Clearing Obstacles - Blissful Amition Best Self Coaching, LLC

Leading with Empathy - Redefining Leadership, Self-worth, and Ambition
In the exciting premiere of Season 2 on the Clearing Obstacles podcast, we delve into the profound concepts of leadership, relationships, and reciprocity. We challenge traditional paradigms and explore the importance of offering care, compassion and understanding to yield extraordinary results in the workplace. Discover fresh insights from our distinguished guest Stephanie Harrison, founder of The New Happy, on achieving authentic happiness and redefining your world.
Transcending Society's Norms: Breaking Free from Self-Doubt and Embracing Blissful Ambition
In this enlightening dialog, we expose the high toll exacted by societal expectations and our self-esteem's dependence on success. We underline the significance of separating our self-worth from achievements and introduce the practical "breakup method" to bring you closer to self-growth and resilience. Confront the illusion that happiness equates to success, and explore how Stephanie's bespoke visual art presents personal development concepts, creating a bridge for those hesitant with traditional content. Face your fears with us, acknowledging it as a protector rather than a deterrent, and unlock blissful ambition.
Empowerment through Fear: Strategies to Ignite Confidence and Leadership Growth
We will also take a journey into the art of facing fears, building self-confidence, and the pivotal importance of leadership in personal growth. We unlock potent strategies for befriending fear and delve into the power of written fears. Explore care in leadership with us and its direct link to motivation, performance, and organizational success. Imbibe practical tips on navigating self-worth and fulfilling role expectations to manifest personal, professional, and leadership growth.
Empathy and Mindfulness: The Pillars of Effective Leadership
The episode delves into the significant role of empathy and mindfulness in effective leadership. Uncover the profound impact of daily positive actions compounded over time. Learn the "love map" concept to understand, value, and nurture your employees' inner world, leading to stronger professional relationships. Explore the 'mirror strategy,' a powerful tool to validate, boost self-esteem, and unlock potential in your employees. Discover how simple acts of empathy at the workplace can translate into profoundly positive outcomes as we dive into powerful anecdotes of impactful leadership.
https://www.thenewhappy.com/book
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https://bestself.coach
 
 

Welcome to "Clearing Obstacles," a dynamic podcast dedicated to leaders, emerging leaders, and anyone who aspires to lead effectively. This is an invaluable resource for any organization, large or small, because effective leadership is the key to any entity's success.In Season 2, we're bringing listeners even more insights into the world of leadership. We've invited thought leaders from all corners of the globe, each with a unique and enlightening perspective on how to redefine and reimagine leadership in our rapidly changing world.Our topics of discussion include vision and authority, accountability, management, culture, vulnerability, and beyond. We believe these are the key aspects of leadership that today's leaders should master. After all, the success of any vision often depends on how well it is driven by its leaders. Our esteemed guests will contribute a blend of theoretical knowledge and practical experience, offering listeners an insightful and balanced understanding of leadership principles. So, get ready to step into your potential as we clear away the obstacles that stand between you and effective leadership.Cue the music, and get ready for an enlightening and inspiring journey into the heart of leadership with the second season of "Clearing Obstacles".

“If you're always distracted by going from one thing to the next, to the next, you'll never get enough traction to be able to share the gifts of this profoundly successful real estate agency,” explains host Dan. With entrepreneurs, there is never a shortage of good ideas. The hard part is reigning those ideas in, and staying focused on your actual overall goal. Today, host Dan is joined by Gretchen and Bobby Harttown, the owners and operators of Go Big Island Life, a real estate agency in Hawaii to discuss the obstacles that are keeping them from maximizing their potential.
 
Gretchen and Bobby’s goal with their business is to make a big impact within their community. Where they are struggling currently is with the ability to focus and keep one another accountable. Dan suggests that they find a group or a coach that can provide a more objective perspective and help them stay more accountable to their commitments. When asked what their 3 year vision is for the agency, Gretchen and Bobby did not have an exact idea of this vision, nor a written plan for how to get them there. Dan explained that their first step would be to get aligned on their vision for the business and learn how to say ‘no’ to the ideas that are not worth their time and energy. 
 
Next Actions:
• Consider bringing in a freelancer or part time employee who can do technician & logistical work, specifically, to free up 5 hours (or more!) per week for their schedule.
• Isolate the parts of their marketing strategy that work best for them and put more of the resources toward those. Say no to distractions and stay focused on the goal.
• Identify your ideal customer and pre-qualify people early on through psychographics and demographics of your prospects.
 
Quotes
• “By not maximizing your potential, you're also not able to serve or help as many people as you otherwise could.” (0:26 | Dan) 
• “How we get there is as important to where and when we get there for us.” (11:00 | Bobby)
• “One of the things that we've been talking about as far as our marketing is to be really impactful in the community.” (14:30 | Gretchen)
• “Find a group or a coach or somebody that can hold your feet to the fire and pin you down on your commitments and then support you in achieving those commitments.” (27:10 | Dan)
• “If you're always distracted by going from one thing to the next, to the next, you'll never get enough traction to be able to share the gifts of this profoundly successful real estate agency.” (32:48 | Dan)
• “In not honing your ability and having the discipline, the focus to say no to those things that are not worth your time, you're denying those who will be worthy of saying yes to because you're too distracted.” (1:18:33 | Dan)
 
Links
Connect with Gretchen & Bobby Harttown:
Website: Gobigislandlife.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gobigislandlife/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gobigisland/
Essentialism, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeown
 
Clearing Obstacles: The Customer Journey
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“One thing I have learned is just to go slow, and build the systems as we go,” shares Adam Smolak, founder and owner of Entity EcoTherapy. While Adam does have a systems implementation plan in place and knows what needs to be done for his business to scale successfully, he still finds himself struggling with overwhelm from wearing so many hats as an entrepreneur. Today, host Dan is joined by Adam to discuss the next steps required for him to reduce that overwhelm and reach his business goals by his August 2024 deadline. 
 
Being the President, Owner, CEO, CFO and staff manager all rolled into one can quickly become overwhelming. Adam knows that to sustain his business and have the freedom he wants for spending time with his family, he will need to hire more specialized staff such as a support coordinator and a participant coordinator. His operations manual is around 85% complete and from Dan’s suggestion, Adam is going to mark time on his calendar for continually revising and improving the manual. Dan shares that the best way to handle overwhelm is to reduce the uncertainty by setting realistic timelines for each step with buffer room, delegating tasks out, and designing his systems in reverse order.
 
Next Actions
• Make a list of what is missing from each of your systems. In Adam’s case these are his operations manual, his onboarding manual and his hiring manual.
• Design the systems required in reverse order. This way you will not have to play as much catch up down the line.
• Play Tetris with the tasks for each system by assigning staff and resources based on priority. Outline what each staff member is responsible for and set up a timeline with enough buffer room.
 
Quotes
• “Overload means there's too much on your plate. Overwhelm means your relationship to that overload is dysfunctional.” (15:38-15:44 | Dan)
• “I probably do get overwhelmed because there is a sheer amount of work. However, not all that work has to be done at once. So I prioritize those things. At the same time, I do know that I will have to introduce new staff members to help me.” (17:00-17:16 | Adam)
• “Before you grow, make sure you've got functionality within the business, otherwise you just scale dysfunction.” (17:41-17:47 | Dan)
• “One thing I have learned is just to go slow, and build the systems as we go.” (18:23-18:30 | Adam)
• “There's a pattern with myself where I get really uncomfortable  and I'm forced to do things. And that's when the business grows the most.” (28:25-28:35 | Adam) 
• “If we were doing work together on a client call right now, Adam, I would say pull open your calendar right now, and isolate two or three days where you can dedicate to those revisions… This is the reverse engineering process when it comes to time, money and people, resources. So it doesn't catch you by surprise.” (34:54-35:31 | Dan) 
 
Links
Connect with Adam Smolak:
Website: www.entityecotherapy.com.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091285465126

Clearing Obstacles:
clearingobstacles.com

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“Start with what's most imperative for your life, that essential purpose. And then let's build a business that we can make sure fits that,” explains host Dan. Today, Dan is joined by the co-founders of Steph & Co, Jeffrey and Stephanie Chapman, to discuss the next steps for their business after scaling down and modifying this past year, as well as take a look at redesigning their KPI scorecard to include both trackable data and intangible or emotional KPIs. 
 
In 2022, Jeffrey and Steph rebranded their business from Clay by Steph to Steph and Co, moving operations to Nashville from California, and downsizing the team back to just the two of them. They also began a transition to working with less labor intensive materials to make their jewelry products. Instead of working their lives around their business, they wanted to start putting higher priority on their family and home life after the birth of their youngest child. Although the brand was successful before the changes, these value-based decisions ensure that the rebranded business will fit in better with Steph and Jeff’s lives. 
 
Next Actions:
• Switch the sequencing. Instead of building your life around your business, build your business around the life that you want to have.
• Some KPIs are not just numbers and business data. Emotional KPIs like how you feel each day about your business are just as important to keep in mind when making decisions.
• Measure your business against the three pillars of relationships, expectations, and balance.
 
Quotes
• “Start with what's most imperative for your life, that essential purpose. And then let's build a business that we can make sure fits that.” (0:25-0:33 | Dan)
• “Our long term vision for the company was always to make it less labor intensive than it was.” (9:10-9:15 | Jeffrey) 
• “We rebranded the company early 2022, as a step towards giving us the flexibility in the long run of leveraging some more of these products that we are offering that might not require so much overhead in the transition period.” (9:44-9:56 | Jeffrey)
• “Economy changing was one factor, and seeing numbers start to drop, that are KPIs that we've been tracking for a while, and trying to figure out what inputs were causing that.” (13:38-13:47 | Jeffrey)
 
Links
Connect with Jeffrey and Stephanie Chapman:
Website:  shopstephandco.com
 
Clearing Obstacles:  clearingobstacles.com
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“Critical thinking is impossible without imagination. So, thinking is a creative process,” explains Nick Lawler, founder and CEO of Sukha Business Coaching, which offers business coaching, research services, and consultancy. Today, Nick joins host Dan to talk about critical thinking and why it is important for business owners. He shares six steps that critical thinking entails as well as actionable tasks you can take to begin creating a work culture that encourages curiosity, creativity, and thinking critically. 
 
One of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs is allowing their own limited thinking to get in the way of achieving their goals. In order to clear that obstacle, business owners must learn how to think critically and be more mindful of their process and approach to solving problems. Instead of just running on autopilot and continuing to be blocked by blind spots in your thinking patterns, try writing down the best question you can think of. Then, gather evidence based data, check the validity of that data, and collaborate with others who can see around your blind spots and give their feedback. 
 
Next Actions:
• Create a space and a structure to give yourself room for thinking critically. Be mindful of which places allow for the space and structure that you need such as while in the shower, walking the dog, gardening, or reading. 
• Start writing down the questions and ideas you think of. Make your question as specific and clear as possible.
• Get feedback on your written ideas through collaboration. This will help you to see around your blind spots. 
 
Quotes
• “The biggest obstacle we face that we need to clear is how our limited thinking stops us achieving the goals we want to achieve.” (7:40-7:50 | Nick) 
• “Make the question small enough to be specific and make the question small enough that you have a good chance of being able to answer it clearly.” (25:42-25:55 | Nick)
• “Don't do your thinking before you do your writing. Start writing, because that's what will help your thinking.” (33:35-33:41 | Nick)
• “Critical thinking is impossible without imagination. So, thinking is a creative process.” (37:53-38:00 | Nick)
• “Create some space and some structure that gives you thinking time.” (43:33-43:38 | Nick) 
 
Links
 
Connect with Nick Lawler:
Website: https://www.sukhayoga.co.uk
 
Clearing Obstacles:
Website:clearingobstacles.com 
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm