773. Here's Why Flexibility Leads to Opportunity

The more flexibility you build into your life, the more opportunity is going to show up that you get to say yes or no to.

Welcome to the Earn your Happy podcast. I'm Lori Harder, founder of Light Pink, best selling author, three time fitness world champion, and I'm a crazy, multi passionate entrepreneur. My journey has taken me everywhere from being a broke waitress, barista, retails associate and personal trainer with massive anxiety and no belief in myself, to later becoming a multimillionaire in love with my life. In 2007, my husband and I lost everything. We found ourselves hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt at rock bottom. We had no ideas and I had no education to fall back on. This is when I found personal development and learned everything I could about business. Not by choice, but because I realized no one was coming to save me. The conversations on this podcast are going to know that you're not alone and.

That we all feel like we don't.

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And we're back with another episode of he said, she Said.

And we are still on the road, by the way. So if you hear things like garbage trucks going by or whatever, we are still dogs barking. We are still recording in the motorhome. And actually that is a great segue into what we're talking about today. And that is how flexibility creates opportunity. And here's where this came from, guys. We were on a walk the other morning and we're just talking about all these things that popped up in our life, all good things. And we realized, my gosh, the common thread to them all is they popped up last minute. And we were only able to say yes to these things because we've been Pretty intentional about having flexibility in our lives and in our schedule. And not just in our schedule, in our habits, in our routines and everything. And it hasn't always been that way. I would say our lack of flexibility has cost us opportunities in the past and I can share some examples in a little bit.

For sure. I can think back to a time because I was so. I talk about this a lot on my show. I'm so rigid in my routine and in my health routine. You know, had to be at the gym on these days, wanted this type of food around at all times, got really, really rocked and thrown off if I was outside of my normal environment and routine. And you know, in order to start changing that, I had to start practicing it. I had to start getting outside of my routine and just observing what our brain does when we do that. Like, it's very easy to go into resistance and like, see, I, I can't, I can't manage. I don't feel good, I don't sleep well, I don't eat well. And to really start observing how we are self sabotaging and how we're choosing to not want to get out of our routine and to really start looking at solutions all the of. Okay, before we go, what are some things that we could do to make us feel more grounded? Like, what are the things that are actually throwing us out? What are the things that are making us feel like we can't do this? And examining them closer and seeing how you can support yourself before you go, before you start doing these different things.

I think what costs us so much in life is when we are so rigid that one, we don't have the time, space or energy to say yes to opportunity, or two, we don't have the courage to say yes to opportunities because we're addicted to that repetition of being so rigid with what we think life is going to look like, how it should feel. We build these stories that I can't work on the road. Or we build these stories that I can't stay in shape if I do X, Y and Z. Or we build these stories that we must have roots here and those things will actually cost us opportunity. So here's an example of where being flexible actually gained us really good opportunity. About a month ago, our neighbor made us a $7 million offer on our home without even being on the market. And because we weren't on the market, you know, the first, you know, knee jerk reaction to it was like, wait, why would we sell our home? We've only been here for seven months. Or eight months. But because we've always talked about the. The fact that, hey, we want to remain fluid and we don't want to get it too attached to things, that's where disappointment can. Can jump in. We accepted the offer. So it went from not being on the market to getting a $7 million offer just seven months after being in the home. Now, update. That offer actually fell through. The neighbor backed out in escrow, but it actually made Lori and I say, wait, if that's where the market is, if they just made a $7 million offer, then why don't we just throw it on the market and see what happens? So a couple weeks ago, threw it on the market, and there's been tons of interest. Now, here's where the flexibility and opportunity pieces meet. We have the flexibility to say, you know what, if somebody wants it at that price, let's take it, because that's a great profit in the short term, and we can go do other cool things with that profit. And if it doesn't go, then we love the home, and that's where our home base is anyways in the Scottsdale area. So that flexibility of if it goes awesome and if it doesn't go awesome is what gives us the opportunity to possibly grab a large profit in a very short period of time. So that's one good example of where flexibility brings us opportunity. Now here's an example of when we were not flexible, when it cost me an opportunity. About two years ago, a good friend of ours, Jim Kwik, I'm sure you guys follow Jim Kwik. He was coming to the house to record a podcast. And he said to me the day before, he goes, hey, Chris, got a great opportunity. When we're done recording tomorrow's podcast, is there any chance that I could use your studio while I'm there in order to interview the founder of MySpace? Do you guys remember MySpace? You know, MySpace? Tom, the founder of MySpace, which is like Facebook before Facebook. And I said, oh, I'm so sorry. I am booked back to back to back that day. And I'll never forget what Jim said. He goes, oh, bummer. Because I was going to see if Tom would interview on your show right after he and I did a quick podcast together there. And he said, chris, if I can give you any advice, and I always love Jim's advice, he said, if I could give you any advice, start leaving room for the Miracles. And if you guys have listened to my show for quite some time, you'll know that I've talked about this story a Couple of times. Start leaving room for the miracles. So we started leaving room for the miracles in our schedules and now we have things like last minute charity events that we're able to say yes to that we get invited to. And guess what happens at those events? We meet incredible people that become new friends or investors in our companies, or people that can teach at our masterminds. There's so many incredible things that come from going to these last minute events instead of being so booked out back to back to back. And that wasn't always the case. Wasn't until we followed Jim's advice of being more flexible and leaving room for the miracles.

Yeah, I think that's definitely what I've been seeing lately is just not to book yourself out so much. So a tip on that and what we're doing now is I look at the latest RSVP date if it is something that I really wanna do. And I wait, I wait and see what our weeks are going to evolve into. I wait and see what else comes up. Because so often we'll kind of like make this decision immediately on how we feel in the mom. And two weeks later you're like, oh, actually now I'm super jam packed. I need to be here for something. And now I feel over committed. And now I have to go back and either cancel something or I have to even worse. I'm gonna show up to everything and feel so crazy. And I did that for so many years. And now a couple things that we do. And you know this is gonna take some effort on your part just mentally because you're gonna feel like you're missing out. Chris and I are saying no to an opportunity right now that we don't want to say no to. That we're gonna feel over scheduled. We know it's gonna make us feel like we are back to back. It's gonna be too close of a jam. We're not gonna enjoy the whole week around this thing. So we are literally saying to ourselves, we can't miss what is for us.

Yes.

We cannot miss what is for us. So it may not be that particular opportunity. And yeah, maybe some magical things would have happened there. Of course, that's what I believe. If you go somewhere, something magical will happen if you go out of your way. So I know that we magical that would have happened, but we believe that that same thing or something even better will show up in another way or another form at another time. And when you believe this, it kind of allows you to let go of that feeling of like total FOMO and I can't believe I missed this. And oh my gosh, now I'm watching it on Instagram and feeling so bad. It's like, nope, we can't miss what is for us and we made the best decision for ourselves and our schedule. So again, put that final RSVP date on your calendar and then decide on that day if it feels like it's something that you want to be doing or not. And I guarantee you're going to notice how different you feel all of the time. But I don't want to get this confused though, with not doing anything. I think it is important to make sure that you are getting out of your comfort zone and maybe you discuss with your partner. You, you know, sit down and, and just really think about, you know, if you don't have a partner, think about for yourself what feels good. How much stretching do you want to do within that month? Do you want to be attending like an event or a social setting or a networking setting? Or once a month or once every other month? Like what would feel good, what would feel like a stretch? But also make sure that you are getting out there so that you can receive those miracles.

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You know I've got a third example of flexibility leading to opportunity. And this has nothing to do with business opportunity or making money opportunity. This is the opportunity to really create memories and experiences which are the most important things in life. And you know Lori, I got to commend you because you've created a new flexibility in the way that you picture your work space having to be. I'm watching you work your tail off here on the road in Wisconsin. And because you've become flexible in the way that what working could look like to you. Instead of having to be at home in your office, now you're out there on the boat in the evenings making memories with your brother and his kids and all of the family members that mean the the most to us to go out there and create these memories with or what's it all worth?

You know, I really struggled with being Outside of a grounded place, meaning pretty much just my desk or my home.

Because I felt, like, really struggled, guys. I really got to point that out.

I felt frantic. I felt like, you know, it's loud. It's not a great space in the rv. It's. It's. The WI fi was going in and out before, which we have it all fixed now, but it just felt very unsure, you know, is my WI fi going to work? What if I show up unprofessional on this call? Like, it's about. I didn't want to disappoint people. I didn't want to not show up fully, you know, professional. Professional. Thank you. I couldn't think of the word show up fully professional. And to me, that felt terrible. And so I just started to look at other examples of who else is doing this, who else is making this happen, who else is out living their life while also simultaneously working so hard on their dream. And when I started to see that and how many people were actually making this happen and giving myself some grace around. Okay, let people know you're traveling. Let people know you're an rv. Let people know that you're going back and visiting your family, who you only get to see a couple times a year or maybe once a year. Like, those are really important things that I don't want to look back and say, wow, I spent 10 years of my life just building and thinking that I had to, you know, be so rigid and be a certain way and. And look at what I missed out on with my family and these memories. Like, I think that you can do both. I really believe that. And I believe it's gonna make your business even better, because you're not gonna feel resentful of it. You're not gonna be upset when the weekend comes and, you know, you see people doing things together, and you're not. You're just grinding away, and it's actually whittling away at your actual effort of what you're doing in your job and how you're showing up. And I can tell you that when I show up happy and fulfilled for my team and when I show up full of energy and new ideas and ready to go, that that is the leader that people are looking for. That is how you grow a business is with new, renewed energy and ideas. And it's so easy to forget that because the world is reflecting back to us right now, that the way to build is to feel burnt out and to feel stressed out and to feel like you can't do it or it's overwhelming. And yes, of course I feel those things, but I don't feel resentful. And I feel like I do get that soul recharge because I'm getting to still live a life, you know, full of memories and love with my family.

I love it. So, guys, if you take any message from today's podcast is that flexibility will always lead to more opportunity. Flexibility in your expectations, flexibility in your schedule, flexibility in your routine, and flexibility in just how you think that life has to play out. The more flexibility you build into your life, the more opportunity is going to show up that you get to say yes or no to. We hope this helped you. This is also something that we've really been concentrating on with our Elite Mastermind members this year in 2021. And we are just now starting to take applications for the 2022 Elite mastermind. The one where we meet in person for four days two times each year and then of course meet on Zoom and do some one on one coaching as well throughout the rest of the year. It is a game changer for anyone whose business is going to make more than $500,000 in 2022. So if that's you, there's only 20 people that are selected each year. So if that's you, I want you to go check it out at Chrisharder Me Mastermind. Again, if your business is going to make over $500,000 in 2022, then I want you to go check it out and apply because we go through these applications first come, first serve. So go check it out at Chrisharder Me mastermind. I can't wait to see who that 2022 class is going to be because 2021's been the best class, hands down already. All right, guys, thank you so much for listening. We appreciate you as always.

We will see you next week.

Sam.