In this episode of The Overgivers Anonymous Podcast, I want to talk to you about pretty planners, and why they don't work. As we are just about to flow into October - the fourth quarter of the year, planning next year is important. I typically like to start my yearly planning in and around October for the next year. I am going to give you some insight into planners, share my planner journey and perhaps touch on a few things that will help you with yours. Planners can help you with boundaries that you might find difficult to set. Planners provide affirmation. Elements we all need as business people.

 

Highlights

 

2017 was literally my year from hell when it came to planners. 

I ended up purchasing a pretty planner that year. In fact, that pretty planner was a system. There were three planners, one that was for goal setting, one was for my business things, and one was for my personal life. I gotta tell you, they literally went to the wayside faster than you can blink. They were nice to look at with all the pretty colours and pretty sayings but at the end of the day my goal of planning and being organized TANKED.

Wanting to look at something pretty and thinking that is going to motivate you to use the planner more is a falsehood. I don't know anybody who actually has used pretty planners and has been super successful with them. They're just pretty. 

Most planners are just planners.  You cash out at the till and then you're on your own.

When you purchase the Rockstar planner, not only will you have a functioning tool that gives you what you need, you will also have SUPPORT! Every year you are invited to a planning party that accompanies that planner. Starting this year, for the first time ever, you are also going to be invited to the QUARTERLY planning parties!!! 

The focus is function. The focus is getting stuff done. The Rockstar planner has FLARE!

You do not have to purchase a “pre pretty” planner. You can make your planner pretty all by yourself! Please remember to choose something with function first.

 

When I set my goals in my Rockstar planner and use these goals to create my quarters, my months and my non-negotiables, it allows me to create boundaries inside my business. I will know exactly what  I need to be working on. With boundaries, people are less likely to be able to walk all over my business or encourage me to take actions that I know aren't right for my business. Your Rockstar planner is the strong foundation you need that will support your business goals, plans, boundaries and lead you to the success you deserve.  

Get your 2022 Rockstar planner now and get access to the planning parties!!!

In this episode of the Overgivers Anonymous, I'm excited to bring you Harriet Waley-Cohen as our guest. Harriet and I had met in a mastermind group several years ago. Whenever we connect I find her conversations to be so inspiring! Today we are going to be talking about your inner critic. Everyone has a different concept of what this actually is. Some people think it's just that inner voice, they think it's themselves and/or they think it's the truth. There are others that are able to externalize the inner critic and see that it doesn't have to be part of you. Or it can be something else that is trying to weave you under its evil spell.  Sometimes it's hard to differentiate.

 

Highlights:

95% of the population of humans have an inner voice.  Therefore it must be useful for our survival and evolution. 

The inner voice is helpful because it helps us time travel by being able to forecast into the future and spot what could go wrong and adapt our behaviour so that stuff doesn't go wrong. It helps us make meaning out of things that have happened (good or bad) so we can make sense of our world.

The problem is when our inner voice can become a dictator, a cruel, horrible and nasty dictator.

I think our inner critics are a survival tool gone rogue. It's gone into overdrive trying to keep us safe and protect us from failure, rejection and harm.  Ultimately it can keep us totally paralyzed and stuck. You can compare it to an overprotective parent.

If you had a committee that was helping you decide what to do the inner critic would be the doom and gloom. That worst-case scenario person. You must remember that “old storm clouds” do not have the only opinion or outcome to take into account when making decisions.

I think it's important to build your relationship with that inner critic. I think the inner critic is important. It plays an important role in the overall mental health of your entire being.

One of the first things you must realize when dealing with your inner critic is the idea that it is not your enemy. It is not something that has to be defeated and discarded. Though it is overprotective your inner critic is actually on your side. It's just taking it too far. 

You could have an inner cheerleader instead of an inner critic.

 

Hunted down to speak for audiences including Microsoft, Barclays and Invesco, Harriet has empowered thousands of people over the last 17 years to believe in themselves and their potential.

She has been through multiple transformations herself and knows what it takes to make deep-rooted changes that stick and to get through tough times and emerge wiser. Harriet is 18 years in recovery from addictions, left an unhappy marriage and went on to thrive, shifted from a 10-year banking career into motherhood and entrepreneurship. Harriet lives with a permanent pain condition after being driven into the motorway and is a breast cancer survivor. 

Harriet's mission is to make sure people know their true value. She empowers clients and audiences to leave behind self-doubt, sabotaging patterns and overwhelming in favour of new ways of thinking, feeling and acting that create confidence, well-being and success. Vanessa Vallely OBE, MD of WeAreThe City describes Harriet as ‘a real superwoman who empowers others wherever she goes.’

 

'Release Your Inner Critic'

http://bit.ly/InnerCriticTips

Website:

www.harrietwaleycohen.com

*Facebook Page*

https://www.facebook.com/groups/hwcTSS

*Twitter Profile*

https://twitter.

In this episode of the Overgivers Anonymous Podcast, I have a really special guest for you, her name is Michelle Mazur. We're going to be talking about messaging, positioning and marketing, but also the whole point of why we are here. We are going to discuss how we do things in a way that overgives. 

 

Highlights:

The three-word rebellion book is all about creating a one-of-a-kind message that you can be known for, that grows your business and can even grow your business into a movement. 

Your message is a great filter. Different people want different things. Some say “Yes,  sign me up for that!” while other business owners respond  “That is not my style. No, thank you.” Both are fine.

I call it over nurturing and it is something I am guilty of. I see so many business owners, especially women, always putting out great content, creating value, creating posts that are meaningful and helpful. Unfortunately, we never tell people how to actually pay us.

Take it from chronic over nurturer. You do want to nurture, but you also just don't want to be constantly giving out free information without ever telling people ” This is  the work I do and this is where you can find me.”

I always tell my clients you really need to look at your business like Nordstroms looks at theirs.

I have this routine where I see clients on the first and the third week of the month. This is great because that means the second and the fourth week of the month I can work on business stuff. 

Set boundaries around what works for you and be ready to change those boundaries when they don't serve you anymore.

I look at business and messaging almost like a big experiment. You really have to figure out what works. You just can't let it sit in your Google Docs. You actually need to put it out there and see how people respond to it and then tweak it from there.

 

Michelle Mazur works with brilliant business owners who are shaking things up...but having trouble talking about it. She combines the tools of successful social movements with the qualitative research skills she earned in her Communication Ph.D. to help them craft their powerful captivating message. The author of the 3 Word Rebellion and featured in Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and Inc., she knows that speaking about what you do in a clear and captivating way is the key to reaching the people you could help the most and making more money in your business.

Website:: www.drmichellemazur.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/drmichellemazur

Twitter Profile: www.twitter.com/drmichellemazur

In this episode of the Overgivers Anonymous Podcast,  I'm going to talk to you about ClickUp. If you don't know what it is, pretend that Asana and Trello had a baby and then it was put on steroids. It's amazing and I appreciate I’m a little biased, but it's one of the most amazing project management systems I found. Though ClickUp is the main system that I work with, all project systems have hiccups and things are not working as smoothly as they should be. There are some common hiccups that I have noticed while working with ClickUp clients. I am going to share them with you so you can adjust your system and start to really appreciate the beauty of it.

 

Highlights:

 

The first mistake is that your process mapping sucks. I'm not gonna lie. You think you know all the steps to complete a process, but you don't really have “everything” out of your head yet. #fact.

When you don't have your process completely mapped out and you try to assign it to somebody else… They do not mind readers. Without clarity, team members cannot take action.

When you're entering tasks into ClickUp it's possible that you're not putting the many steps required. So your team members are having to struggle wondering “Okay, so I'm supposed to do this task, but what's the right way to do it? What's the next best step?” Then they have to start asking questions that impact other team members' work time. Ultimately it is also wasting your time/money as the business owner.

When you're assigning tasks to people and your process is clear there are fewer questions and efficient workflow.

 You can determine how granular your process is for you and different team members..

When you have all steps laid out and accurately written for your team you can create them in a template. The next time this “job” needs to be done all you have to do is apply the template and you will have all the tasks, subtasks, statuses and everything you need ready to go. 

If you don't assign things to people and if you don't apply due dates on things, shit's not getting done in your business. True story. 

You can't assume somebody is going to search for tasks.  If you're running your team in a way that you have people randomly jumping around your ClickUp looking for tasks you are wasting their time. You are also wasting your money.

Remember this, you need to make sure you nail down your processes. That's really, really important. Follow that up with making sure you know who gets assigned to what and that there are due dates so that things don't fall through the cracks. 

I hope you have a fantastic day and I look forward to talking to you next week.

In this episode of The Overgivers Anonymous Podcast, I want to talk to you about your future team. When hiring for or creating your team you need to look for more than the skills and the training a new person can bring. You need to look for somebody who is going to support you and your whole team. This can feel difficult if you're not familiar with different personalities or connecting with people on that level. I have great tips for you to make life easier.

 

Highlights:

 

When you're looking at adding somebody to your team it's important that you can feel a level of connection and know you will be supported by this person.

I believe that building a team is one of the major foundations of your success.

It's equally as important for you to have a person that you love spending time within these critical roles as it is for you to be mindful of who you are going to work with as clients.

Sometimes in error, we hire somebody who is not a great fit personality, energy-wise or who simply has different expectations. We also need to ask ourselves questions such as the time frame of employment and what tasks they will be responsible for. 

When we have fun together we will support each other.

 

If  I'm having a bad day or when one of my team members is, we link arms and pull each other up. That's powerful. That’s teamwork. When you're putting together your team don't just ask “does this person have the skills? Can this person work on their own?” You must include “can this person actually integrate with the rest of us? Will everybody continue to have a voice?”  When all the pieces I discuss come together the most amazing team is created!.

In this episode of the Overgivers Anonymous Podcast, we have a very special guest. Her name is Elaine Taylor-Klaus. We're going to talk about neurodiversity and owning your own business. We will discuss whether or not it is a competitive advantage to have some neurodiversity as an entrepreneur.

Highlights:

Here's what's interesting, I couldn't have done it without Diane and her not having neurodiversity. neurodiversity. In addition,  I couldn't have done it without my own neurodiversity.

The general population views neurodiversity from the “outside” and can often see it as a downfall if they haven’t had any experience with it. I find, there are so many things within my own neurodiverse brain that are so amazing.

It wasn't until I got a diagnosis, got treatment, and started to understand it, that I was able to intentionally manage myself and my family. That gave me the skills to then put intentional management strategies in place as a company.

I think what happens when we have neurodiversity, particularly before it's identified, or we've really managed it, is that we get a lot of negative reinforcement growing up because of the lack of awareness.

Flipping stories, I think is one of the strongest things that I learned along the way.

You can do the same action. The question is, what's the perspective? Is it because you are concerned whether people like you or is it about giving value? One of them is draining while the other is replenishing. 

When everybody has the right bum in the right seat and are working from their amazing zone a talented team is created

I think as entrepreneurs, our neurodiversity is an asset if we understand it, and know how to use and manage it. It can be a liability if we don't realize the impact we're having on people when we're emotionally dysregulated.

You don't get the creative energy if you're not trusting some intuitive awareness that you yourself can't understand.

There's something about quirky interesting people that makes quirky interesting things happen in the world

 

 

Two decades ago, Elaine Taylor-Klaus describes herself as an overwhelmed, anxious stay-at-home mom with three complex kids. A fierce advocate, she discovered there was plenty of support "out there" for her kids, but virtually nothing in the way of support for her. As her own learning and attention challenges were diagnosed after age 40, she realized that helping her family needed to start with her. She trained as a coach to provide support for parents like her. Now, ten years later, Elaine is the co-founder and CEO of ImpactParents.com, the largest and most innovative online support resource for parents of complex kids in the world, serving parents on six continents and more than a hundred countries. She is the author of 2 books (including the recent #1 New Release, The Essential Guide to Raising Complex Kids with ADHD, Anxiety, and More) -- a typical parenting book for kids who are not so typical. Impact Parents is a virtual platform that provides affordable and accessible support, training, and coaching to parents and professionals.

In this episode of the Overgivers Anonymous Podcast, I want to talk to you about something really cool I started earlier this year. It's called the Rockstar roadmap. It is a paid weekly audio show that is geared specifically for those in the Rockstar program. It is exciting to be part of something new at the start line! We approach every week with a recorded episode of clear vision with what's happening in the world, in your business and on the calendar.

Highlights:

Things get hard for all of us. 2020 proved that getting help and support was not only normal but a new “necessity” for us.

The Rockstar roadmap is a way for you to get a little push to keep up and to stay on track with your plans. A guiding star to prevent you from forgetting where you're headed.

Each and every week you will receive important business information that pertains to what's occurring right now based on the calendar quarter or calendar year.

You want to learn from your mistakes and also mistakes made by others. Think of it as an expressway or a shortcut being able to learn from other’s experiences. 

You will move forward faster in your business when you are able to avoid all the construction detours and potholes (also known as mistakes) others discovered.

The Rockstar roadmap is clear and concise. It helps discover the most efficient routes to reach your goals while giving you a healthy dose of motivation to keep you positive and moving forward in the right direction.

I am riding shotgun on this crazy entrepreneurial highway to help you stay motivated and on point throughout the entire year. Your goals and plans are no longer in the backseat. You are in the driver's seat as you build your successful business. Grab your keys and let’s go!

 

In this episode of the Overgivers Anonymous Podcast we’re going to talk about reasons why you feel you aren't productive. It is probably NOT what you think it is. We are going to talk about fears, the difference between being reactive and proactive, planning and also overplanning, and much more. So stay tuned.

Key highlights:

We are worried about offending other people.

We get so caught up in the shoulds, the how-tos, and the what-ifs that we don't make moves forward in our business

The only filter you need to be running your thoughts through is your own. That's why our plans are important. 

We don't want people to reject us.

You have no control over what other people think about you.

At the end of the day, the “other people” are not putting in as much thought and energy as you think about what we're doing on a daily basis.

You're wasting so much time worrying about the possibility of judgement from others that you're keeping yourself stuck instead of taking action to move forward. 

Yes, write the plan. Yes, think about the future. Yes, plan your future. Then take action!

The difference between being proactive and being reactive is the difference between sanity and insanity.

The solution is to be present. Be proactive. Be very, very present in what you're doing on a daily basis. Make plans that include action steps. You'll find yourself spending a lot less time worrying about what other people are doing, what other people are saying and you'll have way more energy for your life and your business.

In this episode of the Overgivers Anonymous Podcast, I brought you a very special guest Amy Lewis. We are going to talk about setting and maintain boundaries in your life and your business, and how to love yourself while doing it. This was an amazing conversation!

Highlights:

One thing about business owners is we're always growing. If you want a self-growth program go start a business!

Changing my mindset about competition versus collaboration is huge.

I didn't implement systems when I should have, I'm still struggling a little bit in some ways, but I'm learning a lot about myself. What can I handle as a person. What should I allow and not allow in my life. 

You are everything you consume.

Changing my mindset, changing my mood, moving my body, making sure I'm taking care of myself has been the biggest positive changes I have made.

There's nothing better than being supported by the right team.

The process of ingestion is more of what we put in our mouth. We ingest information from all around us. We ingest information that we allow ourselves to believe. 

As entrepreneurs we are so incredibly passionate about what we do for a living it's very difficult not to be constantly immersed in it.

What happens with my body and my habits is more important than what happens in my office.

I know that where I am today is going to be completely different compared to where I will be in five years.

It's not all about WHEN you make it. It is about making what you want and working towards those goals now. Be happy NOW. This is your life. This is what you get.

I didn't change my habits, my exercise and my food, because I didn’t love who I was.. I changed it because I love who I am. I'm important and so is what goes in and what comes out.

Amy Lewis, owner of Lewis Bookkeeping, breaks every bookkeeper stereotype, except for one - she is passionate about financial literacy. It was this lack of financial wellness (and the strain that it can cause for both individuals and businesses) that inspired her to enter the industry. To put it simply-she wants to make a difference.

Clients that work with Amy are drawn in by her friendly and outgoing personality, as her compassion and knowledge guide them towards a healthy relationship with money. When she isn’t crunching numbers, Amy is often immersed in the arts, from collaborating and performing with fellow musicians to exploring different forms of dance and vocal techniques. She also takes every opportunity to integrate music into her workspace, including creating a welcome atmosphere before meetings and playing it in the background while reconciling accounts.

A Simcoe County native, Amy is deeply invested in the economic health of her community and strives to provide her clients with the necessary tools to succeed. This includes volunteering and advocating with local organizations including The The Salvation Army - Orillia, The Lighthouse Soup Kitchen and Shelter, and Simcoe Contemporary Dancers to help make a long-term positive impact. When she’s not singing, reconciling accounts, or dancing, Amy can be found relaxing at home with her husband, Brian, and her two dogs Seamus and Diesel.

If she could share one lesson that she has learned it’s that “Service to others is important, but we must ensure to take care of ourselves first. This is the only way that we can give our best to others"

Checking in on our goals is one of the most important actions you can take to keep yourself on track. When you know what direction you're headed, and you can see yourself moving in that direction, even on those “off” days when you aren't hitting all your goals, you can look at your track record and your decisions and say “Hey, I'm on track. I'm moving towards my goals and I am amazing!.” In this episode of the Overgivers Anonymous Podcast, I discussed everything you wanted to know about goal setting, planning and staying on track (but were afraid to ask)!

Highlights:

You need something that's measurable. You need something that you can actually see your success in.

You can't accomplish your goals without action.

When you set goals you must write them down.

There's no secret to success. You simply need to know where you're headed, know what you want to accomplish along the way, make a plan for it, write down your plan and keep checking in on it. 

When something shiny pops up in your business, look back at your goals and see if it fits in with the direction you want to take.

It's not just about the money. 

Get yourself a plan, write it down and check-in. Give yourself some praise every time something great happens, because greatness happens all the time.