EP #400: 6 Secrets To My Personal Success

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Intro: And you want to avoid being reactive,  because you just can’t make good decisions, You can’t respond well to  situations and you’re just not an effective leader or business owner or parent or any of the  things if you’re in this constant reactionary mode, but to get out of a reactionary mode, it takes being  proactive. It takes putting in intentional effort. 

You are listening to the Not For Lazy Marketers podcast episode number 400. 

Hello, my friends, happy Thursday if you’re listening to this today, it comes out. I am excited because  this is the 400th episode of the Not For Lazy Marketers podcast, which is amazing!I have been doing  this podcast, I launched it in 2018, so that’s four years, and we’ve done some bonus episodes. So about  twice a week with some additional episodes thrown in, I have never missed a day on my Tuesday and Thursday schedule. If not, I’ve done more than that, because we’ll do these series like we did last week,  but the podcast has just been such an incredible outlet. I’m so grateful to all of you who listen and tune  in and send me messages about listening to this multiple times or you’re implementing what I’m  saying and just giving me feedback or telling me the wins you have from the podcast.

I enjoy it so much. 

I feel like one of the best things I ever did was start this podcast and it’s evolved a ton since we  launched. If I ever went back and listened to those, probably like the first or five episodes, I think I’d have  felt embarrassed listening to them, but you know what, that’s where we all start. So you just got to start, you just  have to get it out there. I had no idea what I was doing when I started my podcast, I didn’t know a podcast strategy, I barely had a good mic, I didn’t know how to edit a podcast- I didn’t know anything, but I just started it and here we are today, 400 episodes later. In the last three  months, we’ve doubled our monthly downloads, which is amazing and just seen so much growth and  some of our best clients and best Market Like A Pro members come from you guys listening to this podcast.

So I decided today to do something a little special for the 400th episode and go more of a  personal route on the podcast and talk about  6 secrets to my success. I get  messages with people who say they want to know what my day to day looks like? Or how do I structure this? Or how do I manage being a mom and a CEO and all the things. Sometimes I don’t know if I want to talk about it because I’m like, ‘do people really want to hear this?’ Because, this is a  marketing podcast, but a lot of you do so I like to sprinkle it in. I decided the 400th episode today is  the day we’re going to do more of a personal, behind the scenes episode. I’m going to talk  through  6 secrets, when I sat downI didn’t have a number. I was like, what are my top secrets to success? What would I tell someone  who is trying to grow their business, be a successful CEO, grow a team, potentially have a family and be  healthy and you know, have it all. I sat down and thought, what are those things? So, these are the  6 things that I came up with that are a part of me and my routine, my values, the way  that I live my life and that I think directly contribute to my success. I do want to give a caveat before I  dive into this because I think that a lot of influencers, and I don’t even like to consider myself that because I don’t really like that word, but people who follow people, when they hear things like, ‘this is my morning routine’, or, ‘this is my secrets to success’, or ‘this is how I structure my day’, or ‘you need to do this’, you have to keep in mind is that everything that you do in your life, your routines, the way you  structure your day, the way that you show up, what you put emphasis into your own values  should be based off of you. So I might say something here that you’re like, that’s an amazing idea,  but it’s just not an alignment with who you are. I did a podcast a while back about Playing To Your Strengths And Minimizing Your Weaknesses, and I think that’s really important that you don’t ever just  take something for face value and think that you can replicate something that somebody else is doing  exactly into your life. These are obviously best practices. If you don’t do one of these, it’s not that you’re  going to not be successful. It’s just an opportunity for you to hear what I’m saying and then ask yourself, ‘do I have room?’ ‘Do I have  an opportunity to incorporate these things into my life, into my business, into my habits and routines?’  The answer might be no, it might be, ‘that’s totally not who I am’. You’ll hear me talk  about how much I put health and fitness first, that’s because it’s a passion of mine. It was  actually a passion of mine before my business. So that doesn’t mean everybody has to become that and  replicate what I’m doing. So just remember that, whether it’s me you’re listening to or  somebody you’re watching on Instagram, you’re getting a snippet of who they are and their day to day or whatever they’re trying to showcase, but it’s just a small snippet and they are who  they are and they have their own strengths and their own weaknesses and their own stories and their  own upbringing and all the things that make them, them.  So you have to also play to those things and understand yourself and know when something is  just not in alignment with you and your values and the way that you want to live your life and not be  hard on yourself for that. So I do want to say that, cause I think that’s really important and something to  also keep in mind when you’re on social media and watching people’s highlight reels, right, and comparing yourselves, as social media makes us all do.

Okay with that said, let’s dive in.

So here’s my  6  secrets to success. The first one that came to me and was like the most important, and I think is  something that sets me apart, I have always been like this since I was a kid, is I’m a planner and I  know how to take a big picture goal or outcome or project and break it down to the day so that I know  what I need to focus on in order to achieve that goal. So I have a whole process, I have a process for how I plan my business goals and how I spend my  time and my business. I have a process for how I plan personal goals, and you know, that goes down to  financial goals, relationship goals. So I want to just share that quickly with you because that could be a  whole podcast episode in and of itself. But one of my keys to success is that I’m always trying to stay  proactive and the way I do that is I plan, staying proactive with my time. I don’t want to be in a reactive  place where I wake up and I’m just bombarded with emails and messages and people who need me and  are asking me questions or things I think I need to do and overwhelm. You’re never going to be very  impactful with your time or efficient or just effective if that is how you operate.

Unfortunately I think a lot of entrepreneurs get into that place where it’s like wake up and  grind and you dive into your email and there’s four fires, and then you’ve got this to-do list and you’re  overwhelmed and then you paralyze yourself. So I follow this process and I replicate the same exact  thing for my business that I do for my personal life. Every single month on the last week of the month,  sometimes the second to last week, especially for things like our marketing team that requires a lot  more planning. I plan all the things we’re going to do that month, and this happens in every department in  my company, then I also do this personally. So every month, and I keep it super simple you guys, I do not complicate this. I’ve tried a lot of systems. My business planning is in a Google doc spreadsheet and my personal planning is in a notes document, it’s that simple. I don’t like to make this  complicated. I have found having it digitally as nice because then if I’m traveling or I  want to quickly check on goals and how we’re doing, I can just pull it up on my phone. I personally like that, do what works for you. So, at the end of every month, going into the new month, I plan goals  and these goals are based on annual goals. So at the beginning of every year or before the last year  ends, I plan personal goals and I plan business goals. For my personal goals, I have categories, I  have relationships, I have my health, I have personal development and I have financial. So I have categories of what I want to do that year, what I want to accomplish. Then for business, it’s really on an annual level, I only have a couple, it’s like revenue,  number of new members, very high level. So basically these goals trickle down and every single month I have  goals. So on the personal side, I have specific things that I’m going to do or pursue. And a big  thing on the personal side is I plan out habits because habits are going to dictate everything. So if I want to get healthier or to accomplish something, I break it down to what I’m going to do that day, every  single day, that month to accomplish that goal. So I do this personally, and then I go all the way down to  the week. So every week, pretty much every Sunday, this is my ritual, it doesn’t even take that long, I spend 30 minutes and I plan out all the commitments I am going to accomplish for my business that  week. For me, a lot of it is like, recording podcasts or reviewing something, or  collaborating with somebody. It’s very high level stuff, It’s content, or it’s approving, I have things that I get sent to me for approval and review a lot, I’d say half of what my to-dos are, are content, whether that’s content inside  our program, public content, like the podcast, but I’m at least very clear about what I need to do in  order to accomplish the goals that are on my monthly list. And then I do the same thing personally,  every week on Sunday, I plan out every single thing I’m going to do that week and I note all the habits  that I’m going to pay attention to. I’ll also take inventory, ‘last week, did I fall off on these  habits?’ Or did I not accomplish this?’ This can even get granular on my personal planning to where  it’s like buying a birthday present for the kids’ birthday party. It’s just everything I need to do. Then every day I plan my day before I start work and that is  a rule I have that I never break. Before I start work, before I check slack, before I check email, before I  dive in, before I even open my computer, I sit down and I just note my intention for the day and what I’m going to accomplish. So then when I dive into work, I’m not reactive, I’m already proactively  understanding where I need to put my time and energy and what I need to accomplish and what my top  three are for the day. Ultimately, the reason why this is a secret to my success is  because it allows me to be extremely proactive. You want to avoid being reactive,  because you just can’t  make good decisions, you can’t respond well to situations, you’re just not an effective leader or business owner or parent or any of the things if  you’re in this constant reactionary mode. But to get out of a reactionary mode, it takes being proactive, it takes putting an intentional effort into putting yourself into a proactive place.

The second secret to my  success, which as I was writing these out, I was like, this is so interesting because I feel like a lot of  secrets to my success aren’t directly related to business, but yet they impact business so much. So  for me, putting my health first over really anything, even my kids, not necessarily that I would ever neglect my kids, but me getting in a workout is prioritized, it is a non-negotiable, e getting to  go for a walk, it is a non-negotiable. So I work with my husband in terms of schedule and, and the  support I need in order to make that happen. However, it’s not at the bottom of my list of things like, when I’ll have time for this, then I’ll be healthy. My health is a  top priority because for me, if I’m healthy, if I’m in good shape, if I have good energy, if I’m able to show  up, that impacts positively my business, my relationships, my kids, like the way I can show up in every  way of my life, you know, the saying of like put your oxygen mask on first, It is so true. In order to do  that, it’s easier said than done because I have noticed many times that I can slip back into a  place of, well, I’m just really busy, I have so much to do at work or we don’t have my nanny this  week or we’re traveling or whatever it is that allows you to create that excuse ultimately is what it is and  why you can’t put this first and you can’t work out or walk. So one of my secrets to success is that this is a non-negotiable. In the morning I get a workout  in, I get a cold shower in and I plan my day and I have my routine that happens all before I sit down at  my desk and that is non-negotiable, that is so ingrained in my habits that most of the time it even  happens on a weekend and it is priority over other things, over my meetings, over my to-do list, over anything else, because if this doesn’t happen, I can’t show up as the best version of myself, and this also includes sleep. I used to, at the beginning of starting my business, and you know what, everybody  goes through these phases, but at the beginning of starting my business, I had no money, we  couldn’t afford childcare, we couldn’t afford a nanny. So I was limited to working basically when my toddler was asleep, when my one year old was  sleeping. So I would work during his nap. I would work a little bit while he played. Then I would  work till midnight. I’d work from like 8 to 12, and  I think that this is sometimes something that  people do when they first start their business and then they don’t necessarily stop doing it when they  don’t have to do it anymore. So I basically never work at night and I have gotten to the place now  where it’s like, either I got older or I just am not used to it that I’m not even functional at night, like I’m  not all there. So I get eight hours of sleep every night. I’m somebody who needs a lot of sleep, but  prioritizing my sleep just makes me more productive in the day, I show up better, it’s a very important part to me. So putting my health first and making that be worked into my  schedule, not whenever I have time for it is definitely a contributing factor to my success. My  advice to you is to define what putting your health first means and be really specific. Does that mean  you’re going to work out every day? Does that mean you’re going to hire a personal trainer? Does that mean  you’re going to go for a walk every day? What does putting your health first to look like and list out  three or four things and then figure out how you can start doing that and making that priority. Again, for everybody, this is going to be different. You don’t have to replicate my schedule because it’s  what works for me, but what does putting your health first look like and how can you make that  happen? 

 The third secret to my success, and this is also something I feel is so ingrained in me, since I  was a kid is a constant commitment to just be better. One of my core values is to strive to be better than  yesterday. I am somebody where in every area of my life, I want 12 out of 10. I want a 12 out of  10 marriage. I want a 12 out of 10 business. I want a 12 out of 10 relationship with my kids. I want to be in shape 12 out of 10. I want to show up for my friends 12 out of 10. I do not do things halfway and I’m  not capable of doing it and I’m unhappy if I’m at that place. So for me, this constantly pushed me  to the next level. That’s why it’s a contributing factor to my success.

To me, success is not just  business. Success is also, am I happy? Am I fulfilled? Am I healthy? And is my business successful? So  constantly committing to learn and be better and also listening to feedback and really trying to lead in  my personal relationships in my business relationships without an ego is also easier said than  done. I specifically list out, when I look at all the categories in my life, I list out where I’m to improve  and how I’m going to improve.  I’m never like, well, I made it. I’m a perfect wife  or I don’t  have to do anything different with my kids or I made it in business so I don’t have anything  else to improve, I’m never going to change. I don’t think a lot of people go to that extreme where they  don’t find things that they can improve but I do think a lot of people, especially as you start to get success, you stop listening and you stop  leading without an ego,  because you’re like, well, I already have success, I’ve already made it, I’ve  already done X, Y, Z  so I just need to keep doing the same thing. That’s obviously not reality because society changes, industries change, the world changes, everything changes around you and if  you’re not changing too and growing too and evolving, you’re going to fall behind. So I specifically  look at all the main categories in my life and I’m constantly asking myself in my planning process, how  can I be better? How can I do better? How can I show up better? And then what actions and habits,  that’s the key, you can’t just say like, I’m going to be healthy or I’m going to be more present with my family, how are you going to do it? What are the specific actions and the specific habits you’re going to instill  in your life in order to do that and then asking yourself, and this is a podcast I just recently did, ‘Are you  listening to those around you? Are you listening to feedback to people’s feelings? It’s  not that you have to take everything somebody says or the ideas and it’s like it’s the truth, but you need to listen and be able to lead without that ego. Also be very willing to say, here’s where I did well and here’s where I can do better. If you have nothing on the list of what you can do better, you  are absolutely fooling yourself, we’re all evolving and growing and if we’re looking at it saying well, there’s nothing I can do to be better, but just keep doing what I’m doing you’re just fooling yourself, right? You’re jipping yourself out on a growth opportunity. 

The fourth secret to my success is something I’ve also talked about a lot on the podcast and is a  quick one to cover, but I really believe this. This is something that doesn’t come naturally to everybody but if you can instill this more into your life, you will see success. I’m very grateful for the ability to  do this very naturally and that is speed, speed at which I make decisions, I make changes, I make  adjustments, I make pivots, I make improvements and I don’t let decision making paralysis or the fear of  failure hold me back. When I have something that I’m going to do, when I get something in my  mind, and this is true for every place, when it’s, ‘hey, we’re going to add this offer in the business’, ‘we’re going to make this change to our process’, or ‘we’re going to improve this’, or even personally, ‘we’re going to remodel this part of the house’, or ‘we’re going to redo this’ or ‘we’re going to go move  here’ or whatever. I do not let it go. I execute the actions connected with it at such a fast pace that  it just speeds up my success, it speeds up how quickly I can get somewhere and honestly how quickly I can fail and learn and then try again. So I feel like if you could just look at this and ask yourself, ‘where am I potentially slowing things down because I’m sitting on a decision’ or ‘I’m sitting in fear  of failure’ or ‘I’m telling myself it’s not a priority’ or ‘I’m telling myself I’ll do it when X, Y, Z is in place’. Really look at how you can move faster? Especially in today’s world of business, it’s the companies who move fast, who make quick pivots, who are able to make decisions and improvements quickly are the ones winning. I think there’s a lot of resistance to that sometimes because it is moving at such a  fast pace, it’s really hard to keep up with. That’s in all areas of our life, everything is just  speeded up. People’s attention span has just shortened. So your actions need to be paired with  speed and you have to try to remove that fear of failure or indecision because that is absolutely holding  you back.

My fifth out of  6 secrets to success is doing what makes me scared and uncomfortable. I  purposely, I’ve also talked about this, I have individually talked about a lot of these on the podcast, I purposely put myself into constant situations where I’m uncomfortable and I am able to do this  naturally as well, but this helps me grow. If you think that, because I’ve gotten to a certain level  in my business that I’m never uncomfortable or scared, you’re absolutely wrong. This just happened  to me, I had to reach out to an acquaintance of mine because I wanted to ask them if they  would be on an interview and two times I’m like, I shouldn’t do  this they’re going to say no and I was scared of the denial or the rejection, and I was  uncomfortable with it. You know what, when I interview those people, I’m probably going to be  uncomfortable because I’m going to be afraid because I’ve told myself they’re better than me. You know? So everybody struggles with the fear of failure or judgment and all of those things or just  not being able to do something. So if you are not putting yourself personally and professionally into  situations where you are uncomfortable and you are a little bit scared and you’re riding that line, you’re  just missing out on growth. So I purposely, all the time in my business and in my personal life do things that make me uncomfortable. And I did do a whole podcast on this, if you want to listen specifically to that one. I think this is so important because we live such a life today where we can be  comfortable all the time and when you’re comfortable all the time, you’re just not growing. So, especially in your business, if you’re just sitting where you’re comfortable and where you feel safe and  you feel like there’s no risk of failure and you’re moving at a pace where it’s like, it’s just, there’s no risk,  there’s no oomph behind it because you’re just so paralyzed by that fear of spending money or hiring the team member or joining that program, or putting yourself out there on  video, you’re missing out on growth. It’s very cliche, but they always say the things that are successful usually come from where you’re scared or uncomfortable to  start, and that’s the only way to get there. So I think instilling that into your habits and your decisions is  another really, really big part of success.

My final note and my final secret to success is to say  no more than I say yes. This is related to business and persona: to invitations, to dinner,  to signing my kids up for a bunch of activities to saying yes to interviews or masterminds or speaking at  live events, or anything related to somebody asking for my time, because for me, one of mybonus secrets to success is that I guard my time more than anything, because your time is the  only thing that you can’t replace. You don’t have unlimited of it and you can’t get it back. I should have added this as a  secret to success, actually I’ll tie it into this one. I do not waste time. Since I was a kid, I could  never waste time and I think that that has contributed to my success. It comes from if I’m  uncomfortable or feel, ‘oh, this is just a waste of my energy or a waste of my time’. Not in the sense  of, ‘oh, if this is just not serving me, I’m not going to do it’, but really kind of, yeah. If it’s not in  alignment with my goals and the people that I want to show up for or friends that aren’t necessarily like  filling my cup back up, but I’m putting out this energy, I just don’t do it. I just say, no. I say no to a lot of things. 

I refuse to pack my families and my kids’ schedule filled  with extracurricular activities and birthday parties and dinners and all these things to the point where  we don’t have any time together. I refuse to pack my schedule in business filled with interviews  and get to know you calls or join a bunch of masterminds or programs because you know what that is, it’s a distraction from doing the real hard work. When you say no and you set the boundaries and  you ask yourself in any opportunity or the thing that comes up, ‘is this an alignment with your  goals and where you’re going and something that you really want to put your time into the most valuable  resource you have?’ And if the answer is no, don’t do it and say no more than you say yes, because every  yes is a no somewhere else. If it’s a no to growing your business to doing something that would actually result in that growth,  that’s a mistake. 

All right everybody, I hope you enjoyed these  6 secrets to success.

Send me a message on Instagram if you enjoyed it and just thank you guys, thank you to all of you who tune in,  who support this podcast and those of you, shout you out, who have been here since day one. It’s  incredible when I get to talk with you guys and  talk with you in my DMS, like I’ve evolved, you’ve  evolved and let’s just keep doing it together. I promise to bring transparent growth and  transparent tips and advice and mistakes and all the things to this podcast and that’s what I do best and I love you guys. 

So thank you and talk to you next week. 

Thanks for listening to the Not For Lazy Marketers podcast. If you love this episode and want deeper  support with your marketing head over to helpmystrategy.com to see how Hirsh marketing can help  take your marketing to the next level no matter where you’re at today. We help our clients scale faster  than ever, find hidden leaks in their funnel, experiment with new creative marketing strategies and help  their business explode and be more profitable than they ever dreamed possible. Head over to  helpmystrategy.com and see if you qualify for a free strategy audit with team Hirsh.

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