#12 Possibilities Liz Wolfe Ask Powerfully

Welcome to the Mike Hartman Show. Mike is a performance coach and former Stanley cup champion with the New York Rangers. Topics on this show are focused around stories, mindset and champions. Mike will also go into details about helping you with your pain points and struggles and finding motivational solutions on how to have the mindset of a champion. Now, here's your host, Mike Hartman.

Welcome to another episode. Today we are finishing off the series and we have a few left called possibilities. And today my guest is Liz Wolf. And Liz is a very energetic motivational speaker. She's been in the performance personal development business over 20 years. She has some great methodology. She's going to share with us later. But first, I want to introduce Liz. Liz, it's so great to have you here today.

Well, thank you so much, Mike, for having me on. I'm always excited to talk to new audiences and contribute whatever I can to everyone's better being and living an abundant life. So I'm happy to be here. Thanks.

Well, we started off like our podcast. It's always about stories and mindsets and champions, and we focus around that area. And I thought you had a rather unique story about how you became an entrepreneur. Can you share it with us?

Absolutely. So I don't know if you noticed, my last name is Wolf and I grew up on a sheep farm. So if you make that connection, don't worry, I've already heard all the jokes. Last name's Wolf. We grew up on a sheep farm. We had a saying on the farm. Our tagline was wolf's the name, sheep's the game. And through necessity, really, when I was growing up, my mother bought a farm and she started buying sheep and we had to earn money. So she started going to these festivals and we would shear our sheep and we would spin wool. And my favorite part being my mother dressing me up in a colonial outfit. That was a joke because it wasn't really fun to be a 12 year old wearing a colonial outfit. But this is where I got my start in entrepreneurship is literally selling on the streets of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. And that's how we paid our bills. So I've been as an entrepreneur and a speaker from a very young age, and I learned a tremendous amount through that experience, which, by the way, was not always positive. There were a lot of challenges that were there as well.

Well, I've had so many different athletes that have been on our show, and a lot, a lot of them have grown up on a farm in Canada, actually one in the United States as well. And I think it brings so much character out in you because you learn at an early age what work is. Have you found that?

Oh, yeah. This is something that I tell my clients as a coaching entrepreneurs. I never don't have something to do because when you grow up on a farm, everywhere you look, there is something to do. If you're not doing this, you're doing this. And this is what. One of the things that I think slows people down is they don't know what to do first. Right? Where do I go first? So I. I say, look, it all needs to be done. What we need to do is prioritize, because if you got to feed the sheep before you shear the sheep kind of thing, they have to be alive before you can. You can use them. So what. What are we doing in our. In our lives, in our businesses, to keep things alive? How are we prioritizing? And I think that slows a lot of people down. And, you know, people say, oh, I don't like working. I'm like, you want to know work? Go bail hay. That's right. Then you will never think anything else is work for the rest of your life, because you just. That is one of the world's most difficult and challenging jobs.

Well, I played with a pig farmer and from Saskatoon. His name is Joey Kosar. In the sports world, he is one of the nicest guys, but also one of the most dangerous guys because his hands are huge. And I said, God, you have like. Like, what happened? He goes, well, when you're living on a farm and you're young and we're pitching hay all day long, you get strong. I go, wow. And I could share one little quick story with you, because I want to hear. We're going to get into your. A lot about what you're doing. But I was playing for the Buffalo Sabers, and one of my really dear friends, Dean Kennedy, is a big, big farmer. The closest grocery store is, I think, 45 minutes to an hour from him. And we were talking about living on the farm. I was really, like, interested in learning what he did. And he said to me, hey, we love to have you. And you know how when you're young, you say, oh, sure, yeah, yeah, I'll come. He goes, okay, yeah, I'll even pay for your plane ticket. I said, what about our workouts? Oh, we'll get your workout in, but we start at 4am so you also have your workout all day. And then, because as an athlete, we have to do our, you know, our conditioning. And he goes, but you'll get a Workout. And I promise. Well, what happens is he calls me in the summertime and it's like six in the morning and so it must have been, you know, he's in Alberta, so there's a three hour difference. He calls me and says, hey, dad has a ticket for you. I'm young, we only have three months in the summer. I said, ah, Dino, I'm sorry, I can't, I can't go. He goes, come on, your word is your word. And that's the one time I didn't stick to my word. Because I know being on a farm is definitely not easy.

That's for sure. I actually worked at UPS unloading trucks for a couple summers and I used to work all day on the farm and then I would get in my car and drive up to the UPS plant and unload trucks. So basically other people were like, yeah, I just got back from the pool. I'm like, no, I was bailing hay all day. So you learn to work for sure. And you know, But I don't want to give the wrong impression about owning a business and being an entrepreneur because I think that's one of the things that, that is one of what I would call the myths of what it takes to have a successful business and be a leader in this world, which is that you have to work really, really hard. And so I have some ideas for ways that you can. I look at working hard more like a tool in your entrepreneurial toolbox than I do as like the light and the way to get to where you want. Because I think most people are working pretty hard and they don't always the results that they want, but comes maybe.

To working smart as well. So we call this possibility. So is it possible that anybody could be an entrepreneur? Because some people say, well, I'm just a corporate person and I can never be an entrepreneur. Is it possible that anybody could be an entrepreneur?

It's possible if you have that desire. What I have noticed is that people will say they have these dreams and this is again what I think. I believe that we've been, quote, given the wrong information. Whoever these people are that are the gurus, right, they're giving us the wrong information, which is that you have to have this entrepreneurial spirit and you have to work 10 hours or 15 hours a day and you need, you need to have really good time management skills and you need to be disciplined. And by the way, it's all about who you know out there. And what I think slows people down is thinking it's a certain way, when actually it doesn't have to be that way. I liked the way that I work with my clients is reframing those old historical beliefs and ideas and adapting it to a system that will work for you, that will actually work for everyone. So I don't buy into any of that stuff. I think that if you want to be an entrepreneur, be an entrepreneur and, but get the support, you know, that's what, that's what I do. I'm a coach. I help people launch and grow an abundant business. That's my role in life.

I agree. There's a lot of people teaching entrepreneurial ship, and I don't judge success by how much money somebody makes. I'm the last person to do that. But you have people teaching entrepreneurial ship that has really never done anything really significant in their life as far as being an entrepreneur. And you have, you live that life early on, so you know what it takes. And I believe until you really walk the walk, it's hard to really talk the talk about it. And you have that background, so people should listen to you.

Well, not only do I have that background, and I'll say this, you know, my mother eventually declared bankruptcy. And if I, if she had someone like me then and if I had known what I know now about running a business, a lot of the downside of which I learned in that difficult times about managing your money or, or how to sell, how to market yourself, how to really make the most out of your products, how, you know, we didn't know about sales funnels. We didn't know about marketing. We just, we just hoped people would find us really. So that was, that was the part that I learned about. And then when I actually, the first thing I did out of college, I was actually a photography major in college, never pursued it. That was another thing that I was always very sad about because I didn't think could, you know, it's too hard. Anyway, the first thing I did was I actually opened a store. I went to college in Connecticut and I opened a store in a cute little Connecticut town selling the wool products that my mother made. And by the way, she was an amazing fiber artist. Like her quilt was in House Beautiful magazine. I mean, she, we. We had all the quote, right stuff. But still it didn't work and I just failed miserably. I didn't know what to do. It wasn't authentic for me. I was trying to save the farm. It really didn't work. So it wasn't until I left that I had to close the store. It wasn't working. And I came to New York City and I eventually started a technology company selling CRM systems. And that too was very interesting because I started that with my husband. So again, this partnership dynamic, you know, wanting to work together. Well, after, you know, about 10 or 15 years of running a very successful business with employees and doing very well, I decided I didn't want to do technology anymore. And now I was trapped because supposedly I was trapped because to leave my husband and go do what I really wanted to do, which was to coach on the business side of business, on the people side, on the personal dynamics side side of business, I had to leave him. I had to let it go, and I had to leave him behind. And that was. I have a history of divorce in my family. My parents were divorced. My. You know, it was very challenging. And I had a belief that in order to be independent, I needed to be separate. And that turned out not to be true. But it was a very challenging time that we had moving away from that. And that's been. Now, that was a good eight or so years. And this is all I do full time is work coaching with entrepreneurs, helping them to build their business. But that was a huge challenge for us in our relationship and in our business.

Well, we need some takeaways today. I mean, that. That's a good. That's a. I could say it's a good story or it's a story that I'm sure, you know, we live and learn and we go through adversity, you know, bankruptcy. To. To. You've been through living on. On a farm and you've done a lot. And sometimes it takes making tough choices to. There's always struggles in the beginning. So I want you to go through your methodology with us of exactly how you do it. So we're going to go do the very short sprint, I call it, of some of your methodologies of how you put this entrepreneurial ship to paper.

Great. I would love to share that with you because this is the core of the work that I do. I say that I coach people to get unstuck so that they can launch and grow an abundant business. And for me, the key there is abundant. You know, that word means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For some people, that's time freedom. For some people, that's money freedom. For some people, that is making a difference in the world, having an impact or just be contributing to your family, whatever that is for you. So as I mentioned earlier, I think the. The myth out There is that in order to have a successful abundant business, you have to work really hard, you have to be really disciplined and you have to know all the right people. And you would call that the three keys to an abundant business? Well, I throw that out and instead I would like to introduce to you what I have created as the three keys to an abundant business. And they are one, ask powerfully. Second, give wholeheartedly and third, receive graciously. Now I'm gonna tell you a little bit about each one of the First, I wanna make the distinction, you see, when you have in your mind that you have to work really hard or have really good time management, or have to know the right people or have to have the right credentials or whatever your version of that is, a lot of that is what's outside of you. In other words, if I don't meet the right person, I won't. I, you know, I have to go to networking events constantly because I need to meet the right person. If I don't meet the right person, I'm not going to have a successful business. Or some people just aren't really good at focusing. They don't have good time management skills. Does that mean I can't have a successful business? But learning to ask powerfully, give wholeheartedly and receive graciously are skills that anyone can learn. Whether you've been in your corporate life, your whole life or whether you've been an entrepreneur since you were 10 like me, you can learn and hone those skills. So let me tell you, you a little bit more about each one. So what do I mean by ask powerfully? Well, first of all, the most impactful, fastest way to get what you want is to ask for it. So first of all, you have to know what you want. A lot of people, you would be amazed when I talk to them, I say, what's your vision for your business? They don't know. So that's the first thing that I do with people is I help you to get clear about your vision. So you have to know what you want, then you got to ask for it. And when I say ask powerfully, what I mean by that is to be specific. You got to know specifically if you say, I'm going to set a goal this year to make, quote, more money. Well, $5 is more money. I'm sure you don't want $5. You know how much more money? What do you, what, what are your goals? Do you want me to pause before keep going? Do you have any questions?

Yeah, you got to keep it Going, Keep it going.

Great. So to give wholeheartedly. Now here's the funny thing about giving wholeheartedly. Some people say, yeah, it's easy for me to ask. Some people say it's hard for me to ask. So you can practice asking and that, that will make such an impact for you. Just asking. Ask for little things, ask for big things, ask boldly. Just practice asking. You can do that. Okay, now here we come to the giving. So why does giving wholeheartedly come before receiving? That's always because when I, you know, in a training I might say, okay, first step is to ask powerfully. Now what? And they say receive and I say, no, it's giving. So why giving wholeheartedly? Well, first of all, you want to be giving what it is that you want. So if you want money, give money. If you want time, give time. If you want clients, help other people get clients. So this is one of the ways, if you feeling stuck and you don't know what to do in your business, you could take the focus off yourself and help somebody else create and get a client. Now here's the thing is by giving what you want, you actually create more of it in the world. You've now created more clients by helping someone else get a client. So giving wholeheartedly, and the word wholeheartedly basically means without attachment, you're just giving to give. You're not trying to create something. Because have you ever noticed that when you like give for a reason, it feels a little bit yucky?

I do, I do.

Yeah. So we're just giving to give. And the third part is receive graciously. Now again, when I coach people in this methodology, they say, oh yeah, I want a million dollars, I want that relationship, I want that time, freedom, that money freed, I want that. But when it comes their way, what happens is people shut down. We don't receive very well. This is if this is the asking powerfully is the most immediately impactful. The longer term impact and receiving is learning to receive. And open is the most impactful way you can receive. Excuse me, grow and create abundance. Now what I mean by that too. What do I mean by receive graciously? Gratitude is a way that you can experience the joy of what you're receiving and you don't have to have something to be grateful for it. Right. Some of us are waiting for this incredible experience to happen so that we can be grateful. I actually spend a fair amount of time experiencing gratitude for what I do not have yet. Now the last thing that I want to say about Receiving is. There's this saying out there that says it's better to give than receive. Right? So everybody focuses on giving, giving, giving. Sometimes, you know, then you give till it hurts. Right? So here's the thing. You cannot have giving without receiving. They are equal. You can. Do you ever try to give somebody something and they didn't receive it? It's so annoying. They don't, they don't rece it. So it's this huge block when you're not receiving. So each one is equal in its power. It's really a cycle. It's really not a step. It's really a think sync circle and you can start your experience in bringing abundance into your life and your business through starting with any of those. Receive. Receive graciously. Say thank you.

I like that. So the good thing about this, it's very simple. You laid out the three steps which I think are very simple and it's easy to understand and I think this could help many, including myself. It's. I agree with everything that you went through. I believe everything that you said. Ask powerfully I believe was your first one. And my uncle was an attorney. He says it never hurts to ask. I'm not going to get into that. Give wholeheartedly. You're giving, you're giving from your heart because you want to, not because you want to receive something and receive graciously. Wow. Somebody actually gave us something in return and bought from us and, and, and it, it means a lot. Liz, this was great. Share with me where people can get in touch with you.

Oh, and I would love to hear from people. I, I have my website which is lizwolfcoaching.com I have to know wolf has an E so lizwolfcoaching.com and if you go to lizwolfcoaching.com contact you can of course reach out to me. All my contact information is there and I offer a free 45 minute business strategy session to help you get unstuck. If you have some, some if you're not sure why you're feeling stuck or even if you do know why, feel free to reach out for me. I have a limited number of spots on my calendar but you can book the time right there and let's have a conversation and I will help you to see how you can apply these three concepts to immediately impact you, your life, your business and just to bring more joy and abundance into your life. I'm very happy to have that conversation with you.

Liz. Thank you for joining us today. Very powerful ask, powerfully and possibilities. It fits into the possibilities because you're teaching your methodology and it will make things possible for people. Thanks so much for being here today.

Well, thank you so much for having me on. It's been wonderful and I appreciate everyone who's listening. Thank you.

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Sam.