Cynspiration

Why mindset?

 

Without a growth mindset, you can feel stuck. You fall into self-doubt. You give up.

With a mindset that encourages self-improvement and growth, you’ll always be able to find a solution. In this fifth episode of Cynspiration, I talk to Gavin Maclin, a teacher and successful online business owner who’s also part of the entrepreneur community.

 

Gavin loves his job

 

Contrary to some other entrepreneurs who start online businesses, Gavin loves his job. He’s a teacher and works at a school with young children. The only challenge is that his job used to take a lot of his time, making him regularly work on weekends.

 

He was fulfilled working at the school, but he couldn’t spend more quality time with his friends and family. He felt stuck. He was going to leave it at that and accept it, but then there was a spark. He knew he had to change his mindset, and that he’d find a solution. All it would take is to start small.

 

How the mindset changed his life

Before even working on his business, Gavin understood the importance of having the right mindset. He played a lot of sports when he was younger, which meant he understood the importance of a growth mindset for his business to succeed. He started building an affiliate business from scratch, with no previous knowledge of digital businesses.

 

He followed a course, and every day took small steps. Three years later he’s running a successful business, hosts webinars and coaches other business owners.

He worked on his mindset by making sure he had an immediate circle of friends who were supportive and urged him on. He also consumed audio books and worked on understanding his strengths and weaknesses, which in turn would make more of an impact on himself, his students and his business.

 

The importance of being calm

 

Gavin accepts that he will fail, that he will get stressed, that things won’t always go the way he wants them to. But he trains his mind to be calm; he’s learnt to control his ‘pendulum’ and make sure it stays still, instead of swinging from one side to another. Remaining calm has changed his life and allowed him to be more self-aware.

Gavin also attributes being calm to knowing how to self-talk and understanding that sometimes there is simply nothing you can do. On the episode itself, Gavin shares how he was slightly nervous and worried this interview wouldn’t be as great as the first one – but just by saying this out loud, he notes how this calms and reassures him. Sharing your thoughts is the key to keeping calm.

 

The five mindset truths

 

Gavin’s five truths to being successful are the following:

 

1. Consistency

Without consistency, your business loses momentum. Instead of working 7 hours every Saturday and Sunday, do one hour a day. Take small steps.

 

2. Have fun

Gavin tells us he would have gone crazy without some fun while managing his business. It is essential to keep your energy going.

 

3. Calmness

As he mentions before, he knows he’s at his best in a moment of peace, and can, therefore, approach decisions more rationally. Being calm allows him to be more in control of his emotions and actions.

 

4. Self-awareness

 

Gavin was aware that he was working too hard and would soon crash and burn. By being mindful, he understood that he needed to take a step back, assess the situation and fix it.

 

5. Community

 

You are the average of the five people surrounding you. By making sure to have a community that continually supports you, and that has a positive impact on your life, you can’t go wrong.

Resources:

 

Book: The Own Fair Advantage

Book:

Why mindset?

 

Without a growth mindset, you can feel stuck. You fall into self-doubt. You give up.

With a mindset that encourages self-improvement and growth, you’ll always be able to find a solution. In this fifth episode of Cynspiration, I talk to Gavin Maclin, a teacher and successful online business owner who’s also part of the entrepreneur community.

 

Gavin loves his job

 

Contrary to some other entrepreneurs who start online businesses, Gavin loves his job. He’s a teacher and works at a school with young children. The only challenge is that his job used to take a lot of his time, making him regularly work on weekends.

 

He was fulfilled working at the school, but he couldn’t spend more quality time with his friends and family. He felt stuck. He was going to leave it at that and accept it, but then there was a spark. He knew he had to change his mindset, and that he’d find a solution. All it would take is to start small.

 

How the mindset changed his life

Before even working on his business, Gavin understood the importance of having the right mindset. He played a lot of sports when he was younger, which meant he understood the importance of a growth mindset for his business to succeed. He started building an affiliate business from scratch, with no previous knowledge of digital businesses.

 

He followed a course, and every day took small steps. Three years later he’s running a successful business, hosts webinars and coaches other business owners.

He worked on his mindset by making sure he had an immediate circle of friends who were supportive and urged him on. He also consumed audio books and worked on understanding his strengths and weaknesses, which in turn would make more of an impact on himself, his students and his business.

 

The importance of being calm

 

Gavin accepts that he will fail, that he will get stressed, that things won’t always go the way he wants them to. But he trains his mind to be calm; he’s learnt to control his ‘pendulum’ and make sure it stays still, instead of swinging from one side to another. Remaining calm has changed his life and allowed him to be more self-aware.

Gavin also attributes being calm to knowing how to self-talk and understanding that sometimes there is simply nothing you can do. On the episode itself, Gavin shares how he was slightly nervous and worried this interview wouldn’t be as great as the first one – but just by saying this out loud, he notes how this calms and reassures him. Sharing your thoughts is the key to keeping calm.

 

The five mindset truths

 

Gavin’s five truths to being successful are the following:

 

1. Consistency

Without consistency, your business loses momentum. Instead of working 7 hours every Saturday and Sunday, do one hour a day. Take small steps.

 

2. Have fun

Gavin tells us he would have gone crazy without some fun while managing his business. It is essential to keep your energy going.

 

3. Calmness

As he mentions before, he knows he’s at his best in a moment of peace, and can, therefore, approach decisions more rationally. Being calm allows him to be more in control of his emotions and actions.

 

4. Self-awareness

 

Gavin was aware that he was working too hard and would soon crash and burn. By being mindful, he understood that he needed to take a step back, assess the situation and fix it.

 

5. Community

 

You are the average of the five people surrounding you. By making sure to have a community that continually supports you, and that has a positive impact on your life, you can’t go wrong.

Resources:

 

Book: The Own Fair Advantage

Book:

So, you have branched out into the world of online entrepreneurship but do you now feel that you are out on a limb? Cynspiration is here to tell you that you are not alone. 

 

This week, Cynthia shares her reflections and offers a coaching session on the challenging and sometimes lonely path of the online entrepreneur.

Learn About

 

The actions that you can take to improve your mental, physical and networking capabilities. How to make being a solo act the best performance of your life!

 

While the sense of liberty and autonomy involved in setting up and growing your own business is exhilarating, the amount of time, energy and effort required can push you into feeling as though you are operating within a bubble.

 

This can leave you feeling disconnected from yourself, from others and your business. The risk of burn-out is very high in new and digital business owners.

 

You have much more leverage than you think to improve your entrepreneurial experience by bringing back the balance in your life. A little bit of planning and self-care can go a long way to bringing back the sense of excitement and energy that you started with!

 

Using examples from her journey as an online entrepreneur, Cynthia will guide you through some of the most common challenges facing every solopreneur.

 

Cynthia Shares her Strategies to:

 

Nurture your mental and physical health for optimal performance.

Realise the importance of recognising your achievements and rewarding yourself

Make time for face time to keep your communication skills sharp and your social health in check.

Maintain a balance between your daily life and your entrepreneurial life.

Recognise the value of a planned distraction and how vital taking a time out is.

Build and strengthen connections with supportive individuals and organisations online and off.

Reconnect to your inner passion and rediscover your mission purpose.

Return to your business feeling recharged and ready to rumble!

Remote working does not equal remote living. If, in the words of the song ‘One is the loneliest number’ then Cynspiration will help you to develop the inner and outer resources that you need to ensure that One can be Fun!

Helpful Links:

* Vina or Bumble BFF, Bumble Bizz to meet people with similar interests

* Meetup, or Nearify for connecting nearby or at events

* Shapr for building business contacts

* If you work in e-commerce, try joining some of the active groups on Facebook.

Support resources in forums and groups designed for entrepreneurs:

* Facebook Groups like Grow & Sell and Screw the Nine to Five

* Linkedin Groups like Creative Entrepreneur Forum or On Startups

* Paid communities like Founding Moms or Young Entrepreneur Council

* Slack groups like Unicorn Think Tank or startup

 

 

 

In this second episode of Cynspiration, I talk to Patrizio Pezzutto, founder of – Coaching.ly- and a fellow frindge dweller friend of mine.

As a man who has built his marketing and communication business and a growing and successful consulting business, Patrizio has faced a few challenges along the road.

After realising his full-time job did not fulfil him anymore, he looked for purpose and passion

He joined with an online education program and affiliate marketing which allowed him to understand the foundations of online business and marketing. He then realised he also wanted to give teach and provide value to other entrepreneurs, and to inspire them to take action and grow their businesses. So he founded Get High-Quality Coaching Clients.

The creation of his businesses challenged him to get over his insecurities, to face his fears and not let doubt impede him from moving forward.

Through effort, trial, errors and patience, he has found the confidence to gear his Digital Business in a new direction and therefore to rely much more on his intuition.

In this episode we chat about:

* Why it’s essential to build a brand around your passion in order to enjoy

* How Patrizio realised that he wanted to give a voice to women and why

* What it’s like to find your purpose

* The power of fear and how to prevent it from living your dreams

* You don’t need to be perfect not achieve success.

Interesting reflections:

What piece of advice would you give to people who want to become entrepreneurs?

What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?

What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule?

* What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs to invest their time in?

Recommended Books:

Start with your Why – Simon Sinek

* Mastery – Robert Green

* The Big Leap – Gay Hendricks

* The Surrender Experiment – Michael. A. Singer

* Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki

Connect with Patrizio @Coaching.Ly

Facebook

Website

Connect with the Podcast

Instagram

Facebook

Email

Rebuilding from scratch can be hard

It’s especially hard when we fall trap to the saboteurs in our head that make us doubt our very own skills and passions. In this first episode of Cynspiration, I talk to Sietske, founder of the Own It magazine, and a fellow workshop friend of mine.

As a woman who has built her marketing and communication business and an inspiring and successful magazine for women, Sietske has been through some hardships of her own. After realising her marketing company did not fulfil her anymore, she looked for more creative ways to express herself.

It started with her very own magazine, detailing her journey and experiences. She then realised she also wanted to give a voice to other women, to inspire them to take action and share their thoughts. And so she founded Own It Magazine.

Through the creation of these magazines, she had to learn to get over her insecurities (her ‘saboteurs’), to face her fears and not let doubt impede her from moving forward. She sat down, wrote down the complete opposite of what her saboteurs were telling her and took power back.

Through effort, resilience and patience, she has found the confidence to gear her magazine in a new direction and therefore to rely much more on her intuition.

In this episode we chat about:

* Why it’s essential to build a brand around you and your values

* How Sietske realised that she wanted to give a voice to women and why

* How she created her magazine and how it encourages women and helps them find a direction

* What it’s like to rebuild a project from scratch

* How to control the saboteurs and not let them prevent you from living your dreams

* Sietske’s new plans for the future

Interesting reflections:

* How do you prefer to express yourself? By writing? Through photography? By helping others?

* How many times have you screwed up because you did not trust yourself?

* Have you ever heard the saboteurs in your mind that make you more insecure? What do you do to fight them?

* Have you ever felt the need to prove yourself to someone? Why?

Resources:

Own It Magazine

The Own It App

Connect with Sietske

Own It Magazine

Facebook

Instagram

Connect with the Podcast

Instagram

Facebook

Email