the bossbabe podcast - 24. How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome, Break the Stress Addiction Loop, and Accelerate Your Success with Alexi Panos, Emily Gallagher, and Natalie Ellis

Episode Date: July 29, 2019

On the first episode of BTS, Natalie invites you to meet her inner circle in a behind-the-scenes conversation with two of her good friends and fellow influencers, Alexi Panos and Emily Gallagher. The trio openly talk about the things they normally save for their private conversations, so you know it’s gonna be good!  Natalie, Alexi, and Emily peel back the curtain on the critical things they wish they knew before starting their businesses. They each share the top 3 things that could’ve saved them time, money, stress, and frustration – and would’ve helped them accelerate their success.  They dive into the behind-the-scenes of what it actually costs to build a business – not only in terms of money but also in time, energy, and pressure. They dish the details on building an epic team and what it really takes to be an entrepreneur. You’ll definitely want to hear their takes on the societal belief that achievement equals success, how that plays on the stress addiction loop, and what they did to break that cycle.  The trio also discuss their struggles with imposter syndrome and self-actualization. They chat about the power of relationships and friendships, being surrounded by people who are “killing it”, and how it’s a game-changer in the inspiration for your business and your mindset of being unapologetically ambitious. Don’t miss their insights into the importance of showing up in excellence in all areas of your life and how that affects business and personal relationships.  “You’re only going to grow in business as much as you grow personally.” - Natalie Discover how to grow your audience on Instagram by 10,000 ideal clients in 30 days: bossbabe.com/ig-growth.

Welcome to this takeover of BTS on the Boss Babe podcast. The BTS takeover is the product of me, Natalie Ellis, and my two friends, Emily Gallagher and Alexi Panos, as we sat down to have real open behind the scenes, vulnerable conversations with women that we really look up to. For this entire week, BTS conversations will be taken over the podcast and we really can't wait to hear what you think. As always, share and tag us on social media, letting us know what your biggest takeaway was, as we'd love to know which conversations we should have next. This episode is brought to you by the Boss Babe Insta Growth Accelerator, a 12-week program designed to help

you grow and monetize your Instagram account. If you're ready to grow your audience with your absolute ideal clients who are throwing their credit cards at you, then listen up. I've created a completely free 90-minute training to show you how to do exactly that. I'm taking you through the step-by-step strategy to attracting 10,000 ideal clients as followers over the next 30 days. If you know that growing your audience with ideal clients who can't wait to buy from you would completely change the game, then this training is for you. As I said, it's totally free. I just recommend turning up with a journal and getting rid of all distractions as we waste no time getting into the nitty gritty specifics. You know that I love specifics. To get started with the training, just head to bossbabe.com forward slash IG dash growth, or hit the link in the show

notes below. In our very first episode of BTS, we peel back the curtains on the critical things we wished we knew before we started our business. These are the things that could have saved us loads of time, tons of money, and definitely a lot of stress and frustration. So if you want to hear the information that's normally saved for our private conversations, this is for you. So let's jump into this episode of BTS. All right. So, you know, there's a bunch of things in business that we now know that at first we definitely did not know. Definitely did not know. And I wish I knew.

I wish I knew a lot of things before I got into this world. What would you guys say are like the top three things that you wish you knew that probably would have supported you along the way? This question, yeah. I think for me, the first thing is people. I just didn't realize how important a team was I think in the beginning you get used to so used to doing everything yeah and then you get to a point where you realize you can only scale if you've got really good people on board with you I remember hearing a quote on

another podcast actually and it was someone saying don't ask how am I going to do this ask who is going to help me do this I love that that's good yeah write that down tweet that yeah that's that's really core to everything that we do and whenever we have a new idea or a new project or anything it's very much like who is going to lead this and instead of throwing my hat in the ring and assuming I am the best person to do it like no let me have the idea and let me support yeah but there are people out there who are like they are so good at very specific things so why not bring them in so yeah building our team it's it's one of the hardest things honestly right yeah we were talking about that in the car but it's yeah it's one of the most rewarding things I've I remember when I was hiring

my first full-time hire which was terrifying right I I was finding it so hard to find the right person it was taking months and months and I kind of told myself a story of like I I'm bad at finding the right people to work with me and I was seeing everyone around me hiring so quickly and then I brought on the most amazing um operations manager and we really did look for a long time to get her and she killed it and i've seen other people who were hiring fast have actually been firing fast and for us i mean she's going to be with us as long as we can keep her she's amazing yeah um and so actually i changed that story of no it takes me a while to find the right person but when they are there and i'm sure

you guys can yeah you know someone actually told me that hire slow, fire fast. And I think that was one of my biggest edges when I first started hiring people is I didn't even think I needed someone until I was in the weeds. And then I needed them so bad that I just hired whoever was around. And quite honestly, didn't really hire people who knew what they were doing. You know, I hired just on like, oh, I like you. You're a cool person. And sometimes that worked out. And a lot of times it didn't. And I spent a lot of time and a lot of money. But one thing I

want to ask you, Natalie, is with that, like with your first hire, did you have the money for it? Because I know a lot of people when they first started, and this was something that came up for me, it was like, whoa, I can't even think about giving this much money of my business to somebody else because I've been doing everything myself for so long how is that for you yeah and before we hired our first full-time kind of senior hire we did have other full-timers working with us kind of less senior and we're working with a lot of agencies so I was used to paying someone but bringing someone on you know with like a significant salary that was terrifying for me we we could afford it yes but it didn't make it any less scary we had the money in the bank and I'm very much like I

like to have runway in the bank I like to know that we can afford to pay salaries even if we have a couple of quiet months but that being said because we could afford it I waited far too long so I really wish I'd have started looking before I could afford it because when you hire senior people and you hire people that are really good they bring their own value yeah and they kind of add to how much money you're bringing in so even if you're just before you can't really fully afford it that bit of uncomfortableness is not even a word but that uncomfortableness really pushes you to make it happen and so now what I'm doing it like me and Danielle sit down and we plan okay who do we need over the next 12 months and we start looking for those positions

now which might seem a bit preemptive but if we find the right person I mean by the time you put them through interviews and on board yeah yeah and you agree on all the all the the packages that actually you probably can't afford it and they are going to bring their own value so I waited far too long and I don't recommend doing that because I mean, we were drowning. Yeah. Wow. What about you, Anne? Talk about this because I know a little bit about some of my journeys. Yeah, Lexi was a bit of a hiring coach for me at some point when I kept running into the same problems with my team. And I was like, hmm, there's a common denominator here because I think that sometimes when we hire, it's like you expect, you know, you can at the early stages,

people to come on and instantly be valuable. But there's that process where people actually have to learn the business, like get acquainted and actually be able to then contribute to the team, which is why it's so important, I think, to hire before you need them. And have those processes in place to support them, like making sure you actually have a way to bring them into the team. I think sometimes, I know for me, for sure, I was like, because for a lot of the entrepreneurs out there, we're not usually, not all of us, Alexi's extremely process driven and you probably are too, Nat, so I'm speaking for myself and a lot of people that I know, I'm not a very process orientated person. So hiring someone, I need

someone to come in and do that. So at the initial stages, it was like, oh, come and help me. And I don't know how to like actually support you and being a good team member. Whereas now there's the, you know, procedures in place and ways to actually bring people on. And I know a lot more for what to look for when I'm hiring. And, um, but it is definitely a process. And, but again, something that I think you have to do that little bit that when you're on that edge of like, oh, I really need it, but but again, something that I think you have to do that little bit that when you're on that edge of like, oh, I really need it, but it's really scary. I think that it's like, it's a nerve wracking process no matter what, when you're bringing someone onto the team

to trust someone with your vision and to then also the paying them and everything. So yeah, it's a journey, but it's essential if you want to be able to scale. It is. And also have a life while you're running a business. Which actually brings me to one of my big lessons is like what it actually costs to have a business. Right. You know, I think for a long time I bought into like the quick hit idea where it's like you can build this business overnight and have all these. You can go onto a cabana on Chaloon and have a business.

You can literally just pop out with your laptop and have this amazing lifestyle. And I bought into that dream for a while. But when I actually look at what it cost me to build, it was so many early mornings and late nights. It was, you know, 18-hour, sometimes 24-hour days during launch time. It was a lot of my relationships. Like I literally like fell off the face of the earth for essentially three years. It was like, what happened to Alexi? Oh, she was building her business. And, you know, if you weren't directly related to my business in some way, thank God my now husband was a part of

it. Otherwise I would have just been straight up single. It's all good. But the cost, right? And there's such a cost. But if you love your business, you don't necessarily feel it. And I think I didn't really feel it until now. I kind of look back and I'm now starting to cultivate my community again and being really intentional about that. I'm like, whoa, I actually didn't have friends for a long time. I was kind of friendless for a while. And then like what you said, investing the time and the money in this thing that's at one

point just a dream, right? Just kind of like a hope and a wish and an idea. And you've really got to like burn your boats and go, let's see. Let's go all in. Let's see what I can do with this. And it can be scary, especially if funds are low and those resources aren't just like abundantly flowing in. Right. Which they're often not at the beginning. Yeah, I bootstrapped. I went on my credit cards. Like I did everything I had to do to make it happen. So that was a big cost for me.

Yeah, I think that that's, I think we're in this stage in this era where entrepreneurship has been glamorized a lot. So because of the, you know, the Instagram and social media and this, I think the switch in mentality where it's kind of like, it's very cool to be an entrepreneur now. Like I was speaking to someone recently who was telling me that, you know, 20 or 30 years ago,

it was actually really uncool to be an entrepreneur. It was like very, very niche, very like odd, you know, whereas you're one of those people. Yeah. Like, oh, okay. It's strange. You know, whereas now it's like, it's kind of become in a way, I feel like some people feel a lot of pressure to be an entrepreneur because it feels like the thing that, oh, if you're not doing your own thing, like it's a little less than to sort of not be creating. Right, right, right. And I think with that comes a lot of like false expectation about what it really takes to be an entrepreneur. People say, oh, I want to do that because there's the social pressure or there's expectation. But the reality is there's so many.

You guys all know like how many things are on the cutting room floor that never make it. It's like a movie, right? Like how much movie they shoot to get to 60 to two hours of movie. That's the same with running a business. There's so many phone calls, meetings, ideas, videos, everything that never see the light of day that people don't see. And I think it's, again, important, which is why I know that we're really committed to having these conversations, to talk about the reality of like what it takes what we go through to build it it's not like don't do it because it's we as we all know it's like the best thing ever it is and I

also want to speak to this though because I don't think everyone's born to be an entrepreneur right I really don't and you know like as a business coach that's not a good business right it would be way better if I was like you can do it and you can do it and you can do it. I used to think that. I don't so much anymore. I don't think that. Yeah, I definitely don't think that. Like, I don't think everybody has,

not necessarily what it takes, but the specific skillset that's required to be an entrepreneur. You need to be- Risk threshold. That's it. You've got to be really comfortable with risk. And a lot of people come in and they want the lifestyle,

they want the result, they want the outcome, but they don't really want to do what it takes and lean into that edge consistently. Like I'm talking day in and day out on your edge. A lot of people can't handle that, and that's okay, right? That's the thing. There's nothing wrong with that. And I think that's part of the point. Sometimes I wish that I had a very low tolerance for risk. So I could just have a corporate job and have it turn off. Yeah, like have it turn off at the end of the day where I don't have to like worry about managing people or my business. And it's just like, oh, I just clocked out. Let's take a quick pause to talk about my new favorite all in one platform, Kajabi. You know, I've been singing their praises

lately because they have helped our business run so much smoother and with way less complexity, which I love not to mention our team couldn't be happier because now everything is in one place so it makes collecting data, creating pages, collecting payment, all the things so much simpler. One of our mottos at Boss Babe is simplify to amplify and Kajabi has really helped us do that this year so of course I needed to share it here with you. It's the perfect time of year to do a bit of spring cleaning in your business, you know? Get rid of the complexity

and instead really focus on getting organized and making things as smooth as possible. I definitely recommend Kajabi to all of my clients and students. So if you're listening and haven't checked out Kajabi yet, now is the perfect time to do so because they are offering Boss Babe listeners a 30-day free trial go to kajabi.com slash boss babe to claim your 30-day free trial

that's kajabi.com slash boss babe yeah I feel you I but I think I'm such a born entrepreneur I don't think that was like ever even an option for me yeah but it's funny because same based on results yeah yeah when I first started this whole entrepreneurship journey and I dived right into it after university for me it was I had this one goal I was like if I can supplement like my entire lifestyle traveling by just having a business then I'm good and that's what I did through Instagram and I actually did it I was living that like laptop lifestyle where I would just work a couple of hours a day and I was traveling and I was earning pretty good money but all that money was going on flights and hotels and actually for all I was only working a couple of hours a day there was this big stress in me like what if

this doesn't happen next month because it was very much like I needed to make sure every single month it was coming in it was not this consistent income and the the second I make the decision to like really go out my business all of that changed that whole idea of a laptop lifestyle was just went out the window like to scale a real business and to have real consistent income and do it properly it's just not the reality and what happened to me like when what you're saying what it really takes I used to be so extroverted and I used to be at like all the events and parties and dinners and being an entrepreneur really turned me into being an introvert because I expend so much energy with work that that I get invited to a dinner and sometimes it gives me anxiety even the thought of going out that night and networking more with people. And so I set my intention of I'm going to go out three times a week. I'm going to be social.

But the amount of resistance that I have to work through to do that. Girl, you're speaking my language right now. It takes work to drag me out of the house because same, I feel like I'm putting out so much energy for my people, my team, my business, my programs. It's a lot. And I think you're absolutely right. It takes that. And I think a lot of us don't necessarily know that until we're in it. Yeah, it's interesting because for me, I feel like I was in that for a while of, you know,

I was spending the last couple of years like traveling a lot. And I was in so much, you know, I burnt out a couple of times because it's, you know, running a team, running a business, planning launches and moving to different Airbnbs every five days in different countries. It's like, yeah, it's great, but it's actually like it takes such an emotional and mental and physical cost. And it's interesting now since being in LA and having this stability

and switching into actually, which is one of my next points, really getting this flow here, guys. Our conversation is just leaning right into the things, is that sort of switch that I've made as to bringing, like, a lot more play into the business because I know for me, like, I got into this context of just, like, push, push, grind, grind, achieve, achieve, and, you know, I felt like I was always in this sort of, like, I don't think I realized it at the time,

but I was in this sort of low-level anxiety a lot of the time because it was like oh always thinking about this and planning this and dealing with this person and yeah and now I've I've kind of switched this context and you know I'm in a slightly more transitional space in my business I'm not in like deep build scale mode which is just a stage that I'm in which is really awesome so I think it allows me to step into this play a lot more but But I feel like internally, I've switched a bit of a context from this pressuring, you know, hardworking grind mode into just like bringing a lot more play into not just my business, but my life. And I really feel like through doing that, it's opened up so much more enjoyment for my business and also opportunities. So it's like, it feels like it's taken a lot of pressure off the need to drive and the need to create. And I think that that is something that I really have

only started doing in the last sort of four months. And it's just meant that this whole process of building a business, which is if we really look at it, like, why are we doing this? Right. It's for joy. It's the freedom. It's the fun. It's the contribution. It's for like connection. It's for all of these amazing reasons is really often why we start a business. And I feel like I was not really connected to a lot of those things. So bringing this play into my business and my life has really meant that I now actually enjoy my business and I enjoy my life because I think that there's a danger of making business the whole pie. Yeah, 100%.

And I really think that business should be a part of our pie because then the thing is if anything goes wrong with work, if anything goes wrong with the team, whatever, if that's the whole focus, then people lose their minds. And it's like, oh, now everything is not working. I'm not working. Right. It's like, yeah, my life is not working because of this business.

But business is a part of – it's like a vehicle and purpose and everything. But there's other pieces. So I feel like play has been huge to me. And I feel like I wish I knew that earlier. I just want to say to you, like, you know, Em and I have known each other now for a couple years. And Nat, you and I are new friends. But one of the coolest things in watching Emily's journey is she's really leaned into this. Like, we have a skate club.

We've only gone skating once. We may have only gone once. I may have fallen on my tailbone. She may have almost broken her tailbone. But things like that, that seems so ridiculous, that seem like they absolutely do not contribute to the bottom line. Like we went to yoga, we did like morning dance sessions, and we've just been like out quite a bit. This one's been keeping me busy. But it absolutely has added to my bottom line. That's the thing. It actually does add to the bottom line. I really believe it does. It does. And that's actually one of the things I wanted to share too, is like, there's no there to get to, right? Like I think early on in my business journey, it was, oh, once I do this launch and once once I do this project, and once I do da-da-da-da-da,

then I'll. And that's a trap. It's such a trap, right? And I think I've really let that land of like, there is no there to get to. It's all right now. So now what do I want to create? How do I want to play? What do I want to try on? And then, like you said, it removes that pressure of like, this has to be the launch. This has to be the thing. We were in Jamaica over over New Year's and I did a launch of Soul School, which is my membership program. By the pool. I was literally laying in the pool on a floaty. I was like, I'm in launch mode right now. Right. Like just creating a new avatar for what it needs to look like. But by the way, that was a huge breakthrough for me because the last launch I did, which was probably a year prior to that, I was totally stressed out. Yeah. And losing my mind up 24 hours, like working on all the things, finalizing the website

like 20 minutes before the launch, freaking out. Yeah. And here I was like, I'm just going to make this as easy as possible and as graceful as possible. Yeah. And I may not get as many people. Right. But whatever.

Yeah. And how do I get to feel in the process? And that's it. And the process of it and like loving the process and that's it and the process of it and like loving the process and enjoying the creativity and like the play of the creativity has been huge yeah I feel that because it's like for me for when I was building my business I kept thinking when I do this when I reach that and I got to a point where you know I can happily say I don't need more money I don't need like these things aren't in need for me.

Yeah. It's very much I want, I want, like I want to do this. I crave to do this. Yeah. And so with that, you have to be able to give yourself some space. Because I found myself in almost this like launch addiction loop. Right. Where I would go crazy and launch something and it would do

really well and I'd think oh amazing I can relax now right and then I'd relax yeah and then I'd have another idea yeah okay I'm gonna go and do this yeah and I'd go and do that and then I found myself in this absolute loop of like being so busy and working like crazy and then that that launches and then all of a sudden you breathe again and you kind of get addicted to that stress right like 100 okay i'm gonna get back in it now and realizing that for me has been a game changer like i really try no matter whether it's a launch or whether it's a quiet period i try and have that structure i try and do the exact same things and feel the same way to try and break that stress addiction loop. Because I think that's one of the hardest things for us. Like when things are quiet, you're almost

like, hmm, this shouldn't be so quiet. I'm going to need to fill this space with something really large. I'd love to dive in. Right. And very stressful. I'd love to dive in on this one, actually, and ask you guys, because I think that a part of that is the societal conditioning of achievement equals success. Success equals worthiness right and I think especially when it comes to entrepreneurship and again with this like glamorization of like achievement and being an entrepreneur and all of these things expectations now especially on like young people but that's a whole nother story on us to become and be and more more more the standard is so much higher and so I think that the that why I think it can be so addictive is,

and I'll be curious to know if both of your answers, is this identity that we can create around achievement and success. And like, okay, so when I create this launch and I bring in this revenue and I bring in these numbers and et cetera, that therefore means that I am. So when there's that space and that emptiness, you know, as a society, we don't value happiness as a metric of success. We talk about it. We talk about it. Like, and we don't value peace of mind. We don't value deep, meaningful

connections and just afternoons off with your friends. Like we should, but like as a mainstream society, that's not a metric that we really look up to. So I'd be curious to know whether you feel like that plays a part in the addiction and the stress loop of achievement for either of you guys. Maybe you can speak to anything that's alive for you there. Yeah. I mean, that's absolutely like my entire life. It was for me. Yeah. Literally my entire life since I was young, I've always been an overachiever. It's always like born entrepreneur, had my first business at eight, like my second business at nine, my third business at 10, like just killing the game, selling candy, selling cheat sheets, like whatever I could to make money. Because I love this idea that I could make money and like buy my own stuff because my parents are both entrepreneurs. And they always said, if you want anything, like earn it.

And I'm grateful for that. And it also created this monster in a way where it's like, oh, let me see what I can create. And because I did well in school and I did well kind of with business and life, I always got celebrated by society. And that felt really good for my ego. You don't know any better. You're getting validated. Validated left and right. And even from the people that love me the most and know and accept me for who I am, they're even like, wow, you're doing great. I saw what you did in New York. That's great. And it wasn't until I hit my rock bottom, and I've had a few of them, they're even like, wow, you're doing great. Like I saw what you did in New York. That's great. And it wasn't until I hit my rock bottom and I've had a few of them, but my first one where I recognized, you know, I had a couple of shows on network TV and had, you know, a six figure modeling career and basically had the dream life. Yeah. All things the society says are amazing.

Yeah. And I was miserable. You know, I had bought my first place in New York and renovated it. I did all the things, checked all the boxes and recognized like, holy cow, this actually isn't it. And that's when I had to do the soul searching and actually be okay with myself just being. And that's been a process. Even in those spacious moments, I still have the urge to fill it because it's like, I feel like I'm almost doing a disservice to my creativity if I'm not honoring these ideas that are coming through. So it's a gift and a curse in a way. And it's really about like mitigating and managing it and really checking in and being honest. Yes. I mean, this question, I could talk for hours on it. I grew up in a

child, like my childhood was filled with a lot of domestic abuse there was a lot of depression in my household it was very traumatic and that often meant that I went ignored I was the caregiver I was ignored and so what I realized very early on is if I do well at school I get attention I get celebrated and without knowing it I became absolutely addicted to this and I was the kid that no matter what was going on at home I was getting top grades in my class like I was killing it and same as you Alexi like really like started these businesses early on I mean for me I was like I need to get out of here like same yeah I was like I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get myself out of here so I was 13 and'm gonna do whatever it takes to get myself

out of here so I was 13 and I started to make really good money on the internet and I was like this is my ticket doing what

just curiously building websites okay get it girl I was not doing that when I was 13 that's why my landing page is killer

I've been doing it for a while now wow 13 years she's OG on the web 13 that was like some Microsoft. That was like when AOL just came out.

I was sitting on MSN Messenger when I got home. I mean, same. Same. But I was also like DMing all the eBay shops at the time. And I was like, hey, you should get off eBay and get your own website. I'll do it for you. Wow. Then I noticed a little gap in the market.

And I found this way I could like import products from China. So not only would I build this eBay store, a website, but I would import products for them and sell it to them wholesale. But so I started doing that. Meanwhile, I'm just doing cheat sheets and candy. Meanwhile, I'm literally sitting on Emerson Messenger talking to boys. That's what I was doing. I mean, I did that too. I bet you did. Yeah, you multitasked. But yeah, I started to make really good money and that for me on top of the achievement side was a real big addiction yeah um and so even now it shows up and there's times where like i might want to just chill for a day and i might want to go and lay by

my pool and chill and then i even in my head i can hear myself thinking well steven will think you're not even working. Stephen couldn't give a shit if I'm working. Right? He'd probably be so proud of you. Yeah. But in my head, I have this story. Like he's judging you.

Yeah. And it's so funny because I'm the opposite. If I see anyone like chilling and like still killing it, I'm like, oh my God, I'm so happy for them. Like this is awesome. But then for myself, I'm like, why am I assuming I'm being judged when I never judge anyone for that? Right.

It's real. It's a thing. See, the truth is, like, full disclosure, I've judged people for that. For what? For taking time off? Yeah. Because secretly, I wish I could do it. Right.

Right. Like, the only time I was really judging people was when I didn't feel I, quote, unquote, had the time. I just wasn't creating it. I wasn't prioritizing it. But I totally judge people. I'm like, this person doesn't work as hard as me. And like the whole like, and I was thinking about this in the shower the other day.

Will Smith is like famous for saying, I will outwork anybody in this industry. I may not be as talented, but I'll outwork anybody. And I heard that a long time ago. And that was like my motto. You were like, yes, me too. I was like, I may not be talented as this person or this, but I will outwork and outgrind everybody because I'm like born hustler. But like, I'm not proud of that anymore. It's like my whole mentality around that has shifted. So I love that you brought that up because I was just thinking about that. Now I celebrate people

who do that because I know that it takes a lot to create that. And it takes like being a stand for true self-care and self-love, not like massages and manicures. Those are nice too. They're nice as well. But like true self-love. Like I'm going to take some space and just be and not have to be anything other than that. Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's also like something I want to just presence is like it really comes down to like tapping into what feels good.

Because it might feel really amazing for you to just like you, for example, Alexi, and I know you as well in that, to be honest, like you love to create and like you, that's something that brings you like a lot of joy to like sit and tinker on a website. Me, clearly it doesn't. Like I would rather like go and skate or like go snowboarding or like something else. So it's like, it's like tapping into like, again, there's no formula, but like if that feels really aligned for you to just keep working on something and it's bringing you all this joy and everything like that and your life is feeling really good,

it's not like don't do it because it's bad to just be achieving all the time. But I think it's like catching the loop. Yeah, like what resonates for you? Yeah, like because it can be insidious and you can not see it sometimes of like, and I think that's just comes to like probably one of the things that I, I mean, I've got on here like trust, which is also like spirituality and ritual and like, like self-awareness, like tapping in.

It's really just tapping into what feels aligned for you. Like what feels good. Cause if you're burning out and you're frustrated and overwhelmed, then that's a sign. And like, that's what happened to me. My brother said to me last year when I was doing my Ted talk and launching and planning events in Australia. And I was like full meltdown and like thought I was about to get depression. And it was the second time that year that I had

full emotionally, mentally, physically burnt out. And he was like, you are not listening. Like the universe is trying to tell you, like someone's trying to tell you that what you're doing is not working. Like this is not how it should be, you know? And that really landed for me. And honestly, since then I've pivoted everything just internally, really. And now everything feels so much more spacious and playful and fun. And, and you just sometimes that needs to happen for you to actually see, okay, this isn't this isn't how I want it to be. Yeah. Yeah. And that that also this whole achievement thing really brings me on to one of the things that I wish I knew when I started was imposter syndrome. Oh, yeah.

Oh, my gosh. I literally have that written down, too. I'm like, girl. Yeah, it's real. And oh, my God, it still affects me now. It's so funny because I'll get a message from someone that I totally respect. And I might have the same size business of them. I mean, who really gives a shit?

But I might. But then they'll message me and say I want to collaborate and I'll be like what with me really right and I'm like I'll call Steve and I'll be like can you believe this and he's like yeah yeah I can of course I'm like absolutely right and it's still what are you seeing that I'm not seeing yeah it still blows my mind but one thing that I've had to get really good at is knowing my worth and knowing my value and um I've gotten into a few partnerships in business where they haven't been that good for me and I've kind of partnered with people because I've thought I can't do this on my own I need them for this I need them for this yeah and the truth is I didn't yeah and I've gotten into it and I've realized my own value after the fact right yeah and so I think that's advice that I give to a lot

of people before you do anything like that and before you and I and I am a big fan of collaboration but before you give your value away in your head and before you dilute your power really think about how much you're bringing to the table and that's yeah that's changed my negotiations right and it's so funny because I used to go into my negotiations like I'm not a born negotiator honestly like I love to just create and and be given a contract like yeah that's cool and so I go into my negotiations just thinking oh my god it's amazing that they want to work with me and they see this. And I say yes to whatever they propose now. I go in and I'm like, I know my value. You're in or you're out.

And I don't care if you're out because it's not aligned. And I mean, my contracts have doubled. All of these things I would never have even thought to question because I know my worth internally. And it's not about how many followers you have. It's not about how much money you make. It's about how much value you bring and how much like value you are. And I wish someone had told me that. That's so huge. And it's so funny in television, like as a host, I used to be a TV

host. I don't know if you knew that, Natalie, but when I did that, I knew my value in that because I had just been in the game and I saw how I was like kind of could stand out from other people based on how I showed up. And I used the same thing like, here's what I want or I'm a no, I'm walking away. So I used to always get what I wanted. Then when I transitioned to my business being about me and not about what other people are telling me to say, right? Because there's a difference. There's what I'm saying from my heart versus here's a script, Alexi, read this. And that was really challenging because I almost said to myself, like, well, who am I? Like, who's going to care what I have to say? Because I've been programmed to be given a script on what's important to share.

So that's been a huge journey for me. And actually, what I wrote is getting over myself is required. Like, that's something that I wish I knew. Because I think in some way, I got into business almost to prove something to myself. But truthfully, the journey of business has forced me to do so much inner work, which is great. I love it. I love it. And oh yeah, I love it. And it's like scary as hell sometimes. Like sometimes I don't want to look at how much I give a shit about what people think. And that was a huge one, like getting over the fear of like, well, what are they going to say if I do this video on this topic? And even the process of getting to the person I am now on my platform, which is like the most me

I've ever been, that's been a journey to find my voice, my authentic voice. Because I think in the beginning it was like, well, who do I need to be to be successful? And now it's like, well, no, I get to be myself. And if you don't like it, fuck you. It feels good to get there. And you mentioned personal growth. It's so funny because I remember when I was at university and we'd look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs. And theoretically, I got it. Self-actualization. I know what that is. You're like nailing it. Oh, God, no. I remember hitting that point of like, you get to a point in business where you're only going to grow as much as you grow personally. A hundred percent. That's the real piece of Maslow's. Yeah. Right. That's where the rubber

hits the road. Yeah. And a lot of people don't recognize that. You know, we all do business coaching in some aspect. And a lot of clients will come to us and say, I need the road. Yeah. And a lot of people don't recognize that, you know, we, we all do business coaching in some aspect and a lot of clients will come to us and say, Oh, I need the strategy. I need the thing, the funnel or whatever to get to that next thing. And I'm like, no, it's actually you. And if you want to look there, you can actually really break this ceiling and become successful. But unfortunately, a lot of people just want a strategy and they think that's going to do it. But if you don't have the context to hold that strategy, it's not going to work. Yeah. I remember one of the most profound things Stephen ever said to me, he's going to love getting all these mentions, but I give him one of my goals for launch a couple of years ago and he was like, cool, double it. What? It's like double the goal.

I was like, I can't do that. It's like double it. I love that. You can do it and I want to see you do it. So I doubled it and I wrote it on my whiteboard I'm like OCD about having all my numbers on so I wrote it on my whiteboard and I remember looking at that goal and being absolutely terrified but he'd said to me that's what I want to see and like the overachiever kicked in I was like okay I'm gonna do it I will do it and I had no idea how I was gonna do it and I and I even videoed the day I hit it and I was crying and I was like I actually hit my goal and he was like yeah I know I know it and every single time you set a goal now you need to double it because you're sitting from a place of yeah it's all personal growth and when I doubled it it wasn't you know going and doing another funnel I did

nothing more than I would have done had the goal been half yeah but it was the personal growth it was the personal belief it was um looking within and pushing the boundaries within that actually pushed the bottom line yeah and so everything you're saying that's so true so like for anyone listening like truly ask yourself okay if I doubled this goal who do I need to be that's it yeah to get there who do I need to become in order to make that happen most people aren't asking that they're like who do i need to hire what funnel do i need what system do i need no who do i need to become yeah that's it yeah that is the game it's the game of everything it's the game of powerful relationships powerful business powerful friendships everything like secret sauce to life secret sauce to life yeah and i mean something that i think that

which is one of mine i think also echoed through here as well, is like the power of relationships. That was Stephen seeing you, knowing you. And I was having this conversation with a friend yesterday on a podcast around, you know, the impact of actually embodying that next level of worthiness and embodying that next level of like ourselves by that positive reinforcement, by that validation, by people seeing you. Like, for example, when I was going through my hiring stuff and I keep getting into the same problems and blaming people. And then like Alexia was like, look, this keeps happening. So this sounds like something that's happening on your end, you know, and like having those friends, right. It's true. And like, you

know, you become who you're around and like having those different expectations and having people see you, push you, support you, like these conversations that we get to have here, like pushes and challenges us through having these conversations and having those relationships around you to support you in becoming that highest version of yourself. Because that's, I think as well, we're on the team thing. It's like, we can do more together and like having people around you that are going to call you out, call you up and inspire you simply by being around them, I think is so important. And I know I didn't have that for a long time when I was building my business. And now it's like such a non-negotiable because it does take that sometimes to actually have someone believe in you. Like I had this conversation

with a friend's husband yesterday. You know, I'm going through a lot of transitions in my business, looking at like some different things I'm really curious about getting into. And it was such a beautiful conversation. I don't know this person very well, but like he was so generous, so, so encouraging, so supportive of like what I wanted to create. And that made such an impact on me. And I was just like, wow, actually like now I'm like, yeah, cool. And he's confidence and support. And it's just like, okay, this feels real now. And sometimes we really, really need that. And I think that there's nothing wrong with wanting that and needing that and the impact that that can create on us. I think it's huge. I think a lot of people grossly underestimate the power of tribe and community. And I think that was me for so long too. It was like, oh, I don't need it. I just need to focus, head down, head

down, head down. But truthfully, like everything has amplified, like not just my business, but like my heart, my joy, my capacity to love. Everything has just amplified since I've opened up my space to people that are really living an extraordinary life. And this is something I'm curious to hear from you guys, because I recognize this in myself at one point. I was keeping myself the big fish in a small pond for a really long time, where it was like, I was the person who was like the most impressive resume, making the most money. I did that for a while. Even like my ex-partners I used to date, like, I was always the like, oh, okay, she's the one out of the relationship that's like killing it.

And I recognized that it was my ego's way to stay safe because I didn't have to actually like be on my edge. And I actually like fully came to this realization when I broke up with my last partner prior to meeting Preston. And I recognized like, damn, I keep choosing people that look up to me, that are inspired by me. But like, I want to be inspired by someone. I want someone to call me for like, I'm sick of doing all the work and like dragging somebody's weight along. And I recognize why it was strictly because I didn't want to feel that gap. I didn't want to feel my edge. And since I've leaned into that, not just with Preston, but with my girlfriends, like girlfriends, especially like allowing them to hold me versus me being the one that's always getting the phone calls and always doing the support.

Like allowing myself to be held has been amazing. And it's taken a lot of my ego to just be like, so have you guys experienced something similar? And what did you gain from that shift if you did? Yeah, I mean, all my past relationships, friendships, all those things. I was always kind of the one racing ahead and doing the weird things. So you didn't have like other 13 year old friends that were building websites in on the house?

Surprisingly not. And the funny thing was, like, I had no one to talk about this with because they didn't get it. And what I what the habit I picked up from being surrounded by people that just weren't where I was and kind of having the most impressive resume was I wouldn't talk about myself. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it. So I would be constantly listening to their problems. And that's what it was, right? It was like them sharing their problems constantly. And actually I'd had a really epic day and like I was killing it and I really wanted to celebrate and I couldn't say anything because I knew that they they felt like

they were going through something and they were in the victim mode and they and I wasn't able to just go in with some positivity because they'd be like oh you know all the things right here she is trying to do that thing again yeah and so that was really hard and so being surrounded by people that are killing it and really like hold space for you to like be celebrated or to share things that you might be a bit scared or feeling vulnerable around is a total game changer and I mean yeah for sure my relationship just feeling like I'm also in catch-up mode and the two of us go through phases where you know one might be killing it a little bit more than the other and then it flips and it flips and it's always keeping us on our toes. And for some people that might sound like a nightmare, but for me, it's just great. I love it. So good. What about you, Anne? Yeah. I mean, you know, I think that the power of relationships is so important. Obviously,

I think I speak about it a lot. And I think for me, like I've always, I've always been so inspired by people. I think like that general, like inspiration by people that are doing great things and up to big things, like it has always kind of put this drive around being around them so I don't really remember ever kind of feeling like I was around people that like I mean obviously for sure there was a stage when I moved home from Australia and I was like trying to get into business and I just lost my dad and I was like I felt like there was no one that I really wanted to spend time with that I was like really excited by and yeah and started going to events and started kind of doing my thing and then started cultivating that community. But I feel like I've

always made it like a mission to be around really inspiring people. Cause it's like, I'm happy to be like the least qualified person in a room of people. Like, I think that's where the magic is. It's like, okay, wow. And I think as long as you can kind of manage, cause the thing is there's always a gap. There's always like, there's always a gap between where we are and like someone who's we perceive to be doing bigger things and I think it's just I've had that comfort level with that and I just get so inspired to like be around people so it's always been like a focus of mine to make sure like I'm putting myself in situations with people that I think are awesome and amazing and like that's had such a powerful impact on me um because yeah it's just I just

think that it's something that's so underestimated by people who people spend their time with the conversations you're having the lives that they're living and I think for this one I think especially for women it can feel a bit tricky because it's like we're relational beings we're very like loyal and like not that guys aren't loyal but like I mean we're very focused on building relationships and I think that whenever we transition, cause we're always transitioning, like our lives are all, and that's a lesson that I think I needed to learn as well. It's always going to be in transition. Like again, Echo and Londa, you never get there. It's always moving. So it's like, there's always going to be that natural flow in your relationships. And I think

some people can get really attached to like, oh, well these have been my friends forever. And like, oh, I can't like, it's rude if I don't hang out with them. And it's like, it doesn't make anyone wrong or bad. Like if you're spending time with people that really aren't lighting you up, it's just a necessary process for you to like, I always say, like, if you still have the same friends that you had when you were, unless maybe you, because you probably were hanging out with entrepreneurial friends at 13. But like, if you still have the same crew for like, you know, 10, 15, 20 years, like, I have some of my friends that I've known for that time, but they're like two of them and they're both entrepreneurs. Like, for me, I feel like that symbolizes that like, there hasn't been enough

growth because it's not really realistic that you're still going to be. Well, unless you guys grow together, right? Right. But I mean, how realistic is it that you're all going to be growing together at the same stage? For sure. Like it might sound extreme, but I think that it's just allowing that natural process in your relationships to occur because it's just so necessary. Yeah.

And it's not getting attached and saying, we've got to be a forever thing, right? Just knowing that like one of my best friends and I, who I've known since I was 17, we took two years off. That was really good for us yeah like yeah I needed to be head down and she was like exploring and finding herself and now we've come back and we can relate on this whole different level but we like needed that split to really like create that divide yeah and it's just really interesting too you said something that inspired something for me. I have to say, since I have elevated my community and it's been for the last like five years, it has been the most gigantic permission slip ever. Like, I don't know about you ladies, but I have gotten some of my

best like moonshot goals from seeing what other people do. I'm like, whoa, they did that? That's even possible? It's like the four-minute mile, right? Roger Bannister. Everyone was like, four-minute mile is impossible. And then he breaks it. And then right after in that same year, like 100 people break that. And they'd never been able to break that before. I have so many Roger Bannisters in my life that I'm like, oh, that's possible. Cool. Now that I know that's possible, I'm going to do that. And the question is for any of you out there listening, do you have people in your life that are having you question the impossible? Because a lot of us are so used to throwing that word around like nothing.

Oh, that's not, I can't do that. That's never happened. But the truth is we just haven't met somebody who's done that because a lot of the times we don't see behind the scenes. And when you get behind the scenes, you really get this taste of like, oh, actually, I could probably do that too. So, yeah, you just said something and that sparked that whole. I would say the majority of my business is a giant thank you to those people who dared to play big enough to inspire me to do the same. Yeah.

So true. Yeah. those people who dared to play big enough to inspire me to do the same yeah so true yeah I really and we always say like being unapologetically ambitious but I used to be apologetic about my ambitions I used to think that I was shooting too high because then I would have those people in my life that didn't get it and they'd say oh you're you're just selfish or you're greedy for this and wanting this but then I'd look at the impact some people around me were having and you know the moonshot goals they were achieving I'm like I can do that I just needed to know that it was possible just show me

and I'm off yeah yeah that's all I need to know yeah um but also I want to bring on to my um third kind of bit of advice because you said something earlier and it was about um you know Will Smith's quote of like I might not be the most talented but I will outwork you and how it's not about that. But one thing I will say for everyone listening is do everything well. Yes. Excellence. Because no matter how many jobs I've had or what I've done, like when I was working as like a checkout girl when I was at school, like I was the best checkout girl they ever seen. I was winning awards left right and center for signing everyone up for like these um bonus cards and like you tell me a goal like i will get it and i went into work every single day just like i am gonna kill it today yes and those

are the kind of people that i want around me too like whether i'm helping my team with customer service or whether i'm writing like a landing whatever it is I'm gonna do it to the absolute best of my ability and also goes even further than that it's something I tell my team all the time whenever you work with anyone I don't give a shit how they behave yeah because you're the one that controls if you're a pleasure to work with or not yeah and and I and I say we're a team of people that do things excellent and we're also a team of people that are a pleasure to work with and people remember that and I think those two things have honestly been so key to my success personally is no matter what I'm doing I'm gonna

do the best job I possibly possibly can nothing is above or below me same I love that I do think that is a trait that is seriously lacking in today's world because everybody there's like, there is a sense of entitlement. Like, oh, well, you just hired me for this and that's not my job. So I'm not going to do that. It's like, we were talking about this just the other day. See how long you're working for us. Yeah. Like we volunteered at a prison and we had these guys doing job training with us. And we said the number one thing we look for to hire somebody is this dedication to excellence. And that means that if you're hired to do job A, but you see that something's needed in job B, you do it because you saw it. Yeah. Initiative.

Initiative and excellence and drive and determination. That is so underappreciated, I think, in today's world. So thank you for bringing that in. For those of you listening, take that on. You can learn that skill. That's not something you're born with. Maybe we were born with it, but I feel like that's just something that how could I walk into a room and not give my best, right? And truthfully, I've had a lot of clients come to me in business with, oh, I hate my job and I want to quit and do my own business. Right. I'm like, OK, are you giving a thousand percent at your job currently? Well, no, because and then list of reasons.

I'm like, until you're giving a thousand percent, you can't leave. So let's do a 90 day challenge where you show up a thousand percent. You give all you win all the awards. You do all the things you sign more people than you've ever signed as a salesperson or whatever your job is. And then you can walk out on a high. Walk out knowing that you've given your best. Because if you can't give your best at your current position, no matter who you are and what your position is, you cannot run a business. Period.

Do you want to jump in? Yeah. Golden. I mean, I didn't want to get up before school 6 a.m. and stock shelves. I didn't internally jump out of bed thinking, I can't want to get up before school 6 a.m and stock shelves i didn't internally jump out of bed thinking i can't wait to straighten up those shelves today but you can bet if it was my area of that store my shelves were perfect when i worked in a retail store with clothing that's when i learned the power of upselling and all of those things like my experience there taught

me how to sell so someone come to the checkout they spend 30 pounds not dollars spend 30 pounds and i've been told okay your average transaction value should be 50 i'll make 50 yeah you know i figured that out i don't i didn't wake up in the morning thinking i can't wait to sell a bra to someone yeah but when i am there like you there's something inside you like that kicks in and you decide like you you said, I'm going to give a thousand percent. And the minute you start thinking something is below you, the minute you need to game over, check in, check in. I think with this one as well, like something that comes up for me is like really realizing that every area of our life is flowing to the next one. So it's like, it might feel like, oh, this job is this silo and I can just not show up for it because it doesn't really have

anything to do with what I really want to do. It's like, no, no, no. There's a reason why you're in that job right now. And there's something that's going to be created by you being there. Like I look at everything that I've done and like the flow on and like, oh, I learned that there and I learned that there and I learned that there. And it's like a perfect training ground that's going to like, maybe it's the fact that you showed up so hard in that 90 day challenge at your job. And then if somebody met you and then they were about to start a business and then they

want to ask you to be a co-founder like this is something that I've so so realized and it kind of links back to relationships as well like everything is relationships like you're going to meet those people later down the track and do you want to be the person that didn't show up or you want to be the person that like even though you were there they saw something in you like everything is linking in whether it's a relationship whether it's a skill you're learning whether it's that because of that you were in just the right room at the right time, like trusting that process because it's all divinely linked in. And so when you're making sure that you're showing up for it, it's just trusting that

like, and I think this for me is a huge one and it made a big difference for my life is like trusting that things are working out how they should. Like you can't make a wrong decision. I feel like a lot of people get super paralyzed around not starting a business and not putting themselves out there because they're like oh what if i make the wrong decision and what if it doesn't work out and what if like needing to know so much of the plan before it's unfolded it's like you can't get the full-on clarity the confidence the relationship everything before you start like all of that comes through like deciding to leap in and it it comes from failure too. 100%.

Like failure is our greatest tool. And what is failure? Like I don't even believe that's a thing. Exactly. But what you would call failure is where we get the golden nuggets. That's where like all the juice comes in. But I love what you're saying and I do think I want to like really stamp this in. Relationships can also be the death of you as well in the sense of people talk. And if you show up a certain way,

if you're backstabbing, if you are half-assing it, people talk. And people leave one career and go to another area. And it's important for you to really get that your reputation precedes you. I have heard about people in really phenomenal ways based on how they showed up for a friend of mine. And I've heard about the real, real behind the scenes. I was like, I will never hire that person. I don't even want that person in my circle. I don't even want them coming to my events as a student. Like word gets around. So this is another reason I really be aware that really all you have is how you show up. Yeah. Yeah. And I can speak to that. Something that happened to me recently,

and it was a woman in one of my circles in LA, and something really bad happened there, and she really backstabbed me. And I've always been the kind of person that if someone talks about someone else behind their back to me, I'm like, okay, that's not the right person for me. And I stay away from that person, and right person for me right yeah and I stay away from that person and it's like a warning symbol and I remember when this thing happened you know all of a sudden my ego wanted to jump and defend itself and go out and tell everyone what had

happened so that I I wouldn't be the one with my reputation yeah and I made the decision in that moment that I would never talk about what happened but instead I would just show up as myself for every other relationship knowing in full confidence that if this thing was ever brought up and my character was ever questioned no one around me would have right even a thought to question it they would know that hopefully that warning trigger would kick in for them but like that's not natalie yeah i know that's not natalie yeah and and i told like everything about reputation it's not about one relationship it's about every relationship and it's about how you show up to every single relationship so don't get so worried about having your ego defended or jumping in and getting

involved in anything like this know when it's time to, that's not for me, stepping out of it and just making sure that you do a really good fucking job of being yourself with every other person. I love that. And that actually like makes me think as well, it's really important how we treat everybody throughout the process of everything in our lives. You know, I think it's really telling,

I've gone out to dinner with some people who I hear amazing things about, and then I see how they treat the wait staff. Oh yeah. And I'm like, I will never do business with this person. Why? Because I used to be a waitress. My family owned restaurants. I used to butter the toast in the back on Sunday brunch. And if you're not treating every single human being as a human being and seeing their humanity and actually connecting with them, just because you're like the connection person online, I'm not fucking buying it.

Oh, 100%. And we see that a lot in our industry where it's like you smoke in mirrors and in front. And like a lot of you, unfortunately, watch people online who show up one way and behind the scenes, we get to see how they're actually showing up. And it's important for you guys listening to really take this on.

And this is that excellence, right? How can you show up in excellence in all areas of your life? And one relationship kind of tying back to what you said, I was a bartender in New York for a long time. And one of my clients was actually who used to have a job in like, I think he worked as a sub-designer at some label or whatever. He ended up leaving and becoming an associate producer at hgtv yeah how did i get my first hgtv hosting job right yeah him yep because i treated him like an awesome human that he was and we connected and he remembered me yeah right so it's like you never know never know you never know and why not just be a good human in the

right yeah and one thing you said of like i will never do business with them for anyone listening Never know. Never know. You never know. And why not just be a good human in the process? Yeah. And one thing you said of like, I will never do business with them. For anyone listening, have that integrity. There's been lots of people that I've met where, you know, there's lots of things. They might have tons of followers. They might be so well connected. Everyone might speak so highly of them.

But the same thing, you're around them and the way they treated someone around them or the way they talked badly about someone yeah to me if that that might not feel good and if that doesn't feel good i don't care how well connected they are i don't care how many followers i've got i'm not getting involved yeah and and have integrity with yourself and be able to understand your own power and and realize you don't need to be friends with every single person that's well connected right right definitely you really don't and to be friends with every single person that's well connected. Right. Definitely not. You really don't. And sometimes that can be a thing.

Oh, but they're really well connected. Oh, but there's no oh buts. Anything. If you're a good person, you do a really good job and you treat everyone really well, that doesn't matter how well connected you are to the person that's well connected. Yeah. Totally. And I think as well, it's like any time that you have that internal kind of like friction, like for example, like, oh, but they're really well connected, even though something inside of me is not really in alignment and you choose to still go that route. Like it's asking for trouble anyway.

Like you're not actually going to get what you even think you're going to try to get out of that. And again, that's very transactional. Like, oh, you're not really in alignment with like like, who I feel like I want to be with. But, like, I feel like I could get something out of you. So I'm going to, like, kind of, you know, and I had this really land for me a couple of years ago when I did this event in Australia. I was there. Right, yeah. Your licks was there.

It was like a little kind of influencer breakfast that I put on. And there was this girl that I invited with a really, really big following that I was like, oh, she's not, like, really in, like, kind of doesn't really mesh with, like, the vibe of all of us. But, like, she's from here and has this big following and la, la, oh, she's not like really in like kind of doesn't really mesh with like the vibe of all of us, but like she's from here and has this big following and la, la, la, la. It would have been a big win. Yeah, it felt like a big win to kind of get her to come along. And a few people that I sort of told that she was coming were like, oh, they were kind of confused in a way because they're like, oh,

I wouldn't really have thought that like she would, you know, be in that sort of scene or whatever. And she came and from start to finish, it was like, she just brought the whole energy, changed the whole energy of the room. Like had a few things kind of go on that really just like limited what I wanted to create. And I was like, perfect. I was like, I just so landed that I was like, I will never do that again. Yeah, I will never do that again. Like I already knew that, like internally, my gut had already told me, like, that wasn't fully in alignment. And then it was just like, okay, absolutely perfect. And now I'm just so clear. It was just like, yeah, like, yeah, it's not worth it. Like, you just have to be in integrity with

yourself and in alignment. And yeah, otherwise, it's not going to actually pan out the way you might have intended anyway. Yeah, no, that's huge. There's been so many gems here. I just want to reiterate, let's just roll through our top three again as we wrap this up. There's so many. There's so many gems, but our top three that we wrote down, the three things we wish we knew before we got into business. Em, go ahead and kick it off. And then Nat. So for me, it's relationships, relationships, relationships, relationships, create them, add value, build them. They're so important. The second one I actually wrote was like action first. You don't need to know how it's all going to pan out. It's going to change so many times in the way that you actually think you're going to create. So jump in and figure it out. And then trust and play, trust the process.

It's all leaning, like leading you where you want to be and play and frigging enjoy the ride. I love it. I love it. Nat, give us your top three. So my top three, the first one is team, you know, being surrounded by great people and hiring really well and don't rush that process. My second thing is understand that imposter syndrome is real and you've got to know your own value and you've got to be able to step into your own power and be your own cheer leader, even if no one's cheering for you. And the third thing is just do everything well and with excellence. Love, love, love it. So my top three, the actual cost of what it takes,

being willing to show up, do the early mornings, the late nights, being willing to do whatever it takes to make that dream of yours happen, that persistence, that dedication. Getting over yourself is required. You've got to get over yourself. And that is a process. It doesn't happen overnight. We've got imposter syndrome. We've got the fear of what other people think. And that is a process. But doing work on the self will truly expand what's possible for your business the more you expand what's possible for you. And then third, there is no there to get to and you cannot fail. You cannot fail. So it's literally a game of creation. What do you want to create? What do you want to play with? How do you want to feel? How do you want to feel in the process of it? So many good nuggets here, ladies. So good. My soul feels nourished. Right? That was great. The funnest.

That was the funnest. We hope that there was something in there for you guys. There was obviously a lot more than those. But yeah, it was such a joy to create this. And I hope that it really lands for you guys to just inspire you to get in the game and just enjoy the journey and just create what feels super aligned and exciting. Yeah, I love it. And if, you know, this, I always ask this at the end of all my things, take one thing, right? Like there is a lot of things, but take one thing that really like hit for you or had your body feel a certain way or you were like, oh yeah, I i gotta work on that yeah take one thing from this conversation and action it in your life do something about it before the

end of the day today yeah because truthfully when we take it and action it it starts to stick and that's how it becomes embodied so yeah and you know what i would love that one thing if you're brave enough i'm kind of challenging you i would love for you to share it with us on social so whether you're screenshotting recording to this this screenshotting this recording however you're brave enough i'm kind of challenging you i would love for you to share it with us on social so whether you're screenshotting recording to this this screenshotting this recording however you're listening screenshot and share that one thing with us because not only is that going to be amazing feedback for us it's going to be accountability for you and it's also going to be able to share this value with everyone that's following you and really cares so please do that and tag us so we can repost yes tag it and i will just say one other final thing is take what resonates and leave the rest.

I remember someone said that to me once and it's like, I think it can be easy to like, okay, these are the rules now and X, Y, and Z. It's like, but your body knows, your soul knows what you really need to land with. Like all of us have different opinions on many different things and that's perfect. So take whatever resonated and feel free to leave the rest. Don't get stuck on it. You know, if it's an edge for you, dive into it. But like leave it if it really doesn't feel like it resonates.

That's totally okay as well. Love it. All right, ladies. Well, this has been great. And mic drop. If you love this episode, please subscribe and be sure to leave us a review. We want to hear what you enjoyed, what your main takeaways were, and also really want to know who you want to see on the show. And speaking of reviews, I've also got a

little something up my sleeve for you. So I want to send you a copy of the Boss Babe 25. This is a brand new resource that we've created and trust me, you are going to love it. So the Boss Babe 25 is the 25 essential resources you need for personal and professional growth. Seriously, this little resource is like a little Boss Babe holy grail. You are going to love it. It covers everything from must-have products, our favorite books, rituals that we do daily, and little hacks to help you grow. So if you want a copy, it's really easy. Just leave us a review, screenshot that review, and email it to podcast at bossbabe.com that is podcast at bossbabe.com and we'll send you a free copy over within 24 hours

we love bringing you experts and interviews from other successful business owners so they can talk about their experiences and share information tips and what has worked for them however remember that the opinions or advice of our guests and as the hosts should not be taken as personal actionable advice and is given as general information and education only please always remember to consult a qualified professional before implementing any medical financial legal or other business advice to ensure it will work for you or your business boss babe is not responsible nor liable for your decision to implement anything you hear on the podcast. Please listen and act responsibly. The opinions of our guests do not represent the opinions or views of Boss Babe, Danielle Canty or Natalie

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