Early business lessons I wish I knew 4 years ago

I am Travia Steward, and I want to help you move past barriers and obstacles that are preventing you from getting what you want in life. This is Breakthrough. Yo, what's up, my peeps? Happy Podcast Thursday! I'm so excited to begin sharing these podcast episodes with you. Through video because I, you know, one of the things that I've been working on is connecting more authentically with you. And so instead of just hiding behind a screen and just the mic where you just hear my voice, I, you know, I want to be forthcoming with you because I know that for most of my life what has imprisoned me, metaphorically speaking, are the things that I have tried to hide, you know, from society, from the world. And so by me doing these video podcast episodes, you know, I'm more forthcoming and you are actually getting to see, you know, some of the times it's like Sometimes I dress up. Sometimes, you know, like today is a work, you know, it's, it's, it's a more casual day for me. So I have on athletic gear and I'm okay with that because I believe that it's important to deliver the message that's on my mind today rather than worrying about what I'm wearing, rather than worrying about what I look like, because this is me. And so one of the things that I, you know, wanted to talk about today is what I wish I knew when I first started my business. And the reason why this is important is because I am in the process of setting new standards, different standards for the way that I do things. And I'm always tweaking that. I'm always tweaking things in how I work. I'm always tweaking things in my business so that I can get different results, because we can't keep doing the same thing every single day and expecting a different result. We have to tweak and change things so that we get a different result. And one of the things that I know about myself is— what I wish I knew was, from being a high school teacher for 24 years, I was used to being told what to do. I was used to someone else making the majority of the decisions, like What time does school start? What are the seasons? You know, when does school start at the beginning of the year? How many plays am I going to direct? Now, I was responsible for the curriculum. I was responsible for how I got to that end result. But the, the classes that I was teaching, that was basically decided by someone else. It was decided by someone else, the hours that I worked. How many classes I taught, how many students I had in the class. And one of the things that I wish I knew was how to parent myself, how to parent myself when I first started my business in 2020. And it's 2024 now, which again, you guys have heard me say, I've declared the Year of Trey. It's my year. It's 2024 because 24 is my favorite number. But I'm 4 years in May, actually June 1st, I'll be 4 years full-time in my business. And truth be told, I am not where I thought I would be 4 years from, you know, starting my business, just like I'm not where I want to be at 54. Because when I was like in my late teens or early 20s, when you think about, you know, those years in your life, you think you've made it, you're doing all these things that you really want to do, you're making the money that you want to make. You know, life is happening the way you plan for it to happen when you're in your early 20s, right? Because that's your blueprint. And I have a blueprint that, you know, by now I'd be, you know, I'd be so successful. Now I know that I'm successful in a lot of different ways, but there are some metrics that I have for— that I've set for myself that I have yet to meet. And so one of the things again that I wish I knew when I first started my business was I needed to get a mentor right off the bat. Now, I did do some group coaching and stuff, but I needed a one-on-one mentor or coach who was going to spend time with just me, not a group of people, but just me to tap into these things that— these blind spots that I could not see on my own. And, you know, one of the things that that I have learned is I know myself so well that I know what I need to do in order to take the action that I need to take in my business. And so, like, for instance, you know, one of the things that I talk about, especially at the beginning of the year, is generating the feelings that you want to feel. Because I don't believe that those things are just going to fall upon us. Like, we have to do the work to generate, to feel the way we want to feel. Or we can be subject to our energy being drained by other people, our energy being drained just because we don't feel well. And so an example of that is, this is the month of March. It's March— like, today when I'm recording, this is the day before it comes out tomorrow. Today is March 20th, and the first week in May— it seems like every year I forget that March, especially in Arizona, is a year of Every allergen in the valley, like, I feel like it descends upon me. I get allergy shots, you know, once a month because I feel like I'm allergic to every blade of grass. And so there was one day the first week in March, I came home and I was like, oh, I think I need to do a COVID test. I need to— I feel like I have the flu. I don't know what's happening. It was Shelley who reminded me that Hey, it's March. Remember, you're allergic. This is when she pulled out her little app on the phone. She goes, ooh, look at juniper. Ooh, look at pop— look at ash. Look at all the things, all the bushes, all the grasses that I'm allergic to on the app. And I was like, oh, you're right. So during those times, I— my body is fighting against, like, with the antihistamines that I need a little more sleep. So the reason why I bring this up was because On Wednesday— Wednesday is my busiest coaching day, and Wednesday is the day when I like having all the things. I was like, I'm gonna get so much stuff done, I'm gonna get all of this done. Well, this morning I got up and I got on a group coaching call at 6:30 this morning, and I woke up and I was so tired. And I was tired, it was allergies, I didn't do my Benadryl last night, so I woke up, my eyes were really puffy. And so I got on this call at 6:30 and it went 6:30 to 8 o'clock. And after 8 o'clock, the original plan was that I was going to get up to do the call and then do 30 minutes of cardio, because that's my standard. I do 30 minutes of cardio, you know, pretty much every day. If I don't, I make up for it. And so after that call, I was still tired. And so I was like, okay, I know how I work, I know how I need to feel in order to get the things that I want to get done, because I'm not someone who can just go, oh, power through, work get through it. Make yourself do it even if you don't have the energy. I'm not that kind of person. I know that when I don't feel like I'm going to be creative or productive, I need to go and sleep for like 30 minutes or an hour because I know it's March and my allergies are— we're fighting a war here and I want to win the war by getting the sleep. And then— and I don't know what that does for me and why it helps, but it does. And so one of the things that I talk about at the beginning of the year, and I'm looking at my playbill on the wall right now My 3 emotions that I want to feel is secure, powerful, and invigorated. And this morning I wasn't feeling invigorated to get out and do the cardio, to now tackle and attack this list of things that I have and want to get done during the day. And so when I got off the call, I recognized where I was, and I wasn't feeling centered, I wasn't feeling like a 10 out of 10. So I laid down and took a nap. I took a nap for about 45 minutes. And granted, it was like 8:30 and I had slept for 8 hours, but I knew that that was what my body needed. That was another thing I learned that I wish I knew how to give myself, how to listen and be aware of the things that I— that my body was communicating to me, you know. And so I love that I am so present now. And I wish I knew that in the very beginning because I was just powering through all this stuff that didn't feel well. I was doing it because somebody else said to do it, and this is how you build a business, and blah blah blah blah. And so once I filled my tank— that's one of my Power of 12 things that, that I need to do that regularly helps me to feel the best that I can feel.. And so another thing that I wish I knew when I first started my business is that honestly, guys, this shit is hard. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my entire life. And pretty much I coach myself daily on why I need to continue doing this because truth be told, like I said, you know, at this stage in my life, I thought I would be someplace different. I thought I would be— I thought I would have a full practice, to be honest, and I don't. I have great clients, but they're not full. I have great clients that I love working with, and but when we look at my life coaching practice, you know, it's not enough to pay my bills every single month. And one of the things I learned, the reason why I'm sharing this today, is because I have always been someone who has hidden things like that. And I feel like— and there was, there's something, you know, I meditate, I do all of this reflection and and I just save it for me. But I know that my story is powerful. I know that the things that I'm going through is meant for other people, is meant to be shared with other people as well. And so one of the things that I've learned is managing my mind and what it means that I haven't reached the pinnacle of the success that I thought I would have right now as a solopreneur, as a life coach, as a speaker, as a podcast host. And so one of the things that I've had to do that I, you know, in my mind, this is one of the things I coach myself on, because right before Christmas I started driving for Lyft. Like, we have Lyft and Uber, but I started driving for Lyft because I found myself getting— I was getting— what's the word— like antsy. I was getting anxious. I was getting nervous about bringing in the money. Like, if I'm gonna do this, then it has to be profitable, or then I need to just go back to teaching. And so in order to keep my energy pure, when— so that I could stop actually worrying about the money, I started driving for Lyft. And it's been since— like, it was December 22nd, that the first day. And truth be told, that was something that I coach myself on because I was like, I'm never going to share that on the podcast. People are going to think I'm not successful. What are you— people, they don't want a life coach who drives for Lyft. But you know what? I am a life coach who drives for Lyft. And I feel like I'm a Lyft life coach because on a lot of those rides I coach my ass off. You know, when people— I ask for permission if people want to be coached, you know, that kind of thing. And sometimes it randomly comes up. But you know what I love about it? I love that I get to meet all these people. I love that there's so many times that I get in the car, I don't have to practice what I'm going to say. I don't have to plan what I'm going to, you know, coach about with— not necessarily plan what I'm going to coach about because I coach on what comes up in the call. But I don't have to do any pre-work. I just have to put gas in the car, make sure my car is clean, go online, And this is an opportunity for me to— I listen to podcasts all day, I listen to speaking all day, and I feel like I'm getting to do all these things that I want to do and I'm getting paid to do it. I'm just taking people where they need to go, you know, when they need to do it, while I'm learning and doing all of these things. So guys, this is really big for me because I never would have shared this before, managing my mind. And I've managed my mind because of what I told myself, because I still have a shitty, you know, reptilian brain, you know, that's never going to go away. But I'm aware of my thinking. And so what has happened is I actually enjoy driving for Lyft. I do it, you know, sometimes 3 days a week, not when I'm coaching. But I am committed to making this business work. I'm committed to not going back to my 9-to-5. I'm committed to doing whatever I need to do so I can see success. And sometimes that means going out and getting an extra job, going out and driving for Lyft, doing these things, speaking for free, you know, so that I can get to the pinnacle of what I deem to be success. So what I wish I knew when I first started was that this is really hard, and it's the hardest thing that I feel like I've done in my entire life. And you know what? I love it. I love every bit of it. I love that it's hard. I mean, are there days when I get emotional about it? Absolutely. I love this evolution that I'm going through. I love the impact that I have with my Coaches and with my Clients as well. I love speaking and transforming and helping people reinvent their lives. And so what I wish I knew when I first started— I wish I knew that I would love it as much as I do, even though it's hard. And I wouldn't, I wouldn't redo anything because I believe that life is happening for me. And to have regret goes against what I now stand for. So that's what I have for you today, and I hope you're enjoying the, the podcast. And you know, if you would like to dive deep on a strategy call of what more could look like for you, you know, we could schedule and have a breakthrough call. I'm gonna leave the information in the notes You know, because I believe that having an objective opinion, someone who is not in your shoes, someone who's not you, who can look at and see how you're showing up in the world and to help and veer and steer you into a way that you do want to show up— being intentional, being committed, being integral. So, all right, my peeps, we will talk next week. All right. Podcast Thursday. See you later.