My First Million in Business: 10 Lessons Learned

Welcome to the Makeshift Happen podcast. I'm your host, Samantha Daly, entrepreneur, life coach, and your no BS bestie, here to bring you all things mindset, manifestation, and personal development. This podcast is designed to help you expand your mind and uplevel your life. So turn the volume up and roll the windows down if you're coming along for the ride. Let's go make shit happen. What's up, you guys? Welcome back to the podcast. Today is an exciting episode because I get to share a really incredible milestone with you in the business. I'm sure you have gathered from the title of this episode that I hit my first million dollars in business. Just last month, and I'm excited to share with you some of the 10 lessons that I feel like kind of really encompass this journey from zero to my first million dollars. And hopefully some of the things that I share will give you some wisdom or inspiration or encouragement to keep going on your own journeys of whatever dreams and goals it is that you are working towards in your lives and careers. So I'm gonna give you a little bit of background about how this all came to be and kind of the story of how it happened essentially, but it was in September and I was getting ready to board a flight to Denver, Colorado. I was going away for a friend's wedding and Jaime and I were traveling together and we were in the airport and we had some time before our flight was boarding. And so I knew that this milestone was on the horizon and that it was coming up. Obviously, you know, we track our numbers in business. And so I kind of knew that this year would probably be the year that we hit the 7-figure mark. And, you know, month by month, just kind kind of watching and seeing as we were getting closer. And so I knew that it was on the horizon, and so I was like, I'm gonna do some numbers and I'm gonna see like where we're at, because I think we could be really close. If not, you know, we probably may have hit it already. And so I'm crunching some numbers in the airport, waiting at the gate for our flight, and I look up from my computer and I just realized like Holy shit, I think I just made a million dollars. And it was just like such a surreal moment because as a solo entrepreneur, you work so hard and so long to accomplish something like that. And it almost feels like it's a very weird feeling because it's the mountaintop, and at the same time, it's the valley of a whole other journey that is yet to come. And so it was a really interesting experience. Obviously it was, you know, we were about to get on a flight and Jaime and I were flying Southwest. And if any of you fly Southwest, you'll know that their seating arrangements are really annoying because they do random seating. So you just get on the plane and you basically just pick a seat. And we, you have to check in like exactly 24 hours before your flight if you want to get like a good position in the boarding lineup. And we didn't really know any of this because I never fly Southwest, so I was not familiar with it at all. So we got like a shitty boarding position, and by the time we got on, they were like, sorry, there's no more seats left together. So we had to sit separately, and like, I was in the back of the plane, and I was sitting next to this woman who was like— she was pouring over into my seat, and her arm was like taking up half of my seat. And so I was kind of pushed out a little bit, and I was already in the aisle. And so I was like, my whole right side of my body was like kind of pushing out into the aisle. And because I'm in the last row, I'm also right in front of the bathroom door. And so I also didn't realize how long this flight was. I guess I underestimated how long it would take to get from South Florida all the way to out west to Denver. And there I was thinking that it was going to be like, you know, a 2.5-hour, maybe 3-hour flight. This is 4-hour flight, which for in— within the continental US is like a lot longer than I would have expected. Obviously I'm used to longer flights when I go to Europe, but I'm like prepared that they're going to be long flights. So I was just taken so off guard. Jaime and I were both starving. We did not eat enough before getting on this plane, and they have no food for you. I was stuck in the back getting pushed into the aisle, and everybody that was coming to the bathroom on this 4-hour flight, they were bumping my arm, hitting me in the head. Like, I was just getting like tossed around like a rag doll back there, and everyone was like, oh my God, 'Oh, so sorry, so sorry.' I'm like, this is not a vibe. This does not feel like millionaire energy. So it was just like such a contrast of being so humbled and also very like excited at the same time. And yeah, it was just like a funny, bizarre experience. I couldn't even sit next to Jaime and like, you know, talk to him about it or like celebrate that much. And it was just very weird. And I don't know if you guys remember this, but when we— when the offer that we put in on our beach condo actually got accepted last year, I was boarding a flight to Denver, Colorado, and I was on the plane and it was like 20 seconds before takeoff that I got a message from my realtor saying they accepted the offer, you got the house. And so then again, I was on this, you know, 3, 4-hour flight with no one to talk to, by myself, in airplane mode, can't send any messages, just like being excited by myself, like, oh my God, I can't believe the biggest thing just happened. Like, I became homeowner. We got the house. Like, holy shit, we got the beach house. And so it was just like funny to draw that similarity and kind of see how those two things lined up. Same exact thing. I'm sitting on a flight, no one to talk to, on my way to Denver. A huge milestone in my life has just happened, and it just feels really bizarre. So anyway, I— on this particular flight, I was like, I'm gonna pay for the Wi-Fi because I'm too excited, I'm too amped up. I can't just like sit here and try to listen to audiobooks for 4 hours. I'm gonna go absolutely insane. So I bought the wifi on the flight at least, and I was able to kind of get some work done and talk to my clients and, and do some other things. And so because I was in conversation with the girls who are inside of my top tier mastermind, which is a high-level business mastermind for other entrepreneurs and coaches in the space, I of course shared the news with them and I sent them this message. We were talking about, numbers and things in my business. And so I shared with them, I said, so, you know, based on these numbers, this means that I've officially made my first million dollars in business. And then I kind of sent this message to them and I was just like, entrepreneurship is wild, you guys. Like, there are so many hard days and there's lots of moments where you want to give in to the pressure and you're fantasizing about getting a regular job and being able to do the bare minimum and still get paid the same. But nothing compares to the satisfaction of doing something that once felt impossible. Proving your deepest fears wrong and looking your ego in the face and saying, yeah, what now? Setting goals and standards that feel untouchable and then becoming it. And I just wanted to thank them for being on the journey with me. And I want to do the same for everyone who listens to the podcast because you are a part of this community. You are such a huge part of my journey in entrepreneurship and as a business owner and as someone in the, you know, spiritual education space, as a coach. Like, I'm so, so grateful to my community here with the podcast and all of my clients, past, present, future, everyone who's ever supported me. It feels like such honor to be able to sit here and record every week and put content out in the world that people find inspiring or it uplifts them in some way, and that you keep coming back every single week. So, you know, this milestone, it of course means something to me and, and all the hard work that I've put in throughout the years in order to get to this place in my business. But it also means something for us as a community because it shows It shows the strength in the conversations that we're having here and the need for this type of information in the world and the desire that so many women have to learn and grow and flourish and continue to evolve. And so I just want to thank you for being here and for being part of this milestone and part of this journey and part of the community. I love you so much. So thank you for for keeping coming back every single week. So I'm gonna share with you in this episode 10 lessons that I learned on my journey to making my first million dollars in business. And obviously there's so many more lessons than just these 10, but I wanted to sit down and really kind of distill it and think, you know, what are the things that I really feel like this journey has taught me or showed me the most? And so This is that. Okay. Lesson number 1 is that no one is going to believe in the thing until you have already done it. So you've got to stop waiting for people to be really fired up and excited about your vision. No one is going to be as excited about your vision as you are. So we've got to stop waiting for our friends and our family to be the first people that are amped up about our service or our product or our program, and they're trying to buy from us and stop waiting for you know, your parents or other people in your family to think that this is the right choice and it's, oh, amazing idea and we're so excited for you. Because a lot of the times that's just not the reality, especially when you're starting out. It doesn't mean that those people will never come around and see the value in what you're doing, what you're creating, your product, program, or service. But a lot of the times at the start, people just aren't going to see the vision as clearly as you do. And that is okay. It doesn't have to mean that there's, anything wrong with them or that they're bad people or that you need to cut them out of your life. But when you get an intuitive feeling about something that you want to create in the world, it's only natural that it's going to feel the strongest for you. And you are going to be able to see that vision really clearly because it's an idea, it's a purpose, it's a mission that God has placed on your heart, not on theirs. And you are the person that is supposed to steward that dream and bring it into fruition. And so you are going to see it very clearly. You are going to see the potential. You are going to have to believe in that even if other people don't. Right. And the truth of it is like the most genius ideas in the world usually start out as something that appears really fucking crazy. Think about Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos. I mean, so many incredible entrepreneurs that have created things in the world where originally their idea was probably not that well received. The people in their lives closest to them, their family, friends, coworkers, workers probably weren't like, oh yeah, you could probably build a rocket and go to Mars. They're probably like, you have a problem, right? Like, most genius ideas are going to start out as something that seems crazy, and it's okay if you feel like your vision or your mission or what you want to do and create in the world seems a little bit crazy. It doesn't mean that it's not meant for you. It doesn't mean that you can't make it happen, but you are going to have to believe in it because no one else is going to until you've already done it. And there is going to be people that not only might not be able to see the vision as strongly as you, but they might actually actively try to talk you out of pursuing the thing, and they might tell you that it's a bad idea or that it's unsafe, right? And the thing about that is that if you keep going and you never quit, one day all of those people will be wrong. Okay. 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Documenting your day and hoping it builds trust, posting look at me content and calling it authority, sharing client wins as soon as they drop in instead of strategically weaving them into a story selling sequence designed to drive demand and convert sales. We both know that you're not here to learn how to show up more. You're here because you know your content could be converting faster and more effectively. Sold Out Stories is gonna give you 5 high-converting story selling frameworks built specifically for premium buyer psychology. Inside, you'll get over 6 hours of deep dive video trainings, real IG story breakdowns, and live walkthroughs that show you exactly how to elevate your slides from authority building all the way to offer flow in less than 10 slides. My clients have already been using these frameworks to pull 5-figure sales days while posting less. One client generated 14 premium leads from a single story sequence. Another sold out her event in under 6 hours with just 8 strategic story slides. No sales calls, no paid ads, just the right frameworks. You'll walk away knowing how to sequence for desire, transition into your offer seamlessly, and sell daily without ever feeling salesy. You already know your offer is incredible, so now it's just time for your stories to sell it like it is. Grab Sold Out Stories today and turn 10 slides or less into your highest converting content. Let's make your next story your most profitable one yet. Click the link in the show notes below and I'll see you inside. And I don't think that we should do things from that place of, you know, trying to prove people wrong or trying to prove ourselves. But what I have learned in entrepreneurship is that the reason that so many people succeed and the reason that so many people don't succeed is that there's only a small percentage of people that are willing to not give up. And the people that just keep going, they keep pivoting, they keep evolving, they keep trying, they keep getting back up. Those are the people that ultimately win. Which brings me to lesson number 2, which is quitters never win and winners never quit. This is a classic saying. We've probably all heard it. I remember hearing this as a kid, and it's only like started to ring more true for me throughout my years in, in entrepreneurship, because I think that you really have to love what you're doing in order for it to work as an entrepreneur. Otherwise, it's just not gonna be sustainable, right? Because the reason that you break away from the 9 to 5 or the corporate space or shift work or whatever kind of job it is that you have in order to become an entrepreneur entrepreneur is because you want something that's going to make you feel more alive. You want something that's going to allow you to feel more free. And so if you don't actually love the work that you're doing, it's not gonna be sustainable long-term because you're gonna have all the same pain points that you had in another job, except you're gonna have the added layers of like pressure and responsibility and all of that sitting on top of you, which is gonna make it even worse, right? So I mean, the amount of challenges, frustration, stress, and fatigue that you will face when bringing your ideas to life will squash any motivation that you have to keep going unless you really, really, really care about what it is that you're doing, who you're serving, and what you're creating. If you don't really love it, you'll end up making excuses and saying that you're overwhelmed or you're tired or you're indecisive or you're just I'm not ready to make the moves yet, or whatever it is, right? But when you're truly passionate about something, you find a way. It's that simple. Like, you just find a way. I think a lot of times people ask me, like, how are you motivated all the time? I'm not always motivated, but I love what I do. And so I find a way to keep going because there's a fire inside of me about what it is that I'm doing. Of course there's days where I'm tired. Of course there's days where I'm overwhelmed. Of course there's days where I'm Of course, there's days where I'm like, oh, wouldn't it be nice to just get a paycheck and close my laptop at 5 and never have to think about any of this stuff again? Absolutely, right? But when you truly are passionate about something, you just keep going no matter what, because it's, it's way more than just a job or work for you. It's your life's mission. It's part of your purpose. And I think we all at times as entrepreneurs might think about throwing in the towel and stepping back or going and getting a regular job. But the difference is that, you know, the people that end up succeeding in entrepreneurship is they don't actually act on those things. They don't actually quit. They just— they find a way to reignite that fire and get reconnected with their why. And they always push through. And so I think if you are finding it hard to do the things that you say that you want to do, whether it's, you know, a dream or a goal or, you know, a business that you want to create, if you're finding it hard to do the things that you say that you want to do, then probably it's either that, A, you don't want it bad enough, you don't love it enough, there's not enough of a passion or fire there, or B, you may just need to get some more skin in the game and actually pay someone to help you create the vision and have this layer of accountability there for you so that you're kind of kicked into gear and you can show up a little bit more. But lesson number 2 rings so true for me nowadays: quitters never win and winners never quit. I also heard an interview not that long ago with Seth Rogen. He was talking on a podcast and he was talking about, you know, acting and directing in Hollywood and how hard that come up is for so many people and the years that you spend auditioning and doing all these things and never making it and not landing a role or getting something that you think is going to be the thing that, you know, skyrockets your career and then it flops, or you don't have work coming in for years after that. And all of the highs and lows and lulls in that, in that work environment of being an actor or an actress. And he said in that interview, he was like, I think the, you know, the biggest difference is just that the people that made it are the people that never quit. They're just the people that didn't give up even during the years when they weren't landing any roles or making any money. Like they found part-time jobs and they figured it out and they kept the vision alive and they kept going. And I think that comes back to my point of like, they wanted it bad enough. They were willing to move through the challenges and the struggle and the pain because they were still able to hold that vision because it was so deeply important to them that they just did not quit. Lesson number 3 is that even things that feel enormously unlikely become possible when you believe. So several years ago, I remember exactly where I was. I was sitting in the grass on a beach towel near the pool in my apartment complex in Madrid, and I was listening to the audiobook of a book called Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker. And in this book, he takes you through, of course, as the title implies, a lot of the secrets of the millionaire mind, some mindset shifts. And there's a lot of like mindfulness and activities that he has you do and things that you've got to write down. And it's very like actionable. And so I remember I had my journal out and I was listening to this book and I had to write down my goal of when I would be a millionaire by. This was one of the activities in the book, and I remember exactly where I was. And I wrote down that— well, I wanted to write down that I would be a millionaire by 30, but I was 24 or 25 at the time, and it just didn't seem like that would be enough time to accomplish such a big goal because at the time I had really nothing. If you guys listen to the show a lot, or you know my story, you know that when I was living in Spain, I was teaching English and I was not making a lot of money at all. And I didn't really have any savings and there was barely money left over at the end of the month and all that kind of stuff. So at the time I had really nothing to prove or any, any reason to believe that I was going to be able to become a millionaire in 5 or 6 years. And so I wanted to say that I was going to be a millionaire by 30, but I I remember going, hmm, maybe I'll say 31. And so I wrote down that I would be a millionaire by 31. I gave myself that extra year, just a little extra bit of cushion, just to make myself feel a little bit better about how unrealistic and enormously unlikely that goal felt. But the truth is, I'm 29. I'll be 30 in a couple months, so I'm coming up on my 30th birthday. But what's funny is like looking back and thinking that, you know, I didn't have enough time or that it would be really hard to accomplish that in 5 years and oh my gosh, that's so impossible. And so the point of this lesson is like even those things that feel enormously unlikely, they become possible when you find a way to believe. And that was the first step. I had to get my mindset behind that goal that I had set for myself. I knew writing it down on the page that it seemed crazy, that it seemed unlikely, that it seemed kind of impossible. But the next step for me was, and how can I decide that this is inevitable? How can I decide that this is the truth? How can I actually get myself to believe that this is not only possible, but actually it's probable? And so in order to believe in these big visions for your life, one of the most important things I think is that you need to surround yourself with people who are already living it. You need to get in those rooms. You need to get around people that are like, yeah, you can do that. You can make that much money. Here's what I'm doing. Look at this. And all of a sudden your mind is expanded and it no longer feels so crazy to think that you could make $1 million in 5 years. Which brings me to lesson number 4. Which is to get as close as possible to the people who have what you want. Get as close as possible to the people that have what you want. This is so, so important. This piece of advice is invaluable. Yet because a lot of times there's investments involved and there's risk involved in things like coaching or mentorship, you know, getting in those spaces, retreats, whatever it is, we Avoid it. We postpone it. We think, oh, you know, I'll do that later when I'm further along. I'll do that later when I have more money. But what I really want to share with you all is the truth of how much this has impacted me in my life. I did not start to make good money at all in my business until I paid to be in close proximity to someone who had more answers and more experience and more wisdom and a more expansive mindset than I did at the time. They could see things as being possible and probable way more than I could. Their mindset was so much further along into what they believed was possible. And so I needed to get next to those kinds of people. So yeah, it's going to cost you money, but I think that you should pay to see these types of people speak. You should pay to attend their retreats. You should pay to get inside their programs, even if it's just recorded videos of them. And if you can, you should pay to get side by side in private mentorship with the people that have what you want, because your life will radically change just through the osmosis of being close to people who have what you want and have bigger and better belief systems about what is possible in the world. They will infect you. It's inevitable. The people that you surround yourself with are infecting you already. And so you've got to take a look at who those people are. And of course, You know, we've got family and friends and coworkers and bosses and all kinds of people in our lives that we can't have 100% control of how much energy they share with us or the amount of time that we spend with them. Boundaries are important, but if you understand how much everyone in your life is already infecting you and affecting you, then you will know the importance of putting yourself in those expansive spaces and getting into the leader frequency of someone who has what you want and who has walked that path. Path. Every successful person will tell you this. Every successful person will advise you that it is important to get in the room and get close to the people who have what you want and find a mentor and learn from someone who has walked the path that you are trying to walk. It's just, it's like part of the journey to success. I think it's such a pillar, it's such a cornerstone. And I know for me it was everything. It has been everything. It is everything. It will continue to be everything. It's so important to get in the room and get next to people that have what you want. So I cannot stress that enough. Number 5, it's not enough to just be good at what you do. You must be good at storytelling about it. So I talk a lot about marketing, but this lesson really highlights that. Through the lens of storytelling, because I think that storytelling is the most effective way to market anything. And unfortunately, being a skilled practitioner at whatever it is that you do is really just not enough if you suck at marketing. And this has been true since the dawn of time. This is not new. This has nothing to do really with social media or today's climate. It's like Like it's always been this way. You could be the most amazing jewelry maker, and if no one knows about your jewelry, then you will be making jewelry for nobody, even though it could be the best jewelry that the world has ever seen, right? So it, it just being a skilled practitioner and, and being amazing at what you do is not enough. It is not enough. You must also be skilled at marketing. You must be skilled at sales. And in order to do well in those two arenas, you have to know how to storytell about your product, service, program, your life, the mission. Because if you can't get people through door number one with you, which is the marketing, right? That's the thing that you hear me talking about on social media. It's the stories that I'm telling on the podcast. If I can't get you to listen to this show or to watch my reels on Instagram, then you are never are going to walk through doors number 2 and 3 with me, which are the sale of you actually joining something and the, the transformation, which is the most important piece of this whole puzzle, is that you get something amazing out of it and that you transform your life in some way. And I get something amazing out of it and that I have the fulfillment of being able to do my life's purpose and the mission that is on my heart, right? So if you can't get people through door number 1, you're not gonna be able to get them through doors number 2 and 3, which is why marketing is so important. And telling stories is the most effective way to connect with people, to capture attention, to elicit emotions, and to influence people to take action. So it is a skill that is well worth learning and mastering. Lesson number 6: Accomplishments don't make you happy. Happiness makes you happy. So we're gonna unpack this one. Lesson. And I think the way that, I think the way that I'll start sharing about this lesson is kind of describing to you the moment in my head of what was going on for me when I made, when I realized that I had made my first million dollars in business. And like I said, it was really exciting. And then also like real life was still happening simultaneously. Like, I had one of the worst flights, one of the worst flights that I've ever had. And at the same time, you know, I had a program launch that was happening, and we were trial and erroring a lot of new things with it, and we were doing things differently than we ever had. And the numbers were kind of lower than what we had expected, and there were several things that did not go to plan. And so my excitement, my high from realizing that I had made my first million dollars lasted for maybe, maybe 24 hours. We're being generous, maybe 24 hours. And then it was quickly like overshadowed by all of that other stuff of just, you know, the real life things kicking in, other stressful things happening in the business that needed my attention or that were pulling me away. And so it's not this thing that lasts forever. The feeling of the accomplishment, it does not. Not last. And you know, something similar happened when I made— when I had my first $100,000 month in business earlier this year, the first time we had ever done over $100,000 in sales in one month. And that was, to me, was such an incredible accomplishment. I couldn't even fucking believe that that was real life. But then it was also very quickly overshadowed again by the fact that it, it seemed like there was $250,000 missing from the business. I don't know if you guys remember this. I posted about it and I think I talked about it on the podcast, but the money luckily wasn't actually missing, but it just appeared that way through like misunderstandings and like bank statements and Stripe records and other things like that. But it was like a whole 2-day debacle of like staying up until 2 in the morning and printing off all of the, all of our records and highlighting things and, you know, tracing the money and trying to figure out what happened and where it went. A disaster. And, you know, going to the bank and it was like a crazy stressful thing thinking that, you know, $250,000 was missing. Essentially, it was money that we had made, but that wasn't ever deposited into the bank account. But again, luckily that wasn't actually the case. It was just like it appeared that way. And so it was resolved. But that, of course, was like a sucker punch right after being like, woo, $100,000 a month. And so that, that feeling of the accomplishment and the celebration, it was quickly overshadowed. Proud. And so I think, you know, there's an important lesson here, which I think that I'm being asked to continually learn in my own journey, and which is why I want to share it with you. You know, to find joy in, in life. Find what brings you joy in life and make that the most important thing, because your accomplishments don't make you happy for very long. Happiness is the that's going to make you happy. So find the things that bring you joy and make those the most important things. You know, adventuring with your partner or your spouse, laughing until it hurts, reminiscing on old memories with friends, having quality time with your family gathered around the table, or traveling to new or favorite places of yours, slow evenings at home with candles lit and morning walks on the beach, deep chats with friends who have really been with you through so much of the journey. Maybe it's helping change someone's life in a profound way. I mean, these are all things that I love. These are things that bring me joy. And I'm still working on this. I'm still working at letting those things be at the forefront of my life. And I've also built enough self-awareness to know that I do enjoy working. I do like doing a great job. And I think if I, if I, you know, won the lottery or I made a fuckload of money doing something and I was like, oh, I never have to work again, I really think that I would still find a way to work. I would find something else to do and I would find a way to impact people's lives in a positive way because I love I love what I do and I do love working. So that's kind of, you know, a challenge for me, I think, in my own journey is walking that line between understanding that I have a strong mission and I love the work that I do and I, I love the act of working. I love the experience of working, but that I also want to put joy at the forefront and remember that the accomplishments aren't the things that are going to make me happy. And there's a quote that I love from Alex Hormozi that he says, um, I'm not sure if this is his original quote, but I heard it from him. He says, you've already achieved things that you said would make you happy. And no matter where you are at in life, I think this rings true. I mean, just think about that for a second. You've already achieved things that you said would make you happy. Hey, don't forget that every month we are picking a listener of the month to win $50 in cash just for showing love to the show. All you have to do is leave an epic review of of the podcast on Apple Podcasts, screenshot the review before you hit submit, and DM that screenshot to us on Instagram @makeshifthappenpodcast. And that's it. I want to thank you for being such a loyal listener and show my appreciation by putting a little extra cash in your pocket. I know it's super easy not to do it, but every single rating and review seriously helps the show rank higher and reach new people, so we appreciate them more than you know. We'll announce the next winner at the end of the month and slide into your DMs if it's you, so keep an eye out and good luck. Love you guys, and thanks for supporting Makeshift Happen. You already said, "Oh, if I could just get this job," or "Once I move to the city," or "Once I find my person," or "Once I have this," or "Once I get the house," or "Once I whatever." "If I could just get that, then I'd be so happy." You've already achieved those things. You've already achieved so many things that you said would make you happy. And so it's again that reminder of like achievement is not the thing that really brings us lasting happiness. But at the same time, I know that I enjoy working. And so for me, it's like a fun challenge to, yeah, just like challenge myself in new areas, to step out of my comfort zone, to try new things, or to hit really big goals that I've never hit before. Like, that's a fun, exciting challenge for me, but I try to do it with the understanding that it's not going to change anything. Anything, and that I'll feel it and I'll celebrate it, and then shortly after, I'll move on and we'll be on to the next thing. And if you know that ahead of time, I think you can approach things in a healthier way of not assuming that once you get to the mountaintop that everything's going to be perfect and, you know, that you could finally relax and that everything's going to be fine, because you just know that that's not the real reality. Lesson number 7: You will have to leave some people behind. I think being attached to the past or the way that things used to be, or even like certain people in your life, that ultimately is going to hold you back, especially in entrepreneurship, because entrepreneurship is like a rocket ship. And also, I would say this to be true also for personal growth. So whether you're an entrepreneur or not, if you're someone who is really pursuing their own personal growth, you are on a rocket ship and you've gotta be willing to evolve at a rapid speed, knowing full well that you're gonna leave some people behind in the process. Because when you start digging into your own personal development, your spirituality, your entrepreneurial journey, you realize that the rate at which you evolve is not normal. We outpace everybody in terms of growth once you get on this kind of path. And so you're also gonna have to become 100 new versions of yourself along the way and attend the funerals of all of the yous that no longer exist. Your business, if you're an entrepreneur, is gonna constantly be innovating and changing to match the updated versions of who you're becoming. And sometimes that is tiring. It feels really annoying and frustrating. I'm not going to lie. Like the rate at which we evolve and change when you're on this path is— again, it's not normal. And sometimes it's actually frustrating even for you who's growing, because growing is uncomfortable. And that means that we're uncomfortable a lot and we wonder why we can't just be happy or stick to the same thing for the rest of our lives. Like, why do I have to keep getting sick of what I created and I need to create something new. And why do I always want to change? And now I'm a new person and this doesn't resonate anymore. And I want to build a new program and I want to create this new thing. And we're like, why the fuck can we not just like do one thing and stick with it forever and rinse and repeat and never have to change it? But that's, that's not what makes you great as an individual or as an entrepreneur. What makes you great is your constant evolution. So, you know, you've got to be— you've got to be willing to sign up for that journey of being on the rocket ship and knowing that not everyone's going to get to come with you. Some people are going to get left behind. They're not going to evolve at the same pace as you. They're not going to resonate with what you're doing, saying, working on anymore. You're going to grow in separate directions. Potentially there may be even some relationships in your life where there's resentment or you are a representation for people of the growth that they are not having in their lives. Seeing you go so far and change so much is a reminder to them of how stuck they feel, or how, how much in the same place they still are. But you have to be willing to go forward anyway and be that forward thinker and keep moving on your path no matter what. Because as many people and things in your life from your past that may fall away on this journey, there's also going to be so many amazing new experiences and things and people and relationships and friendships that come into your vortex by you staying on the rocket ship and reaching those new levels. At every new level, you are going to find new people that inspire you, that relate to you, that get it, that are on a similar path. And it's so exciting to meet truly like-minded people people that really understand where you are in your journey and your evolution and your commitment to growth above all else. And so, you know, there's going to be people that you have to leave behind, but also know that there's so many new amazing relationships waiting for you as you take off on that rocket. Number 8, your inner circle is sacred. When you step into CEO energy, the people that drain you in your life no longer get access to your energy or your time, and they definitely don't have the ability to opinionate over what you do or don't do with your life. When you really step into that CEO energy, you're like, this does not make sense, this is not working for me. You get a lot better at setting those boundaries and knowing who deserves access to your energy and your time, and also whose opinions you seek and allow in your life. And one thing that I think is also important that is not as talked about is the fact that not everyone in your inner circle needs to be exactly like you or needs to be into the same things as you or needs to be be entrepreneurs or spiritual, or they need to be growing in the exact same direction as you. That's not always true. Not everyone that you hang out with, not all of your friends, need to become like spiritual entrepreneurs or yogis or breathworkers or whatever. And your partner certainly doesn't need to be one of those people either. I think that's a really big misconception in the online space, is like, oh my God, you know, I met my partner before I was into all this stuff, and, you know, he's just a regular guy, and I don't know how this is ever going to work, and I, I should probably be with someone who like meditates and who does all these things, right? And I did a whole episode on this actually, if you want to look for it on the podcast in the past. I think it was called like, Is Personal Development Affecting Your Relationship? So if that resonates for you and you've had— if you've had like second thoughts about the person that you're with because of your personal growth journey, then I highly recommend listening to that episode. But what I want to say here is that not everyone needs to be you were into the same things in order for them to be part of this sacred inner circle that you develop as an entrepreneur and as a CEO and as the boss of your life, right? As long as they are people that can cheer you on when you're winning and they can really be there for you when you're down, then that's a good person to have in your life. And those people are hard to find. So if you have them, hold tight to them. And it doesn't matter if they're on the same path. It doesn't matter if they're into the same stuff. Stuff. It doesn't matter if they totally fully get it. They can still be part of your beautiful inner circle of people that support you and love you and believe in you and uplift you. And I think it's important to say, like, we don't have to expect everyone in our life to be asking us about our business or to be interested in what we do as entrepreneurs. Like, when I think about this, if the roles were reversed you know, my friends' jobs are the least interesting thing about them to me, and I don't spend a lot of time deeply inquiring about their work life or how things are at the office or what projects they're working on because it's not what our friendship is built on. And I know that it's— it feels a little bit more personal when you start your own business and you're the entrepreneur and you're like, why aren't people asking me me how I'm doing or what I'm creating. I know they see me, they're seeing it on social media. Why are they not asking me about it? I think sometimes it's a good sign if your friends are still communicating with you and talking with you and hanging out with you, but that your business or the fact that you've become an entrepreneur is not the most important thing to them. Because like I said, if roles are reversed, how, how much are we asking them about their work projects? I know I'm not because it's not the stuff that our friendship is built on. It's not the things that are the most important to me. So obviously, you know, having people in your life that are supportive and that want you to win is one thing, but they don't need to be super invested in all of the things that you're doing and creating in your work life, I don't think. And I think that may be a refreshing reliever for some people listening to this right now. Okay, lesson number 9: if you think you've conquered imposter syndrome, it just means that you are not challenging yourself enough. Man, we talk about imposter syndrome a lot. Not only like, I think people, you know, just in life, but also careers and work especially, and entrepreneurship definitely. This concept of imposter syndrome comes up a lot, and I've done a whole episode on imposter syndrome that you guys really, really liked. It's probably like a year or more old at this point, but it really landed for a lot of you. And although I think there's ways of managing and working through our imposter syndrome and kind of conquering it, you could say, what I've also realized on this journey is that it's going to come up again. And I actually have come to terms with the fact that it will. And now, rather than being shocked or surprised or annoyed of like, oh my God, I can't believe I'm like feeling imposter syndrome again, I'm just like, okay, so this is happening again, which means I am now walking that tightrope line line of my comfort zone, right? I am on the verge of doing something or showing up in a way that is very uncomfortable for me, that is brand new, that feels hard, that feels uncharted, that feels unknown. And that's a good thing. So for me and for so many of my clients, you know, we're perplexed when the imposter syndrome comes back and we're like, what the fuck? Like, you know, I've been doing this for so many years, or I felt really confident And I just did this, this thing last month and it was amazing and now I'm doing it again, but like it feels totally different. Why, why, why, why, why? And we're always trying to heal ourselves and solve ourselves and our whole life is a big question mark that we're trying to, you know, fix. And I don't really think that imposter syndrome needs to be fixed. I think that it's there. It's a, it's a response, it's an ego response that's trying to protect us from being outside of our comfort zone, from being in the unknown. But if you are not feeling like an imposter ever, or you haven't felt like one in years or decades, what that means to me is that you're really not challenging yourself enough. Because if you were constantly growing and evolving and wanting to stretch yourself and go into new areas and try new things and create things that you've never done before, or serve a caliber of a client that you've never served before, or speak on a bigger stage or do something bigger with your life than what you've ever done before, then of course you would feel imposter syndrome. Of course you would feel the fear. Of course you would wonder, holy shit, can I actually do this? Can I get results for these people? Is this going to work? Are they going to like this? Am I cut out for this? Of course you would feel that. So if you're not, let that be a sign for you that you've got time to dream and think bigger, and it may be time for you to go outside of your comfort zone again. I think as, you know, people who are committed to our personal growth journeys, we do this so often that sometimes we think that we're done in a sense. And then when we start to feel the discomfort, we're like, ooh, like, that's weird. Why am I feeling that again? I think I should be done with that. No, no, no, no. We're never done. We're never done with discomfort. Discomfort again is the sign that we are growing. So imposter syndrome, I think, yeah, don't let it throw you off as much as it does. The most important thing, the only important thing is that you don't allow it to stop you from moving forward and saying yes to big opportunities, even if they're scary. That's the only thing that matters. You don't need to not feel imposter syndrome. You don't need to not feel fear. You don't need to not fear— feel self-doubt. All you need to do is feel it. It and keep going anyway. Feel it and say yes anyway. Feel it and put one foot in front of the other anyway. That's it. It's not about not feeling it. It's not about getting rid of it. It's about learning how to transmute it and work with it and understand where it's coming from and what it's trying to show you, and that it's a sign of growth and that it's a green light of like, Yes, keep going. This is going to make you grow. And for our last and final lesson, lesson number 10, there is nothing wrong with desiring more wealth. In fact, I think that you should, because the journey there will teach you way more about yourself than you ever could have imagined. I'm really so glad that I set what felt like an impossibly big goal at the time to make $1 million by the time I was 31. I'm so glad that I did that, that I allowed myself to pursue and to desire more wealth. Because now at 29, I am smarter, better, wiser, more resilient, more determined, more patient, and more embodied in my mission because of it. I would not be the me that I am today. I would not have the wisdom that I do. I would not have the resiliency that I do. I would not have the determination that I do if I hadn't had to walk through fire in order to make my big financial dreams come true. I'm also really glad that making $1 million has helped me realize that $1 million is relatively not a lot of money, because by setting that big goal and then achieving it, I became a totally new version of myself. And then by achieving that goal and realizing it wasn't really that big all along, It is going to force me now to expand yet again and to dig deeper again and to think bigger again and step further into my own evolution of self. And so what I want to remind you with this last lesson is that the person that you become along the way is way more valuable than the money that ends up in your bank account. But it is still a worthwhile pursuit. It is still worthwhile to desire more wealth, to desire financial freedom, to set these big goals for yourself, even though they don't bring happiness, even though the high of the achievement doesn't last. It's still a worthwhile pursuit because the person that you become along the way is the change that you were probably hoping for, looking for, needing all along. You are becoming the person that you were destined to be because of the fact that you set these goals for yourself. Money is just the vehicle, but there really is no destination. And the more money that you make, the more that you realize that the journey was the whole point all along. There is no finish line. There is no winner. There is no arrival. Just the pursuit. So you either love the pursuit or you live a miserable life. And so I want to encourage you to let the journey to your goals be a scenic marathon rather than a blood, sweat, and tears sprint, and give you the permission to desire more for your life, to desire money, to desire wealth, to desire achievement, to desire those big things. Things, because who you become in the process is exactly the thing that you were probably needing all along. All right, you guys, I hope this episode brought you a little bit of wisdom, inspiration, or peace knowing that even your biggest dreams and goals are possible. And nothing is wrong with you if you feel like it is hard right now, or if the imposter syndrome is kicking in yet again. You know, my, my hope with this conversation is that it will expand your idea of what's possible and encourage you to keep going no matter what, but to also be the reminder that achievements aren't everything and it's okay to slow down and enjoy the ride. You'll get there. I believe in you. Thank you guys so much for listening. I appreciate you so, so much. If you enjoyed this episode or you got something out of it, please take a screenshot, share it to your Instagram story. Or copy the direct link of this episode and send it to a friend, send it to your group chat, send it to your entrepreneurial friends who will understand. And according to our analytics, most of you guys who listen are not actually subscribed to the show. So lastly, please just make sure that you click that follow button on Apple or Spotify, wherever you listen. Thank you guys so much for being here and for being part of this journey. I love you so much and I will talk to you next week. Bye!