It seems like every successful business owner out there touts “mindset work” as the THING that got them to where they are. But, they never go on to share anything else about what that means…

Is it just thinking positive thoughts?

Writing 3 things you’re grateful for every day?

Is it buying a bunch of crystals?

What IS IT?

I totally hear your questions and concerns. I’m on a mission to create, teach, and provide accessible and approachable mindset practices so that every entrepreneur can do the work that works. This is what will help business owners increase their impact and income while creating a life and business they truly love.

But, like, where to start? Do you just wake up one day, ready to dedicate hours and hours to meditation and journaling and all that jazz? Nah. Not necessary.

It can be a lot simpler than that. Here are 3 steps to getting started with “Mindset Work” that are easy to understand AND implement.

First, Create TIME.

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The biggest obstacle I hear people bring up is that they just don’t have time to do that stuff. It sounds like it’s hours of thinking and sitting and being (or whatever) and like… you got a business to run, a family to take care of, and Peleton classes to show up for. Completely agree.

So the first thing to do is to create a little bit of a time for you.

Now, we could go down this very existential conversation about how time isn’t real and it’s a construct and it expands to the container you create, but I have a feeling none of that actually matters to you and that is PERFECTLY FINE. Don’t let your disinterest in that stuff deter you. 

Let’s talk pragmatically about creating time. I’ll start here: doing this type of work is NOT about length of time. It’s not about dedicating hours and hours to ‘the work’. It’s about consistently implementing and getting to a place of ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’.

The problem I see often is that people focus on just doing it for an hour in the morning and then they forget about it for the rest of the day. It’s like working out for an hour and then eating McDonalds for the rest of the day, right? Doesn’t quite add up to the results you want.

So the reality is we don’t need a LOT of time. We need maybe 5, 10, or 15 minutes to do some concentrated work and then we need to focus MORE on “being” someone who is mindful or cares about their mindset. But more on that in a bit, for now, let’s talk about the 5, 10, or 15 minutes of concentrated time.

I know you’re busy. I know right now your morning might feel packed to the brim. So what if I told you that 5 minutes could be while you were brushing your teeth or putting on your makeup? Or, what if I challenged you to replace a current activity (like, for me that would be scrolling through Instagram…) with one that was overall more beneficial to you? What if I offered this thought for you to consider: why is time for YOU and yourself the last thing on your to-do list?

Something that I see happen a lot is that we assume it’s impossible before we give it a chance. We assume we could never dedicate an hour to a mindset practice, so we don’t even try to find 5 minutes. We assume we could never lose the 20 pounds, so we don’t even try to stop drinking soda. We assume we could never have a million dollar business, so we never try to make the first $5k. We assume we could never donate thousands of dollars a year to charity, so we never donate the first $5. The list could keep going, but basically we tend to cap ourselves before we even start.

And the truth is, all of those things are totally possible but we have to start somewhere. So I’m asking you for a few minutes a day to get a little quiet and reflective. I’m asking for a few minutes a day to be with yourself and take care of yourself (probably for once!) instead of focusing so much on everyone else. Just a few minutes! Maybe it grows and expands into a longer practice, maybe it doesn’t. We don’t have to make that decision now.

Next, Set An Intention

I’ll be real with you, for a long time I had no idea wtf people were talking about when they said ‘set an intention’. I knew what INTENTIONAL meant, and I’ve explored that a lot with my business — but something about the phrase ‘set an intention’ confused me. Did it mean a goal? Did it mean a desire? I was confused.

Here’s what I mean when I say ‘set an intention’ — before you sit down to meditate, to be still, to journal, to write gratitude, to do whatever… simply state (either out loud or in your head or write it down) what you INTEND (hope/desire/wish) to come of this practice.

Mine are usually that I am setting the intention to feel more grounded in my day or that I am setting the intention to feel more connected to myself and my desires (versus what “I should do”). 

I wanted to give you tangible examples because if you’re anything like me, that phrase is kind of confusing. But yours can be anything, truly. I focus on a feeling, a mood, a way I want to be. For me, it’s not a goal, not like “I intend to journal and then that means I’ll make $10k this month” or “I intend to meditate and then I’ll not eat all the carbs in my house in one sitting” — something about those phrases feels like it’s stemming from not enoughness, or lack. I’d rather just focus on a way I want to feel or be.

Finally, Focus on BEING (Versus Doing)

Okay, like we started to talk about before — the last part of getting started with “mindset work” for me is this idea of BEING versus DOING. That’s the biggest hang-up I see happen. The focus will be on how much someone journaled, or how long they meditated, or how many times they did yoga, or whatever… and all of that is still stemming from this place of not-enoughness. It’s feels like what you’re really saying is, “once I journal for 5 hours I’ll be good enough to get this thing” or “once I meditate every day for 2 hours a day I’ll be more mindful” and it’s just… it’s coming in from an unhelpful angle.

It’s not about crossing some arbitrary finish line. It’s about being someone who is mindful, who cares about their mindset, who cares about their inner world. That’s a 24/7 job! Thinking good thoughts for 5 minutes in the morning doesn’t mean that you’ll not have any judgemental or self loathing thoughts for the rest of the day. Heck no, you’re a human. You’re here to feel the full gamut of emotions and experiences.

For me, it’s more about getting better and quicker at paying attention to my thoughts all the time. And each time doesn’t have to be this thing where I sit down and drag out the journal and analyze the fuck out of myself. It can just be, ‘oh that’s an interesting thought. I wonder where that came from’ and coming back to this childlike curiosity around our minds. Or maybe it’s realizing that you’re starting to spiral around a weird email, or an unexpected bill, and pausing for 30 seconds to take a few deep belly breaths. Or maybe it’s noticing when you take a random thought about ‘being a failure’ as a FACT, and affirming to yourself that ‘you are successful’ while scrolling through Instagram. 

Often in Law of Attraction stuff people talk about Being versus Doing and that’s another unexplained, confusing concept. What it means to me is that it’s part of WHO I AM, not something I necessarily sit down and plan out and force. Now, with being a more mindful person I think we can practice it daily so that it becomes more automatic, but the true transformations for me rarely come just while I’m journaling or meditating, they come for me after the daily, consistent efforts that get easier and easier the more I do them. When one day I just notice that my main though has shifted from ‘what a fuck up’ to ‘this is working!’ and I can’t necessarily pin-point when that shift happened, but I know it happened because I spent time throughout my day (not just in my morning journaling) reminding myself that ‘this is working.’

Does that make sense? I hope these 3 steps are clear enough to help you get started with your own mindset work. Like I mentioned, my intention and goal is to make this work WAY more accessible and approachable, so if you do have any questions or need more clarity please do not hesitate to reach out and share your thoughts with me.

When you’re ready to dive into more tools and practices to support you on your journey, click the link below!

I want to hear about your mindset practice! Share with me on Instagram!

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You see it on Instagram, on Pinterest, and in just about every successful online entrepreneurs story... mindset work. The elusive tool that no one seems to really explain well that seems to make all the difference in growing your business in a sustainable, scalable, and actually enjoyable way.

Let’s dig into 3 simple mindset practices you can bring into your business right away. And don’t worry, if you’re newer to this stuff, confused by things like Tarot cards or crystals, and not really sure what the moon phases are… then you will appreciate these down-to-earth, approachable, and easy to implement tools. 

Before we get to the practices themselves, let’s talk about WHY mindset

Why Mindset?

By this point in running your online business you’ve probably seen a lot of success stories. And then, if you’re anything like me, you might have noticed that they all use different tactics and strategies to reach that coveted mark of “successful business owner” (whatever that may mean to you: $10k months, $100k years, working 3 hours a day, etc.)

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And that’s a little confusing, right? Because if all of these people are crushing it and they all took different approaches… Well, what gives? What’s the path? What steps do you take?

I notice that this is when people start to get in a place of flinging shit against the wall and trying a ton of different strategies for like a week at a time and getting frustrated when it doesn’t seem to pan out. They jump from tool to tool and decide none of it works and they must be broken.

Well, here’s the good news - you’re not broken!
And the even better news - ALL of those strategies probably work.
And the BEST news - the strategies don’t even freaking matter.

I’m serious. They don’t. They all work for different people and so the common denominator must be something else.

And that’s how we land on the mindset piece.

Because it’s not about beating an algorithm or figuring out Facebook ads or coming up with the most innovative Reel. It’s about your decision, commitment, follow through, and trust — and you work on THOSE things through mindset work.

You might be thinking now, but wait, you mean that airy-fairy-fluffy-woo-woo shit?

Yup.

But it doesn’t have to be like that. It CAN be, sure. It can be big and vague and nebulous and talk about karma and past lives and yadda yadda yadda. Or it can just be simple and effective tools to look at your thoughts and process through your beliefs and stories that hold you back.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m way into the woo. But that came later, that came because it was interesting and fun for me. The practical, simple mindset work is where it started and what has made the most difference in my life and business. And that’s what I want to help entrepreneurs like you understand. Don’t write off mindset work as something “not for you” but rather, look at what it is practically doing, and make it WORK for you. AKA make the woo work for you. Which brings me to my next point….

What People Get Wrong

I see this a lot in our space. People say things like “I’m blocked” (no, you’re not) or that they are “trying to be positive enough” (you’re a human, that’s impossible) or a million of other little things that just don’t HELP or SERVE you on your journey.

So let me give you the quickest rundown of what we’re doing here. ALL we’re trying to do is notice our thoughts and see them as thoughts, not as facts. You are the thinker of your thoughts, not your thoughts. If your brain says, “I’m a failure” that’s not inherently true. That’s a thought and thoughts are NOT facts. 

The tools I’ll share with you are designed to help you remember and recognize THAT going on in your life.

Tool #1: Stillness

I am intentionally calling this stillness because I know meditation can put up resistance right away. I’ve heard it all: I can’t meditate, my mind doesn’t turn off, etc., etc. and I get it. Me too, sometimes. So let’s just call it stillness and make it a little simpler.

When I say stillness, what I mean is literally… not moving. Not looking at your phone, not listening to that podcast, not unloading the dishwasher. Literally, stillness. Now your thoughts might not still, but that’s okay. But can you, for even just 2 minutes a day, give yourself an opportunity for stillness?

You might be wondering why this matters. Well, all those thoughts running rampant through your mind, that you’re assuming are facts, are doing that on autopilot. And when we invite stillness in, it gives us a moment to move to being the observer of those thoughts. It gives us a little space to say, oh that’s a weird thought. Or oh, I wonder why I am thinking about this.

Now this might sound like meditation, and it kind of is. Meditation asks you to try and still those thoughts, but I find that can be quite a leap for some people. So can we start with just simple stillness. We might go on a thought spiral, and that’s okay, but as soon as you do notice it can you come back to being the observer of those thoughts and be in stillness?

Inside my program Mindset: Simplified we do this on day one. People love day one. It opens up a whole world for them that they never even realized before and it really does start to shift everything. I know it sounds simple, because you’re like “okay, I get it, thinker of my thoughts…” but when you start to really INTEGRATE that (aka not just read it and logically understand, but live it) so much can open up for you.

Tool #2: Journaling

In a similar way, journaling helps you see your thoughts. There’s a pause between thinking what you are going to write and actually writing it, and that SPACE offers you the same exact thing as stillness does. It’s an opportunity to look at your thoughts and notice… oh, that’s new. That’s interesting. That’s curious.

Now the key here, with both of these tools, is that you let go of judgment of your thoughts. We’re the observer, remember, not the judger. This is easier said than done, and I get that. So let it be a PRACTICE. Notice when you are judging yourself for a thought. And if it helps you, say to yourself, as silly as it sounds, “I’m choosing to let go of judgment around this thought”.

The self judgment that we all throw at ourselves is harmful. Can the goal here be to stop making yourself so damn wrong all the time? Can there be a place, if not all the way to acceptance and love, at least to not hatred and anger? Can we slowly move that needle from “I’m such an idiot” to “That’s an interesting thought”? I call this childlike curiosity and it’s something I try intentionally to hold onto as often as I can. When I notice I’m judging myself or making myself wrong, I try to move to… how interesting. How peculiar. How curious. I try to embody that childlike wonder - not judgement - but just wonder about what my brain and thoughts are doing.

Journaling is something that comes quite simply to some and is confusing as hell to others. If you need a simple prompt to get started, why not try, “what’s present today?” and just catalogue what comes up for you. You don’t have to overanalyze it or try to have some sort of epic breakthrough. Just get in the habit of taking your thoughts out of your head and putting them onto paper.

You can also check out this blog post for some ideas!

Tool #3: Gratitude

Gratitude is something everyone and their mom talks about, so I know you’re not surprised to see it on this list. I’m going to shift it a bit though, into something that every client I’ve ever shared this with has been surprised to hear.

I don’t want you to express gratitude for the things you’ve accumulated or your surroundings or even the things outside of your control (like the weather or trees or whatever). I mean you CAN do that, that’s fine. But if you’re going to pick one way to show up in gratitude, I’d rather you show up in gratitude for yourself.

What are you grateful for about you? What are you grateful for you doing, believing, working on? What are you grateful for you accomplishing or growing in? What are you grateful for you taking time for, making space for, or learning more about?

Do you see how that differs? I’ll give an example. I used to struggle with gratitude so I’d start with things around me - I’m grateful for coffee, for this computer, for the way the light comes into my office. And those things are GREAT, that’s wonderful. But when I started incorporating things like, I’m grateful for how I show up for my clients, I’m grateful for my endless curiosity, I’m grateful for being  really committed to my spin classes… whew. Things shifted. I became more empowered, I became more aware of my strength and my abilities and my confidence soared.

And so I share that with you. Show gratitude for whatever you want but be sure to include YOU in there too. Because I have no doubt that you are the bomb diggity and worth expressing a little gratitude for.

On an ending note…

There are countless more ways to bring mindset into your business and the results are… well, the results you are no doubt seeking. The strategies are important, sure, but they won’t happen with the mindset piece. That’s where you start, that’s the common denominator between the people you admire. They were willing to do THIS work and that made the implementation and action and go-go-go work easier and more effective. So start here. Start now!

When you’re ready to dive into more tools and practices to support you on your journey, click the button below.

Which tool will you start with? Share with me on Instagram!

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Okay, I have a secret for you: There really isn’t a secret strategy that expands your business. But if you’re reading this I can guess that you are wanting something to shift inside of your business. Maybe you want to work less, make more money, get better clients, or introduce a completely new offer and I want to help you do that.

So first things first: stop looking for a secret (ha!) because that will only keep you feeling stuck. The most effective way I’ve found (and helped my clients) to make these shifts in their businesses is to start by getting clear on what it is you want. I know that sounds really simple and that’s why most people skip right over it and start working really hard toward...

Well, toward nothing. Or toward something they think they should want but don’t actually want. 

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An example would be this - for a long time in my first business (a design company)  I worked hard to get a lot of clients and then I realized…. Hey wait, I don’t actually want a lot of clients. I had spent time and energy working toward something that wasn’t actually what I wanted — I wanted less clients but higher end clients. When I made that decision and started moving toward that, things shifted quickly and I created what I wanted.

Now the “work” here is recognizing what it is that you do want AND THEN also paying attention to all the bullshit stories that come up when you start to do that. In my previous example, stories like “who would pay premium prices for my work?” and “I don’t know how to get in front of 6 and 7-figure entrepreneurs” came up. Those stories might’ve held me back from taking action and kept me creating an unaligned business (which will grow slower than something you truly want to do and create in this world).

Those kinds of stories pull at our insecurities and self-doubt. Other stories pulled at my values, one of which is Time Freedom. So my mind would say things like, “well it’ll take a lot of time and work and energy to establish yourself with a new audience” — which isn’t true, by the way — but when I had that thought a fear would rise up in me that I’d have to sacrifice Time Freedom (a big value of mine) to reach my goals. At the end of the day, the way that our Values work is… well, we won’t sacrifice our top values. I love money and value success, but for me Time Freedom is MORE valuable… so you see how those stories could hold me back, right?

I’m sharing all of this with you so that you can look at your own stories. To recap, first define YOUR version of success and second notice all the bullshit that tells you that’s not an option for you.

I work with my 1:1 clients often on both of these types of stories. The real magic comes when they decide to create something that is in alignment with themselves — aka, define their version of success, and find a way to honor their values in the process, while also dismantling the limitations that your mind is trying to put on you. I know that sounds like a lot but with the support of someone, like a coach, to help you notice and process through these things… it can be a lot easier.

All of this, in my opinion, starts with deciding to create an aligned business.

Which is again, simple sounding.

But so many entrepreneurs decide that they’ll ‘worry about that later’ or think they ‘just have to make it through this hustle-week’ or whatever. And I get that, I’ve been there too. But I can tell you — if you want a secret — the sooner you decide to create an aligned business and start doing THAT work, the easier and quicker your version of success comes to you.

If you’re ready to make that decision for yourself, I recommend starting with an Aligned Business Audit.

This is a tool I use in my own business and have helped many clients bring into their business too. You can learn more about it and get started with your audit by clicking the button below.

What does an aligned business look like for you? Share with me in Instagram!

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Creating success in your online business starts with one simple—but not necessarily easy—step:

Defining Success.

What does it mean for you to be successful? What does that look like? What does that give you? What’s included? What’s NOT included? Is it $10k months? Is it retiring your partner? Is it working 3 hours a day? Is it being a digital nomad? What IS it?

See, most entrepreneurs don’t actually define success which makes it nearly impossible to actually create success because you have no idea what it is you’re actually working toward. And that’s how you end up this cycle of working really hard, exhausting and burning yourself out, feeling like you’ve not accomplished anything, constantly squirrel-ing around and trying new things, etc.

Does any of that feel familiar?

Chances are you haven’t defined success for yourself. 

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So, your first step is to do that - to actually define what it is you want. This can feel hard if you overthink it and ‘want to get it perfect’ — so let me encourage you to take a deep breath, come back to center, and know that you are a human with free will and always have the ability to change your mind. Not making a decision from fear of making a decision IS ACTUALLY a decision in itself. Meta, I know.

Journal Exercise: What does success look like for me?

Then, the next part of this conversation about creating success includes talking about the Be Do Have concept. This is from neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and is a way to understand your world that will ultimately prove more beneficial than how you are probably operating. See, most of us are born and bred to believe it’s ‘have do be’ — once I have $10k months, I’ll hire the support, and I’ll have more time for life outside of business.. But that’s actually backwards. In the Be Do Have model we would start with who do we have to be to do the things we need to do to have the things we desire.

That’s why defining success is so important because once we know what it is we actually are working toward, we can start to ourselves this question: who do I have to be?

Journal Exercise: Who do I have to BE to have the things I desire?

And you can use this reflection to start to work backwards from point Z and come alllll the way back to point A. If I want to be someone who works 3 hours a day, who can I be right here, right now, to step into that?  Can I be someone who creates boundaries and sticks to them better? Can I be someone who creates systems and outsources in my business? Cool — what’s the first system to make? The first thing to outsource?

If that feels overwhelming, please know that you don’t have to map out all 100 steps. But instead just focus on the thing you can do next, the next thing you can do to BE the person who has what you desire.

Journal Exercise: What’s the one next aligned action to BE the person who creates the success I desire?

Now, if you’re not asking yourself these sorts of questions often in your business (and life!) chances are you are working really hard and getting nowhere fast. That’s where an Aligned Business Audit can support you. I’ve created monthly, quarterly, and yearly options for this audit for you to use in growing your business in a way that works for YOU. Ready to learn more and start your own audit?

What does an aligned business look like for you? Share with me in Instagram!

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