Full Transcript for Lead With Joy: A Game-Changer for Entrepreneurs

leaning away from joy and who was kind of stuck in the weeds of being an entrepreneur and the grind and creating the content and looking for the next sale and trying to land clients. 00:03:07.534 --> 00:03:17.991 It's easy for us to default to that mode of this is hard and it's not going the way I planned, or this is happening, and now that's happening. 00:03:17.991 --> 00:03:24.673 Then you start comparing and then there's that whole comparison game that you get into on social media. 00:03:24.673 --> 00:03:46.681 But if we could step back for a minute and remember why we are doing what we are doing, why we've decided to have our own businesses, why we've decided to be solopreneurs or go off on our own, and a lot of the time it's probably and I mean I can speak for myself it's probably because you were seeking more joy. 00:03:46.681 --> 00:04:11.263 You were seeking more freedom, more peace, more flexibility in your schedule, and it's sometimes easy to fall away from that right, and we've had tons of conversations on the podcast about the importance of having to put the work in and put time in, and you can't just float around and expect that you're going to have this amazing business that's making tons and tons of money. 00:04:11.263 --> 00:04:21.877 But you can also be joyful and get the work done and look at it from a lens of like this is fun for me, this is something that I really wanted. 00:04:21.877 --> 00:04:29.105 When I get to do these certain things that make me happy, then you know it doesn't really feel like work, anyway. 00:04:29.105 --> 00:04:30.490 So let's move ahead. 00:04:30.591 --> 00:04:55.656 I wanted to go through the points about how to lead with joy, and number one on the list is to be curious, right, to have a curious mindset, to be asking questions and be interested and you know, I think your intuition plays a lot with this as well like kind of asking yourself like why is this happening? 00:04:55.656 --> 00:05:05.021 Or, you know, just really being open-minded to the way things are happening for you and in your business. 00:05:05.021 --> 00:05:22.437 And when we have that curious mindset, when we're always thinking that this is something for our greatest good or this is something that's leading us to more expansion in our business, then it just makes the whole experience a lot more enjoyable, doesn't it? 00:05:22.437 --> 00:05:25.903 It makes it feel fun and fresh and exciting. 00:05:25.903 --> 00:05:29.718 So stay curious, be curious, ask questions. 00:05:29.718 --> 00:05:39.790 If something is coming up for you, follow those breadcrumbs and see where it leads to, because you never know right, it can feel really unexpected. 00:05:39.790 --> 00:05:43.322 Number two on the list is do what you know. 00:05:43.322 --> 00:05:56.057 And this one is, I think, super important, because often we get super fixated on what we think we should be doing and we refuse to do what we know. 00:05:56.057 --> 00:06:07.995 And sometimes we can, you know, we can ignore what we know because we think that we should be doing this or that because that makes you seem more what's the word I'm looking for? 00:06:07.995 --> 00:06:19.624 That makes you seem more serious or more sophisticated, or people are going to think that you're more legit because you're doing it this way. 00:06:19.624 --> 00:06:25.543 But what if you just decided to create something from what you already know and then go from there? 00:06:26.386 --> 00:06:48.459 And I remember early days being part of a coach program and the person that was leading was talking about how she had actually worked with a really high level coach, and the high level coach had said to her, like she was kind of starting out her coaching business and she didn't really know what she wanted to teach. 00:06:48.459 --> 00:06:53.151 And so this person asked her like what do you? 00:06:53.151 --> 00:06:55.798 What are you really really good at? 00:06:55.798 --> 00:06:59.305 And she's like well, you know, I'm really good at Pinterest. 00:06:59.305 --> 00:07:03.846 I'm really good at, like, figuring out Pinterest and using it. 00:07:03.846 --> 00:07:14.028 And I think she was using it for maybe home decorating or photography or something I can't remember the specifics, but she was really really good at using Pinterest. 00:07:14.028 --> 00:07:33.954 And so this high-level coach said to her well, why don't you create a master class all about Pinterest and how you use it and show people how you can, how you can use Pinterest, and so she did that and that gave her a boost of confidence to, you know, keep going. 00:07:33.954 --> 00:07:53.310 And it's not that she was becoming a Pinterest coach, but what it did was it allowed her to show off her expertise as established credibility, show herself that she could do it and that she could get people interested in something that she was really interested in. 00:07:54.130 --> 00:08:11.067 And when you're teaching something that that feels easy and fun and it's already something that you know inside and out, then people feel that right people, really People want to come and be in that energy and learn from you because you just know it inside and out. 00:08:11.067 --> 00:08:17.983 And so this might be a hard pill to swallow for some people because it might just seem so basic. 00:08:17.983 --> 00:08:20.899 But if you are struggling, you know, do what you know. 00:08:20.899 --> 00:08:42.322 And that's why I'm really excited about our upcoming class all about everything you need to know about starting your podcast, because I Really do feel like I know the ins and outs of podcasting and I'm, like, so excited to share that information with everybody and it just seems like a very simple class to put together. 00:08:42.322 --> 00:08:50.133 So if you're interested in that, you can go to the show notes of this episode and Click on the link to register. 00:08:50.133 --> 00:09:00.981 It's Thursday, march 21st, at 10 am Eastern

time, and Ryan and I are going to be sharing all the tips and tricks and secrets that we've discovered as we've become podcasters. 00:09:01.583 --> 00:09:08.289 So, moving on to number three and this is a good one too this is all about asking better questions. 00:09:08.289 --> 00:09:35.775 When you're, when you're leading with joy, you're not necessarily asking more questions, but you're asking better questions, and so these are questions that are going to allow you to Really dive deeper with people, with yourself, with discovering what it is that makes people tick or what it is that People are looking for. 00:09:35.775 --> 00:10:02.519 Because you kind of want to be like a bit of a detective, right, you don't really want to ask like all the questions to understand, necessarily, but what you're wanting to do is, like, really ask questions that are going to give you insights and new information into, like, what exactly you want to build or create or teach. 00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:15.210 And when we're asking better questions, we're really, you know, we're actively listening right to the responses that we're getting, but then what that does is it might open up more discussion. 00:10:15.210 --> 00:10:35.662 It might open up unexpected conversations that lead to something more, something more interesting, and Highlight maybe something that's going wrong or something that you know isn't working, or it may highlight something that is working really well that you're you weren't even expecting. 00:10:35.662 --> 00:10:42.389 It also allows you to reflect right when we're asking better questions. 00:10:42.389 --> 00:11:06.803 It gives us an opportunity to sit back and reflect on, you know, a question that you might have asked or where there might be opportunities for improvement, and this just creates a more Wholesome way of looking at problems, looking at situations, looking at things that you've created, even when it can be. 00:11:06.803 --> 00:11:30.345 You know, working with a team or working with more people Is really getting feedback right and and more information to understand what more could be done as a leader in the space, or even as a leader of a team, and even when it comes to just leading yourself right, sitting and reflecting on how could I have done that differently? 00:11:30.345 --> 00:11:40.111 What could I have taken away from this call or this meeting or this presentation or this podcast episode? 00:11:40.111 --> 00:11:52.086 Right, so it's just an opportunity to consider where there's opportunities, where there and where there might be opportunities for improvement, and number what number are we at now? 00:11:52.427 --> 00:12:03.163 Number four is don't expect to know everything, and I think that this one is super important, because sometimes we can feel like we know everything, right. 00:12:03.163 --> 00:12:50.373 But it's important to go into all situations and even this this, I think, really speaks to especially if you're part of any

kind of like coaching groups or like mentorship or anything like that, and even when you're going on client calls, I think it's really important to go in there with an open mind and not and go in with like a learner's mindset, right Like with the opportunity that there's always something more I could be learning from this client or from this group that I'm part of or this thing that I'm reading, because when we go in with an open mind and we don't expect to know everything, then that just like opens the door for you to be learning and understanding at a deeper level. 00:12:50.373 --> 00:12:58.861 No one likes to be surrounded by someone who thinks that they know everything and you know. 00:12:58.861 --> 00:13:08.839 I think that the way that this woman described that in the speech she was talking about was be a tourist right, and oftentimes you don't want to be the tourist right. 00:13:08.839 --> 00:13:14.110 You want to blend in, you want to like look like you're part of that culture or you live there. 00:13:14.110 --> 00:13:19.750 But the good thing about tourists is they have no shame, right Like they don't. 00:13:19.750 --> 00:13:32.357 They can ask questions, they ask where things are, they want to know more, and there's no shame in that, and I think that it's a great way to lead, because it shows that you're open to growth. 00:13:32.357 --> 00:13:46.293 It shows that you're open to other people's perspectives and opinions and ways of doing things and you know, this makes me think of when I was, when I had my online fabric store. 00:13:46.774 --> 00:13:48.659 I had a lot. 00:13:48.659 --> 00:14:12.024 I really wanted to hire someone, but I was just really feeling stressed out about hiring someone because I had my specific way of doing everything and cutting my fabric and filling the packages and all of that kind of stuff, and I was blocking myself from gaining more time and being able to spend more time on my business rather than in it. 00:14:12.024 --> 00:14:40.280 And when I finally let that go and hired someone, she actually had a way better system of cutting the fabric and packing the packages and doing everything than I did, and it was in my blind spot, and so this is why it's important to be the tourist and ask questions and ask for help, and not expect that you are the only one that knows everything. 00:14:40.280 --> 00:14:47.634 So number five on the list is speed up and adapt faster. 00:14:47.634 --> 00:14:53.431 So the question here is are you the type of person who adapts really quickly? 00:14:53.431 --> 00:14:56.621 Or are you the type of person who likes to just sit in the mess? 00:14:56.621 --> 00:15:05.707 Because really, the person who adapts the fastest is the person who's going to win, because things are always changing, especially in this field. 00:15:05.768 --> 00:15:11.044 As a coach, as someone who's working in the personal development world. 00:15:11.044 --> 00:15:13.230 Things are changing, people are changing. 00:15:13.230 --> 00:15:20.259 The way people consume, information changes all the time and I don't know if you've noticed this. 00:15:20.259 --> 00:15:24.750 But also the collective is waking up. 00:15:24.750 --> 00:15:40.919 They're becoming more aware of this work and personal development and we really do need to change and adapt to sharing at a deeper level with some people, because a lot of people have woken up and they don't necessarily need to know the basics anymore. 00:15:40.919 --> 00:15:43.304 But how can you take them further? 00:15:43.304 --> 00:15:57.159 How can you develop your programs and your coaching to meet all the needs of all the people, not just people who are still in the beginning phases? 00:15:57.159 --> 00:15:58.306 But how can you adapt? 00:15:58.306 --> 00:16:07.658 How can you grow with your clients or your community as they get smarter and smarter and more aware and open to all this information? 00:16:07.658 --> 00:16:17.090 Those are the people that are going to win in the end, because they're adapting to the changing needs of the people that are in their world. 00:16:18.360 --> 00:16:24.167 Number six is be the exception, and I think we've talked about this a few episodes ago. 00:16:24.167 --> 00:16:28.648 This is really about just ignoring the collective narrative. 00:16:28.648 --> 00:16:34.110 If you see everybody doing a specific trend, do something. 00:16:34.110 --> 00:16:46.745 That's the complete opposite, and I think this really speaks out to your content on social media, or even what you're offering as a coach Put the blinders on. 00:16:46.745 --> 00:16:52.666 I think it's really important sometimes to just put the blinders on and do your own thing and tap into your intuition. 00:16:52.666 --> 00:17:13.887 Tap into what you know and what you want to be doing and how you like to do it, because when you're working in that frequency, when you're working from that level of just like all, in feeling joy, feeling like you know exactly what you're doing and you're not blending in with the collective, then you're going to stand out, aren't you? 00:17:13.887 --> 00:17:24.946 So be the exception and trust that your joy and your excitement about what you're doing is the thing that's going to draw a lot of people in. 00:17:26.962 --> 00:17:46.101 I think that one speaks for itself, but be the exception, and I think with this one too, there comes a lot of fear of judgment, or will I get it wrong, or people going to think I'm weird, and that's something that you really need to release, because chances are, as an entrepreneur period. 00:17:46.101 --> 00:17:57.561 You are part of the exception because you're not following the crowd, you're not following the traditional way of having a nine to five job and working for someone else. 00:17:57.561 --> 00:17:59.228 You've decided to go out on your own. 00:17:59.228 --> 00:18:07.722 So continue to expand into that version of you who wants to go out on their own and be the

exception. 00:18:07.722 --> 00:18:18.111 You decided to become an entrepreneur for a reason because you're creative, because you're inspired, because you have your own ideas, because you have your own way of doing something. 00:18:18.111 --> 00:18:31.567 So let that part of you shine and release the idea that you have to blend in with the collective of all the other entrepreneurs out there because it's boring and we've talked so much about this. 00:18:31.567 --> 00:18:34.707 So it's really about releasing that fear. 00:18:34.707 --> 00:18:40.923 And if people think you're weird, that's good, because then that creates something for them to talk about. 00:18:40.923 --> 00:19:01.790 And the more you can bolster up your own self-worth and your own value and recognize that you're enough just the way you are and let go of that whole idea that there's something wrong with you and that actually what makes you special is that you are part of the exception. 00:19:01.790 --> 00:19:12.410 That goes a long way, and the more you can step into that and the more you can lean into that and bring your joy online, the more successful you're going to be. 00:19:13.640 --> 00:19:16.507 The next one, number seven, is this seven. 00:19:16.507 --> 00:19:18.840 I can't keep up, but anyway. 00:19:18.840 --> 00:19:23.288 Number next is what is the last? 00:19:23.288 --> 00:19:25.011 One is transform. 00:19:25.011 --> 00:19:36.111 Often, and this one is such a good one because I think that there is this narrative there that you find your niche, you do your thing and then that's what you continue doing. 00:19:36.111 --> 00:19:47.532 But that's not true, because we're ever evolving, we're learning, we're always learning new things and changing and wanting to try new things. 00:19:47.532 --> 00:19:56.128 So recognize that you're going to transform and you're going to change and your beliefs are going to shift and your way of doing something is going to change. 00:19:56.128 --> 00:20:09.134 And actually we were talking about this last week, because I remember I was talking about a podcast that I'd listened to, where she had completely changed her whole way of basically doing her work, her whole process. 00:20:13.166 --> 00:20:15.192 So this goes back into the whole being curious. 00:20:15.192 --> 00:20:21.165 The more curious you are, the more you're going to learn, the more you're going to grow and then, obviously, the more you're going to transform. 00:20:21.165 --> 00:20:41.835 So don't be afraid of that transformation, don't be afraid to try new things, step into whatever is bringing you joy in that moment and allow that part of you to shine, and the more you do that, the more is going to give permission to other people to do that and the people that follow you and the people that you work with. 00:20:41.835 --> 00:20:45.166 That's going to give them permission to transform and recognize that. 00:20:45.166 --> 00:20:52.470 This is all part of the journey, this is all part of

the process of being here and doing what we love. 00:20:52.470 --> 00:21:04.892 So, just to recap, if you're going to lead with joy, you want to be curious, you want to do what you know, you want to ask better questions, you want to be a tourist. 00:21:04.892 --> 00:21:06.583 Don't expect to know everything. 00:21:06.583 --> 00:21:15.976 You want to speed up so that you can adapt, you want to be the exception and finally transform often. 00:21:15.976 --> 00:21:23.511 So those are the seven ways you can lead with joy lead others, lead yourself. 00:21:24.380 --> 00:21:42.231 And so, to wrap it all up, really, the tough love or reminder here is that leading with joy requires a sense of self-awareness and intentional choices, and it might require letting go of those perfectionistic tendencies. 00:21:42.231 --> 00:21:50.349 It might require saying no to certain things, it might require creating boundaries to protect your own joy. 00:21:50.349 --> 00:22:00.049 And so you can ask yourself and this is something that I've been asking myself a lot lately is will this decision bring me joy? 00:22:00.049 --> 00:22:02.307 Will doing this thing bring me joy? 00:22:02.307 --> 00:22:04.319 Will hanging it with this person bring me joy? 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:08.347 And if the answer is no, then it's like I'm not available for it. 00:22:08.347 --> 00:22:26.707 And it's really a reminder that, as a leader a leader of yourself, a leader of other people it's a reminder to take care of yourself so that you can avoid that burnout that I think a lot of entrepreneurs can feel at some point. 00:22:26.707 --> 00:22:42.406 And when you can protect yourself in this way, when you're leading with joy, when you're asking yourself what do I need in this moment that's going to bring me joy, then you lead with authenticity and then you allow yourself to inspire others. 00:22:43.980 --> 00:22:59.913 And, ultimately, that tough love message that we're getting across here by leading with joy is that it's simply not enough to just succeed or survive in your business. 00:22:59.913 --> 00:23:11.988 You really need to find ways to cultivate joy and infuse that into your leadership practices, whether that's leading yourself or leading other people or leading your business. 00:23:11.988 --> 00:23:16.425 How can you connect it back to joy? 00:23:16.425 --> 00:23:27.008 How can you connect it back to something that is helping you thrive rather than just merely survive or succeed in the business? 00:23:27.008 --> 00:24:05.226 Because, at the end of the day, what's the point and there was another really awesome discussion at this conference with Joanna Griffiths from Nix she's the founder of Nix and someone asked her how she balances and I love this because we've talked about this on the podcast a lot as well around work-life balance, or how do you balance your time and she was talking about how a mentor of hers didn't call it work-life balance, but they called it work-like rhythm. 00:24:06.099 --> 00:24:15.471 So how can you be in the rhythm of joy, how can you be in this rhythm of thriving rather than merely surviving? 00:24:15.471 --> 00:24:30.192 And part of that rhythm and the way you can tap into that is by recognizing that you are working for a much bigger purpose than just surviving or just succeeding in the business. 00:24:30.192 --> 00:24:40.547 You want to attach whatever it is you're doing with a greater purpose, something that's way higher than just yourself and your business. 00:24:40.547 --> 00:24:43.944 And whatever it is you're doing, what are you tapping into? 00:24:43.944 --> 00:25:10.128 And so I thought that was a really great reminder and a really great way to look at your business and detach from it a little bit and recognize that you can have joy and you can tap into that whenever you want to, and that there's always more fuel in the tank when you're working for something that is much higher or bigger than yourself. 00:25:10.128 --> 00:25:28.632 And in Joanna's case, she's working to impact women on a global level by creating a whole new category in underwear for women leak-proof underwear. 00:25:28.632 --> 00:25:36.963 So that's what makes the hard days easier when you know that you're working for more than just yourself. 00:25:36.963 --> 00:25:43.586 This is to ultimately impact women worldwide, and so you can always find joy. 00:25:43.586 --> 00:25:48.590 You can always find more in that than you can when you're just kind of doing it for yourself. 00:25:48.590 --> 00:25:51.106 So that's it from me. 00:25:51.106 --> 00:25:54.079 That's all I wanted to say about this whole topic of leading with joy. 00:25:54.361 --> 00:25:55.244 I hope you enjoyed it. 00:25:55.244 --> 00:25:58.047 If you have any questions, I'd love to hear from you. 00:25:58.047 --> 00:26:04.972 You can always message us at it's no Excuses podcast on Instagram. 00:26:04.972 --> 00:26:06.785 You can follow me on Instagram. 00:26:06.785 --> 00:26:07.949 At Atlanta Banks Coaching. 00:26:07.949 --> 00:26:10.305 You can follow Ryan RyanMathisMLP. 00:26:10.305 --> 00:26:23.669 And just a final reminder that we're running the just hit record everything you need to know about podcasting class March 21st. 00:26:23.669 --> 00:26:26.252 Thursday, march 21st, at 10 am Eastern time. 00:26:26.252 --> 00:26:28.323 We're going to be sharing everything. 00:26:28.323 --> 00:26:29.746 We've learned everything. 00:26:29.746 --> 00:26:37.603 We know all the resources pretty much anything you need to know to get that podcast that you've been dreaming about off the ground. 00:26:38.900 --> 00:26:49.490 And I had a conversation recently with someone who was saying to me oh, I don't have time to start a podcast and really it's not all about whether or not you have time. 00:26:49.490 --> 00:26:54.446 It's really about is it a priority and why do you want to have a podcast? 00:26:54.446 --> 00:26:57.729 You want to have a podcast because it's authority building. 00:26:57.729 --> 00:27:00.445 It allows you to get your message out there. 00:27:00.445 --> 00:27:17.182 It legitimizes you as a coach, because if you have a podcast, there's this sort of persee or this perception that that's cool or that you're doing something that a lot of people aren't doing. 00:27:17.940 --> 00:27:22.251 So having a podcast, while it might seem like it takes up a lot of time, it actually doesn't. 00:27:22.251 --> 00:27:39.042 Ryan and I spend maybe two, three hours a week putting this podcast together and the benefits of that far away the time that we spend actually sitting down and recording and editing. 00:27:39.042 --> 00:27:44.551 So I highly recommend taking the class. 00:27:44.551 --> 00:27:45.964 I'd love to see you there. 00:27:45.964 --> 00:27:52.912 We will answer all of your questions and give you all the resources you need to get going. 00:27:52.912 --> 00:27:55.846 So that's it for us this week. 00:27:55.846 --> 00:27:59.282 I hope you enjoyed this and we will talk to you next time. 00:27:59.282 --> 00:28:00.241 Thanks, everyone.