The Missing Link Podcast

Do you remember what it feels like to dream big. When we're young, we're told to dream big and go after what we want - only when we try to do that, we have people knocking us down, judging our choices and urging us to play safe. It's no wonder that after a couple of tries, you give up on your dreams and follow what others tell you to do. It can be easy to lose our inner compass and think we don't even know - but the truth is it's important to tap into your dreams if you want to find greater success. Without dreams, there's no real direction and we end up living a life that's ordained to be ok at best and resigned at worst. During this episode, I want to help you tap into this idea of dreaming big - without always reverting back to the question of how or automatically dismissing your ability to do it. Because when you can place yourself back into your dreams - a world you forgot about - or never even knew existed opens back up to you.

One of the biggest challenges for competent business owners is how do you take your ideas and turn them into statement pieces that will captivate your audience and draw people in. On today's episode, I'm excited to share with you Hillary Weiss who I can only describe as having monster creativity and magnetism that you'll want to experience yourself. Hillary and I talk about how so many of us struggle because we can't seem to catch the eye of the people we want to attract. We might be super competent in what we do, but we can't seem to draw the attention of the people we truly want. Hillary and I met a few years ago at a conference and what has always struck me about her is how she has that "thing" that almost hits you in the face - but not in a bad way. Rather in that I want more of that in my life kind of way. And that's really what HIllary does as a creative brand director - she helps personality driven brands become unforgettable. And today on the podcast, she shares some of her expertise and brilliance so you can start to implement some of that for YOUR business. I'm excited for you to listen to Hillary - there's no way you won't feel energized after this episode.

For this last episode of the year, I share with you a practice I engage in every year and invite my clients to do the same. Instead of engaging in picking New Year's resolutions or swearing things will be different in the upcoming year, I encourage you to refocus on your business vision and pick a single word that will help you bring that vision to life. A single word can be a powerful tool to help you anchor into your vision and make better choices in the future. It can be a word that reminds you of the lessons you've needed to learn and how much you're ready to grow. This short episode will help you rethink the strategies and tools you use to keep you focused and motivated in your business well beyond anything you've used up until this point. I'm excited to share my word with you in this episode and encourage you to reach out and share yours! Let's hold this powerful intention together.

Today on the Mindset First Podcast, I'm excited to share with you a woman I recently met live (I had been on her email list for a couple of years). Jessica Rasdall is a public speaking strategist who has such an easy manner that you can't help fall in love with her - off stage and on. I wanted to have Jessica on to talk about how to use speaking to scale your business because it's a tool that so many business owners think of as a nice to have or offshoot of their main marketing tools. But Jessica is a big believer that speaking can help you make a bigger impact and help you grow faster than most other forms of marketing. Today on the podcast we talk about how to use speaking to scale and how you can make this an integral part of your strategy - especially when it comes to building the know-like-trust that allows people to purchase from you. This episode is a must-listen for any business owner who is ready to scale your business and wants to explore the idea of speaking as a means to getting to the next level! I love Jessica's insights and some of the surprising information she shares.

On today's Mindset First podcast, I want to tackle a topic I often address in private and group coaching sessions and my vision program but don't always remember to talk about - and that's stage of life. When it comes to building a business, most people talk about investing time, energy, money and more and it's often talked about as equal - the ability to do so. But the truth is that your stage of life can truly impact how much you're able to give to your business and how you feel about it. And because stages of life change all the time, it's important to recognize that your stage of life can almost have a bigger impact on growing your business than anything else. So, on today's podcast, I talk about why some of the things you're feeling about yourself or your business may have nothing to do with your business - but have more to do with where you are and how much you're actually recognizing the impact of your life on your business. This is one of those episodes that I hope gives you a new perspective on growth and maybe shifts some of the more negative or detrimental mindsets that are impacting your business growth.

If you've ever experienced the loss of a loved one, you know how disorienting it can be. For me, the last 11 years were marked with the loss of loved ones. My husband and I lost all four of our parents. I experienced the loss of people who were dear to me when I was young and also the loss of some hopes and dreams that my husband and I might be able to expand our family. Each one of those losses were extremely impactful on who I was and how I showed up - but none more than my dear mother who was my best friend, my confidant, my cheerleader, my rock. So much of what I do and who I am was shaped by that loss 5 ½ years ago. It made me way more intentional. But it could have gone the other way - I could have gotten lost. I think the same is true for my guest today. When someone recommended I interview Raven Douglas for the Mindset First podcast, the one thing that struck me most about her was her willingness to talk about grief on her non-website (if you visit her website, you'll know what I mean). Raven used the loss of her father to reinvent the way she worked with clients and how she works - in a way more intentional way.

This is a powerful episode for anyone who has experienced a grief so deep that it breaks you into a million pieces - and how you can use that experience to rebuild something that feels way more authentic and honoring.

One of the things you're always looking to do as a business owner is gain an advantage over the competition. You can do it by being better than others, you can do it through marketing . . . but did you know you can also create an advantage by understanding mindset? The truth is that when we understand how we block our own growth (and free ourselves from those blocks) and some of the mindset blocks our potential customers face we can talk to them in a whole new way that not only improves our sales process - but also our ability to deliver exactly what our customers want and need. This isn't about manipulation, but really about creating an advantage that meets both your desires and your customer's needs. The truth is that so many businesses aren't successful because they're talking past each other like ships in the night - but understanding how you're showing up and where your customers are coming from can be a game changer when it comes to communication and your overall confidence and success!

Today's podcast is going to get very meta. I initially invited Jude Charles onto the podcast to talk about how to leverage video storytelling to scale your business, but we quickly dove into some pretty deep topics surrounding the building of our businesses and the mindset stories we tell ourselves that hold us back. We even then talked about how we sometimes forget to share those stories of pain, hardship and discovery when we tell our stories to our audience - and that can be a real disservice. Jude is incredibly thoughtful and clearly good at his craft because his own story of building an incredibly intentional business where he actually takes only 5 clients and two months off out of the year might surprise you. I know that I learned so much about my own storytelling and how I can improve it when it comes to the way I share myself - I know you will too.

Whenever I bring up the word responsibility in my coaching groups and workshops, I can hear the audible sigh that instantly follows. It's almost like the word responsible has become a dirty word - and it definitely carries with it significant weight. None of us wants to think about taking more responsibility in our life - because let's face it, between our work, personal life and listening to our friends - we have already taken a lot of responsibility. But what if understanding responsibility in a whole new way was the key to finding the freedom you desired in your business and in your life. It can be. In fact, when I learned to take radical responsibility for my life and my choices, I discovered that I suddenly had the power to change the way my life looked. It definitely changed how I felt about myself and my self-worth. In fact, the conversation around responsibility is often the turning point for many of my clients in our coaching sessions. And it can be for you too. I am excited to turn you on to the idea of radical responsibility and how it can change your life!

I recently heard today's guest speak at a live conference - yes, live conference - where she shared the importance of making our online business compliant with the ADA - the American with Disabilities Act. This may not be something you've even thought of or perhaps you're scared that this is too much, or yet another thing you HAVE to do as a business owner. But the truth is that there is huge audience that isn't being served online and our online homes are hard to navigate through. And it doesn't have to be that way. Today, Myrna Daramy - a marketing technologist who is obsessed with optimization and serving others - shares with us what it means to be ADA compliant and the advantage of doing this for your business right now!

I'm excited to share Myrna with you, her wisdom and opening you up to a new way you can serve an audience eager to be served.