Success Champions

NOVEMBER 2019 • Issue 2 •MINDSET

SUCCESS CHAMPIONS 3 mindset rules for unfuckwithable success what would a business owner think? change your marketing mindset to bring in badass clients growing gratitude Photo by Elizabeth Boivin

“The mindset we have now has enabled us to move closer to our goals and have created a clear path for us to follow.”

Success Champions

Contents

34 3 Mindset Rules For Unfuckwithable Success Laura Di Franco shares valauble mindset strategies

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36 Get Your Mindset on Success!

growing gratitude

Heather Vickery shares the benefits of gratitude in your everyday life.

Laura Kandewen leads us through the battle within.

6 Capturing Your Entrepreneurial Mindset

38 The Mindset of Envy Can Motivate you

Dan Dwyer, Founder of Vet2BizLife, LLC, explains how we can better capture this all important mindset

Stacey Magovern explains the progression of mindset.

40 Developing A WARRIOR MINDSET

12 Change Your Marketing Mindset to Bring in Badass Clients

Wendy Babcock helps you to unleash the warrior mindset.

Lori Lyons shares marketing strategies for success.

42 Tech Corner

16 Failed crops leads to business opportunity

Kevin Snow shares strategies for expanding your digital mindset.

46 Sassy Social Media

In the Feature Article, the Lockwoods share how they make the farm part of a successful business.

Sarah Ankney explains how to deal with mindset issues in social media.

22 Controlling your mindset

48 5 Massive Mindset Fuck-ups you can try at home

Strategies to control your mindset are explained in this article by Jeremy Roadtruck

Donald Dodson shares five mindset traps to avoid.

26 Actions Speak Louder

52 The outsourcing Corner

Jessica Moody shares how actions are the ultimate expression of mindset.

Loriane Vaughan Speaks explores the importance of mindset when scaling your business.

30 What Would A Business Owner Think?

Donnie Boivin shares the strggle of overcoming employee mindset.

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Mindset is Always the answer

M

indset is always the answer… This was a thought I had sitting on my tractor as I mowed my farm. It was a game-changing moment for me because it gave me an opportunity to think about what I think about. Which I realized wasn’t something I was regularly practicing.

When I started talking to myself vs listening to myself, I changed not only my mindset but my outlook as a business owner. I started to level up and evolve into an entrepreneur and not just an employee who runs a business.

This magazine is interactive so if you see a link click it and it will take you to its destination. If you see a picture, ad or graphic you like, click it. That may be a video, and a website or a Facebook group.

I am still amazed by how well the first edition was received by you badass readers. It’s an honor to be a part of your journey to your success.

Thank you for our continued support and for championing your success.

Donnie

In this issue of Success Champions Magazine, we dive into the mindset of being a successful small business owner. You will read stories about people fighting through self-doubt, imposter syndrome and the ups and downs of being a business owner.

You will read about gratitude and how it affects your business; how to become “unfuckwithable” in your success, and personal stories of triumphs in business.

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Success Champions

growing gratitude

By Heather Vickery

W Developing a practice that regularly invites gratitude into your life helps you focus on the gifts and blessings that constantly surround you.

e’ve all been there. We’ve all woken up “on the wrong side of the bed,” gotten extremely pissed off when someone cut in front of us in line, or while waiting at a stoplight. There are a million things each day that can make us angry. But what happens when we allow those little, or not so little, things to take up precious time and space in our lives and our minds?

Well, thoughts become things, folks.

So, if you focus on all the icky things, you’re going to come up with nothing but more icky things.

I have a better idea. In fact, my idea is backed by science and guaranteed to increase your wellbeing (and even reduce your risk of heart failure).

Seriously, it’s true! Check out this article from Harvard Medical School!

What’s the big idea?

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Gratitude.

If you want to feel better, be happier and be more successful than you ever thought possible, develop a consistent gratitude practice! Yep, that’s right. Developing a practice that regularly invites gratitude into your life helps you focus on the gifts and blessings that constantly surround you. It crowds out the negative thoughts and keeps positivity in the forefront of your mind.

Our brains cannot hold both negative and positive thoughts at once. While life will always be messy there’s a lot of joy to be found even among the ups and downs. When we feel joyous, everything we touch is better.

Let’s play a game. Take a moment and list out something that you consider to be an epic failure in your life or perhaps something that was extremely painful. Now ask yourself, what goodness came from those things? Sit with that until you can list at least 5 positive from those negative experiences.

I’ll play with along you. After a decade of marriage and four kids, I came out (yes, of the closet).

Eventually, that led to divorce - because staying married to the wrong gender isn’t good for anyone, but boy did it suck! A couple of short years after I closed the luxury wedding planning business that I’d owned for nearly 20 years. Those were two of the most difficult and painful experiences of my life. It was hard,

MINDSET really hard! But on the other side of that pain was … me. That’s right, I was on the other side. The real me.

The authentic, take the world by storm, take no bullshit ME! I’ve since built a thriving coaching practice, speak on international stages, became a published author, and I produce a super kick-ass podcast. I’m crushing this life thing - - finally.

There was no accident in stumbling upon gratitude. I learned about it and put hard work into making it a daily practice. It’s now so ingrained in me that my natural response is to turn something negative into a positive on a dime. It wasn’t always like that, but I’m sure glad it is now!

I invite you to join me in making gratitude a regular part of your daily life. Here are a few ways to do it: Start a gratitude journal. This can be a blank book or page in your computer or you can use something like my book, Gratitude Journal: Shift Your Focus which provides unique daily prompts to help you connect with gratitude.

positive!

Share daily gratitude around your dinner table with friends or loved ones.

Write a note of thanks or send a gift to someone from your past that impacted your life.

Express thanks and gratitude in the moment, as you are experiencing it (e.g. flash a big smile and say “thanks so much” to the person checking you out at McDonald’s!)

If you decide to embrace a gratitude mindset, I promise you’ll begin to see results almost instantly. Your body will feel the difference. Expect to feel more calm, in control, peaceful, and able to move through time and space more freely. Allowing yourself to see the gifts that already exist leaves space for even more blessings to be uncovered. Gratitude is like a boomerang, throw it out and watch it

When things feel stressful: stop, take two deep breaths, and then list 10 things that you can see or feel at that exact moment to be grateful for (e.g. the sunshine, a comfy office chair, a working computer, wifi, a song on the radio, your amazing brain and its ability to re-focus thoughts…The list goes on and on… if you’re looking!

Draw something! Some folks are better at connecting with gratitude when they color or draw how they are feeling. But remember to keep it

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If you decide to embrace a gratitude mindset, I promise you’ll begin to see results almost instantly.

Success Champions come back.

Thanks for sitting in this moment with me. I’m extremely grateful you took the time! And I’d love to hear about your new gratitude practice.

Reach out and share it with me at heather@vickeryandco.com.

Gratitude is like a boomerang, throw it out and watch it come back.

Heather Vickery is an award-winning business owner and coach with over 20 years as an entrepreneur. She leverages her entrepreneurial skills and expertise to coach individuals towards greater personal and professional fulfillment. A celebrated public speaker, Heather inspires audiences and empowers attendees with the tools they need to live bold and successful lives through creating balance, time management, as well as countless systems, strategies, and boundaries. Heather is a single mom of four (all girls!) who left a decade long marriage and came out personally and professionally (yes, of the closet). Her specialty is in helping people push through fear and embrace bravery. She’s written a book and journal on the life-changing

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powers of Gratitude and she’s a fierce social justice warrior. Heather is also the host and executive producer of The Brave Files Podcast.

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Success Champions

Capturing Your Entrepreneurial Mindset

By Dan Dwyer, Founder of Vet2BizLife, LLC

When you’ve captured your entrepreneurial mindset, you never have to tell people about the value that you provide them.

They tell you about the true value your products and services bring to them.

Much of what we learn about entrepreneurship is centered around identifying an opportunity, which usually means finding a problem to be solved or a need to be filled, then solving that problem or uniquely filling the need in a way that provides great value to others. The importance of capturing your entrepreneurial mindset is sometimes missing from this learning. A mindset that can be characterized through your creativity, motivation and ability to remain open to risk and failure. When you’ve captured your entrepreneurial mindset, you never have to tell people about the value that you provide them. They tell you about the true value your products and services bring to them.

The age-old myth that we dispel with leadership can also be applied to entrepreneurship, and that is

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entrepreneurs are not born, there is no specific gene. They are driven to it. This uncommon drive enables them to do what is necessary to win at business and life. Successful entrepreneurs have often captured the right mindset, and there are unique qualities in the way they think and act.

Whether you want to change the world, make money online, or provide a better life for your family; you want to focus on the following qualities to capture your very best entrepreneurial mindset:

Be Confident Lack of confidence can be the kryptonite to your entrepreneurial success. Self-doubt kills many business dreams before other external factors come into play.

Confidence and the removal of fear or self-doubt comes with two preconditions – clarity and competence. Successful entrepreneurs look at every challenge they face with the confidence that a solution can and will be uncovered.

When you’re clear on the strategic vision and direction of your business and learn the essential skills necessary to accomplish that vision, you capture a confident mindset that enables you to succeed as an entrepreneur.

Be Visionary Much of the entrepreneurial mindset involves a steadfast commitment to a shared vision. Challenges can be that you have limited experience in

MINDSET strategic thinking, or the everyday demands can get in your way, resulting in a receding vision. So, it’s important to make an effort to set aside a specific time every day, or week, to focus on your vision and your goals in a way that brings your vision to the forefront. This mindset will enable you to create the energy needed to focus your daily efforts and be successful.

Be Kinesthetic If entrepreneurs are not thinking about their vision, then they aren’t actually putting their vision into motion. Your business acumen – human capital management, financial management and technology management – is experiential and something you develop over time.

Your entrepreneurial mindset is developed by getting in the game and learning by doing. Education helps but tactile immersion in a process allows you to master, know, or understand what it takes to deliver products or services that will meet the needs of your client, consumer, or customer.

being decisive is a mindset skill that you want to practice and strengthen every day.

Be Agile You can be passionate about your idea without falling in love with it so much that you start with your ears closed. Capturing the entrepreneurship mindset involves getting the answers to the test before you take it, but if you think you have the right answers, then you’re not being agile enough to deal with any unexpected challenges you may encounter. Active listening is critical and remaining agile enough to adapt your idea for the sake of finding a solution is important.

Be a Risk Navigator Successful entrepreneurs are not risk takers…they are risk navigators.

They just don’t allow themselves,

Be Decisive After self-doubt, indecision is one of the greatest causes of business failure. When you can’t decide what to do, you delay taking action or do nothing. To succeed as an entrepreneur, you must be able to look at a challenge or situation, digest all the information, then make a confident decision to move forward.

Starting with the smaller decisions,

or their businesses, to be paralyzed by risk. Entrepreneurship is about understanding and navigating risks in a way where you can mitigate the risk by either accepting, avoiding,

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Successful entrepreneurs are not risk takers…they are risk navigators.

Success Champions

if you want to accomplish big things in life, you need to be willing to learn from others and nourish a growth mindset.

controlling, or transferring it. Those who have not captured this mindset will foolishly dive headfirst and blindly into every risk they encounter, while successful entrepreneurs are aware of every potential risk and what measures need to be taken to mitigate them.

Be Resilient Making mistakes and failing are inevitable, and part of our entrepreneurial growth. If every misstep creates self-doubt, you have to change your mindset, and the way you look at being wrong. You need to go into this journey knowing you can get past any obstacle that comes up — because you can and will.

Success rarely happens in a straight line, and the only people who do not make mistakes are the ones that don’t do anything. Resilience allows you to handle those decisions that didn’t yield expected results, and enables you to think, act, and move iteratively — with a mindset of making small, incremental corrections along the way.

Be Coachable No matter what you are trying to accomplish, someone already has done it before you. I coach

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entrepreneurs, leaders and teams to achieve their desired business results, and those who have worked with me know that the quickest way to end our relationship is to have my level of commitment exceed yours.

Thinking like an entrepreneur means seeking out coaches and mentors who have been where you are trying to go and having the humility to accept their guidance. If you want to accomplish big things in life, you need to be willing to learn from others and nourish a growth mindset.

To do big things, you need to grow.

To grow, you need to learn.

Capturing your entrepreneurial mindset is not easy. Few say it is.

Starting your own business, with your own products or services, may be the most exciting, positive and rewarding thing you’ll ever do. It may also be the most challenging, fearful and self-doubting thing you’ll ever do. Your ability to capture your entrepreneurial mindset will enable you to be successful and build a thriving business that you can be proud of. It involves being decisive, being agile, navigating risk, being

MINDSET resilient, being coachable and, above all, being committed to your vision regardless of the challenges and obstacles along the way. It is about seeing mistakes as an opportunity for growth and not as something to be feared. By embodying all of these characteristics, you can capture your entrepreneurial mindset and equip yourself with the most important tools that your business can have.

Dan Dwyer -- Northern Alabamabased entrepreneur dedicated to the boots to business advancement of veteran entrepreneurs across the globe. An experienced leadership and organizational development consultant, coach to leaders, managers and organizations, leadership blogger, and podcaster, I am passionate

about powerful conversations that accelerate organizational success. I enjoy guiding people who guide others; shaping performance improvement, and up starting start-ups. I especially enjoy working with young leaders who want to make a difference for their team, their organization, and our society. With over 25 years experience in building and leading high performing teams at all levels, retaining top performing professionals, orchestrating multimilliondollar operational budgets, and cultivating trusting relationships with team members, peers, and senior leaders alike, I blend a practical, results-driven approach, centered on powerful conversations, to get to the core of any situation, and guides leaders and organizations to achieve their very best results.

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Success rarely happens in a straight line, and the only people who do not make mistakes are the ones that don’t do anything.

Success Champions

Change Your Marketing Mindset to Bring in Badass Clients

By Lori Lyons

“I need to make more money in my business.” “I network, use social media and post blogs and I do all the right things but still I’m not getting new clients.” “I hate marketing!”

The mistake most business owners make in their marketing is not focusing on the client’s needs.

Sound familiar? You have a negative Marketing Mindset. Let’s change it and watch your business explode and your bottom line grow!

Mindset Shift #1 - Selling is yucky!

Let’s clear up a misnomer. Marketing is not selling. The purpose of marketing is to organically get your message in front of your ideal clients.

Advertising places your service/ product in front of ideal clients by paying for the positioning of your message. Sales is converting the prospects to actual buying customers once the marketing and advertising brings them in.

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Marketing Mindshift #2 Push the Bruise The mistake most business owners make in their marketing is not focusing on the client’s needs.

Previously marketing was about “look how great we are.” Of course, we all know how to sell and market to benefits, but do we market to pain points? Do we “push the bruise” of our client’s pain?

What does it mean to “push the bruise?”

Imagine you’ve got a small bruise on your forearm. You don’t even notice it’s there because it doesn’t hurt.

But take your thumb and imagine pushing in - hard. Now you feel the pain! Get the picture?

Pushing the bruise is not a negative thing in marketing speak. It is actually the reason your company and your marketing exist. If you don’t solve a problem for your client better than anyone else, then why should they buy from you?

Reset your mindset to be client centered - walk in their shoes - think like they think. Ask yourself this question: I’m going to walk in my client’s shoes - what do my clients really want?

As a realtor I don’t just sell my clients 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.

• I sell memories. I sell neighborhoods.

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• I sell education through school systems.

• I sell a social structure for my homeowners.

As a chiropractor I don’t just adjust spines.

• I offer a better night’s sleep.

• I help you move better so you can enjoy playing football in the backyard with your kids.

• I help you work better by making that office chair more comfortable.

As a jewelry designer I don’t just make pretty baubles.

• I instill confidence in a woman’s appearance by helping her look stylish and fashionable.

• I instill happiness and pride from the joy she will get by wearing my baubles.

Do you see where this is going?

Look beyond the surface of what is obvious. Find the pain, write the pain points down - brain dump the pain points. Once this activity is complete find a solution to each pain point and then market to those specific pain points using those solutions.

Marketing Mindshift #3 It not about you!

Years past, most marketing was promoting who we were and what made us qualified to help you.

Printed brochures were created that showed our facilities and our products and how many years we’ve been in business. We talked about the awards we may have won. Yadda, yadda.

Today, we focus on the client and the

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Look beyond the surface of what is obvious. Find the pain, write the pain points down - brain dump the pain points.

Success Champions customer journey - not our company.

There are many ways to make sure you are customer focused but we will focus on three.

Listen to what the client is telling you and provide an answer specific to that problem.

Always be helpful, not selling.

When you are focused on the problems the client has, you can focus on providing solutions to that problem. Listen to what the client is telling you and provide an answer specific to that problem. Be genuine in your approach - you are talking a solution, not a product.

Always think client retention. When you are in the mindset of “this is a lifetime client” you start with this from the initial contact. Respond quickly and show up when talking to your client. Put your phone down and respect the time with the client.

Be present.

Always put the client journey first - by putting yourself in their shoes, you will see the entire process from first conversation to onboarding.

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These are only a few of the ways changing your mindset about marketing can help your company to grow, be prosperous and client focused. It’s about thinking like a client from first contact through the entire sales cycle. Walk in their shoes.

Become the client.

Lori is a non-technical person living in a technical world. As a marketing strategist and owner of a website design company, Lori has over 30 years as an entrepreneur and marketer. Her program, Make Your Marketing Simple, is helping confused and overwhelmed entrepreneurs navigate today’s marketing maze. During her career, she has been an entrepreneur as well has been fired, downsized and laid off twice in the space of 2 years. She is currently writing a book for entrepreneurs that are looking to profit from their experience. She loves her Atlanta Braves baseball, football and Angel’s Envy bourbon.

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Success Champions

featured Champions

Failed crops leads to business opportunity

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MINDSET What is your story?

Cassie already lived out in the country and it didn’t take me long to follow suit. Actually; I believe within two months we were living together in Azle, Tx. As soon as I got back to life in a rural area, I felt at peace again. I knew right away that this was the beginning of something more amazing than I had ever imagined.

After working hard, we purchased our first home in 2013. At the time, we had 2 boys and life was getting busy, to say the least. We had our third baby boy shortly after. Our little family was finally complete. During this time, Cassie and I fell in love with gardening and started growing a wide variety of veggies and greens.

We even started our own flock of chickens the year we bought our home.

The passion for farming grew larger as we continued to live our country life. Before we knew it, we were looking to get into some property.

We longed for the opportunity to have an actual farm and to work our land. Our first home finally sold and we purchased our dream property where we started a goat farm. Cassie and I knew instantly that we would name it after our boys; 3HFarmstx.

The 3H stood for Hunter, Henry, and Harrison; we also wanted to specify that we were in the great state of Texas.

It didn’t take long before we realized that farming and agriculture is HARD WORK! We worked endless hours, 7 days a week, rain or shine

to maintain our goat farm. I was still at my regular job, which was taking most of my time, and caring for our boys, which took most of Cassie’s time.

We were motivated to have a fullfledged farm, but failed at growing our food in the ground. The animals and bugs killed our vegetables and my wife and I started learning about Aquaponics. We built a system to grow our food, however, a big green house costs a lot of money.

We had goat’s milk running out of our ears but no license to sell it.

Cassie and I tried a goat’s milk soap bar from a Farmer’s market once to help with the boys and her sensitive skin and eczema. It really helped soothed their irritated skin and she decided to learn how to make her own. After talking with her parents about her idea, Cassie found out that

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We were motivated to have a full-fledged farm, but failed at growing our food in the ground. The animals and bugs killed our vegetables ...

Success Champions her great grandmother made soap in her own bathtub at home! Her Dad remembered some of the ingredients and said it was the best soap he had ever used.

Cassie and I both realized we needed to get in a business mindset.

Cassie rushed to the library and got every soap making book they had.

She watched hundreds of YouTube videos and started making her own goat’s milk soap. The first batch was lavender and oat, which smelled amazing, and when it finally cured, we got to try it. She tried it out first and loved it. I couldn’t believe that she made soap on her first try. She really did her homework and I was proud beyond belief. I insisted that she buy more ingredients to make more batches using different essential oils.

She decided to give them out at Christmas time and sell a couple to friends. We also decided to make and sell body butters along with our soaps.

We had lots of positive feedback from our friends and family who had received our soaps and people started requesting her to make all different kinds. She would bring them to the school and the feed store and ask if people

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wanted to buy them or give out small samples for people to try.

Through word of mouth a lady sent her a message on social media and asked to put her soaps in her shop on Main Street. Cassie was over the moon excited; we knew then we were on to something. Everyone that purchased the soaps came back for more and were telling their friends and loved ones about us.

At our first farmers market we spoke to a lot of people who had sensitive, irritated, and itchy skin, just like my wife and our boys. When we heard their feedback about how we were able to help them, we were thrilled.

That day was proof that our soaps were genuinely loved, and that most people just wanted a good quality soap with all-natural ingredients (most soaps have synthetic ingredients). To our amazement, we sold out that day!

Cassie and I both realized we needed to get in a business mindset. We have an opportunity to help people with sensitive skin and eczema. We wanted to make products with simple ingredients, just like they used to be, before big corporations stepped in and made them cheap and fast.

We are still learning and growing, and even found an incredible group of people headed by Donnie Boivin.

This completely changed the game in every way imaginable. He has given us solid advice on how to grow our business and the whole group has been helpful. We have met a lot of terrific people in the group the we

MINDSET now call friends. I resigned from my stressful corporate job and now work full time on the farm and soap business with my wife.

The Success Champions group has helped me stay focused and keep my mindset positive. I know we are going to be successful because my wife, Cassie and I work hard and we have three boys who depend us every day.

Now, we are just about to launch our monthly soap subscription, have built our soap studio to house the growing inventory of soaps, have started building custom aquaponics systems, and even offer fabrication services around our community. The mindset we have now has enabled us to move closer to our goals and have created a clear path for us to follow.

One day this business and our farm will be the legacy we leave behind for our children and grandchildren.

We are confident that 3HFarms will be serving communities world-wide for many years to come. Cassie and I look forward to what our future brings us every single day of our amazing life together. Not only have we built an awesome company, but we have built a wonderful life that we both love living.

We want to thank everyone that has helped us along the way, especially the Success Champions group and especially Donnie and Elizabeth Boivin.

How did you become a Badass?

Don’t be Humble Unleash!!!

Our parents showed us every single day that hard work and determination would get us to the level of success that we desired. We both really took that to heart, so Cassie and I have a work ethic that is second to none.

What has been your greatest failure?

My greatest failure was not reaching the level of success that I strive for before my father passed. I really wanted to show him that I could do it and that he raised a man that was capable of great things. Cassie’s greatest failure is feeling as though she wasted a portion of her early adult age on not reaching for the goals that should have been set.

What are your likes and dislikes around common things? Such as music, whether pineapple belongs on your pizza, etc.

Likes: Fishing, camping, taking care of our farm animals, trying new restaurants, having adventures with our boys, traveling, going to the beach, country music, rock, classic rock, some rap, tacos, any type of pizza that does not have anchovies, monster energy drinks, being a smartass. Dislikes: Liver, conformity, negativity, not sleeping, sour cream, sour kraut, anything pickled, pickles,

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Our parents showed us every single day that hard work and determination would get us to the level of success that we desired.

Success Champions patchouli, poison ivy, smashed bread, our pond not having water, driving in inclement weather, not being a billionaire, not catching fish, anchovies/ sardines.

What motivates you to keep moving forward when you face an obstacle?

Our children

What do you do for fun?

Fish, Camp, visit the ocean.

What we would have done differently is managed our time a little better in order to focus on the tasks that moved our business forward the most.

What do you do and how can you potentially help another person in the group?

We make homemade goats milk soap and also offer a variety of handyman services, farm services, and fabrication services. We also build custom aquaponics systems.

We could help others in the group by offering any of these services. Our soaps really help a lot of people with skin issues, such as, eczema, psoriasis, dry and itchy skin, itchy skin from bug bites, poison ivy and sumac, and skin needing exfoliation.

How and why did you start your business?

We started our business because we made soaps to help ourselves and children with our skin issues. Once we realized how many people loved our soaps, it was obvious that we needed to start our business.

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What obstacles have you had to overcome?

We have overcome many obstacles, from not having money to provide materials, having to spend the majority of my days in the corporate world just to make ends meet while developing our business, having to learn what it takes to operate a business, and all while taking care of three young boys, our farm, and our property.

What would you do differently when it comes to how you have moved forward with your business?

What we would have done differently is managed our time a little better in order to focus on the tasks that moved our business forward the most. Also, not spending energy and resources on the things that ended up not making a difference in our business. Our plan for success is to launch our monthly soap subscription, getting into as many retail shops and boutiques as possible, and selling our soaps at every Farmer’s Market and Vendor

MINDSET Meet available. Eventually, we will reach enough people who love our soaps for us to start selling in the large retail stores. We want to be able to have our product on shelves at Walmart, HEB, Tractor Supply, Walgreen’s, CVS, etc. We strive to become a household name and a product most people are familiar with.

What is your favorite money growth tip?

Put all money made from the business back into the business.

What is your true WHY for starting your endeavor? What are you going to do when the shit hits the fan?

The true WHY is to help others the way we have helped ourselves. We also want to have financial freedom.

When shit hits the fan, we’ll try something different. Everyone screws up, you just have to learn from it and not repeat the same mistake.

What is your 10-year vision for your business and life?

In 10 years we want to have started an actual legacy that we can leave behind for our children, if they want it. We want to be able to do the things we enjoy and also be able to afford to send all 3 of our kids to college. In 10 years we should have been able to hire people to do the mundane tasks while we are able to step back and take a breath. In 10 years we want a full-scale warehouse facility where we make and ship soaps and we want this to be on our property so that we can hire locally in our own community.

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Eventually, we will reach enough people who love our soaps for us to start selling in the large retail stores.

Success Champions

Controlling your mindset

By Jeremy Roadtruck

The Dark thought, the shame, the malice - meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.

(Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks)

A

s a businessperson, there are a great many things you cannot control‌ the weather, geopolitics, traffic patterns, tariffs and a thousands of other things. If we let it, the external world will pull us in a million different directions, often at the same time.

However, there is ONE thing over which we can learn to have complete and total control, and that is our internal reality. The challenge is that our internal reality is often not clearly defined.

While a complete review of tools, tactics, tips and strategies for mental and emotional control could fill a small novel, there is one fundamental concept that will help you recognize and shift your mindset quickly and easily.

TABLE 1 Internal A

B

External Life C

=

In table 1, A+B+C represent internal factors which add together to create what you experience in your life, which is the external world.

In Table 2, a person is experiencing some type of challenge, pain, deficiency, or even just a bad or incorrect idea on the left side of this table. We’ll call that -500 units of energy. On the right side, this person also has an amazing body, takes

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Table 2 Internal A -500

B

C

=

External Life +10,000 +9,500

great photos, and is achieving some measure of financial success on Instagram (and it could be anywhere: in career, in college, in relationships, etc.). We’ll give that measure of success a value of +10,000 units of energy. When we balance out the equation, it’s +9,500 on the right side.

But here’s the problem: No matter how BIG that number is on the right, it will NEVER remove the negative number on the left side.

People will chase greater success, higher highs through alcohol abuse, drug abuse, extreme behavior and feats of daring… all in an (often unconscious) attempt to escape the pain that they are literally carrying around inside them. This is why so many people who seem to “have it all” on the outside destroy themselves – because they believe they are frauds or don’t deserve their success on the inside.

with authority figures, children make themselves wrong.

The key, then, is to address the internal factors, the A+B+C factors inside a person. Those three factors are what create our belief systems (our BS) and they are: what we think (A), what we feel (B), and what we do as habits (C). We must learn to challenge what we think, what we feel, and what we do rather than merely accept them. Learning to control our internal reality shifts us to living at “cause” instead of living at “effect.” Understanding that we cannot control the external world, we should focus on influencing what we can influence and harmonize that with what we cannot influence.

Our thoughts drive how we feel about things we experience, and our feelings drive our habits. You’ll know someone (even yourself) is operating at effect when they make statements such as “I don’t FEEL like it.”

Often, these internal challenges stem from childhood issues and trauma or misunderstandings that were never resolved. Young children process the world in a different way than teens or adults; they don’t disassociate from their behavior - young children don’t separate “I did something bad” from “I am bad.” When in trouble

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Our thoughts drive how we feel about things we experience, and our feelings drive our habits.

Success Champions That is someone harmonizing with their feelings, not controlling their feelings. And, yes – we’re all human and don’t always want to be in control of our inner world and that’s okay too… sometimes. The problem is when it’s a lifestyle of abdicating control of the internal.

Directly challenge uncomfortable or confusing thoughts and feelings, treat them like someone entering your home.

So how do you start to get control of the internal? You’ve already started by reading this article and gaining a new awareness. That’s a key that can open new doors.

Second, breathe. Just because you feel something doesn’t mean you have to react immediately.

Third, start to create boundaries – physical, mental and emotional so you know when you’re getting overwhelmed or reacting. Directly challenge uncomfortable or confusing thoughts and feelings, treat them like someone entering your home.

Forth, exert your control by challenging yourself in intelligent ways: meditation, yoga, working out, martial arts, learning a new skill. Put yourself into a situation where you don’t control all the variables so you focus on controlling your internal thoughts and feelings instead.

Jeremy Roadtruck is a husband, father,

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Kung Fu master, international champion, 2x bestselling author, and helps parents to empower their children to speak up and own their voice, creating their own emotional safety. He hosts a weekly podcast, “The Parenting Program Show” and routinely invites other parenting and family/child development experts for interviews, publishes content on YouTube, and is available for consulting with families who want to get the most out of life. Jeremy’s fundamental attitude is one of win/win games and that a lighted candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.

MINDSET

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Success Champions spend countless hours practicing, and they didn’t spend their life’s savings on the best singing and performing coaches.

They didn’t fail countless times in front of an audience. They didn’t lose out on record deals. They didn’t spend years singing in nightclubs in order to achieve their dreams. They didn’t risk it all.

Actions Speak Louder

They obviously didn’t want it enough.

They sang where it was comfortable, receiving all positive praise and no criticism. They assumed that they would get up in front of Simon and blow them away. They thought they would be the one person on the planet that wouldn’t have to fail one time before achieving success.

By Jessica L. Moody

We are overwhelmed by what it takes to achieve the dream. We can’t be just a jackof-all-trades; but we also must be excellent at everything, or the formula doesn’t work.

I

wish I had the confidence of one of those horrible singers that were on American Idol.

They have been practicing, most of the time in front of an enabling mother, they perform their hearts out in front of Simon and the gang, and are shocked when they are told that their singing doesn’t cut it. They had no idea up unto that point that their dreams will not become a reality.

We all grew up thinking that we can do ANYTHING we set our minds to. They set their minds to becoming the next Rhianna, why can’t they?!?

The reason, by in large, is that they didn’t put in the work. They didn’t

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That’s not the way this works. That’s not the way any of this works!

“What does it take to be a champion? Desire, dedication, determination, concentration and the will to win.” Patty Berg Most of us aren’t like those American Idol singers. Most of us are painfully aware of our weaknesses and allow them to stop us from accomplishing all that we are capable of achieving. We see our ultimate goal of finally quitting our day job or publishing our book and feel that it is a mountain that is too steep to climb.

We are overwhelmed by what it takes to achieve the dream. We can’t be just a jack-of-all-trades; but we also must be excellent at everything, or

MINDSET the formula doesn’t work.

We look at celebrities and successful people and say, “Well if I had a personal trainer, a personal gym, and all the time in the world, then I would look like Jennifer Lopez, too.”

But did she start off like that?

Remember Mark Wahlberg?

Remember in the 90s his Good Vibrations? Remember the Calvin Kleiien ad? Remember when people were shocked when they found out that emaciated guy at the beginning of Sixth Sense was Mark Wahlberg?

Some people see his success now and think that it can just happen for

everyone, but then we find out that his workout schedule is truly insane.

We realize that he is not successful because life handed it to him. He is successful because he truly wanted it more than everyone else. He wanted it, he told himself that he would get it, and, most importantly, he took the action, took the risks, and sacrificed everything to achieve it.

Many gurus will tell you to focus

on your inner thoughts. Focus on being positive and having a growth mindset. However, I want to suggest that if we can prove that we can do it through our actions, then our thoughts have no choice but to change.

“The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will.’ Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.”

-Charles Dickens When your mind is not focused on your thoughts but saying you will and following up with action, everything changes. Start creating small but achievable goals and celebrate each success. As you achieve the small goals, make them bigger and continue even when you have failed. Overcome struggles through education, collaboration, and or hiring a coach.

Your confidence will build as you achieve successes, overcome failures, and see growth. Your mindset will be focused and dedicated. Your actions will prove your thoughts, and they will combine to make you unstoppable.

You wish you could build a business that allows you to leave your day job.

How will this happen? Who is your

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When your mind is not focused on your thoughts but saying you will and following up with action, everything changes.

Success Champions coach? What steps do you need to take? What do you have to learn?

Your actions will prove your thoughts, and they will combine to make you unstoppable.Â

You wish you could publish a book.

When do you write? When will you finish your first draft? How will you edit and publish your book?

So, you want to be successful? What are you going to do about it?

Jessica L. Moody is a Curriculum and Program Consultant and a proud Veteran Marine. With her MA in Education, BA in Literature, and 10 years of experience in curriculum development, she has learned how to help entrepreneurs create successful online course curriculum, in-person workshops, or full educational programs that build true connections and life-long

clients. https://www.jessicalmoody.com

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MINDSET

Administrative Support for Speakers, Authors and Podcasters We are the DETAIL people!

We provide support so you can do what you do best!

LVS Consulting Services

LVSConsultingservices.com lorianne@lvsconsultingservices.com | t: 818.689.1824

Unleash Your Inner Badass 29

Success Champions

What Would A Business Owner Think?

By Donnie Boivin

I Why weren’t people knocking down my door to do business?

I‘m fucking good at what I do.

’m sorry babe I’m failing and this is not working, we might lose it all. This was me slumped shoulders eyes down explaining to my wife that I had fucked up, and had not been successful in the business. I had blown through or reserve saving and literally bet the farm and was about to lose it all.

I couldn’t figure it out. I had created a business. I had a website. I had a ton of social media content out there. I had a badass message why the fuck wasn’t this working?

Why weren’t people knocking down my door to do business? I‘m fucking good at what I do.

I’ve told this story in front of many audiences, on podcasts and interviews. I still think about that moment in shock about how close I was to losing it all.

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Heres the thing; it wasn’t that I wasn’t doing a lot of the right things - I was.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t putting myself out there - I was It was that I wasn’t doing the sales activities - I was.

What I wasn’t doing was thinking like a business owner.

I didn’t know how or really what that even meant.

I was throwing a bunch of shit at the wall and hoping something would stick and somehow magically this would all take off.

My mindset was in a constant state I have to do this, I have to that. Where do I find time to do this and that?

I was telling myself I neede more revenue to get to the next level. I need more time to get stuff done.

I was literally telling the universe that I didn’t know what the hell I was doing; and I was proving it daily.

I was trying to be a business owner but I was thinking like an employee.

Daydreaming about being on big stages, being recognized in crowds.

Working hard getting stuff done day and day out. But I wasn’t pulling my head out the clouds and building a business.

I was doing things to make myself feel like I was working when in fact it was busy work just like when I was an employee.

And I was doing this alone…

MINDSET There was no real ownership in my mindset…there was only get shit done. It was just the wrong stuff.

I knew I had to evolve and become a business owner, but how the hell do you that. I had never done this before.

The first thing I started to do was list out everything I was doing in my business. Every task, every function, and every activity. Let me tell that was a big ass list.

A little shocked from how big that list was created a huge amount of overwhelm. No way I could sustain this amount of work. I asked my self one question. What would a business owner do in this situation?

I started to mark each task as with one of two categories - business owner or employee.

I started having a discussion with myself about “should the CEO do this or should someone else.”

Surprisingly there were a lot of things I shouldn’t be doing and I was clueless about how to fix that.

Not enough money to hire people, not sure how to hire them if I did.

There had to be a better option so I got creative.

I began looking for people who loved what they did but were struggling in their business like I was. They needed to level up and I needed their help.

Hello, bartering, trading or swapping; or whatever you want to call it. I would love to tell you this helped

me take off in the business, but well if you don’t know what to tell someone to do, how the hell can you trade and get them to do it?.

Some of my first trades were a nightmare and for the record this was all my fault. I was doing what I call “dump and run”. I would work out a deal with someone and then literally hand them everything with no direction, guidance or anything.

I bet I have people out there that are not my biggest fans because I was so employeemindset driven I was not communicating the words that the work needed, thinking they’ve got it now it’s off my plate…whats next.

(That’s how employees think it’s your job or it’s not and if it’s not then why worry about it) Crazy right?

After burning a few bridges and finally learning that I was setting people up for failure, I was again going to my handy question. “What would a Business owner think?”

Unleash Your Inner Badass 31

Success Champions It hit me: I needed to be able to tell them what I needed to be done and then tell them to have fun with it, and check in on the agreed amount of time and offer suggestions, corrections and other ideas.

This is my business and running it is my responsibility.and I should set the vision and help all who help me get there by setting them up for success.

Man, once I started thinking like a Business owner I started to grow and evolve not only the business but myself. I found partners who wanted to run with me and are constantly helping me to scale and build.

Learning humility to be bold enough to share my failures along the way so others can learn from it has given a whole new view on life.

Man, once I started thinking like a Business owner I started to grow and evolve not only the business but myself.

Now that I’m 2 years into the business we have some awesome momentum. I have a brilliant team (Which are all 1099s by the way) and we are building a badass company.

I’m still learning and putting systems and processes in play. We are still

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scaling but every month we continue to learn more and evolve.

I am enjoying the learning process and have so much respect for those that have gone before me to build successful businesses because I understand the time and work they put in.

This really is a journey - and what a hell of a ride it is. If you really want to change your mindset from employee to business owner then do it. Ask yourself the tough questions, ask yourself what the vision of your business is, how are you building to scale, how are you putting the processes in place so someone else can do it.

Most of us have spent our journey working for other people. Now its time you start working for YOU and build your empire, and get to that dreamed of freedom your looking for.

Freedom doesn’t come from thinking like an employee - its comes from thinking like a business owner.

MINDSET

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Success Champions

3 Mindset Rules For Unfuckwithable Success

By Laura Di Franco

I

n life and business, 1) It is what you think it is, 2) It’s all about being aware of what you think and believe, and 3) With awareness you get a choice to practice something more helpful.

Truth is, there’s a crap ton of freedom in taking full responsibility for your mindset and your success

If you apply these three truths to everything you’re struggling with you’ll see that you have a lot more to do withcontrol over your struggles (or successes) than you think. It’s all about the awareness you practice and master. It’s all about taking responsibility for everything you think, say and do, moment to moment, every single day.

It might feel overwhelming as you wake up to the fact that you and only you have full responsibility for your own success or failure. Only you have the power to make your dreams and vision come true. If you decide it’s easier to complain, blame, avoid

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or procrastinate your way through the obstacles: game over.

Truth is, there’s a crap ton of freedom in taking full responsibility for your mindset and your success.

Bad news is that you are responsible for everything. Good news is you’re responsible for everything! And you can make anything happen.

It Is What You Think It Is Have you slowed down long enough to watch your thoughts, especially when you’re thinking you’re right?

There’s a funny thing about thinking.

Whatever you think is the way it is. And if that thought has any negativity attached to it, you’ll be creating more of that energy as you think the thought. It really takes some badass levels of awareness to question our own thoughts and beliefs. I promise this will be a game changer. Question everything you believe that is negative or limiting.

It’s All About Awareness Everything is about awareness, all day long. Everything you want, everything you crave, everything you dream of, everything you hope for and envision; it’s all about being aware of the thoughts, beliefs and actions you’re practicing every moment of every day.

What if you could be a ninja at this awareness game? What if you not only challenged your limiting beliefs but started replacing them with thoughts, beliefs and affirmations that support your vision? Every single time you catch yourself in a

MINDSET negative or limiting thought or belief you have a moment of opportunity.

So, get really good at this. Make mindset your practice, your mastery…and watch how the world unfolds magically before your eyes.

kind of energy. Let’s challenge ourselves to stack the joys instead; flipping our switch to love, hope, courage, inspiration, enthusiasm, or joy. Reach for a thought that feels better.

With Awareness You Get a Choice

Shifting your energy when you’re stuck in negativity can be challenging, however, there are many ways to do it. It’s mostly about remembering to do it. It’s about the awareness you move through your day with. You can flip the switch by taking a walk, or a bath, petting your dog, talking to a friend, dancing, singing, writing poetry, exercising, punching a pillow, taking a nap…there are so many ways to shift the energy. And this is all about consciously shifting that energy.

When you’re aware, you’ve done the hard part. The next part is another level of badassery. What do you do when you’re aware you’re thinking, believing or acting in a way that limits you? Do you let yourself dwell there? Do you find yourself getting stuck in a ruminating tornado of negativity? Do you feel depressed?

Do you start talking doomsday talk?

What you do when you have awareness will not only change the game for you in terms of feeling better, it will help you create the energy that your biggest vision is made of. I call this flipping the switch. When I catch myself in a negative or limiting thought or belief I choose a tool to help me flip my mind-switch to positive, healthy, affirming, joyful or otherwise purposeful. Remember, this is all energy. If I can shift my energy, I can shift negativity to positivity. If I can shift my thoughts to something better, I set myself up for feeling better. When I feel better, my energy vibrates higher and I attract higher vibrating energy to me.

My friend Donnie and I call this Joy Stacking. Everyone is so good at stacking the misery; adding one negative thought after another and attracting more and more of that

It is what you think it is. So, what are you thinking today?

Laura Di Franco, MPT won’t let you settle for a mediocre life. Your health, wealth and happiness is one Brave Healing book, poem, workshop, strategy session or moment away.

With almost three decades of expertise in holistic physical therapy, six published books and a thirddegree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Laura’s energy and method are contagious and unlike anything you’ve experienced. Check out her newest book, Brave Healing, a Guide for Your Journey, her podcast, her badass programs and free Facebook group for healers. http:// YourHighVibeBiz.com or www.

BraveHealer.com

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Make mindset your practice, your mastery…and watch how the world unfolds magically before your eyes.

Success Champions

Get Your Mindset on Success!

By Laura Kandewen

A

persevering mindset is necessary and crucial to the foundation and success of any entrepreneur. You need to create a mindset that does not waiver in the presence of setbacks, failures, and self-doubt.

You have to become relentless when it comes to creating one’s path instead of waiting for a map showing paved street signs and refilled potholes.

In business, we can all use a bit of motivational insight from time to time, but I quickly found out that motivation without action is an illusion.

An illusion that eats away at one’s ability to grow and sharpen the mindset for optimum performance.

When I decided to focus on my writing, I was determined to sharpen my vision and climb out of my reoccurring rabbit hole. I started listening to motivational videos several

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times a day, but there’s only so much of Les Brown and other motivational gurus that one can take before they you have to turn off the noise and go into beast moode and execute.

Motivational tapes will not take the place of you rolling up your sleeves, put on your game face, and attacking your life’s dreams and passions that you will create only through blood, sweat, and tears.

Everything inside you points towards success. It’s already in you! It would help if you believed it - to achieve it. Know that you’re enough, and that you deserve success, and have a platform to share your talents with the world.

Fear has robbed people of their dreams. But to achieve your destiny, you have to start. For instance, when one chooses to run a business, whether service or sales, their mindset of success should be the mindset of a marathon runner, long and lengthy.

Some days, sales will be up or down; other days, there will be no sales.

Changing your mindset will change your life!

The human body is capable of accomplishing many things, so much more than we realize, and it all starts in one’s mind. Your mind is your battlefield, and you must conquer the war between success and failure before it tells you that failure has already won.

Your mind will remind you of your past, your failed achievements, and that you are on track of repeating

MINDSET your failed history. But by refocusing your mindset, your steps towards success have already begun.

Changing one’s mindset is not easy.

For me, when I take an in-depth look at myself in the mirror; a face erected with a history of successes and failures, I am confronted with the truth of my complacency, settling in my comfort zone, and screaming for something new.

But then I look deeper to see the potential of ultimate success. So I try my hardest to reset my mind and come out of my comfort zone and embrace the brand new me.

Not scaling back when things get complicated, and pushing pass those places where it feels uncomfortable, saying no to underachieving, and remaining consistent while reaching my full potential. It takes an active mindset to dig deep and overcome hurdles when your tank’s empty and wanting to revert to the familiar of old habits and self-pity.

Ultimately, we are responsible for our success. Motivation can be the driving force behind your vision, but without action and the right mindset, it merely becomes a temporary sense of unused power and a feeling of emptiness.

Allow yourself to appreciate the small wins as you climb the ladder of success. Celebrate your goals and achievements before diving into a multitude of other tasks. Allowing yourself to look back at where you started and compare it to where you are now.

By evaluating

the decisions you made, the strides you have taken will help you to feel accomplished and ready to tackle millions of other things you have on your to-do list.

The easiest way to change your mindset is to work on you. Finding time can become exhausting, but it will be beneficial in the long run. For me, working out has become a priority in my life because it sets a precedent for the rest of my day.

My stress levels are regulated after working out. I feel good about myself, able to stay focused on all the goals that I have set for the week, and it helps me keep a positive mindset.

Because I realize that once I leave the gym, everything happens… family situations, phone calls, emails, and social media blogs and articles that I need to write. Find out what works best for you, but start with changing your mindset.

Laura Kandewen began to shape a writing career of her own while serving in the military. With limited resources in Iraq, Laura managed to write and self-publish her first poetry book. “Living day by day with your weapon by your side and driving in an open desert field highlighted just how fragile life really was,” Laura explains. She has recently republished a book of fiction,“ Til Death Do Us Part, which became a Kindle best seller, and an eBook to help other writers titled, How To Self-publish Like A Boss. laurakandewen.com

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Your mind is your battlefield, and you must conquer the war between success and failure before it tells you that failure has already won.

Success Champions

The Mindset of Envy Can Motivate you

By Stacey Magovern

I

’ve learned a lot about mindset in my now almost 50 years on this planet. In my twenties I believe I was in a mindset of envy and greed. My parents were very successful, and I thought I was somehow owed success. I wanted it all now. I was also under the huge misconception that stuff = success. I look back now and realize that I wasted a lot of time during those years worrying about things that just don’t matter. I was in a race with myself that I could never win.

The only good thing about a mindset of envy is it can motivate you. This, at least, was true for me. By age 25 I had a BA in Communications, purchased my first home, had two businesses and 8 rental properties.

I’m not even sure who I was trying to impress. As you can imagine, I couldn’t manage this level of business so fast at such a young age.

My businesses failed and I sold the rental properties. The great thing about all of this is I learned so much, and was able to completely change my mindset.

In my mid thirties after some success in the outside sales profession, I shifted to a true business mindset with a dash of dreamer mindset: always thinking big. This is what is so great about mindset: you can change it at any time if you are willing to acknowledge where you are. This sometimes comes with age and life experience. One of the

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MINDSET

advantages to the business mindset it is you can look at every decision from a business perspective. This works great for me, but I also felt as if I was the CEO of my family.

It was my responsibility to make the income stretch as far as possible.

This included getting out of debt, clipping coupons and using mobile applications to save money. I also created a budget. It is mind blowing how much money you can waste if you don’t have a budget and keep detailed records.

Now in my late forties I still have a business mindset as I run a very successful security and traffic safety company, but I now come from a mindset of gratitude. My grandfather used to always say, “In life you get what you give.” This is true on so many levels. When you change your mindset and look at what you must be grateful for rather than what you are lacking, your world will change. In 2017 I was able to start a nonprofit 501c3 Blue Family. We provide scholarships and financial assistance to families of law

enforcement officers. It feels great to be able to give back, however you don’t have to start a nonprofit to live in a mindset of gratitude.

It also doesn’t take money. A life of gratitude will make you a happier human; and you will make more of the precious time you have on this earth.

What mindset are you living in today?

Stacey Magovern was born and raised in Abilene Texas. She started Point Blank Safety Services in 2012, a management company that employs off-duty Texas police officers for highway safety work.

After huge success as CEO and Founder of Point Blank Safety, Stacey wanted to find a way to do more for police officers and their families. As a result, Blue Family Fund, Inc. was created. Blue Family Fund provides scholarships and financial assistance for families of law enforcement officers. https://pointblanksafety. com.

Unleash Your Inner Badass 39

This is what is so great about mindset: you can change it at any time if you are willing to acknowledge where you are.

Success Champions A warrior mindset then becomes its own entity. It is something that takes on a life of its own. It’s something that must be continually worked on and strengthened. A warrior mindset continues to fight battles even after it’s been stripped down to bare bones, left bloody, managed and defeated.

Developing A WARRIOR MINDSET By: Wendy Babcock

I You cannot have a wounded “poor me” mindset and become successful.

have always been drawn to the word “Warrior” ever since I became an entrepreneur. If you look up the definition of the word, you’ll find several variations but in general they all define “warrior” as “a person engaged or experienced in warfare” or “a person who fights in battles and is known for having courage and skill.”

To me, warrior has a positive connotation to it. Even though a warrior fights battles and may lose, they don’t just stop and accept the loss. They move forward even when they have been stripped down to bare bones and are bloody, mangled, and defeated. They continue their fight holding their shield up against whatever is being thrown at them and they put one foot in front of the other until they reach their destination or become victorious.

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In a world of entrepreneurship, social media marketing, podcasting, speaking, self-employment, direct sales, or however you define what you do – your mindset will make you or break you. It’s really that simple.

You cannot have a wounded “poor me” mindset and become successful.

You cannot continually focus on the losses, on what broke your spirit, on past defeats and move forward at the same time. You can, however, take a moment to learn from what took you off your feet and landed you on your ass. You can then apply those lessons to your next battle. But if you wallow in the defeat and keep replaying it over and over in your mind – how will you perpetuate success and victory in your life?

It will take practice and self-restraint not to throw pity parties every time someone says “no” to your product or pitch. It will take some serious mental armor to put yourself out there and follow your own path while people around you are casting stones that carry their own personal traumas and defeats. You must develop a strong mindset to keep moving forward even on the days when you want to give up.

MINDSET When someone slams you on social media and it feels like you just had your legs blown off, you must find a way to drag those bloody stumps of yours forward anyway. Yes, that sounds very dramatic, but isn’t that exactly how we feel when we get a negative review or someone publicly bashes your business on Facebook or criticizes your physical appearance on Instagram? We feel like someone took our legs right out from under us and generally we’d prefer to dig a hole and bury our heads and live in that miserable moment analyzing it over and over and over again.

However, a warrior mindset will pull you back up, brush it off, replace the missing leg with a machine gun and take out everything negative in your path while continuing your course to success (yes, that’s a reference to Rose McGowan in Planet Terror).

When we develop a warrior mindset, we do very specific things such as creating a strict schedule for ourselves. We decide what tools we need to keep us moving forward to become successful. We decide what boundaries we need to hold for ourselves. Those boundaries become our mental and emotional armor.

We try. We fail. We try again. We fail again. But we keep getting back up, inspecting what took out us and implementing new tools to keep it from happening again. A warrior mindset allows failure and defeat but never dwells or gives up.

You build a warrior mindset by focusing on the success you want to see and feel. You lean on your

strongest qualities and assets while at the same time, learning and building up the weaker ones. You develop a shield or boundaries that help protect you when stones are cast in your direction. You learn to let fear guide you instead of taking you out of the game altogether. You create passion from the courage it takes to step outside the norm and reach incredible heights. If you want to feel the success, the victory, the championships of a warrior, then you start with your mindset. Your battle for success is won first in your mind.

Wendy Babcock is a motivational speaker & author. Having left domestic abuse in 2006, Wendy set out on a path to rediscover who she is. Her journey led her from a 20-year career at a local hospital to discovering her passion for speaking. She is now 1 of 7 Certified Complaint Free Speakers in the world. Wendy also is the creator of The Kindness Bucket Brigade to help stop online bullying. She has built a community of over 6000+ Kindness Warriors to help those affected by bullying. She is also the founder of Warrior Unchained: Live a 2-day event for women that combines personal and professional development to create focus, confidence and growth.

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our battle for success is won first in your mind.

Success Champions

Tech Corner

Are You Ready for a Digital Transformation?

By Kevin Snow

W The key to deploying a digital technology solution to your company is to remember that the technology is only half of the equation.

People are the other half.

e all realize the positive impact digital technology can have on our businesses and our lives. It can make our processes more efficient and give us greater insight into our clients. Normally in this column I introduce you to some cool tech tools that will do just that. But it is really easy for people and organizations to get overwhelmed by the neverending onslaught from the next “must have” piece of software.

But digital technology is here to stay, and so is the never-ending change that it brings with it. So, what’s the solution to successfully transform your business with digital technology? The answer is mindset. You need to have a growth mindset.

The idea of a growth mindset is not a new concept as it has been

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around for over three decades. But most people don’t understand what it is. A growth mindset is built on the belief that intelligence can be developed and that through effort, you can increase your intelligence and skills. The opposite is a fixed mindset where a person believes their intelligence is fixed and instead of developing them, they spend their time documenting their intelligence. Being trapped in a fixed mindset may slow down or, worse, completely derail the implementation of technology that can help your business grow.

The key to deploying a digital technology solution to your company is to remember that the technology is only half of the equation. People are the other half. You need to help them develop the growth mindset alongside you.

Successful digital transformation is all about: • Putting people at the center of everything you do • Empowering members of your team to take risks and innovate • Helping them view challenges and failures as an opportunity to learn In a successful transformation there are 6 areas of focus.

1. Business Strategy. Figure out your strategy before you invest in anything. Often leaders that are looking to enhance efficiency of

MINDSET their organization will pick a tool and then apply it to their business rather than identifying their business strategy and identifying technology that helps them achieve their goal.

2. Leverage Insiders. Outside experts aren’t always the best solution. Often, they come predisposed with ideas packaged under the guise of best practices.

Successful digital transformations involve insiders who have intimate knowledge of the daily happenings in their organizations and can help effectively adapt the technology to the overall business strategy 3. Agile Culture. The process

of digital transformation is characterized by constant change; decisions are made provisionally, results tracked and then adjusted.

Decisions need to be made quickly and representatives from all parts of the organization need to be involved.

This means your typical hierarchy tends to slow things down. Utilizing a flat earth structure to oversee the digital transformation will allow people from different functions to review proposals and identify potential problems before they occurred.

4. Continuous Change. It is important to understand that digital transportation is not an event but

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Decisions need to be made quickly and representatives from all parts of the organization need to be involved. This means your typical hierarchy tends to slow things down.

Success Champions a continuous process. Technology and your processes will continue to evolve and you need to maintain the growth mindset as new people enter your organization.

Shared knowledge between cross function groups is key to sustaining constant change as your organization grows.

They say the only constants are death and taxes, but with the onset of digital technology, change has become a new constant for business.

5. Digital Technology. It is important to select your digital technology based on your vision and desired business outcomes. Often times an organization can see better results utilizing two to three pieces of technology that have specialized functions and allow you to customize your process more fully than using a single piece of technology. The old saying, “A jack of all trades, a master of none� applies to software as well as people.

6. Tools and Training. It is important to provide training not only for current members of your organization but new members that join your team down the road.

And it is important to remember not everyone learns the same way. Including multiple training techniques such as visual, experiential and gamification to ensure the best results for your organization.

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They say the only constants are death and taxes, but with the onset of digital technology, change has become a new constant for business.

Adaptability, agile thinking and taking ownership of that change is key to surviving that change. Start by establishing a growth mindset for you and your team that allows innovation and collaboration. It doesn’t happen overnight, but making small shifts over time will keep your team moving forward even in the face of technological disruption.

Kevin Snow is the founder of Time On Target, a digital marketing agency that helps businesses effectively use technology to grow their business. Kevin has helped companies all across the United States shorten their sales cycle and increase their closing rates by utilizing sales automation to increase the time sales teams are in front of prospects selling. You can reach Kevin at kevin.snow@time-on-target.com.

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Success Champions

Sassy Social Media

Mindset on Social Media

By Sarah Ankney

I You are going to get trolls or haters.

Everyone does. Don’t let someone who doesn’t know you or if they do know you change your mindset.

f you would have told me Mindset was important 5 years ago or that Mindset on Social Media was important, I would have totally laughed in your face.

I was that person that would post all the negativity and drama that went on in my life. I did it to seek attention at the time, but I had no clue what I was doing was affecting my business negatively.

Now I tend to unfollow those who are constantly posting the negative and drama. It brings my mindset down. Misery loves company and now that I am not miserable any more it is hard to stay in that company.

From a business perspective, when you come in with a bad mindset it can really affect people’s view of you, sales, and their mindset. Everyone has bad days and bad mindset days!

I have them all too often. I just don’t

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go posting all about it on social media anymore. It helps me to stay in that positive mindset and not bring in everyone to the negativity I may be feeling now. I have posted the occasional post that you can tell that I am super cranky but that really doesn’t serve any good. For most of us, our business is about building people up in all aspects of our lives and if you are posting bad mindset items how is that empowering you or your audience to be the best they can be? It isn’t right.

Don’t go into the FOMO attitude if your having a bad mindset day. That stuff will be there the next day.

Have someone proof the post before you post it.

Step away from the computer for a bit if your mood is getting worse by scrolling through the feeds.

Remember that you have a great life too when you feel a bit jealous about what someone else is posting about their life.

Be OK if you don’t have anything great to post.

My top tip for you is if you don’t want to see that type of status on someone else’s feed don’t post it on yours. It is ok to post you are having a bad day on Social Media, but it doesn’t have to be a daily occurrence.

It was for a long time for me. It took work to get here so be kind to yourself as no one is perfect. If you really look at some of my past posts, you would be like who is this person.

People want to help you when you

MINDSET are down and when you do good so make sure you are posting both!

There are always people watching that want to see you positive and succeeding, so make sure you post that too.

There are other things to watch out for when you are using social media for your business. You are going to get trolls or haters. Everyone does.

Don’t let someone who doesn’t know you or if they do know you change your mindset. You need to change your reaction to things being said. Don’t take things personally. It is not about you. It is about them.

Remember if it is truly a negative thing there is block button for a reason. Use it!

There are also other applications out there that can block that negativity.

Use them. Unfollow people that are too negative for your liking. You can always go look at their page. I have friends that I love to death but when their posts show in my feed, I get anxious and my mood changes.

You must be proactive in eliminating the things that affect your mindset including your social media feeds.

If you are having a hard time don’t post it all over your Social Media statuses. Absolutely ask for support and help but do so in private. Use messenger - that is why we have that option. Create yourself a list of 10 people you can go to for support when that bad mindset hits. I also say you should put that list in a place you can see it so that you can reach out for support. I have some great

people I have met through social media that give me huge support. I have that list because sometimes I forget to reach out for help. Reach out for help if your mindset becomes negative.

My two best tips for you when it comes to Mindset is think before you post and step away when your mindset is so bad it is spilling out all over your social media.

Sarah Ankney of Sassy Pinterest is a Pinterest Account Manager.

She wants to empower your business with a bit of magic to help you get visible. Sassy Pinterest creates graphics and descriptions as well as manages your Pinterest account so that you can do all the things you need to do and drive traffic to your business. If you need assistance in your business to get traffic to all your sites, please contact Sarah Ankney to add another powerful marketing tool. linktr. ee/sassyempower

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Success Champions

5 Massive Mindset Fuck-ups

By Donald R. Dodson, Jr.

I don’t have that overall approach that an employer and entrepreneur would have. They’re looking at the big picture.

A

lright, so I was asked to write an article about mindset. Honestly, this is laughable. I am the worst at mindset! But then I realized that this could be an opportunity for you to learn from my mindset fuck ups. So, kids, here are 5 things you might not want to try at home.

Thinking Like an Employee I have been cursed/blessed with

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a fantastic work ethic from my father, which means I always must be working and working hard.

The problem is, this isn’t always conducive to a more strategic level approach to what you’re doing in your business.

I focus on production. I am a leather worker and I feel that if I’m not making leather stuff that I’m somehow not doing a “good job”.

Of course, this is bull crap. Too often, I’m “busy” focused on making things or getting ready for the next event to stop and consider things like, “is my branding on point?” or “Am I following my vision?” I am too busy working in the trenches that I don’t have that overall approach that an employer and entrepreneur would have.

They’re looking at the big picture.

Negative Self-Talk Another one of my fuck ups is negative self-talk.

It’s this basic negative speech that creeps its way into my language.

Some of the most common examples we’ve often heard

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you can try at home of is things like, “I’m no good with names,” or “I’m not good at doing math.” If you have that kind of mindset, you never really will be successful with those things. Because the way you’re phrasing it is creating this sort of foregone conclusion. It’s self-sabotage.

In the business world, you’re going to hear things like, I’m not good at branding or social media is hard for me to do. Or I’m a new entrepreneur, I’m not a big deal. All those negative statements creep in and just become reality because that’s what you’re believing.

Negative Self-Perception Think of negative selfperception as the evil twin to negative self-talk.

This is how you perceive yourself. One of the biggest things I often do is be a little bit too humble – ok damnit waaaay too humble. I know that, people oftentimes see humility as a virtue. That may be a valid point, however, it can also be self-limiting. I view myself as just starting out even though I’ve been doing this for three years. I don’t recognize in myself the

skills that I have created and put forward. And when I do this, I am making it harder to succeed because I am not putting that confidence and trust in myself. How can I expect other folks to value me if I don’t value myself ? This causes issues for things like pricing. If I don’t feel that I am valuable, then how can I expect others to value my work and charge a decent price?

Poverty Mindset.

I have been struggling with this for a very long time. It all goes back to the fact that my father lived through the Great Depression. So, he’s well, let’s just say it, he is frugal - and that mindset has translated into my personal life. The problem is, it’s one thing to be frugal in your personal life. It’s another to be to do so in your business. Money is a tool. If you don’t use the tool, it’s not going to help push your business forward.

So, you really need to focus on not doing the things that I have done, like not buying services to alleviate my workload, not investing in more materials, not investing in a machine, process or service that can move business forward.

Poverty mindset can also be transferred onto others. This is a really big fuck up - and one I made recently. I found that I was putting

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How can I expect other folks to value me if I don’t value myself?

Success Champions that poverty mindset on potential clients. I was adjusting my prices because I didn’t think they could afford it. I didn’t have any rational basis for this judgment. I was just applying my personal poverty mindset to an individual or a company.

And this is a huge mistake.

Because I was leaving dollars on the table, and those dollars translate into growth. It also leads to damaging my self-image by assuming that somebody isn’t going to pay a fair price for my work.

Lack of Vision Okay, this last one is a big one.

And it’s one that I just recently am beginning to understand, and I need to do. And that’s vision.

too often, our vision is “I’m going to make money,” or “I’m going to sell a bunch of things.”

Pretty much my vision was, “hey, I want to make really cool stuff that makes people happy.” There’s no true vision associated with that.

There’s no outcome. There was nothing very specific or focused. Too often, our vision is “I’m going to make money,” or “I’m going to sell a bunch of things.”

In order to be effective a vision must have an outcome. Maybe it’s as simple as how you will be perceived, or what your business will be like.

Once I developed that vision and

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refined it, I could formulate a plan to make that happen. Because then you do define your vision you can determine whether your actions align. Otherwise you are just flailing around and working IN your business, not ON it!

So please take lessons from me and don’t fuck up your mindset.

Donald Dodson, owner of Dodson Designs, has been involved in artistic pursuits for as long as he can remember.

Starting at age 16 as a sign painter assistant, and after high school, he pursued a career in graphic arts, finding his home in graphic design and web design. After an eight-year stint as a teacher, Dodson, a combat veteran, longed to return to his passion for the arts and, at 49, started a full-time leather working business. He crafts handmade, creative custom leather goods and accessories near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. You can learn more about his work at www.dodson-designs.com

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Success Champions

The outsourcing corner

Mindset: It Can Be a Big Issue When You Want to Scale Your Business

By Lorianne Vaughan Speaks

If we stay in our “protect-the-incomefor-myself” mindset, you will be stepping over dollars to earn those dimes.

I

n last month’s issue, I said we all need to learn to delegate and outsource tasks that can be done quicker (and usually better) by others. That being said, many small businesses are afraid to take on extra expenses.

We need to change our mindset on this, or you will never grow and scale the way you would like.

I get it…honestly, I do! If we stay in our “protect-the-incomefor-myself ” mindset, you will be stepping over dollars to earn those dimes.

I had a client tell me she went from bringing in $1500 a month to over $100,000 for the year when she hired her first VA (virtual assistant) because to grow her business

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properly, she needed to be spending her time on the top dollar activity (coaching) that was her specialty. By taking the administrative minutiae off her plate she had 20+ more hours of billable coaching time to offer her clients.

No Brainer…right?

I have changed my mindset over the last six months (from a small service company - to an organization that helps people win at all levels). I have embraced the fact that I can teach others to do the work while I move into mentoring my clients to make those next steps for their business growth. And – I have learned that I may not be the best at every facet of the work we provide…WHO KNEW! This came with a mindset change, that as a business owner I can grow by hiring and training staff – and in turn – help more clients. A win-win for all of us.

What mindset issues are you facing as you look to hire people onto your team? If the budget is tight, look at the virtual assistants in your area. They will work to grow your business, because their business depends on it. Start small…but start!

If you wait for everything to be perfect, you will never get it off the ground.

To improve your mindset on the issue of hiring people for your team, try hiring for a specific project. As I said last month – be clear on your need, budget and deadlines. Over communicate if you are not sure they understand; and ask them to

MINDSET repeat it back to you so you are both on the same page. If you are aligned; and are both in the mindset of “business owner� (as VAs are) instead of employee - you will both grow.

Donnie Boivin always says you need to bet on yourself.

Sometimes that can be a big mindset change that needs to happen. But if you are in business for yourself, you have done that first step. Now, take that entrepreneurial mindset and grow your business by bringing in the help you need to scale to the next level.

it their mission to empower our clients to deliver their message by handling the rest of the details! https://www.

LVSConsultingServices.com.

If you have a specific question, or something you would like to see answered in a future issue, reach out to me .

If you wait for everything to be perfect, you will never get it off the ground.

Lorianne Speaks is an expert in the area of Speaker/Author/Podcaster support.

She amplifies the visibility of Authors/ Speakers/Messengers while they do what they love - SPEAK! Lorianne has helped spearhead multiple best-selling book campaigns - editing, proofing, through to launch and social media marketing to help authors create buzz and momentum throughout the social media platforms and increasing their message WorldWide. Lorianne and her team have made

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