Success Champions

September 2019 • Issue 1 •Motivation

SUCCESS CHAMPIONS 5 tips to grow your business the smart way The Words of Your Successful Business You don’t need to get motivated - You just need to start!

Using Passion to Fuel your Business

Photo by Barry McMickle

“Close your mouth, open your mind and put your hands to work!”

- Donald Dodson

Success Champions

Contents 4 The Words of Your Successful Business

26 5 tips to grow your business the smart way

By Lauren Di Franco, MPT - Techniques on how to get and stay motivated to write

By Angie Leigh Monroe - Tips on growing your business you wish you had learned before.

8 You don’t need to get motivated - You just need to start!

29 My Motivation

By Richard Kaufman - Kaufman’s journey and influences that keep him motivated

By Donnie Boivin - How motivation is a result of action.

30 Keep It Simple Silly (KISS) Motivation

12 Using Passion to Fuel your Business

By Joan U`ilani Meeks - How a few simple words can help keep you motibated on what is important.

By Donald R. Dodson Jr - Using what you are passionate about to keep motivated in your business

32 Eliminating Digital Distractions and Staying on Task

14 Motivation on Social Media

By Kevin Snow - Tools to help you stay motivated and focused in the digital world.

By Sarah Ankney - Tips and techniques for staying motivated while using social media.

36 Choosing A Virtual Assistant

16 A peek into the minds eye of a creative entrepreneur

By Lorianne Vaughan Speaks - How to select the right Virtual Assistant for your needs.

Featured article on Success Champion and Leather Craftsman Donald Dodson.

38 How to Become a guest on a podcast

22 Blue Zones and What We Can Learn from Them

By Donnie Boivin - Quick and easy guide to getting on a podcast and being a good guest.

By Cheryl Meyer - Blue Zones and Why They Should Motivate You to a Cleaner Toxin-free Life.

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Motivation

Announcing Success Champion Magazine!

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his publication is curated with badass content from people who are in the trenches; battling every day in their given passion. You’ll hear stories from small business owners about their journey and their fight to freedom. They say freedom isn’t free and that’s true from the sacrifices of our badass military community as well as the entrepreneurs who go for it every single day.

Developing and bringing Success Champion into the world has been a helluva ride. I didn’t realize how much I’d discover about myself along the way. I’ve been punched hard in the face by life, but I’m still here. I’ve been on the brink of calling it quits, but I’m still here.

And I had no idea how rewarding building out a Facebook group would be. I also had no idea that this same group would help me figure out my business, structure my programs and create a family of badasses that are rising together.

Because of the group Success

Champion Magazine was born! For the first edition we polled the group and asked what they wanted most. Although a lot of things were discussed, motivation rose to the top of the list. The September issue is all about the motivation in you and behind the things you do in your business.

You’ll read stories about the motivation required for outsourcing, writing, social media, and technology as well as what motivation is in general.

You’ll also get to read stories each month from the members of the Success Champion group and hear about their journeys. These are inspiring, amazing stories and I can’t wait to share them with you. I’m excited to bring you these badasses, their knowledge, and genuine passion for what they do. Thanks for being a Champion! This magazine is for you.

Founding Badass, Donnie

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Success Champions

The Words of Your Successful Business How to Get and Stay Motivated to Write

By Lauren Di Franco, MPT

Y When you’re writing is something we start to feel, we’re hooked.

And if we’re hooked, we click to read more, we click to hire you, we click to sign up… and that will get you hooked on writing more!

our successful business is built on a foundation of words. The question is, do you have to get motivated to write them, or does the act of writing motivate you? Either way, writing is an essential tool you’ll need to master for your business and I have 10 secrets for you to help keep your powerful writing fire burning.

I’ve journaled since I was fifteen.

Writing has always been a way for me to heal, express, vent, analyze, problem solve or just create. When it came to professional writing and writing for my business I had to move through a lot of this-isn’tgood-enough crap, learn the tricks of the trade, and then practice. That practice led to blogs, books and website copy that started to feel good and purposeful.

But there was something much more

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important that happened that turned my lack of motivation, doubt and fear into prolific writing juju. And I want to share those secrets with you so that crafting awesome words for your business makes you all tingly inside instead of feeling that dread.

10 Tips for Staying Motivated and In the Flow to Write

Always be yourself If you’re trying too hard to write what you think others want to hear it comes off as fake and icky. Don’t do that. Be yourself. Authenticity is the name of the game. We want the full-on, awesome you.

Don’t overthink Writer’s block is a myth. It happens because you started thinking too much. Stop that. Ask yourself this instead: What am I feeling right now? And write from that place instead. As soon as you catch yourself analyzing too much, stop and take a deep breath.

Feel something As a sequel to number 2, you now have to feel what you intend your reader to feel. So, please, feel something good. You’re excited about your message, right? Great!

Conjure that up when you sit down to write, and we’ll feel that energy in your words. Afraid your words aren’t good enough? Guess what we’ll feel?

Fear.

It’s good enough It’s you, so it’s good enough. Your

Motivation unique life experience and knowledge makes it so. Don’t let the fear of notgood-enough stop you from writing.

Hey, that’s what proofreaders, editors and copywriters are for anyhow. Just get your ideas out. You can perfect the words later.

Write for yourself first Sometimes the best ideas come from a form of free writing or journaling.

Just sit down and write. No rules.

Write about what you see out the window or something that happened to you today. When you get into the flow like that most likely you’ll begin to be inspired by something else or something new.

Time your writing Set a timer and write. When you have a time limit you’re more apt to get and stay in the flow of an idea.

Write a love letter One of the best things to do for your business is write a love letter to your ideal client. Go ahead, get all gushy on us. Tell us how you feel about working with us, why it turns you on and what matters the most to you about what you do. Tell us how you want us to feel. Writing directly to your ideal client will help you get into the vibe. I love writing my email newsletters like this every week!

Write like you talk.

In fact, if you hate to type or write, then dictate your writing and have it transcribed. The best writing is the kind where the reader feels

like they’re having a face-to-face conversation with you.

Schedule your writing time When your writing is finished it feels great. So, you need to schedule this like any other task during your day.

My best writing and creative time is in the morning. Find your groove and then get that blocked off on your calendar. It will be something you begin to look forward to.

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Success Champions

Write about what you love

“Your words will change the world if you’re brave enough to share them.“

Think about the best parts of what you do, how you help people, what you create, what you make, what service you offer…and write about that in detail. Bring us into our senses. What do you see, hear, smell, taste and touch when you’re doing what you love? When you’re writing is something we start to feel, we’re hooked. And if we’re hooked, we click to read more, we click to hire you, we click to sign up…and that will get you hooked on writing more!

And…what was that thing that happened to me? I figured out that writing is just a really cool way to express my voice, my message and my badassery to the world. I figured out that my fear of not-good-enough was boring, because if my writing

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helps one person to change their life, then it’s worth everything. It’s really not about you anymore. Your words will change the world if you’re brave enough to share them. That’s motivating! Now…go write!

Laura Di Franco, MPT is the owner of Brave Healer Productions and a powerhouse who writes to Feng Shui her soul. Laura’s a 6-time published poet and Amazon Best Selling author, inspirational speaker, holistic physical therapist and third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do with over two decades of experience in healing. She was born to build a revolution of brave healers who are getting their badass, authentic voices published in order to heal the world with their words. Find her programs, podcast, books and other badassery at www.BraveHealer.com

Motivation

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Success Champions

You don’t need to get motivated you just need to start!

By Donnie Boivin

I After we hung up the phone a huge cheer went across the room. You would’ve thought I’d won the championship game with a 90-yard touchdown pass.

was standing in front of a room filled with salespeople fielding questions—a normal day for me when I was doing sales training. Teach a little, train a little, then answer questions.

These salespeople were typical; some rockstars, some newbies, and some middle-of-the-road folks just getting by.

I like fielding questions. It forces me to stay on my toes and think on my feet. Luckily, I have a lot of experience doing it.

A young lady who’d just started her sales career raised her hand waiting to ask a question. This was a little unusual for me. I was used to people just shouting out their questions. It took a second to see her hand in a mouse-like gesture waving at me.

Finally getting my attention in a soft, almost inaudible voice she asks me

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a question that set me on a path of learning and self-discovery.

“How do I find the motivation to go prospecting when I don’t feel like doing it?”

I don’t usually have to pause after questions, but I caught myself for two full seconds pondering how to respond to her. I didn’t want just a shoot-from-the-hip answer. I could tell she was really looking for advice.

“You just do it and motivation comes,” I said in my typical nobullshit, direct and to-the-point way (that I don’t always pull off in a nurturing manner). What I said felt right but I had no evidence to back it up.

She looked at me a bit puzzled and I saw a lot of the room nodding their heads.

“Motivation does not come before the action. It comes as a result of the action,” I went on to say. She asked for an example.

“Well I don’t feel motivated to make cold calls right now because I’m teaching,” I said. The room laughed.

But they stopped laughing when I walked over, grabbed a landline phone, laid it on the table in front of me and asked the room to Google a manufacturing company.

It took sixty seconds or so before someone shouted, “I got one!”

“Give me the CEO’s name and phone number,” I said. Taking about four more minutes the group finally came up with the details. I asked

Motivation

them to find a couple more contacts in case this CEO did not answer.

I asked. The receptionist, without pause, said, “One moment, please.”

The room became a buzz of excited, nervous energy when they realized what I was about to do.

“Do you guys know what the scariest sound in the world is to a salesperson?” I asked in my usual smart-ass way.

After no response, I hit the speakerphone and a loud dial-tone pierced the silence in the room.

There was a collective laugh as they all understood.

A few seconds later on the other end of the phone we all hear, “This is Bob.”

With the details in front of me I hit the speakerphone again and dialed the number. A nice receptionist answered and the whole room stared at me wide-eyed.

“Is Bob (the CEO) running around?”

I smiled at the room and went straight into the cold call. I wish I could say I landed an appointment on that call, but I did not. They were already engaged with another training company.

After we hung up the phone a huge cheer went across the room.

You would’ve thought I’d won the championship game with a 90-yard touchdown pass.

The room settled and I asked the young lady who’d asked the question earlier, “Do you understand better about what I said? Motivation comes

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“Motivation does not come before the action. It comes as a result of the action,”

Success Champions after the action.”

She nodded. “But I could never do what you just did,” she replied.

The room laughed again, and I offered for anyone else to come up and try. Nobody took me up on that offer.

Motivation isn’t something you need before you start doing anything. Start doing the thing and motivation will kick in!

Going home that night I knew I needed more ammunition if I was going to get people to understand this thought process; that motivation comes after the action.

I pulled into the farm after my hour commute and realized how tired I was. The dogs were barking their heads off making sure the whole world knew they were there. The goats were yelling at me that they were hungry, and the roosters… well the roosters where just cock-adoodle-doo-ing.

I let the dogs out to do their thing and then began to work on dinner.

After checking on the animals and Elizabeth, my wife, who was getting home thirty minutes late, we sat down to eat. We still had to go put all the animals to bed before we could relax. So, after dinner we fed the goats and chickens, collected the eggs and locked everyone up for the night.

The kitchen was a mess from my inability to not use every pan in the house when I cook dinner.

It was now late and I damn sure wasn’t motivated to do the dishes. I really wanted to leave them for the morning.

But I walked into the kitchen and

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started emptying the dishwasher, then loaded it back up with dirty pots, pans, and dishes. Ten minutes later the dishes were loaded the counters were wiped off and I was dropping my clothes in the washing machine.

I was halfway through loading the washing machine when I laughed to myself. I just proved what I thought to be true. I wasn’t motivated to do the laundry but now, here I am, dishes are done, counters wiped down, dogs fed and I’m loading dirty laundry. All because I took action and started.

I took this story back to the group for the next training session and we all had a pretty good laugh. I validated my own thought by doing the damn dishes.

I looked at the young lady who’d asked the question the day prior, and she smiled and shared.

“I wasn’t motivated to make sales calls last week, but I remembered you standing in front of the room doing live calls. So, I picked up the phone and started dialing and set up four appointments and closed one deal.”

“I wasn’t motivated before but now I want to make more calls!” She said.

Motivation isn’t something you need before you start doing anything. Start doing the thing and motivation will kick in!

Success Champions

Using Passion to Fuel your Business

By Donald Dodson, Jr.

Passion puts you in touch with your true self. You can’t get much truer than believing in something so strongly that it drives what you do daily.

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ts 0430 and life sucks really hard right now. My fingers are all but bleeding, my muscles have cramped and I have been up for almost 24 hours. I have a scant few hours to finish the project before it needs to ship in order to make it to the client in time for Christmas. Well, shit! here I THOUGHT I might make it to bed by 2am. I take a second, pause, and reflect on the situation. Then I smile. Yup, I am sure as shit happy right now (ok, content is more accurate).

Because I can embrace The Suck.

I can own my shit because its MINE to own and its fueled by my passion. I put myself in this situation and despite it all I am happy.

The reason is simple. I am passionate about what I do. It helps me to push

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through things. It motivates me to face the bullshit stuff I don’t want to do (Taxes, administrative crap). It helps form my vision and keeps me on the path of my true self and what I love doing. I am passionate about creating cool shit that makes people happy.

Now don’t get me wrong. You can’t eat or spend passion. I am a veteran and we are practical as shit. No, Passion is the FUEL, but maybe not the vehicle that can drive your success. It’s what will keep you going.

It helps to motivate you. Let’s look at the definition. Passion: intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction.

It’s all about connecting what you love with something that other people want. You might need to be creative. You are an entrepreneur, you will find a way. Maybe it is only a side gig, but you’ll be happy and make some money that makes your 9-5 tolerable. Maybe someday it will be your full-time company.

Let’s be realistic. As an entrepreneur you are gonna spend and awful lot of time in your business. If you aren’t actually doing your business, you are probably thinking about it.

In fact, I bet you just paused and sorta reviewed what you need to do today or tomorrow. If you are going to spend that much time, you need to stay motivated. And loving something you do is a pretty strong motivation.

Loving what you do also serves some other useful purposes. It helps you

Motivation focus on what is important. Too often entrepreneurs are chasing the money, not the dream or the vision. Sure, that works to an extent, but don’t be surprised if you start hating what you do. You might start resenting the hard work you are putting in. Money, like many other resources, is just a tool. It is not an end. Use it well. In the end you might not be as rich, but you will be happier for following your passion.

Passion is great for keeping you focused on your purpose or mission and helps you make sure that what you do is passion/mission-oriented.

You are more effective and efficient because that gives you that laser focus and helps you to work harder to accomplish those goals. Who cares if you are working longer hours if you are happy doing it? Along these same lines, passion drives you to always move towards that bigger overarching vision or goal.

Passion puts you in touch with your true self. You can’t get much truer than believing in something so strongly that it drives what you do daily. Through that you can really understand what it is you are made of and what you are about. It is very much like your WHY.

minded in your strategy. It can blind you to other opportunities. It can be a bit consuming. I once spent half a vacation making leather stuff because I love to do it so much. The point is to direct it, to use it to fuel the fire in your belly. Because with that driving you, you can get shit done.

Passion is a strong and powerful element in our arsenal that can only bolster your success. Look to what you love and use it to fuel your success!

Donald Dodson, owner of Dodson Designs, has been involved in artistic pursuits for as long as he can remember.

Starting at age 16 as a sign painter assistant, and after high school, he pursued a career in graphic arts, finding his home in graphic design and web design. After an eight-year stint as a teacher, Dodson, a combat veteran, longed to return to his passion for the arts and, at 49, started a full-time leather working business.

He crafts handmade, creative custom leather goods and accessories near Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

I know what you are thinking. “How about a reality check huh? It kinda sounds sort of all touchy-feely.”

Well, I am not gonna bullshit you.

Passion is a powerful thing, but it is not all sunshine and doughnuts (and I love doughnuts). For one, that laser focus can make you narrow-

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If you are going to spend that much time, you need to stay motivated. And loving something you do is a pretty strong motivation.

Success Champions tricks to stay motivated on social media without getting sucked in or overwhelmed.

Sassy Social Media

Set yourself a time limit.

Motivation on Social Media

Set specific times of day you check social media so that you can be more productive and look forward to those times.

STOP scrolling mindlessly. Take a few minutes to read things when you find things interesting.

Have a goal when you get on. For example, check messages or interact in groups.

Have an objective for your overall social media visit. For example, getting visible or making new network connections.

By Sarah Ankney

STOP scrolling mindlessly. Take a few minutes to read things when you find things interesting.

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ace it, either you love or hate social media. I don’t know about you, but I get sucked in and boom a few hours are gone. It can be a dark rabbit hole, or a big help for you and your business. Instead of having to be “on” all the time. Take your time back and be happy to be on Social Media.

Social Media can be a huge time waster, but a few simple tricks and you can make the most out of that time. Social media is a powerful tool that when used in your life and business can be very effective and even relaxing.

Here are some of my tips and

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Make sure to have time where you just goof off. All work and no play even on social media can be a huge demotivator.

If you need to lift your spirit, remember social media can be a powerful support and motivator as well. I personally love inspirational quotes.

Use social media to get answers to your business questions. For me, that is huge!

If you find that you have loads of negative comments in your feed, there are some things you can do to make it more positive. Make sure to weed out those who do not align with who you are by unfriending or unfollowing them. If it is someone you don’t want to do that to, try snoozing them for 30 days.

Motivation Social media is social so be social.

People want more than just your business. They want to know you; which keeps them coming back and keeps you coming back to them.

Social media is about being social but don’t let it overshadow your actual interaction with people in-person. I constantly must remind my kids to pull their heads out of the phone and look at me when I am talking to them. I also must remind myself to do the same. I find that sometimes it is helpful, that when we are doing a family activity, that we put the phones in a basket so that we interact with one another.

Social Media is a powerful tool for your life and business. Keep in mind it is a tool. Use it as a tool like your voice mail or even your email. You do not have to be attached to it 24/7.

If you use it in the incorrectly it ends up being overwhelming and not an effective tool.

I remember when I was a kid, and someone called when no one answered they would have to try again later. Then came the invention of the answering machine. People left a message and then waited for the other person to call them back.

While everything can be reached instantaneously, it doesn’t mean that you must answer right away. I get messages constantly that say sorry I did not answer sooner. Truth of the matter is unless it is an emergency, I am ok with a delayed response because after all everyone has a life outside of social media whether they

are using it for pleasure or business.

Social media can be demotivating, isolating, and downright overwhelming if you use it in the wrong manner. In fact, studies have shown that the more people interact only online the more it can cause depression and other illnesses. Take a moment and know that this is a tool for you to use socially and in your business and it is not “the end all that meets all.”

This is your opportunity to reach your ideal clients in a positive and empowering way. Social media is a powerful tool that can motivate you in your business and life when you follow a few tips and tricks.

Now go and enjoy!

Sarah Ankney of Sassy Pinterest is a Pinterest Account Manager. She wants to empower your business with a bit of magic to help you get visible. Sassy Pinterest creates graphics and descriptions as well as manages your Pinterest account so that you can do all the things you need to do and drive traffic to your business. If you need assistance in your business to get traffic to all your sites, please contact Sarah Ankney to add another powerful marketing tool. linktr.ee/sassyempower

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Keep in mind it is a tool. Use it as a tool like your voice mail or even your email.

You do not have to be attached to it 24/7.

Success Champions

Featured Champion:

A peek into the minds eye of a creative entrepreneur

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he Vision of Success Champion Magazine to provide a platform for SC members to highlight their brands, products and services while inspiring action in fellow members.

Q: What is your story?

A: Seriuosly? My “story” is boring.

There is nothing exciting to see here …I have been an artist or involved in arts since I could pick up a crayon.

Everyone in my family was either creative or worked with their hands.

Hard work ethic was drilled into me, and a strong do it yourself attitude.

So I was always exposed to craft type things because my dad liked collecting antique tools.

I was blacksmithing stuff when I was 10! They sucked of course, but I was

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Motivation making blades when I was a teen… it wasn’t an everyday thing -- being in the shop was a rare treat. The point is I have a strong (sometimes to a fault) work ethic and an attitude that you can really achieve a great deal with little. That and a strong independent streak.

Anyway... I kinda floated around a bit until I discovered graphic arts and since then I have never really strayed very far from visual arts of some kind - but things that focused on doing things with your hands always held a strong appeal.

My entering the military was one of the least considered, yet best, decisions I have ever made. I gained a “can-do-make-shit-happen” attitude and a lot more confidence.

Many people focus on all the “military aspects” of the army or any other service without seeing the “soft skills” you learn. Things like how to work with others, accept challenges, attitude, the getting shit done type of mentality. So I am an odd sort of dichotomy of touchy feely creative with a strong “getthings-done-at-all-costs” mentality.

I actually made a go of a graphic design and sign-making biz when I was not even old enough to drink... then Desert Storm happened and that kinda killed things for me, After that, I worked as a graphic designer and web master and then after a combat deployment to Iraq, I had an opportunity to finish my college degree (I had been going evenings for years). So I put myself through college fulltime by doing freelance

graphic design work (First marriage, but I still had to pay bills etc) and I took up teaching history and social studies. I did enjoy it, but for various reasons I lost the passion (or things made that harder to achieve).

The real turning point came when I picked up making leather stuff ...at first just for a costume party ...but then people wanted to pay me and I realized I wasn’t getting any younger. Afterall, quite a few people start later. In fact, I can honestly say I was influenced to make the jump into business by a meme. Yup! I hate those things for the most part, but it was a post about all the people in their 40s and older who “made it” later in life.

So with the support and encouragement of my now-wife, I quit my teaching career of eight years, and went full time ...and here I am!

Q: How did you become a Badass?

So to me,a badass is someone who BOLDLY strives to accomplish things in the face of some type of adversity with attitude. The success part is just an even higher measure.

You CAN be a badass and fail! Its what you do with that failure.

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So, I like to use the term creative badass (BTW I feel it’s a term people should feel applies to you...like a nickname. Not something you call yourself, but hey we gotta be bold sometimes.) So, besides some of the elements alreay mentioned (Work ethic, etc) I became a badass by doing my own thing despite having like zero budget. I became a badass by inspiring others. See I have only been doing leather arts for a few years and people think I have been doing it for decades. So I kinda show them that you can accomplish a shit ton of stuff by JUST. FUCKING. DOING IT. Close your mouth, open your mind

Success Champions and put your hands to work! So, as much as I hate calling myself a badass, I think that’s a big part of what I bring -- inspiration and aspiration -- and you don’t NEED all those things to start making things happen, it just makes things easier to have them. Its more about a positive attitude, being open to advice, and surrounding yourself with good people who will support you, but also won’t put up with your BS and working efficiently for your situation.

Q: What has been your greatest failure?

This is a tough one. I’ll be honest, and maybe a bit gutsy, and say I don’t have one. But part of that is my perception of failure. Failure, to me, has a climax. And, I don’t have that yet. At this point it’s more that I could be better! If I am gonna say anything it’s that I could have

realized sooner where I should be and planned better for it. I am only on year three. I have failed at going harder, perhaps. Being more serious.

Yeah, sorry, nothing monumentally inspirational there.

Q: What are your likes and dislikes around common things? Such as music, whether pineapple belongs on your pizza, etc.

Firstly I feel some dislikes are centered in ignorance or inexperience. (Like the pineapple pizza) If you haven’t tried it, you need to shut the fuck up until you do. Or music, I am not a fan of Rap, for a few reasons, but I find the more I listen to things the more I might get it.

That being said, I like all flavors

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of Rock and Roll, I do yoga, have been in theater and arts yet I also think a day at the range would be a good time, too. I love to read when I can and like sci-fi, fantasy, etc. genres, but I will also spend the time when I can and read a 500 page non-fiction book on the constitution.

There is NO subject I don’t find interesting at least to a degree. This attitude of being open to ideas and knowledge and experiences is critical to being a creative thinker! The world is a big massive experience and if you are open to it it can positively impact you (Even the bad shit)

Q: What motivates you to keep moving forward when you face an obstacle?

Hands down, a passion for what I do. I LOVE creating things. And that passion is fuel that drives me

Motivation and the salve that soothes me when shit is going wrong. When shit is going sideways, or it’s just been a long dragged out thing… or, when I am working an all-nighter, I “embrace the suck” - why - because its MINE!! me! I own this shit, so any part of that struggle is still me to make something of it. MY BUSINESS IS ME, so all that hard work and frustration is gonna end up with a positive outcome for me and my clients. Also, on occasion I go the gratitude route and think of the freedom by biz brings me, the opportunity to do what I love and the fact that no one is shooting at me….lol.:

Close your mouth, open your mind and put your hands to work!

Q: What do you do for fun?

This is tough, because so much of my biz is stuff that is “fun” for me.

I would have to say, that I do enjoy spending time with crazy artists and makers I find in the steampunk and fantasy convention realms.

Q: What do you do and how can you potentially help another person in the group?

I am genius at making do with very little - so solving problems in that realm among others, Social media and visual stuff (I am pretty good at making attractive posts that get engagement), I am also 52...I have a lot of general wisdom in my brain.

I GET branding and many of you need to work on that! Thinking creatively to solve problems is another. Too often we are so focused

on our brand-specific world view that we forget that there are a lot of things going on that can help you - that exist in other fields that seem to be unrelated. Part of this, oddly comes from Steampunk. Part of what steampunk stuff is about is repurposing and thinking of things in a different potential use or way...

Q: Why did you start your business?

I started my business because I wanted to create things, to make people happy with those creations and have the freedom financially to do so at my leisure.

Q: What obstacles have you had to overcome?

The biggest obstacle has been ME. I am the biggest barrier to success.

But financial stuff has been a big part of it, too.

That and dealing with issues of scale. When your “thing” is handmade, there are limitations. And moving that dial from one to two sets of hands is a HUUUUGE point.

The solutions are in part

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financial, as in money stuff in general. Pricing, right paying clients, affording machinery that will help, and of course actually compensating workers (or paying for time consuming non-productive services like social media, etc.)

Q: What would you do differently when it comes to how you have moved forward with your business?

Two things -- better prepare financially and some sort of actual legit plan. My plan was literally my elevator pitch “Make cool shit that makes people happy” Lol. I mean it was a touch more defined but yeah.

Q: What is your succession plan?

Success Champions What is that, lol? Honestly. I do not have one. I have no children. I’ll be dead. I wont care.

Q: What is your favorite money saving tip?

First rule. You’ve got to spend money to make money doesn’t work if you have no money at all. So, budget wisely. Consider what can you get the most out of with what you do spend.

Have the fortitude to work hard to work with what you got and the wisdom to know when to pay someone else. Knowledge and info is out there and you can learn how to do almost anything you set your mind to. Especially if you are a solopreneur on a budget (and I used the word budget as if there is one).

But sometimes you need to recognize your center of genius and efficiency is not doing your taxes or social media. It’s just not efficient.

Q: What is your true WHY for starting your endeavor?

I already touched on this, but I I really just wanna create cool things.

I wanna make art. I want enough money that I don’t have to worry, but I don’t need a big house or a Lambo...that shit doesn’t make one happy...or certainly doesn’t move me.

Money is NEVER the true why... it’s just a tool. And if you focus on money too much you are just gonna lose your passion and be empty inside. Because, unless perhaps you run a charity… its not going to be meaningful. The ultimate expression

of a why is wrapped in FEELING and sense of purpose that exists outside of yourself.

Q: What are you going to do when the shit hits the fan?

Again, see above. You fall back on your passion...your why. THAT’S the shit that gets you through the rough spots. That’s what sustains you when its 3 am and shit goes sideways and

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the project has to ship out in the morning.

Q: What is your 10-year vision for your business and life?

I know many of you out there are gonna cringe. But my vision is Ummm...not be dead? Part of being an honest badass is being brutally honest… I ain’t got shit for that... my vision game is weak because I

Motivation have been focused so long on the day-to-day. 10 years? Shit 5 years is even pretty scary to consider. Part of my ideal is that I like what I do... if I am supervising I can’t have fun making the stuff ? So I am just as comfortable with the vision of me as the “Picasso” of leather and have folks pay top money to wait 6 months for a piece from me. I dont want an empire. A small fiefdom of super fans is sufficient. This might be disappointing to some.

There is nothing wrong with a small dream that makes you happy versus ambitious ones that make you miserable.

That being said, I think that I have gotten to as place where I can and NEED to start thinking about this.

Unleash Your Inner Badass 21

Success Champions

Blue Zones and What We Can Learn from Them Blue Zones and Why They Should Motivate You to a Cleaner Toxin-free Life.

By Cheryl Meyer

Y

ou, your children and other people in your life are healthy, so why should you care about toxins and the quality of your food?

Blue Zones are the 5 areas in the world with the longest human longevity; where it is common to live over 100, and to remain healthy and vibrant until the end.

We can all learn a great deal from observing Blue Zones. Blue Zones are the 5 areas in the world with the longest human longevity; where it is common to live over 100, and to remain healthy and vibrant until the end. Quality of life in these zones is very high. It is a project sponsored

by National Geographic.

There are now 9 more communities across America that are electing to be Blue Zones. Fort Worth, TX, Manhattan Beach, CA and surrounding beach cities, Klamath, OR, Albert Lea, Minnesota, Southwest Florida, Iowa, Dodge County Wisconsin, and Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, have now elected

www.DonnieBoivin.com 22

to be Blue Zones.

What would motivate you to pay attention to the results in Blue Zones? Why would this matter to you?

Toxic load can take 20 years to build up in your body. Toxic load becomes inflammation. Inflammation becomes chronic disease. So long term, this information can save your health.

Convenience is trumping health, and our nation’s health is showing the result. No wonder the United States ranks 37th in the world in health, our healthcare system is broken and 53% of our children have chronic illness.

What good is it for you to grow old if you are uncomfortable in your body; if your body has cancer, or heart disease, or if you are one of the millions of people with autoimmune disorders? Or if, in old age, you have lost your mind to dementia?

Don’t you want to grow old and feel great? Don’t you want quality of life as you age? Don’t you want your

Motivation children to grow old? For the first time your children may not live as long as you, and their last years will not be pretty.

This is important.

What have we discovered from the Blue Zones?

There are some key elements that contribute to long term health and healthy longevity.

Community: All the Blue Zones have strong communities. Some are people that have been connected for life, most have a faith-based connection.

Sometimes multi-generations live together. These communities share a sense of purpose with their members. They are people that support each other throughout life.

Diet: All the Blue Zones eat a healthy, toxin free diet. Most are vegetarian, with some fish, and sometimes very small portions of meat twice a week. Common foods that are eaten in Blue Zones are organic and include olive oil, lots of greens, coffee, chickpeas, legumes, green tea, tomatoes, turmeric, sweet potatoes, salmon, squash and avocados. Junk food is eliminated. You eat what you see, and you eat what is convenient so make the healthy foods easy to eat like freshly cut veggies and fruit.

Cook at home: Eating out is celebratory only. Food is made in the home and eaten in their family community. Food is

never eaten standing up, or in the car. People in blue zones stop eating when they are 80% full.

Drink: The Blue Zones drink water. They don’t drink sodas, with sugar or fake sugar. And at the end of the day they have one glass of wine.

Mind: Blue Zones have people with active minds. They are constantly learning: a new language, a new musical instrument, a new science. Often people in blue zones meditate.

Sleep: People in Blue Zones get 7 or more hours of sleep. The bedroom is used for sleep or sex. No TV, No Phone, No clock. The room is kept cool.

Movement: People in Blue Zones move naturally.

They walk everywhere. They ride bikes for transportation. They get up and down to change the TV Channel; they do outdoor chores; and they garden. They have pets that they walk.

To sum it all up, they have healthy social communities; they have strong family bonds; they have no time urgency; they eat a plant-based diet; they do not smoke; they eat legumes; they have low alcohol intake; they eat nuts. They garden. They have turmeric in their diet. They eat nutrient rich diets. They all preplated their food in the kitchen so that they did not overeat, and eat from smaller plates.

Unleash Your Inner Badass 23

Convenience is trumping health, and our nation’s health is showing the result.

No wonder the United States ranks 37th in the world in health ....

Success Champions They have significantly less cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disease and almost no dementia. They are in places where it is common for people to live to 100; they suffer a fraction of the diseases that kill people in the rest of the world, and they enjoy many more years of good health.

They all have life purpose.

Their smallest meal is their evening meal. They all enjoy some natural physical activity. They live low stress lives. They all enjoy some type of faith.

lean up your life now.

You only have one body.

Honor it and take care of it and it will serve you well.

They eat chemical free. They live in clean environments. They support each other.

Does this information resonate with you? Don’t wait until you are sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Clean up your life now. You only have one body. Honor it and take care of it and it will serve you well.

And by the by, don’t give me that bull that you have bad genes. You have the power to turn that switch on, or

www.DonnieBoivin.com 24

to leave it off. Having something in your genetics does not mean that you are going to get it. You make all the difference with your body. You hold the power. Own it and feel great for the rest of your life.

Endnotes <?> https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=EVauROroe1Y Seven years ago, Cheryl Meyer suffered from inflammation and autoimmune disease. She found a functional MD, actively purged, and replaced hundreds of toxins in her life, and returned to wellness.

Cheryl then wrote her award-winning book, It Feels Good to Feel Good: Learn to Eliminate Toxins, Reverse Inflammation and Feel Great Again. She explains toxins are everywhere and impacting our health, our children’s health, and the health our earth. “It’s all about toxic load. Each toxin that is eliminated is one step closer to health.” Cheryl has a BA from the University of California-Berkeley and is a health coach, Cheryl M Health Muse, from IIN. Her website is https:// cherylmhealthmuse.com

Motivation

Unleash Your Inner Badass 25

5

Success Champions

tips to grow your business the smart way

By Angie Leigh Monroe

I Do not let others write the script for your story. Know your mission, forward and backwards

will admit that many sales people will not like this article.

However, this is something that has sat with me for a long time.

When I started my entrepreneurial journey, I set out to listen to all the “so called gurus”. I wanted to know what they were promising, what they were charging and what they were delivering. They always promised the Moon, charged what it would cost to buy the galaxy and delivered something subterranean.

When selling they used buzz words like Passion, Purpose, Inspiration, Motivation and Dedication. It sounded all new and shiny and it does grab people’s attention.

However, when you look deeper, you learn that they were using a system called Neurolinguistics to trigger “yes” responses from you, to get you in the mood to say yes when they do their closing pitch. Now you are hooked, you have bought into the promises these people have promised you and you have not done one bit

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of research on them. You whip out your credit card, without giving a thought to where the money is going to come from to pay for this, but you must have it no matter how much it costs. You are simply driven by FOMO (Fear of Missing out).

Sadly, many people swipe their card with a guru, and never follow thru to get their money’s worth from them.

For those who actually pursue what the guru offers, normally they are let down because it is never quite what they have promised. Even worse, most of the time the resource they have offered you is normally something your company doesn’t even need now, or ever!

So, let’s explore some of the buzz words they use, and help you be better set up the next time someone tries to sell you something you do not need.

When they ask you what you are Passionate about, they are asking what is it that you have a strong and barely controllable emotion about.

They want you thinking about these things because they want emotion to drive your spending.

When they ask you how being passionate about whatever you are passionate about inspires you to make an impact. They are again getting your mental process focused on what all you can do with the product or service they are offering.

You are now creatively day dreaming about how their resource will help your organization grow.

Then they transition to Purpose they

Motivation tap into the fact that you are the only one that was created to do this, and only you can do this, and how you need their resource to grow.

They automatically know that when you leave you will have buyer’s remorse: it is a common thing. They then transition to using words like Motivation. This is their way to remind you of the reason, or reasons, you have for buying their resource.

They often have you opting into an ongoing program or service.

If you don’t step up to the plate, they will say that you are not Dedicated to passion or purpose.

Here is the deal…I’m not bashing all sales people. Some of the best sales people I know are not afraid to tell you that their resource is not right for you at this time. They will help you work within your means, mentally, emotionally, and financially.

I have watched so many new entrepreneurs be taken by unscrupulous people. I myself, have been taken by people who were either unscrupulous, or they simply overpromised and underdelivered either dues to lack of skill or lack of project management skills.

5 tips to grow your business the smart way: Be Dedicated to yourself and your mission 1st. NO ONE knows your mission or has your best interest at heart more than you do. Do not let others write the script for your story. Know your mission, forward

and backwards so that when others try to tell you their interpretation, you will know immediately if they are a valuable asset to you. It also helps you know who you might be a valuable asset to.

Be Motivated to get your income up to certain levels before you “buy-in” to the next level of services people offer. I am not telling you to avoid buying; instead, set goals for yourself.

Example: I want to sign 3 new clients into 6-month contracts before I buy this new software.

Be Purposeful with your spending.

When you invest the money, you also need to allocate time to explore how to use the new resource, or send information to the vendor. If you are not going to have time in the next 2 weeks to start learning the new resource then DON’T BUY!!! By the time you go to use it the reason you bought it will have faded and you will not use it.

Be Inspired by simple things.

Don’t be afraid to KISS lots of thing (KISS= Keep It Simple Stupid). Many times, the things we throw money at are out there on a free app or service.

Don’t be afraid to use the free

Unleash Your Inner Badass 27

If you are not going to have time in the next 2 weeks to start learning the new resource then DON’T BUY!!!

Success Champions services, it does not mean you are not successful, it means you are cost conscious.

Knowing what to spend and when to spend it will help you grow your bottom line.

Be Passionate about saving, there are so many more ways to grow your bottom line than simply building your sales. Knowing what to spend and when to spend it will help you grow your bottom line. I have literally saved companies I worked for millions of dollars. It is amazing how many of us save the companies we work for money, and squander our own money. Re-evaluate your spending by checking your subscriptions quarterly and cancel the ones you don’t use.

Today is the day! You have the power to make a difference in your own life. Be committed to growing your

business the smart way.

Angie Leigh Monroe is an International Speaker, Strategist and Consultant whose expertise guides people to identify and obliterate obstacles. Her innovate approach will ALIGN you with strategic partnerships, ACTIVATE your purpose and CALIBRATE your potential to encounter even more opportunities.

Angie is the founder of D.I.V.A.S. Impact & Veteran DIVAS and the host of Warrior DIVAS | Real Talk for Real Women Podcast - Angie is a native Texan, Navy veteran and Executive Director with the John Maxwell Team.

Angie and her husband Michael met while in the Navy, have 3 children and 2 grandchildren and several other “Fake” kids. https://linktr.ee/DIVASimpact

Discover the undeniable you and leave unleashed!

October 11 - 12 2019 • Euless, TX DIVASImpact.com/Unmasked

THIS IS A TIME TO SOW INTO YOUR DESTINED FUTURE! Join us as we unleash God's unbelievable, undeniable callings on women's lives!

Get empowered to be unshakable, unstoppable and leave unmasked!

Get details and register Online today! www.DIVASimpact.com www.DonnieBoivin.com 28

Motivation

My Motivation

By Richard Kaufman

I

have come back from drug addiction, alcoholism, homelessness and blindness, PTSD and TBI (traumatic brain injury). I also been thrown out of the military for drugs and alcohol. But I re-enlisted and did over twenty years in the military before retiring as E-5 Promotable.

is to stay humble and kind. My uncle who was dying of cancer told me son “at the end of every chess game The King and The Pawn end up in the same box”

My motivation today is more about my death.? DEATH??? Yes, let me explain. I had two uncles who recently passed away. One was an average every day Joe. He kept to himself, really not achieving anything in life. Very few people showed up to his funeral.

My other uncle was a very loving caring Christian man who always put others before himself and lived to help serve others. His funeral was packed and we had to have more services to fit all the people.

As I sat there I thought of what Gary Vee told me “ YOUR LEGACY IS MORE VALUABLE THAN YOUR CURRENCY “ .

So, as I turn 50 my motivation is to save a million lives and change the world.

My motivation is when someone suffering from depression or PTSD has a gun in front of them ready

Unleash Your Inner Badass 29

to pull the trigger - but gets a notification to watch my Facebook Live Show with someone else who has been through some crap; they listen to it and decide, if those guys can get through it, I can too! Then they decide to call for help and get treatment. There’s no price on that.

My mission is to help veterans and first responders live their best lives through my speaking and coaching.

The last thing I wanted to leave you with is to stay humble and kind. My uncle who was dying of cancer told me son “at the end of every chess game The King and The Pawn end up in the same box” So stay humble and kind.

Richard Kaufman has appeared in several magazines and has appeared on many podcasts including Success Champions. He has his own weekly Facebook live Show The Monday Night Comeback. He has spoken in jails, rehabs, churches, and most recently with the disabled Veterans at a archaeological dig.

Success Champions

Keep It Simple Silly (KISS) Motivation

ENTREPRENEURIAL CHALLENGES. Motivation combines the incentive to create enthusiasm to spur ideas together with the impulse to use your energy to make all your wishes a reality.

Created for your sanity by, Joan U`ilani Meeks

B Motivation combines the incentive to create enthusiasm to spur ideas together with the impulse to use your energy to make all your wishes a reality.

eing very busy and going out of my mind most days working to be a successful business owner I work to keep everything as simple as possible. Many ask me how I stay motivated. Honestly it is a daily struggle. I appreciate the compliments, but behind the scenes I am as mixed-up as chop suey.

My husband is witness to my madness for the last 40 years, which I consistently tell him “there is a means to my madness.” I would say having an excellent support system, my husband, helps a lot.

Here is a simple puzzle for you to use to engrain the many words you should refer to when trying to motivate yourself to accomplish those HUGE

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Don’t make it complicated. Take simple words and their meanings, and implement into your daily life.

When faced with a problem look at these words and do your own selftalk. What do I need to spur to keep myself going? Spur is outgrowth, branch, offshoot how do create that in my motivation to keep myself going? Ask yourself the questions and kick yourself in the behind.

As we say in the Badass Brigade, “What Would Donnie Do.” Just asking yourself that question should get you motivated.

Email me if you found the

Motivation

KISS Method Words I trust these simple words together with the KISS method will help you become all you ever dreamed of.

•

Motivation – impetus, impulse provocation, inspiration, purpose, goal

•

Incentive – encouragement, spur, reason

•

Enthusiasm – eagerness, interest, passion, zeal, zest, fire

one word I left off joan@ commodityrecyclingsolutions.com.

I’ll let you know if you’re right.

Success Champions. . . . .

Joan Meeks is founder and president of Commodity Recycling Solutions founded in Fort Worth in 2012. Joan started the company together with her son, Elliott Meeks, and husband Ken Meeks. CRS will celebrate their seven-year anniversary

•

Spur - outgrowth, branch, offshoot

•

Impulse – desire, urge, wish, yearning, instinct

•

Energy – vigor, liveliness, oomph, dynamism, vivacity

•

Wish – craving, desire, hope yearning, craving

next month. Joan’s vision was to provide responsible recycling to cities, counties, state and corporate businesses with a focus on rural communities. Joan’s experience in customer service plus keen understanding of the real challenges facing recycling has led to providing solutions to service gaps that were unmet. “act responsibly today creating a ripple effect to last for generations.” Joan Meeks linktr.ee/joanmeeks

Unleash Your Inner Badass 31

Success Champions Facebook page has a new like…”

Tech Corner

<Desktop Notification> “You have new mail…”

Eliminating Digital Distractions and Staying on Task

technology can help us to connect with prospects, clients and old friends; it can also make it harder to shut out the distractions so you can finish your task and do a great job

<Slack Message> “Hey can you do this thing for me?” <News Alert> “Tool just released their new single…” <Instagram Notification> “Someone you don’t really know but follow on Instagram for some reason just posted for the first time in a long time…” <Me> “…ohh Puppies!!! I need to share this”

By Kevin Snow

<Text Message> “Did you see what Donnie did?

et’s face it. We live in an information rich environment. We have more access to raw information now that at any other time in our history, and it is only going to continue growing. From the moment we wake up to the time we fall asleep we are getting notified of things happening in world that we just have to know about.

<Facebook Messenger> “I saw your post about your thing… can we talk?

L

This probably sounds familiar… <Desktop Notification> “You have new mail…” <Facebook Notification> “Your friend just responded to your post…” <LinkedIn Notification> “Someone commented on your post…” <Facebook Notification> “Your

www.DonnieBoivin.com 32

You start the day all motivated with a plan of attack that is going to get some amazing things done, but it can be really hard to stay on task and not get distracted by all the notifications and requests you receive all day.

While technology can help us to connect with prospects, clients and old friends; it can also make it harder to shut out the distractions so you can finish your task and do a great job. Here are my top 5 tools that can help me stay productive during the day.

Project Management Software Having all your projects, assets and milestones in sync and accessible can significantly improve overall team performance. But project management systems aren’t just

Motivation for teams, they can be just as helpful for freelancers or individuals. My current favorite tool is Wrike Wrike is a powerful tool for managing and collaborating on projects. This software combines simple design with efficient project management features.

It’s easy to share and assign tasks, projects, and folders with team members as well as monitor deadlines and project progress.

Wrike can also be very useful as a todo list or calendar for strategic planning. Wrike is the successful medium of great collaborative features and easy-to-use interface.

you write better, more actionable emails in real time. Boomerang allows email to be a business tool again and not an intrusive part of your day.

Email Management.

Procrastination is not always bad.

Just because you received a new email doesn’t mean you need to action it right away.

Boomerang is time-saving add on for Gmail and Office 365 that gives you control over sending and receiving email. Boomerang allows users to track email responses, clean up your inbox by removing emails until you actually need them, and pause your inbox until you are ready for it.

Boomerang also includes an assistant that uses artificial intelligence to help

It is pretty easy to get sucked down an internet rabbit hole when you see a cool article to read or YouTube video and before you know it you have 30 different tabs open on your browser and have seen YouTube videos of the hottest metal band in Mongolia. Pocket is a super simple tool that lets you save all the really cool content that you find online or in over 1500 apps so you can watch it later at your convenience and stay on task now. The nice thing about Pocket is that it doesn’t just save

Unleash Your Inner Badass 33

It is pretty easy to get sucked down an internet rabbit hole when you see a cool article to read or YouTube video and before you know it you have 30 different tabs open on your browser

Success Champions

If you understand where you need help staying productive you can do some research and find the tool that works best for you, making sure your technology tools are blessing and not a curse.

links, you can download the content for offline viewing. And if you picked some really awesome content, you can send it to other Pocket users or share it to social media directly from the app.

Understand how you spend your time.

Toggl is the simple, intuitive time tracker app that you’ll actually use. It isn’t limited by device and works on your computer, tablet and phone, so no matter where or what you’re working on, your hours are being tracked. Oh, and you’ll never forget to turn this productivity app on because it sends you friendly reminders to do so.

When you’ve completed a task, take a look at the detailed report. Toggl crunches the numbers and shows you how your time was spent. You just have to analyze its findings and adjust the way you work in the future to be more productive.

Block the distractions.

Sometimes you need to be just a little more draconian in your tactics to keep yourself on task. With Cold Turkey, you can temporarily block digital distractions that slow down your productivity. The Cold Turkey platform lets you block specific distracting sites, applications, or the entire Internet for a set time frame that you control. If you attempt to access a blocked site, motivational quotes pop up to keep you focused and on track

www.DonnieBoivin.com 34

until your work is done.

It can be hard to stay focused in a digital age. Every device and tool we have beeps and flashes vying for our attention. But if you understand where you need help staying productive you can do some research and find the tool that works best for you, making sure your technology tools are blessing and not a curse.

Kevin Snow is the founder of Time On Target, a digital sales and marketing company that helps business owners use technology to generate more sales. You can reach Kevin at kevin.snow@time-on-target. com

Motivation

Unleash Your Inner Badass 35

Success Champions

The Outsourcing Corner

Choosing A Virtual Assistant

By Lorianne Vaughan Speaks

before reaching out to find an assistant, take the time to incorporate this person, their skills and their salary into your business plan.

I

n this premiere issue of the Success Champions, I want to introduce myself to those who don’t know me. I own a virtual assistance company that specializes in speakers, authors and podcasters. I know that doesn’t fit all of you (and your situations), however, we all need to learn to delegate and outsource tasks that can be done quicker (and usually better) than we can.

This can motivate us to do what we do best! We can focus on our strengths; whether that is sales, farming, artisanship, or technical expertise when we outsource the administrative functions.

Most of us started off as solopreneurs, but if we want to grow, we need to bring in help so we can scale our services and products to service more clients.

In this first issue I will talk about what YOU need to do before hiring that additional person (both virtual

www.DonnieBoivin.com 36

assistants or full-time employees).

We need to move from the employee mindset to the business owner mindset and outsource the things we don’t like doing. I think we have all had that boss that gives all the stuff they don’t want to deal with – but when outsourcing to a VA you can hire the specific person who loves to do those duties.

However, before reaching out to find an assistant, take the time to incorporate this person, their skills and their salary into your business plan. You set both of you up to fail if you don’t.

Things to determine: • What are your superpowers/ strengths on which you want to focus?

• What do you hate doing that is taking too much of your time?

• What is your budget?

• When does this need to be finished (if project based)?

• What do you want this person to accomplish for you?

• What type of person will this need to be?

I think we all have superpowers that we love bringing to the world!

If you can focus on those, your business will grow; and bringing in that person to either sell, handle administration, handle social media for you, or just keep you organized is a huge, but important, step to

Motivation growing your business. A virtual assistant is the perfect step since you won’t have to guarantee 40 hours a week (and deal with taxes, benefits and vacation pay).

But first – what can you afford? If it’s just $50 a week – for a low cost VA you could get up to 5 hours a week. Think about what you could do with those extra 5 hours….. maybe that gives you the opportunity to close one more deal…..which will bring you an great ROI! I had a client tell me that when she hired her first VA – when went from $1500 a month to a 6-figure year! Baby steps can take you places!

After determining what you do best, you probably know what hard skills you need from others…but there are some soft skills to keep in mind as well. Depending on the job – keep in mind:

The next issue will cover the hiring process, and the possibility of trade for services.

As we continue this Outsourcing Corner, I would love to know what your issues or questions may be. Feel free to pose a question by emailing me at Lorianne@LVSConsultingServices. com.

Lorianne Speaks is an expert in the area of Speaker/Author support. She amplifies the visibility of Authors/Speakers/ Messengers while they do what they love SPEAK! Lorianne has helped spearhead multiple best-selling book campaigns editing, proofing, through to launch and social media marketing to help authors create buzz and momentum throughout the social media platforms and increasing their message World-Wide. Lorianne and her team have made it their mission to empower speakers to deliver their message by handling the rest of the details!

• Personality (and does it fit with yours) • Experience in your industry • References (get them!!)

• Bottom Line: Take your time to determine what you need and what you can afford.

Hire Slow…and Fire Fast if it isn’t working.

What is it that will motivate you to hire a VA? Is it more sales because you can focus on making more deals, more time with your family since you won’t have to do all the paperwork at night, or just making your life a little easier?

Unleash Your Inner Badass 37

Think about what you could do with those extra 5 hours…..maybe that gives you the opportunity to close one more deal…..which will bring you an great ROI!

Success Champions

How to Become a guest on a podcast

By Donnie Boivin

B

eing a guest on a podcast is a great way to promote yourself, your company and your services. It is pretty simple to become a guest, I will walk you through not only how to find a podcast to be a guest on, but what do when you're on the show.

The only way to think about being a guest is by proactively reaching out to podcast hosts and promoting yourself as a potential guest. By Playing offense with your "guesting" strategy, you will find creative ways to not only become a guest but also set a number of shows you will be on each month.

There are now over six hundred thousand podcasts in the market place so why should you be a guest?

By appearing on podcasts as a guest expert for an interview or a guest co-host or panelist for an episode, you have the opportunity to market yourself and your podcast to that audience.

Once you identify the audience, you need to find these podcasts online.

There are a few ways:

You can search in iTunes for specific keywords You can browse podcasts by category on all platforms You can search on Google for podcasts that your target market might listen to You can browse online podcast directories Create a database of podcasts you want to go after with URLs and contact information.

Then its all about the numbers.

Set a number of reach-outs you will do on a daily basis when you pitch yourself Know what the show is about Listen to an episode and reference in the pitch with a few takeaways Understand what the podcast is trying to accomplish Pitch with what the audience will get out of the episode Don't be self-serving help the podcaster understand what value you will bring to the audience Don't start with â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wrote a book,â&#x20AC;? lead in why you could share your story a good podcaster when then help you promote your book

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Understand how many reach-outs you need to land a podcast guest gig Starting out targeting shows with less than 10 episodes (You are likely the first person who has asked to be a guest on the show.

Once you're on the show, help the podcaster deliver a good show by, researching before you go on about show flow and questions they may ask. Don't monologue the entire show, this is their show let them get their thoughts in Don't over-promote yourself Gently nudge that you wrote a book or that you have something to sell.

Relax its just a conversation

After the show airs Promote the show for the podcaster Send a thank you for the interview Leave them a review on iTunes Suggest another guest they may be a fit for the show Share the show again 30 days later.

We have found that if you share the show again 30 days later, you will usually get more traction with their audience. Think about a time you had heard something the first time and thought "I should reach out" then you got busy, But then you hear it again and BAM you take action. Its the same thing when you are a guest.

At the end of the day, have fun, remember its just a conversation and make the podcaster look like a champ, and you will win.

Motivation

These are the top 10 Motivational Success Champions Podcasts: Episode 198: Rich Redmond In Demand Drummer, Motivational Speaker, Mentor and Teacher http:// successchampion.live/RichRedmond Episode 173: Jonathan Lane Wrestles with His Journey Then Found His Way in Facebook Lives http:// successchampion.live/JonathanLane Episode 135: Fridays with Donnie and 10 Tips to Keep Moving Forward http://successchampion. live/Donnie135 Episode 112: Kenn Scott Played Found Stardom as a Turtle Found Further Success in Marketing http://

successchampion.live/KennScott Episode 95: Fridays with Donnie How Momentum Grows and Destroys Your Company http:// successchampion.live/Donnie95 Episode 77: Jessica Yarbrough A Single Mom Who Found Success in Finding Herself http://successchampion.live/ JessicaYarbrough Episode 44: Andy Grant 5 Time Suicide Survivor Learns There Is a Life worth Living http:// successchampion.live/AndyGrant Ep. 37 - John Burt a High-school

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Football Referee Uses His On and Off the Field Skills to Coach People to Reach Their Peak Potential http://successchampion. live/JohnBurt Episode 34: Amber Tinsley Serial Entrepreneur Learns to Win by Doing the Opposite of What People Told Her to Do http://successchampion.live/ AmberTinsley Episode 17: Judy Hoberman: How she went from being told she would not succeed to international sales guru http://successchampion.live/ JudyHoberman

Success Champions

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Motivation

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Success Champions

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