Episode 56 - Cindy Novotny Shares How Staying Positive And Passionate Paved Her Way To Success

I do really believe 100% from every part of me that everyone has the.

Capacity to be able to do the.

Things that they want and not to be held back by the mental baggage that's in our head that we want to push through.

Welcome to the do the Thing podcast. In each episode, we get down and personal with people who go after the things they want to make all their wildest dreams come true. Join us as we unveil and dissect a formula for what it takes to do the thing. Here is your host, Stacy Lauren.

Hey, everyone. Welcome to the do the Thing podcast. This is your host, Stacy Lauren. I have awesome friends who connect me with equally amazing people, and that's how I learned about today's guest. A good friend of mine met her while presenting at the White Dress Society. They both spoke at the event. After hearing about her, I knew I needed to schedule an interview. She's known as the radical mentor. She's a consultant, speaker, author, and executive coach. And she's also the founder and managing partner of Master Connection Associates. She's an icon in the hospitality industry. Her company works with a variety of businesses and provides them sales, service, and leadership training and coaching. And she also does personal coaching to help people find their thing. In this interview, we talk about how she powered her company through 9, 11, the recession, and Covid. She talks about how she gets in the zone when she needs to power through to get through anything that comes her way, regardless of the obstacles thrown into her path. She looks for a different angle, keeps a positive outlook, and carries on. She's the literal definition of grit. Doing the thing is in her blood. She's passionate about everything she does and truly loves the path she chose. And I had a special treat where we were able to talk about getting back to human to human connection, which is something I've been really passionate about personally. I am so excited to introduce Sydney Novotny to the show. Hey, Cindy. How are you?

I couldn't be better, let me tell you. Stacey could not be better.

Oh, I'm so glad. And I am so excited to get a chance to talk to you because I heard about you from a really close friend of mine. You guys had shared the stage at a speaking event for a wedding. I think it was a wedding company.

Yeah.

Oh, good. Yeah. And she just, like, wasn't even telling me about you for my podcast. She was just telling me about her experience and how amazing you were and a couple stories that I just could not not call you and try to talk to you more about. What you do and your story.

Well, wonderful. Well, I appreciate you reaching out, and I'm thrilled to be on this podcast with you, so.

Good. Well, I would love you to start out for the listeners and just tell them more about you and your background.

Well, I've been in the hospitality industry pretty much my entire career, but up until 2008, when everything was like crazy and everything was great to 2008, when the recession did hit, we definitely diversified. And so now 60% of our business is hospitality, from, you know, hotels to destinations, to events, venues, private aviation, things like that, tourism. And then 40% is corporate. So we work in a lot of law firms, a lot of banks. We work with a lot of real estate companies, property management. And people wonder, well, how did you kind of jump over? It's like, I feel like I'm one of those crossover stars that went from country to rock or something, but it really had nothing to do with just, oh, we better get into another industry. But we worked with the ritz Carlton Hotel Co. Prior to Marriott purchasing the company, and we helped them and ran the Ritz Carlton Learning Institute after they won two Malcolm Baldrige Awards. And we worked very closely with them, and we were actually the backdoor operation for that. So Malcolm Baldrige is a quality award given by the US Government and very difficult to get. No hotel company has ever gotten it. Only one other company got it twice. That was a small technology company. And so when you get that award, you have to go out for two years and let people outside of your industry benchmark you. Hence, that just propelled us into, you know, private equity and real estate and hospitals and all these things. So that's what I do. I tour the world. I. This year, I've only been in my own bed in my own home in Southern California nine days. I do have a cottage in Michigan and a farm in Iowa. So I do stop over at those places when I don't want to fly all the way back, but I've logged 10 million miles. Our company has about 30, 30 people now, and we train all over the world in sales, service and in leadership. And I do a lot of personal coaching, really, to help people kind of find, you know, find their. Their thing, you know, find what they want to do in life. I wrote a book, Living with no Balance and Loving It. And I show the world that you don't have to do what everybody else does. So that's a little bit about me in a nutshell.

Yeah. Oh, my gosh, I'm so. This is so great. So first thing, I just. You're my first recession story. I've so many Covid stories. So I'm excited to, like, talk to you because I had a similar experience. I owned a staffing company during the recession and before the recession, and then kind of did the same thing where we diversified. We were mostly in construction staffing, and then we got into like, industrial event staffing, like all different kinds of stuff to. In order to like, keep the business going. And then I actually used that as the way to almost like scale the business after, because we created systems during that time, you know, to help it. And so this is exciting. We get to geek out on our recession story together.

Yeah, exactly. Well, you know, we all have the COVID story still so fresh. And I think that's a. I have tons of stories on that. And, you know, I propelled through Never stop Traveling. We're partners in a restaurant here in Orange County. We kept the restaurant open. So I fight against any pushback, whether it's recessions, whether it's, you know, global pandemics, whether it's competition. I am definitely, definitely a fighter with grit, for sure. And I'm glad to hear you are too.

Yeah. So let's talk about that first with the recessions, because that's such a hard time, right, when, like, you don't know what's going to happen with your business and then with other people's businesses. Like, how did you get yourself through that mentally and then strategy wise, just like an idea of it.

Well, first of all, I think the biggest. The biggest hit was 911 for hospitality. So that's when it really started where I learned that, wow, I teach everybody not to have all their eggs in one basket. And I did. And so when 911 hit, it really shook the foundation of our industry. And very similar to with COVID because everything just shut down. The only difference is Covid lasted a lot longer. With 9 11. I immediately got on the road. I actually traveled with Rudy Giuliani. I went on behalf of the US tourism. We flew all over Europe a month after 911 telling people to get back on plan and go to work and, you know, don't let anything get in your way. So that was. And it was. It was tough. I mean, I had trainers on my team that said, I'm not going to fly. I'm not going to get on a plane. I'm, you know. And they ended up leaving because they didn't want to do that. Similar to Covid, I had a couple people say, I'm just not Comfortable anymore, traveling and being in such close, you know, quarters. And they left, and that's fine. And so I learned early on that you just have to look for a different angle. So when. When 2008, when the recession hit, you know, everybody right now is, you know, kind of, oh, my gosh, what's going on? You know, there. There is never a time where you don't have problems. And when I hear people say, well, my life has just been so rosy, and there's nothing ever that happens, and everything's perfect, and I got the perfect life, the perfect marriage, the perfect partner, I'm like, you're so full of BS because at some point, everybody has a moment with their family, with their work. So one of the things I'm good at is getting in the zone. And that's what I mean. I really do just kind of put everything to the outside because I take so much on, and I take so much emotion on from everyone around me that I literally can. Can make myself go into a total slump if I just think, oh, this guy's falling. Everything's bad. So I just lock everybody else out. I put everything else. I act like, no, no, no, this too will pass, and I forge ahead. And I knew that we had to capitalize on industries that were making it. So. Same thing during COVID there's not all the industries didn't fall apart. There's a ton that did way better, you know, Covid and post Covid than they did in 2019. So I think if you're very present, if you're very connected, if you're very relevant, if you know what's going on in the world, you know where to steer. And it's like, you know, during. I sailed with my family my whole life, and my dad would always say to me, you know, when you see those. Those huge surge and those huge waves, steer into that storm. Don't go sideways or it tips you over. And so that's why I've learned to just put my nose into the wa. Waves into the storm and carry on.

Oh, my gosh. That's incredible. So when you're. When you're getting in the zone and you're blocking everyone else out, what is your. What is your strategy? Like, so in terms of you. You have the. This tubal pass mantra. It sounds like you also have the mindset of, I'm going to steer into the storm. And then what else do you do to be able to get yourself in that zone?

Well, I have to. Sometimes my detriment. Such a positive Outlook at the future that even my family will say to me. You know, my husband and I have been married a very long time. We have one daughter. She. After she graduated from university from Texas A and M, she wasn't going to join us because she'd been raised on the road, living in hotels, traveling the world. Yet she did join us. And she is one of our top producers. She's in our sales team. And even she will, if she's going through tough times, she'll say, mom, I don't need the positivity right now. I mean, I just. The glass is never half full for me, so I can't listen. Every time things are negative, I'm like, But then there's this. And occasionally that does drive people around me crazy. So when I say I get in the zone, I literally focus on what do I have to get through today. I put all that negative or all that. I can't deal with that right this moment over to the side. I mean, really in a compartment, you know, And I just say, just focus on this right now and get through this. Because for me, it's the next speech. It's at the walking on stage. It's, you know, going in front of a team of people that have just been through a huge crisis, working with cities, you know, during COVID like, you know, Minneapolis, and then they went through, you know, such terrible, tough times. And yet I'm working with them on rebuilding the city and helping them and helping the hotels. And I have to kind of put that all stuff to the side. And it's. It's not faking it because I'm a believer. I am a huge believer that the world is not coming to an end and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. And no matter what people say to me, I just forge forward so I. People might think, oh, well, you're just phony baloney. No, I'm not. This is how I've lived my life forever. I mean, people laugh at me. I will look at myself in the mirror and go, oh, wow, I thought I was five seven, skinny and blonde. And clearly I'm, you know, five foot tall and brown hair and, you know, definitely not skinny and, you know, but I. I was given confidence from my parents. I mean, my mom even sometimes says, maybe we just gave you too much. But I really do. I really forge forward and say, like, I'm going to get through this. And that's what I block out is the other stuff.

Yeah. And it's funny you mentioned this. The. What do I have to deal with today. That's literally the pattern that just has been coming up the last few days. I'm in the middle of writing the book, do the Thing, which is coming from the interviews from the podcast. And that's the common pattern that I've been slightly hyper focused on because so many people future trip, you know, into what's going to happen tomorrow or a year from now or three years from now. And I just think that's so smart to be able to focus on today. And then what you said was, what is the next step that I have to do, you know, in order to, to reach my goal versus you thinking of 500 steps down the road.

Well, and that's, I mean, my dad, who is a huge mentor to me and really, you know, kind of guided me through so much. He always said to me, just don't worry about yesterday and don't worry about tomorrow because you don't know what tomorrow brings. Just focus on what you can do today. And that has been with me forever because we all go through from, from the time I was a teenager, you know, the boy dumps you that you get the D on the test. You don't make cheerleading. You, you know, think that you're going to be able to that volleyball team and that you don't make it. And you can put yourself in such a pity pool that the next five days of where there were great opportunities blow right by you because you're laying in bed with a sheet covered over your head. Right?

Totally. Yeah, totally. And then how do you, when you're looking for a different angle, how do you kind of get yourself into that headspace? Because you need to then bring on your, your creativity essentially.

Right? So we don't try to be any more than what we are. We absolutely stay focused on our wheelhouse. And that is sales. We are incredible. Sales, training, organization, consulting organization, commercial strategy, really big on that. Leadership. Everything we do is centered around the leadership, whether it's in operations or in sales, whatever it might be. And then service, either customer, client service, patient service. In some of the medical institutions we work at, even colleges, universities, we work on students. How do you deliver better service to students? So we stick with sales, service and leadership. When you stick with the three things that are in your wheelhouse that you know really well, we then customize based on our customers needs so we don't just make up stuff. So if we get called from a property management company that has, you know, 50 buildings around the US and they want to improve their H vac, their engineers, their janitors, their people that work at the concierge, building management office, bmo, things like that. We don't just go, oh, we know that we've done that before. We spend hours and hours of time in what we call a needs assessment arena, really working with those customers to find out what it is they're doing, what do they need to do differently? And then our creativity is pushing them out of a comfort zone. And so we don't just have. It's not like I'm sitting back creating the next widget, coming up with the next cool, coolest technology, but we're. We're constantly looking at what do we know and how to. How do we retool that so it will work for this new client. And we do. We're doing that all day long.

And how does the company typically respond to that? Are they like, how do you get them to then do the thing?

Well, first of all, one of the things we really take a good, solid stance at is don't call us trying to fix a, you know, employee problem when it's really a management issue. And so when you think about do the thing, the thing always stems from the top. And in any company, you know, they always said the fish thinks from the, from the head down. And that is no lie. That is some of these old wives tales like, really do apply. And if you do, if you really think about your thing and you're a leader, your thing can't be that. I just try to be all things to all people know. You've got to give direction. You have to have a good, positive outlook at the future. You have to let people know what is our goal, what is our mission, where we're going. You know, I just saw the most incredible quote on Instagram or I think. No, it was definitely on Instagram. From a person that I worked with in hospitality. She's now in and has a travel agency. And she shared this point and I love it because she said, I'm so sick of these CEOs and C levels that have titles that they think are fun and catchy, like window washer janitor. They try to be, I'm head of all problems. No, you're supposed to be the CEO for a reason. No, you're supposed to be the Chief Commercial Officer for a reason. So don't try to be cheeky here. Just do your job, do your thing and lead this company to the right direction. And we're very, very strong about that. When we go in and they want to fix Things we say, you can't fix a management problem with a training class. So don't try to make us fix your problems when you at the top, have no direction, give mixed messages, aren't leading us down the right path, aren't aligning correctly. We can't fix that. So we do our thing by really letting them know this is what your thing needs to be.

Yeah, I think that's incredible because you're not. You're, like, setting up the expectations from the beginning so they know. And you also have a boundary for who you're going to work with. Otherwise, you're going to be hitting your head against the wall trying to help someone that isn't able to be helped, or you're motivating them to help themselves first and then be able to work with you that way.

Yes, exactly. 100%. Yeah. And if everybody would just do the thing. I mean, just do something and, you know, really just do it. I mean, there's so much talk, but I think, you know, the key here and your kind of mantra is do the thing. That the big key word there is do whatever the thing is, do it.

Yeah. Yeah. I love that. So what have you noticed with the people that you've helped on how they do the thing? Like, have you noticed anything they have in common or any similarities?

So, you know, the people that I help and I coach, a lot of them have not had real honest feedback. A lot of them have had leaders that, you know, give them just enough, but not too much. They end up believing their own pr. They end up believing, I can do this, and I'm really good at that. And part of the reason that they might not have gotten the real feedback or the real leadership is that there's politics being played at the top of the company, and this person doesn't want to walk on eggshells and make this person mad. We play no politics. We're not there to win a popularity contest. And so when we help people, they are so grateful. But I'm. I'm helping people sometimes that don't know they need help. I mean, I was just at Cornell, which is a big, huge hotel school, this last week, and working at the Statler Hotel at Cornell, which is a teaching school, which has all interns. And one of the interns that graduated from Cornell was looking for jobs in New York, and nobody would call her back. And in a world where we need people desperately in hospitality. So I happen to know people. I'm connected. I've been in this business a very long time. I follow through the talk and I made a couple calls, and she literally called me five minutes before I jumped on this podcast with you. So excited. She was in New York. She had her interview with the people that I talked to her about. She said, I can't thank you enough. This wouldn't have gone like this if you hadn't stepped in. And the thing is, she didn't ask me to step in. I heard her talking and I heard her frustration. And that's my thing. Some might call it nosy. I'm very curious. I stepped in and I said, like, what is going on? She told me, I said, let me do what I can do. And I make a difference that way with people because. And I follow through. When I say to somebody, call me and I'll help you. I believe me, follow through on that. And there's so many people that don't. There's so many people that have such empty promises out there until they need you. And that's what I so don't believe in. Don't wait till you need something. Stay in touch. Help people. Do your thing.

Yeah, it's so true. I used to do that all the time, too. Even on the employee side, when we would hire for employees and if we didn't have any jobs open at the time, I'm always like, don't just wait till you need the, you know, person for the job. Keep in touch with them while they're waiting. So then it's not like you're using them, you know, when you actually are.

Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. Because there never should be a feel ever that you're using anybody when you are a part of your industry, whatever that is, when you're a part of the community, when you're a part of always trying to make things better and help others, and you literally follow through. There is no using. It's literally, now, I need a favor. But I've been a part of this for a long time helping you. We've been working with you. We've been doing this. So it's not using if you are always engaged. And that's, I think, what is a big issue. And I find sometimes that, you know, this. This disconnect of talking. I don't believe in texting back and forth. I believe in get on the phone and let's talk. I believe in let's have a conversation. You can shorten up a sales cycle. You can shorten up a leadership problem. You can shorten up a customer complaint by getting them on the phone. You have to get we have to get back to what I call H2H which, which is human to human. You know, we have B2B and B2C. Well, H to H is human to human. People are built to deal with people no matter what your style. Introvert, extrovert, doesn't matter.

Yeah, let's make that a thing.

Make it a thing. Let's get back to being. And you know, it's so funny because I know you've done a bit on dating and things and I've been married for a long time, so it's been years since I dated Obvious. But I just happened to go to Tampa about three months ago and I was walked into a hotel that I'm staying at. I'm going to be working there the next day. And this was like three months ago and it was a really trendy, kind of fun, cool hotel. And it was about 10 o' clock at night and I walked in and the vibe in this bar was on fire. It was a Sunday night. It was fun. There was so much like energy and I, and I love, I love that kind of scene. I never sit in my room, have room service. I always sit in the restaurant or sit at the bar. I just, I like to be around people and see what's happening. So I said to the front desk agent that checked me in, like, oh my gosh, it seems like that's a party. He goes, oh, they're doing, you know, he goes like this. Back in the day they used to do speed dating. He goes, and that's what they're doing. I got so excited. I ran right over after I checked in. Not to be a part of, you know, speed dating, but to talk with them. And they were all young, they were in their like late 20s, but then someone into their 40s, but there wasn't just like, these are old or just young. It was a combo. And I said like, this is so cool. Are you guys over match and over all the different sites that you go on, they go, yeah, we actually are. And we are over trying to meet people online and we want to bring back what really matters. Meeting people face to face, first time, setting it up, let's then go have coffee, let's have dinner. And I just loved it. I just thought it was incredible.

Yeah. And actually I'm so glad you brought this up, Cindy, because I just finished the do the thing dating challenge. It was a 17 day challenge and I was doing a beta test just with a hundred people and just to kind of test out what I thought would work. To get them out of their comfort zone. And it was really successful. I've done like some exit interviews with some of the people already, and they've definitely had a lot of progress. But one of the things I was disappointed with afterwards was a lot of the people are still on the dating apps and they don't like them. And my thoughts were like, if you're going to be on a dating app, it's fine, but if you don't like it, then don't be on it. It, you know, like, that's where you would find another way. And it's like, so love it if you're on it. And so that idea of that human to human connection. It's funny, I was thinking only business when you brought it up, because I remember that being a big thing in my staffing company where as we were automating, you know, certain things got more impersonal and I didn't like that. And so. But the fact that you brought it up with, with dating is true because that is what the apps are doing. It's like creating this robotic kind of like, like, you know, the same, it's the same thing over and over again type thing.

Exactly. Yeah, yeah. And it. And I will tell you, I think people have lost their woo. You know, woo. Like woo. Like they're fun. Like their woo. Whatever it has to be. I mean, I have a ton of woo, but, you know, again, you could be the quietest, most analytical person in the room and you've got your own woo. All right? And the, the key is. And again, I'm aging myself. But when I was dating, I was meeting people in bars or at work or a friend introduces or says, you really should meet my brother. And then I would go and have a drink and, and it, you know, again, I never got in a car. I never made myself feel unsafe. I never did anything. And people like, well, that's really unsafe. I go, oh, and the dude you're meeting online that you really don't know, if that's his picture, you don't think that's unsafe? See, I am a firm believer that 84% of, like, decisions and things in your life are made in, in group biases. I feel that the group you are with that you. Like, there's more of the same thing. So there isn't. If you know a hundred people and 100 people, you say to them, I really want to start dating now, or maybe you've been divorced or maybe your spouse died or something, and I want to start dating. If you Put that out there and you open yourself up. Because I have friends that go, I'm just not going to. I don't want to go out with that person. I go. First of all, I go out to dinner with clients all the time, like, every week of my life that I've never met before or don't know. And it's a great dinner and great conversation. We talk business and we talk personal. If I was single, I would look at every single day like that. It's no different than, well, I might end up dating you, but, like, what do you do for a living? Because maybe I can sell you something. So I think people, like, lose sight of reality and they lose sight of putting themselves out there, taking a risk, enjoying, exploring, and that's what I love doing. That is truly my thing.

Yeah, I love that. So what would you say to someone since we're here before I move on, because I have something else really important I want to talk about too. But. But I want to. I'd love to get your opinion because as I'm creating this new challenge, it's going to be bigger. What would you say to someone that doesn't like the apps, but they're still on that? How do you get them to see that they need to get off of them to, like, create more energy for themselves, to be able to do the thing with dating and, you know, go out of their comfort zone and meet people in the way that you're saying?

Well, I would challenge them for a three months. I don't think you can do anything good in a month or a week. I think it takes a good, you know, quarter, three months. I would challenge them to have guts enough to go off the apps and for the next three months put themselves out there. So at the Starbucks, at the airport, in the office, and start meeting and talking and, you know, you bump into somebody and you just chat and, and tell everybody they know, you know, I'm open to dating. I mean, whether you know anybody, you know, that's. That looks like they be my type or not, you never know. And for three months, have an open mind to just explore the world, an open mind to just say yes to every invite to every party, to every off site that your team's doing. You know, your team's going to do an off site and go bowling and I mean, stuff like that. Like, isn't that fun for me? But I did them all. And so I'm with my team and I may be bowling, but I meet the guy in the next lane is I'M laughing and he's laughing. And then all of a sudden we go up and we get another drink at the bar. This is. You have to be in a mindset that says, I'm not going to hide behind anyone or anything or any app. I'm going to put myself out there. As intimidating as it seems is for the quietest person in the room. All you have to do is say, I only have to do this for three months and just see what happens. And that's it. That's my thing.

Yeah. And I'm assuming you've dealt with rejection with your business and with the coaching clients and things like that. And so since we're still on dating, I thought I would ask you that question is how would you advise them to handle the rejection side of it if someone's not interested?

Well, first of all, I get rejected a lot. I've been rejected by people on my team that don't wanna work for me anymore, that have left. And I'm kind of dumbfounded, like, wow, I thought everything was, uh. I've been rejected. Losing clients or we don't get this gig, you know, we bid on it. So the. I always look at everything that I try to get you to a yes. And if it's a no, well, sometimes I can get you to maybe. Now if it's a date, different story. Okay, so one of the things when I was young and dating and I tell this story all the time, some to on stage when I talk about people that don't follow through and that they just, they. And the term now is I'm being ghosted. And I laugh, I go, by the way, you can't be ghosted unless you've been dating them a while. And then now they're not calling you. Ghosted after the first date is like they just don't want to talk to you. But when I was young and I would, I lived in downtown Chicago and I ran nightclubs and I would meet people through friends and I, you know, they'd invite me to dinner, I'd go to dinner and then we would always walk. Everything was walking. And you know, in, in Chicago and I had a doorman, Jimmy, I'll never forget it were in my apartment complex and the guy would walk me to the door, you know, never to my. Never up to my apartment. I was always very safe and secure. And he'd say, well, this has been great. You know, I'll give you a buzz. And I would say, oh, what day are you gonna buzz? And the look on his Face would tell me he's never buzzing. It was like. And I would say, yeah, I'm not your type, right? And he'd just go, oh, my God, no, no. And I knew because the ones that said, yeah, how about next? How about Tuesday? If this was on, you know, Friday, why don't we get together and, you know, I'm gonna be gone for the weekend. Let's get her on Tuesday. Or, you see what I mean? My girlfriends would be like, oh, it was so great. It was so great. I had so much fun. I go, oh, when's your next date? Oh, we don't have it yet. I go, why didn't you ask for it? Oh, my gosh, you would never do that. See, I'm closing the deal every step of the way. And when it's no, I know it's no. You know what I mean?

When they're totally.

Yeah. And so don't live in a false world. Don't live like, oh, I think, no. The bottom line is he's just not that into you, as we know from the movie. Right? So just simply go, so it was great. When should we get together again? Now, if you don't like him, don't even ask that. Say, well, it was really great. You know, I don't really think that we are going to connect that much, but I so appreciate dinner and, you know, we'll stay in touch. But I really. I don't think. I don't think there's much need to go any farther. Like, just put it out there. And when you do, you don't have that stomachache. You don't sit back and like, oh, my God, I can't believe you didn't like me.

Not everyone's going to like you. Me, our proposal, our company. There's always another option. So you have to have a mindset. And don't think. I don't get sad. I'm like, oh, my God. And I say it out loud. I'm like, I cannot believe it. I can't believe that person. You know, out of 100 people that were in a workshop with me, 99 said I was great. Gave me unbelievable feedback. Loved it. And then there's that one person. Well, I don't think she listens. Well, I don't like her style. She's a bit punitive. And I obsess for about 10 minutes on that. Okay. Even though 99 people liked me, I'm like, wow. And I know exactly who the person was. I obsessed for about 10 minutes. And then I go, gotta Go move on. Isn't that right?

Totally. You know, and it's. It's so great. I'm so glad that this came up, because this is exactly what you're talking about and you're speaking to right now is exactly why I changed this book. It originally was going to be a sales book because I love sales. That's my first love.

And.

And then I switched it to do the thing when I started dating because I realized that the principles that I learned in sales, which is really what you're speaking to right now, were able to be applied in dating. And I think when I say that, a lot of people think I'm talking about presentation or how you come off to people. And yeah, that's all good, right? Like, you want to be able to. To do all that, but that's not really what I mean by it. It's exactly what you just said. It's having that right mindset. It's being able to handle rejection. It's putting yourself in all different kinds of situations, and that's like the core principles of sales, you know, that you can apply to this. So I'm so glad. I'm, like, so excited that you're able to speak to this.

Yeah, it's great.

Well, and it shows, right? Like, because like you said, you've been married so long, you don't have experience, recent experience dating, but you know, because you know what it takes to be able to do the thing, you know, essentially.

Exactly. Absolutely.

Yeah. Okay. And then. Oh, one more thing on that. And then I do want to move on. So the part about taking it personally, how do you not make it about. How do you not make it about you? I'd heard you say, with the one person you obsessed for 10 minutes. Is that pretty much what it is, is you do give your time to. To be annoyed about it, and then you move on. Or is there a way that, you.

Know, what I do is I learn from every single rejection. And so as an example, if this particular example was a person, you know, was challenging me and I was asking questions, and, you know, I'm training, but I'm very. I'm. I'm working with adults, not kids, right. So I'm asking questions, and we were going in circles. So I finally said, I guess I'm just not. I'm. I'm not hearing you. So we either have to talk about this later or whatever. So when I. And this is. This was a recent one. So when I read that, I go, okay, first of all, everybody else thought it was Great. But you clearly had a moment. So what did I learn from that? And I learned that now when someone does that to me, I'm going to say, you know what?

What?

I so appreciate your thoughts, but I'm going to open it up to the group. So let's talk. Because, see, what happens is I become very overbearing. My style becomes very punitive. I try not to do that, but it just naturally starts happening. So now what did I do? I learned from that. So for that 10 minutes that I obsess, I then say to myself, and my dad did teach me this. What did you learn from it? Doesn't mean you have to go, because I do go. Okay, 99 thought it was great. 1 didn't. And so we know on a bell curve here, I won. It was great. But what can I do to change just a little bit from what I heard from that one person? So in this case, I say to myself, from now on, when I get that sniper, that person pushing me and challenging me and disagreeing with me on something that is so bloody, obviously, I'm going to say, well, you know what? I so appreciate you bringing it up. My thoughts were abc, but I want to take about five minutes, and let's open it up to the group. So Mary asked this question, and she thinks that what I thought was, A, and she thinks, b, let's have a conversation. It takes it off of me, puts it all, focuses it on that person, and I can just stand back and let them go at it. And that's how you learn. So if you get rejected on a date, if you get rejected, when you lose a piece of business, when you get rejected on a customer not liking your service, whatever you have to ask, you have to figure out, what could I have done differently to make it go a different way? All right? Now, I never drop price. I don't. You know, it's not like, well, if they can't afford me, they can't afford me. But when it's, I lost to a similar kind of person or business or whatever, what could I have done differently? And that's how I don't obsess about, oh, they don't like me rejection. And I think dating again, I'm not a dating coach at all, but I think dating is very similar. If I know they don't want to go out with me again, I would have guts enough. And I'm not kidding. And I told you I'd say, what day you buzzing? And I was very young saying that I would say I would Love to know what it is about my style that doesn't click with you because I kind of thought we clicked. Do you see the difference? What about my style? Not why don't you like me? They may say, you're too hard driving. You just want too much. And I'm not looking for that. Fair enough. But most people wouldn't have guts enough to ask that question.

Yeah, that's a great. That's a great dare. One of the things I did with the challenge is I gave them dares, and I love that dare. I love that dare to ask that question. Yeah. Because you'll see, like, there's nothing that's gonna, like, after you ask the question. And whatever they say, nothing changes for you as long as you don't make it about you. You know, you make it about them.

Correct.

So cool. Well, okay. I have to ask you this question because this is where I was, like, clamoring to talk to you and everything else has been amazing. But I've got to know if you. Did you. On an air. On an airplane, did you know what I'm talking about with this story?

Oh, yeah.

Yes. Could you please go through that story? Because I am like, I have to know if it's true, and then I have to hear it.

No, no, no. So I've done this a couple times. So I fly when I tell you I've flown 10 million miles, and I. And it's over 10 million. Now. That's not a lie, and it's 100% true, because, you know, a lot of speakers and people say, you know, I've done this. Well, I live on airplanes, and my line is, I love the smell of jet fuel in the morning. And, you know, during. Even before COVID And then during COVID you know, there were so many times where people are so demanding and, like, just making these flight attendants crazy. And I did the beverage cart once. This was way before COVID And I was in first class, and the flight attendant in the back was absolutely stressed. There was so many rude people. And so I did the. I did the beverage cart, like, by helping get soft drinks and do things, you know, handout. And then I picked up the trash. You know what I mean? Like, you know, the gloves on, you know, now. Now they always do that. They come through, you know, because some of them give. You know, they give, like, hand sanitizers. And. And I became like, flight attendants, pilots, the crew, they love me. I got to announce once. And again.

This was way before COVID In fact, this was before 9, 11 when I got to do the announcement, because then security and all that protocol. But at the airport, you know how some flight. There are people at the gate. You can't understand a word they're saying. Like, they mumble into that microphone. You know, we're getting ready to board. You know, American Airlines fly, right? So I said to the girl, can I do it once and see? Because no one's listening to you. And she's like, I know no one's paying attention. She hands me the mic, and they have it written right down. I said, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We're about to begin to board American Airlines flight boom boom boom on its way to Cincinnati. I would like everyone to just take a moment, look at your boarding card. We are boarding from zones. I mean, it was so fun. And I, you know, I always. And I ask all the time, and flight attendants, I've helped so much. I've helped people, you know, because flight attendants occasionally. And now Covid is a whole nother rule, but they can't, you know, put bags up or help people because of back injuries or whatever. So I've helped. I've. I've escorted grandmas down to their seat. I put their bags up. I've helped people take people off in wheelchairs because the guy didn't show up to do it. So I. I've done it several times. And I. Basically, my biggest. The funny line I use is I call myself a volunteer air marshal. And of course, that's. There's no such thing as a volunteer air marshal. After 9 11, I literally, because I am in first class a lot, you know, whether I'm. It's paid or I'm getting upgraded or whatever. And after 9 11, I would say to the flight attendants, I got your back. You know, because everybody was on guard and on edge. And so I would say, I'm a volunteer flight. You know, I'm an airman. And they would. Today I'll say that to people, and they'll go, you are. I go, well, no, that's not really a thing. I just made that up. And I say, but, you know, I'm here to watch, because I'm the one that. In an airport, you know how they say, if you see something, say something. I one time saw a bag, and I timed it for 10 minutes. Now, I don't know where I came up with the number of 10 minutes. Like, I've never been trained on anything, but I looked at a bag, I watched her, and I said, is that your bag? Is that your bag? Is that your bag? It was no one's bag. And you know, they always tell you, go to the white courtesy phone if you see something. So at 10 minutes, no one claimed the bag. So I walked over to the white courtesy phone, I told them the exact gate we were at. I said, this is the bag. This is right where it's sitting. And for 10 minutes, no one has claimed that bag. And of course, immediately, you know, the, they come with the blue jackets, atf, FBI, I mean, and they're surrounding the bag with the dog. And all of a sudden, the businessman who obviously thought he was too cool for school, who I don't think you hear once but a hundred times, don't leave your bags unattended, walked up and of course, I'm standing way back. Nobody knows I was the whistleblower. Nobody knows I was the one that called. And they, he walked up, what's going on? What's going on? And they said, is this your bag? He said, yeah. And they took him and the bag. And so, I mean, I do put my money where my mouth is when it comes to that. And I love, I would love nothing more. The airlines are hiring now. I couldn't possibly be a pilot. That will take too long. But I constantly say they should let me be a volunteer, like a volunteer fireman. I, because I get bored on a, you know, five hour flight, I fly overseas. I'm like, you go ahead and sit down and rest. I'll work for a couple hours, right? And I would be so good at that.

I like, I love so much about this story because, like, not only from the airplane perspective, but it's just like any situation, any moment, it's like, what can I do in this situation to make it better for me, you know? And for you, that's what you were able to do. And then the fact that they said yes because, I mean, it's one thing to ask the question, but the fact that they're saying yes to you is like, blows my mind, which is so cool.

Oh yeah, they had. It was like a theme party. People were loving it, watching. And, you know, I've done that at an event not too long ago, there weren't enough bartenders. And, you know, I have a restaurant. I actually was a bartender for years. And I said to the manager, if you want, because, you know, there's only so much partying I'm going to do anyway. I said, if you want, I'll go behind the bar and bartend. He's like, no, you don't have to. I Said, no, you really need me. And I bartended for two hours, had the time of my life.

Wow, I love that. That's so good. So, okay, Cindy, the time is here. What is your number one piece of advice for people on doing the thing?

I would say that the most important thing you have to be is really true to yourself. I mean, everybody throws around the word authenticity and you really got to step back and say, do you love your current path? Do you love what you do? Because I don't believe I could do what I do if I didn't actually love it. I 100% do. I occasionally get tired. Of course, I'm going 100 miles an hour. I flew in last night from being gone for three weeks. I'm now in the office just today. I've got back to back calls. And then tomorrow, Saturday I get myself all ready and I fly to New York on Sunday and I don't come back for another three weeks. And so it's okay to say, wow, I'm kind of tired. I'm going to sleep on the plane. It's another thing to say, I'm burnt out. I believe if you are burnt out, you absolutely have to change. And to me, that's the one thing you have to say. Do I love what I'm doing? You know, if you are a stay at home mom and you love being a stay at home mom and making crafts and doing things. I have one daughter. I knew I was not a stay at home mom. I stayed home for three months and I went right back to work and had a nanny. I was a phenomenal mother of one. You know what I mean? I chose that. My husband and I choose to do things together. And I think that is the thing you can't change, like flavor of the month, decide what really turns you on, what really excites you in every aspect of your life. And I've gotten pushback and I have issues and there's. I get family issues and there's problems along the way. But if you stay true to that one thing, that one thing that is going to get you up every morning, that one thing that is going to allow you to be happy when you put your head in the pillow at night, that one thing that does maybe wear you out after a few weeks, but you can't wait for the next one, that one thing is what will carry you through your life. Because. Because too many people have regrets. Too many people sit back. I wish I would have done that. I wish I would have taken that chance. I wish I would have really taken a risk. Don't sit back. Do the thing. Do the thing that makes you the happiest regardless of what anybody else around you thinks.

So good. Well, I think this is perfectly timed for you to share. If people want to work with you either as a coach for their business or personally, what would be the best way to reach you? And then also just an idea of how it would work.

Okay, so our my the website is, you know, obviously www.masterconnection.nos on connection.com Cindy Novotny on LinkedIn. Cindy Novotny, Cindy Novotny on Instagram. And that's N O V as in Victor O T N Y Cindy Novotny on Facebook. I've been on them so long that I don't have to have weird names. They're all Cindy Novotny. You can DM me on any of those. Our office Number is an 800 number, but it's 949-589-6137 and my email is Cindy Novotny all one word, no. @masterconnection.com and I can assure you I get back to every single person that reaches out to me. So it's not like, oh, I give this information and I don't follow up. So the best way, you know, again, personal coaching for people looking at work for their company. I have, you know, a lot of people on our team and there's a lot of me's on the team that are phenomenal where we come in and we work on sales, leadership and service. So I would love to talk to anyone.

Thank you so much. Thanks for coming on. You were unbelievable. I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to talk to you.

You. Well, thank you so very much and excited to to continue to stay in touch.

Definitely.

Thanks for listening to the do the Thing podcast. We hope you enjoyed the show. But even more, we hope you'll be inspired to do the Thing. Do you have a burning question on Doing the Thing that you'd like answered? How about an inspiring do the Thing story of your own that you'd like to share? We'd love to hear all about it. Just leave us a voice message at do the Thing callcast co or email us at hello do the Thing podcast dot com.