038. My Hot Tub Story and How to Bring Your Vision to Life

Welcome. I am marketing expert and business coach Melissa Kellogg Lueck. And this is the Doing Business Like a Woman podcast, where we are exploring and teaching you how women are reinventing the way business is done and money is made to help you create greater impact and financial freedom one business at a time. Well, hello my friends. How are you today? I hope you're having a fabulous day or start to your day. I find I tend to listen to podcasts in the morning, so when I'm on my walk. So I always think about you listening in the morning on your walk. So maybe you do, maybe you don't. But anyway, I hope you're having a great day. I am just enjoying the beginning of summer. I just love warm weather and summertime and all that comes along with it and just getting ready to go on vacation with my family. And so I'm excited about that. But like, the push to get everyone packed and out the door is I'm not too excited about. But anyway, it. It happens somehow, right? We get it all done. But before I take off, I wanted to share with you a story that I think really illustrates for me, like how we create things in our business, in our lives. But mainly I'm thinking about our businesses and I think sometimes we. I guess I can only speak for myself. So sometimes I make such. Make it so hard. I think for myself in a business setting to have a vision and to create it. But then when I look at places in my life where I've created things that I wanted, it just seems so easy. So that's why I wanted to tell this story, because maybe you have these same similar stories in your own life that you can apply to your business to really provide that evidence and show yourself how easy it really is to create what you want in your business. For me, I'm in a very rapid growing and scaling stage. And so sometimes I feel daunted by big goals. But if I think about them the way I think about what I'm going to share with you today, they just seem so much more doable and like, I'm sure, of course it's going to happen, right? Because I can create anything I want. And so I hope this inspires you. So I'm going to tell you the story of how I created my hot tub. And I debated whether I wanted to tell this story or whether it was just too silly or, I don't know, I feel kind of silly telling the story, but. But at the end of the day, it is such a great illustration. And also this represents to me Just something really important about creating the life that we want. And something as small as having a hot tub is part of me creating the life I want. And so. So it's not silly. And so I'm going to share it with you anyway. And maybe you think it's silly, and that's totally fine. You are entitled to that. But for me, it's such a great celebration of, and reminding myself of how, you know, the power that we all have to create what we want. And so sometimes we judge the things that we want as noble or not noble. And we don't really need to do that. We can just kind of throw that in the trash. And yeah, maybe it's not the most noble thing that I wanted a hot tub, but it doesn't matter. It's what I wanted. And, you know, it's taken me decades to create it, but I did. So there you have it. So I want to tell you this story, and then I'm going to share with you how I relate it to creating what we want in our business. Whether that's. Well, for me, it's like creating my annual goal, my revenue goal, my goal this year is to make 300k in my business. And for me, that represents serving a lot of women and helping women to grow a joyful, profitable business and also get to live the life they want to live. And so that's what I want to create, and that's what I am creating. I'm in the midst of creating. So I'm going to tell you the story of how the hot tub, how I created the hot tub. I almost said how the hot tub came to me, and it did kind of come to me, but I also created it. And I'm going to tell you exactly how I did it. And I would encourage you also to do the same kind of deconstruction or reverse engineering of something that you created that was super important to you and how you can use the lessons of how you did that to something that you want to create in the future, something maybe in your business that you want to create. So this is how I did it. First of all, I knew for most of my adult life that I wanted a hot tub. And so I had that desire. I wanted it and I just left it at that. Right. I didn't make a big deal if I didn't have the right house for it. I wasn't like, you know, getting down on myself because I didn't have the right place to put it. I just held that desire in my heart lightly And I had a lighthearted vibe like, oh, my gosh, it'd be so fun if I had a hot tub someday. I definitely want to have a hot tub someday. Right, right. And I just kind of left it at that. And. But I always talked about it as something I would really love, love to have, but never as like, well, I must not be good enough to have a hot tub, or, you know, why haven't I created it yet? Or, you know, any of that kind of negative negativity or using it, using that desire and that goal against myself. And I see this with myself in my business, I love to hold my goals against myself sometimes. Right. And just having that awareness of that helps. So I do that less and less. But it's easy sometimes for us to hold our goals against ourselves. But I just would talk about this hot tub as something I would love to have. And then I. I also would put myself in places where there were lots of hot tubs or where there was a hot tub. So, for example, every hotel I stayed in or booked a room in, every VRBO that I rented or family or friend that I stayed with, that was always an amenity that I was looking for, that I sought out. And. And then if it was available to me, I would enjoy it as much as I possibly could. And even in my own house, I would get in the bathtub. And I don't really. I didn't really have nice bathtubs in places I lived before the house we have now. But so I've done this in this current bathtub. But so even in this house, I would get in my bathtub. I would. I love hot baths. Like, is like, my husband cheeses me. It's like, you know, the water so hot it'll peel your skin off. Right. And I just love that. Like, I would get in the tub as hot as humanly possible, and I would think. And I would just love that and enjoy sitting in there. And I would just think about, someday I'm going to have a hot tub like this, you know, and I can do this anytime. Right. And then during the pandemic, I began to think about. And it was because my. I had quite a few friends that got hot tubs. And, you know, I was like, okay, you know, we're finally in a house where we're gonna stay for a while, where we plan on living for a long time that we own or, you know, we're buying. And, you know, I could actually have my hot tub here. However, we didn't have a place for it. Because the cement pad in our backyard was probably, I don't know, very small, not big enough for a hot tub and to, like, walk out the patio door, right? So I didn't have a place for it yet, but I was like, I finally have a house where we could have this hot tub. So then I began thinking about it more and talking about it with my husband and my husband. I'm a dreamer, right? I love the visionary dreaming. And so naturally, I married a man that is the exact opposite. So any of my dreams I have, when I share them with him, he likes to point out all the complications and impossibilities. And so that's definitely a gift that he has that sometimes is really hard for me as my visionary self. But I understand that now, right? We've been together 20 years, so I understand that any dream I'm going to share with him, then he will help me to see all the realities of the dream. It's kind of a diplomatic way of putting it. So once I started talking to him about getting the hot tub, he was like, that's never going to happen. They're too expensive. You know, how. You know, where would we put it? We don't have a place to put it and all those things. And so that was an invitation for me to plan around that, right? And it's just. And just like our inner critic, right? Our inner critics, like. And then when I think now about my business, you know, I want to make 300k this year. You know, my inner critic is like, that's never going to happen. It's impossible. You know, how are you going to do that and all those things? We have inner critics, we have outer critics. And I think that what we need is to remember to think about how we're going to handle them. That criticism is going to come. Anytime you share a dream or a vision, there will be criticism. Criticism that's happening inside of you with your primitive mind that doesn't want you to step out and do bold things and criticism from outside. And so I like to just address all of those concerns and those criticisms, right? Not that we have to let them drive the bus, but just have an understanding that that's going to happen and then think about how we want to handle them. And my response is generally like, oh, yeah, watch me. And so, you know, I almost thrive on that in some ways. And so it's oftentimes easier for me to say that to my naysayers, but to the inner critic, you know, that's usually the one that gets Me tripped up, Right? So that's always going to happen along the way. But what I did is I decided to take some action, some real tangible action on making this hot tub happen. And I knew that we were going to need to extend our patio to create a whole new patio area where this hot tub would go. And so I. And one of the. The issues that my husband brought up was we don't have room for it in our backyard. So I was like, okay, well, let's take some measurements and see. So I decided to take some measurements, and I drew up, I got the plans for our house, and I, like, drew on there how I would design the patio, the. The new cement pad so that there would be room for the hot tub. And then I had to create a budget for that, like, really get the tangible costs and see how much is it going to cost. And I had it broken down into all the steps. Right? Right. So first I knew I had to have the cement patio extended. So I measured that out, planned that out, and that was the first thing that I got priced out. Right. And so I knew that that would kind of be the order, like, I'd have to get the. The cement done first. Then that had. Was going to have to cure for a while. So I had kind of a timeline. I had this budget, and then I had to look at our household budget and see what we could save each month and. And how long it was going to take for us to save the money to have the patio done. And so then I knew that I could get a really good deal on concrete and having a concrete patio done if I hired my crete contractor in the cooler months, Right. Like during spring, summertime, everyone wants to have a new patio. So the costs go up, the timelines get stretched out. And so I knew that if I did it on the off season, then I could get a better deal. So I wanted to make sure I could get the money saved up and in that timeline, right? So I had my measurements, my budget, my timeline, and I started to really put this into motion, right. And then throughout this process, as I was planning, anytime someone would ask me. So then, you know, I was talking about it to everybody, everyone I knew, right? So, so anytime I was talking to someone and they'd be like, oh, how are you doing? What are you up to? This was the first thing I would say. I'd be like, I'm planning this patio extension and. Or putting in a hot tub and all this stuff, and would always ask for, you know, references of what if people knew People. And so I would tell them my story that I want what what I wanted. And it just so happens that at a family dinner, my mom asked what I've been up to. And so I told her that we're going to extend the patio, and, you know, we're going to have a fire pit and a hot tub. And she said, well, you could have our hot tub. I was like, what, are you kidding me? And she's like, no, we don't really use it that much. And really, the upkeep is just becoming more trouble than it's worth, so if you want it, you can have it. And I was floored. Like, this is something I've been thinking and dreaming and now starting to plan for. And voila, the hot tub appears, right? And so I knew that that was going to present a whole other set of logistical issues, but that was fine, right? I was, like, ready to find any way around any obstacle to make all of this happen. And so we saved up the money, and then I got the concrete contractor and got the bid from him. And, you know, it was very similar to the budget I had planned. And so then we got the concrete poured, and we had to wait 28 days. And then I had to arrange for the hot tub to be moved. And there was a lot of logistical things with that, and I didn't. And then, you know, potential problems, too, right? Because what happens when you move a hot tub and will it work afterwards? Will it take more repairs? Were there hidden costs? And so you never really know of all the little things that could happen. But I didn't freak out about that. I was just like, okay, we're going to take one step at a time. And then each step we take, we might have to make other decisions. There may be obstacles that come up, things that happen, but we're going to figure our way around it. Because I knew at the end of the day that hot tub was coming, right? So. And so that's what happened. And then once the hot tub got installed and we had it hooked up, the electrician hooked it up, and we filled it up and got it all set up and turned it on. It worked, right? It heated up, heated up much faster than we thought it would. It worked beautifully. And then I will always remember, oh, my gosh, I'm going to cry. This is so funny. I'll always remember that first hot tub that we all took as a family, my husband and my two kiddos, we got in that hot tub and we sat in there and just enjoyed it. And for Me, it was just such an amazing moment, that of celebration internally in me, right? Because a lot of times people around you won't understand how much something means to you. And that's okay. But never let that diminish what things mean to you and that you can celebrate just because other people around you aren't celebrating, you can still give that to yourself and celebrate what you have created and, and own what you have created. And so that was such a momentous time. I just felt in that moment as I was sitting in that hot tub with my family for the first time, like the luckiest, most blessed, richest woman on the entire face of the earth. Because in that moment I realized that when you have a vision and you hold it in your heart and you take action towards it, you can create any thing you want. And sometimes you don't know how long it's going to take. Sometimes you don't know all the obstacles that you will have to overcome to create it. But if you hold on to it and in a place of love and joy and excitement, it will come true. It will come true for you. And so as I think about my goal for myself and my business this year, to create 300k, I know I stutter when I say it. I can hold that vision in the same way that I held the hot tub vision, that I don't have to white knuckle it, that I just have to hold it there and think about how excited and how much anticipation and love and just excitement that I have to create that. And that all the women that I will help along the way to create what they want, right? And so I hold that vision and then I can share that excitement, the excitement that I have that and the belief I have that I can create this business and build this business and that there are so many women that want businesses that want to have a business and a life that really brings them joy and fulfillment. And I can help them create that. And so I encourage you. Just don't keep it to yourself. Right? Sometimes we keep our dreams and our visions to ourselves. And I don't think that serves us. So even if you don't know all the details yet or how it's going to happen, that's okay. Even if you feel like you might be humiliated or embarrassed if you don't create the thing, it's okay, right? Because those are just feelings. But on the other side of stepping out, because what it is when you're verbalizing and talking about your vision is you are beginning to bring it from your internal world to the external world. The more you talk about it and the more you share about it, and the more you let that excitement and that anticipation grow inside of you, then that translates into the actions that you take, right? And also, I encourage you to visualize what you want to create. Just. It was like when I would go to hotels or to VRBOs and I would always have a hot tub. That was all part of me kind of stepping into the. The life of having a hot tub, being a hot tub owner, right? Kind of pretending, putting myself in that place, visualizing and enjoying and feeling and thinking and being in that place, right? And just imagining that energy. And I can do the same for my 300k goal. I can think about what will I be feeling, what is the energy that I will be in when I have created $300,000 by serving fellow women entrepreneurs in my business? What is that going to feel like, right? And I can feel that way now is the amazing thing. And then when the time is right, then those outer external physical manifestations will begin to happen, right? You'll begin. We actually, you know, we can have all of the dreaming and visualization, visualizing and all of that, but we actually have to do stuff too. So just like I drew up the plans and did all my measurements and created my timeline of how the project was going to happen. We do the same thing in our business. We visualize and we do all of that. But then when the time is right, you begin to draw up the plans and you make the vision real, little by little, one step at a time. You know, allow that timing to be what it's going to be, but begin to bring this vision into fruition, put your feet in motion. And that is a very important part of belief and faith is taking action on that. And then finally, once you have created what you wanted to create, because you will, if you never give up, you will always create it, okay? It may take you longer than you thought. It may happen in a different way than you thought. And be open to all of that, but you will create it. And once you do, you celebrate it. You celebrate the shit out of that thing, right? You own it that you created that. Something I've noticed recently in my own thinking was like seeing how much I've made over the last 12 months in my business and saying to myself, I don't believe it. I don't believe what I have done. Like I was saying it almost in a way of wonder. But what is the energy that creates, right? If I'm saying I don't believe it, then I'm not going to create more of it. So that was me not owning that I've created everything I've created in my business. And I. So I had to get coached on that, right? And really understand that that needed to shift for me. And so I had that awareness. I've. I'm shifting into a new way of talking about and owning what I have created. And so I want you to think about that for yourself as well. How are you owning up to what you have created and all the things that you have done to create what you have today, all the decisions that you've made, all the work, the blood, sweat and tears that you have put into everything you have created, Soak that up, celebrate it so that it's internalized. It just becomes part of your muscle memory, right? And think about how you created it so that you can learn from that and be able to do it over and over again for the rest of your life. That is the beauty of doing this work. And this is the work that I do with my clients. This is part of the work I do with my clients, right? This is how we. How I help them to create whatever result they want in their business is going through this process. And so if that's something that I can help you with, I encourage you to reach out and let's get on a call and talk about it and see how I can help you create what you want in your business, in your life. Okay? So there's my silly hot tub story. I hope it was as inspirational for you to hear as it was has been for me to tell and to really just own and to be proud of. It's okay for us to be proud of ourselves, right? And so I hope this blesses you. I hope you have a wonderful summer day. Hopefully it's summer where you are and I will see you next time. Bye. If you like this podcast, then you have got to sign up for my free on demand video training. Grow your sales doing what you love, where I teach you in depth, my simple process that you can implement right away to harness your mindset and your skills to grow your sales to whatever level you want. So go grab that now. The link is in the show notes and I'll see you next time.