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AoL 027: The Process of Reinventing Yourself and Your Business with Theresa French

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Sometimes, things just don’t work out, in life or in our businesses, the way we expect them to. Whether or not we really wanted to succeed simply does not compute at times. And it’s those times that we find ourselves having to quit the path we were on. Sometimes this can be really hard. Especially since most of us are taught from an early age that we’re not allowed to quit something. (Which, I talked about how to quit without regret in a recent blog post.)

When you do finally quit something, though, whether planned or not, you’ll be starting something again soon. Whether it’s a new job, a new career, or a new business, there’s a process of reinvention.

For me, 2015 was all about reinvention. I had to figure out what I was good at and then I had to choose a business that fit my interests, what I liked to do, and even more importantly, how I wanted to make income.

This session’s guest knows more about reinvention than she probably guessed she would during her college years. While she always had the makings of an entrepreneur, it was only recently that she felt that what she did was truly an extension of her inner self. Sure, she was good at other things, but that didn’t necessarily mean that it was her passion.

Today, Theresa French finds herself loving to work with people in training environments. Helping them be more successful in their work as well as their lives.

In the chat, we specifically talk about where her perseverance comes from, how she got into photography, how she eventually transitioned into speaking and training, and one important thing you need to do before you transition from one job or career to another.

If you have ever felt like you’re lost when building that new business or are simply tired with what you’re doing now, then you can learn a thing or two from what she’s gone through. Reinvention is definitely a process that we all have to go through from time to time.

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • Where her business ownership inspiration came from.
  • Why she still went to college.
  • How she got into her first business after school.
  • How she was able to take advantage of multiples niches in that business.
  • Why many of us don’t like to see ourselves in pictures and/or videos.
  • What she learned when she had to hang up the keys on her first business.
  • How she eventually started her marketing firm and where FocusWorks Consulting came from.
  • The ONE thing that Theresa wants everyone to take away from this talk.
  • The path to how she got into graphic design.
  • The one important thing you need to do before you transition from one job (or career) to another.
  • How she plans on doing more speaking and training in 2016.
  • …and MUCH more.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Reinvent Yourself (Motivational Video) – a new favorite of mine?

Wesley Goo (Founder of Reinvention International) on Reinvention:

Robert Green shares the key of transforming ourselves and also talks on his own personal transformation.

Dr. Mario Alonso Puig talks about Reinvention

Steve Harvey talks about Chapter 13 of his book Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success (Amazon Link)

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, and/or Podbean. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

girlboss

AoL 026: Crushing Graphic Design like a GirlBoss with Sharlotte Bouniol

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Many entrepreneurs start out as freelancers. They might call themselves consultants, but they’re really freelancers.

The difference, we learned in session 17 with Frank Forte, was that consultants are contracted for a much longer time. Maybe a year plus. Whereas a freelancer works per the project.

Either way, your services are for sale, and you live and die by each individual project.

Needless to say, you better have a natural gift or passion for what you’re going to be helping with. Otherwise you’re going to grow tired of the hustle to do jobs you don’t like doing really quick.

For me, the time that I spent at AMS you could have considered me a consultant. The IRS labeled me a contractor, but I definitely helped build the business… and continue to do so in different ways. Just today I was asked to take a look at something on the back end of the website and see if I could do something about it!

If you’re a freelancer, I’m sure you understand that feeling.

Today’s guest is someone that has a huge passion in what she does. In her past life, she’s been in various marketing positions including a Chief Marketing Officer. Eventually, though, she realized she liked helping Beach Body coaches with their branding. Word got out about her work, enough so that eventually she left the executive position to pursue her interest in branding and marketing.

In this session’s chat with Sharlotte Bouniol, we talk about a number of things including: how she became an intern for the Nielsen company, how she got a job at the #1 State Farm Agency in the US, why she started GirlBoss Graphix, and what inspires her creatively.

If you’re serious about becoming a freelancer, I think you’ll get a lot of inspiration from this chat. In reality it’s all about leveraging who you know so you can get referrals to do more work. Start in a niche, like Sharlotte, then work your way out!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • How Sharlotte got into marketing.
  • How she became an intern for the Nielsen Company.
  • Why she sees the world differently after the experience there.
  • How she got a job at the #1 State Farm Agency in the US.
  • The difference between niche marketing and niche product design.
  • Why she finally started GirlBoss Graphix.
  • How she actually gets paid for the work she does.
  • How she was able to say goodbye to her last job and boss.
  • Why she chose to build an online business vs being a “brick and mortar” agency.
  • What inspires her creativity.
  • Why she believes that personal development is important.
  • Where her passion for helping special needs kids came from.
  • …and MUCH more.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

How to be a Freelance Artist (Dos and Dont’s)
In the video, Jazza talks about some of the hard learned lessons he’s had over the years

What Successful Freelancers Wish They’d Known from the the Start
(Just because it’s from the UK doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply EVERYWHERE!)

Is web design more your thing? Here’s John Morris on finding your first client on Upwork, Elance, and oDesk.

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, and/or Podbean. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

Labeling Business Accomplishment: Find Your Place, Your Peers, and GROW Faster!

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With all the business training going around these days and the interaction of people at all levels of business, many business trainers have tried to label where people are by using a scale or other descriptive words to illustrate where people might be on the entrepreneurial path.

In Fizzle, for example, they have a roadmap to developing one’s business that contains three distinct phases that I chatted briefly about in this post few weeks ago. These 3 phases describe those who are starting their business:

  • Phase 1: Clarity stage (Figuring out what you want to do.)
  • Phase 2: Building Your Business (Building it enough that it replaces your day job financially).
  • Phase 3: Scaling (Fine tuning, adding paid team members, and growing larger than what you could do on your own)

 

While these three phases work out really well for Fizzle because they’re all about getting us from nothing to something, I believe it’s 3/4’s of the full story. Plus, as for the overall business world, there should be a description to describe those who have reached a high level of their own growth and are strictly focused on helping others grow. John Maxwell would call these Level 5 Leaders. Some of those folks might include serial entrepreneurs, gurus, angel investors, philanthropists, and advisors. Again, think more like Tim Ferriss, Pat Flynn, Gary Vee, on to someone like Oprah.

Essentially, people that wouldn’t be using Fizzle because they would have outgrown it.

For about a month, I’ve been trying to come up with a more generic ranking in helping people quickly understand where people are in the business world.

Finding the Solution

In a recent poll that I conducted on Facebook, I asked the members of a group where they fell in building their business. I wanted to find out where people were so that we could find out the makings of the group. This would lead us to reach out to those that were in similar levels and also figure out who we could reach up to for help.

 

Here was that poll:

business building

Where do you fall?

Besides the fact that I realized that I apparently don’t know how to use the alphabet (what happened to g and h?), I found out that all of these levels were being used to describe where people were in the group. Many were new and hadn’t started even building a platform (groups a and b), while a few were starting their business and had some success (groups c and d). Yet, others were having more success and scaling (groups e and f). Even more interesting, is that there are folks in the group that have had more than just success with online business, they’ve started a few businesses online and could be straight up veterans. It’s really hard to tell why those people are in the group. Networking? Sure.

Now, as far as the first three segments – I think you can describe those as the Clarity, Building, and Scaling segments from Fizzle. But what about that 4th group? I had to figure out something that could describe all 4 groups. And that’s when it hit me.

Why not use the labels that we’re all so familiar with when it comes to accomplishment in the scholastic world? I mean, it makes sense.

Let’s Look at Some Definitions:

Why does it make sense to use these terms that a lot of us might want to forget? Well it’s because they actually have appropriate meaning! Check this out:

The term Freshman dates back to the mid-16th century where it has invariably meant either “newcomer” or “novice.”

Sophomore is derived from two Greek terms, sophos, meaning “wise,” and moros, meaning “foolish” or “dull”. Meaning that the term Sophomore originally probably meant a wise moron! (I would definitely say I fit this rank right now. I know a lot of stuff, but I’m not exactly sure when to use it all!)

Junior simply means the younger of two. This is defined in relations to their more learned upperclassmen. Early on, juniors were called “Junior Soph,” and seniors were denoted with “Sophester”.

Senior has been used since the mid-14th century in English to denote either an older person or one of authority.

Cool, huh? Easily fits the different groups of folks in the group!

Check this Out

So here’s something else that I realized. When it comes to business, most people when they jump from one business to another have to start over again. As upcoming podcast guest Theresa French said in her interview, “going from one business to another type of business is just as hard as going from working a job to a business”. So, if that’s the case (which I’m pretty sure it is), then that would mean that those that start something new, are freshman again. (Makes sense, this is how college works.)

However, because they’ve already gotten their feet wet in business, I’d think that it’d be more suiting to call them sophomores again. They have skills, they just don’t know how exactly to apply them yet.

Grow Faster by Working with your Classmates!

Ok, so now that you’re familiar with these terms, why is it important? Because, it’s almost ALWAYS something that industries do – come up with their own words to describe something that might be complex to others outside of that industry.

Just like academia, the rules of business stay the same. What changes is the knowledge used for a particular business and how we execute in our industry. The catch is, as solopreneurs, we all have varying degrees in how well we’re doing both.

Typically speaking, the more experience we have, the more we’ll know how to wield both knowledge and execution. Labeling these levels of experience helps us determine whether we’ll be using our time effectively with the other person.

Freshman always want to learn from upperclassmen. However, working with seniors all the time might not be the best thing for them.

While it’s good for both parties to be around each other from time to time to expand each other’s point of view, there is a ton of work between a freshman and a senior. Just like in high school and college, the freshman gets frustrated that they can’t keep up and the senior gets frustrated when the freshman just doesn’t get it.

We have to learn from the upperclassmen, but practice with those who are our peers.

Action Steps

So this is a fairly simple activity. Figure out which level you’re at and connect with those that are close to you in experience. Perhaps even start a “study group” (aka mastermind) with them! (Just like when you’re studying, you’ll learn things much quicker from different perspectives than if you were to just go it alone.)

Are you a freshman? A sophomore? Maybe even a junior? Who are the seniors in your life? Are you learning from their path of success and how to apply things they’ve learned on your own journey?

Have you made already made a mastermind of peers that you can grow together with? If you have, that’s great! You know that iron sharpens iron. If you haven’t, think about who you’d want in that group. Freshman don’t tend to care who they study with, however, it might be best to start out with other freshmen or sophomores. Anything higher and you might find yourself drinking from a fire hose.

As a sophomore, a junior, or even a senior, you have to be picky not to get too many lowerclassmen in your group. Otherwise it doesn’t do YOU any good! Don’t let your niceness weigh you down. You’re not doing them or yourself any favors!

AoL 023: Recognizing the Delusion of Passion: Helping Millennials find True Personal Freedom with Mark Nathan

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“Being financially free. What a goal. Man, if we could only be financially free, we wouldn’t have to work!”

Has said many a millennial entrepreneur as they set out on their first business.

I know that was the case for me when I first fell into entrepreneurship. Just like, I’m sure, anyone else that has read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Those of us who have read Robert Kiyosaki’s work knows that ideally we want to have as many passive income streams as we can. In fact, he says that one of the easiest ways to build passive income is get started with a direct sales company or MLM.

So, in 2006, that’s what I did. Shortly there after, I met a guy who was quickly rising in the ranks of success in my group. Someone that inspired me quite a bit to leave the shell of an engineer behind.

That someone was this session’s guest, Mark Nathan. Mark has been financially free since 2009 and has worked his tail off to get there. Over the years, the speeches that I have seen him do and the videos that I have seen him in have made me realize that doing what he’s done is possible… and that anyone can do what he’s done. Like Pat Flynn, he’s a very relatable guy and a teacher at heart. But he won’t back away from giving you some tough love.

Recently, Mark has been using his financial freedom to help other startups in the Chicago area get off the ground. And I assume, that one of the things he’s realized is that a lot of us Millennials think that what we want is going to come easy to us. (I mean, why wouldn’t it? So many of us have only ever had to be in school… and that was relatively a cake walk!)

Well, that reason is why a lot of us fail at projects we set out to do. We simply don’t realize all the hardships that we’re going to face to achieve what we want to achieve.

So, to help us get the right state of mind of what it takes to succeed, he and his co-author, David Anderson, wrote their first book: The Delusion of Passion – Why Millennials Struggle to Find Success. Who better to give us struggling Millennials a little tough love than a fellow Millennial who’s reached the Summit?

In today’s talk, Laila and I talk with Mark about his ups and downs in business, what being financially free means to him, and what he and his wife do with their “extra” time.

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • What he learned about business early in his career during his time at Loyola.
  • What Mark and his wife do with their freedom (including getting on Family Feud).
  • His experiences in theatre, including starting a film festival.
  • His thoughts on developing a direct sales/MLM business and how to build one successfully.
  • What Financial Freedom means to him.
  • Where the idea for his book came from.
  • Some of the way’s he’s “embraced the suck” to get to where he’s at.
  • What mentorship has meant to him over his career.
  • How to make reliable partners out of followers.
  • …and MUCH more.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

 

First Tip for Beginning Entrepreneurs

Meredith joins in talking about the Law of Resistance:

Mark’s brother, Father Matt, meets Steve Harvey:

You can tell that Mark and his family lead an Upgraded Life!

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, and/or Podbean. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

marrying an entrepreneur

AoL 019: Marrying an Entrepreneur and the Fundamentals of Building a Business with Francielle and Brian Daly

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When you’re introduced to somethings, you either can go slow or fast. Examples of learning something slow might include many sports and school activities such as multiplication, reading, and writing. You get the idea.

Other times you have to go fast – like learning how to ride a bike.

When it comes to entrepreneurship, and teaching others, you can do it quickly and risk blowing their minds. Or you can go slow and try to recreate how you might have learned.

Unfortunately for people who marry an entrepreneur, they often times don’t get the chance to learn slow. Personally for me and Maria, I tried to keep her process relatively slow so that it wouldn’t get too nuts. However, as soon as we got married, I had her listening to podcasts and watching courses right away. Eventually getting her interested in what things she wanted to do outside of her day job.

I could have gone quicker than that. I know that one of my best friends from school, Ben, got his now wife, Megan, to go to an LTD open meeting for their second date. She got to know the business more than she got to know him! Yikes. Talk about a steep learning curve!

Similarly, one of today’s guests got the other to go to a business conference early on their dating life as well. As she eludes to in the podcast, he meant business!

Francielle Daly quickly realized that Brian was for real and that being with him would mean things would change in her life. And boy did they ever. Now she’s running her own site and coaching others with him. All in the matter of a couple of years.

In today’s session, we talk about what that transformation looked like and the ride they have taken together to this point in their solopreneur careers.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

  • How Francielle was introduced to Entrepreneurship
  • Where the idea of FullTimeMom.org came from and how it’s changed over time.
  • The importance of the 4 Pillars of Business and how they can affect a business.
  • How the question “If you thought you were doing everything right and someone told you that you were doing something wrong, how soon would you want to know?” has changed Brian’s perspective on life.
  • The importance of having a strategy for the things that you do in your business.
  • Why it might be a good thing to work with professionals.
  • Why an assessment is critical when forming teams and business relationships.
  • How they’ve had success finding clients.
  • Whether they see themselves as being unemployable.
  • …and MUCH more.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Get the Dalys’ Execution Plan Template here:

GET THE EXECUTION PLAN TEMPLATE
I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
In this plan, you'll see how you can execute and grow your business. It asks all the right questions regarding your business and makes you think about what your next steps might be.
Please be aware that any work you use this plan for is at your own discretion. It is highly recommended that you seek a proper assessment from Brian and Francielle Daly for proper use.

Article that talks about launching a company with a loved one and 5 things you need to know about doing it.

Marie Forleo asks 4 questions you can ask yourself when taking business advice from your spouse:

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, and/or Podbean. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

3 Step Process to Being a Successful Beginner Solopreneur

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“Do or Do Not. There is No Try.” – Yoda

Often times, as creators who are stepping out to make an income doing our own thing, we wonder if what we’re doing is right. Just like Luke, in the Empire Strikes Back, we have all of these different emotions running through us, we want to make sure that we’re not spinning our wheels. Also like Luke, we must listen to our inner Yoda and not let those emotions keep us from being successful.

For me, personally, having the background in engineering that I do, I just don’t have the personality to simply experiment. I can’t afford to just play. I have to know the actions I’m taking are going to yield some sort of results. I need to know what my constraints are so I can be creative.

Like me, you’ve probably scoured the web looking for any tutorial or eBook you can get your hands on. How many newsletters do you have coming into your inbox because it promised that one extra piece that you thought you needed? Five? Ten?

Me? I’ve strategically signed up for at least 20 newsletters. Each one goes to it’s separate mailbox so that I can keep track of their author’s marketing efforts. That’s on top of the ones which I’ve signed up for just a freebie info piece.

Which leads to the next question: When you entered your email, why did you? Was it truly to get something you thought would make you better at your craft? Was it something that you guessed you would need in the future? Or was it something that you wanted because it was free and you didn’t know the answer to the clickbait copy that was before the form?

For me, it’s been all of the above.

With all of this information out there, how can we put it to use and make ourselves better at our business?

Here’s the 3 top things I’ve realized that have helped me be a better solopreneur.

Find Where You’re Stuck

In a recent survey by Pat Flynn back in July of 2015, he asked what his audience’s biggest struggles were. Yesterday he shared the results with what he was looking to do about it in 2016. Below is one of the graphics he used in this awesome write up. (I look forward to him accomplishing some of the things he said he’d do.)

SPI-website-survey-1024x483

Pat Flynn’s Beginner Audience Struggles

And here were the top responses from his audience members who already had a business:

SPI-survey-2-1024x236

Top Response’s of Pat Flynn’s audience who already had a business.

I can so relate to all of these issues. I’ve had every single one of these struggles myself. I still have sleepless nights because I question whether or not what I’m doing is real. (I think even Pat has that question from time to time.)

As a true beginner back in March, I had no idea where to start. I had too many ideas going through my head in what I wanted to do. And, as I mentioned above, I wanted to make sure that what I was going to do would leave me feeling successful.

The first part in making yourself a better solopreneur, I believe, is to figure out what is holding you in the position that you find yourself in.

Essentially I want you to just simply realize the issue that you’re having the most. Out of Pat’s responses above, which one (or two or even three) resonates with you the most?

Get Help

Once you realize where you’re stuck (whether you already have a business or not), you need to get help.

Just like with being sick, yes you can possibly get better if you tough it out, but there are ways to expedite the agony you’re going through. Either make the symptoms go away or to cure the illness itself.

So going down the list of Pat’s real quick, here are places where I’d look for answers. (FYI – each one of these problems could warrant a blog post, but I want to help you get going as soon as possible for 2016.)

  1. I don’t know where to start / I can’t pick a business idea / Feel like my ideas aren’t good enough – Honestly, there’s a reason why the pack over at Fizzle have Finding Clarity as a step all by itself in their roadmap. It’s the foundation of your future success. If you don’t start on the right foot, then you’re going to have to come back to fix fundamental issues. Just simply by going through their process of finding a niche to work in will help immensely in finding your starting point. I believe Corbett has come up with a great test to do just that.If you go through Fizzle’s Finding a Topic and Defining Your Audience courses and still don’t know where to start, then perhaps you need to start Asking via what Ryan Levesque teaches or going to Dane Maxwell and his group at The Foundation.Truth be told, the secret to both is simply asking a group of people what they’d be interested in buying to fix a particular problem (that you’ve drilled for through questions) and then coming up with a solution for said problem. If the solution fixes a very big pain for that group of people or businesses (I’d suggest B2B solutions myself – you can make them members of a site), then they might even prepay you for it.
  2. Information Overload (Information Constipation) /  Confused about the next step – Once you have an idea for your topic, it’s time to actually start. So looking at this grouping, I’d think that the best place to get help with this is to find a Mastermind (online or offline), find some supportive social media groups (LinkedIn or Facebook have a ton), and/or start going to nearby Meetups to network.The idea behind all of these is that you want to get feedback from as many people as possible. You want to have a group to bounce ideas off of. Once you have that in place, you can ask them what they believe is the most important part of your business AND how you might be able to improve on those parts. Remember, you can make your strengths better and better, but you can only make your weaknesses so good.If you’re interested in finding a group but you don’t know where to find one, come on over to the New Inceptions Masterminder Group on Facebook (and soon to be LinkedIn… I’ll let you guys know) and we’ll gladly help you bounce ideas. In fact, I run two masterminds a week with members of this group.

    Fizzle might be a good solution here as well, as they have a thriving forum to bounce ideas off of. In fact, the initial members for my masterminds I found through Fizzle. And let’s not forget that roadmap that I mentioned earlier. So that’s a choice as well.

  3. Trying to do too many things at once / I don’t have enough time – Ok, so this was the problem that Pat saw himself having in 2013 and 2014 before he hired people to help him step up his game for 2015. In fact, he had a talk where he and his guest talked about Superman Syndrome and how it can kill your business. I really think that chat made him think quite a bit.If you don’t have the capabilities to hire people (staff members or part timers) outright to do tasks (repeating or not) then perhaps you can get some help from those in your mastermind groups or other groups that you’re a part of. One of the things that I learned in getting America Multi-Sport off the ground yearly was that sometimes our sponsors didn’t give us money. Instead, they offered services and their time to support our events.Likewise, see if you can partner with those that are in your immediate circle of influence once you have a few decent connections. If they don’t stick, don’t be afraid to replace them.
  4. I fear failure / Struggle with Perfectionism – I’ve talked about both of these before. But just in case you haven’t heard it, here’s what you need to know: Failure can really only happen if you quit. Unless it’s in school or in Corporate America, life would tell us that just because something turned out a way that you didn’t expect, doesn’t mean it was a failure. Life is all about learning, and nature has made it so that the best way for us to learn is through things not going as planned. All you can do is pick yourself up, adjust, and try again. No big deal. It’s how we learn how to ride bikes and do anything else in life, right?As far as perfectionism goes, on one hand it’s an extension of the Superman Syndrome mentioned above. On the other hand, it’s an excuse. One that can debilitate you from getting anything done. If you feel that you struggle with being perfect, check out this post to help yourself get over it.

Take Productive Action

Just get started and keep it simple.

One of the things that has held me up for so long in getting New Inceptions started was that as I searched the web, I kept coming up with more and more things that I needed to be doing. The question is not whether or not I needed to do them. The question was in which order? The more I heard or listened to, the more I had on that list and the more confused I got.

While learning is a great thing, Just in time Learning is even better. Just in time learning is when we do a little bit of work, get stuck, find an answer, and then move on with a little bit more work.

When you’re taking action, make sure you’re doing so by utilizing your strengths first. If you don’t see yourself as a great writer, for example, don’t write. If you’re creativity relies on something that you must perform or do, then use another means to get it to others… such as video. And while you might be able to share it on YouTube, you might actually make a little income on using a platform like Udemy.com. Monetize on your actions any way you can from the get go – but be smart about it.

Homework:

Ok gang, that’s the last post of 2015. I hope it gives you some motivation to make some strides in 2016. If you haven’t gotten started on making your hobbies or passions into a business, I’d recommend heading on over to Fizzle right now and get started on the Roadmap. When you go through any of the links on this page, you’ll be using my affiliate link. This is a win-win as you get your first month free (saving you $35 your first month). I don’t care if that’s as long as you stay. I just want you to set off 2016 on the right foot.

Let me know below if you’ve made it over there. I’d love to connect with you over there and possibly even get to know you more so we can do some awesome things together in 2016.

Cheers!

AoL 014: From NASA to Fitness Coach – Knowing When It’s Time to Move On with Laila Rahmatian

/by


Many people who think about being a creator full time have to struggle with a particular decision. That decision is whether or not it’s viable. I mean, it’s a very big deal. Sometimes this struggle is amplified from financial instability or from a questioning of who they are. And yet, sometimes it’s a combination of both.

For me personally, I knew that I’ve always been a creator. As you might recall, back in high school I had the opportunity to go into art or science as my focus. I chose to go the science route because I believed it would have a larger payout in the end. Things changed and I soon found out that I didn’t want to be a traditional engineer. I then went to grad school for organizational leadership.

Today, I find myself using both my artistic side as well as my technical/engineering side to do the work I’m doing today.

In today’s session, I’m talking with Laila Rahmatian about her recent career change. Like myself, she identifies with the term multipotentialite and still doesn’t quite know if her current career choice is where she’ll always be. (That’s alright, by the way. Multipotentialites are often labeled as Jack and Jills of All Trades.)

While the talk focuses on various things around her career path from NASA to being a fitness coach, she also has other talents that we didn’t discuss. Including being a great photographer.

So, if you’re having issues choosing how to make an income doing something you love, maybe it isn’t so much about picking just one thing forever. Maybe it’s simply time to realize that it’s time to move on to the next chapter. Then you can worry about what you’re going to do during that chapter. It’s my hope that this discussion will help you determine if it’s that time. Enjoy!

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

  • How early in her life she had her sights set on NASA.
  • How she eventually got to NASA after being at Purdue as a Civil Engineering Student
  • How Having to go the extra mile for good grades in school actually paid off later in life.
  • When she knew that it was time to leave NASA and pursue her passions elsewhere.
  • What she learned from going to grad school.
  • How to realize when it’s the next chapter in your life.
  • How she believes engineering is still part of her future.
  • …and MUCH more.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

This session’s show note extras are pure personality. Below are a few links that I believe also illustrate Laila’s multiple interests. If you listened to session 8 and session 12, you heard about two travelers: Cam Adair and Marianne Jennings. Laila mentioned to me after the recording that she related pretty well with Marianne.

If you think you might want to become more of a traveler or even have a traveling lifestyle, then I believe that this site is for you:

Traveler’s Mindset

Also, Laila and I both went to Purdue as engineers. As engineers there, it’s kind of running jokes that

1. Engineers have a very hardcore studious life.

2. Engineers, in general, are a strange bunch. Especially guys from a female engineer’s perspective.

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

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If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, and/or Podbean. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!