Empire Building

We don’t focus enough on joy in our lives – and it shows in our culture. There’s a lot of guilt around doing things for the simple pleasure of it – even taking vacations or time off. But it’s so, so important to unapologetically pursue joy in your life – otherwise what’s all of this for? We’re going to share how to find clarity around what brings you joy, how to say “no” to more (so you can say “yes” to the things that matter), and how to commit to bringing joy into your life. We have six steps to help you get there because we are all better when we are running after our joy.

1. Grab a notebook and give yourself some alone time
2. Remove distractions
3. Ask yourself some key questions:
4. What brings me the most joy right now?
5. What would I name this chapter of my life?
6. How do I measure success besides profit?
7. Who is with me in these joyful moments?
8. Look at your calendar and circle the top three things that bring you joy
9. Say “no” to more so that you can say “yes” to more
10. Commit to change, moving forward

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

With everything that’s happened over the past couple of years, many conferences, retreats, or large events for personal and business growth have either moved online, pared back, or stopped completely. Now that things are starting to transition back to meeting in person, we want to focus on getting back into the swing of in-person conferences, and how to ensure you get the most out of your time and experience. We’re going to focus on the five steps for you to maximize any event you go to: ‘why,’ ‘what,’ ‘how,’ ‘who,’ and ‘do.’ If you do these five things, any event you go to is going to have a lasting impact on your personal life and your business.

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

We’re continuing our discussion of handling objections. Last week, we discussed how to ensure that you’re actually dealing with an objection and not a question, observation, or smokescreen. But once you’ve actually identified an objection, how do you handle it? We have an easy-to-remember framework to share with you for what to do when an objection arises:

• Repeat
• Isolate
• Cushion
• Handle
• Cushion

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

We are all passionate about sales. You have to be comfortable with selling in order to build your empire, and that also means getting comfortable with some of the objections that come up in that process. Objections are stopping you from getting to where you’re trying to go. In this first part, we’re going to go over how to tell if something is a question, observation, or a smokescreen. Next week, we’ll discuss how to handle real objections.

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

Losing a key employee or team member in your business is never easy. It’s even worse if you face multiple losses at once. In this episode, we break down examples from our own lives of losses we faced and how we got through them, and share three steps you can follow when it happens to you:

• How to prepare
• What to do during the transition
• How to set yourself up for success afterwards

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

No matter how big your life is, you’re bound to face disappointment with some level of regularity. Disappointment comes when our expectations don’t match the reality of the situation. In the book “Expectation Hangover” by Christine Hassler, she breaks it down into three categories: Situational, interpersonal, and self-imposed. 

Left unchecked, disappointment can lead to a lack of motivation, depression, hopelessness, and even sickness. Luckily, it can be managed. Today, we talk about what to do in different situations to get through lingering clouds of disappointment and move on: anticipate it, feel it, control our response, and more. Tune in for the full download.

Resources:

• Read: Expectation Hangover by Christine Hassler

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

Benjamin Franklin famously said, “If we take care of the minutes, the years will take care of themselves.” What that means is: if we make the right choices moment to moment, most of our lives will turn out OK. One of the best times to set your intentions is in the new year, when everything feels fresh and our minds naturally start to reflect on the past while looking forward to the year ahead. We think back over our years, and talk about the habits we’re setting, the intentions we’re making, and how you can make 2022 the best year ever.

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

Leaders are readers. Reading has one of the biggest returns on investment, in terms of both time and money, among almost anything else you can do. In this episode, we share our reading philosophy with you, as well as our favorite books of the year.

Resources:

• Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
• Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday
• Courage is Calling by Ryan Holiday
• The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
• Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• Grit by Angela Duckworth
• The Blessing of a Skinned Knee by Wendy Mogel
• The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker
• The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran
• A Promised Land by Barack Obama
• The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates
• Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke
• Leadership by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt
• The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier
• Upstream with Dan Heath
• A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell
• Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds:

The Holiday season can be very stressful on top of everything else we deal with as empire builders. Thinking about buying gifts, hosting family, cooking meals, hanging decorations – it’s a lot to process. In this episode, we share ten tips you can use to manage stress this season.

1. Start early
2. Plan accordingly
3. Set your own traditions
4. Enlist help
5. Buy extra gifts

Tune in to hear all about tips six through ten!

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

The holidays are here! If you’re feeling behind on gift ideas, for others or for yourself, we’ve got just the thing to jump-start some inspiration. In this episode, we share our favorite things in the world and how they could make fantastic gifts.

Resources:

• Dohm White Noise Sound Machine
• reMarkable Notebook
• Rent the Runway
• Tory Burch
• Secrid Cardprotector
• Spanx
• Topo Chico
• Lone River Ranch Water
• Beachwaver
• HUM Nutrition Boost Sweet Boost
• YETI Tumbler
• Super Creamer
• Marine Collagen Peptides Powder
• The Ordinary
• Tula Sunscreen
• Aroma360
• INK + ALLOY
• Patagonia 3-in-1 Jackets
• Peloton
• Runkeeper App
• L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil

Connect on Instagram:

• Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
• Vija Williams: @viavija
• Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
• Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media