Change Your Mindset

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, a powerhouse in the accounting profession whose drive, energy, and passion is unparallelled. Kimberly is currently a Global Strategy Leader at Oracle, and she has held positions at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Motorola, KPMG, as well as having a role in government in Prince George's County, Maryland.

On top of that, from 2016 to 2018, Kimberly served as 104th Chairman of the American Institute of CPAs, where she received numerous awards and recognition. Notably, she was the youngest person, the fifth woman, and first person of color to serve as chairman in the AICPA's 130-year history. Kimberly was also the second Chairman for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, an organization founded in 2017 that has 667,000 members in 184 countries.

Kimberly has been able to walk the fine line between technology and accounting throughout her career, but she’s been able to leverage her accounting and finance acumen in every role she’s had. Even working at NASA Goddard, Motorola, and now Oracle, she’s always recognized that there were both technology and finance implications of every business decision (as well as people and process implications). “And I've been able to leverage both of those on top of the foundation that my parents set for me when they said very early, ‘don't be afraid, and you need to pay your dues, and work hard to get ahead.’”

Kimberly also learned from her parents and the church that she needs to give back – and she really took it to heart! She’s held executive roles, chair roles, and leadership, and she’s a passionate advocate for state CPA societies.

So why does she do it? 

It all comes back to servant leadership, and recognizing that other people inspired and helped her when she was younger. Some people may just need a little bit of help. Other people may need role models. Other people may need to hear that you made it through some tough times to get where you are. It's about helping people who might just need a small helping hand or inspiration, especially other people from socioeconomic backgrounds that are less common in the accounting and technology fields. 

“It's important to lift as we climb,” Kimberly says. “And I think it is important because the more of us that can give visibility to the options that are available, the more of us that will be attracted to the profession, that will stay in the profession, will be advanced and promoted to the highest levels of the profession. And I think that if not me, who? If not now when? And we all have individual accountability and responsibility to do our part and to pay forward.”

Resources:Check out AICPA-CIMA.comConnect with Kimberly on LinkedIn--

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Cara North is a learning experience designer at THE Ohio State University and the President of the Central Ohio Chapter of the Association for Talent Development. However, I did not invite her to be a guest on this podcast because of her day job. I invited her to be a guest because, as she says, "I love connecting others to people and opportunities." 

She loves networking, making connections, and creating opportunities – and I know that is a big fear for a lot of people, but it’s also a necessary part of being a lifelong learning and, increasingly, growing your career.

As Cara says, “If you work with me, you don't just get me – you get my network.” That's an extremely valuable thing you can offer employers and clients, and it’s a resource that will only get more valuable over time. “We're all in this together, we all want to do better, everybody wants to feel valued, everybody wants to be respected, and I feel like collaboration is the best way to do that.”

So, why do so many people hate the word networking?

I blame it on most people’s mothers, and then most people laugh at me. But what did your mother always tell you? Never talk to strangers! And when most of us think about networking, we think of talking to a group of strangers. But a stranger is somebody with a bottle of Mogen David at the Ohio Stadium looking at a lamp post going, "Oh, you're awfully tall." That's a stranger. But in a business environment, people that we don't know are opportunities.

You don’t even have to get face-to-face with real people to get started! One of Cara’s mentors, Mike Taylor, once said during a presentation that Twitter is the number one professional development tool. 

She signed up for Twitter during his presentation and, fast forward to 2019, she uses Twitter daily to talk to people all across the world that do the work and have the same challenges that she does.

“And I feel like, especially since I've been more networked, that my depth of knowledge has expanded more than somebody that has been doing the same old thing for five years or ten years because it's so important to me, and so important for your growth, to constantly be getting feedback.”

People that embrace that growth mindset won’t just have a better network – they’ll be better positioned over the next 10 to 15 years, as our workplaces evolve. “You're going to have to have a growth mindset to stay malleable and employable,” and that’s true in pretty much every industry, but it is especially true for CPAs. As we’ve mentioned before, CPAs will need more than just technical skills to thrive in the coming years.

So what are your next steps in becoming a better networker? Is it changing your mindset? Is it not sitting or standing with your office friends and meeting new people? Is it breaking through your shyness and comfort zone to explore possibilities? What do you need to do? And where could you get out of your comfort zone?

I challenge you to start by just taking 10 minutes, writing down some ideas – But the key here is follow through. Whatever you come up with, just do it!

Resources:Twitter: https://twitter.com/caranorth11LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caranorth11/

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I've been out of public accounting for a number of years, but one thing I remember vividly was the busy season 10: the additional 10 pounds I gained because of all the pizza, the fast food, and the lack of exercise. So today, I asked licensed and registered dietitian and nutritionist Lucy Hayhurst to be our guest and provide us with some strategic tips on how to avoid the busy season 10.

Lucy is co-founder of Well Balanced Nutrition, where their goal is to help people worry less, love what they eat, and live their best life.

Now, you don't have to be a CPA or an accountant to learn from this episode because all professionals, at some time during their work year, will have to put in the extra hours over an extended period of time. When this happens, most of us revert to fast food and no exercise to get through this high-stress timeframe.

Often, when we talk about nutrition and wellness, people fall into the trap of thinking that they’re doing everything wrong, or that there’s too much they need to change to even bother – but thinking like that is the fastest way to fail. 

So, instead, Lucy encourages people to raise their awareness, then decide on just ONE thing that they can do better.

You know that old adage, “Everything's good in moderation?” Lucy tells us it’s total crap. You have to know thyself and recognize what your trigger foods are. She mentions the book Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin, which talks about the differences between moderation and abstinence. Some people can have just a few cookies or chips and be fine, but some people can’t have the package in the house without devouring it all – so it just takes a little awareness about what will hurt and help your wellness journey.

After you remove any obstacles to your health, pick just ONE thing to work on during this busy season; one bad habit you can make a good habit, which will in turn change your mindset around your health. Baby steps – that is the answer.

Then maybe you can add on another healthy habit when you’re less stressed this Summer, or during the next busy season.

Resources:Learn more at https://www.wellbalancednutrition.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellbalancednutritionncRead: Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

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Jennifer Elder works with financial leaders to become more strategic, stay ahead of the competition, and be more successful. As a consultant and keynote speaker, Jennifer is known for being energetic and enthusiastic, and she has the natural talent for taking complicated topics and making them simple, practical, and immediately implementable.

CPA Practice Advisor named Jennifer one of the Top 25 Women in Accounting in 2018. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants named her a Woman to Watch in 2015. She has been awarded Outstanding Educator by the American Institute of CPAs five times. And in 2018, Jennifer earned the designation of Certified Speaking Professional, making her one of only 10 people worldwide who hold both the CPA and CSP designations (but maybe I can push that number from 10 to 11 in 2019).

Becoming a Future-Ready CFO & Accountant

In the past, the role of the CFO was primarily looking in the rear-view mirror at the historical financial statements and reporting it to the other people in the car. This tells you where you have been, but it doesn't necessarily tell you where you’re going. “And there's too much change, too much risk out there. The CFO now has to shift that perspective and look forward. They have to start to be able to look into the crystal ball, see what's coming down the pike.”

Future-ready CFOs, and future-ready accountants in general, have to think about what's going on in the world and how it might affect your organization, which means you want to be looking at trends. What are the trends in the world at large? What are the trends in your industry?

In the accounting and finance world right now, the trend everybody's looking at and talking about is technology. How are things like artificial intelligence going to change everything?

When Jennifer teaches classes on the skills of the future and presentation skills, she breaks it down into five words you need to focus on to really add value to your organization: what, so what, and now what.

The what is data. The so what is why should they care? If we're talking about the what, we're just presenting the data that we think somebody needs to get, but we have to think about it from our client’s perspective. “Step out of your own head, get into the head of your audience, and think about what's important to them.”

Now what, then, is the action that’s going to help your client move forward.

Change Your Mindset is now being distributed on C-Suite Radio. You can find Change Your Mindset and many other outstanding business podcasts on C-Suite Radio by going to www.c-suiteradio.com.

Resources:Learn more at http://sustainablecfo.com/Check out jenniferelder.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferhelderTwitter: https://twitter.com/sustainablecfo

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Bill Sheridan is the Chief Communications Officer at the Maryland Association of CPAs and the host of Future-Proof, a podcast in which Bill has interviewed a wide variety of leading thought leaders in the accounting profession and in corporate America.

We discuss whether the profession is moving in the direction of becoming more future-proof, or future-ready, through the lens of the conversations he’s been having with his guests for nearly a year.

So, let’s get right to it: is the profession future-proof?

The short answer is no, we're not future-proof or future-ready yet – but we're getting there. However, we might be getting there a little slower than Bill and the other folks over at the MACPA hoped.

“It seems like they're starting to realize that this stuff is real. It's not going away. In fact, it's starting to impact them right now, and they need to pay attention to it. So, that's encouraging that they are starting to pay attention,” Bill says.

And in a way, this seeming reluctant to look forward makes sense for the accounting and finance profession. “When you think about the profession itself, accounting and finance will spend their entire careers looking behind them. By definition, they're accounting for things that have happened in the past.

“So, turning around, and looking through the windshield, and noticing what's coming at you, isn't a muscle that they've spent a lot of time building. And so, they're just starting to do that now. And the more they do it, the better they'll get at it.” Becoming future-ready starts with being aware of what's going on.

It comes back to the idea of the anticipatory organization, an idea championed by MACPA President and CEO Tom Hood. In this sense, anticipation a three-step process: aware, predict, and adapt. 

So, first step, being aware of change. That involves asking questions and start to understanding it. Next is predicting what will happen. So, now that I'm aware of it, what kind of impact is this going to have on me and the people that I work with? And then, finally, adapting. What can we actually do about it?

For example, here's a question for accounting and finance pros out there: how can you take advantage of 5G in a way that will benefit the people that you work with? 

“That's the muscle that we have to start building. We know this is coming, and in very short order. So, what are the opportunities embedded in something like that? And we need to start thinking about that now before it hits mainstream and evolves into something else.” So becoming anticipatory is the practice of building that muscle – because change is going to happen over and over.

“We need to be able to help walk our clients and customers into the future. In order to do that, we need to be there before them,” Bill says.

Change Your Mindset is now being distributed on C-Suite Radio. You can find Change Your Mindset and many other outstanding business podcasts on C-Suite Radio by going to www.c-suiteradio.com.

Resources:

Listen to Future-Proof: https://blionline.org/blog/ | Apple Podcasts

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillSheridan

Take Sally Hogshead’s assessment: howtofascinate.com/you (use code “FutureProof” to take it for free)

Read: The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle

Read: When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink

Read: The Excellence Dividend: Meeting the Tech Tide with Work That Wows and Jobs That Last by Tom Peters

Read: The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey by Hal Burrows, Kenneth H. Blanchard, and William Oncken

Read: The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker

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We would like your feedback on today's podcast by answering this quick two-minute survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MS2T6P6. Thank you so much for your support.

My guest today is a gentleman who knows more about fraud than just about anyone else in the accounting and finance profession: Gary Zeune, CPA, Managing Director of The Pros & The Cons.

The Pros & The Cons is the only speaker bureau in the country specializing in white-collar criminals. His 40 plus ex-con speakers tell the stories of how and why they embezzled, took kickbacks, and cooked the books to the tune of up to $2.7 billion. His speakers include Mark Morse, a former CFO at ZZZZ Best; Paul Allen, an ex-bank CEO; and Dunlap Cannon, the largest real estate closing attorney in Memphis.

But regardless of what kind of entity they worked at, regardless of the dollar amount, there are several really common elements between everyone who commits fraud – the biggest one being that they don't think they're going to get caught. To put it simply, ego gets in the way.

So, why would someone be so stupid to think they aren't going to get caught?

Well, consider this: have you ever broken the speed limit while driving? Everybody, including me and Gary, have done. It's illegal, so why do we do it? We do it because we think we're going to get away with it – just the same as somebody cheating on their expense report or cooking the books at the bank for $2.7 billion.

People say, "Well, I'd never let that happen to me." Well, when you get in your car and you go on the freeway, most of us start going the speed limit. Then, you go two miles over. Then, you're three miles over. Then, five. After you're driving for an hour, you might be going 10, 15 miles over the speed limit. What happens is when your brain is bombarded by constant stimuli, the same stimuli, your brain becomes desensitized.

That's why frauds always start little and get bigger, and bigger, and bigger.

Most people think that there is a bright line on ethical behavior, but that's not the way it works. Ethics is not absolute. Ethics is situational.

So you might think going just five or 10 miles over the speed limit isn’t so bad, but would you break the law by driving 30 or 40 miles over the speed limit? Most of us the answer is no, most of the time, but what about when you have a medical emergency and you're taking your child to the hospital? Your child's health and well-being is more important than you staying five miles over the speed limit, so you change your behavior and break the law even more because there's something more important to you in this situation than the speed limit.

So, if you don't do something about fraud, it’s just going to grow – which also means you need to know how fraud works so that you can identify it.

You may get an expense report for $1000, including a $12 fake cab. If you don't bust someone over it, assuming you catch it, and then make the punishment worse than the crime, they're going to do it again. “And it will get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. That's where it always starts.”

Gary shares a number of great fraud stories in the episode, and you can learn even more by reading some of the following articles he wrote or contributed to:

• Scott London, Ex-Auditor From Insider-Trading Scheme, Is Out of Prison, Has a Job
• What do Fraud, Ethics and Strategy have in common?
• Fraudsters in Demand as Speakers Amid White-Collar Crackdown - Risk & Compliance - WSJ
• Prison-Bound KPMG Ex-Partner Remorseful for Insider Tips - WSJ
• Former KPMG Partner Scott London Speaks out Before Starting Prison Term - Accounting Today
• WSJ Special Report - White Collar Criminals for Hire - From the Penitentiary to the Podium
• Confessions of an insider trader on the eve of his prison sentence - WSJ MarketWatch
• Forbes Former KPMG Partner Scott London Shares Cautionary Tale Before Prison
• Former KPMG Partner Scott London to Hold CPE-Eligible Webcast on Ethics Before He Goes to Prison for Insider Trading
• Ever Thought, 'How Did He Get Promoted?' Here's How - WSJ
• How to Tell If Your Coworkers Are Using Their Manipulative Powers for Good or Evil - At Work - WSJ
• What Corporate Climbers Can Teach Us - WSJ

Resources:

• Learn more at http://www.theprosandthecons.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gzfraud/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gzfraud

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Change Your Mindset is produced by Podcast Masters

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Jennifer Briggs is the CEO of the Indiana CPA Society, and we talked about a year ago about the State of Indiana’s House Bill 1467, which allows competency-based learning through professional development opportunities to qualify accountants for accountant certificate renewal.

Today, we follow up on that conversation to check in on the progress that they have made, learn about any unforeseen challenges that they may have faced, and how they handle these challenges.

To recap, in 2010, the Indiana Society created a board-level task force on knowledge management. Jennifer worked with the task force on competency to examine how things have changed in education and everything snowballed from there.

Then, on July 1, 2017, the State of Indiana signed House Bill 1467 into law.

Following that, the Indiana CPA society created an all-online ethics course. It's interactive, and you have to actively participate in it by including comments or replying to other people's comments. Initially, it did count for a waiver of four hours, but if you take that course now, the certificate says you meet the ethics requirement in Indiana.

There’s no test, but, “the part of it that makes it more interactive and kind of tests, if you will, the competency gained is the questions and commentary that the learners have to include.” For example, there might be a case study that you read, and then it would ask what the learner would have done in this particular part of the situation.

So, how’s it going so far?

“We find that it tends to be people just get it right away and really liked the idea, or really people struggle with anything that's different, which I find so interesting because it has been around a long time,” Jennifer says. “We're 104 years old, almost, as an organization, but CPE, the credit hours system, is only 40 something years old... Sometimes, I don't understand that challenge to change.”

I'm so happy the folks in Indiana are working on this because we live in, to some degree, an la carte world. People learn in different ways, and being able to provide the opportunity to learn in the way that fits them best will only make them more successful.

Appropriately, the competency rule in Indiana is an option. It's not mandatory.

Jennifer also shares a story about her son and his friend that really hits home with me, and explains why this approach will only be more important as our profession moves forward:

Jennifer’s friend visited, and both of their kids were running around the house like maniacs playing hide and seek. At one point, they sat down and Jennifer’s friend said, "Oh, I can count this for her PE class."

Over the break, there was some incentive for students to be active for four hours per week. It didn't have to involve going to the gym or working out, it just had to involve being active. “And I just thought, gosh, if we can do that for sixth grade PE, we should be able to figure it out."

Resources:

• Learn more at http://incpas.org
• Connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferbbriggs/

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Happy New Year, everyone! As I thought about 2019, I wanted to get off on the right foot – and I wanted to try something a little different. So today, I interview three wonderful guests at the same time. And you know what? It was a blast!

Our guests are Allen Lloyd, CEO of the Montana Society of CPAs; Boyd Search, CEO of the Georgia Society of CPAs; and Chris Jenkins, CEO of the South Carolina Association of CPAs. All three are CEOs who used to work for the Ohio Society and are now running other state societies, so naturally, our discussion centers around the state of the CPA associations and the issues that members are facing in the accounting profession, both current and in the future.

This isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, which is why this isn’t a one-on-one conversation. These three highlight that each association needs the ability to recognize the idiosyncrasies or uniqueness of their membership and try to tailor their offerings to meet the membership’s needs.

For example, Chris Jenkins and the South Carolina Association of CPAs recently overhauled their membership model to create something completely new: an all-inclusive membership. And this was a pretty radical move!

“It's about bringing the association back to what it originally was, and the association was a community,” Chris says. “We spend a lot of time talking about CPE, and we spend a lot of time marketing CPE, but there are a lot of CPE vendors out there. What we were trying to do is deliver the maximum value for the minimum price. So, we wanted to roll CPE in as a member benefit.”

That’s right – SCACPA isn’t trying to upsell their members to purchase additional CPE credits anymore! The conversation around CPE is so often competence versus compliance, and when you take the price point out of the CPE, it becomes more of a competency-based system.

The world is changing rapidly, and as the world changes, associations need to change too.

Allen Lloyd and the Montana Association face a very different problem than our other two guests: they’re a state with just a million people that's three-and-a-half times the size of Ohio. CPE is difficult for them because it's difficult to get everyone together – then, even when you accomplish that, none of the cities in Montana are that big, and they're spread out so far from one another, making it difficult to get teaching talent to come.

So the MSCPA got rid of their eight-hour seminars and switched to cluster events. Instead of getting people together for an afternoon, everyone gets together for two or three days. None of the classes are longer than four hours and members can pick and choose what they want to do.

Georgia, on the other hand, is a much more populated state. There are over 21,000 CPAs licensed in the state, and 85% of their members are actually in Metro Atlanta. This creates both opportunity and challenges because, while they are compressed in this space, traffic is terrible and it's not going to get any better.

So Boyd and the GSCPA have made significant investments in their live stream technology, and they’re doing it all themselves. “We have our own equipment, our own staff, and we do it for ourselves,” Boyd says. “And in an age when a lot of people are partnering with outside companies, or with other states, or whatever, we have moved in the opposite direction where we are entirely reliant on ourselves.”

So the society owns the process, owns the technology, and hires the people beginning to end – and that has paid huge dividends for them financially. Although they have not experienced tremendous growth in their margins, they have offset losses that you can see in other states and other providers.

Change is scary. Change is necessary.

People in associations have a fear, and not an entirely irrational fear, that if they create too much change, the people who have supported the associations for the last 30+ years won't like them anymore.

“But we also have to recognize that if we don't change, if we don't do something different, the people who are going to support us for the next 30 years are not going to find us relevant. They're not going to find value in us,” Chris says.

So, each association, and really each firm, has to have a method of controlled change, in which you try to balance the needs of both without making either one 100% happy... and no matter what you do, you’re never going to make everyone happy.

But if people can find the value, they will want to be part of your association or work with your firm.

Resources:

• Montana Society of CPAs: https://www.mscpa.org/
• Connect with Allen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mscpaexecdir
• Georgia Society of CPAs: https://www.gscpa.org
• Connect with Boyd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boyd-search-2099356/
• South Carolina Association of CPA: https://www.scacpa.org/
• Connect with Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj52973

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We, as humans, are not wired to multitask – but we’re also addicted to it! So today, we’re going to learn about why multitasking doesn’t work and then some strategies we can use to be more productive. I thought this would be a perfect episode to end the year, as the accounting community’s busy season is lingering on the horizon.

We’re joined by third-time guest Karl Ahlrichs, a human capitalist consultant who knows a thing or two about how individuals and teams really get things done.

Why can’t we multitask?

You can think of multitasking as either the ability to perform multiple tasks at one time or switching back and forth from one thing to another – but neither is an effective way to do... well, just about anything.

If you think you can effectively perform multiple tasks at once, I’d like to present exhibit A: “If you've eaten at a quick service restaurant like Kentucky Fried Chicken, they will hand you a multitasking eating implement that is with a spoon and a fork – the spork. It fails at both tasks! It's basically a spoon that can hurt you.”

And if you’re switching between tasks, that has its own costs. There is up to a 40% reduction in productivity from this, when compared to focusing on a task and completing it then turning to another task and completing it. Decision fatigue also sets in, as Karl calls it, and you become less effective as you think.

For example, imagine you’re balancing a spreadsheet and writing a document. If you were to split your brain power between those two, it is not a simple 50/50 split. There is a loss of time to task switching, and every flip takes about 20% of the brain's total processing power, leaving 80% for the task at hand, not 100%. So, instead of a 50/50 split, it's a 40/40 split with 20% wasted.

But this isn’t just lowering your productivity. It basically lowers your IQ by about 15 points – the equivalent of staying up all night – and it lowers brain density in areas of the cortex that are responsible for empathy, cognitive, and emotional control.

“So, over time, if you do a bunch of multitasking that is paying off in these short-term ding ding dings, it makes you less cognitive and have poorer emotional control.”

Still don’t believe us? Try it for yourself!

Karl walks us through a simple exercise to demonstrate the impact of multitasking and task switching:

• Take out a sheet of paper, a writing implement, and something to time yourself with.
• Write “A B C D E F G H I” on one line and then, underneath it, write “1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9.” Time yourself.
• Now do it again, but don’t write the two lines sequentially. Instead, alternate between letters and numbers (A, 1, B, 2, and so on). Time yourself.

How long did it take you? The first time it took me 11 seconds, but the second time it took me 15 (and I might have messed up once).

How to Put an End to Multitasking

The overall process is pretty simple: identify the tasks at hand, identify and focus on the workflow process that you want to use, decide what needs your full attention, triage, prioritize, reduce distractions, and then just pay attention to one thing at a time.

To make this easier on yourself, do less! Delegate, hand things off to colleagues, or hand things off to technology. Remove the stuff that someone else can do from your plate “so that your precious brain power can be used for the good stuff, for the creative moments.”

If you need some help creating a more effective workflow, Karl suggests trying out the Kanban method. It’s pretty simple: create a to-do list, a doing list, and a complete list on a whiteboard (or something similar), then write all of your tasks onto sticky notes. There shouldn’t be more than a couple things in your “doing” list at any given time, and writing them all out will both help you prioritize and figure out what can be delegated.

If you want to learn more about Kanban, head over to www.personalkanban.com.

Another thing that makes a big difference is aerobic exercise. “Overall physical fitness appears to improve the outcome of all tasks, and it improves cognition.”

I hope that gives you some ideas for taking on tax season. If you are looking for some more ideas, feel free to reach out to Karl or myself.

Resources:

• Learn more about Karl at http://www.expertspeaks.com/
• Connect with Karl: Twitter | LinkedIn
• Learn about Kanban: www.personalkanban.com

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Change Your Mindset is produced by Podcast Masters

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Stephanie Feger is a passionate communicator who believes that a shift in perspective can help people live truly fulfilling lives.

After working in the public relations and marketing industry for over 15 years, she realized that happiness isn't found in what society deems important and felt a calling to help others reach their fullest potential while embracing all that life has to offer. Now an author, professional speaker, motivational blogger, book publicist, and home decor business owner, Stephanie connects her passion for embracing creativity with her dedication to helping others live life in perspective.

In her recently published book, Color Today Pretty: An Inspirational Guide to Living a Life in Perspective, Stephanie invites others to change their lives by finding perspective from within.

She has a wonderful message to share with all of us as we begin to move into 2019, and for those in the accounting profession, as we move into that busy season (although I prefer to call it the opportunity season).

What Does it Mean to Color Today Pretty?

The idea of “Color Today Pretty” came to Stephanie in a dream, and it’s since become her life purpose and, really, a movement.

In the dream, Stephanie played the role of a female Simon Cowell on America’s Got Talent – essentially, the person that stands between someone's dreams and their reality.

A contestant walked up and started painting, and it was just awful. She told the young boy to give up and get a job, but he didn’t react by getting sad or angry like most people on the show. “Instead, he took his canvas, he brought it over to me, and he gifted me with a smile, and he said, ‘That's okay. I just want you to go color something pretty today.’”

“I realized that he had a choice. You know, there's a lot of ways to get from point A to point B in life. And I was sitting here thinking that I stood in between his ability to have this dream make it a reality, but this young kid taught me something different,” Stephanie says.

“What I realized at that moment is he couldn't control my reaction. He couldn't control if I was going to help him reach his dream, but he could control his reactions and his responses to what happened in life to him. He decided to color that day pretty, to take that moment and make it purposeful and meaningful. And he wasn't going to let me stop him.”

From that moment, Stephanie shifted her lens on life and learned to find beauty in the mundane – and she believes that if you can embrace this mentality, too, you can do anything.

One of the things I enjoy about the book is that it’s not coming from the perspective of "You know, I've got life figured out and here’s how you do it." Instead, it's more of a journey through what Stephanie has experienced, showing how shifting her perspective has allowed her to take some of the most difficult moments in her life and use them to grow instead of hinder her growth.

“There is a way for people to focus on the things that matter. But, sometimes, we have to go through an acceptance process to get there, to be able to see through the right lens, to be able to focus our spectacles, per se, and really see that, at the end of the day, the only thing we can control in life is ourselves.”

Resources:

• Learn more at http://colortodaypretty.com
• Color Today Pretty: An Inspirational Guide to Living a Life in Perspective
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colortodaypretty
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colortodaypretty/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-feger/

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Change Your Mindset is produced by Podcast Masters

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