287: The Million$$Mission Entrepreneur Panel

100 Be Moved speakers making $10,000 or more in speaking fees. And if that sounds bonkers to you, you're gonna really like this episode. I have brought together some of my all-time favorite entrepreneurial pals. I've got Jenny Evans, Jen Whitmer, Kevin Jennings, and I— and Jay Luray. And I promise I did not just bring together people with a Jen or a J in their names, but that is kind of what it seems like. That's pretty funny. The 5 of us talked about all the things because we as entrepreneurs, we have got to tackle our money stuff. Hey movers, it's Sally Z with Be Moved. Let's go create some talks that will move this world. We're gonna talk with amazing speakers. Makers, share tips, tricks, resources, and we are going to be moved so that our audience can be moved. This moved me. What is moving you? Well, hey everybody, and welcome back to This Moved Me. I'm so excited you are back with me because we are continuing on our million-dollar mission. Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, Jenny Evans, Jen Whitmer, Jen— wait, what am I saying? Kevin Jennings, Jen Whitmer, Jenny Evans, Jay LaRae, and Sally Koering Zimney. Before we dive into that awesome conversation, I want to make sure you know about something really exciting happening next week, a week from today, Wednesday, July. It's July. Time-space continuum is weird. Wednesday, July 28th, and Thursday, July 29th, from 12 PM to 1 PM Central. So 1 hour each day, we are going to be doing a talk topic intensive workshop, a workshop to help you get clear on your signature talk topic before you dive in to create it. Why? Because I can tell you from years of experience, helping people do this, that if you don't get clear before you start, you're going to spend a lot of time circling. Kind of the speaking cycle of doom. So if you want to create a signature talk but just haven't dove in, dived in, haven't done— if you haven't taken the leap, then maybe it's because you're not quite sure exactly what you want your talk to be about. Our signature talks can take on a lot of weight for us. We want it to do so many things. We want it to work in all kinds of different scenarios. That's the beauty of a signature talk. So finding a talk topic that holds you up, holds up your business, holds up your purpose and your mission, well, that is a hard thing to find. But this workshop, we are going to help you get there. If you want to find your, what I call, a moving message, then I want you to come join us for the Talk Topic Intensive, or TTI for short, because Talk Topic Intensive takes a lot of focus and energy to say correctly. Well, there are limited spots, so I want you to come join us. Come hop in. Join us over in the TTI. It's bemoved.com/TTI. I'll see you there.

Yay!

Hi, lady! Kevin, here you all come! Hello! J. Laray, how are you, honey?

Jenny Evans!

Yay!

Jenny Evans is on this call. Nope, not at all.

Not at all.

J. Laray and Kevin and Jen Whitmer are three of my students. They've been through STS. Jenny Evans, so glad to see you. Welcome from Cali. You look, you know, sun-kissed and happy.

I am, but give it time and then I'm just going to turn into a happy leather handbag, but you know, whatever. It's trade off.

It's all the repair work after, it's fine.

Yeah.

So Jenny and I have known each other for a long time. She used to live in Minnesota and we like, you you know, ran in entrepreneurial circles together, and then she left us.

I got out. I escaped.

So let's, let's go around and do a quick introductions. Jenny, I'm gonna throw you in the deep end right away.

Okay, works for me.

Great.

Hello everyone, I'm Jenny Evans. Um, really, really excited to be here. So as Sally mentioned, um, entrepreneur. I've owned my own speaking business Well, I've owned my own business since college and it kind of morphed over time, but basically speaking around the topics of resiliency, performance, and health. Wrote a book during the pandemic, went 100% virtual. Luckily, a lot of people really needed resilience during the pandemic. So it was, it was good. It was fun. I've adjusted. And now like the world is opening back up. And honestly, I had my first in-person event last week, and I don't know. So really, who knows what the future holds? I feel like the thing that I learned from the pandemic is, honestly, you guys, I don't control jack— like, nothing. I don't even control my sleep. Like, I can get in the bed, do the sleep hygiene, that doesn't even mean I'm gonna sleep. So I'm just all about making the next right choice.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Awesome.

Jenny, it's so good to have you here.

J'LeRae.

Next.

How are you? Tell us about yourselves.

Hi, I'm J. LaRae Ardolyn. I go by J. LaRae. I am a military spouse mentor currently in San Antonio, Texas, and I have two wiener dogs, and you may have already heard them in the background.

And J. LaRae, I'm tapping into hear your expertise as an entrepreneur and building your own business, but also your expertise as you coach and mentor and are an operations person helping other entrepreneurs. So could you tell us a little bit about that as well? Because I think that's going to be really helpful here.

Yeah.

So I'm also, um, director of operations for a really small company called The Launch Guild. We support coaches and course creators get their offerings out into the online space or relaunch their offers. So there's a lot of coaching mindset, money mentality that goes into that as well.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, we'll tap into it all. Awesome. Jen Whitmer.

Well, hello everybody, my name is Jen Whitmer. I help teams and leaders solve conflict and personality clashes. So I am a leadership speaker, I'm a certified Enneagram coach, and I I started this business about 3 and a half years ago after a 20-year career in education. So it has been a journey to think about money, and so I'm excited to just like keep that journey going.

Awesome. Yes, we both bring to this conversation a background in nonprofit education work. There's some money stuff there, so really good. Okay, Kevin Jennings, how are you?

Fantastic. And I'm only slightly sleep deprived with an 8-month-old. So I'm a personal brand strategist and business coach. So I work with authors, speakers, subject matter experts, entrepreneurs, helping them grow their personal brand to grow their organization. And I lead a company that actually specializes in just marketing services for small businesses. And so it's kind of like this two-headed monster where my team does a lot of digital marketing strategy and I have personal brand strategy when we have those clients and kind of embrace those gaps together. But through the help of Sally, I would say on a personal level, I recognize that my job is going We help people to, to gain the clarity and confidence they need to give themselves permission to do what they wanna do in their life. And so, so I recognize kind of that's kind of what I exist to do and I just have, you know, the luxury of doing work that helps people do that through marketing.

An amazing group of humans that I feel really lucky that you have all come together. So here is what we are doing today. 6 weeks ago I was talking to my strategist, And she said to me, "Do you think people know what's really possible with speaking, like financially?" And I said, "No, no." I was like, I'm still learning what's really possible with speaking as a coach. Like, I keep bumping up against my own ceiling on what I think is possible in the speaking world. And I'll randomly hear somebody quote how much they got paid for a keynote or something. And it kind of blows my mind. And it's like the ceiling keeps changing in the best way. And she said, I think we've got to talk about it. A, B, as an entrepreneur, I— it parallels my own experience as an entrepreneur, my own, the ceilings that I bump up against, the ceilings that I have created for myself on what is really possible. And I think this conversation is, is so, so important. So what came out of that was what I'm calling my million-dollar mission. Essentially what I want to do is empower at least 100 of my speakers to get a $10,000 speaking gig. That's a million dollars. Okay. And it can happen.

Do it.

That's absolutely doable. I'm sure. My guess is that some of us on this call, we can check that box, which is awesome. But I know too many people who aren't— don't think that that's possible or think it's way far off. And so I want us to reach bigger, do more, and really embrace the financial power of speaking. And as I said this, I also have like a little sick feeling in my stomach where I'm like, it's weird to just be talking about money because I really sit comfortably in the, I'm a purpose-driven entrepreneur. I'm a purpose-driven person. Talking about money brings up all this stuff. And yet, why am I limiting myself? I'm throwing everything into the soup pot for all of us here. There's a lot. Each of us brings into this conversation a whole slew of stuff. And what I know is this is part of the journey. If we want to have a bigger impact, we've got to take this stuff on. So I've brought you all here together to take it on. And if you are willing, share a little bit about your own journey as an entrepreneur with money. Push all of us to unpack more of this so that we can have a bigger impact and yes, make more money.

Mm-hmm.

We have a million-dollar mission. We're going to do it. So here's my strategy on getting a snapshot on where you are with your money mindset. On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being like, I haven't even started really investigating my own stories on this, my own belief systems on this, that I'm brand new baby in the, in the journey. 5 being I've worked really hard at it, I got it, I think I'm good right now, money mindset mastered. So think for a moment, where are you at with your money mindset? And Kevin, I'm going to start with you.

Sure, uh, 3.5 maybe. I, I've definitely done work there because I, I align with the purpose-driven thing and I'm a 2 on the Enneagram. And so for me, helping people is what I do for free all the time and always what I wanted to do for free. But I'm also competitive and I do like the challenge of trying to earn money, you know? So, so it's not so much about how much I can extract, but I do like the challenge of earning money and I love the idea of packaging it and I'm very driven by sustainability. And so there is a feeling of like, This is— I can't help you for free. I'll be homeless. This won't keep working. I want to keep doing this, therefore. So it's always been helpful for me. But I, but I have been uncovering some gaps in what, in what's left. And so one quick story. I have a client I'm working with as a business coaching client. He just left an old job to start a business. And I saw what I did to help him overcome money mindset and saw how fast He was making crazy amounts of money and it was like this, even like this mirror for me. Like, what did you just like, literally you're witnessing what happens to someone when they confront it. And within 60 days, 60 days, not even joking, he's making $15,000 a month from zero. Like literally started the business 60 days ago. He has $15,000 a month in recurring clients. Like, like there is something to be said about what the mindset can do. So I think for me, that was a wake-up call for me saying, Kevin, if that small amount of belief can change that much that fast, I have to own that I have more to go.

Awesome. Okay, so 3.5. Thank you, Kevin.

Jen.

Jen Whitmer.

Well, it's so funny. I was giggling at Kevin because both of all, we took drinks because we were like, okay, here we go. And then I was like, I don't think I'm quite like before he started talking. I was like, 3.5. I think I can only came 3.25. Like, I'm definitely above 3. So I have to giggle.

That's where I am.

Trying to put an Enneagram 7 onto a, like, dot on a line, that is really challenging. So here, I think that is where I am because I couldn't choose just the middle because I know that I'm above the middle. Like, I have worked really hard to get to the middle, to get to that 3. That has been a huge challenge. And I feel like in my coaching business, it is not as— my money mindset in my coaching business is not as strong as my money mindset in my speaking business, which is interesting to me. And I think the difference between dealing with an organization, even though it's people, it's still an organization, than dealing with the individual. And so I think that's where I, I run the, the gamut a little bit. Um, the big thing for me that was really freeing was the idea that money is an exchange of energy and not my worth. Like, I never thought it was my worth anyway, but you hear that stuff like, get paid what you're worth. And it's like, but I'm not worth that. My value is in other things. And so that was a real disconnect for me. But the money is an exchange of energy and an exchange of the value of what I bring, not my worth. Was really, really helpful. And then the other piece, one that I'm working on, I'm super in the messy spaghetti middle of this, is that my clients— the money with my clients is them investing in themselves. Like, that is more than half of what a coaching client comes to me, that I am worth investing in myself. Is where that comes from for them. So that was— that's also been really freeing. I am still a little bit tied to that, so I'm like, oh wait, remember you learned that? Like, it's not fully integrated in me yet, but that is definitely where I am learning that, that freedom, and that it's really about me helping them is helping them see they're worth that investment.

Yeah.

And yeah, but it still gets a little skittish sometimes in there. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, and it does tend to, you know, cycle through. There are times where I'm just like, yeah, I got it, I got it. And other times where things bubble up that come out of nowhere. I'm like, where did that thought come from? And whoo, slowing that down, figuring that out is the tricky part. Love it, Jen. Thank you. Okay, J. Laray, where are you on the scale?

I would say that I am at a 4, and the only reason I'm saying I'm at a 4 is because what you just alluded to, Sally, is that it comes up over and over again. So I've done a lot of self-exploration to see where my limiting beliefs are surrounding money. I've dug really deep. I think I've found the core of why I believe what I believe. And it's not a rewiring process that happens overnight. It's over like a longer period of time. So I've really spent some time just this year actually with, uh, Wealth and Abundance coaches and learning from them on how to teach yourself a specific process to examine the limiting belief in the moment that it comes up. And then to like rewire your thinking at that present moment. And I would say that I'm not so great yet about doing it in the present moment, but I'm getting closer. And I think one of the things that's really helped me is to set energetic minimums and energetic maximums. And as Jen said, that, you know, if you think of money as an exchange of energy it truly changes your life and the way you think about money. And if you think of it as just an exchange of goods and services without the energetic component, you're missing out. You're totally missing out. So that's one thing that's helped me this year, is to focus on what is my energetic minimum, what is my energetic maximum, how do I get myself to the energetic max So I'm, I'm learning as I go.

Okay. So I, I have to, I have to dig in with you here because, you know, I'm probably bumping up against something for myself right now, but I'm like, I don't know what you mean.

I don't know what you mean.

Like when you say, so what do you mean by when you say you're gonna set an energetic minimum or maximum?

I'm not available for less than this.

Okay.

I'm not, I'm not gonna entertain the idea of making less than this per month. And just accepting it as a fact. Okay. As much as you can, and allowing the energy to, to flow through.

And just, it's just very clear about what, what is worth your time and your energy and your— there's that worth word again— but, but for yourself, what you're, what you're willing to spend your life on and in. Yes. Am I getting it?

Yes.

Okay.

So Jenny, Jenny, how about you? Where are you at on the spectrum?

Okay, as you were talking, I was like, I'm gonna give myself a 7 until you said the word mastered, and then I was like, um, okay. So the reason why I was originally thinking 7 is because in the last couple of years I've had some things happen that shattered a lot of my limitations around money and mindset. But you know, when I talk about, you know, have you mastered it, I was like, uh, maybe I'd give myself like a 4 and a quarter because like I know there really is unlimited potential and I'm really stepping into embracing that and You know, like, there's so much that I just don't even know that I don't even know about my limiting mindset. You know, like, you only understand that you have a limitation until you realize that you have a limitation. And then there's all the ones that you don't even know that you even have. But in the last couple years, I, I moved from Minneapolis to San Diego, and I was like, that is the stupidest financial decision ever. Like, move to a city that's super expensive? So dumb. But I was like, I need to just try it, and if it's, if it's too hard, we'll just, we'll go somewhere else. Well, we're totally doing it. And then my wife lost her job due to COVID, and we had always talked about wanting to work together so that we can travel. And I was like, well, how is a skin and hair scientist and a speaker gonna work together? Plus, I just thought, I don't know that I can make enough money to support us both. That was a big, scary, limiting thing. And so now we are working together in one of the most expensive cities, um, in the United States, and we're doing great. We are doing great. And so that has really helped me to start challenging so many of my other beliefs around money. I think another thing that I've been exploring lately is I enjoy exchanging my time for money as a speaker, but that's also very limiting of like, how can I also make money while I'm not speaking? Or it's not this exact exchange for my time. And so that's like a new place that I'm jumping into, and just trying to even learn and understand what's possible. And like I said, Jayla Rae, what you said really hit me is like, I think we all go through like these cycles of learning where you, you have an aha and you're like, wow, I've totally made progress, which is awesome. But then you realize there's so many more levels and stories that we can unpack. So it is sort of like this feeling like it's like 3 steps forward, 1 step back, another 3 forward one back. So I'm a solid 7 and a 4 and a quarter.

I love that you busted open my limitation that I put on your best. I love it. That is awesome. And I think it's metaphorically absolutely on point because we— I keep finding the ceilings even as I price my own products where I'm like, What?

You—

other people say you had charged more. I'm like, what?

More? Oh my gosh.

Which—

it's always easy to tell you you can charge more.

It's always easy for us after you buy the initial, right?

I love it.

I love it.

What if there was no ceiling?

I know, right? It's so true. But I'm always grateful to have people around me that, that see what's possible in ways that I might not. You know, I'll like get flashes of it, but then in the work of it, in the grind of it, you forget about the, the why, like what the ultimate vision—

the whole process of like setting an energetic minimum and setting an energetic maximum, part of it is letting go of the how. Like the why can feel really solid, like I want to make this much for XYZ reason, right? But the how, the how you get there is the hardest to release and to let go of and to just believe in your bones that it's coming your way in some, some way, shape, or form. And I think there are a lot of ways that money comes to you that people don't recognize until they start uncovering all of the limiting beliefs that they have surrounding money. Like, for example, you could get, you know, interest back on your checking account, and which could only be like 2 cents or something, but it comes to you. It came to you. It's proving that it's showing up. Sometimes you receive like a random refund check from like insurance or something that you weren't expecting. Or a rebate that you totally forgot about and you didn't know was coming your way. So there's all of these, there's all these little opportunities. And if you release the how, those kinds of things start happening, like, more, more and more. You start receiving more and more that you weren't expecting, and you're like, oh gosh, this is part of the how. This is because I released the how and it's coming to me. In a way that I wasn't expecting, right?

Well, and I love too that that puts you on notice, like you start to like pay more attention. One of the— a woman that I follow that I just dearly love, her name's Elizabeth Woodson, and she, she's a Bible teacher. But one of the things she talks about is that we marry the principles and we date the models. And I love— I mean, that's basically what you just said. We marry the why, we marry why we're doing this. But the model of how can shift all the time. And, and, and then, but the way you just said it made me think, I completely discount this consulting gig that I have that's regular hours as part of my income. Like, it doesn't count in my mind.

Oh, Ken.

Oh, the coaches. I know. And because in my mind, that's the fallback. I want to be doing this rather than seeing it holistically. So why is that? Why am I discounting this? So thank you for sharing that, Taylor.

Love it. Okay, so what is underneath all of this? And we've talked about it a little bit, our belief systems. And I know enough to know that what we what we take action on, it all stems from beliefs that we have about ourselves, about what's possible, about our business, about our future, all the things. And so what I'm going to ask of you, if you would be willing, is to share a belief that you have let go of that held you back in some way, because I think there's a lot in here for all of us.

Well, I think Jen kind of touched on this in the beginning too, that You know, when people say like, oh, charge what you're worth, et cetera, which is just like a load of BS. But one of the limiting beliefs that I really had to let go of was that I was not worthy of compensation because I was not an expert in the thing I was seeking compensation for. And the imposter syndrome was just like crushing me. I mean, crushing every day, every moment I thought about it. And I really dug deep and rewired that just a little bit. I mean, sometimes I still have to write notes to myself on the bathroom mirror. Anytime it's just like a really bad time and I'm starting to feel it come creeping back up, I'm like, no, no, no, you are worthy. Your purpose is worthy of compensation. People actually do want to learn from you. People want to be around you. When you use the term mentor, as opposed to, you know, coach or whatever other term people are using to describe the action that they take with their clients, like, you deserve this. This is okay. This is a place for you to be. Take up space. There was, okay, there was 15 in there, but it all, it's all, it's all wrapped up in the same, like, the same soup there, that, yeah, it had to do with not feeling worthy enough to ask people to pay me to do something, which was— it's so understandable why people believe that and why that happens.

Yeah, especially when it's something that we enjoy. Like, I've had that feeling too, and Jenny, I know you and I have had this conversation, but when it's something that is easy and that I enjoy, like speaking, I'm like, I'll do that all the time and you're gonna pay me what for it? Like, that doesn't feel right. Yeah, because one of the beliefs that I am working hard to let go of is that you have to work hard for money, and you don't.

It can come so easily. It can if you, if you wanted to.

But I have— I felt pride my whole life in working hard. And my parents worked really hard as teachers and that there was that— it was more worth to make money by working really hard on behalf of, you know, worthy mission purpose, you know. So it's very Midwestern, very— Totally.

I'm totally with you.

Yes, totally. And then immigrant family. Mm, those two together, Midwestern immigrant.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of proving baked in there too, right?

You know, can I ask you, I just like a little side note because I think a lot of us are resonating with this idea of like you have to work hard. I will also notice that in addition to having to fight that story is feeling— I'm trying to figure out the emotion— like when you see somebody who's like cutting corners or cheating by doing it faster or easier, that literally there's a part of me that— listen to the words I just used— they're cutting corners. Yeah, they're cheating. And I'm always just like, Jenny, dang, like, that's that, like, big arrow pointing to a story.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yep. At any time I feel judgment towards somebody else, that is a reflection of my own issues and my own stories that I'm telling. And there's something there. And until I figure that out, I'm holding myself back from something. So, oof, super powerful. Okay, Kevin, what's a belief?

Yeah, sure. I will say thank you to both you and Junious now, 'cause you just illuminated a new story in my head. I'm like, I've never attacked that one, add it to the list. Because I mean, 'cause I often try to, there are times I'm critical of other people's work for sure, but I also try to catalog most of the stories of positivity. Like, oh my gosh, this YouTuber is making $1 million a year You know, opening, like reading greeting cards. You know what, Kevin? Instead of just like, that's how easy it is to get money. You could have a YouTube channel reading greeting cards and totally make a million dollars. Like, so, so I do try to remind myself, like, like, you know, I do try to flip it on its head with the abundance mindset. Like, man, that's, that's the powerful thing is that it's so accessible when you allow it to, when you allow it to be. So usually I do a good job of that. However, one of the stories I've recently had to get over with, and I recognize I've been dealing with for over a decade or so, was the idea of you're paying your dues, you're paying your dues, you're paying your dues. And so, so seeing it less as you have to work hard, but as this is a demonstration of your commitment. It's a stage gate you're passing. And so you're earning that future earning. You know, it's like this is where you're doing it. And what I recognized through the help of another coach was that what I'm really telling myself is success requires suffering.

Yes.

And so, and so it's so, so, and I do also share the whole hard work, you know, pride thing. So that's a separate one I'm gonna work on. But I do believe it's like it was letting go of the idea that success and suffering are inextricably linked. And it's like, that's not the case. You know, if it's easy, it's fine. If it's hard, it's fine. In that moment. But to say it's not real because it's not suffering-driven, you're paying your dues. I think that's what I had to let go of. And so that's been helpful for me. I'm still kind of, I would say, despite seeing that, kind of releasing that, I'm still letting it permeate every part of my life. Right. Not just me. So to be transparent, not just the money mindset, but also the whole idea of What's it like to have a great relationship with your spouse and great with your kids and active social life and physical and be physically healthy where you're not choosing one or two domains to be successful? You can still have all of those domains be successful. So I think it's kind of impacting all areas of my life, including the money mindset that I'm no longer trying to pay dues in every area. Like I got into life with a deficit or debt to pay off.

Super powerful.

Thanks, Kevin. I, I'm seeing these themes, and I obviously taking on any of these belief systems or these, these even just like a single phrase like that, it takes a while to even realize that you have them.

Yeah.

Cause for a long time it was just, this is how I was raised. And so this is my perspective. And so there's, there's this whole bit about letting go of, and with what I'm learning to do is with gratitude and forgiveness, honor the people who handed this to me, right? Cause we were taught these things in all kinds of different ways. So it's just this really fascinating. Hard thing. It's not just figure out your funnel and make more money. Why isn't it just—

I figured out your funnel, but that's the minor.

No, it's so much more. Like all things entrepreneurial, it is metaphorically about the whole of your growth as a human. It's just the coolest and the hardest all at the same time. Okay. Yeah, absolutely. Beliefs. Whose beliefs do we need to hear from? I feel like Jenny, did we, did we get your belief? Well, you kind of popped in a little.

No, not yet, but I, I feel like I kind of already shared it, was I had this old belief that my income could not predictably or safely support two of us, which as I look back now, I'm like, it was such a load of crap. Like, it could have been supporting us 10 years ago, but some of the stories were, you know, like, my income is kind of up and down, but even when it's down, it's still a good amount. And so my wife having a salary was sort of like this constant safety net. We had benefits, you know, so As I'm thinking about it, like, the whole thing was really about fear. I'm afraid that this won't be enough. And like, well, first of all, like, how much is enough? So we have to fight that story of, well, what, what is that baseline number? And then we always just continue to increase it. And then I just realized too, like, this really— sometimes I'm like, Jenny, you're so smart, and sometimes you're just so dang dumb. The story in my head was, okay, so if Tiffany and I work together, for some reason I just thought like it's still me making the same amount of money, not realizing like how much my wife actually added to the value of the business. And now we're making a lot more. So I think the story was like I'm gonna still be making the same amount of money, not realizing— I'm like, well, wow, that was just really rude to not give your wife credit to have a lot to bring to the table. I mean, she's had a massive amount to bring to the table. So as I'm talking about this, I'm like uncovering multiple layers to this story. Like, healthcare is— it's going to be too expensive to afford it. And I I don't know. And I've even wondered too of like, what has changed? Of like, well, the pandemic came, which I mean, I, I know that this is a very— it's a thing that not a lot of people can say— is one of the best things that ever happened to my business, you know. So that really changed my mindset too. So yeah, just in the, in the last 2 years, a lot of things have happened that I just— I'm not gonna say didn't think were possible, it was fear. It just— so much of it was fear that was holding me back.

Yeah. So here's my question for you, Jenny, and I say this knowing that of course this was all possible always, but your move out to San Diego, you know, that was a huge risk and you've been talking about it for a while and you take this leap and then Tiffany loses her job and COVID, like I keep hearing stories about entrepreneurs who've like really leveled up once essentially they were forced to, you know? And so I'm wondering if part of how this happens for us is taking these big leaps that scare the crap out of us and that force us into a different way of thinking. Or if it's like the circumstances of life that just push us in another direction. I don't know. Does that all make sense? What do you think?

Yeah.

I mean, I love listening to the podcast How I Built This with Guy Raz. At the end of every episode, he asks the same exact question to every very successful entrepreneur. How much of your success do you attribute to hard work and how much do you attribute to luck? And it always fascinates me. People's reactions, and I can never predict what they're going to say, but the vast majority give more of the credit to luck, you know. And I was always like, I know I'm walking listening to podcasts, I'm like, when am I gonna get my freaking lucky moment? Like, if this is all about luck, but how much of that, like, luck is taking risk and paying attention? Like what you guys were saying of like paying attention to what's going on in the universe and not limiting yourself Um, I, I don't know. And I'm like, was 2020 the, the pivotal lucky moment for my business? I don't know. Or for my life? I mean, I guess I'll, I'll only kind of be able to answer that question in hindsight.

Yeah, yeah.

But I think a lot of, you know, like being an entrepreneur, all of us have had to just like leap and crochet that net on the way down, just trusting like Oh, well, up until this point, I've always landed on my feet. So let's hope that this holds true, you know?

Right, right. Oh, it's so true. That idea of crochet as you're like flying through the air really gives me the— because I'm not crafty. It's the problem.

Jenny, like, if you had to be, you, you would figure out how to fashion a net of some sort. I don't care if you did macramé or Rope tying.

Okay, okay, there's other ways. Any kind of friendship bracelet. Yeah, you can do it. Okay, Jen Whitmer, I don't think we've heard your belief.

Oh, there are so many. I know, and I'm busting— I'm noticing more as we talk. I think the, the one for me that I would say is the— while we're talking about knots— the thread that unravels them all. Is you shouldn't want that. And I have been told that about various things in my life. You shouldn't want that. And that is the thing that I am— I have let go of that tries to creep its way back in, you know, because we all are in the cyclical way of digging deeper into letting go of whatever belief was there. And so I think it does come back, but the idea that you shouldn't want to make money, and it comes from all kinds of places. I think you sign up for being an educator knowing that you're not going to get paid. I mean, I had master's degrees and was making $28,000 a year. Like it's, it's crazy, that kind of thing. And growing up and, and still as, as a Christian, like I can remember reading some books of people saying Christians shouldn't do that. And like, and how much that messed with my mind. And then digging into scriptures, not seeing that— that's not there. That was someone's opinion of how I am supposed to behave. And totally unhelpful. Totally unhelpful. And even in the idea of, you shouldn't want to be a speaker, you should— like, those types of things. The thing that brings me the most joy in my life, of like, as a vocation, you shouldn't want that. And, and that kind of approval— and then clearly there's some deeper roots there, but that's the story. When I hear that phrase, you shouldn't want that, I know, whoop, nope, there's a problem. That story, whatever is behind the that, is a lie. And, and I, I really have I have noticed that in my life, and as I start to continue to let go of, you shouldn't want that, the more freedom that comes. And I clearly, as a 3.25 on the scale, I'm the lowest here.

I never shared my number, so, okay, okay, maybe I'm not.

Uh, so I think that that story is the one that when I can pick that out all the others seem to float away a little bit differently. That it is perfectly okay for me to want money. I don't need to love it. I don't love it. I don't want to love it, but I do want my kids to go to college. We've got 4 of them. They're all like right here in age. I gotta pay for 3 college tuitions at the same time, probably 4 at some point, you know, like, yeah, I want to provide for my kids in that way. I want to I want to live in a community that is walkable. I want to live in a space where there are greenery, like those types of things.

Mm-hmm.

When I look at life holistically are perfectly fine for me to want.

Yeah.

And the way to get there is money as the exchange of energy that we were talking about. And so I think that belief, you shouldn't want it, has been the biggest things I let go of. Now it's, then it gets challenged when Sally says to me like, we're going to do $1 million. And I'm like, oh crap, I can't want that. No, that's a lie. And that's how I start to unravel that story.

Yeah.

Jen, what would be wrong with loving money?

What would be wrong?

That's a big question.

All the things that you just described, what would be wrong with loving making it? To get you there.

I think there is a nuance that I still hold to, that if I just love money for money's sake, that's basically just greed and unhelpful, because then I start hoarding it. Rather than loving the things that money gets me, that's different. And I don't want money or the things to have a hold on me in a way that doesn't let me express the fullness of who I am, because once I start to be captured by the love of money, then I'm captured by that as well, and it becomes another limit. And so I think that's the nuance that I see. I don't know how that resonates with other people, but that's where I, that's where I land with that, that the love of the thing will never get me what I want, ever, whatever the thing is.

Yeah, I, I feel that too. My two big challenges around money are purpose-driven people— like, you have to work hard for money, you got to work hard, there's goodness in the hard work.

Oh yeah, who wrote the— what's the quote that luck often looks— opportunities often look like dressed in overalls and look like hard work? I mean, that's a phrase out there in the world, right?

And then the other big belief that I have is that good people— this is even hard to say, it's hard to say— good people don't have a lot of money. How messed up is that? But, but it stems from, it stems from being around hardworking progressive parents and having really negative stories told around people who had a lot of money and, and became less generous, became less compassionate. Became just not a force of good in the world. And the push growing up was, we're going to be a force of good in the world. And so it didn't align with money. So I happily went into nonprofit work and felt really proud and knew I was making my parents proud. And what's funny is now my parents, as my dad's job changed and they got more money, they were like, money's awesome. And they're right. They're right. Money is awesome. And what I am really working hard on is believing in all the good that I can do with money. Exactly.

Yeah.

You don't have to be those examples that were shown to you. And Sally, you could never be like a good person turned bad by money. That is not something that's going to happen to you.

I expect you all to, as we build a million-dollar mission and right alongside I build a million-dollar business.

I just said that out loud. Yes, you did.

As that happens, my hope and my belief is that really, and what drives me, my why around all this is really around empowering just a greater impact. Like, what happens when there are 100 more speakers out in the world who are driven by their message that they know deep down is going to impact the world? Like, and they're more empowered to do more and play bigger games in their business and their life. Like, that's, that's amazing. Like, that, that I can get jazzed about.

That's—

I'm so excited.

And I, I don't know, any last— anything that you are all thinking about? If, if one of you is like, before we go, I just have to say this, like, I'm just like, before, like, Sally, take this in, or here's a thought. What do you think?

You know, one thing that I've been thinking of as, as I'm listening to all of us, like, it's a very interesting scenario when you are selling yourself.

Yeah.

And like, well, how much am I worth, J. Loray? Like, am I an expert? What happens when people don't want to buy you? Like, oh, is that a— oh, so I'm, I'm not— well, you know, versus when people like happily pay your fee and they don't even like try to negotiate. I love like There's a lot wrapped up when you are selling yourself, and when you feel like you're not selling enough, what kind of stories does that create? And when you are feeling like you're doing really well, what kind of stories does that create?

Yeah, yeah, it's a lot.

I think the last thing that I would say that is so dear to my heart, and one of the reasons I have chosen to work with you, Sally Koering Zimney, and then the joy of the others on this in this space is that the Million Dollar Mission and other things around money are never alone. It's always with a group, it's always with a community that we go further together. And I think that when we, when we put that in connection with the money story, that this is us together doing work, I think there's so much freedom and so much power in that.

That's why I love you guys. I always, I always enjoy it more when we're, when we're on the journey together.

Yeah, I just want to kind of reiterate one thing I said earlier, and just like, you know what, I understand that we don't know whoever's watching their past or their story, and everybody's story is different, and some have really, really traumatic situations they've experienced in relation to money. I know we all have a lot of baggage with it, but everybody has a harder situation than others, and I just want to encourage you to catalog the stories you hear and instead of viewing them as why not me, I mean, why me, right? Then be a why not me, and more importantly, I think it's also just reminding yourself that like, this is happening all around you. Like, it's like, it'd be one thing if it was an isolated incident and you're like, okay, well, that person, that side of the tracks got this. When you start to really just take in all the stories from all the people who overcome that particular issue and now have money, you're going to find one from literally every walk of life and every ethnicity, right? Like, they're like, you're going to find someone who fits into every category you think cannot get it. And so, and I think over time you have at least the opportunity to say, wow, okay, this really is happening all around me. So at some point it can happen for me too if I allow it to, want it to. And so instead of using those stories to convince yourself that you're not going to get it, you're not special, hold on to those stories until maybe you figure out what, maybe what it can, what would it take for it to be me? What could I do? And then start just to flip the question on your head because I know it takes a while. And so I just, we honor your journey, we respect your journey, but just know like it's okay to take an airball of stories and say, you know what, wow, he said Somebody gets to do that. This is possible.

Yeah, I love that. Yeah, awesome, Kevin. Kevin, I know, love Kevin. He comes in, I'm like, I don't know, I'm touchy-feely.

No, I'm the touchy-feely type. You're like, Kevin's probably gonna— person most likely to cry on this call is probably me. I'm pretty sure Sally knew that. She's like, Kevin's good for crying on a video. He'll make the— he'll make the content compelling. He's like, he starts breaking into tears.

Listen, if we don't cry when we get together, I question my abilities.

Exactly.

First time I've not cried on a call.

I'm surprised.

Well, then I don't think we're done with the call. I think we need to keep going until we have the breakthrough.

Yeah. Well, I feel like Jayla Rae, you are playing more of the role of the coach on this call than me.

I do appreciate you. I like to ask questions.

Oh, I've been holding all my questions back. What are you talking about?

What's made really clear to me as I have really focused on this journey is it's never done. Like all things entrepreneurial, it comes in waves and in cycles. 3 steps forward, 1 step back on this. And that, to your point, I, I think we do better on this when we talk to each other about it, when we share. Women in particular, I want us to talk more about money. And so that's part of the reason I'm doing this, is, is to kind of bring it out front for myself, to push myself on this. I, I know that every entrepreneur, we have to face this stuff again and again and again. So hopefully we're taking this as an opportunity to really go for it. Million dollar mission, baby.

This is so important, Sally, and I'm just, I'm so glad that you're doing it. And it's making me realize, yeah, like this needs to be more of a regular conversation. And I think like not just amongst entrepreneurs, but even among friends, with our family.

Yeah, well, we could, we could probably keep going on this for a long time because there's a lot. And I, I am so grateful to each of you for showing up and sharing something real that is so personal.

It's—

money is so personal. It is a reflection of the toughest stuff and the, the most beautiful things too. So I just really appreciate your time and your openness, uh, and your connection with me and with each other. You're all beautiful people. Thanks, you guys are the best. Oh, I think I just drew on my chin, you guys. This is what happens when I like keep a pen always. In my hand. 100 Bemoved speakers making 100— wait, that'd be a lot more money. Meeep!

Record scratch. Try it again.