The Enlightened Entrepreneur

In today's episode Elizabeth speaks about meeting yourself where you're actually at in your business. Which sounds simple, but time and time again her life and experiences have proven the opposite. Often times the spark of a new business idea can create a flood of distractions and interferences that disrupt what is really important- getting out there and finding the clients and work that you are really looking for.

Elizabeth shares her knowledge about:

• Really honoring where you're at in your journey
• The safety of being in a corporation vs. the vulnerability of being alone
• Doing the work to find the answers and clarity of your business
• Finding the people that you would really love to help
• Giving yourself space to observe your own work
• Continually looking for the next person you want to help grow
• Learning to spend your time intentionally instead of over-prepping and dreaming

If you have any burning questions for Elizabeth, be sure to submit them to her Office Hours, at www.ElizabethCanon.com.

If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find Elizabeth on Instagram or her Website. If today's episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes, it would mean a lot. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.

This episode began with Elizabeth's son, Oliver, asking for ice cream for breakfast. After asking why, Elizabeth got a response that really made her think- " Because I want to." As an adult we see that phrase as illegitimate and immature, but when was the last time you really thought about what it is you want?

In this episode Elizabeth shares:

• How adults understand the malleability of consistency
• What it means to give yourself permission
• How to prioritize what exactly it is you want
• What are the things you want that will ultimately feed you and put you in touch with your creativity
• That our wants are always changing
• What you may be saying no to by saying yes
• How we can embrace "Because I want to" again

Are you willing to look beneath the surface of what you want to see how it will serve you and put you back in touch with your creativity? Be sure to join the guest list to attend Elizabeth's new group for enlightened entrepreneurs, Office Hours. Office Hours meets monthly at the Soho house in South Hollywood.

If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find Elizabeth on Instagram or her Website. If today's episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes, it would mean a lot. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.

Are you addicted to busyness? Are you grinding through a 9-5? Elizabeth shares her philosophy in this weeks episode on how to live with deeper purpose.

• The daily grind: Monday-Friday, 9-5 grind
• Being addicted to busyness
• Recognizing "loss leaders" in your life
• Creating your own definition of success
• Being comfortable with just being with yourself
• Downfall of constantly grinding as an entrepreneur
• Having a misconception of what your purpose is
• Importance of having a deeper purpose

I don't know what it is about entrepreneurship that makes us think that building, running, and growing a business requires that we be chained to our laptops, or that we be back to back in an endless stream of conference calls, interviews, meetings, or going to networking events. Why do we think that is how we need to fill our time? As an entrepreneur, I wouldn't allow myself to just sit and be with myself. Reading a book, calling a friend, taking a bath, or taking a walk became luxuries of time and I used them as fillers and crutches. If I had free time, I didn't really know what to do with it. There was this need to fill my time with anything to be productive.

Instead of being comfortable with just being, I latched onto the doing, and it made me feel like I was more in control of my business, my household, my health, my anything. But if we want to be liberated in entrepreneurship, then grinding it out every day does NOT support the spaciousness that you need to live the life that you actually dream of living for yourself. Do you want to be the entrepreneur who trades the daily grind for grinding it out every day on your own? Or do you want to be the entrepreneur that really looks at the life that you want to be living and marries your schedule, your purpose, your mission, the products and services that you offer to get closer to the life you want and and legacy you want to leave behind?

If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on Instagram or my Website. If today's episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.

Let's talk about Self Doubt. You know that voice in your head that talks you our of your next big adventure. Elizabeth shares her thoughts on conquering inner fear and living freely.

• Unavoidability of self-doubt.
• Create less room for doubt.
• Love your doubts, examine them for greater clarity.
• Don't rush into hasty decisions just because you feel doubt.
• Being fearless is a farce.

One of the things that I think is important for all entrepreneurs to recognize and address head on is self-doubt. You see, this is something that we all will have to deal with at some point in time and it's also something that we can really learn to use as a tool if we let it. Self-doubt has come up more times than I can count in my own story, even with all of my accomplishments I still felt like I had a lot of doubt to creep in and that my confidence wasn't always real. The doubt would creep in and that would lead to indecision, having my energy totally depleted and I would feel stuck. I couldn't take action in a way that felt aligned or easy but I needed to take some action. Which lead me to taking actions that came from obligation instead of action from inspiration - not a habit I wanted to be getting used to. Then I realized that my doubts and fears were there because they were trying to tell me a story or help me to make the right decisions. I learned to slow down and examine those doubts in a loving way, to get to the bottom of why they were there. I also discovered that the more you know what you want and what you don't want - the less space you create for doubt to creep in.

So let your doubts make you curious about where it is stemming from and why. By doing that you can move forward with your business from a place of clarity and conviction. Really get in touch with your own vision and beliefs, discover the things you want to achieve and the things you want to avoid. Become really clear with yourself on your mission how you want to align with the rest of the world, because that will make examining the doubts that do crop up from a much clearer mindset. Doubt will never go away completely, but it doesn't need to run the show.

If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on Instagram or my Website. If today's episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.

Today I want to open up with you about something that has been kind of weighing heavy on me lately, accepting the predetermined definition of progress - that feeling we get when we've maybe been successful but that we are not satisfied. In this episode Elizabeth talks about:

• Redefining Progress!
• Progress is the journey.
• Progress is the path that leads us to the life we want to be living.

As you know, I've already looked at redefining success and what it means for me personally and my business. Success feels very finite in a way, like it's black and white, and a tangible win. On the other hand, progress seems is a bit more tricky, because it isn't an event - it's a journey. I'm having trouble quantifying progress as I go along - because though I've updated my ways of thinking about success, I haven't done the same with progress. I feel like I'm working in the ways that I want to be working but I can't always tell if I am making the right amount of progress. But then I realized, that progress doesn't have to be x amount of dollars or x amount of meetings, or even a totally booked calendar. It can be anything that you think it should be. So as you recalibrate what success looks like in your life - redefine what progress looks like too.

My new definition of progress:

"What is progress? Progress is the journey, progress is a non-event. Progress is anything that brings me even a single step closer to earning in big ways through big service. Progress is any new conversation. Progress is any new proposal that is aligned. Progress is any yes and any no. Progress is putting out any new piece of content that I have created to be out there in the world. Progress is any new personal breakthrough, or realization, or revelation. Progress is being proactive about a boundary. Progress is any amount of fun, freedom, lightness, ease and power where there was once struggle, sabotage, and sacrifice."

If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on Instagram or my Website. If today's episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.

If you feel self indulgent for self promotion this episode is for you! Elizabeth breaks down:

• How we should look at self-promotion.
• Questions that invite genuine conversation.
• Finding a bigger purpose.
• "Don't do what the world needs, do what makes you come alive." - Howard Thurman

One of the things that I think is hard for entrepreneurs, particularly women entrepreneurs is the notion of having to self-promote. But here's the thing, self promotion should feel good and empowering, not icky and self indulgent. One of the ways I've found that I connect best with people about what I do, or what they do - is by asking questions that actually invite a genuine conversation to occur. Don't ask what someone does, ask what they're doing right now that's got them really excited. Because if you have a purpose that is bigger than you and you can give voice to that and explain those passions, why you have them or what you're doing about them - that is where the real connections and sparks occur! Having those conversations shows others how you are aligning your time, money, and energy behind something that you so deeply believe in that it truly makes you come alive. Self promotion doesn't have to be at the surface level of who you are and what you do, what makes self promotion feel attractive is when you're giving voice to something bigger than you that you believe in with every cell of your body. Lead with that, using your business or job to underscore that bigger mission because that is what leads to authentic connection and business growth.

If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on Instagram or my Website. If today's episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.

A lot of people say the business is the money; it's the path to profitability. The brand is the face of the business; it's the image and what makes one product different from a competitive product. The brand is what it means, what it stands for, what it looks like. But a brand is more than that. What speaks to heart of your customer? Customers have an abundance of choice, and people feel like the choices they make say something about them.

What are the ways your brand can feel like coming home? How can it feel like a person's evolution of themselves? The purpose of a brand isn't to be the face of or the image of a business; it's to empower its customers to become better versions of themselves through interacting with that brand. In order to do that, you have to KNOW your customers. What keeps them up at night? What are their deepest fears and desires? How does your brand fit within and meet those needs? Are you resonating with people's interests? Or are you connecting with their identity?

In this episode, Elizabeth shares the following:

• Branding
• Importance of creating brand as heart of customer
• Bob Deutch and cognitive anthropology
• How brain reacts to visual images
• Purpose of a brand
• Knowing customers on intimate level
• Understanding brand's qualification to meet customer needs

If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on Instagram or my Website. If today's episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.

Mentions:

Bob Deutch

Everything around a business changes. The customer changes, the marketplace changes, the competitive landscape changes. If a brand isn't changing, then the runway of success becomes really short and growth will either flatline or dip into the red. As an individual and as a business owner, I viewed change as a departure from what I was or as a failure. In reality, the opposite is true. It is an evolution; I'm becoming who I've always been. My experience qualifies me to become more of who I am because it leads me to follow my passions, my interests, my curiosities; it leads me to seek out experiences that totally leverage the skills I'm good at. Moving toward change opened a world of possibility of how evolution can be INTENTIONAL.

Evolution is not a linear process; it's circular. It's doing all of these things that don't belong together, but doing them because they make us feel ALIVE. Ask yourself: What am I good at ? What do I love? What do I want to do? Take the time to step back and reflect, and begin to make sense of what your answers. Know that all of those experiences called to you for a reason. Following them is no coincidence and no mistake. Don't limit yourself to what your resume says. Give yourself the permission to create and put out into the world something that might not be perfect, but that is totally alive for you. Release your grip and let things unfold. Follow what makes you feel curious and excited, and you'll get so much closer to knowing what you actually want to spend your time doing!

In this episode, Elizabeth shares the following:

• Observations about branding and marketing
• Ability of entrepreneurs to evolve
• Moving toward change vs. moving away
• Limitations of a linear voice
• Feeling new vs. feeling right
• Questions to determine what drives you
• Power of a personal project
• Creating space and being okay with not knowing
• Permission to be imperfect

If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on Instagram or my Website. If today's episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.

Today I wanted to have a conversation about happiness, success, and about the precursor of what let to me feeling like I was in a pressure cooker of my own design. I started my business from a place of passion but within a few years I suddenly felt like I was a slave to the business instead. Looking back on it now, I realize that I had always based my business goals off what the standard looked like in the industry, which wasn't my own definition of success. Sure, we worked with iconic brands and tech companies, we moved part time employees to full time staff, we had offers to be acquired, and we experienced good business growth. But through all of that, I didn't have a sense of feeling happy or relieved. Instead, I would set my sights on the next achievement or rung in the ladder, and go full out to get it… but once I got there the reward was always short lived. I kept delaying my happiness for other external items. I wasn't satisfied so the happiness never sunk in because I kept postponing it for "I'll be happy when…"

I didn't feel alive or energized, I actually felt like I had no space for the things that were my passions or values and I was giving all of my resources to succeeding. But the kicker, is that definition of success was not my own, but one that had been placed upon me. I was so hung up on meeting that level of success - I ended up disconnected from my heart and own values. We take on these external definitions of success and just assume that they are right - but what if we were to take that definition into our own hands and reinvent what success feels like for each of us individually? At the end of the day we only have to answer to ourselves, and we only have this one life to live - so own your own success and have it help you come alive.

In this episode, Elizabeth discusses the following:

• Benefits of hindsight - reflecting on my past lessons.
• Definition of success.
• Keeping your passion and happiness alive.
• Reflecting on what success feels like to you.

If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on Instagram or my Website. If today's episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.

I recently was invited to be a co-host for a women's entrepreneur monthly breakfast - I found the topic to be extremely engaging and relevant, so today I am continuing that conversation and bringing it to you. We are going to discuss designing your business to the lifestyle that you want to lead, which is clearly a topic near and dear to me. As I've mentioned before, I started my business from a place of passion - but I ended up finding that after a few years I was no longer running my business, my business was running me. Which is not how I wanted to be managing my business or my personal time.

Once I made the connection that my business did not have to own me, I was able to really get intimate with my vision and what I wanted in my life. That moment gave me the opportunity to re-evaluate what I wanted my schedule to look like and then realistically work the business needs backwards from that point. An important aspect of being an enlightened entrepreneur, is being able to really serve your clients and maintain the lifestyle you want to keep. In order to show up as our best selves and serve our ideal clients to our greatest ability - we have to have time to be creative, play, discover, find movement. We can't fill our working days to the brim with back to back responsibilities and expect that we will be giving our best work to those clients. What do you want your life to look like, and how can you create a business offering to match that?

In this episode, Elizabeth discusses the following:

• Taking the reins of control.
• Creating the lifestyle you want to lead.
• Giving your best self to each client.
• Finding the right schedule balance for you.

If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on Instagram or my Website. If today's episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.