If you’re still waiting for that next perfect opportunity to come to you, well, you just missed the bus!  You’re actually missing out on some doors waiting for you to be opened – doors that lead to even bigger opportunities. And sometimes, you’ve got to let go of even something big for you to do things you feel more aligned with. The question is – what are you willing to give  up?

In today’s conversation, Erik speaks with Katie Anne Barnett, a branding expert, and host of the Level After Next podcast. In her journey through self-discovery, Katie made the decision to leave a six-figure job when she felt she was no longer aligned with her work. Today, she shares the lessons of failing forward and giving yourself the grace to move on to the “level after next”.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

Just Go and Make a Decision!

Not every decision that happens in your head is clear-cut. We do have this gut feeling sometimes, and that’s backed by science. In business, sometimes you just have to make that decision. It’s not a big feeling or there’s still not a beautiful business laid down in front of you. Many of us sit around waiting for the perfect timing or the perfect opportunity, but just make a decision. And sometimes, you could be making bad decisions. But you have to fail forward, you have to be willing to take the risks and learn from them.

Taking Care of Your Mental Health

Find those things that help you get centered to start bringing your serotonin back up and lift your endorphins.

Understand yourself well enough so you will know how to act in these moments, what things you need to do to cope, and what's healthy and what's unhealthy. Take a breath, reset, and realize what’s your number one priority right now. Maybe, that’s self-care and that’s awesome!

How to Handle Negative Feedback

You have to be ready to be strong emotionally. Recognize that it’s not easy but learn to be okay with yourself. This is just the same as owning your decisions and owning who you are.

When somebody comes to you with something that is hard to hear, those things will trigger a defensive response within you. Recognize when you're having that defensive response and at least listen and be willing to hear what's being said to you even if you don't want to hear it right now.

You can get defensive, shut down, and be mad about it. Or you can choose to learn from it, and be willing to hear what they're saying. You don't always have to have the last word. Not everybody's great at giving advice. But how you take it and what you do with it is it's gonna make all the difference.

Embracing the F Word

There’s no growth without failure. In business and the decisions you're making, you have to be willing to embrace the fact that it's going to take some falls before you can start to climb again. But you're going to rise higher with each one if you're willing to learn from it.

Resources Mentioned:

www.levelafternext.org

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

Facebook: ​​https://www.facebook.com/thekatieannebarnett/