Created for This with Danielle Roberts Danielle Roberts

It’s so good to have someone help you work through this topic when it can be a challenge to know how to care for others.
Kari Bartkus is a Spiritual Director to hurting Christian women but uses a modern-day letter-writing approach perfect for those drawn to quiet spaces and written words.
Kari shares her acronym CARE from her book, Courageous Care: Helping others even when you’re afraid.
 
C - Courageously compassionate
A - Authentically taking action
R - Relying on God
E - Ever mindful of the other person
 
How to care for others as either an introvert or an extrovert.
 
“We want the other person to know they are seen, loved, and taken care of.”
 
How to care for those who are not in your close group of friends or family.
 
How to practically apply your spiritual gifts when caring for others.
Spiritual Gifts Survey courtesy of Dr. Tom Rush - Listen to his podcast episode on using your spiritual gifts here. 
How to avoid burnout as a caregiver.
Know who your people are to serve in this season. It can be as simple as your family or extended family. Have a ministry of intercession - pray for those around you. Prayer is the most powerful thing you can do for others.  
5 Creative Ways to Rest, Refresh, and Renew
 
Look at how the person you’re caring has cared for others in the past or how the receive care best - mirror that.
 How to work through your own trauma and hurt through journaling in Kari’s program Journal Gently. The program allows you to help others out of your own wholeness instead of your hurt.
 Click here to comment on ways you’ve found to give back and care for others.
 
Buy Kari’s book Courageous Care 
Join Kari’s Journal Gently program 
Follow Kari on Instagram 

In this episode of Created for This, I’m talking with Ron Simmons who served as a state representative, CEO of a wealth management company, and is a father and grandfather.
 
We’re talking about Ron Simmons’ book Life Lessons from the Little Red Wagon.
In this episode of Created for This, I’m talking with Ron Simmons who served as a state representative, CEO of a wealth management company, and is a father and grandfather.
 
We’re talking about Ron Simmons’ book Life Lessons from the Little Red Wagon.
 
Intentionality - why has it been so important in your life, and why should it be important for others? If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll be surprised when you get there. You have to have an idea of where you’re going so you can get there.
 
Determining the next step and getting uncomfortable - It’s not a matter of not knowing what the step is, it’s a matter of taking the next step. Ron gives a few steps to help you do this.
 
A lot of times, the fear of failure is greater than the joy of success.
 
How Ron’s view of Jesus helps him deal with the fear of failure. 
 
How to overcome perfectionism and move forward. We have to purposefully find people who help us and push us to action instead of staying stuck in inaction.
 
Ron’s number one piece of advice for business owners: stick with your idea instead of moving on to the next idea too quickly.
Secondly, don’t make your business about you. Make it so you can sell it to others or pass it on to your children.
 
Listening to the Bible is how Ron reads through his Bible (pray.com). Listening to the Bible counts as Bible reading.
 
Making room for rest and relaxation. John Maxwell says you’re cheating yourself if you don’t take time to rest. Find what rejuvenates you.
 
Referenced in the episode:
Life Lessons from the Little Red Wagon by Ron Simmons
Thinking for a Change by John Maxwell
Prayer app - pray.com
Ron’s email: ron@ronsimmons.com
 
About Ron Simmons
 The Honorable Ron Simmons served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives. He served on the Appropriations, Transportation, Elections, Homeland Security, and Business & Industry Committees while in the Texas House.
 
In business, Ron was the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Retirement Advisors of America (RAA). RAA is a wealth management company and, at the time of its sale to another investment firm in 2019, managed over $3 billion for approximately two thousand retired commercial airline pilots from all the major airlines who resided in all fifty states and multiple foreign countries.
 
In 2019, Governor Greg Abbott appointed Ron as chairman of the board of Texas Mutual Insurance Company, an exclusive worker compensation insurance provider located in Texas with over $1 billion in annual revenue serving over seventy thousand companies located in Texas. Simmons is an advisor to the CEOs of The Heritage Foundation and the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
 
Ron is the son of two public school teachers and has been married to his wife, Lisa, for more than forty years. He and Lisa have three children: Justin, an assistant US Attorney in the Justice Department; Daniel, who is on the autism spectrum and a fantastic artist and hard worker; and Allie Beth, a podcast host (Relatable), author, and speaker. Their crowning achievement, though, is their five grandchildren!
You can find Ron on LinkedIn or Twitter.
 
There are affiliate links in this episode. At no cost to you, I receive a small percentage for recommending this product - thank you for supporting my family and me through your purchase.

Today's guest, Dianna Kokoska, can be found on Instagram, or her website.
You can order the book through my affiliate link on Amazon. 
 
In this episode, Dianna shares:
 
How being a wife and mom has impacted her business. How she started her business as a single mom who pulled her kids door to door in a little red wagon. 
 
She found serving people and listening to their stories is how you can add value.
 
“Make people feel important because they are. Treat every one of us is a child of God. Because we are.”
 
“Every number or sale represents a person and every person has a story.” 
 
The book is full of step-by-step things we can do to train our brain to have a new story, write that new story, and be responsible for that new story. 
 
How to get people to tell you their story and share how you can add value to their lives.
Love people
Say hello and see if they’ll say hello back
Ask and be curious about them
Practice
 
“Feel uncomfortable and do it anyway.”
 
Take that next bold step.
 
Living boldly as a person of faith understands they have to be the person who is able to do what they want to do and then they can give back to the world. Personal growth takes over and you can retrain your brain.
 
Our thoughts become our beliefs, or beliefs become our values, and your values become our subconscious mindset coupled with emotions, and that becomes your actions.
 
Belief is an idea, faith is a conviction. When you put belief, faith, and trust together, you have a winning combination. When we change the way we look at things, it gives our lives a new perspective.
 
95% of our success is based on our mindsets. There are 14 different mindsets defined in Dianna’s book. There are seven that liberate and seven that limit.
 
The actions you can take to help your mindset, eliminate anxiety and depression. 
 
How we can change the entitlement mindset and bring them to a mindset of gratitude. Understanding a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. We can teach our kids, and ourselves, how to change our mindset.
Through struggle is where birth comes joy.
 
What she learned through reading brain scans and the power of writing 5 things people were grateful for. 
 
Dianna’s number one business lesson: “Each one of us is leader in our own right. We are responsible to help empower those people we’re leading. As a leader, empowering those people, look for the greatness in them. Everyone’s been given a gift. The question is, have they opened that up and discovered that gift. Sometimes that means pushing them to open that up. Sometimes that means getting uncomfortable.”

Mentioned in this Episode:
 
Mindset by Carol Dweck 
 
Dr. Daniel Aman 
 
Becoming More by Dianna Kokoszka
More about Dianna:
Dianna Kokoszka is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, author, and mentor. As an award-winning business leader, she has established herself as a prominent figure in the business world, developing many leaders during her longevity. Dedicating thirteen years as CEO of KW MAPS Coaching and Training at Keller Williams Realty International, she played a pivotal role in propelling the company to become the largest and most profitable coaching enterprise in the real estate industry. As an innovator, creator, and author of the KW BOLD Experience and Coaching Skills Camp she helped lead the company to be recognized as the number one training company in the world. She is a board member of Growing Leaders, a John Maxwell Leadership Foundation Organization, and captures every opportunity to journey alongside EQUIP Leadership Inc., a non-profit dedicated to instilling values in individuals and transforming nations.
Dianna is a practitioner of Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and a founding member of the John Maxwell Team of Certified Coaches (IMC). As a lifelong learner, she has followed and been mentored by John C. Maxwell since the mid-1990s. Her greate

Today’s guest is Kathy Dixon, founder and CEO of Oh Yes! Communications. Today she will guide us through how to grow a successful business, sharing the importance of organization, flexibility, and staying grounded in our day-to-day through faith and relationship.
 
In this episode, we discussed:
Addressing our weaknesses in business and how to learn from them
Her background as first generation and how it has contributed to her growth as a business owner
Being aware of what God has for you and your business in His timing
Learning to be flexible and balance life in different seasons
How to delegate and grow a team effectively  
“Sometimes you have to be okay taking a back seat…I wasn’t missing out on anything. What God had for me is going to be there, when it’s my time.” - Kathy
 
Kathy is a fierce boy mom of 3, a military wife, a fluent Spanish speaker, and Owner of marketing company Oh Yes! Communications. Her past clients range from National Geographic, Oprah, and several small to mid-sized multi-generational US-based brands.
You can find Kathy on LinkedIn and @ohyeskathy on Instagram. You can also visit her website at ohyescommunications.com to connect with her marketing team.
 

Lewis and I talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI), using it in our business, and how to move forward as Christians. He walks us through what his thoughts are from a technical and theological integrated, biblical aspect.
A few points we cover:
The question of “should AI be used” is one thing we discuss. Additionally, we look at ChatGPT and how it works. One big takeaway from Lewis is to have caution and discernment when interacting with any type of technology, but especially AI. Lewis’s advice for business owners on how to think through ChatGPT. Having a filter on our technology. “Have a driving reason for saying yes to technology. Make sure it isn’t detrimental to your spiritual growth.” – Lewis
What’s your take – we’d love to have a conversation about this over on Twitter on this post.
 
Lewis Ungit is the author of “The Return of the Dragon: The Shocking Way Drugs and Religion Shape People and Societies” and writes on a wide range of topics including culture, finance, philosophy, history, theology, and science. Lewis holds an undergraduate degree in engineering, an MBA, and an MDiv degree. 
Find Lewis on Twitter (X)
Lewis’s book: The Return of the Dragon
Verity and Co/Lindsey Johnson’s Copy Prompt Kit
http://LewisUngit.Substack.Com
Podcast - Building a Christian Nation 

God's given us homes to steward, and steward them well. Melissa Whaley joins me to chat about our top three house management tips.
These are tips that are practical and ones that can be implemented straight away.
As moms, Melissa and I have 10 kids between us. We are giving you things that make sense as moms and business owners because we're right there with you!
We also share perspectives from our husbands - these are good! (We want you to talk to your own husband about these things!)
 
Melissa's found on Instagram over at Trailblazing Homeschool or her personal account, Oh Hey Melissa Whaley.
Referenced in this podcast:
Power of a Praying Wife book Atomic Habits Melissa's Values Workbook Danielle's Time Blocking Notebook or Digital Download