you having good health, energy, and clear mindedness; it is extremely difficult to grow and blossom into an even more successful leader. It becomes increasingly challenging. That’s priority number one, especially as we go through 2023; is to take note of that. I know I’ve been in those situations, where in the beginning I put everyone first, I would never prioritize myself. I would feel guilt any time I would, but thankfully that has changed. It’s also important that I focus on all aspects of me, where I didn’t before. I thought I was, because I worked out and maybe I weighed a little less. But in reality, I really wasn’t. I was just going through the motions. Now I’m going deeper and doing the real work. That is the key going through this year, and making a real change.