The Enlightened Entrepreneur

The Enlightened Entrepreneur focuses on how we can go so far beyond building a resume, a company, an image or an investment portfolio, we can build a legacy. Each week, we get into real topics that include how to design a business to support the life you actually want to live, how to serve your customers differently to create raving fans, and how to use branding to magnetize your mission and get the money rolling.

Money Matters 07/26/2019

Project-Based Working 07/26/2019

My Biggest Challenge in Money Is 07/26/2019

Your Body and Your Bank Account 07/26/2019

Allowing Space for What's Profound 07/26/2019

Finding the Stillness of Summer 07/26/2019

The Customer Experience Re-Imagined 11/06/2018

Hire Your Mentors 11/06/2018

Hire Your Mentors Today, I want to talk about the power in hiring your mentors. I know it sounds strange because a lot of people are accustomed to a mentorship being a freebie. If you’re the mentor, someone has probably begged or pleaded with you to kindly share your wisdom, advice, your contacts and connections with them because you’re further along the path then they are. Sometimes you say yes, and it usually looks like you giving your time for free without a regular cadence or consistency, without deep stretches of time, and it’s just based on when you happen to be available. And if you’re the mentee, and really craving someone on the path that’s further along than you, then you approach this person, state your case, and every time they give you their time, you do feel grateful, but you’re very hyper aware of asking too much of their time. Also, you might not ask the direct questions that fit your needs. If you’re listening to this podcast, I know that you don’t want to be on autopilot and that you want to continue learning and growing. My recommendation is to hire your mentors so you can continue to learn and grow and so you and your mentor will show up consistently and powerfully. In this episode Elizabeth shares: Why paying for a mentor makes you more intentional and willing to choose the right mentor How mentors show up with consistency and to exceed expectations once they’re hired The importance of holding your mentor accountable and vocalizing concerns Why taking the investment in yourself seriously helps you to show up more fully and powerfully Different kinds of coaches and mastermind programs available for personal growth Money for the sake of money vs. Money for the sake of impact The value of finding the right coach or program to meet your needs Asking for recommendations and referrals for a mentor or coach Understanding what you have to lose if you don’t invest in a mentor The importance of aligning our resources of time and energy with what makes us feel alive Mentioned in this episode: If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on or my . If today’s episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive. /episode/index/show/theenlightenedentrepreneur/id/7408040

Finding Your Purpose with June Wee 10/30/2018

Finding Your Purpose with June Wee In this episode, Elizabeth talks with June Wee, a transformational life coach, about the moment she realized she needed a life coach and what led her to become a life coach herself. June aims to serve and inspire through any means possible. Commonly, June does this through coaching, consulting, and her inspiration cards, which are daily affirmations that June created herself. In this episode, Elizabeth and June discuss the following: Societal definitions of success The drawbacks of constantly comparing your problems to others’ problems Understanding that all humans experience the same emotions Universal fears and the feeling of not being enough How to get unstuck and recognize that you do know what you want The value of daily excitement and having things that “light us up” Owning your choices vs. resigning yourself to autopilot mode Saying yes purely out of choice and being heart-centered Following your brain vs. tuning into your heart Looking at choices as tests and experiments The power of fear and fearlessness Personifying emotions and determining what they’re blocking How false expectations appearing real (F.E.A.R.) can hinder us The power we have in choosing how we spend our time, money, and energy What does it mean to be true to yourself? What does it mean if you’re being 75% true to yourself? We tend to latch onto external definitions of success, and then we go full speed ahead to achieve that success, and then we have this realization that what we thought would fill us up is actually flat and not fulfilling at all. Is it okay to want more? How can we choose to follow our hearts and do things that satisfy and excite us? If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on or my . If today’s episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive. Mentioned in this episode: /episode/index/show/theenlightenedentrepreneur/id/7367573

What Would it Look Like to Listen? 10/30/2018

Meet Yourself Where You're At 10/23/2018

Because I Want To 10/16/2018

Trading the Grind for Grinding 10/09/2018

Trading the Grind for Grinding Are you addicted to busyness? Are you grinding through a 9-5? Elizabeth shares her philosophy in this weeks episode on how to live with deeper purpose. The daily grind: Monday-Friday, 9-5 grind Being addicted to busyness Recognizing “loss leaders” in your life Creating your own definition of success Being comfortable with just being with yourself Downfall of constantly grinding as an entrepreneur Having a misconception of what your purpose is Importance of having a deeper purpose I don’t know what it is about entrepreneurship that makes us think that building, running, and growing a business requires that we be chained to our laptops, or that we be back to back in an endless stream of conference calls, interviews, meetings, or going to networking events. Why do we think that is how we need to fill our time? As an entrepreneur, I wouldn’t allow myself to just sit and be with myself. Reading a book, calling a friend, taking a bath, or taking a walk became luxuries of time and I used them as fillers and crutches. If I had free time, I didn’t really know what to do with it. There was this need to fill my time with anything to be productive. Instead of being comfortable with just being, I latched onto the doing, and it made me feel like I was more in control of my business, my household, my health, my anything. But if we want to be liberated in entrepreneurship, then grinding it out every day does NOT support the spaciousness that you need to live the life that you actually dream of living for yourself. Do you want to be the entrepreneur who trades the daily grind for grinding it out every day on your own? Or do you want to be the entrepreneur that really looks at the life that you want to be living and marries your schedule, your purpose, your mission, the products and services that you offer to get closer to the life you want and and legacy you want to leave behind? If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on or my . If today’s episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive. /episode/index/show/theenlightenedentrepreneur/id/7138362

F*ing Doubt 10/02/2018

F*ing Doubt Let's talk about Self Doubt. You know that voice in your head that talks you our of your next big adventure. Elizabeth shares her thoughts on conquering inner fear and living freely. Unavoidability of self-doubt. Create less room for doubt. Love your doubts, examine them for greater clarity. Don’t rush into hasty decisions just because you feel doubt. Being fearless is a farce. One of the things that I think is important for all entrepreneurs to recognize and address head on is self-doubt. You see, this is something that we all will have to deal with at some point in time and it’s also something that we can really learn to use as a tool if we let it. Self-doubt has come up more times than I can count in my own story, even with all of my accomplishments I still felt like I had a lot of doubt to creep in and that my confidence wasn’t always real. The doubt would creep in and that would lead to indecision, having my energy totally depleted and I would feel stuck. I couldn’t take action in a way that felt aligned or easy but I needed to take some action. Which lead me to taking actions that came from obligation instead of action from inspiration - not a habit I wanted to be getting used to. Then I realized that my doubts and fears were there because they were trying to tell me a story or help me to make the right decisions. I learned to slow down and examine those doubts in a loving way, to get to the bottom of why they were there. I also discovered that the more you know what you want and what you don’t want - the less space you create for doubt to creep in. So let your doubts make you curious about where it is stemming from and why. By doing that you can move forward with your business from a place of clarity and conviction. Really get in touch with your own vision and beliefs, discover the things you want to achieve and the things you want to avoid. Become really clear with yourself on your mission how you want to align with the rest of the world, because that will make examining the doubts that do crop up from a much clearer mindset. Doubt will never go away completely, but it doesn’t need to run the show. If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on or my . If today’s episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive. /episode/index/show/theenlightenedentrepreneur/id/7002653

Redefining Progress 09/25/2018

Redefining Progress Today I want to open up with you about something that has been kind of weighing heavy on me lately, accepting the predetermined definition of progress - that feeling we get when we’ve maybe been successful but that we are not satisfied. In this episode Elizabeth talks about: Redefining Progress! Progress is the journey. Progress is the path that leads us to the life we want to be living. As you know, I’ve already looked at redefining success and what it means for me personally and my business. Success feels very finite in a way, like it’s black and white, and a tangible win. On the other hand, progress seems is a bit more tricky, because it isn’t an event - it’s a journey. I’m having trouble quantifying progress as I go along - because though I’ve updated my ways of thinking about success, I haven’t done the same with progress. I feel like I’m working in the ways that I want to be working but I can’t always tell if I am making the right amount of progress. But then I realized, that progress doesn't have to be x amount of dollars or x amount of meetings, or even a totally booked calendar. It can be anything that you think it should be. So as you recalibrate what success looks like in your life - redefine what progress looks like too. My new definition of progress: “What is progress? Progress is the journey, progress is a non-event. Progress is anything that brings me even a single step closer to earning in big ways through big service. Progress is any new conversation. Progress is any new proposal that is aligned. Progress is any yes and any no. Progress is putting out any new piece of content that I have created to be out there in the world. Progress is any new personal breakthrough, or realization, or revelation. Progress is being proactive about a boundary. Progress is any amount of fun, freedom, lightness, ease and power where there was once struggle, sabotage, and sacrifice.” If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on or my . If today’s episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive. /episode/index/show/theenlightenedentrepreneur/id/7002643

What if we looked at Self Promotion like this? 09/25/2018

What if we looked at Self Promotion like this? If you feel self indulgent for self promotion this episode is for you! Elizabeth breaks down: How we should look at self-promotion. Questions that invite genuine conversation. Finding a bigger purpose. “Don’t do what the world needs, do what makes you come alive.” - Howard Thurman One of the things that I think is hard for entrepreneurs, particularly women entrepreneurs is the notion of having to self-promote. But here’s the thing, self promotion should feel good and empowering, not icky and self indulgent. One of the ways I’ve found that I connect best with people about what I do, or what they do - is by asking questions that actually invite a genuine conversation to occur. Don’t ask what someone does, ask what they’re doing right now that’s got them really excited. Because if you have a purpose that is bigger than you and you can give voice to that and explain those passions, why you have them or what you’re doing about them - that is where the real connections and sparks occur! Having those conversations shows others how you are aligning your time, money, and energy behind something that you so deeply believe in that it truly makes you come alive. Self promotion doesn't have to be at the surface level of who you are and what you do, what makes self promotion feel attractive is when you’re giving voice to something bigger than you that you believe in with every cell of your body. Lead with that, using your business or job to underscore that bigger mission because that is what leads to authentic connection and business growth. If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on or my . If today’s episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive. /episode/index/show/theenlightenedentrepreneur/id/7002629

Interest vs Identity 09/18/2018

Evolve with Intention 09/18/2018

Evolve with Intention Everything around a business changes. The customer changes, the marketplace changes, the competitive landscape changes. If a brand isn’t changing, then the runway of success becomes really short and growth will either flatline or dip into the red. As an individual and as a business owner, I viewed change as a departure from what I was or as a failure. In reality, the opposite is true. It is an evolution; I’m becoming who I’ve always been. My experience qualifies me to become more of who I am because it leads me to follow my passions, my interests, my curiosities; it leads me to seek out experiences that totally leverage the skills I’m good at. Moving toward change opened a world of possibility of how evolution can be INTENTIONAL. Evolution is not a linear process; it’s circular. It’s doing all of these things that don’t belong together, but doing them because they make us feel ALIVE. Ask yourself: What am I good at ? What do I love? What do I want to do? Take the time to step back and reflect, and begin to make sense of what your answers. Know that all of those experiences called to you for a reason. Following them is no coincidence and no mistake. Don’t limit yourself to what your resume says. Give yourself the permission to create and put out into the world something that might not be perfect, but that is totally alive for you. Release your grip and let things unfold. Follow what makes you feel curious and excited, and you’ll get so much closer to knowing what you actually want to spend your time doing! In this episode, Elizabeth shares the following: Observations about branding and marketing Ability of entrepreneurs to evolve Moving toward change vs. moving away Limitations of a linear voice Feeling new vs. feeling right Questions to determine what drives you Power of a personal project Creating space and being okay with not knowing Permission to be imperfect If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on or my . If today’s episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive. /episode/index/show/theenlightenedentrepreneur/id/7002590

Definitions of Success 09/11/2018

Definitions of Success Today I wanted to have a conversation about happiness, success, and about the precursor of what let to me feeling like I was in a pressure cooker of my own design. I started my business from a place of passion but within a few years I suddenly felt like I was a slave to the business instead. Looking back on it now, I realize that I had always based my business goals off what the standard looked like in the industry, which wasn’t my own definition of success. Sure, we worked with iconic brands and tech companies, we moved part time employees to full time staff, we had offers to be acquired, and we experienced good business growth. But through all of that, I didn’t have a sense of feeling happy or relieved. Instead, I would set my sights on the next achievement or rung in the ladder, and go full out to get it… but once I got there the reward was always short lived. I kept delaying my happiness for other external items. I wasn’t satisfied so the happiness never sunk in because I kept postponing it for “I’ll be happy when…” I didn’t feel alive or energized, I actually felt like I had no space for the things that were my passions or values and I was giving all of my resources to succeeding. But the kicker, is that definition of success was not my own, but one that had been placed upon me. I was so hung up on meeting that level of success - I ended up disconnected from my heart and own values. We take on these external definitions of success and just assume that they are right - but what if we were to take that definition into our own hands and reinvent what success feels like for each of us individually? At the end of the day we only have to answer to ourselves, and we only have this one life to live - so own your own success and have it help you come alive. In this episode, Elizabeth discusses the following: Benefits of hindsight - reflecting on my past lessons. Definition of success. Keeping your passion and happiness alive. Reflecting on what success feels like to you. If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on or my . If today’s episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive. /episode/index/show/theenlightenedentrepreneur/id/7002583

Designing Your Business for Lifestyle You Want to Lead 09/11/2018

Designing Your Business for Lifestyle You Want to Lead I recently was invited to be a co-host for a women’s entrepreneur monthly breakfast - I found the topic to be extremely engaging and relevant, so today I am continuing that conversation and bringing it to you. We are going to discuss designing your business to the lifestyle that you want to lead, which is clearly a topic near and dear to me. As I’ve mentioned before, I started my business from a place of passion - but I ended up finding that after a few years I was no longer running my business, my business was running me. Which is not how I wanted to be managing my business or my personal time. Once I made the connection that my business did not have to own me, I was able to really get intimate with my vision and what I wanted in my life. That moment gave me the opportunity to re-evaluate what I wanted my schedule to look like and then realistically work the business needs backwards from that point. An important aspect of being an enlightened entrepreneur, is being able to really serve your clients and maintain the lifestyle you want to keep. In order to show up as our best selves and serve our ideal clients to our greatest ability - we have to have time to be creative, play, discover, find movement. We can’t fill our working days to the brim with back to back responsibilities and expect that we will be giving our best work to those clients. What do you want your life to look like, and how can you create a business offering to match that? In this episode, Elizabeth discusses the following: Taking the reins of control. Creating the lifestyle you want to lead. Giving your best self to each client. Finding the right schedule balance for you. If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on or my . If today’s episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive. /episode/index/show/theenlightenedentrepreneur/id/7002576

Why I Would Re-Do My Ted Talk 09/04/2018

Antidotes to Stress with Michelle Cady 09/04/2018

Antidotes to Stress with Michelle Cady Michelle shares how she wasn’t always the woman who had boundaries to put away her phone at night and have a tech detox, and what it’s like to experience adrenal fatigue and to not have a morning routine that sets you up for a successful day. She discusses how she tried to do it all in her career. Her days were filled with little sleep, unhealthy eating habits, intense workouts, and rushing from place to place. Michelle realized she was in a cycle of pushing really hard and then burning out. Her lightning-bolt moment of change came when she secretly started following wellness coaches on Instagram and knew she could build a similar business. She explains the stepping stones that helped her transition from the finance world to an online fitness and nutrition coach. When I first started working with Michelle, I remember describing what my life was like, and she asked me to describe the DETAILS around it. She wasn’t just talking about the things I do throughout my morning. She wanted to know: What time do you wake up? What wakes you up? What is the feeling that you have as you go about making coffee and when you’re dressing your son? It allowed me to look at the way in which I was doing these really simple things that I’ve always done in a very different way. That’s really the beginning of when I started to change my mindset, and it made me question my own definitions of success and expectations for myself. What does success look like to you? How are you going to achieve the next level of success if your foundation is not sustainable? How can you create more space for yourself? How can you say yes to yourself more? What does it feel like when you do? In this episode, Elizabeth talks with integrated health coach Michelle Cady about: Michelle’s Workshop Model Impact of connection with total strangers experiencing same emotions How stress and anxiety impacts communication Recognizing how stress manifests itself Rushing Woman’s Syndrome When stress cycle actually begins Tips for establishing a game-changing morning routine Putting yourself first Tech detox Structure vs willpower Creating boundaries and keeping them Establishing expectations to win more autonomy Stepping stones into coaching business Importance of taking time off for yourself Integrated health approach Surviving vs. Thriving Power of 5 minute breaks Learning what you need and saying yes to yourself Quick and easy antidotes for burnout Making the decision to work with a wellness coach Mentions: If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on or my . If today’s episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive. /episode/index/show/theenlightenedentrepreneur/id/7002261

The Pressure Cooker 08/28/2018

The Pressure Cooker If you’re an entrepreneur or have an entrepreneurial spirit, and you’re really craving a different way of doing things — that doesn’t require the intense and immense personal sacrifice in order to succeed — this podcast is for you! In this episode, Elizabeth shares the following: Feeling free vs. feeling enslaved Chasing success and money The struggle to stay passionate and connected The value and impact of time and energy SXSW and community outreach How pressure builds as a business owner Creating a new operating system Different ways to define success It’s a really interesting thing when you find yourself in a pressure cooker of your own design. It really began when I left my full time job and went out on my own to start this business. My business started as a passion project; it was a labor of love in so many ways. And then something switched. Suddenly, I was demanding that my passion pay the bills and I wanted to succeed in bigger ways, and bigger ways, and bigger ways. It caused me to spend a lot of my time figuring out my offerings: How am I going to make this money? What am I going to do? What am I going to charge? This constant, insatiable quest for success led to growth, but also meant I sacrificed my social time and felt disconnected from my body. When you don’t have to answer or show up for anyone but yourself, how do you structure your time? How do you structure your values? How do you keep your energy from shifting away from your passion? Time and energy are two of our very precious resources. Is your energy good, fulfilling, and uplifting? As an entrepreneur, you get to take into consideration your family, yourself, your wellbeing, your business, your clients. You get to decide what to say yes to and what to say no to. If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on or my . If today’s episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive. /episode/index/show/theenlightenedentrepreneur/id/6974790

My Path To Entrepreneurship 08/28/2018

My Path To Entrepreneurship Today I wanted to talk with you about my path to becoming an entrepreneur, and trust me when I tell you that I would have never guessed this path for myself! Before I ventured onto my own path, I had the typical 9 to 5 office gig - that eventually left me unsatisfied and craving more. But I was scared to push forward into any big life changes, so I stayed in a role that I had outgrown simply because I didn’t know what else to do. My body and brain were not longer excited for the tasks at my job because I just didn’t enjoy where I was at anymore. So one day I sat down and listed out my passions, talents, and skills to try and find my place in the world. But what I found was that my list looked completely disconnected. No job in the world could fit all the different things I had listed or specified. All of that changed after one snow day, when I was inspired to explore my own creativity and ended up creating a pathway for myself that would change my life forever. No job out there could fit the list that I had complied, instead I found that I was able to create that dream job for myself - and haven’t looked back since. I built my foundation on the things that make me happy, make me feel alive, and give me energy. No matter where you are at in your business, from just starting out to 10 + years of service - build your base and pillars on the things that you are passionate about, that you love doing, that give you energy, and make you happy. Because you’ll burn yourself out otherwise. Do your work from a place of curiosity and passion, not out of obligation, and fall in love with what you do. In this episode, Elizabeth discusses the following: Thinking outside of the box Her journey into entrepreneurship Being in love with what you do Creating your own dream job If you want to keep the conversation going, you can find me on or my . If today’s episode was at all inspiring to you, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes I would be so grateful. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel needs it, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive. /episode/index/show/theenlightenedentrepreneur/id/6974741

Start Here. My Why. 08/21/2018

The Enlightened Entrepreneur

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