Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset - Defining Success on Your Terms with Olivia Atkin

Episode Date: May 20, 2024

In this conversation, Olivia Akin, the founder of Achieving Success LLC, shares insights on determination, adaptability, and the importance of being present. She emphasizes the need to push through challenges and stay focused on goals. Olivia also discusses the benefits of entrepreneurship, including the ability to create a flexible schedule and prioritize personal and professional commitments. She provides practical tools for time management and highlights the importance of setting boundaries and being present in different environments. Overall, the conversation highlights the importance of presence, balance, and defining success on one's own terms. The conversation explores the concept of success and the different definitions people have for it. It emphasizes the ever-changing nature of success and the importance of letting go of preconceived notions. The conversation also discusses the influence of society's notions of success and the misconceptions surrounding spending money in entrepreneurship. It highlights the dirty side of the industry and the need to ask the right questions to avoid being exploited. Key Conversation Points: Determination is key to achieving success. It is important to push through challenges and stay focused on goals. Adaptability is crucial for entrepreneurs. Being able to adjust and make nimble moves is essential in a fast-paced business environment. Time management and prioritization are essential skills for success. Writing tasks down and using calendars or planners can help stay organized and focused. Being present in different environments is important for personal and professional growth. Setting boundaries and being fully engaged in each moment can lead to more fulfilling experiences. The myth of balance should be replaced with the concept of presence. It is not about achieving equal balance in all areas of life, but rather being fully present in the moments that matter most. Success is a subjective concept, and everyone has their own definition of it. It is important to let go of preconceived notions and adapt to the ever-changing nature of success. Society's notions of success can be misleading, and it is important to define success on one's own terms. In the podcast industry, it is crucial to ask the right questions and be aware of the misconceptions and exploitation that exist. Connect with Shawn: All Links- https://link.me/theshawnfrench     Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Just know I'm a go for mine. Because I earned it. They watch and I know it's time. I confirmed it. A whole society, determined. What is up? Everybody, welcome back. I am your host, Sean French.

We have another amazing guest today, born and raised in Arkansas, now residing in New Jersey. She is a badass entrepreneur who is the founder and owner of Achieve Success LLC. She's a TEDx speaker, amazing woman. Very, very cool background. I can't wait for you to learn more about her today. But Olivia Akin, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me, and I'm so excited to be on. Yeah, I'm super excited to connect with you.

So, you know, how's your day going so far? It's going. I mean, as your title and theme of the show, sometimes you've got to just keep going and you have to be determined. And I woke up this morning and there were things on the plate that I was like, I want to do. and certain things that you're dreading doing, but you know you have to get them done,

and that's the kind of day I'm having where I'm just like, hey, got to knuckle down, got to be determined. I was like, got to show up for, you know, Sean show and have these goals met beforehand. So like I'm not even thinking about the things I don't want to do. Dude, I love that. You know, it's so funny because we, you know,

it's a big thing out there in the space now everybody talking about doing the things you don't want to, doing the hard things. And it's funny when we're feeling in a very, low energy state, right? And then you do something that you don't want to do. And then another thing that you don't want to do. And all of a sudden, it stacks up. And you have this evidence that you are going to push through whatever it is that you don't want to. And then when it's time to show up for a podcast or speaking engagement, you're in this rich energy and you're ready

to tear down the freaking house. It's really cool that way. You experienced that? I have. And what I do is there's certain things or people I work with where I know it's not going to be. as easy because I know what tasks are on the table to get done right. Yeah. And so I go, okay, what is, if I write everything down, let me also say that. I have my meetings in my Google calendar, but I also hammer it right down every task I have to do. My God, we're twins. Yeah.

Personal and professional is in it planner. It's actually saying right next to me. And everything's in there. And so I will also look at the week. When I have a task, for example, that I know is going to take up time, energy. And I know, for example, Mondays are heavy-hitting day and Thursdays are really heavy-hitting day. Then I go, okay, I know these two days of the week are going to be more heavy-hitting for me. Well, that's not going to be the day that I necessarily put this on the schedule to do, because I know this.

will drain me. But it is something I have to get done. So what other day could I do it? And again, there's always things that come up, right? So this was a task I actually had on my calendar for Tuesday that things happened on Tuesday and I just couldn't do. So then it got pushed to today. But I remind myself that, okay, wake up and that thing you don't want to do first, do it and get it off the list. Because I know that as the day's move, and my energy is starting to deplete or get really wrapped up in the things that I didn't plan to have on my plate that when the time comes, I'm going to go, okay, I'll just leave that till to Laura, right?

You all have that lot to procrastinate once it gets to a certain point in the day. So understand what point in the day that is for you and push the thing that you're not looking forward to do or that can be more draining to the. time before that. Dude, it's a good point. You know, and while you're going through that, I'm thinking of one word, adaptive. Like you're being adaptive, adaptability, right? It's like, okay, we have to be able to kind of be that chameleon throughout the day and kind

of go with the flow. Because as we were talking a little bit off air, you know, had some things going on. We had to push the show back twice and, you know, and, and, but dude, just sometimes things move so fast, especially in this business to where you think you have. the time you think you have everything set and then all of a sudden you look and you're like, oh shit. Like I forgot about a kid's event that I had to go to, right? I'm like, oh my God. And then it just, it's just strange and just being able to adapt and, you know, move freely through our schedule is, is everything in being an entrepreneur. I mean, how would you found

being able to be, I guess you'd say, you know, accommodating to your schedule or make, you know, nimble moves. How has that helped you as an entrepreneur? For me, it has helped me in a few different facets. My favorite that I have come to realize with entrepreneurship and just the way I am is it gives me the ability to show up and be present in different environments. And what I mean by that is, for example, you talked, I grew up, I was born, grew up for a few years in Arkansas, then grew up in the Northeast in New Jersey, went to college in Connecticut. And I thought I was going to live in New Jersey the rest of my life. I was like, you're not getting me out of my hometown. I'm good.

Great to a lot of different locations. But my boyfriend is the chief in the U.S. Coast Guard. So I'm currently, and we're recording this, I'm currently in Florida. Yes, because I go back and forth now, and we are actually getting ready to relocate for two years to Juneau, Alaska. Oh, wow. Yes. So big me, right, a lot going on and talking about, like, being nimble and adjusting and all of that. But that being said, entrepreneurship has shown me that,

You have to ride through those tough times, but also show up in other times to regroup yourself, refocus. You know, I mentioned all that because a few weeks ago, I went on a trip with my parents and my boyfriend. We went to Disney World, right? Love Disney World. And we all met there for a few days. And leading up to that, I told everyone, I got all my work done for my clients prior to leaving. I said, hey, if you don't get this back to me prior to Sunday night, I will do it Thursday when I come back into the office, which I almost never do. But I was like, hey, I have been going at full speed in all cylinders, business, personal, preparing for this move, going back and forth, traveling for speaking jobs.

That I need that time with my family. So not only do I feel present in those moments and not feeling like I have to take workholes, but I can make memories with them. And I can re-feel so that when I show back up to work, now I'm not drained. I'm not run down. I've had the moments of clarity. So for me, that's one of the things I love as entrepreneurship is like, you've to grind it out. You have to keep pushing.

You're the only one holding yourself accountable. If you don't do tasks, you're not making money. Right. And that can be really stressful, really overwhelming because not a lot of people understand that feeling of like it is really all on you. But at the same time, if I want to go on a trip, I get my stuff done and I will go on that trip. There is no one telling me I can't go. That's the most liberating thing, Olivia, because I left corporate America in January, right? I have my own payroll company, then I have my own brand, you know, with this stuff. And, you know, I finally made the move, you know, finally ripped the Band-Aid off and like, holy shit.

Holy shit. Like, it's the coolest fucking thing ever because I could go anywhere I want. Like, if I wanted to pick up, well, I mean, as long as my wife says it's cool, I can just fucking pick up right now. Like, I'm out. Like, I don't have to tell anybody shit. Like, yeah. And that's a liberating feeling, but it's also scary as hell, right? Because to your point, you have to stay focused.

It's like, you know, my question to you is, you know, in those moments where, you know, we're talking about staying focused as an entrepreneur, what are something like, what are some tools that you use for yourself, right? And possibly help your clients with to achieve their success. So one thing I do, and it goes back to something I already mentioned, is writing it down, figuring out how you look at the goals you have gone on. and the things you've going on. Now, for some of my clients, it's putting everything into their calendar. So every task goes into Google calendars. For me, it's writing it all down. Because I get so busy and so many things come up from clients.

Like, I just got a client text right before this fall, asking to jump on a call and pick my brain about a possible strategy implementation that they want to do. Okay, well, that was in my calendar. But now I can write it down. And when I get it done, I can cross it off. I have my nice red pen that I carry with everybody. Pencil and a red pen in my planner. And I could cross it off.

So it shows me what I have left to do, what I've already gotten done. And realistically, that also balances for me how much space I have to take on some of these extra tests during the day. Do you have the time to go out to dinner tonight, right? Or do I, is it better for a seat at home? Am I actually going to show up in that environment? And so for me, a big thing on staying focused is if my friends text me to go out or we want to go to a vet, I'm writing it down. I'm blocking out the time physically and committing to it by putting it in the planner. And I hold myself accountable to this planner.

And it also helps me that as I. move throughout the day, everything goes in there. So I know, it doesn't matter how overwhelmed I get or whatever, doing laundry gets put in my calendar, right? So then once I get it done, I can go, okay, I did it. There's nothing that gets left off the teeth. I love it, dude. Priorities, right? Blocking things off, personal and professional. A lot of times, you know, people ask me, do you block things off with your kids? I go, yeah, because I want that time to be their time. And a lot of people say that's very impersonal. I go, well, you know, first of all,

it's my, my life, my children. And when I'm when I'm with them, I wanted to be for them. So like this morning, you know, my daughter had this luau. You know, a little lower, like she's a little, she's a little one. She's going to kindergarten next year. And the lower school had

this whole event in two different gems there. And it was just this fun luau. They're playing games. I was the temporary tattoo guy. So I was tatting kids up. It was freaking dope. And I had a blast. But my phone was in my pocket the whole time so much so that my wife texted me four or five times, probably three times. And I never answered her. And then I would see her and I'm like, hey, I didn't even know that she

was texting me because I was being present. Right. And I think with, I know when we schedule things out like that, it can help us be present. And it's so important because like you touched on. And for those of you that are listening now that are wrapped up. in your career or wrapped up in your extracurriculars and you go on vacation, you should not feel guilty about disconnecting and being with your family or your friends on that vacation and creating amazing memories because the bottom line is I think most of people in society today are super unhappy and unhealthy because they lack presence. And I think I could agree with that.

And I came from environments that in past work experiences, because of the environments they were in, right? I was the youngest intern to intern at the New York Football Giants. You want to stay there. You're working at a very high caliber with very high caliber individuals. Also, in the role, I was, I had to be available 24 hours a day. There were times where my athlete, I had one time and my parents still tell this story of, like, I it was my first year and I was in training and I had an athlete call me at midnight because their their connecting flight got delayed and they didn't want people to recognize them or

for them to fall asleep and miss their flight so I was on the phone with them for three hours and at one point my parents are both doctors so they wake up super early in the morning and they're hearing this noise because again at the time I went home from college and my dad walks in, he's like, is everything okay? And I'm like, yeah, I'm just on the phone, this, blah, blah, blah, and I explained it to him. But there were many times family dinners that I'd get a call from athletes or then when I went into the supply chain industry, even to the present day where people, you know, whatever I'm doing, go, okay, well, I can reach you.

And it isn't until, honestly, I became an entrepreneur. And I was really like, I have full control over my schedule. I'm the owner. I'm the boss. There are times, right? And we all talk about balance here, that that life work like balance. As much as we would love to go 50-50 is not 50-50. It can never be.

It can never be. But with anything, right? Right. And so for me, I go, okay, this is when I am available. And I hold strong to say, you cannot clone me and text me. You know, 24 hours. And I have fines you do, but they know, you know, reiterating it to them and showing through example that, yeah, you're also a business owner,

and this is important to you. And first thing when I wake up and I start my business, you text me at midnight. I'm not responding anymore. I'll answer you at 7 a.m. But it's also putting those habits in for yourself. But I think I always thought working in this environment that to really grow and achieve what I thought success looked like at the time was being all in all the time, always being accessible. If someone emails me, I'm responding because like what will happen if I don't, right? Yeah.

And there's been so many moments I've missed or I've been there and I've missed because I wasn't actually present. And now as an entrepreneur, I think one of the biggest rewards we can get through, you know, our own experiences in owning this business is like we have the option of saying this is when I'm going to be present in business. And this is when I'm going to be present personally. And I have power. Yeah. Yeah. It's crazy because like I started, you know, because I pick up my kids mostly, you know, from school because I can. So it's like it's typically work until, you know, three and then I go get them.

And then they come back and they do their homework. And I'm like, all right, kids, you're doing your homework. Daddy's going to finish working. Okay. And then at five, I'm all you. You know, it's like, you know, and some days it's not five. Some days I'll like, I'm cut it short. I'm like, all right.

I'm good. I'm not going to do anything else today, right? But like, but I know when they go to bed, I can always pick it back up, right? Because my wife, you know, she works at night too. She likes to do things on the computer. So it gives me the opportunity to do some things. But again, like as long as you're present in those moments, like that is a crucial thing, you know, even as an entrepreneur because, yeah, we make our own schedule, but we also eat what we kill. Right.

So it's like there's that fine line there, right? And it's just like, like you said that trying to reach that balance isn't really achievable. And it's funny because everybody talks about you have to have better. balance, Sean. You need to be more balanced. It's like define balanced asshole because, you know, let's really think about this. You, you say balance, right? Well, that means equal.

Okay. And if I'm working seven hours a day, I cannot work out seven hours a day. I cannot spend seven hours a day with my family, right? That's 21 hours. So I'm going to sleep for three hours. I see my point? It's like, no, it's not balance that we need. It's presence.

And that is an overarching theme on this episode that we're talking right now is being present. And what I love about the show is it always takes on its own animal. Like you get into the flow of the conversation and the word presence, this just keeps coming up, right? You know, and I think it's important. You know, it's just, for people listening, you can. not be there's not a hundred percent balance in everything you're going to do the biggest thing that we can give you right now is we already have put your things in your electronic calendar write them down and be there for them like truly be there for them and that only thing in that block of time

because you know i'm sure you'll agree elivia is like once we all can commit can commit to that and do that consistently for 120 days how different is our lives going to look It's going to look very different. And I also want to add the challenge there is really think about what your priorities are today and what that success in achieving those goals look like. And that's something I talk a lot with my podcast clients or my business owners is like, one, what does it look like to you to be present? And what does that look like right now? Does that mean for you, you have to start with the habit of turning your phone upside down, not having it in the room? Like, what will get you to the point where you can be physically present?

The second thing is, what does those priorities look like? Are your priorities for the week? And again, those should be changing. They shouldn't always be the constant same thing for the three months, six months, 12 months. they should be cheap what are your priorities for the week or and then break it down to the day what are the things like i enjoy chick-fil-a the chip-fil-a in florida does bingo so like on thursday nights for an hour which i think is genius because they get the grandparents who have no kids and don't have that key come in for bingo they the young kids and everyone gets to socialize together and so every thursday from 530 to 7th century

15th my calendar's bogged off because I'm going to bango. You know, I'm having that time with my boyfriend. I'm having that time to build relationships with the community and paying it forward. So that's a priority for me. Every Thursday night, that's happening. You know, where does the priorities lay in certain tasks? And then three, what does and why I named to my show achieving success with Olivia Akin and my business achieving success is what looks like success for me when I was in college, working professional sports,

then going over supply chain, you know, all these different things and now owning my business, they've all pivoted. They've all changed. And they should because every day there's changes going on. We perceive, we have new perspectives, we have new experiences, we've new thoughts, right? So what does success, whether it's a goal, a task, what does that look like? I mean, what are the things you can break it down into to make sure you're holding yourself accountable to actually need that? And sometimes that is, okay, like this, and we talked about of like changing the date of the podcast.

It worked for both of us. We did it. And we're still achieving the goal of having me as a guest and me being able to be a guest on your podcast. it just looked a little different in time frame, but we still hit the vote. Southwest Florida is one of the most beautiful places on the planet to live. For those of you that are thinking of moving from other states to come to Florida, or even just moving to a different part of the state, I want you to think of a big, beautiful luxury home.

Contact legacy luxury builders. They are a family-owned and operated luxury residential construction company. As a family-owned business, they believe in the power. of building not just homes, but legacies. Contact legacy luxury builders. Yeah, yeah. You know, success, that's a funny one, right? Everybody has a different definition. And you touched on that, you know, for me, like growing up, it was being a major league baseball player, you know, winning a national championship at LSU, which we didn't do. Then you all, you look at it, it's like, okay, well, you know, this wasn't a success. You know, success is such a powerful word because people,

I said have so many different definitions of it. And people get caught up in what they think success is. You know, a lot of people think success is having millions and millions of dollars and having all the cars. I know many rich people and they're miserable. I know many people that think that if I'm just going to be a little bit more fit, I'm going to be happy. And then you see these people who are completely shredded out of their mind, look amazing without their shirt off, and they don't have a family. Uh-huh. And then you have, you know, people with families, right, that, like, I, no, no shame.

I have a gorgeous family. My wife and my children are frigging beautiful. And there's times I'll find myself gone, we need a little bit more success here. When there's somebody else that just wants what I have. I just think it's important to talk about for the people that are listening because someone listening right now is struggling with what their definition of success is. And they may be a teacher and thinking, well, I'm not successful because I only make $50,000, but they have everything else.

They have the beautiful family. They're full of faith, full of love. Like that's a successful person. And I think that's, I would say think, but I know that is why I've really created my business, achieving success and the podcast achieving success with Olivia Akin, I purposely use the word achieving because it is always pushing the needle and pushing it and it changing. You're always working towards what that success looks like and you could get there and stay there for two months, let's say, and then your idea of success changes or what you need changes. And the whole premise

of the podcast I host is in the fact that I bring on celebrities, current and former pro athletes, entrepreneurs, and employees from all walks of life, all over the world, all different industries, to talk about what achieving success really looks like and what those high highs and low lows are, because at the end of the day, I think society has put such a notion on what we should think success looks like. Again, like you mentioned, the wealth, the cars, the, you know, nice house that going to high school, going to college, and then you're going to make those six figures, which anyone who works in corporate or professional knows that's not really how like goes, right?

And so when I started the podcast, it was really about let's pull back the current. Let's have those organic, real conversations about what life is about and what success means because it should change, it will change. And to be happy, what I have found in my own journey as an entrepreneur too is that my perspective on certain things from when I started my business, which I'm still working with corporate when I want. launched it to today, which is a little over a year old, 74 weeks, is when you let go and you're grinding, but you're also kind of letting go to these preconceived notions you have or the noise that's around you, your own perspectives can change more than you can even imagine. Again, like I brought up earlier, I never thought I'd leave New Jersey. And I joke with my boyfriend. I'm like, I know. never thought anyone would get me out in New Jersey. And now we're going to be moving to Alaska. I always said as someone born in the south in August in the heat of weather on that person, that wears a sweatshirt in 80 degree weather. I said, I'm never going somewhere colder than the

northeast. Now I'm going, okay, we're going to Alaska. I'll figure it out. I'll adapt to that environment. And so I think really when you kind of let go to the noise around you and what others are deeming you should do as an entrepreneur or do as an individual to meet what they deem successes, remember, that's really because that's what they have correlated with success is what they're telling you you should do. As an entrepreneur, we've always been told to some extent, too, You have to be super niche. You have to do this. You have to do that to be successful as an entrepreneur.

You have to hold to some extent the power you have and the vision you have. And I think sometimes the vision you have, you have to trust it within yourself. I remember when I started my business and podcast, November 1st, 2022 is when they both launch. And I was doing a networking event a few weeks. later it was about 18 weeks later and I sat in this call I thought it was going to be a one-on-one call I ended up being a group call with a few different entrepreneurs and I'm sitting and they're telling me I'm not niche enough my podcast isn't going to succeed because it's not niche enough my consulting business isn't going to succeed because I'm not niche enough with the clients I'm

looking for age wage age range demographics you know all these things I'm not niche enough and I'm going to And I have this vision. I know I'm going to stick to it because at the end of the day, I'm going to look back with the regret. Now, there were some people I did listen to as I grew my podcast out or this or that. I took Nuggets. I listened to what people were asking me, right? My consulting business, I still consult with entrepreneurs. I still consult on strategy, processes, all these teams, team development.

But a lot of it has now working with individuals starting their own podcast, improving their own podcast, you know, sponsorship decks, helping hosts get their own podcast or helping individuals who don't have a podcast, get on the right podcast to tell their story and connect with the community. And that all came from when I started listening to others going, you're really good at this. You're really knowledgeable about this. I would love to sit down with you and talk to you more about these things. So I listen to that, but the overall vision of not being super niche and being able to connect with anyone because of my own life experiences, because of the industries I've worked, because of the certifications I have, I visioned that.

And that call happened between week 18 and 19 of my business being open. It happened on a Monday. And Friday, I found out my podcast was a top 10% most listened to podcasts globally. It's awesome. Without like any promotion. It was just people organically loved it. And it was that moment I woke up to that email that Friday morning being notified. And I was like, and they said I wasn't going to succeed and be successful because I wasn't lit you not.

Dude, it's funny. I was told many times this, don't work with athletes. They're not going to be able to pay you. It's not going to work. It's not going to work. I really don't know what your show is about. It doesn't make sense. I'm like,

then you're an idiot. You're not listening. Straight up. Like, I'm sorry. Like, you know, um,

all these different people saying certain things. You know, you can't have a top 50 entrepreneur podcast unless you dump like $7,000 a month into it. I'm dumping zero into it right now and I'm 34 in entrepreneurship in the United States of America in Apple. That's good. And I think I mean like I'm not to spend any money You know

I'm looking on the list and you know I'm seeing John Maxwell right next to me I'm seeing you know Gary Vaynerchuk up a little bit I'm seeing all the names I'm like Well there's Sean French Is it we mean it's not going to work Well and that's another

Other other thing I really want to hype on right now Because this gets me going as well And I think there's a really big misconception Is you don't have to dump thousands of dollars as an entrepreneur into your business. You don't have to dump, right, your life savings. Again, sometimes it's depending on what you're doing. If you're starting a product line, you're going to have to. It's a little different, right? But we'll use the

topic of podcasting, since we're both podcast hosts and I do a lot of consulting. There's a few misconceptions within the world podcasts. One of them you just mentioned is you have to dump thousands of dollars into doing your show, building it outright, getting the growth. I've a lot of people come to me and ask me about marketing of my show. Like, how much do you spend on marketing your show? How much do you spend on promoting? What do you do? And I go, I drop a promo video every single Tuesday when the episode drops and I tag.

It's all I do. Literally all I do. I don't spend money on marketing companies. I don't spend money on doing, you know, creating all these sizzle wheels. I don't do all these things. All I do is, hey, listen to it. Here's the guests.

They're awesome. Check you now. Now, I will promote, I will also promote, like I'm on your show, your show what it drops to pay that forward to my audience, get them to connect. And I will

also, if we hit a really big milestone, like hitting, being the only podcast, listen to in all seven continents, yeah, we're going to promote that but it's going to be a one post and that's it because there's also a fine line of hard selling versus soft selling and I'm a big soft seller yeah so that is one very misconception I do pay money I have a production team sure that as that will do the editing for me to take it off my plate because the other question as an entrepreneur we have to ask is where do we want our

times up yeah I know editing is not my strong suit and I want to be able to help us many people in different areas as a cat. So I will pay the few hundred dollars a month so someone else can edit it so that it's off my plate and that's time I could allocate somewhere else. The other thing that I think is big within podcasting, and John, you've probably seen it yourself with your show, is these big PR companies, these big marketing firms that are now signing people on for thousands of dollars. And I know this firsthand, guys, I'm not like fitting this out because I also get people on podcasts, right?

I mentioned it. So I have a lot of clients who come to me because I guarantee get them on eight podcasts. They pay for that. It's top podcasts. It's going to be the right fit. I'm going to actually research, talk to a host, make sure it actually lies. Like, there's an in-depth personal touch. No two clients have the same eight podcasts.

Right. But I also, I get a lot of those individuals that thought, oh, this marketing team sold it to me for $1,000 a month, which is more than my package, even AIDS. And there's no guarantee. They're going to reach out. And then as a host, we get these template emails that are a blanket with a promo sheet, no personalization. And we're going, why is this question trying to be on our progress? Yeah. No.

No. And like, these people are paying for. And inadvertently, what's ending up happening is, and I hate to put it this way, it's running their reputation because now their name is stuck negatively in my mind because someone else is representing them incorrectly. And it's also wasting my time. So now I'm not taking that business seriously. Yeah.

And so the other part of it is not everyone needs to spend thousands of dollars to get on contests and i think there's a lack of knowledge sometimes or that noise that's around us that we end up turning around and going oh i got to do it this is the only way when in reality there's a lot of other ways yeah there's there's a lot of stuff going on in the emails and the dms dude it's fucking exhausting to be quite honest with you my favorite one i got one on LinkedIn the other day. I just saw that your downloads are critically low. Would you like professional podcast promoter?

And like terrible, you know, it didn't even make sense in English. And it's the first time I've ever just destroyed somebody on a message. I said, dude, you didn't do your research. Here's where I'm ranked. I took a picture of it. I go, here you go. this is all of entrepreneurship in the United States of America. At that time,

it was a couple days ago, I think it was 32. I know, do not ever tell me something that is not true. I'm like, do not ever message me again. And that's the thing. I get,

I get messages on LinkedIn. And now it's become laughable. Like I go around. LinkedIn's a cesspool of shit now. I'm like, this is ridiculous because there's also no accountability. I will get messages. messages oh I see you have a podcast have you thought about being on YouTube and I'm like I am on

YouTube yeah if you search the podcast you would have seen the YouTube so you didn't even do that you know like things like that where I'm like did you even think I get the same ones you do oh increase your listenability and I was even at a podcast conference and I had a company come up to me and they didn't know who I was it was like you want to get in these content And my boyfriend was with me and he was laughing the whole time. He's one of my biggest cheer readers and he's so supportive and I love it. But we were at this conference and he was like, well, if you want to get into these countries and improve your writing, you have to use this system. And I go, and I'm listening to his pitch.

I want to be nice as I'm also laughing in my head because I'm already in those countries. And I'm like, okay. And why do I need to use this? She's like, well, you can't fit into them any other way because they block certain, you know, platforms. And I'm like, uh-huh. And my boyfriend's sitting there like, looking at me. Let me. And the guys look at, I go, no, I'm already.

I'm currently in 29 countries that are actively streamed in the only podcast in all seven convicts. So I really don't think I need this. And he's like, but are you in these countries? And I go, yeah, actually I am. so I don't need your service. What were the countries he was telling you you couldn't get into? It was like South Africa was one of them. And I'm in it.

Yeah, I'm actively strained. The 29 countries I'm in, I'm strained every single day. Yeah. Palestine's one of them and I'm in Palestine. Yep. One of them, I'm trying to remember because the conference was months ago. but there were like three others that were like kind of random so you to cut someone could buy into it's the only way to do it but I'm like no because I'm already there but thank you so stupid like

that's the thing though they in this yeah you know this is a topic that me and some of my close friends we talk about because this is where the industry gets really dirty it's people trying to just find ways to leverage people's like need or want for that. success for that notoriety and they take advantage of it and they jack money from them it's terrible it's i mean it's terrible yeah and it's also i think a big part of it and this is why i sit down with individuals and when we have an initial call i'm like even if you don't hire me the things you're telling me right now i need you i need to debunk this for you if you're going to go and talk to other people because sometimes all people tell me why i'm meeting with this peorr firm or this or that on starting my

own podcast or this production firm and you're just so happy to bring it up during our call or this company is also telling me they could get me on these podcasts and this and that and I'll say to them I want you to ask them these three questions and see how they answer this three questions what are you going to actually guarantee me so all my service is whether it's one-on-one consulting to speaking to you know podcast consulting when we're done you have something tangible you can walk away with. Starting your own podcast, you have made episodes in the bank and release by the time we're done. A podcast audit, you have a 12-page paper on what you're doing well, what you're not doing well.

Things you can literally copy and paste that I've created just for you to implement into your descriptions, titles, and you don't have to do the heavy lifting. Getting on podcasts, you're going to get on eight, a host who needs help getting on podcast, getting guests. I'm going to get you the guests, right? All these things have tangible takeaways. When I go speak, well, I'm going to show up and speak, but I'm also going to walk, have your listeners walk away with these challenging tasks to go and do, or we're going to work through them in the talk for you to then go, oh, I walked out of this talk with a new personal branding or an elevator pitch, and now I can do. And so, and third, and,

a big thing I always say is what is the tangible that someone can actually guarantee you what's that guarantee you if they can't guarantee you it start to ask some questions if they're helping you start a podcast what RSS feed platform are they using if they're not telling you a top three ranking top you know RSS feed platform and they're pulling one out of the hot that's not going to help you yeah what ask and I'll start diving into it I'm like Like, ask these questions. They're like, wow, you know a lot. And I'm like, listen, even if you don't bring me on to help you meet your goals

with strategy of your business or this and that, I still want you to succeed. I still want you to do well. And also, by having you ask the right questions and share with you what those right questions are to ask, because especially in the podcast industry, there's so many people right now. And it hurts me to my core that are trying to take people forward. their money because knowledge is just not there. Yeah. I mean, it's an industry that people see how they can be recognized, right?

And then they lead with that and they want that quicker, right? And then people know that. And then they pray on those people, you know. So, I mean, I'm just grateful I haven't fallen for anything in the last two years. Because I have, right? We all have. Like, it's been crazy. So, you know, I just want to.

audience to realize that there are good people out there like Olivia, myself that can help you, get to where you want to be. You know, our network is really, really cool. You know, we both know Marcus Ogden. I'm sure there's more people that we know in common. I haven't even dug into it yet, but I'm sure there's a ton of them. And so, hey, listen, as we land a plane, you know, if my listeners right now, I mean, I'll put it all in the show notes.

And I know you wrote it in your onboarding form, but tell them where they can find you and how they can best support you in your business and to work with you. So you can find me on LinkedIn by searching Olivia Ackin or searching Aching Achieveing Success LLC. The podcast Achieving Success with Olivia Ackin is on all platforms for audio as well on YouTube in case you want to listen to it. All you have to do is search Achieving Success with Olivia Ackin is. in. And then you can also go to my website, Achieving-success.com. Most things are on there.

And if there's something you're looking for that you can't find, reach out through the website. I'll also provide my email in the moment because I do have a lot of people who come to me with one-offs or needing help. And if I can provide the help or even just have that conversation with you, I'm more than willing to do it. Instagram is underscore achieving. And then you can email me at olivia.acken at Achieving dash success.com. I answer all my own email. So I will answer every single person. The answers them quick, too, guys.

She's on it. She's on it. She's dialed in. She's focused laser beam. So Olivia, thank you so much for coming on to the show and telling the audience about you and what you do and how you help your clients and businesses. But more than anything,

Thank you for getting really, really real on what's out there in the industry and, you know, kind of putting on your tinfoil hat with me and talking shit about all the people that are taking people's money. I think more people need to be aware. For those of you listening, go follow Olivia, follow her show, subscribe to it, listen to it, you know, give her a written review. And stick around the people that are going to tell you the truth, right? It may hurt your feelings at first. We never intend to do that, but we're not going to blow smoke up your asses. So until next time, guys, stay determined, chase your dreams, and don't stop until you make it. Peace out, y'all.

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