96: Conquer Your Year - Your Map To Getting Clear with Natalie MacNeil

Foreign.

Welcome to the Earn your happy podcast.

I'm Lori Harder, founder of The Bliss.

Project, 3 Time Fitness World champion, fitness expert and cover model, turned self love junkie, lifestyle entrepreneur and author.

Each week I'll bring you a guest.

Or a thought that will help you bust through your fears, connect to your soul and get focused and clear so you can elevate your life, business and relationships. We don't wait until we're ready for someone to tell us we're good enough. We take what we want and we anoint ourselves. Get ready to earn, own and unapologetically rock your happiness every single day. Are you with me? Here we go. Welcome back to the Earn your happy podcast. And before we jump into today's incredible guest and episode, I want to remind you guys that my 60 day challenge is open for enrollment through January 15th. And you guys, what people are saying about this is this is the first time that they have ever been able to stick to a healthier lifestyle, that they've ever been able to stick to working out every single day and they love the support that they are getting from the like minded women in the tribe. So if you guys want extra support around your new year goals, whether it's health, health goals, self development, whatever you are looking for, my program is all about working from the inside out. So we have a book club, we have a mindset portion of the program where you can really take your self development to a new level and also really find your like minded tribe. And I am pump bumping this program with tons of prizes and a ton of acknowledgement within the group. So if you're ready to feel good about yourself, to finally find that easy way to take the next step, have an incredible plan. Love yourself into the person that you know that you are. I pray that you guys join this challenge because I have taken this challenge truly to the next level and I am taking time to pour my entire heart and soul into these next three months with you guys. And I'm so committed to it. So join@loriharter.com challenge to learn more and also to find your like minded tribe. So let's get into the podcast today. I'm so excited for you to meet Natalie McNeal and you guys. As I talk about in here, sometimes life is just so crazy and beautiful that her book kept on jumping out at me and all of a sudden as I was in the bookstore and I'm seeing her book, I go on social media later that day and here she is all in my social media, all on my Facebook talking about this book called the Conquer Kit and now she has something called Conquer your year, which both books are absolutely incredible. If you are looking to figure out exactly what it is that you want to be doing creatively, business wise, as far as your goals, you get to work through them step by step, write them down. This is an incredible tool. So Natalie is an Emmy award winning media entrepreneur and she is the best selling author of she takes on the World, the Conquer Kit and Conquer your Year. And she's also the creator of she takes on the world Dot com. It's one of the top sites on the planet for entrepreneurial women and it was recognized by Forbes, top 10 websites for entrepreneurial women. And you guys, I have the book the Conquer Kit in front of me. Me, I'm actually going to be going through this process. So I'm thrilled that you get to listen in on this podcast and you guys go check out all of her free offers that she has and I've linked them up in the show notes. So without further ado, let's get started. Natalie, I'm so excited to have you on. Thank you so much for coming on the show.

Thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

You know, this is Natalie and I's first conversation together and I was just telling her about how I discovered her. And I don't know if you guys have had a similar experience, but I was in my local Barnes and Noble and her book literally jumped out at me and I was telling her this was probably like six plus months ago and I put it on my bookshelf with all good intentions and I hadn't read it yet and it just, it's like she was trying to tell me over and over that I am meant to read this book and connect with her because all of a sudden her face and her name was popping up in my social media. I'm kidding you. What? Felt like daily. So I'm super excited to connect. I'm also very excited that you have another book out that I'm going to go grab as soon as possible. But for those of you who don't know your story or your books or who you are, would you share with us a little bit about yourself and how you got on this journey to where you are now?

Yeah. First of all, I'm happy to hear that you've been seeing me around and that we were connected in this way. It's always, it's always fun when it happens somewhat serendipitously like that. And I have Been an entrepreneur for over 10 years. I am an Emmy award winning media producer. That was sort of my first career. And she Takes on the World was always my side business, or as I like to call it, my accidental business, because it started as I was building this other company and traveling the world. I just decided that I was going to start writing this blog called she Takes. I had a couple dozen subscribers when I was starting out, and now we reach tens of thousands of women all over the world several years later. Didn't all happen overnight. And now with my third book out, I just have these opportunities to go out into the world and serve ambitious women who are creating success on their own terms and living the kinds of lives that weren't really possible for women even a few decades ago. So it's a really exciting time, I think, to be a woman entrepreneur. And I really believe that entrepreneurship is the new women's movement, as I wrote in an essay for Forbes. And again, I think it's just a really exciting time to be doing the kinds of things that you and I get to do.

I love that. And I so feel that I'm already over here. Like, yes, yes.

Okay.

So, you know, I really, from everything that I looked through your books and just read online, I really feel like you are a beautiful guide and light at just creating a map for people. And I think so many people, especially with the new year, all we're seeing right now is, you know, what do you want to do? What are your goals? What do you want to be? But I think at the beginning, especially for female entrepreneurs, it's like, we all know we have this thing that is just screaming to get out, but a lot of times it's hard to articulate exactly what that is, to figure out what that is. Where do we even begin? If we maybe, you know, we'll talk to beginners first. If we have that feeling, if we have that idea that, whoa, I've got something to offer here, or, you know, maybe my mess could be my message. Where do we start?

Yeah, great question. And this is really the reason why I created both Conquer Kit and Conquer your year. Because I meet so many women who feel like they have a really big purpose or there is a passion around something. And a lot of times I hear, well, I don't feel like I was a born entrepreneur. I just feel like I had this gift for a reason. Like I meant to share with the world in a big way. How do I even do that? And so that's really what guided me in creating the Conquer Kit and then conquer your year. I really believe that you have to start with that bigger vision. You have to have an idea of what you want and most importantly, why you want it. And then from there, it's a matter of reverse engineering. And again, this is why I created the books. And like you were saying about the Conquer kit, how it sat on your shelf, the thing that I do inside that business planning workbook is break down everything into bite sized exercises. So I even list whether something's going to take you 10 minutes to do or 20 minutes to do or an hour to do. So it's the kind of book that you can actually flip open and find an exercise that might suit you for the amount of time that you have right now. You don't have to read it cover to cover. So if you're sitting there thinking, I want to do more this year, I want to show up in a bigger way this year, I would recommend you start with that bigger vision. And I love the five by five exercise that I give people inside the Conquer kit. So these are your five most important goals for the year. Sometimes I see people take on way too much and I believe in more focused action a lot of the time. So the five by five is your five bigger picture goals broken down into five milestones for each goal. Okay, does that make sense? Are you with me?

I'm with you.

So with the five milestones for each goal, this gives you 25 things that you're focusing on for the year. And I like having that kind of focus where I can look at the year ahead and say, okay, These are the 25 things that are most important to get me closer to what I want to be doing next. It will take me closer to where I ultimately want to be. And a milestone would be like if you're running a marathon, how you have the mile markers along the way. These are more mile markers that show you that you're on track towards a goal. And then once you have those, you have to break those down into tiny little tasks. And this is actually where a lot of people fail. A lot of people fail because they're good at dreaming. If I said, you know, close your eyes and imagine where you would like to be a year from now. You can close your eyes and you have this vision of this life that you would love to be living and you'll get to the end of the year and you're like, I didn't quite end up where I wanted to be. And it's usually because you didn't reverse engineer that vision. And that is exactly what I help people to do inside these books. Because if you have those milestones and then you can task them out. And when I say task something out, I mean every little detail. So if I'm tasking out, for example writing a book, there might be 500 tasks associated with that because I'm getting down to the smallest detail. I'm getting down to a draft of a story under a subheading in a chapter. It's all about the baby steps. That is how you build out your bigger vision. And that's what I would love for people to keep in mind.

With the holidays and the new year coming, you probably are looking around your house thinking that you would love to upgrade and freshen up your environment. And there is no easier way to do that than with your window treatments. Nobody covers windows better than Blinds.com. blinds.com brings your space to life in your way. They have free design help. Other retailers may claim to have experts, but blinds.com has spent nearly 30 years building an award winning team of over 100 design consultants that are ready to help you create your dream space. Always convenient, always tailored to you. Three ways to shop 1. Perfect fit Whether you want a DIY, have it all done for you or you're somewhere in between, choose what works for you and rest easy knowing the fit is guaranteed. So the holidays come fast, you guys, and you can freshen up your window treatments fast as well. And unlike some competitors, the price you see is the price you pay. No hidden fees and there's zero pressure. From blackout and motorized options to classic shutters, blinds.com has window treatments for every room, style and budget, even shades for your outdoor space. The Black Friday deals@blinds.com are going strong all month long, so don't miss your chance to save big. And as always, our listeners still get 50 off when you spend 500 or more. Just use code earn at checkout limited time offer rules and restrictions apply. See blinds.com for details. 2026 is the year that you launch your business. It's the year that you've become the boss. You become the leader. That idea that you have that has been eating at you forever that just will not leave you alone is to come to life. Maybe it's something that someone tells you you should always sell or a store you've already designed in your head. And with Shopify, 2026 is when you finally make it happen. Shopify gives you everything you need to sell online and in person. Millions of entrepreneurs have already made this leap from Household name to first time business owners. Just getting started, you guys. I use Shopify for glossy and I remember when they sent me my little shopping bag celebrating my 10,000 sales and I literally cried. I was so scared to take the leap and I'm so glad that I did and that I use Shopify. It gives you all the tools to easily build your dream store. You can choose from hundreds of beautiful templates that you can customize to match. Your brand setup is fast with Shopify's built in AI tools that write product descriptions and headlines and help you edit photos. So marketing is built in too. You can create email and social campaigns that reach customers wherever they scroll. So as you grow, Shopify grows with you. You can handle more orders, expand to new market, and do it all from the Same dashboard in 2026. Stop waiting and start selling with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com happy. Go to shopify.com happy that's shopify.com happy. Hear your first cha ching this new year with Shopify by your side.

Mm. I so resonate with that, especially because I just got done writing my proposal and we're going into selling the book right now as we speak. I so feel you. And honestly, you know, that is a massive undertaking. And I. And I did it all backwards. It was like I wrote the book first and then wrote the proposal, which the proposal was harder than the book. But anyway, it was like if I would have looked at everything all at once and not had that big goal, but taken a step back and said, what is the first thing I need to do to actually start writing this book? And for me, I had to back it up even more. It was like, where can I create a clearing to even get the time to do this? Where, you know, where am I gonna create that? So I love that you said that. And I also love in the conquer kit, you talk about slaying your dragons, because sometimes we can be held back from even taking the first steps because we're not dealing with something underneath. So was there certain things that you had to work through in order to, you know, gain clarity and get momentum on what you wanted to do?

Yeah, of course. I think we all have those dragons. We all have those limiting beliefs that hold us back. And I think you have to dive into those before you commit to building a business. Building a business is perhaps one of the greatest spiritual journeys that you could go on in life. It will bring up so many things for you. I think it's important that we dive in and do that work that we look really hard at why there's a block or why there's a pattern that keeps coming up for us. So in the earlier stages of my business, I would say that one of the biggest things holding me back was just that I didn't think that I could be myself and succeed in business. And a lot of that stemmed from earlier on, like going back as early as high school and early university. Some of my first mentors were women who just grew up, grew into their careers, I should say, at a very different time than I was going to. And because of that, I feel like sometimes I was told that I shouldn't be too girly, I shouldn't be too feminine, I should try to look a bit older than I do, because I did start my business when I was really young. And at the time I just soaked up all of that advice and I would pretty much do anything that one of my mentors told me to do without really feeling into it for myself. And as a result, I was, you know, in my early 20s working in media and production marketing. And I would always wear pantsuits. I would always try to make myself look older than I was. Like today, I would never wear a suit. I mean, once in a while, but it's very, very rare. It just felt so not me. And yet I felt like that was how I was going to have success. And once I peeled back all the layers of that, I feel like I was able to show up more fully as me and do that unapologetically. And again, we all have these things that we experience, especially when we're building businesses. And you need to know who to turn to, have a good support system around you, people who are going to lift you up and who will be able to help you tackle some of those things. And it's always. We are always a work in progress. Right? So I still usually, on a quarterly basis, dive into some of those beliefs that I'm having and stories that I'm telling myself, and I check in to see if I have some blocks that I think could be holding me back. And then I dive in and I do that work. I've done a lot of energy work. I've trained in quite a few modalities as well. And it's something that I bring to conferences and retreats that I host because I think it's really important. Important personal growth and business growth or career growth. If you don't have a business, personal growth and career growth go hand in hand.

So good. So funny that you said that, because I literally just had this conversation last week about the business suits, about thinking we needed to be somebody else in the beginning. I think it's a really big theme right now, is just your truth and authenticity. And just like, you know, the suits are so buttoned up, we feel like we have to suppress who we are to be loved and accepted. And I really think there is that this beautiful common theme of truth and just vulnerability coming through. And what a great opportunity we have to display that in our businesses and to show women, wow, the more truthful you are, the more that you show that you're not perfect, the more we actually want to jump in and be a part of your group. Are you finding that, too?

Yeah, it's so true. I mean, this quote, you've probably seen it on Instagram and floating around on social media. Your vibe attracts your tribe. You've seen that one. I think that that is so true. And we, when we show up as exactly who we are, attract the right people for us at that time. And I feel like I've built this beautiful community through the Conquer Club, my business incubator. And the people who decide to come and join us in the Conquer Club are people who love the way that I do business now. They would not have resonated with Natalie of 10 years ago, who felt like she had to be someone she wasn't in order to succeed. And I think that we are in a day and age where people want that and people see through so much bullshit. These. Well, I mean, if you're not showing up authentically, people feel that. And I think that this is going back to what I was saying at the beginning of our interview, a really special time. Like, the fact that we get to show up in this way as our authentic selves is something that my earliest mentors did not have an opportunity to do. You know, the generation of women before us did not necessarily have that opportunity and have really helped, I think, pave the way for a lot of these opportunities that we have today. And so I'm always. I'm always very grateful and very mindful of that fact.

I love that for some reason, it just is coming up in my head as you're speaking. All I can hear is, you know, it used to be, how good are you at playing this role of this picture of this successful person? And now it's, how good are you going to become? Come at really becoming you and playing yourself? And it's such a fun time to play in because it's like, wow, who am I, really? It's such an exploratory. Is that a word? Explorative. Exploratory.

Of course.

Let's make it up.

Exploratory is a word.

Great time. And it's so much fun. So it's the new year, and I know that you are probably just as pumped as I am because probably you've done your planning and all that good stuff. How do you narrow down your idea?

Okay, narrowing down an idea. Yeah. I have a few exercises for this. I'm an ideas person, as all entrepreneurs are. Right. I have an ideas journal. So this is like a journal specifically for ideas that pop into my head, because there are many, usually on a daily basis. And what I usually do is just write it down because I feel like that honors the idea. And I usually immediately move most of those ideas to the back burner. And I'll mark them that way in my ideas book, like, mark them as backburner. And, you know, I go through them every few months. And sometimes things that I thought of a year ago or two years ago will come up again, and it might be a better time for it. But I think that writing it down helps you get it out of your head. Because the last thing that I need when I'm focused on finishing writing a book or when I'm in the middle of a launch or when I'm off on a speaking tour, the last thing that I need is for an idea to be in my head and not leaving me alone. Right. That focused action at times is really important. Sometimes you can balance more than one big thing, and other times you have to stay laser focused to get through a certain hurdle or to achieve a certain goal. That's going to open up a lot of doors for you. So I think this process of just writing it down is really helpful. And then if something after it's been written down still doesn't leave your head, if it's still in your head and still in your heart, there's usually something to that that you need to listen to. And I'm a big fan of trusting your intuition always. And you'll know which of those ideas are the best ones to pursue or the best one to pursue. And I am a fan of pursuing one thing at a time or like one or two big things at a time, because I think people let too many ideas and too many different projects distract them from doing the most important thing. And if that's you, if you're like, oh, that's what I do, I let all these ideas distract me and I jump from one thing to another. I highly recommend the book Essentialism. Fantastic book and I know that if you easily get distracted, it's going to be a game changer for you, especially as we kick off a new year.

There are so many challenges to business that I don't want starting to be one of them for you and when you want more when you're starting a business, you need Northwest Registered Agent because you get access to thousands of free guides, provides tools and legal forms to help you launch and protect your business and it's all in one place. You can build your complete business identity with Northwest today. Northwest Registered Agent has been helping small business owners and entrepreneurs launch and grow business for nearly 30 years. They're the largest registered agent and LLC service in the US with over 1500 corporate guides. Real people who know your local laws and can help you and your business business every step of the way. You can sign up for free account to begin managing your business hub with lawyer, drafted operating agreements, bylaws, resolutions, membership certificates, bills of sale and more at no cost. Northwest makes life easy for business owners. They don't just help you form your business, they give you the free tools you need after you form it, like operating agreements, meeting minutes and thousands of how to guides that explain the complicated ins and outs of running a business. And let me tell you, this is life changing because I had no idea how much went into this. So don't wait. Protect your privacy, build your brand and get your complete business Identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Visit www.northwestregisteredagent.com Earn free and start building something amazing. Get more with Northwest registered agent at www.northregisteredagent.com forward/earfish free Too many people finish their workday feeling frustrated, drained and unfulfilled. I know that. I have experienced that myself. And the good news is it doesn't have to be this way and you don't need a new job to fix it. Patrick Lencioni, author of the Five Dysfunctions of a Team and more than a dozen other bestsellers, created the Working Genius assessment to help you pinpoint the kind of work that gives you energy, the kind that lights you up up, and it also shares the kind that drains it. So over a million people, including me, have taken it and completely changed how I lead and show up every day. If you're a CEO, an entrepreneur, or someone who just wants to level up in business and in life, Working Genius is going to give you the clarity and confidence to operate in your strengths and find greater joy in what you do. Because confidence isn't pretending to be good at everything. It's knowing where you're truly gifted. Take the working genius assessment today and get 20% off with code. Earn@working genius.com. that's working genius.com. you'll be glad you did it.

I love all of that. And I'm so in this process right now. And this year, it has actually been the year where I'm doing less and getting more clear and some of the things that were coming up that were ideas. And I love that you said write them down, because it really is about writing them down and processing and also have a friend to hold space for you maybe to process with them. Right. Because some of those ideas, I'll just give an example and maybe you have one as well. You know, I thought that I wanted to do. I do a women's retreat every year, and I thought I wanted to do the second version of one where we do like a camp, so bliss camp, where we just network and we have fun and we play. And. Because I believe play is such a fundamental part of creativity. But I realized I don't really have time for that right now. I really want to put my focus on to growing different programs. I really backed it down and said, how much time will this take? What will this actually look like? And I realized that that idea was actually just an idea for me to do with my girlfriends for now.

I love that you mentioned that, Laurie, because Arianna Huffington said this, that one of her favorite ways to complete a goal is by just erasing it from her list of goals. I love that we can complete a goal just by getting rid of it, by taking it off of our plate. And I think that that is an important thing to keep in mind. You know, sometimes we have more power than we give ourselves credit for. And if something's not resonating with you anymore, let it go. And I think if you have that support system to help you make those decisions and to help you stay focused, even better. You know, that's why I started the Conquer Club, to help people stay focused and to keep people on track and to be there, like by an entrepreneur's side as she grows her business. And I think it's important for all of us to have those people that we can turn to.

So in your group, what are some of the main themes that you see? That if someone's going to get stopped, what is going to stop them, most likely? And how do you get through it?

Ooh, yeah. Such a good question. There are a few things that I see over and over and over again. One of those things would be the deep rooted, limiting beliefs that are often deeply rooted in childhood experiences. You know, we all have these stories that we start telling ourselves at a very young age. I worked with a woman who was stuck around the. It was around like $80,000 in revenue, and her business had grown fairly quickly and then just completely stalled at that point. And when we went deeper into that, what we discovered was that the thing holding her back was the fact that her husband's salary was about $1,500 more than she stopped. And it ended up being that there was a fear there because she grew up in a home where the woman was not the breadwinner. And she had told herself this story of what might happen in her relationship and in her life if she actually became the breadwinner, if her business continued to grow at the rate it was growing at when she started it. And it was just a story that she played in her head again and again and again, like my marriage might crumble and if I surpass my husband's salary, because that's something that was rooted in her childhood. So I think we all have those really deep blocks that we sometimes need to clear. One of my favorite ways to clear those kinds of blocks is through eft, which is something that I've trained in. So EFT is emotional freedom technique. And you tap on certain Meridian energy points while saying phrases around a certain block. And it's really hard to get into on an interview, especially if no one, especially if somebody has not heard of EFT at all. But if you have a belief around money or around sharing your message and using your voice, if you go to YouTube and you search for EFT for feeling not good enough, EFT for money blocks, EFT for whatever it is that your belief is, you'll find some guided, what we call an EFT recipes that will help you to get to the root of some of those bigger blocks that you have. And I have found that EFT is a very effective tool, especially with the community that I have in the Conquer Club. It has really helped and served a lot of our members. So that's one that I recommend. And another big one that I see a lot is just those distractions and the procrastination and not feeling motivated. And I hear a lot at the events that I speak at that people just feel, you know, well, that's great. It seems like you have so much energy. It seems like you can stay really focused, but that's not something that I can do. I have a hard time focusing. I do get distracted easily. I feel like there's not enough time in the day. It's great that you can do that, but I don't think I can do that because of whatever excuse it is. We train ourselves to be able to function at that high level in our businesses. You know, we train ourselves on the habits that are going to serve us toward reaching our goals. And most of the time, Lori, it is an excuse in most cases. So, you know, I had to train myself to wake up in the morning and have a morning routine that was going to be the foundation for the rest of my day. A morning routine that included meditation so that, that I was starting my day from a place of my inner power and my inner wisdom. I had to develop a habit around waking up and not going to my phone right away to be spending time with my intention for the day ahead and getting clear and doing some exercise and nurturing my body with healthy food in the morning and making that green smoothie. These are all habits that don't necessarily happen overnight. And in the conquer your year planner, which is the new one, which you can get@conqueryouryear.com I have a space for tracking your daily habit. I think that we should be taking on a new habit every month. After 30 days, it becomes habitual, and then you can move on to taking on another habit. We often look at New Year's resolutions and say, well, I'm going to do this. And it's usually a really big goal or a big resolution. I would rather see you say, I'm going to change my morning routine, but I'm going to give myself six months, months to do it. You know, maybe every 30 days. It's just a new small habit that you're going to incorporate into a morning routine. And after six months, you've redesigned the way that you, that you get up and start your day. You know, these things don't have to happen in the first week of January or even in the first month of a new year.

Oh, I love all of that. Because, you know, we forget that we set these goals and we're like, okay, we want to be here in our business that maybe doesn't really exist yet, or I want this body, or I want to do this and that and go here and travel and have all these adventures. But the thing is that if we don't have a strong foundation, obviously we're setting ourselves up for failure. And also we don't have that kind of willpower. Like, we're literally wired to only be able to do a few new things a day. If that's so when we can understand that, it's like, okay, what are some really. If my foundation is not solid, how can I focus on that? So I love that you said, you know, take six months maybe to get a really strong morning foundation. And I also love that you mentioned, number one, eft, what a great tool. I love it. You guys definitely go listen to her advice on that. And then number two, meditation. Because for me, meditation was training. Because I was that person who was like, how do I stay focused? Oh, my God. There's, there's like so many squirrels and ideas out there that I've constantly sidetracked with. And meditation was just a form, literally that started with five minutes for me to teach my brain to focus on one thing at a time. Because I was Captain Distracto and you're not alone.

I hear from a lot of people who would resonate with Captain Distracto. And this is. I don't even know how many people, if you haven't heard of she Takes on the World, you definitely probably wouldn't have heard of Soul Seconds, but this is my other business. And@SoulSeconds.com you can get bite sized meditations and mudras and mantras that you can do usually in 120 seconds or less. Because what I kept hearing from people was that they don't have time to meditate. People were like, Natalie, don't tell me I need to sit for 15 minutes because I don't have time for 15 minutes or I am not going to be able to carve out that in my day because I have a family and I'm running around all day and I'm running a business. So Soul Seconds was my answer to that. And these are just bite sized mudras and mantras and meditations. You can do a lot of them in a minute. So if you're just in between meetings or you just want to play one of the mudras and wake up with that, there is a 60 second wake up mantra that you can do. There are mudras for overcoming procrastination and for distraction. And for those times where you're just really pissed off at someone or you're not having a good day, you can go to soulseconds.com and you can do whatever one resonates with you. And there's over a hundred that are very specific to certain things that you might be feeling or certain Intentions that you might be setting. So there's ones for morning and evening and throughout the day if you feel like you are getting off track or you need to get focused. There's also some sound healing tracks. So there's a track that you, you can play when you need to focus in like a 20 minute spurt. And it is a binaural beat track that will help your mind to stay focused. And these are all available for free by the way, @soulseconds.com so we should definitely share that link with people because every time somebody goes and does these meditations, they're like, oh, thank you. I can finally meditate because you're letting me do it in 60 seconds.

That link is shared, we are set. And I literally just emailed myself because I'm like, I definitely want to tap into that. So amazing. Thank you for that awesome gift. And so a topic that I want to jump into. I'm going to just shift gears for a minute because I know that we're in this beautiful time of being an entrepreneur and especially being a female. I just think it's so magical right now. It's so much opportunity everywhere and support, but something that I'm finding in my different businesses that I'm noticing comes up for women especially because I am originally from the Midwest. I live in California now and it's a little bit less out here. But living in the Midwest, I find that when women go to share or to sell their ideas, they have massive blocks. So I love in your book the Conquer Kit, you also talk about selling your soul with heart centered marketing. Because I really feel that I have been able to master this but not without tons of work. So what were some things that you did to really be so proud and know that it's your responsibility to enroll people in the gift that you've created?

Yeah, a lot of the selling your soul part of the book is, is really around learning how to tell your story and how to create an experience for people. I think those are two of the most important things. Marketing can be as simple as sharing your story. Sometimes we let it get really complicated. I know for me, I didn't resonate with a lot of marketing tactics for a long time. And I still talk to people in my industry who are using marketing tactics that just irk me and that don't feel in integrity for me. And that's fine. I don't have to use that kind of marketing. Even though people tell me I'll sell more, if I do that, I will have more success. That's not what matters to me. It's not just about the financial rewards. So learn how to tell your story, engage in marketing that feels really good for you and don't get sucked into thinking that you have to do it a certain way, because you don't. And then the other part of that is just creating an experience for people. And ultimately that comes down to making people know that they are seen. That is ultimately what people want. And, and the work that I do with our Conquer club members, even though there are hundreds of entrepreneurs in that incubator, you get time to talk to me, you get personalized coaching on our calls. And if you're showing up for those calls, like I'm reviewing sales pages and websites and just giving my all. Because first and foremost, I want to make sure that every single person who decides to work with me feels like, seen and feels heard because they are and because I truly care. And you know, if you give a shit, if you actually care about the people that you're working with, as sad as it is, you're doing better than a lot of other businesses out there. You know, show up, share your story, be willing to be vulnerable, create an experience for people and care. And if you don't care about it, if you can't wake up every day and be excited about what you're doing and really care about the people that you're working with and what you're helping them work through or how you're filling a want or need in their life, then you're not doing the right thing. If you don't care, you're not doing the right thing. You're not doing the right project or in the right business or don't have the right business model. And you need to look really carefully at that and probably make some changes.

Yes. You know, I, I think some of the biggest things that you said there were just really a lot of times we can disconnect from it because we can start to think, okay, this is what I do. Here's the numbers that I need to meet, here's how I would like to grow. Because dependent upon, you know, which part of your, your business you're working in, you're not only creating, but you're also a lot of times in the beginning of your business marketing. So sometimes when you go into the marketing, you can detach from the creative and the intention. So, you know, some different exercises, which I'm sure it sounds like you're doing as well, just is like thinking of that intention before I send that marketing Email or write it. You know, if you're still writing your own emails and things like that, it just helps me tap back into going, why am I doing this? What do I want the end outcome to be? How do I want them to feel? What human side of me do? I want to connect with their human side? And that's been super powerful for me. Maybe before I get on a call, before I do anything, otherwise it is really easy for me to go into a different part of my brain to go to a different place to meet another need. But they're all intertwined. And I love that you said just finding that way that feels good, because I think a lot of times that the only thing that's stopping people is how they learned was not necessarily the same way as how they would say it. So finding the languaging that feels good about why it's important these people reach out or get help from you or join some sort of community. Oh, go ahead.

No, I was just going to say I love that. And I think it's a really good point. And I think examining intention and just surrendering throughout the day is a really important practice. And I think that starts first thing in the morning. You know, one of the things that I do even before I open my eyes in the morning is just say, like, where will you have me go today? What will you have me do? This is from A Course in Miracles. And people like Marianne Williamson talk about this little prayer from A Course in Miracles a lot. And I think it's a really valuable practice. It's turning your day over. It's surrendering it and. And rooting yourself in that higher intention. And, you know, you can do this throughout the day as well. You can do it like you were saying before you send that email, before you go into that meeting, before you make that pitch, you know, just surrendering it to serve the greatest good and surrendering to whatever is meant to be in that situation and just attaching. Detaching yourself rather from the result and from your rigid idea of how this needs to go and just trusting that it will play out how it's meant to play out. And I think being intention focused is, I'm sure, something that a lot of the listeners right now are already cultivating and practicing in their lives. But it's always something we can be reminded of and continue to be mindful of.

Yes. So you talk about making a bigger business plan, thinking bigger, and I'm sure in your new book as well, just creating a plan for around that. Is there something right now that is requiring a bigger, different, more stretched version of yourself that is potentially scaring you.

Yes, I always have something I'm working on that is, is scaring me in a really big way. And that's a good thing. You know, being outside of your comfort zone is a good thing. That's the only way that you do expand. So right now for me, that is bringing a version of what I do in the Conquer Club and my books to a foreign market. So I'm going to be going to Asia actually, shortly after we finish recording this, and I'll be embarking on a massive tour. I will have a translator because I'll be speaking to a lot of entrepreneurs who don't even speak English and I will not be able to communicate with them directly. So I'm going to have a translator. And I'm learning a lot about entrepreneurship and the opportunities that women have in different cultures. I think here we are, we are quite a few steps ahead of the experiences that women are having in other countries. And at the same time, because of the Internet, because no matter where you live, most people have a mobile phone. You know, I've been in rural Kenya and people have had mobile phones. So people are connecting to others around the world. And women around the world are looking at women, especially in the American market or the English speaking markets and saying, look what she's doing. I wonder if I could do that. And again, it goes back to how exciting is it that we are living at this time and have these opportunities and not only do we have even opportunities, but we have an opportunity to go out and to help others and to raise other women up. So that is the next big thing that I'm getting into, not just working with women in the English speaking market, but going out into the world in a bigger way and trying to make a bigger impact. And I really do believe that it is our responsibility when we have opportunities to turn around and give others opportunities as well. We have a responsibility as we get to pursue our dreams, to help others pursue theirs. My big scary next mission.

Oh, I love that. And we're sending you so much love and goodness on that huge mission. And just so you know, your microphone just got a little bit muffled. I'm not sure if it moved at all. Okay, so question as you, you've experienced a lot of success and you know, you've put so much of your heart and soul out into the world. And I also know, you know, what this can play or how this can play out into your personal life, maybe into your Family life. What sort of things have come up for you around maybe family and boundaries and what conversations have you had to have in order to reach the goals that you've reached.

So boundaries were not always my strong suit. I would say it's something that I still struggle with a lot when you, when you're in my inner circle, like, I just want to. I just want to give you the world. I want to, like, bring you the moon. And I have found the biggest challenge is around people who do not have businesses. So other entrepreneurs, a lot of my really close friends now are entrepreneurs, probably because they understand you on a very deep level. And with family and friends who do not own businesses, I think one of the challenging things is trying to help them to understand that there will be times when you will be a lot busier than other times. There will be times that you may have to spend a month not going to any of those family functions or not being as communicative as you would usually be because you are executing a launch. And that's not something that is easily understood. And understandably, I totally understand that my family members who have never run a business, I understand why they wouldn't get what all of that entails. Like, if I'm saying, oh, I'm doing a launch right now, even if I try to communicate what that means, there isn't that like, right reference point necessarily in their own life for understanding what the schedule is going to look like at that time. So I think that this is just a conversation that you have to keep on having. And in your relationships, I think making sure that you're making the effort to. The effort to still maintain the connection, to send that message, to let those people know that you are thinking about them. So I'm about to take off for six weeks in a different time zone and it's going to be very hard to connect with people, but I can still shoot over a quick email saying, like, hey, thinking about you. I'm really busy on this tour. Just sending you my love. I can't wait till we see each other again. So. So I think that we can do things like that with family and friends and ultimately make sure that we surround ourselves with people who really do get it. I think boundaries with clients and with colleagues, those are things that you navigate, I would say, as they come up. And I've noticed that as our community has grown so much, I. I can't meet with people one on one anymore. I can't go out for coffee with everyone who asks me to go for a Coffee with them. Because I could easily spend my entire week just having coffee with people who are requesting for me to go for coffee with them. And it's actually not, you know, it's not because I don't want to. I would love to be able to do that. And it's just not. It's just not realistic for me right now. But that was a very hard boundary for me to set and I felt like I needed. Here's another big one for me with boundaries. I used to feel like I had to justify every boundary in some way. So I used to feel like I had to explain to somebody, like, oh, I really wish that I could go for coffee with you, but it's not possible because I get so many requests and, you know, my time right now I'm spending so much time on my companies and with my team. If I responded to every request, it would be, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I realized that I don't have to explain myself to people. I don't have to. I don't have to explain to somebody why I can't do something or why I have to have a boundary in place. I forget who said it first. I know a lot of people say it now, but, you know, no can be a complete sentence. You can say no and stand in that and it's okay. And I've learned to do that better in the last couple years. But it is by far still one of the hardest things for me to do because I'm such a people pleaser and I hate letting anyone down or having anyone be disappointed in me. But I've come to realize that if somebody's going to be mad at me for that or. Or never want to be connected to me again because I wouldn't go for that lunch or for that coffee, then they're probably not the right person that I should be connecting with anyway.

Oh, my God. So many gems. And we were living a parallel life because I was just over here literally trying not to laugh while you're talking because this whole going for coffee thing literally was the. The first step in learning about boundaries. I actually had some women when I was first building my first business and started getting really busy. They got very upset with me about not making time for them to go to coffee. And we weren't friends before this. So coffee was a huge beginning, boundary setter for me. And also just. Just what you said at the end of. Oh, my goodness, it was. It was crazy. And if you, you know, know if. If they are going to get upset about you not doing regular coffee with them or coffee with them or whatever that looks like, then they're probably people who are not supposed to be in your tribe because like you said, now it's like you're, you're friends with fellow entrepreneurs who are like, girl, go out in the world, do your mission. I am here for you. I am, you know, completely cheering you on. And when you get back and you have time, we'll connect. And those are the people that I truly now surround myself with. But it's really challenging in the beginning because they're not bad people. It's just a completely different place that you're at.

Yeah. And you know, when I am maintaining such a busy schedule as I am right now, you know, I, with my travel schedule especially, I don't have time to spend with like my closest family and my best friends. And, and when I do have that time when I am home, those are the people that I prioritize and want to see. But boundaries are so hard. It's still one of my biggest challenges because again, I just really love people and I want people to feel like I do really love them and do care about them. And saying no can be so hard.

You know, what was really helpful for me is to understand, and I have to repeat this to myself all the time, understand that sometimes my boundary in my no is such a huge part of their journey in learning theirs and knowing that, you know, we're giving them permission to also set boundaries for themselves by us staying firm in ours and them seeing it so in such a loving way. Right.

So, yeah, because we're teaching people not only how to treat us, but we're teaching people how they can teach others to treat them. And I think it is a very powerful lesson to learn.

Yes. So I want to know all about why this book that you just put out right now. Could you tell us why and could you tell us how to get it?

Yes, I would love to. Of course. Of course. Conquer your year is a planner. So the Conquer Kit is a 12 month business planning workbook. This helps you put together a bigger picture plan for your business. This helps you to build your foundation, conquer some of your biggest blocks, put together a product plan and a marketing plan and put together a strategy. Whereas Conquer your year breaks the Conquer kit down quarter to quarter, week to week and day to day, it stands alone as well. So while both books are good companions to each other and they're like super cheap on Amazon right now as well, I think they're both like $10 plus you get about $200 in bonuses when you order either one. They are very good books to use together. But conquer your year, which is the new one, is a planner that you can use for 2017. It's not dated so you can actually jump into do it at any point. If you're listening to this and we're not at the beginning of a new year, that's fine. You can say I'm going to start a new year right now. And it is not dated, so you can start it whenever. And it's broken into sprints as well. So every quarter there is a sprint where you're focusing on one big thing to achieve. Sprints have totally changed my life. Like maybe five years ago, this is how I started working. And it was an absolute game changer to stay focused on something for a quarter and then to take like a week or so of downtime after that quarter after pushing really hard. So it's broken into sprints and then you've got your weekly layouts and your day to day layout as well. So it's a great planner for entrepreneurs. It focuses on your priorities, the things that you really need to get done. It helps you make manage your content, your projects. And I always found that with planners, I always had to modify it to make it work for me as an entrepreneur because most planners are created not with entrepreneurs in mind and they're trying to appeal to everyone. Whereas I created this specifically for an entrepreneur. So you can learn more about it. Take a look inside@conqueryouryear.com and you'll also see there that if you purchase a copy of the book, you can fill out the form on that page with your receipt number. And we're also going to send you a free workshop valued at $200.

That is amazing. And I will be doing that right after this, I promise you. So you'll see that. Just because you know one of my biggest takeaways just about being an entrepreneur and really creating what you want in your your life is having a solid plan, writing it out and making it bite size and tangible. So if you don't have that in place yet, it's just not going to happen. So being a master of your schedule, of your planner, of all of those things and there's tools out there to help you like this. So Natalie, thank you so much. I just want to acknowledge you for the work that you are doing in the world and stepping out there and making sure that we get get this voice out in such a beautiful well planned out way because I do think that that is one of the biggest blocks for people is just not having the exact steps. And I can definitely say that looking through your book, that's exactly what this is. It is step by step, from beginning to end. It doesn't matter if you're a beginner entrepreneur or if you are well into it like I am, it's always good to go back to the foundation. And I will be doing this at the beginning of this new year. So I just want to thank you so much for that.

Oh, thank you so much. And it's been a pleasure to be your guest. And thank you to everyone who has listened as well. And I hope that you'll stay in my orbit.

Absolutely. And we'll make sure everything is linked up in the show notes. And I always have one last question to close with. Are you ready?

Yes.

Okay. So you are on an elevator with someone and you only have like a 30 second ride and they look over at you and they say, how can I make myself happy? What do you say?

Focus on experiences in your life over things. Things are never going to make you happy. And in the end, what you're really going to remember are the experiences that you have. I was having a conversation with my aunt shortly before she passed away from cancer, and one of the things that was just so profound was that she was worried about all these things that she wasn't going to get to do. And she came to realize that it didn't matter what she had. All she really wanted was the time she was just getting into retirement years and she wanted to go travel. She wanted to go and have all these experiences that she knew she wasn't going to get to have. And you don't want to be at the end of your life thinking that there were so many things that you wanted to do and didn't do. So keep that in mind and value every moment and every day and prioritize experiences and relationships. We're over things.

Thank you so much. And you guys, if you love this episode as much as I did, make sure you share it with your friends. And until next time, earn your happy. Bye, everyone. Thank you guys so much for spending this time with me on the earn your happy podcast. I am so glad that you stopped by. If you could take one second to share this episode with someone you think would love it, that would be absolutely amazing and we would be forever grateful. Also, please leave us a review. If you feel so moved by going to itunes and leaving us an honest thought, an honest comment. Tell us what you think. Tell us what you want to hear. More of it would really help us out on our journey to helping thousands and thousands of people. Until then, don't forget to earn your happy. Thanks again guys. Bye bye.