Aww Shift

In today’s episode, our guest is Amanda Relyea-Voss, Owner and CEO of Like A Voss Social Media, a social media management company. She leads her team and works closely with her clients to help them navigate the online world and give them the freedom to spend time working in their zone of genius. She has a background in communications, web and social media strategies, event planning, community relations. She considers herself an excellent writer with experience writing social media content and website content. Today, she will share how she made her Aww-shift moment happen.

 [5:29]Why should we listen to you?

Truthfully, it’s because I honestly figured out what makes me happy as a human being. It took me a long time. For reference, I’m still young, but I’m not that young. I’m 32, and I’ve been on this deep journey of self-discovery over the past couple of years, especially over the past ten months. It’s all I want to talk about now. I have a successful business, and I’m successful as a business person. People are like, “Oh, do you want to talk about like, what do you do?” I’m like, “No, I want to talk about my passions.”

 

[6:43]What was that Aww-Shift moment?

The grind was the first five years of the business, and I was a solopreneur. I didn’t have any help. I’m talking like 16, 18 hour days overtired getting sick because I was tired of thinking that my business is my entire identity. Losing touch with previous passions, and my hobbies died down. I was just working and sleeping and working and sleeping.

[8:10] The first shift was hiring help. Allowing myself to let go of some of the responsibilities in the business and realizing that other people can help me and I don’t have to do it all myself again. After that, I grew, and the company grew. 

 

[9:18]What forced to find a team?

When I started with the employees, I wasn’t 100% sure that I wanted to go that route. I didn’t think that I wanted to grow the business. I thought I was happy doing it all on my own because it was my whole identity. But I realized that if I wanted to live the kind of lifestyle that I was working towards, which is free time over money, the only way to do that is to have people helping you, and I’m fortunate to have some amazing employees on my team.

[10:47] How did you get into doing social media management?

I originally wanted to be a musician. Then there was a shift in grade 12. I decided that I wanted to be a photographer, and I went hard into that. I ended up going to university for photography. But after year one, that was just not what I wanted to do anymore. So I left the program, and I did go into marketing in college. I did an integrated marketing communications program in Kingston, Ontario, at St. Lawrence.

[12:34] So Yellow Pages, and then the internet blew up, and then all the online directory listings and all of the businesses are listed. I started in social media that way. I created a revenue stream for the business selling social media posts. Like a black-tie gala, I will give you three tweets and two Facebook posts on our platform for X amount of money. We had a huge following, and that was my original touch on social media. Through that, the clients that I was selling the ad space contacted me and asked me to manage their stuff outside of that job.

 

[15:07] What was the Aww-shift moment that led you to that new decision?

COVID. I just sat down, and I thought about want, what I want to do with my free time, and what I love doing. I grew up in the outdoors, my mother is extremely outdoorsy, and we always did camping and boating. I figured that this is the perfect time to make that shift and move across the country. I ended my relationship the day after I went and bought a jeep. Within seven days, I packed up my entire apartment, packed it into a moving van through a company, and started a seven-day drive across Canada and land in Campbell River, BC.

[17:28] I’m in a brand new apartment building that just finished building in November 2020. I signed the lease in the middle of a seven-day journey. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I knew that I had to do it, so I went for it. I think that’s the same with a business too. I had no ambition to start my own company ever. That wasn’t the plan. It just felt like the right thing to do. I just jumped in with both feet, and that’s pretty much how I live with everything.

 

[18:22]What does your day look like?

My Monday to Thursday is pretty standard. I wake up, and my dog that’s been barking this entire time gets to go out first thing in the morning. I’m in the Pacific, and most of my team is in Eastern, so I start my days at 7 am, which is time for them. I’m up at like [5:45] I got an hour to do my thing. I work until about a local time and then cook myself a nice meal in the evenings and make sure that I relax before I go to bed. But that’s not even important. The best thing is that I do not work on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. On Thursday, as soon as I’m off, I’m packing up my backpack or getting the dry stacks ready for the kayak, and I’m on my way to whatever adventure I’m doing for that weekend.

 

[19:47]Things you wish you could plug into people’s head, rake, and grab it 

If you’re in a space where you feel like you’re tied down, quote, unquote not in a negative way, but you have responsibilities you need to meet. Remember that not everything is about work.

 

[23:44] What excites you about the next couple of years?

I find it hard to look ahead. I’m kind of just living for the next adventure.

 

[26:19] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

The promise of kindness. That is me. The word that I live by is kindness. That is what I strive to bring to the world every single day. That’s how I live as a human being. There’s no looking down on anyone, no matter what situation they’re in. Everyone deserves your kindness and not your judgment.

 

Key Quotes

[8:46-8:53] “I’ve allowed people in the business to kind of take a lot off my plate so that I can refocus on like who I am.”

[17:41-17:49] “I had no ambition to start my own company ever. That wasn’t the plan. It just felt like the right thing to do. So I just jumped in with both feet, and that’s pretty much how I live with everything.”

[22:06-22:13] “For me, it’s climbing to the top of the mountain and looking out and seeing something that a lot of people will never be able to experience firsthand.”

 

Learn more about Amanda Relyea-Voss on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandarelyeavoss

Website: https://amandarelyeavoss.medium.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mandirv

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.relyeavoss

 

Learn more about Like A Voss on https://www.likeavosssm.com/

 

In today's episode, our guest is Manuel Astruc. A psychiatrist turned coach who helps entrepreneurs who are suffering from burnout. He spent over 20 years in the industry and 50 plus thousand hours assisting people face-to-face. Manuel not only understands the science behind it and understands the application of it because he's a coach now.

 

[4:56] Why should I listen to you?

You probably listen to me because I've put on my entrepreneur hat and my coaching hat. In my professional capacity, the standard of care focuses on the patient, not on us. And we forget that even people who are supposed to have their act together don't.

 

[7:17] How does somebody first wake up to realize I'm in that kind of muck?

When I became a psychiatrist, I learned how to work hard. And looking back, there have been many other bottoms that I've hit in my life. I've had problems with alcoholism, and I had issues with depression. But until I hit that point where I didn't have anywhere else to turn but to look at myself and say, you know, this is something going on with me, I've got to make a change. And what can be helpful is at least to hear other stories. So part of the message that I give folks is to be on the lookout for certain signs and symptoms because this could be you, and it doesn't have to be. 

 

[8:39] Symptoms of Burnout

First is exhaustion physical and mental exhaustion. Second is a sense of cynicism creeps into your life. The third piece is starting to lose your effectiveness at work. You feel it, and you can begin to see that you're no longer connecting with your work the way you used to.

 

[11:04] When’s the time to ask for help.

What do people typically try that doesn't seem to work because we do things. Let's sleep some more, let's eat, let's work out. It doesn't hurt, but it doesn't generally help.

[12:03] The thing that started to help was taking a step back, a significant commitment, taking good care of myself, and a big focus on cutting out negativity.

 

[13:29] The drive on wanting to teach other people.

When I started to feel better, I made some changes that help—but having a bigger vision for my life. Over the last 12 years, I've tried five different avenues. And each one has been a project where I've learned some stuff. I ultimately decided to get into coaching, and with many of my patients, its people come to mean, like, desperate for feeling better.

 

[15:17] I wanted to work with those individuals who could develop a vision for a bigger future and wanted to make the most that they could out of their lives.  When COVID struck, I had a five-year vision of working with entrepreneurs. It was like. I'm got a pivot, and let's go after that now. I want to be better.

 

[16:47] The reason I hadn't gotten immediately was because I was afraid. 

 

[19:41] What happens if somebody continues to endure without taking the leap and moving?

The people who get that there are results that they want are available to them. They'll take that. And the people that don't will end up with something more severe than burnout.

 

[25:24] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

God created me because there's be someone who's going to help more people.

 

Key Quotes

[5:58-6:03] “I find that people are leading other people, but they haven't led themselves properly finding that.”

[23:27-23:32] “Think of happiness as an engine that can help get you to your goals.”

[23:33-23:41] “Happiness helps success come faster rather than being the end product of success.”

 

Learn more about Manuel Astruc.

Website: https://manuelastruc.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuelastruc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ManuelAstrucMD/

 

In this episode, our guest is Chris Marhefka. He’s got this thing called training camp for the soul. He learned how to go into so many different spiritual aspects of his breathing, called breathwork and somatics work. 

 

[5:27] Why should we listen to you? 

I speak authentically. I’ve been through the wringer myself. I’ve been through breaking everything from my physical, mental, emotional, spiritual body and everything in between. I’ve pushed myself to the edges and honestly found myself at 30 years old checking every box of what I said I would do in my life.

 

[7:16] There’s more than what this person is doing

Every time I would have a goal, I would just put my head down, and it was all about suffering and hard work. And it taught me the gift of discipline. But that man that was putting his head down towards that goal wasn’t seeing anything outside of it. The downside to it was that every goal would just be followed by another one—bigger or more. 

 

[8:29] I’m grateful for that time of fitness. I was a competitive athlete, but I pushed the limits, and it really taught me about commitment to practice and commitment to a daily routine.

 

[10:06] What was the catalyst moment?

It was a moment that lasted about six months. The moment was I was competing at a high level in CrossFit, and I had a traumatic brain injury where the capillaries in my brain literally exploded. I felt like a grenade went off in my head, it was painful, and it stopped me in my tracks. There were many signs that my body was giving me up until that point to slow down and pay attention. I put on somewhere around 40 pounds during that time of just being really depressed. I couldn’t work in my business anymore. I just wasn’t the same person.

[11:28] I was driving home from a trip with my then I had this moment where I was just I don’t want to actually go home. I was resenting everything that I had built there.

And it was this one, whereas like, what is wrong with me? And then that for me is what I call my emotional rock bottom. I pulled off on the side of the road, and it was just crying and bawling my eyes out.

[12:45] Why won’t men let themselves feel

I think it’s that we don’t have a model for it. I talk to and work with many men who don’t have a model of those things that I shared of opening up, being vulnerable, expressing what’s really there. Most men have a model of putting up walls, putting up defenses to look a certain way, act a certain way, and clueless in asking for support.

 

[14:29] What guided you through that really funky place to get you here

During that time, I started diving into meditation and breathwork, and it was fundamental at the time, but it was the first time that I was allowing myself to get out of my mind and into my body. That was my introduction from there. I came across the program which I run now called training camp for the soul. And that was my rocket ship catalyst for growth because it took my entire lifetime of learning of thinking that everything was directed from the mind, and it flipped it on its head.

 

[16:33] The realm of what you do now

Most people that find their way to our program are in some form of a similar state that I was of. They’ve tried a lot of things in their mind. Like they’ve done personal development.

 

[18:23] We’re teaching people how to identify the things they don’t want in their life and then let them melt away. When you learn how to create space in that space, the right things come through for you. It’s like this opportunity shows up, and it was probably there the whole time, but you couldn’t see it because there wasn’t space. And so we teach people how to shed those layers.

 

Key Quotes

[19:09-19:16] “I find that there’s a correlation between how much pain someone is currently in and their level of resistance.”

[20:15-20:19] “We ended up finding ways to protect our egos and standing spots. And so we endure pain.”

 

In today’s episode, our guest is Jen Lucas. Through research and innovation, Jen has made her own food and skincare made out of Matcha powder. She's a big advocate for the importance of knowing what goes into one person's body. 

 

[5:49] Why should we listen to you?

Jen takes life experiences as they come and dwell with them as they occur. Some of them are successful and stick. Some are not. She's not afraid of mistakes, learn a lesson, and move on.

 

[6:40]  How do you just do that?

Fear is a huge factor that many people have, and it's hard to let go of that for sure. Overcoming fear is the first big step we need to take, but it doesn't happen overnight. Take each hardship as an opportunity to grow, explore, and learn a lesson that will feed your soul. For Jen, it took a little while to acknowledge the undesirable feelings and fears that come from challenges and eventually embrace them. Those fears, challenges, and tribulations are part of your journey. Heal from them, let them go, and move on.

 

[8:33] Yang and Yin Health

Jen has been consciously watching her health in every aspect. That includes quitting drinking coffee, doing yoga, religiously investing on skincare, oral care, cleaning products, et cetera. These small little changes to Jen on this incredible journey helped help her heal and overcome the adversities and insecurities that she was facing then.

[10:09] Jen was introduced to drinking Matcha through her friend. She has always been a tea drinker and loves drinking green tea. 

 

[11:36] Does the ceremony, the process, the ownership of that segment of your data, is that holding power that you believe helps. 

Jen had a hard time balancing her career and taking care of her small children. But she commits to doing her best at work so she could provide for her children

[12:41]  Jen commits to allocating some "Me Time" by doing a little workout, answering emails, taking a break, and making her tea.

 

[14:31] What are the great valuable benefits for our health for green tea? 

 

There are so many great benefits that green tea provides to our bodies. Matcha comes from the same plant as green tea but is just grown and processed differently. Matcha has a wealth of antioxidants contained in matcha, including polyphenols, EGCG, and all of those collectively really boost our body's immune defense.

 

[15:21] Matcha interestingly enhances your mood with the caffeine, but because of all of the antioxidants and the polyphenols and stuff that it contains, it releases caffeine differently. But in coffee, you're experiencing high, and when you're low. Matcha sustains your energy and focus all day, but at the same time, it promotes a state of relaxation. So it's very interesting the way that that dynamic works.

[16:17] How do you bring this to the world?

Jen has always known that she is meant to have her own business, but it took a while for that process to unfold. She keeps reminding herself that whatever it is, it's going to come to her when it's time

[17:53] Jen had a cloudy vision of where she needs to start. But she knew she wanted it to be with Matcha. Jen found a supplier and began selling Matcha online. While offering her option, Jen wants to develop some creative and innovative ways to use Matcha outside of just drinking as a tea. Through exploration, Jen has created an actual skin cream made with Matcha powder. All those antioxidants are extremely good for your skin. For anti-aging, for redness, reducing oil, acne-prone skin.

[19:36] Jen ended up using green tea extract. She has everything research like all the ingredients to make sure everything's spot on and beneficial.

 

[26:17] What promise did God make to the world when he created you?

God will provide the support that Jen needed as long as we do the work, stay open, and let it in.

 

Key Quotes

[22:01-22:18] “I listen to podcasts. I attend webinars and I love to absorb this information. However, I think that it's important and for me, especially to take all that with a grain of salt and keep what resonates with me.”

In today's episode, our guest is Victoria Wieck, world-renowned jewelry designer and aspiring author. She has been on HSN selling her products and has 20 years in this realm and she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the jewelry industry. She has done stuff around jewelry and design. 

[5:43] Why should I listen to you?

I hope to be able to prove that my time was worth our time was worked together.  I have a very interesting story, a different story, and it's my story, so I'm going to own it. 

[8:52] Back in 1989 or when I started my company, we were the first generation of females. I'm going to work outside the home in a manager position before mostly secretaries, restaurants, and whatnot. So basically, we were working like crazy, and I left my kids. I was going to leave my kids at home the same way my parents left me. They did it involuntarily, but I had a choice. I pretty much started my company in search of freedom, emotional freedom, more than money. 

[10:37] The journey to build a $500 million business. 

Two very distinctive parts work together emotionally. When I started my business, I was surrounded by naysayers, including my parents, basically telling me you're going to fail unless you have some loads of money. Today, you have social media; you have the same sort of all the pundits and experts that have never been in business before telling you why you're going to fail. 

[12:02] I'm a jewelry designer. There's no business more competitive than jewelry design. Every corner, there was a jeweler. It doesn't take a lot of money to get into the business. It takes money to succeed. I've taken this business, conduct to this very saturated business, and somehow find a niche. Grow it, elevate it, innovated it, and then eventually dominated the industry.

[14:44] The emotional part is being disciplined, be consistent, believe in yourself, do something. And remember what I said it, we are also inundated with people who want to motivate you, inspire you, encourage you to do all of this. All those words are words. They don't do anything for you. Actions result in something.

[20:25] I created a job in line for women, those women, working women outside the home who needed to look polished, who needed to have some femininity around her who craved it, who was willing to pay for it. She was making money on her own, and she required jewelry to wear every day.  

[21:38] And you better love your customer because that's who you're going to hang out with. That is who's going to pay all your bills. 

[26:50] Failure

I've planned my Failure. When I finally got the first samples, I didn't go to New York or the big markets where my buyers were. I went to the small market in Dallas, where I could afford to make some mistakes. If my vendor screwed up and the hinges don't work, and it was not seven inches, it was four and a half. I was going to find out a smaller market. I kind of cast strove with real customers, smaller-scale customers.

[27:51] Failure is not a bad thing. It's not how many times you fail. It's how you get up each time. You better get up differently each time. 

[28:21] What promise did God make to the world when he created you?

God made the promise that no matter what comes my way, that I was not going to start, I was not going to suffer. And that there was a purpose in my life as long as I'm breathing. No matter what happens, there was a purpose, and I need to find that purpose. 

Key Quotes

[12:51- 12:55] “Every single thing that you believe in yourself, you'll have to tune out people.”

[14:59-15:05] “All those words are words, they don't do anything for you. Actions result in something.”

[15:30-15:36] “Things are possible if you allow it to be in your world, if you want it bad enough.”

[16:42-16:48] ‘You can't be changing your future self all the time, because then you're just going to be forever in the romance.”

[17:24-17:35] “You have to understand when you own a business, it's not about you, it's about your customer and you have to constantly understand the difference between the two.”

Learn more about Victoria Wieck.

Website: https://victoriawieck.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriawieck 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriawieckjewelry/ 

In today's episode, our guest is Katie Irving. A leading expert on youth culture and the founder of Moonshot, an insight agency that propels youth brands by uncovering the culture, trend and mindset of Gen Z + Gen Alpha consumers. She uncovers the ideas of fashion and the center of youth culture that drive 8-figure growth for the world’s leading brands.

[3:09] Why should I listen to you?

I think everybody has an interesting story. I'm a trend forecaster. That's what I've done for so many years. And what I love about that is just people are fascinating. I think it's interesting to understand what people gravitate towards what they love and what they don't love. And I've done a lot of focus groups and a lot of one-on-one interviewing as part of my job over the years. And everybody has an incredible story to tell. I think that's what it is for me is. I'm happy to ask anybody about their story and hear about their journey cause it's always interesting.

[4:22] Trend Forecasting & Futurist

On my website, I call myself a fashion futurist. I feel like I'm always dwelling on the future and trying to think five years ahead. But that's a good way to describe it.

[4:50] What do you do that helps you be credible in terms of what you do like to forecast the future?

I love talking to people. I love traveling, getting connected with customers in different ways like that. So that's been a little bit trickier. I've had to find ways to do that digitally and through social media. I read constantly. I carve out time in my week to do a lot of research every week and keep in touch with what's happening, but also a big part of it is the fact that I've been doing this for almost 20 years. And once you've been in an industry that long and you've tracked trends and customer behavior over that amount of time, it starts to become not easy, but more innate that you can see changes coming way far ahead.

[6:18] The realm of Gen Z and Gen alpha

I've spent most of my career working with youth brands. That has changed over time because obviously, generations are moving in and out of that youth space as they grow.

[6:52] So gen Z's are born 1995 to 2009. And then next, we have gen alpha. These are the youngest guys born from 2010 to 2025. We have a whole new generation coming into the teen market, super disruptive. They're going to bring a lot of positive, amazing changes with them.  

[8:05] How do we in the rest of the world prepare for this?

The biggest thing is that the youth customers are increasingly values driven. So that's one of the big changes. Ten years ago, that was not even a conversation for team brands. It was all about fast fashion, and it was all about who could get to the trend first and who could get it into the store the fastest. That was not a lot of fun to design into. It's much more challenging and more fun to develop more responsive trends to the customer, responding to what they need to build their identities and what they need to show their identities to the world. Values-driven is the biggest thing, and just embracing sustainability and circularity, more ethical ways of operating.

[9:55] Moments that allowed you to jump into new realm of work. 

I spent about 17 years climbing the corporate ladder, working for different teen retailers, and that was honestly for a lot of my career.  It was important to me to get the next promotion in that world, growing my team, growing my title, making it a few levels, and got to a leadership position and just realized that I was really unhappy, and I didn't enjoy it.

[11:09] I left that cushy, steady corporate salary and jumped out on my own and took a few months off to hang out with my daughter, which I had never had the opportunity to do. And then I jumped back in, and that was a huge identity shift, which honestly, I didn't anticipate. I didn't expect the fact that it would change the dynamic of my marriage and me as a mother and as a professional and creative and all these different hats that I wear.

[12:03] Battle with new space

I questioned who I was and kind of how to craft that new identity. It was a big process of learning about myself, but I just had to get comfortable with doubling down on my abilities and trusting myself and doing that at the end of the day.

[16:44] How do you make a living doing that?

Consultancy is probably a great way to describe what our agency does. I was a solo consultant for about a year after I left the full-time corporate world. And then I grew it into more of an agency model, which was all about positioning for bigger projects. And also, because I love working with a team. 

[17:17] One of the things with the agency is pulling in people from my network that I've built over 20 years and people who are experts at just great niche topics, and we can tailor to different projects. We can kind of like shapeshift and come in to help companies when they need it. And then sort of flex back when they don't. 

[18:07] Consulting is the heart of what we do.

[19:02] What do you first see happening?

I'm definitely in the roaring twenties camp. I think we're in for a wild and crazy year, which is great because we need that. I think we're going to see the economy is going to get a boom. That's going to continue and especially in the team market. They're selling a ton of everything right now, anybody that's selling to youth brands, and that's a good thing.

[20:22] Many opportunities to connect with customers and really to engage with them, especially because we were in this digital realm for so long. I think it's important for brands and companies to understand, even though you're reemerging into this more IRL world, that digital component is huge, and it's not going anywhere. Don't walk away from it and continue to invest in it. It will still be a large piece of your company.

[21:55] Fashion industry and the teen market were trickled down, so trends would sort of start at this top high-level runway, and it would trickle down to these different markets. What I love about how youth culture has changed that over the last five to 10 years is that they have created such strong identities among themselves. That they are not looking for anyone to tell them what the trends are, or they're not trying to follow any specific guidelines for how they should look or what they should be buying. They're all about individualism and co-creation and supporting each other.

[24:18] What promise did God make to the world when he created you?

You can be true to yourself and do what you enjoy and trust yourself.

Key Quotes

[20:22-20:41] “There's a lot of opportunities to connect with customers and really to engage with them, especially because we were in this digital realm for so long. So, I think it's important for brands and companies to kind of understand, even though you're reemerging into this more IRL world that digital component is huge and it's not going anywhere.”

[20:57-21:01] “Invest in knowing who your customer is and what their priorities and values are.”

Learn more about Katie Irving.

Website: https://www.katieirvingcreative.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katieirvingcreative

In today’s episode, our guest is Justin Roethlingshoefer, founder of a company called Just Own It. He’s also been a head strength coach in multiple different areas like NHL and NCAA. So he’s got a great realm of not just comprehension of the body but also of the mind. 

[8:06] Why should we listen to you?

I am genuine when it comes to asking questions. 

[13:30] Journey of sports that led you to what you do now.

When I was 12 years old, I had just come back from a major tournament played against many guys that are currently still playing in the NHL. And we had lost in the final, and in 12 years old, I sit there, and I said to my dad, what’s it going to take for me to get to that next level and continue to grow and continue to keep playing at this level because I looked around at me and everybody’s good. My father told me that talent would get you noticed, but with consistency, you get paid. And I took that to heart.

[14:25] And so from then on, I tried to figure out the key to consistency, the key to what would make me the most consistent version of myself that was going to allow me to exude my God-given talent. 

[20:25] How does this show up in value to the rest of the world of owning

Entrepreneurs, executives, executive teams continue to feel that they need to perform. They continue to come in and say, Hey, what can I do to bring more of myself to work, and they’re going to work longer hours. They’re going to jeopardize their self-care, their bodies for the sake of the almighty dollar, their career.

[21:08] You want to know the health of your business. Look at EBITDA; you have money in the stock market, stock market habits, the number you’re able to measure it. Ultimately, you can manage what you’re doing and have something you can come back to. 

[23:23] The second is a DNA and epigenetic test. What’s going on internally? What are you deficient in micronutrient wise, macronutrient wise? How does your body utilize it? 

[23:48] The third is HRV, and you come back to the measure of heart rate variability. Your body reacts to all the stress every day, and it does not know the difference between mental, spiritual, physical, or emotional stress. It just has a natural stress response, and it’s up to you on how to deal with it.

[27:49] What promise did God make to the world when he created you?

That I would act in accordance to his word and be a servant that would leave every place I touched better than I found it. 

Key Quotes

[11:02-11:06] “It’s funny as much as we’re connected on these social platforms, people aren’t truly deeply connected.”

[22:12-22:28] “No matter how good you box it up, you’re not going to get any more time. At the end of this podcast, we will not get this hour back. But what we can do is we can manage our energy. And if we manage energy, time becomes obsolete.”

In today’s episode of Aww Shift Podcast, our guest is Simon T Baily, a Speaker, Author, Life Coach, and Entrepreneur. Simon has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, including serving as Sales and Director for Disney Institute, and has worked with more than 1,800 organizations in 50 countries. His passion and purpose are unlocking that ability in a way that ignites sustainable transformation.

[3:06] Why should I listen to you?

I wanted to become the CEO at Disney, and that’s why you probably want to talk to me.

[4:53] The Biggest Lesson

The biggest thing that I learned that failure is not final. It’s only feedback and feedback. It is the breakfast of champions like unless you are failing and taking a risk.

[10:04] Heart for the people you want to serve

The goal cast video went viral with 90 million views. Even Beyonce’s mother reposted it, and it went viral again and Instagram. When I get that feedback from people who say I get it. That’s why I do this work. It’s about the Epiphany, the Eureka moment for them.

[11:20] Falling apart in Marriage

I was chasing money, but it had no meaning; my situation was poor. My daughter came into my home office one day, and I was emotionally unavailable because I was in between trips to keep up the appearances. My number one job is to be a better husband and become a business entrepreneur. 

[13:14]

After going through a divorce after being married for 25 years, I’ve learned that women want their husbands to be emotionally honest with them—putting the truth on the table. If it’s not working, then it’s not working. Therapy is extremely crucial for men who don’t like to go and sit on a sofa and just process. 

[15:08] Finding your people

 It’s not about ego. Ego is edging goodness out. They are always around others, and they’re more interested instead of being interesting. Those are the guys I want to roll with because I’ll rub off on them.

[16:04] Opening Opportunities

It’s the greatest time to be in this business. People are wide open to reinventing and not doing it the way it’s always done. They understand what I would call Boucher day. So it’s seen it for the first time or going the opposite way.

[22:01] Benefits of Courses

Everything in business comes down to relationships. I unpack How do you manage business relationships, executive relationships, peer relationships. And then the other thing is, we help people lead through relationships.

[23:30] Best advice to newcomers

Be an original voice instead of an annoying echo. Bringing something to the world that is from your heart, not just your head, is important. Caring and serving is the new selling. I have discovered that this is where we are going in the next decade.

[25:30] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

To hug people with my words.

Key Quotes

[13:06 - 13:13] “If you’re trying to chase a dream, focus on anchoring yourself daily towards what matters.”

[18:15 – 18:21] “The ability to say no, when it wasn’t right. 80% of your nervous system is in your gut.”

Connect with Simon T. Baily: 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simontbailey

Website: https://www.simontbailey.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simontbailey

In today's episode, our guest is Joseph Fung, serial entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of Kiite-a sales enablement software. He concentrates on the organization's strategic strategy as well as the software's vision. Joseph was previously the Director of Digital Media at The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and the President/CEO of Lewis Media, a web software company that specialized in marketing and design solutions.

[8:23] Why should I listen to you?

You're probably going to hear me rambling on about another crazy life-changing story from one simple student who becomes a CEO. I love to talk about changing the world. And I want to see what these people are doing, and wow, it's inspiring.

[9:01] Learning of Students

We have a sales Bootcamp. We help people who want to get into tech. And we open that door by teaching them some of the fundamentals of how you sell technology. Most of our grads are stepping into sales, customer success roles at software companies and just killing it. We teach them about how tech companies and leaders speak, talk, think about their business.

[12:42] Best Practices in a company

Teaching sales is like learning to play the piano: It's not the knowledge. It's about practice. Be authentic as you're selling, how to share yourself in your selling. Most people get storytelling wrong, and they do it to do it too long, or they make themselves the hero.

[14:46]

It comes down to stopping trying to persuade and getting the wrong opportunities out of your pipeline.

[15:01]

When people hear sales, they think Wolf of Wall Street. They believe men; they thought columns for closers. If you're trying to persuade everyone, you're going to fail yourself in the company. Figure out if there's a real problem that you can solve. If you don't solve the real problem, stop trying to persuade them.

[19:00] Journey to be a great company.

An immigrant to the U.S. was told he had to leave the country due to visa changes. He moved to San Diego and did an internship in logistics. Halfway through the program, he was offered a job in Toronto. He did four times his first one's quota. So they jacked it up 50%, and he did three times that quota. Now he's selling AI technologies. He's a great entry into tech. He can do better. He can get a better role with better pay.

[21:27] Selling Software.

The program showed so much care and heart for her classmates, for the markets she might be prospecting into. She ended up landing a role at a company that sells small business accounting software. Every day, she chats with entrepreneurs. It helps them buy more time for their families. And so she hears from our customers that they get to go home early on Friday, instead of fussing around with the receipts in the shoe box.

[23:12] Next thing inline

Tech company that helps companies build their sales teams shares his story. His sister, a professional personal trainer, wanted to get into tech but didn't get the foot in the door. The pair decided to run an open call education session for people who wish to join the tech industry.

[24:12]

The session was so successful. They decided to give their software away for free and run a tech school to learn about the business. There's just a bit of translation work necessary for all these companies who desperately want to hire great people. And there's this great imbalance here, people who want to get in tech, and the doors open for them.

[28:48] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

I think they made the promise to my parents, that this kid is willing to work his butt off to be the best, most successful person he can be.

Key Quotes

[15:47-15:51] “Stop trying to persuade them. Stop trying to convince them because you're wasting your own time.”

[17:32-17:40] “When people aren't comfortable letting go when they're really fearful. They need every deal to close. That's when they start to make bad decisions.”

 

Connect with Joseph Fung:

Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/josephfung

Website: https://uvaro.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josephfung

Twitter: https://twitter.com/josephfung

 

In today's episode, our guest is Dave Van Buskirk, a financial advisor based out of Irving, Texas who has 19 years of financial industry experience. He works at Edward Jones. They have been an employee of Edward Jones for their total career.

[8:01] Why should I listen to you?

I've been a financial advisor and an entrepreneur for 20 years. And I have been through things like the worst, and we didn't just survive through that time; we have thrived. I can help people by really taking complex situations and helping them simplify them.

[9:27] Sharing thoughts.

Relationships are everything. And if you're focused on your relationships and your business that can get you through all kinds of things, it's amazing what happens. 

[14:22] Entering the financial World.

When I graduated from Villanova University, I was majored in finance but didn't have the confidence to go out on my own. I worked in corporate America for about ten years. I found Edward Jones and has spent his life as a financial adviser. I love the corporate world so grateful for relationships, but what ended up happening was that I enjoy this as I was given the advice.

[16:27] Being Financial Advisor

The best advisors are ones that have the long game in mind, not in trying to make a quick buck. The best just put the client's interests first. They have a process that that's a unique process where a lot of questions are asked. That's what we do.

[20:48] Importance of discussion

We're the quarterbacks when it comes to relationship management with all of those people that that are those professionals that are in our client's lives. We have the most wonderful women who work with me but all our work with all the important people to our clients.

[29:06] What promise did God make to the world when He created you?

I practice empathy. And the golden rule with every interaction I have with people is to treat others as you want to be treated. I continue to be kind to people who need that more than they ever have before.

Key Quotes

[18:46-18:54] “In helping others, I can make an impact for hundreds, if not 1000s of people.”

[29:20-29:28] “The golden rule with every interaction I have with people is to treat others as you want to be treated.”

 

Connect with Dave Van Buskirk:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davevanbuskirk

Website: www.edwardjones.com/david-vanbuskirk