This week it’s Thanksgiving, and I’m also turning 38 on November 22. So much has changed in my life in the past few years and today I feel inspired to thank everyone that has been part of that, whether they knew they were or not!!
I’m so grateful for the people that market possibility online.
I knew I wanted more out of my life, but I really didn’t know how to go about getting it, but I’m so grateful for Google. Seriously. Shout out to Google for putting the world of possibility at my fingertips. Yep, Google and the internet are my very first shoutouts today because I wouldn’t know what I know about anything that I do without them. It’s something I know I take for granted, but it’s so, so important!
I’m deeply grateful for great friends who sincerely want to help you be the best person you want to be.
Friends who see that you’re struggling and striving to change who give you a book, ask you if you want to read it together and go through the program together and that book ends up changing the trajectory of your life and gives you the clarity you need to come up with a plan and execute – and then support you and cheer you on all along the way.
I’m grateful for people that give away all their answers, and who get excited when people actually take action on the information that they are sharing to change their lives.
People like Chalene Johnson, whose book PUSH was given to me by that friend I mentioned above, and how I discovered by doing the exercises in the book that I had a deep desire to own my own business and be my own boss and by doing that, everything else I wanted in life would be made easier.
Chalene Johnson’s podcasts, Build Your Tribe and The Chalene Show – gave me the blueprint for imagining what life could be like.
And her Marketing Impact Academy launch videos showed me the first steps, and her Marketing Impact Academy Live Event forced me out of my shell and made me talk to people in person in real life.
And now the 131 Diet, which is coming out right when I’m able to quit my day job because I have my own business – a plan I put in motion 4 years ago after reading PUSH because I wanted more time to focus on my health and fitness. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Chalene’s new “diet” is coming out right when I’ll have plenty of white space to implement it and take action on it.
People like Pat Flynn, who record podcasts that give away all the information required to create income online.
Pat interviews guests and asks all the questions I want to know the answers to – like, “Exactly how did you do that, step by step?” and “How much money did you make?” and “How big is your email list?” And who shares how much money he makes, how he makes it and then tells me exactly how I can do it too.
Pat does a few things that I love. He shows you not only through himself but through all of his guests that it’s possible to make money online doing something that you love, and he gives you a frame of reference of how much time, work and money it will take to do it. It’s not just fluff, it’s the nuts and bolts of exactly what you need to know, and in a format that you can listen to while you’re doing other things.
People like Nathalie Lussier, who gives away the secret to building your business in a totally free online course called the 30 Day List Building Challenge.
I know I’ve said this a million times and I’ll say it again. This course is responsible for me being able to quit my day job. And it cost me $27, because I wanted the fast track. Do you know how much that is worth?
So not only is Nathalie going to teach me, for practically free, how to get customers, she’s going to offer me some of the best software out there to do it, which YES, I will buy that because now I believe that anything you put out is gold (and it has been), and you know what else that taught me to do? Give it all away. Nathalie was the inspiration for giving away all the knowledge for free.
Nathalie, Pat and Chalene created a perfect storm of information, inspiration and how-to, and after learning all I could from them, I could not be stopped. Building my business and working toward my dream took priority over all the BS things I’d been doing, like watching crap reality TV, sleeping in because I had too many beers the night before, sitting around complaining about how much I hated my job.
And then along comes Rebecca Tracey.
I have no idea how I found her, I’m sure it was from a Facebook group because I found the Uncaged Life and I was like, holy sh%t, this is the kind of business I want to run. Like, I had all the what and how and why and proof from Nathalie, Pat and Chalene, but Becca Tracey showed me how to SAY it, and how to BE it, and how to OWN it, and how to be myself, and how to package that up into a product and sell it.
I’m not an edgy person, you guys. I’m a plain vanilla basic midwest girl who wishes she was edgier, so at first I wanted to be like Becca, but through her Hey Nice Package course and HNP live workshops and just her blog and webinars, I just figured out how to be me, and that’s a huge relief, because if I had to pretend I was super cool and trendy all the time I would not be able to fake it. I already feel like I’m not in the right job, that would make it worse!
And if I thought I knew it all from taking in and taking action on every last piece of information I could from those guys, I’m introduced to the Being Boss podcast.
OMG. This is the not-so-distant future, you guys. Talk about some real people who have taken massive, focused action toward success.
Emily Thompson and Kathleen Shannon’s podcast is like hanging out every day with people who GET you – your dreams, your goals, your fears, but also who celebrate your successes. Because let’s face it… When I tell my best friend or my husband about how I finally landed on a name for my course, they smile and are happy for me but they just don’t GET it. It’s a huge dose of validation and it makes me feel like I’m on the right track. And they dig in, you guys, just like Pat Flynn does. It’s not fluff, it’s action.
And for Chris Guillebeau and his Side Hustle School Podcast and Side Hustle Book.
This one… this one is just mind-blowing. I heard Chris on Lewis Howe's School of Greatness podcast, and his message about struggling with depression even with all of his business success really resonated with me, like, this guy is a real, vulnerable person, not just some “bro” entrepreneur out to make bank. I replied to a call for side hustle stories, and I didn't even know it was for Chris or his podcast – and he featured my story!! A New York Times Bestselling Author told my story on his podcast.
And then… I find out my story is part of his book. Are you kidding me right now? Like my name is printed in a book, and my side-hustle story is in a book. That other people read. And then they find me online and I help them build websites to support their side-hustles. It's really hard to wrap my mind around that… So I'm grateful to Chris not only for the opportunity, the amazing people he's connecting me with, but also for helping me expand my mind around what's POSSIBLE.
On that note, I’m so grateful for podcasts.
You guys, if you’ve ever thought you don’t have TIME to learn what it takes to follow your dreams, then I’d like to introduce you to this thing called PODCASTS. It’s the only way to learn where you can be doing other things, like driving, working out, working your day job, making dinner, cleaning your house… Seriously, if you are not taking advantage of learning from some of the smartest people out there who are actually successful online, make it your mission in 2018 to start listening to podcasts.
I’m also grateful for having a job that I hated, because I finally learned that I’m in control of how I feel.
That my job never did anything to me to make me hate it, it was my bad attitude and negativity that made it unbearable. If I hadn’t figured that out, there’s no way I’d be able to create a successful business of my own, I’d carry the same bad attitude with me. And once I changed my attitude, everything changed. In fact, I’m having a hard time leaving this place now that it’s time because all of my coworkers are amazing people who have gone out of their way to make it know how much they want me to stay. Wow.
I’m grateful for having a boss who is a true mentor.
One who believes in me, who wants to see me succeed, who supported my side hustle from the moment I told her about it, and who knows that an employee who is fulfilled outside of work is a better employee at work. Thanks Lori! There should be more CEOs in the world like Lori Chovanak, and if anyone can make that happen, she can.
And I’m grateful for the coaching industry, a thing I didn’t even know existed until a few years ago.
And sorry not sorry Vicki Fitch, but I’m so glad you were about to throw your laptop out the window trying to build your website and that you found me in Freedom Hackers (thanks Kimra!!), started my 5 Day Challenge, connected with me, I figured out she was a business coach and signed up for a free 20 minute consultation.
In 20 minutes, Vicki Fitch reframed my mindset in such a way that something that had been holding me back had been completely bulldozed.
The flood of possibility came rushing through. And I’m so glad I got up off my wallet and invested in coaching with her because I’ve made every cent back and then some, and I know I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her.
I’m grateful for my husband Floyd, who is my best friend. Cliche’ I know, but true.
He works around my busy schedule and never complains about how much I work, who is proud of me, who allows his beliefs about what is possible in our life to change as I do crazy things like quit my job and figure out exactly how much our dream home will cost and make him tell me what kind of lawnmower he would need if we had 10 acres and a log cabin, who does simple, nice thoughtful things for me and believes that I will be successful.
I’m grateful that I have a super supportive, loving family who is proud of me.
They encourage me when I share that I’m afraid to quit my job to follow my dreams, who tell me that I HAVE to do it, that I will be fine and give me perspective by reminding me that I’m not the first person to do it and that both my mom and Grandpa have owned their own businesses, who read every single blog post (hi Mommy!!) and by telling me that I can come live with them if I need to or that they have a job I’d be perfect for if it all goes to shit. They make it so that I can’t “fail”, and I love the crap out of them for it.
I’m grateful that I believe in myself enough to take action.
To try. To embarrass myself. To fail. To get up and try again. To spend money. To waste money (it’s never a waste, it’s always a lesson). To learn how to give up control. To learn how to ask for help. To admit that I don’t know everything, that I’m not always right, and that I don’t have all the answers all the time. To accept constructive feedback. To have great successes and accomplishments and be proud of them, and not minimize them and play it small. To accept people’s compliments without feeling weird #workingonit.
I’m not doing any of this alone. There are so many other people out there who have helped me make my dreams possible.
Sara & Christina at One Woman Shop. Amy Porterfield, whose podcast I just discovered (yes, I’ve been living under a rock apparently) and is just what I need at this stage in my business. Lewis Howes who shows how to be authentic and real and vulnerable.
And then there are the people that help me actually DO THE WORK (as Being Boss says).
The She Can Coterie team – those people are amazingly smart, awesome and insightful, and I can’t wait to continue our work in 2018. Maren, Kim, Marium and Rachel who I rely on for all the things they do better than I do when it comes to building WordPress sites and without whom I’d never have been able to work full time and keep it all afloat.
And finally, I want to thank you guys, my BFFs, all the people that have taken the Free 5 Day Website Challenge because they want the same thing I do.
All the people that have shared it, told their friends and networking groups about it. Thank you to all the people who have bought my courses and learned from me to get closer to your dreams. I cannot wait to help you get even closer in 2018 and beyond!
So tell me in the comments below – what are you thankful for this season?
Who are all the people that have helped you on your journey? What do you need to start being thankful for that you’re not so thankful for right now in order to move forward (like that pesky day job)?
