← The Goal Digger Podcast | Top Business and Marketing Podcast for Creatives, Entrepreneurs, and Women in Business
The Goal Digger Podcast | Top Business and Marketing Podcast for Creatives, Entrepreneurs, and Women in Business
844: Manifestation Meets Strategy: How to Plan the Business and Life You Dream About
00:53:56
Loading summary
Transcript3 lines
- [00:02]
Jenna Kutcher
Being able to truly visualize and put words and images to your ideal life and business. Like, what does success look and feel like for you? Take that dream and make it specific and don't be afraid to make it hyper specific to the year that we're finding ourselves in I'm Jenna Kutcher, your host of the Gold Digger podcast. I escaped the corporate world at the age of 23 with nothing more than a $300 camera from Craigslist and a dream. Now I'm running a seven figure online business that feels even better than it looks. All from my house in small town Minnesota with my family. Here, we value time as our currency. We mix the woo and the work and we are in the pursuit of building businesses that give us the freedom to live lives that we love. I've always loved turning big goals into reality and I'm here to help you do the same. This isn't just a peek behind the curtain. Come along with me and my guests as we tear the whole curtain down. Every week we tackle practical, no fluff marketing strategies and host honest discussions on what works and what doesn't. Join me and my expert guests for actionable insights to help you grow your dream business with confidence. Pull up a seat and get ready to be challenged, inspired and empowered. This is the Goal Digger podcast. Imagine this. You're sitting at your desk. Your dream board is in front of you, colorful markers in hand, the scent of a candle is burning in your face. Favorite playlist is playing on repeat. You are mapping out your dream life, the business you want to grow, the vacations you want to take, the impact you want to make. And it feels really good, doesn't it? Like you are in full on manifestation mode. Dreaming big, letting your imagination run wild and putting pen to paper with everything that you desire. But here's the thing. What happens when the candle burns out, when that playlist ends, when it's time to close a journal and actually do the work? That's the part that people don't talk about enough. Don't get me wrong, manifestation is magical, but it's not a one stop ticket to your dream life. You can't just think it, you've got to build it step by step and strategy by strategy, action by action. In today's episode, we're diving into what happens when manifestation meets strategy. I'll share how to blend the power of intention, belief and visualization with practical, actionable steps that help you bring your dreams to life. Because here's the truth. Wishing for a thriving business, a fulfilling life and big goals is only the starting point. It's the strategy, consistency, and the work behind those wishes that make them a reality. So if you're a little bit woo and a whole lot of let's get to work, then this episode is for you. Whether you're a vision board queen or a spreadsheet master, or maybe a mix of the two, I'll show you how to create a plan that bridges the gaps between where you are and where you want to go. Are you ready to dream, believe, and above all, achieve? Well, let's do this. Growing a business isn't for the faint of heart. It's a whole lot of everything. Building an audience, nurturing leads, managing channels, tracking metrics, and juggling all the moving pieces of your strategy. And let's not forget those late nights, long days and working weekends. Sound familiar? Sometimes it feels like you're wishing for just one thing to make it all a little bit easier. Well, meet Breez, HubSpot's brand new collection of AI tools built specifically for marketers just like you. With Breeze, attracting the right audience, increasing leads and turning those leads into loyal customers just got faster and dare I say, easier than ever before. Imagine less stress and more success, more wins and fewer all nighters. With Breez, you're not just keeping up, you're staying ahead. And pretty soon your business is going to have a lot to celebrate. Check out breeze@HubSpot.com marketer to learn more. That's HubSpot.com marketers. So the other night I went out to dinner with my friends that are local and there's a group of five of us, we all have kiddos at the same school, we're all mom friends and we've been doing life together for over a year and a half and we try to get together at least once a month and we often will volunteer together or see each other at drop off or pickup or try to get into a yoga class on a Friday. And so it's like my core group of friends and we rented out the back room of one of the local sushi restaurants and thank God we were in the back room because as the evening went on and as the night progressed we just got louder and louder and louder as we were talking and it's just a really special group of friends. It's just amazing having people that are in such a similar life stage with children around the same age experiencing a lot of the same things. And one of the things that I kept noticing, kept coming up in our conversation was just this inability to know where we're going next, what do we want? Like, what do we actually want? What is in alignment with the stage and season of our lives? And it just felt like for a lot of us, things just kind of felt a little murky. Like there just wasn't a lot of clarity. And I've been thinking a lot, you know, with the new year and this new energy and people just being so excited about goals and resolutions and all of this, I wanted to talk about some of the experiences I've had in some of the practices I've put into place that really combine this idea of manifestation or what I like to call the woo and bring in the action or the strategy behind it, which I also call the work. And I have been talking about this topic on this show in terms of manifestation for years because I think there is absolute power behind it. But what I think has often happened specifically in the realm of women is I feel like it's almost become two camps. There's the manifestation camp where it's like, if you think it, it'll happen. You just gotta think hard enough. And then there's like the hustle camp where it's like if you wake up earlier and work harder and do more, everything will fall into place and success is inevitable. And I don't really reside in either of those two. I think that there has to be this balance. I think there is so much power in both of those camps. But I think what I've recognized, especially in conversations with the people closest to me, including the peers in this business world, is that I think a lot of us want to find that middle ground, that beautiful place of like, I want to hold these beautiful visions for my life. But I also know that they're not just going to come to fruition just by thinking about them. That I have to be able to back them up with the right action steps and move closer to them every single day. And so as we were talking at our girls night over sushi, I really started to think about like, what are the practices that have helped me get to this stage of my life where I do feel like I have clarity. And I do know that the things I'm doing today will help me get to where I want to be tomorrow, But I also know how to enjoy today while I'm in the process. And I think that this has been a really hard fought lesson for me is like enjoying the actual journey of it as much, if not more than the destination. Maybe for you, but especially for me. I've had times in My life where I've set these really big, audacious goals, and I've just really went into grind mode to get to them. And I often achieve at the mountaintop of those goals, thinking, oh, wow, this did not feel like I thought it was going to, or I thought this would feel different. And so over the last handful of years, I've really been intentional about not just the goal setting, but, like, how do I want to feel in the process of achieving that goal? What do I want those action steps to feel like? How can I actually enjoy the journey? And if the destination isn't chalked up to what I thought it was going to be, how do I not look back and think I wasted time or I was going after the wrong thing? And what I'm going to share today, I think, is what has helped me get there. And I hope that in my own experiences, you see something that will inspire you as well. As we just approach 2025 with a lot of hope and Jo joy and hopefully some ease. So the first thing that I want to share, the first step of this process that I think is really, really powerful, is anchoring your vision, intangible goals. So one of the practices that I do, and I highly invite you to do this practice as well, is every single year for the past five years, I've created a secret Pinterest board. And I do this annually. And I just title the board whatever this year is going to be. And I spend about an hour. Sometimes I'll set an alarm. Sometimes I just let myself run wild. But I start to curate images that express not just what I want the year to look like, but how I want to experience it and how I want it to feel. And there can be really, like, tactical goals on there. Like, when my book came out, I remember thinking, oh, my gosh, I want to be in New York when my book comes out. Or wouldn't it be amazing to be on the Today show or things like that that are very, very concrete? But there are also a lot of visuals of, you know, maybe slow mornings or planting in the garden or running around with my kids. And I just try to source images that encapsulate what I want my year to look like. Think of it as like a storyboard for a shoot or a movie or a production. And I love doing this because I know that as women, we are so visual, right? Like seeing something turn something on in our brain that allows us to see that not only is this a reality, but it also allows us to envision what that reality would be for us. And so this practice is just a really, really fun one. I mean, who does not love browsing Pinterest? I teach how to market on Pinterest. But, girl, I love browsing Pinterest just as much as you do. And so I highly encourage you to anchor your vision using visuals brought to you by a place like Pinterest. And so go on Pinterest. Make a secret board, tie in some tangible goals, but also ask yourself, what are some visual representations of how you want to feel this year as you move through the year? Maybe you want to feel strong, Maybe you want to feel at ease. Maybe you want to feel expansive. Maybe you want to feel healthy. Maybe you want to feel vibrant, like, whatever those things are. And in what I was just giving as an example, I shared some of the words of the year that I used over the past few years. I know a few years ago when we were going through our fertility journey, my word of the year was surrender. Another word of my year was vibrant. And that was the year where I really got serious about my health. This last year, my word was ease. And it was just all about bringing in systems and strategies to invite more ease into my life and flow. This year, it's really about, like, spaciousness and feeling expansive. When I look at my calendar, feeling like I do have enough time for the things that matter most, and I have time to just decide how I want to use it. And so having that word can sometimes help you type the right words into the search bar to get the visuals that help represent what you want your year to be. But when I think about manifestation, I don't just think about random thoughts or visuals. Think about clarity. Being able to truly visualize and put words and images to your ideal life and business. Like, what does success look and feel like for you? Take that dream and make it specific and don't be afraid to make it hyper specific to the year that we're finding ourselves in, to the stage of life that you're in. I don't think it's necessarily helpful, you know, to pin images that don't even really align with what stage of life you're in. But, like, really look at, like, where you are and how you want to move through it, the things you want to achieve and how you want to feel in the process. The other thing that I think is really important is that when we think about manifestation, a lot of times we don't get super tangible. And I think that defining tangible outcomes help us to stay in alignment and help us to really ask ourselves, is this the actual goal? So instead of just saying like, I want to grow my business this year, I want to generate a hundred thousand dollars in revenue this year by launching what or by selling what? And so leveraging some of those really smart goal setting methods, like the smart goals, which we've talked about a million times, but leveraging it in a way that allows you to just really get specific and look at that specificity and ask yourself, is this right? Is this the right goal? Is this actually what I say is most important? And is this in alignment with that pursuit of pursuing a year that feels a certain way? I'm pretty sure that living in Minnesota means you kind of have to love winter. And honestly, winter is one of my favorite seasons. Cozy nights, fluffy socks, all the sweaters. But I could do without the dryness that it brings. My daughter has the driest hands of all time. I'm talking like painful dry skin. And so every night after she's asleep, I sneak into a room with OCD's Underia algae body butter and I lather her up. Up. It has become a sweet little evening ritual, even if she doesn't remember it in the morning. And I love knowing that I'm using something that works so well for her skin. This body butter has been a game changer for our family. It is rich and creamy, but it absorbs instantly. No greasy residue, just soft, smooth, deeply hydrated skin. And the scent. Oh, I wish you could smell it. It is this fresh, natural blend of grapefruit, lime, cypress and a hint of mango mandarin. It's like this little burst of sunshine in the winter. Now what makes it even better is know that O's products are clean, vegan, cruelty free and made of organic ingredients. It feels so good to support a family owned company that truly represents the natural world while giving us skincare that actually works. If you are ready to give your skin or someone you loves a new year, glow up. Now is the perfect time. OSEA is offering gold digger listeners 10 off of your first order site wide. Just use the code gold digger@ocmalibu.com that's O S E-A Malibu.com with the code gold digger for 10 off. I promise you your skin is about to thank you. You know that feeling when a new year starts and you are absolutely ready to get organized and crush your goals. Financial wellness is at the top of my list this year and basically every other year. And Rocket Money has been a total game changer for making that happen. Rocket Money is a personal finance App that helps you take control of your money by finding and canceling unwanted subscriptions, monitoring your spending, and even negotiating lower bills for you. They showed me all of my subscriptions in one place, including the ones I didn't even realize I was paying for and definitely not using, and it instantly saved me hundreds of dollars a month. And when they renegotiated my phone bill, that was even more money in my pocket. With zero hassle, Rocket Money doesn't just stop there. It tracks all of your spending across every account so you can see exactly where your money is going. And it even keeps an eye on your bills for price increases or unusual charges. With over 5 million users and a total of $500 million saved in canceled subscriptions, Rocket Money members save up to $740 a year when using all of the app's premium features. I am already noticing a difference in my budget just for this year. If you're ready to cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster, head to RocketMoney.com Golddigger to get started. That's RocketMoney.com Gold Digger RocketMoney.com Golddigger and so once you get to those tangible outcomes, I feel like it's a lot easier to throw in the visuals and to have those visual cues that can remind you of, like, this is the goal. This is what I'm working towards. And so for me, I like to create a digital vision board using Pinterest. But maybe you are old school. Last year, I actually ordered on Amazon. Yes, this is a thing they have, like, vision board books where it just has a bunch of beautiful graphics and it can help you just have something to tear out. Maybe you don't get magazines in the mail. I still do, but I literally went onto Amazon and ordered, like, a vision board book. And it was basically like a really thick, nice magazine where you can rip out pages and cut out pictures. And I use that to design in my office right next to me as I'm recording this, a beautiful bulletin board that just holds a lot of the things of my vision. I'm looking at it right now, and I see just, like, a lot of warmth. So I feel like, this feeling of warmth. I see healthy food, I see chickens, which is something on my vision board for this year. I want to get chickens this year. I see a campfire. I see, like, hands being held. I see cozy drinks. I see a bathtub. I see fresh garden food. And so I use that with a mix of magazines to create both a physical vision board in My office, something that I literally see every day. I have pictures of my children. I have artwork from my kids on there. And then I also create the digital vision board on Pinterest. And I feel like just spending a little time asking yourself, what encapsulates the vision? And how can I just have that visual reminder to tell my brain to see this, to imagine it for myself, and to understand that it can be real is a really great place to start. Another place to help you solidify your vision can be journaling. And so last night, I was sitting next to one of my friends, and I said, you know, I really just think you need to get your thoughts out. Like, she had so many thoughts and questions just ruminating in her brain of, like, well, what do I really want? Do I want to cut back? Do I want to cut back fully? Should I go part time? What does this look like? What would I even do with my time? What are things that bring me joy? And it was all of these questions. And I think that sometimes just journaling without feeling like you need to come to a conclusion, without feeling like you need to land with a perfect answer can really just help get thoughts out of your head. And. And we were laughing because we're like, you know, journaling would be great, but when do we have time for it? And if I'm gonna do this and do it right, like, you know, and it's like, sometimes there isn't a perfect moment or a right way to do this. Sometimes it is literally when your brain is just so overwhelmed and the thoughts are just spinning. Sitting down and getting them out of your head and asking yourself those questions or even just writing down those questions to help you get it out of your head and onto something physical can be really amazing. Another thing that I highly recommend doing is do an audio recording. So record yourself talking and describe your future as if it's already happened. And this sounds so silly. Like, it is one of those things where you might be embarrassed if somebody walked into the room while you were doing it. But I think there is so much power in it. I have friends who have done this, and they listen to it every single morning. Like, I am waking up feeling healthy and energized. I am excited for my day. My calendar feels spacious. I am excited for everything on it. I am eating healthy food. I am fueling my body. I feel energized and ready to move my body. And it. Again, it sounds silly, but when you say things as if they have already happened, there is actually something that happens in your brain that allows you to adopt the identity of that person who has already arrived. And you do act differently. Your day is approached differently. So whether it's a vision board in the flesh on a bulletin board or on a poster board, whether it's a vision board that is digital like Pinterest, whether it's a journal entry or a voice memo, all of these anchors are ideas to help you keep your vision clear and focused and to help you get it out of your head and into your life in a more tangible way. So what I would recommend doing for this step is to choose one to three key goals that represent your vision and define specific metrics for each. So I am not going wild this year and having, you know, 10 super specific smart goals because my life at this stage of life does not offer as much specificity and timeliness as I often desire in being a mom of two young kids. But I feel like having one to three key goals where like, if nothing else happens in this year but these one to three things, you will have finished a year feeling so proud of yourself, feeling so excited. And so having those specific metrics and then having those visual or audio or written down cues will again allow you to get into the headspace of somebody who has the clarity necessary to start moving towards the life or the business that they want. Once you have that vision, the second thing that I want for you to do is to reverse engineer the steps on how you are actually going to get there. Big dreams become achievable when you take the time to break them into actionable and small steps. And I'm not just talking about like small, I'm talking about like stupid small steps. Think of your goal as this mountain. We've talked about getting to the top of the mountain. Think of your goal as a mountain. And you need to reverse engineer the climb by mapping out the base camps that you need to reach along the way. So I am talking about how do you take this big specific goal and make sure that you know when December 1st rolls around you are in alignment with either having already achieved it or you are about to achieve it. And so how do we take these big audacious goals and break them into small bite sized pieces that don't leave us standing in a state of analysis, paralysis or waiting for the perfect moment or the perfect time, or the perfect website or the perfect anything to get started? How do we make it so that we feel like we are equipped to start taking action right now? And here is something that I want for you to do. I want for you to consider using ChatGPT to help you with this step of reverse engineering. Okay, let me just tell you a quick story from our girls night. So one of my friends was dealing with a situation with a family member and this whole conversation was happening through text message. And she said, she's like, I need to respond to this, but like, I honestly don't even know what to say. And she's like, here's what I really want to say, but I clearly cannot send this. And so while we were at the table, I was like, wait, wait, wait, let's do this. And so I opened up Chachi, I used the audio feature and I recorded a voice memo and I explained the situation, the context, who she needed to respond to, the tone she wanted to respond with, and what she wanted to make sure was covered in the text message. And we were all dying, laughing like tears rolling down our cheeks, laughing at how great the CHAT GPT response was. And it was one of those situations where we knew where we wanted to go and we knew what we wanted the end result to be, but we didn't know how to get there. And sometimes when we do that, especially when it comes to goal setting, we need some help breaking out the action steps. And so if you are somebody who you're like, I'm really great at setting the big audacious goals, but once I do that, I literally do not even know where to go from there. My challenge for you is to go to ChatGPT and type in all the context that you can give. The more context you can give it, the better. Think of it as a conversation where you're saying, here's the size of my business, here's what it looks like right now, here's the support I have, here's what I'm really great at, and this is a goal I want to achieve. What three steps do I need to take and what would be the preferred or recommended timeline in order to reach this goal by X, Y or Z? And the better input you give CHAT gbt, the better output it's going to give you. And here's what I'll tell you. Do not settle for the first output it gives you. That one's decent. Have it take it to a level five, have it refine it, go back and forth with it, conversate with it. Imagine that it is your business coach and they're giving you the steps. And if you're like, hey, that doesn't quite seem feasible with my schedule. Can you break it down into even smaller steps or okay, that's a great first place. Where do I start with that first step? And so, again, have that conversation. But I think that ChatGPT is incredible at helping you reverse engineer the steps so that you have a clear roadmap app that you can follow. Let me give you a personal story on this. So I remember, oh, gosh, it was probably a year and a half ago I met with Thea, and if you have read my book, Thea is just an amazing person in my life. She's the person who inspired me to actually write my book. And she is just a very intuitive, incredible human being that I met by total fate. And I had met with her, and we were sitting on the porch in Grand Marais, Minnesota, looking at Lake Superior, and it was kind of in a stage of my life in business where I just was like, I don't really know what's next. I don't feel like I have enough time to myself to even figure it out. I just feel like I'm constantly going from work to motherhood back and forth, and I feel like I just need some quiet time to myself to figure out what's next. And on that day, she was like, well, what would it take for you to get more clarity? And I said, you know, I need a little bit of time to myself where I'm not working or mothering. It's like, well, what would that look like? And we kept going further and further and further. And it was around this time where we had started to talk about this idea of, like, what would it look like to just get a little bit of help for the kids? And I want you to understand that for the first nearly five years of parenthood, we had no outside help. We'd never had a nanny. We didn't even really have a consistent babysitter. My mom would help out when she could, but as she had more grandchildren, things got busier. Her life is busy as it is. And so it was just me and Drew, like, managing kids, business, life, all the things. And so it was this idea of, like, man, wouldn't it be really nice to have somebody that could come over for, like, I don't know, eight hours a week and give us a little bit more time so that Drew can have some alone time to himself where he's not in dad mode and where I could potentially have some time to myself? And I had so much resistance because ultimately I liked this idea, but I had so many sticking points. And so Thea encouraged me to sit down, and she's like, I want for you to just write out, like, who would this dream person be? What personality would they have? What type of energy would they bring into your house? Just. Just write it down as if it were, like, the best case scenario. She's like, I want you to do this, and I want Drew to do this. And then I want for you guys to sit down and just combine notes and look at what each other wants. And we did this exercise, and it took this, like, idea, this elusive idea of, like, what could that be? And, like, how would we even find the right person and can trust them? And what if they don't have good energy and our house feels weird and are we going to enjoy having somebody in our house with us? And what about the kids? And out, you know? And it was all of these, like, unknown things that were holding us back from making any progress towards making this decision and writing it down. And just dreaming of the best case scenario gave us a jumping off point, and it gave us a ruler to hold up every piece of the process to. It helped us to create the job listing. It helped us to do interviews. It helped us to know immediately who the right person was. And we're actually losing her because she's amazing and she's going to start student teaching. But for a year and a half, we have had somebody who comes in two days a week, spend some time with the kids, helps us out around the house, and it has just been a total game changer. And I'm like, we wouldn't have even made that step, I don't think, if we hadn't sat down and started writing out what we wanted and then use that to help us make those tiny steps that got us to ultimately what we want. And. And so when we are thinking about reverse engineering the steps in order to get to where you want to go, I want for you to think about how can you break your goal into phases. So let's say your goal is your annual outcome. Like, what do you want this at the end of the year? What is the outcome that you want to have happen? Then you want to break it into quarterly milestones. Then from quarterly milestones, you want to break it into monthly targets. And if you want to get really specific, you can bring it down into weekly actions. Imagine if just once a week, you were doing one small task or activity that got you closer to that bigger goal. And imagine the feeling of knowing what that small activity or action was so that you had clarity that you were actually moving in the right direction. So, for example, maybe your goal is to grow Your email list by 5,000 subscribers. And your quarterly target then might be 1250 subscribers. Your monthly target would be 400 subscribers. And your weekly actions might include creating a new lead magnet, running ads, sharing a call to action on social media, getting on someone else's podcast to share your lead magnet. Like, when you start to see, like, okay, I have this big goal, so now what is that going to look like? How do I know if I'm pacing? How do I know what to do first? This helps. So, annual outcome into quarterly milestones, into monthly targets, into weekly actions. Here's where I want to offer one tip when we get into this. I love specificity, but I also think you have to invite in flexibility, manifestation, especially when we think of it at its core of just this idea of like, this belief and having it turn into reality. It thrives on adaptability. You have to stay resilient and adaptable because guess what? We know that each year is going to have items on our bingo card that we didn't put on there. We know that life, life has twists and turns. And so you want to make sure that while you have these objectives in place, you also stay flexible. Maybe new opportunities or challenges are going to arise when they do that. You need to be able to refine your plan without losing sight of that ultimate vision. And I would argue that when you know what you're aiming at and when you know what actions you should be taking, you can pivot a lot easier than if you had no idea how you were planning to get there in the first place. And so, for a practical step in terms of engineering, I would argue, get onto ChatGPT, feed it that prompt, start with one goal at a time and get really specific. Tell ChatGPT this is the outcome I want at the end of this year. Can you break this down into quarterly milestones, monthly targets, and weekly actions? Go back and forth with it. Make sure you get a plan in place that you feel good about. Then I would sit down and write out a timeline. And so take that goal, write out the timeline for it. What needs to happen in the next 12 months? What are the three biggest action steps or milestones that will tell you you are in alignment with achieving that goal? And then what small steps can you take, even this week to get started? And so again, adding that practicality to this idea of manifestation is what I believe actually moves the needle the most. You know, I love finding tools that make running a business even easier. And so I'm so excited to share with you a tool that I swear by, which is Gusto. It's an all in one payroll, benefits and HR platform and I love it so much I recently made my entire team switch to it with Gusto. Payroll is fast and super simple whether you're handling W2s or 1099s. But that's just the beginning. You can offer health benefits, 401k plans and so much more, all tailored to nearly any budget. Their software is super simple. It's all online. You can access it from anywhere. And you can run unlimited payroll for one monthly price with no hidden fees and taxes. Gusto takes care of those too, automatically filing and paying them across all 50 states. Businesses save on average $2,600 48 hours a year by switching. No wonder four out of five businesses say Gusto is worth it. Here's the best part. Gusto is giving you gold diggers three months for free when you run your first payroll. Head to gusto.comgolddigger to snag this offer. That's gusto.com gold digger. Don't miss out. Goal diggers. It's 2025 and I have a quick reality check. If your B2B marketing strategy isn't improving your ad targeting, your message just might be getting lost in the noise. But don't worry, I've got a fix for you. LinkedIn Ads lets you get specific. And I'm talking really specific if you want to connect with the decision makers, CEOs or professionals in your dream industry. LinkedIn makes it so easy to do that. With over 130 million decision makers and 10 million C level execs on the platform, you can get your ad in front of the exact people who can say yes. And it's not just about who you reach, it's about the results. In the tech industry, LinkedIn ads generated two to five times higher return on ad spend than other social media platforms. Plus 79% of B2B marketers say LinkedIn gives them the best results for paid media. It's where serious marketers go to win. Are you ready to give it a try? Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. We'll even give you $100 credit on your next campaign. Go to LinkedIn.com goal to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.com G O A L terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn the place to be to be okay, the third piece of this is to take aligned micro actions daily. So let me tell you a story and I wrote about this story in my book. How are youe really, because it absolutely changed my life. So when we were going through our challenges and I had just suffered from my second miscarriage, I was in a very dark place. I feel like after my first loss, I just kind of felt like it was a fluke, and I'm using it to change narrative around miscarriage. It was in a time where people didn't really talk about loss, and I just felt like I was sharing it very openly. But the second time it happened, I was mad, I was angry, I was upset, I was lost. I felt like my dream was being ripped away from me. It was a really, really hard stage life. And one of my friends, Aaron Trelor, who runs an account called Raw Beauty, Talks, she's an Internet friend of mine, she could sense where I was at in my life at that time. And she asked me, you know, can we get on the phone together and let me just, like, walk through this grief with you? And we did these weekly calls, and I wanted to cancel them every single time. And yet every single time, I felt a little bit lighter and a little bit better. And on one of the calls, she did this visualization exercise with me, and it totally changed my life. And in that exercise, it wasn't just like envisioning your future. It was like putting your finger into your finger slots. Put your toes into your toe slots. Like, feel the feeling of being fully aligned and awake and vibrant and excited about your life. Like, you are the most healthy version of yourself. You are showing up for yourself and others in a way that doesn't take away your energy, in a way that you energy. And I remember sitting in this blue chair and just tears just streaming down my cheeks. And my vision was. And I've shared this vision before, but I want to share it with you today. Is this little girl sitting at this long table, and there's a red Persian rug, and there's pancakes, and there's laughter and warmth in my kitchen. And this vision at the time was so painful as someone who had just experienced her second loss. But it was so real. Like, I could hear the laughter. I could smell the pancakes. I was so in the vision, I could see I had a specific pair of light wash madewell jeans on and a white linen top. Like, it was just so specific. And what was interesting and what was so beautiful about it is that I recognized when I came out of that vision that there were things in my life that I couldn't necessarily control. I couldn't make myself get pregnant and hold that pregnancy that wasn't in my control. But there were pieces of that vision that were in my control. When I first did that exercise, we were living in Wisconsin in a old Craftsman house on the river. And my vision wasn't there. And it was a really hard wake up call of like, I am envisioning something that feels different, that looks different. And that was part of what led us back to Minnesota to the house that we had bought. Hot. And the vision had me dressed in jeans and a white linen top. And I looked down when I opened my eyes after doing this exercise, and there I was in yoga pants with dog fur all over them and a T shirt from college. And I was like, I'm not even dressing the part of someone who feels awake and alive and energized. And I cannot make this baby just appear into my life. But I can start, start dressing the part. I can start putting the jeans on. I can start flipping the pancakes. I can start looking on Zillow for the home. I can, I can do all of these things to get myself ready to be ready for that blessing of that beautiful little girl who's laughing and giggling at the table. And I clung to this vision day in and day out. And I started to accept and clothe myself in this identity of someone who is ready for that blessing, someone who is was stepping up to the plate. I was no longer waiting for the baby to come, to become that version of myself. I was becoming that version of myself while I was waiting. And there's this quote that I clung to in that season of waiting. And maybe it will land with you today. But sometimes the season of waiting is just as important as what it is that we're waiting for. And I found that to be true time and time again in that season. And so I promise myself I'm going to work through this season, not work from a place of hustle, but just work to be ready for the blessing when it will come. And so what is this story to tell you? It's about taking micro actions. Because manifestation without action is simply just daydreaming. But when you have these small, consistent actions, when you dress the part, when you start to embody that identity, when it is all aligned with your vision, that is what turns those dreams into a reality. And so if you can start to focus on actions that feel meaningful and connected to your identity as someone who has already achieved that goal, you will get there faster. Like, I shared my version of that. But maybe like, you're visualizing yourself as a successful course creator. Well, spend time today designing your course outline or Engaging with your audience to validate the idea, get yourself in the arena and start to embody the person who has already achieved the success you want to. Because when you start to do that, you're going to progress. And when you progress, you can track that progress daily and you can start to build momentum and confidence. And what I have found is that when you start to accept that identity as your own, as someone who has already achieved the thing or already made the change, or already is moving towards that goal, you show up differently. And momentum is naturally coming. And confidence comes with consistency. And when you start to be consistent, it is impossible to not make progress. And so maybe you make something like a manifestation tracker where you are tracking your micro actions that align with your vision. Maybe you create a habit tracker where you know these specific habits are going to move you towards a healthier you. I've used a habit tracker where, where it's as simple as like taking my morning supplements, drinking water, getting 30 grams of protein before 9am, not drinking more than two caffeinated drinks, making even some of those small actions something that you can track. Because those micro actions that align you with your vision are going to be the actions that actually move you towards it. And at the end of each day, there's nothing better. I tell you, there's nothing better than checking off the actions that are moving you closer to your goal and having that visual representation that, yes, you in fact, are moving towards it. So what are some micro actions? These could be as simple as sending a pitch email, writing one page of your book, meditating on your goal for five minutes, moving your body, drinking more water. It doesn't have to be big. In fact, I would argue that the things that are so stupid small are the actions that you are more likely to follow through on and the actions that will likely carry you closer to the goal itself. So, in closing, I wanted to do something really special today. So a while back, I had the honor of sitting down with Dr. Tara Swart. She is a neuroscientist, she's an executive coach. She's also the author of a book called the Source. And Tara is one of those incredibly rare humans who helps bridge the gap between science and spirituality. She is the queen of making concepts like manifestation and visualization feeling not only approachable, but grounded in neuroscience. She is a life changer. And I just, I can't get enough of her. And so what I wanted to do is I wanted to walk you through this insanely powerful visualization exercise that had my audience buzzing when the episode aired, and I have friends in my life that literally tell me they listen to this exercise nearly daily to this day. Like, that episode keeps getting plays. Because I know that there are certain people in my audience who listen to this specific exercise over and over and over again. And because this episode is all about pairing belief with action, I couldn't think of a better time to share this exercise with you once again. So Tara is going to lead you through an exercise called Portals. And I just invite you, no matter where you are, however you are listening to this, to get into a space where you can do this work right now. Like, I want this manifestation, this visualization to start before this episode ends. And so I invite you to take a deep breath, to get ready to experience a tool that might just shift your perspective on what you're going after this year and what's truly possible for you. And so, without further ado, here is the Portals exercise from my dear friend, Dr. Taurus Wartime. And then we'll insert that in right here. And then I'm going to close out this episode. Wow. Wasn't that incredible? Can you just see why people want to listen to that every single day? It is such a beautiful representation of how we can view ourselves differently and how we can start to experience that feeling of success before we've even achieved it. It. And as we look ahead in this year, I really want to remind you that where the woo meets the work is where the magic happens. Have those beautiful visions for your life, hold fast to them, have those reminders of what it is that you're working towards, but also be willing to take those micro actions to reverse engineer, to take the steps necessary to achieve the results that you want to achieve. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you know someone in your life that would benefit from this specific episode, take a minute and just share this episode with them. It's so easy to share an episode and then have a discussion about it. I find so much richness in being able to vocalize and share our visions of success with others in our lives. And I think that the exercises shared in today's episode can change someone's life. So go ahead, share this episode, change somebody's life. And thank you again for listening to the Gold Digger podcast. Until next time, keep undigging your biggest goals. Thanks for pulling up a seat for another episode of the Gold Digger podcast. I hope today's episode fueled you with inspiration, gave you information that you can turn into action, and realigned you with your true north in life. And business. If you've enjoyed today's episode, head on over to gold diggerpodcast.com for today's show notes, discount codes for our sponsors, freebies to fuel your results, and so much more. And if you haven't yet, make sure you're subscribed so that you never miss a future show. We'll see you next time. Gold Diggers. I want to put you on the spot and you can 1 million percent decline, but would you be willing to lead us through a little manifestation exercise?
- [46:05]
Dr. Tara Swart
Okay, no. I've got an exercise that goes really beautifully with what we've just spoken about, and it is in the book. It's called Portals, and if anyone gets a book on audible, then it's my voice that reads it out. So you could have it forever. But now you'll have it for free on the podcast. So, basically, I will ask you to make sure you're sitting comfortably and that you won't be interrupted for the next few minutes or so. And just to take a big deep breath. And as you breathe out, close your eyes. And then keep breathing quite deeply, a little bit deeper than you normally do, perhaps, and focus on the out breath being longer than the in breath. And even when you think you've breathed out as far as you possibly can, breathe out a little bit more, because we can always let go of more and then just return your breathing to normal. And I'm going to ask you to do a scan of your body, but the inside of your body. So starting at the crown of your head, inside your skull, just imagine a liquid pouring over the inside of your skull, cleansing your brain, cleansing your spinal cord, cleansing those muscles around your neck and shoulders and flowing down the inside of your arms, cleansing all of your nerves and veins and arteries and your arms and legs, cleansing your heart and lungs, cleansing your guts, your liver, your kidneys, and then just flowing out of your toes as you lengthen your toes and evaporating into the air around you. Now, as you focus on your toes and your feet and your mind's eye, you suddenly become aware that you're standing at the top of a flight of 12 stone steps, steps within a mountain range. You can feel the breeze on your skin and your hair and clothes flowing gently in that breeze. You feel the warmth of the sun and you can hear birdsong in the distance. Now, maintaining your focus on your feet, I'd like you to very slowly walk down those 12 steps with your right foot. First on step 12, left foot step 11, right foot step 10, and all the way down to the bottom of the stairs, counting in your mind's eye. When you get to the bottom of the stairs, you see a door carved into the stone of the rock in front of you. Push that door open and enter the cave inside the mountain. It's dimly lit, but after a while you see that there are five full length mirrors in the cave. They could be oval or rectangular. They could be on stands or hanging from the ceiling. Walk over to the first mirror. In the first mirror, you're wearing only your underwear. And you can see by the tone of your muscles and the glow in your eyes that this is a body that has been well nourished with healthy food. You're the picture of glowing health, the healthiest you've ever seen yourself. Send a snapshot of this image to the memory centers of your brain so that you can always recall it whenever you need to. Now, with a deep breath and one last look at your very healthy, glowing, relaxed body, move over to the second mirror. In this mirror, you're wearing your sports clothes. And you can see from your posture and the tautness of your muscles and the tone of your whole body that this is a body where you've exercised gently just enough to have it at its peak. But you've never pushed yourself too far. You haven't tried to look away. That's not natural for you. You're looking the best physically that you ever could, and you're the fittest that you've ever been in your life. Just drink in the feeling of what that feels. Once you feel full of that physical confidence, move over to the third mirror. In this mirror, you're in the sharpest business suit or whatever appropriate clothing for your profession you could be in. You can tell just by the office or area that you're standing in that you have reached the peak of career success. You look confident. There are all sorts of accolades and symbols of success around you. And you're not that much older than you are now, so you know that you're going to become super successful really quite sooner than you thought you would. How does that feel? With a really good look at the shoes and all the symbols of success that would mean something to you. Move over to the fourth mirror. In this mirror, you're in a casual social environment with all the people that you love and who love you around you. You're smiling and laughing, you're so relaxed. Who's in this mirror with you? Who's not, as you look at yourself, just so happy and loved you smile and you see that reflected in the mirror. When you've taken this in to your heart's content, move over to the fifth and final mirror. In this mirror, you see a combination of everything that you've seen in the other mirrors. Fit, healthy, confident, happy, successful, loved. But as you look closer, this isn't a mirror. It's a portal. And as you step through it, you know that something has changed in your brain forever. Something good. Once you've stepped through it, you find yourself with your back to the door of the cave and the 12 steps in front of you. Imagine yourself almost running or gliding up these steps, but start to bring your focus back to your feet as you ascend the stairwell. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. And with a deep breath, just bring yourself back into your room, back into your body, back to this podcast. And just start to gently wiggle your fingers and toes. Focus on your breathing, returning it to normal. And when you're ready, open your eyes.
- [54:04]
Jenna Kutcher
Oh, my goodness. That was a gift.