020: Time to play Bucket List Bingo!

The Modern CEO Podcast Episode 20 hey, have you heard? There's a new style of CEO on the block. The Modern CEO. And she is changing the way businesses are run. She's setting her own hours and her own salary. She's creating a business around what matters most to her. Freedom, family, and impact. And her corner office looks nothing like what you'd see on Wall Street. It's a kitchen table, your grandma's lake house, a spacious home office, the living room floor maybe surrounded by kids and crayons or the local coffee shop. Your business, your way. This modern CEO is here to stay. Because when you embrace your role as modern CEO, you will have more freedom, more profit, and more fun. Most importantly, you'll fall in love with your life and a business in a way you've only dreamed. Trust me, this isn't a pipe dream reserved for only a select few. You are the modern CEO. You are creating a business and life you love because a better business means a better life. Hey. Hey. Welcome to the Modern CEO podcast. I am your host, Amber McHugh, and I am really excited to dig into the next episode in our Virtual Planning experience series, which is all about building your business bucket list. We're gonna have a ton of fun with this, and we've got a fun new gamified spin to put on this that will take us through the entire year ahead. But before we dive into that, I wanna open up and share something with you. It's not so much an apology, it's not so much a confession, but it truly is just opening up and being real. And that is. It's something that I've been thinking about since the last episode, actually. And it is that I was experiencing anxiety when I recorded that episode. And you may not have even noticed. Right? As I was taught when I was playing piano when I was a kid, you go on stage and you do your performance, and if you make a mistake or if you hit the wrong key, you just keep on rolling. Because chances are, no one noticed. So whether you did or didn't notice, I still wanted to open up and share this, because it is real. Anxiety is real. And as entrepreneurs, with the stress that we have with sometimes, especially in the solo entrepreneur space, the isolation that we have, there is a chance that there is someone listening to this episode who has experienced anxiety or experiences it on a daily basis. So I wanted to let you know that you are not alone. And I wanted to invite you to reach out if you ever feel like you need or want support, even if you don't have anything to say specifically? Just that I feel it too. I am here for you, so please do not hesitate to reach out. I personally am so grateful I do not experience anxiety on a daily basis. My anxiety typically comes from something situational and external. For example, I get anxiety when it gets cold out. Yes. When I live back in Maryland every winter, be like, why am I getting anxiety? Oh, it's cold out. I've got to layer up at night. I've got to layer up and put socks on during the day. I've got to have extra heaters. And it happened a couple of times here in Ethiopia when there was a cold night. One night I left the balcony door open, so it got especially cold inside. I'm like, wait, what? Where is this anxiety coming from? Oh, it's cold out and I left the balcony door open. So more recently, I've been experiencing anxiety on a consistent basis ever since I came back from that trip to California. And I'm starting to zero in on what I think it may be. And I'm going to play with some things and make some changes and make some adjustments to see if that helps. So if whether it's situational or it's daily for you, we are here for you. You have support and you have a community and you have people to turn into. So do not hesitate. Now, with that in mind and that taken care of, let's turn to our business bucket list. Now, we are going to Funify. Funify. We are going to Funify and gamify this business bucket list by turning it into a game of bingo. So stick around. I'm going to share with you how this is going to work. And I'm also going to share with you what is in my bucket list bingo for the year ahead, specifically in the business, with a couple personal things thrown in there because a better business means a better life. So what are you going to do this year that challenges you, that pushes you to grow and experience something new? And you know, I am not about pushing harder, faster. And you know, I believe everything happens right on time. So don't feel like as you're thinking through right now, like, oh, bucket list for my business. What? It doesn't have to push you so far that you experience so much discomfort that you freeze. Just a little bit of discomfort, just a little bit of pushing outside of your comfort zone can make big things happen in your life and in your business. And you know, over the last couple of years, I have been going through a journey of surrender and patience. But just because we're surrendering. This does not mean we are throwing our hands up in the air, waiting and sitting back for things to happen to us. We have to get intentional. We are a part of this process and a part of this journey of surrender and patience and growth. We have to get intentional because the energy, the results, and the outcomes come from where we set our intentions. They come from planning, and then they come when we step into action. And certainly things don't always unfold exactly as we expect they will. But when we focus on the things that are important to us, we focus on the things that maybe we just want to experiment with and play around with. Usually things will work out. It's when we lose our focus and we don't set intentions. That's when we get off track because we've let our intention flow somewhere else and we may get different results than we intended. We may end up in a place that is totally unexpected. For example, if we are focused on failing, if we focus on the thoughts and the ideas that pop up that detract us from executing on our vision. I'm not good enough. I need more education first. Why would they turn to me? This is easy. They don't need me to do this for them. This is easy. When we start to let those thoughts creep in, our chances of failure will increase. Our chances of. Yeah, they don't need you will increase because that is the story you are telling yourself. So we're not going to go deep on this today, although there is a lot here that we could dive deep into. Today in this virtual planning experience, we are going to focus on the fun side of planning and we're going to take the pressure off a little bit because it is hard work what we are doing, right? We sit in isolation. We are solopreneurs. It is very easy to turn inward and let those thoughts and let that track play. But instead, today we are going to create our bucket list and we're going to turn it into a game of bingo. All right, so here's how this is going down. You can create your very own bingo card. And yes, I have a template for you over@ambermceh.com bucketlistbingo ambermcugh.com bucket list bingo. If you want to grab a template that you can fill in and customize on your own. Now, I am looking at this big bingo bucket list as primarily business, but I threw a couple of fun things in there for a little bit of gimmes. They're things I've been putting off and procrastinating but if we are turning it into a game, and I'm competing mostly with myself here, bingo is going to be a lot more fun and I'm more likely to execute on those things that I have been procrastinating. Anybody, anybody have something on your list that you have been thinking about doing for a while, but you've been procrastinating? Yeah, I got a few of those, both in the business category, the life category, and even in the personal development category. So we're going to weave this in now. Certainly this is something you could expand on and you could have a family bingo bucket list for the year. Things that challenge you, learning opportunities. I'm specifically thinking about my kids as well. When we read a certain number of books, bingo bucket list that could fill in a square. So I'm going to collaborate with my girls and say, what do you want to do this year? What would be exciting for you? What would challenge you? What would put you in that growth space for the year ahead? And that every time my girls or myself get bingo, we're going to do something fun to celebrate our accomplishments. So if you don't know how bingo works, because I recently volunteered at a bingo event and I know that there were some questions about how does bingo work again? Okay, so I'm going to do a simple bingo card. Just bingo cards are. You're going to see squares to fill in for your bingo spots. And whenever you get one of those things done, you're going to put a dot on it or you're going to put an X across that thing you got done. And whenever you get a line where you cover the bingo card from corner to corner or top to bottom with a line, you get bingo and you get to celebrate. Now every time you fill in a line, you're going to celebrate. In addition, when you fill in the whole card, I say that gets an extra big celebration. So we're going to cover lines. A line down a diagonal line across the whole card from corner to corner, or in the middle of the card, top to bottom, right, you get a line. So anytime you get a line, celebrate, take yourself out to dinner, go out for Starbucks, go to a movie, something extra, something extra that you don't do on a day to day basis. And then again, when I fill in the whole card, we're gonna do something extra, extra to celebrate that all of these things were accomplished. Okay, so I've shared that I've merged my business bucket list with a couple of personal things that I have been putting off and procrastinating And I'm gonna dive into those those with you now in case they'll give you some ideas for your business bucket list as well. So on my list, first up is doing something on tv, talking about my business. And I've got two things that I think might be interesting on tv. The process of how to clone yourself I think may be interesting as well as this idea of slowing down to speed up because you are right on time. Now, why tv and why did I pick this to talk about first on this podcast episode? We are going straight to it, guys. You know, I want to share the message and I want to connect with and support with as many women as possible to have positive change in their lives. And one way I think that we can go about that is by cloning ourselves. And if you know anything about my how to clone yourself process, you know, it's not exactly about cloning yourself, but it feels like you've cloned yourself when you share, outsource, delegate, delete, systematize those things that you don't really like to do that you aren't very good at, but you think you have to do them. No, I think we are better off when we share those things with someone else when we straight up delete them from our to do lists or we systematize them so they take us less time. That's the how to clone yourself process. And I think that's something, if more women especially implemented, we would feel a lot more ease and peace and joy in our lives. Now that's super tactical, right? That's something I've got a process for, I've got systems for we can execute on versus the right on time message, which is a little bit of an anti hustle. It's a little bit of an anti do all the things all the time message because everything is happening right on time. And when we surrender and we open up to the possibility that there's something more out there when we reimagine how we are setting up our lives, how we are showing up in our businesses, how we engage with our family, there is also ease and joy to be found in that. And completely wonderful, unexpected things happen when we embrace this right on time methodology. So those are two things I'm thinking I might be ready to talk about more broadly as I try to reach more women. And one way to go about that is through tv. So that is one thing that is on the list. Another thing is on the list with the same two concepts and topics. Top of mind is getting published in two external magazine Sources. Certainly we publish on the podcast all the time. Certainly I have a blog where things are going and I'm publishing on social media. But I want to get hyper spread specific and publish and focus on getting connected with two external sources magazines to share and expand upon these ideas. All right, so those were two big ones. Now something fun. Three family vacations. Yes, three y'. All. It is only since moving to Ethiopia I have gotten intentional about planning vacations. Typically in the past when we go on a vacation, it was spur of the moment, three day weekend. Let's go to the Eastern Shore or let's book a hotel room for the weekend and maybe we'd go down to Disney World with our whole family. We did one big Greece trip. But you know, usually I'm not very good at planning those family vacations. They kind of spring break, summer vacation kind of crept up on me. But since moving to Ethiopia, we have gotten very intentional and very focused on exploring different cultures, different parts of the world. And we've already, well, we're hanging out in Ethiopia. So that's one. One big thing, but not quite vacation anymore. We did our safari in Kenya. I went to Dubai to see my dad and we're gonna do three additional family vacations minimum in 2019. The first is already booked. I just realized this after I wrote down three family vacations. We are going back to Dubai to see my dad. I don't typically hit up the same spot over and over again, but my dad's gon there. We haven't spent a lot of time with him over the last several years because we've been on different parts of the world. So he is going to be in Dubai and I'm going to pop there to see him. And our whole family is going except Lily who's at university in Santa Barbara. So we're going to catch her on the next family vacation. So three vacations this year. The first is determined, the second two are still up in the air. I am also committing to in my business bucket list bingo. To creating new video content. And I've already started on this. It's something I've been wanting to do for a very long time. I've been putting it off, or I did a little bit of it, but I didn't go all in. I'm going all in to create some new video content. I actually have the topics planned. I had a meeting with a local Ethiopian video producer, a storyteller and documentarian last week. So this is in motion. We're gonna start with just five episodes now, does that mean the podcast is going away? Nope, still here. Are we gonna start doing a video a week? Nope, not a video a week, but we're gonna start with just five episodes, get a feel for it, see how it goes, test and see which stories you might be interested in, and then we're gonna go from there. So we're just going to start with new video content and once I get those first five done, you guys, I am calling this Bingo Square done. Because it's just about exploring and experimenting, taking the pressure off a little bit. Now the next item is an item that I'm going to put in the free space on the middle of the bingo card. But I'm still going to be intentional about it and I'm still going to draw focus to it. And this item is going in the free space because it's something I want to do every single day in 2019 from here on out. So every single day I want to write. It could be write something big, write something small, write something for Instagram, pre planned content, but I want to be writing every single day. And while I really enjoy writing, it's something I avoid actually. And it was only in my MBA program when they gave us a grade for journaling every week that I personally experienced the power of it. I had to do it, it was for my grade, otherwise I would have procrastinated this. But once I actually sit down to do it, I enjoy it. And it fuels so many other areas of my life, of my business. So we're going to make that happen this year. Every single day there will be writing happening, big or small. I actually have filled up two or three notebooks already this year. I'm looking around just to look. I think that's three full notebooks and a stack of post it notes with writing and ideas. And last night I'm working on a new project with my business partner Joanna for our photography business, Three Boudoir. And I wrote 17 love notes to our clients. So I'm counting that as writing. Just to give you a sample of what's included in that writing category. Now, next item on the bucket list, back to a little bit of fun. Family photo shoot. All five of us. Getting a photo shoot is fairly easy. We actually use Flightographer and Shoot to Fly is another one. So when we were in Dubai, we used Flightographer and it was so easy to set up. It was so much fun because we were on vacation. It wasn't like we were cramming it into our regular workday or a regular work Week. But getting all five of us together with Lily in California going to school, it gets a little bit more challenging. So we are setting that goal this year to get a family photo shoot with a professional photographer. We actually did get Snap a couple family photos by the iPhone when we were in Kenya all together on a safari. But I want to make sure the next one is pro because it's been a while since we've gotten a professional photo shoot done with all five of us, so that must happen in 2019. Okay, now back to business. We got a couple of exciting. Actually, our last three business bucket list items for my bingo card are pretty fun and a little bit scary. The first one of our last three is getting 300 new members in our Power up monthly subscription. Now, why 300? Why not a thousand? Why not 2000? Why aren't you going big, Amber? Because I know that small things add up. I want to set a goal that feels like I can do it right. I want some of my goals to be super doable. Some, I don't have a clue how it's happening. Others, I want to feel like, no, I've got this. Because if everything is out of reach, it gets pretty discouraging, right? Like, oh, I gotta do that. I don't know how I'm gonna. I gotta do that. I don't know how I'm gonna do that either. I don't know how I'm doing anything. But this one I feel like I can accomplish. And it's a little bit of a stretch. It's not like it's super easy. No problem. 300 people is a lot of people, but it feels fairly doable. And it's 300 people means for 10 months in the year ahead, we will invite 30 new modern CEOs into Power Up Monthly. Now, what is PowerUp? PowerUp is time for you as a CEO, to carve out once a month to step into your CEO role and to have time to reflect on something that's happening in your business. To reflect and strategize about the leader that you are, about the vision that you're creating and how you are implementing that. As I mentioned, journaling is one of those ways that I stop and reflect. The other way that I stop and reflect is I show up and I get live training. So this training that we do in PowerUp is live once a month, and there's a very comprehensive, detailed workbook that goes with that. So we're not open right now. We are actually just hosting. We just hosted one of the monthly Trainings, which is all about creating the perfect offer for your business. And we're hosting one next week in February, which is all about stepping into the leadership role, how you lead, how you show up in your business and how that impacts the results that you get and your engagements with your team members and your clients. So that's next week and then after that we will be enrolling for a new group of people to join us in PowerUp. So if you want more information on that, if you want to hop on the list to get information when we Enroll in in PowerUp every month, the place to go for that is Ambermch.com PowerUp Ambermch.com PowerUp so 300 new people this year in PowerUp is our goal. Again, that's 30 people a month for 10 months out of the year. And we're not enrolling every single month because we've got other things happening in some months. And you know, sometimes you just, you just need some space. So check that out if you want to follow along with what's happening there. Really excited about connecting with modern CEOs and freedom seeking entrepreneurs in PowerUp as you step further and further into your leadership role. Now, the second to last item on our business bucket list is not business related at all. I told you I was throwing in some personal things and this one is the most personal of the personal and that is to get my eyelashes dyed. You guys, I completely fun something I've been procrastinating. I know exactly where in the city, Addis Ababa. I need to go to get it done. I just don't know how to get there. So I, I've got to figure that out. So there are some obstacles here, which is what part of the reason I've been procrastinating it, if it was at the spa I could walk to, I, it would have been done already. But this one's a little bit more complicated so it's going to take some energy. I've got fairly long eyelashes. I had false eyelashes for a little while that I had put on like the individuals but you know, with kids it was kind of hard to the upkeep with that was a little bit hard. I actually stopped putting those on a couple of years into after Audrey was born. So because I have long eyelashes, a couple of people said I should try to dye them. So I'm going to do it at some point this year. I will try that out and I'll let you know how it goes. And then the last item on our business bucket list is one part personal, but it certainly is is impacted by the business. And this is to save $100,000. I know that when my husband and I, when we set a goal as a family and we work towards that goal intentionally and we stay focused on it, we can make it happen. So I am declaring this, I'm saying it to you. I'm getting systems in place and structure in place so that we can monitor our progress toward this goal throughout the year. And we are going to save an additional $100,000 this year. So stay tuned for more on that. And certainly if you have questions about any of this, about how I'm tracking progress to the goal, about how I'm going to go about some of these things, some of the things I don't know how I'm going to go about it. I'm just putting it out there and I truly am throwing my hands up most of the things. I've got a little bit of an idea about how I am going to go about these things and those things that I don't quite have a plan for yet. I'm going to build a plan at a certain point in the year so the TV I'm not going after right away right now because my focus is on a couple of other different things. I'm not planning vacation number three right now because I've got one plan, but it is progress and I'm focused on a couple of things at a time so I don't stretch myself too thin. I have not figured out how to drive three or four cars at a time yet. So I'm sticking to driving one car at a time, which means I can only focus on a couple of these things at a time so I don't go crazy and then nothing gets done. We are going to make it happen this year. Are you with me? Okay. I hope this has given you some ideas for your business bucket list. And yes, throw some personal stuff in there if you want. Throw some life stuff in there. Or create a totally separate life and personal card for you, for your family, with your kids. Have fun with this. And when you get bingos throughout the year, whether it's one line and especially when you fill up that full card, tag me in. Let me know on instagram @amber McHugh using the hashtag modernceo because I cannot wait to celebrate with you and see what you are going to tackle this year on your business bucket list. It's going to be fun. Let this be fun. Put some things on here that will challenge you. Give yourself some easy stuff. Put some things on here that you've been procrastinating that you might be inspired to do now that we are gamifying it a little bit. So if you want to get a copy of our bingo card that you can fill in on your own head over to ambermcugh.com bucketlist bingo. And I cannot wait to see you shouting bingo all year long as we get things done and we grow together intentionally in 2019. I will will see you on Instagram when you tag me in and I will catch you in the next episode where we move into our next series, which is all about being right on time. I'll see you there.