Passion Design Project

Anyone else overwhelmed with how many tech products there are out there to run your business? Today I'm breaking down everything I currently use to run my biz and giving you insight on how it all helps me work! I'll start with the highest priced products down to the free stuff. I've included a few links so feel free to check them out further! Tech Monthly Fees: Teachable: $99 Adobe Suite: $52.99 Shopify: $29 ConvertKit CRM: $29 Website Hosting + domains: $150/yr Quickbooks: $10.71 Dropbox: $9.99 Hostgator Email: $5 PayPal Fees :$depends on sales Etsy: $5 Calendly: $0 Canva: $0 Google Analytics: $0 Google Cal: $0 Social Media: $0 Venmo: $0 Society6: $0 Asana: $0 VSCO: $0 Things I"m looking into: Podcast VA: $5-10/hr Pinterest Automater: Tailwind: $9.99/mo Others: Office rent Utilities Health insurance Internet Phone Roth IRA Savings       And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

I came across Eric's work while on an Instagram scroll. Oddly enough, I'd just gotten a message from a girl wondering how to get into the surf/skate industry of design (something I'd worked on doing about 10 years back), and on this Instagram post, it was announced that Eric would be giving a graphic design on skateboards class. After sending her the link, I thought - I bet she and I aren't the only ones who are mesmerized by this industry and knew I had to chat with Eric more in-depth. Eric has tons of knowledge from working on different continents and doing everything from drawing on skateboards to completing huge murals, by himself and with a team. Find EfDot here and find out more about his skateboard art workshop in NYC on July 14, 2018 here! Here's what we talk about today: Collaboration within the art industry Freelance vs working with a company Favorite tools when creating His Mural process from A-Z Dream Project - ya gotta think BIG! How to stay optimistic as an artist How to get out of a funk/phase of not feeling creative Discussing living and working in BA and how it differs from NYC Long-distance relationship! What's on his horizon His favorite project And a lot more art banter!   And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

Back in the day, selling your art meant getting into galleries and doing all the same things as everyone else. Luckily today, you can get wayyy more creative - which is good, since that's probably your specialty as an artist! What might not be your specialty? The business part. Totally understandable and I definitely get it! I would much rather be painting than trying to market myself and send invoices, but let's be honest - no biz runs if you aren't taking care of the business-y stuff, too! Maria jumps in exactly with the information we need to know to creatively and simply sell more art - using FUN methods! A few favorite quotes from the episode: "When you are making a living as an artist, face it, you work your BUTT off. It's hard work, I'm not gonna sugar-coat it! You don't do it because it's easy, you do it because you love it. But you do have to take breaks! You have to enjoy time away from work." "If you wanna do something, you can figure out how to do it. You just have to get creative" And that's where the amazing Maria Brophy comes in! And it's time you get to know her and her years of knowledge about alternative ways to sell art. Does every artist have to be a business person? What are the top business skills that creatives should have? Raising your prices & mindset around it How to raise prices and not lose clients What artists need to be doing each month in order to accomplish their goals The importance of figuring out WHO your buyer is People who are doing alternate methods right & making big money A favorite story from an event How to get freedom and money from art Where is the art world headed and what should we be doing to set up for success? What's one thing artists can do TODAY to get a sale or get close to a sale How to get paid to travel by creating art See what else Maria has to offer on her website: MariaBrophy.com or check out her husband's art at: DrewBrophy.com   And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

In 2013, I had found the podcast, The Lifestyle Entrepreneur by Kris Gilbertson, and became obsessed with listening every chance I had. I was kind of early for podcasting and hearing about lifestyle entrepreneurs and it was basically the only place I could get my fill! (I had to look that up to remember the name!) On my list of 2014 Goals, #8 was start a Podcast, and by Summer 2014, my furthered goal was "Podcast Equipment." In 2015 I had written down my Podcast plan and potential website names. In 2016 the goal evolved to recording 50 episodes. So, I started recording in June of 2016 and launched in August of 2016 with a once a week podcast. Now we're here, exactly two years from when I recorded my first episode with some local business people in Jackson Hole, recording my own 100th episode. Before now, looking back I always thought I should have done the process a lot faster, but with a little more grace towards myself, I'm revising that thinking. To be fair, I was alone in a new state, with a fresh degree in fashion design, working in Fashion, creating art shows, and wanting to develop a podcast on the side. In recent years, online stuff has gotten way more intense and in your face (although this may be because I'm in the space a lot more). Today people basically say if you aren't creating a podcast within a week, you're falling behind. That mentality held me captive a lot during the last few years. Thoughts that if I wasn't doing enough as soon as possible, I was losing out on money, losing out on furthering a potential career, and just plain losing in general. I don't know about you, but to me, it always seems that people are doing things before me every time and I have to race to catch up, or else buy their program to get fast results. In short, what I learned from 100 podcasts is not some amazing one-liners from guests, or how to build the perfect business, but more little things. Things like becoming a better listener, accepting that there's a lot more than one way to reach a goal, and being proud to show what I'm doing. As much work as the podcast takes, I actually stayed away from promoting it for a long time. Instead of thinking about who could benefit from it, I thought about what I might be saying wrong, or things I say that people might find annoying. I didn't want to advertise something they might not like. By doing this, I actually was hurting everyone, not giving them a chance to hear episodes that I put my heart and soul into. I was so focused on consistently putting out an episode every week (to stay with my goal) that I lost the big picture of what I was actually doing! If you're working on a project right now, share the in-between moments. The times when things don't go right, or when you're frustrated, as it makes the end goal a lot more special. Through the years, I've evolved in the podcasts I like to listen to. A few favorites have been: Smart Passive Income Podcast, Tim Ferriss Show, GaryVee Audio Experience, Goal Digger podcast, School of Greatness. Each show is good for different reasons, although I must say I've learned the most about Podcasting from Tim Ferriss - who likes to break things down to a molecular level and explore why and how to achieve optimal results. He's studied podcasting techniques which is a lot about asking the right questions, getting the show to flow, getting people to open up, and being a good listener. If any of you are avid podcast listeners, I'm guessing you notice the people who use phrases like "I love it!" or "That's amazing" or "Interesting..." Basically fillers in times where you haven't thought quick enough of anything else to say. Now I notice things like this a lot more often (which is sort of annoying ha!) but also helps me notice it in myself. Becoming a better conversationalist is usually just about being interested and asking better, deeper questions. It requires that you open up maybe more than you usually do,

I met today's guest last year at ConvertKit Conference, which could be the nerdiest beginnings ever - a conference for people that use the same e-mail service HA! Becca is super fun and outgoing so it was cool to hear her talk about how she'd quickly built her, at that time, new calligraphy business. One of the biggest mental hurdles to get over as an entrepreneur is often feeling like a fraud or not practiced enough to call yourself a professional and start selling your creative work. Becca is a perfect example that you can make money fairly quickly in the arts if you aren't afraid to put your work out there (even if it's still a work in progress) and put programs out there too! Today I talk to Becca about how to monetize something as niche as calligraphy (even if lots more people are out there doing it). We talk about: Travel and her round-the-world trip How she made her first buck as a calligrapher What type of systems do you use within your business - have they expanded as she's grown? What's your biggest struggle as an entrepreneur and how does she compensate? What's the best entrepreneurial tip or trick she's learned in the past year? Did she develop any new, positive habits that she brought home after traveling? When she wakes up in the morning what gets her most excited? What calligraphy supplies won't she travel without? What's next in her calligraphy world - dream project? What is she excited about during this upcoming summer? Find Becca on Instagram: @thehappyevercrafter or join the 20K others on Facebook here! All of her workbooks can be purchased on her site: www.thehappyevercrafter.com   And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

Today's guest is truly incredible. It's one thing to travel, but another to travel and be so touched that you take your whole life in a new direction. Amber did just that after she visited Ethiopia and saw how much change was needed. On this episode, I'm talking with Amber about her company, Eleventh Candle. Eleventh Candle Co. is a social enterprise in Columbus, Ohio partnering with Legacy to redeem, restore, empower and equip those vulnerable to human trafficking, abuse, exploitation, and addiction. A once trafficked woman in Columbus, Ohio is employed while a village in Ethiopia is supported and orphaned children there are welcomed into homes when products are purchased. Some questions I ask Amber & other things we talk about: Have you always had a trajectory of working in the mission field & why? Tell us about your first trip abroad and how or why it inspired you to do more. Tackling a daunting task: What were the first few steps to getting started creating a company that helps overseas. Trafficking. What exactly does it entail and what is the first step to stopping it?  I'm sure this work has caused you to change a bit in life, what's the most positive change you've noticed in yourself? And, what are you better at saying no to? How to deal with emotions when you also have to run a successful business What is the most challenging part of running her company How do you prioritize what needs to be done FIRST? Ways we can help others if you have a heart for a cause. We can't help people 24/7 if we don't take care of ourselves too. How do you turn off? Ethiopian Food! What's the best? Travel: what 1 or 2 things can't you leave home without? How YOU can get involved this week and help Amber's company (and get some amazing candles!)   And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

My 31st birthday was over the weekend (yippee!) and I thought that called for a solo show of one of the topics I talk about that gets the most response: Shiny Object Syndrome. If you don't know what it is, consider yourself lucky! Or maybe you didn't know it was referred to as this! Well, if you're an entrepreneur and ever find yourself jumping from one idea to the next, never really accomplishing the thing you want to accomplish, you just may be a prime culprit. Not to fear though, there are a few things we can do to fight this and develop better habits!! Use a notebook to write down new ideas Schedule time for working on the new ideas that you decide are worthy of working on Then, work on these 3 things are all things that we need to work on as we begin to move away from shiny object syndrome. No's, Yes's, & Martyr Syndrome Say no to: crappy emails, hanging out with people who aren't a positive influence, social media distractions, being a martyr Say yes to: spending time on things that matter, self-care, And then do this: Dive into the fear of the big thing that matters     And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

You all are in for a treat today! I've got Gemma O'Brien on the podcast today, an artist who's wowed me for a while on Instagram and in a fun turn of events, I flew across the country last week to help her paint her latest mural at Google Headquarters in Silicon Valley. It's a funny thing meeting people you've only seen on your Instagram feed - maybe this is what it feels like to online date someone. You never truly know who they are behind the 'gram! Because personally, I think I was funniest back in my Yahoo! Messenger days...the instant messenger response delay really helped me be extremely witty. But my Yahoo glory days are beside the point and Gemma was super fun. So back to her. If you've never seen her art, you NEED to. It truly is just plain awesome. Stuff you look at and can't really wrap your mind around how it got from A (blank wall) to B (wowza). Funny enough, in my excitement of all the free food Google offers, I didn't press record correctly and thus missed half of the interview (lesson learned), but I think we ended up covering most of it in the end! This is a really fun one and we chat about: Her favorite destination from art travels Pushing yourself to do more and go further despite looking to many like you are at the top Appreciating the process, not just the final piece What are art agents and how to do they help How to stand out among all the Instagrammers online How to stay unique and not copy in the art world Do you have to have a morning routine to be successful Remembering to appreciate what you've done in the past Where you can find her next Join Gemma's 200K following on Instagram @mrseaves101 and buy prints on her website at: www.gemmaobrien.com/ Take her Skillshare class HERE!   And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

Okay Passion Designers, I see you out there, shrinking back & becoming clammy every time someone asks you what the price of something is. It seems that we all feel like we are each the worst at selling our stuff. Can't we just do it for free and have a magical life where everything works out? Yep, I hear you! Pricing, negotiating, getting rejected, getting ghosted after giving prices...it's all pretty yuck. I'm super empathetic for every artist trying to price; through the years, I've become defensive about prices and irritated when people don't see something's worth/the work that was put into it as I notice how often creatives are taken advantage of. Sure, there is a time and place for doing cheap work at the beginning, but if you constantly get bombarded with family and friends who want a favor or "quick sketch" it's time to show the world your actual worth. There are so many variables involved when selling creative items, yet there's definitely a strong foundation that's most important and that's where we'll start. Your mindset around money is where soooo much of being an entrepreneur starts. Do you have money blocks? After I learned this one, I started loving listening to people talk about buying things because I would inevitably hear money blocks come up. What are money blocks? Saying things like: "Money doesn't grow on trees," "I could never afford that," "I don't need nice things," "People with lots of money are the worst." Think about it, what are some money blocks you, or the people you are constantly around, say every day? Can you see why these might be holding you back? Once I stopped myself from using those "easy" cop-out phrases, I realized how much negativity they were carrying. All this time I'd been holding myself back by telling myself all of these money lies, which are most likely things you and I have grown up hearing - we just choose to believe it. So now, with all the extra time we have after eliminating money blocks, we can fill that time with positive wealth affirmations. Oddly enough, these might be harder to say out loud than your old money blocks. Because It might just be easier for you to say "I can't make a million dollars" than "I can easily make 1 million dollars." I'm not sure what it is about telling ourselves really great things, but it's tough. Fight through it, believe in yourself, and say some wealth affirmations boldly (they don't make you a greedy, bad person!). "I will make $______ this year." "I am worthy of receiving payment for my creative work." "People are happy to pay me large sums of money." " The more money I make, the more good I can do." Amazing! Now that we have our mindset on track...onto the nitty-gritty. What the heck do you charge?! I'll be honest, my pricing has changed a lot, and I try to be as consistent as possible. I found it really hard at the beginning when most of my clients were in Ohio, but the resort town I was living in Wyoming, things were priced way higher and the cost of living was also higher. So to begin with, you have to know your clients. Who are the people that are currently asking for or buying your work. You'll have to keep in mind the range they're willing to pay - maybe you can be a bit higher but you must provide excellent service or something that makes it really worth it for them! Once you know the type of clients who are buying your work, work out a consistent plan for prices. Begin with your material costs. I often find this hard to do because I work from bulk but you can have a rough idea. Say your material costs are $50 for a 10'x12' canvas, paints, & brushes. Now calculate the hours it will take. Say your sketch takes 3 hours and your painting will take 5, packaging 1 = 10 hrs. You already know you're charging $50 for supplies so now you're left with your hourly rate to tack on top. What is your time worth? If you've had a job in the past, you'll want to make at least that much an hour (I'm guessing).

  A few people have messaged me lately asking how to get started in the art world and what my trajectory has been like. Although I think it's an ever-evolving world as an entrepreneur, with the world moving SO FAST, on this episode I'm talking about things I've done that have worked and haven't worked. As a spoiler, here are the top 2 things I learned most recently: A. Patience is key. I know, we all want things to happen like...yesterday...but the reality is success takes a lot of consistent work and a positive mindset that you can do it. The artist I worked with and admire has been painting murals for 5 years and working on her artistic style for 10...that's almost 5 times as long as me and was a good eye opener for when I'm feeling impatient! B. On the other end, while being patient, you can't just wait for the perfect project to show up at your doorstep before taking action. If you aren't consistently doing the thing you want to be doing (even if it's in your 10 minutes of free time a day), no one is going to magically find you and give you that perfect opportunity you want. Take consistent action and always be working towards what you want and showing up! I also touch on: Going into debt Collaborations Taking Initiative Staying Motivated Travel Professionalism   And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

I've been thinking a lot about Niche-ing down lately. For the longest time, I worked hard to stay as open as possible so that I could get as many potential clients as possible. The weird thing about my method is that it almost ALWAYS backfires. Logical thinking would say that if you open up a pool to anyone, you will give yourself tons more options for people to find you. But the thing is, most of those people won't be right for you and you end up using tons of your time trying to please everyone, when really all you have to do is please the select group that really, really, really wants what you have to give and offer to them. I'm trying to make it sound simple, but let me tell you, I haven't found it simple at all. To be honest, most days I wish I was interested in less things and only passionate about one thing because then I wouldn't care about leaving my mini-passions behind and it would make the whole niching-down thing easier. But if you are a creative like me, most likely you are multi-passionate too and hate the idea of letting go of one of the things you're good at - even if it's not THE THING. If this is you and you know that working within a niche is smart, but you still are having a hard time doing it or even just choosing what niche you should be going for, I'm here to make it simple for you, with a little help from one of my favorite art coaches, Maria Brophy, author of Art, Money, Success. Listen in to hear Maria's fantastic method of niching down, and how you can improve your business or business idea today.   And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

Anyone have a case of the "I'm not doing enoughs?" Thought so! Here are 10 things to remember when you find yourself anxious about being behind or that you'll never get to where you want to be. Listen in as I talk in detail about each one and how I'm working on them in my own work and life. You'll never totally "arrive," most likely you'll always want more and thus, more time Taking breaks actually can enhance creativity When we take off the pressure, we are able to be inspired instead of forcing things Never work so hard that you forget why you're working Think about what people say about you - do they say you are a workaholic? Think about eulogies You can do ANYTHING but not EVERYTHING The process is often more exciting than the result, so remember to enjoy that part Stop comparing yourself to others: social media doesn't stop, someone will always be working every second of the day and it's impossible to do that as one person Enjoy right now, because your life is happening right NOW. Not after you accomplish your goal. If you can learn to enjoy the journey, instead of being irritated and frustrated that everything isn't finished TODAY, you will: have more people that are behind you (because overnight success isn't inspiring), be a better version of yourself (it's no fun when you have no time for anyone), you'll be more creative (leads to better work) Pro Tips: Set boundaries, celebrate successes, let yourself have fun in the moment, remember you are lucky to be doing what you want with your time  - if you're anxious you don't have enough turn that into gratefulness that you at least have some!   And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

I met Molly in Fashion school back at the University of Cincinnati. She was always creating extremely innovative designs, pushing design limits way past simply "next season's style." So I was super amped to see that she is in the midst of creating her own line of clothing for teens with Autism. After working at the Mayo Clinic after getting her Fashion Design degree, she noticed a need for the growing number of people with Autism and decided to address it herself, by creating fashion-forward clothing for teens on the Autism spectrum. She recently released an Indigogo Campaign (live in April 2018) and is looking for funding to further the line she's already started, in order to reach more people who could seriously benefit from this type of clothing. Molly and I talk about: When is the right time to start your own business How to mesh different passions into one career Why there is a need for this type of clothing What it takes to launch a crowdfunding campaign Details on the creation of a fashion line I would love for you to be a part of where Molly is taking her company and you can be by visiting her campaign here: Molly Fuller Design Campaign You can also choose to donate a shirt to 2 different Autism Organizations even if you don't need a shirt yourself!! Oh! And one of my designs from HaleyBadenhop.com is on the shirt, so definitely check that out!   And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

On the Passion Design Project website, I not only have the podcast but also keep a Travel Blog on there. I love writing about exploring different places and hope that others can find the blogs handy if they find themselves in the same spots! Pertaining to business, I think there are a lot of different ways to grow, and they don't always have to do with biz productivity like setting up the right systems. Sometimes, life experiences can help you grow in business, and often does. Where I grew up (and I know many other places like this too), a lot of people take the same vacation every year. re-visiting their "favorite" spot. I get that some places are awesome and people don't like to quit a good thing once they're found it, and so I understand why people choose to do this. About 5 years ago, I took a job taking international passengers on road trips across the USA. There were 2 main crazy things that I learned from this. 1. There were way more foreign travelers visiting our National Parks than Natives. 2. There are so many awesome things in the USA that I didn't know existed! About 5 years prior to all that, I went on my first international experience. A trip to Panama. I remember coming back wanting to figure out a way to have my friends join in what I had just experienced. I couldn't believe how good we had it in the US and how much else was going on in the world. With these experiences and continued travel through the years, I've come to adore different cultures, crazy foods, and the art of flyin' around the world. I believe that putting yourself in situations that are unfamiliar is what can help you grow the most. Life can be really simple these days, staring at your phone, seeing other people's travels, staying comfortable. But there's something special that comes alive when you decide to partake in a new adventure, and I think it's a sad thing to stay comfortable all life long. I regularly push people to get out of their travel comfort zone. Many people seem to take it as me thinking my way is better, but that's not the case at all. I simply think that there is way more to experience than we realize, and letting ourselves get lost in unfamiliar territory is not scary and unsafe, it's exciting and helps you grow. It allows you to realize that the world doesn't revolve around American and English speakers (something I learned during my first trip to India). It helps you realize that maybe life doesn't have to be the way everyone around us told us it was (something I learned on my most recent trip to Morocco.) It makes you more interesting (I've been able to relate to tons more people since visiting more places). I regularly get excuses from people who want to go somewhere but can't find the time or money or whatever. I was chatting with a guy the other night who lit up when he started talking about a 2-month trip he wanted to take to Nepal but then overloaded me with excuses on why it probably wouldn't happen. To which I asked him why he was giving me so many excuses and what was he doing currently to make it happen? He didn't have an answer for that. It's usually easier to make up excuses than take action towards something you want, oddly enough. I'm not sure who told us international travel is hard, but that guy probably wasn't a traveler. To be honest, a trip like this would be fairly easy. You save up money, just like you would for a new TV, you buy a ticket a few months in advance, and then you save a bit more extra money that you will use while you're there (cheap places make this so easy!) Oh, and if you have kids you find a babysitter. A co-worker of mine is taking a trip to Bali with his wife in a few weeks, and they are pit-stopping in Spain to drop their 1 & 3-year-old off with parents. So don't tell me you can't figure it out too:) I'm focusing on trips abroad because I really think that different cultures (languages and food) make for a much more intense and unforgettable,

About 5 years back I started a "company," more like a blog called "Thee Bold." Spoiler alert: it stopped almost as quickly as it started, but the funny part about it is that I took forever to launch it. And by launch it, I mean, simply make the website public. It's like I thought the world would come sprinting towards the site once I made it go live. Nope. And instead of working at it, I decided it had failed. I had spent all this time getting little pieces together of the brand I was trying to create only to lose interest after I launched when no one came running. (I don't blame them.) With projects since then, you'd think I'd totally learn, but I still struggle with planning for too long before releasing things. For example, with this podcast, I thought about creating a podcast for a year and a half and THEN I planned it for another entire year before launching. Though I learned a lot, I 100% could have consolidated that into a month with better planning strategies and in turn, could have had 52 more episodes by now! So why is it that we have such a hard time starting things if all the good stuff happens after the launch? It's like we almost self-sabotage before even giving others the chance to potentially not like our stuff. I know, releasing your hard work into the world for people to judge is tough stuff. So that's why I'm gonna run through a quick list of How You Can and Should get Started on that Project TODAY! Make sure you are really passionate about it. Some things look fun and exciting because someone else is doing it well, but it may not be your gift. Make sure what you choose to do actually gets you excited to work when you wake up in the morning! Ask yourself why you haven't started, and then explore why you've come up with that excuse, even if it's totally legit. I've talked to so many people who have told me what they want to do and then without taking a breath have told me why they aren't doing it yet. Stop talking about what you aren't doing yet because no one cares. Talk about what you are doing and if you need help, ask for it. If people hear what you're actively doing, they are more apt to offer their help too. Start before you feel ready. O man, this is totally the one I need to work on, but also what I hear over and over again from successful people. You will never know everything and you will learn SO much as you go along, so start now and then perfect it as you go. It will get easier once you get those first few clients/buyers/fans. Keep yourself emotionally high. This is a game-changer. Recently I've begun to explore why some days I feel really motivated and others I don't. It's not arbitrary, you can help yourself. My #1 is to listen to something inspirational. Feel free to use this podcast or someone else who motivates you, it could even be a chat in person. That way, no matter what experiences or people you are around, you can get on that motivated high, of course, course add in energizing food and lots of water because doing your own thing requires high energy. Stay Consistent. One of the best pieces of advice I got was from Lewis Howes from the School of Greatness Podcast after I sent him an email. "Go for the podcast if you will do it for the next few years consistently otherwise it may not be the best move." Will you stick with your project for the next few years, or will setbacks make you quit? Consistently take action every day! Simple right? It's true, these 5 steps are not hard at all, they just take consistent action and confidence in yourself. Though they may take some sacrifices or changes in habits, if you really want to start something, there's no better time than now. A year later will be just that, a year later. I believe in you and know you can do these. Give yourself a deadline and get going! And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Starting and running your own business can and usually is a daunting task. People on Instagram love to show the beautiful, exotic, freeing part of working for yourself, but what's usually lost in that are the grueling hours of nothing happening or the numerous rejections that occur when starting out. It's super easy to feel like you're taking one step forward and then getting pushed 10 back from all directions. If you've started your own biz, I'm sure you are well aware that it's not all fun and games. Since going off on my own, I've had the best times and also the lowest lows I've ever felt too. Times when it feels like nothing (at all!) is working out or ever will. It can be a little bit soul-crushing and cause weeks of lost motivation. For me, it became an endless cycle of 'how will I make money this month?' A revolving conversation in my head wondering if I could even make it on the path I was on and what I would do in worst case scenario. It may seem pretty simple that I first off had a big attitude problem, but more than that, I want to talk about the bigger picture, because that's what this mentality stems from. When we do work, we have to think about WHY we are doing the work. What does it mean to you? This is why a lot of people want to get out of their jobs because the job means nothing to them. It doesn't hit any of their personal passion points and therefore, it doesn't fill them up like work should. In the same way, even if you are working at something you love (like I was), if things aren't working out, or you're in the building phase, simply loving what you're trying to build isn't always going to cut it. And that's when you have to remember why you're doing it. I'm assuming that if you are starting your own thing, or if you work for yourself, you're doing it because you want to and not because of the big paycheck (even though that could be a goal). So for me, once I began putting all of my focus on how I would make money, paying bills, money this, money that...that's when I hit my lowest points. I lost all focus on the big picture because I couldn't see past the next paycheck. My worth turned from something I was trying to build to defining myself by how much money I was bringing it. So I did a little mental exercise with myself. I envisioned having all the money I wanted...and then what? I realized I didn't even know where I wanted my business to be at that point. Was were my major goals? By using all my energy striving for money, my business had somewhat lost a lot of it's meaning. I was working for nothing more than money. So today, I'm asking you, what are you actually working for? The world tells us that money and fame are what matter. And I think those 2 things are great, but the bigger picture: what are you trying to build? What do you want people saying about you? Pretty sure I don't want people saying, Oh yeah, she paid her bills on time. Gross! I know it's easy to lose focus on what you're working towards when the world throws so many things at you. So remember these 3 things: Focus on what you WANT not what you don't want. Stop saying the word "But.' If you want something, say it to the world and don't give excuses or feel the need to justify it. Write down what you want. If you aren't sure and worry that it might change, write down the most meaningful thing you want right now (that seems semi-far-fetched). We aren't here just to put in hours, work our lives away, and retire. I want you to make the absolute most of every day AND do something every single day that gets you a tiny step further to what you really are working towards in life - your bigger picture. And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3.

Recently I met Christian at a Silicon Couliour meeting in Jackson Hole. As someone who left a secure (yet intense) life in the tech start-up world in San Francisco, I was anxious to hear how this change to a totally different lifestyle (snowboarding, travel, love, entrepreneurship, coaching) came about! On this Episode, Christian describes in depth how he left a life of burnout and stress in the tech world to leading a life he loves and looks forward to every day. Expect to hear: How to begin to totally make a 180 shift in life Why it's important to figure out the one meaningful question you ask yourself, and how to How you can begin to use meditation during good times so you're ready for bad times. The power of gratefulness How it's sometimes more important to get rid of things in life than add things A method to prioritizing what's most important Lots of Tony Robbins references Enjoy!! And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

If you're an entrepreneur or have a business or want to have a biz, what do you think about the most? I'm guessing you probably think about money quite a bit and how you're going to make it. I'm real guilty of putting my sole focus on how I can make a buck. I like to shuffle around the online space to see what's making money and then see how I can work those same methods. My biggest mistake came last year when I thought that a coaching course could bring me straight to financial freedom. I figured that I would follow a method that worked for one person and then boom, all would be good. It seems to be a pattern in entrepreneurship of looking for whatever is working at the moment. We see someone having success and think we can replicate it immediately, except usually, anything that appears to happen fast hasn't actually happened fast. So when we see someone succeeding, we think we should be there too, but most likely they've taken quite a path to get there as well. So if we know there's no cheat strategy, what do we do to succeed? Think about the people you follow the most and what they do currently. For me, it's Tim Ferriss, GaryVee, Lewis Howes, and a couple others I catch here and there are NasDaily and Marie Forleo. Every single of these people I mentioned is putting out daily content that listeners want to hear. They aren't taking days off thinking about if their viewers want to see them that day, they each have the particular niche they work within and what they stay aligned with that. What are they doing best? Adding value to their listener's lives. And what's funny is that they don't have to do this every day! They could take days off and people would still like their stuff and they would probably stay at the top, but the point is, they ARE doing so well because, despite their success, they are still working just as hard and consistently. Tim adds value by writing books and interviewing people who most people don't get to chat with on an everyday basis, he breaks down confusing principals to things you and I can do in business. GaryVee gives constant motivation and is on you if you aren't creating daily. Lewis's podcast is super consistent in talking to world-class people and showing how we can be great too. NasDaily gives us quick insight to the world and how to be a better person. Marie gives entrepreneurs a lighthearted push to go further in their business. And I help people discover how they can create a life around their passions. Value can be added by posting in Facebook groups, Facebook Business Pages, Instagram, Twitter, Website Blogs, an email newsletter, workshops, face to face conversations, a podcast, articles, and so many other places! And once you add value, people can share your value! So now that we know adding value is what people want. How does this convert to money and success? Quite easily actually. If you can consistently put out information that people in your area of interest want to hear and take in all the time, you are on your way already! Think about the things you buy. I'm willing to bet that a lot of them, or maybe close to everything!, comes from reviews or testimonials, or someone telling you what's the best. By giving out consistent value to people, you are creating a tribe that will talk about you even if you don't ask them to. Often when people come to me with a problem, I will point them to one of the people I mentioned's podcast or book or link. Yes, some of this content is free value, but some is for sale. And most likely, if someone is getting good recommendations about you and devouring your content, they will be more than willing to buy! I've bought and given books by Tim, Gary, and Lewis, and freely post and send articles about all of them. So to wrap up, take your mind off the money for a while and think about 1-3 ways you can add value to the people who see your stuff, starting today. Mine are going live on FB daily,

When was the last time you were rejected? Maybe it was today or yesterday, or maybe a year ago and you're still upset and mad about it. Whenever it was, I surely can relate and am guessing most listeners can. I hate rejection. I really do. It's annoying, hurtful, makes me feel like I wasted time, is depressing, can crush a good day, must I go on.... Sometimes I look at people online and think, "Wow, must be nice to get everything so easily!" But is that really the truth? I've experienced an extra lot of rejection lately. Mainly because I'm reaching out to a lot of people from scratch about creating murals, not knowing if they need or want one or not. At first, I thought this process was really fun. The possibility of hitting a client who wanted my services was an exciting thought and I decided people would easily say yes. Much to my dismay, getting a yes from people isn't as simple as I thought and as the no's began coming in, it really sucked. To think logically about this, which is what I usually do, it makes sense. If people are approached about something they don't really need, they might show a touch of interest if it's cool enough, but ultimately don't have a good enough reason to say yes. (Which would be where good marketing could possibly be useful which is a topic for another time). But in addition to logical thinking, emotions are bound to come up, too. I'm pretty sure no one likes to get rejected, and mainly because it kind of makes you feel like a loser, or that you aren't good enough. I remember hearing in a coaching course, about a year ago, that the rate you can expect people to buy from you from your mailing list is about 3%. THREE! That means you are getting a 97% rejection rate. Ouch. Of course, the bad thing to do would be to look at it that way and think about 97 people rejecting you vs. 3 people saying yes, and unfortunately, that's what we usually do, isn't it? So how do we turn this around? How do we get past or overlook rejections (that are bound to happen) and move on to better fits? There are a couple key moments in a rejection to look at. First, are you separating work from self? If your rejection is work related and you have decided that it is against you as a person, you're already starting off in a bad place. These types of rejections are totally different and cannot be grouped together. So separate your feelings of self with your work and start from there. To get you kickstarted doing this, pretend someone else made the mistake and you are learning from their mistake. That should help take some initial self-imposed emotions out. Then, you absolutely must remember no one is perfect and no successful person is perfect either. Remind yourself that you are bound to make mistakes, go about things wrong, do things others don't like, and then, if rejected, come through on the other side with something better. Second, think about what the rejection is teaching you. Maybe you actually aren't perfect! No....that couldn't be right. But maybe you can learn from this rejection to see what you can do better next time and actually improve and take a better approach. With each rejection email I receive, I like to find a theme of what people are saying and take measures to figure out a better way to approach that for next time. Third, find a trusted friend that you can talk with who will instill confidence in you. In a talk in town the other night, mentors were talking about what they found most valuable back when they were mentees. A common theme was that the mentor fostered confidence in them at the times when they didn't believe in themselves or weren't thinking big enough. I know from experience that having people around you that will speak life into you when you're feeling defeated can be a real game changer and give you the strength to move forward! And Fourth, try again. In "Think and Grow Rich," the author talks about how persistence is often the most telling sign to a successfu...

Today I go over all of the details on how I started a Podcast. Kara wrote in with the following questions and I answer every single one in great detail. Enjoy and let me know if you start a Podcast!! What equipment did you start with? Where did you buy it? How did you prepare? How did you set up interviews and prepare for those interviews Editing, do you outsource a company that helps with editing? Did you have them all recorded before you started posting? How did you promote it? How to come up with refreshing content? Did you take suggestions from listeners How do you get people interested in being interviewed? Do you feel it has helped with your mission? Roughly what did it cost to get started? do you have sponsored ads or anyone wanting to sponsor you? do you make money at it? And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

On this episode, I'm talking with Bubba from the company Give'r. Starting as just an idea from an adventure back in 2011, this company has grown in recent years and is now regularly featured in some of the outdoor industry's biggest publications! Today, we deep dive into what it takes to start a product company (hint: a lot of patience and enjoyment of the little things) and Bubba gives a lot of great tips on how to start if you've got an idea for a product. Plus... how he got started & why gloves the struggles (and benefits) of working in a ski town how to stay ahead business-wise & what his biggest marketing asset is how being patient plays a part what he wishes he knew from the beginning what/who motivates him If you've got a product you're going to put out into the world, let us know on Facebook! And as always, have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

Do you ever have a book sitting around for a long time but never make the time to get around to reading it? Okay, I have more than a few of these, but The Go-Giver is probably the shortest book that has been. Yesterday, I gave myself a rare off-day and decided to pick up the book. Actually, I won't lie, I threw a delicious smelling bath bomb into my tub and started reading it in there! To my pleasant surprise, the book wasn't like a typical business book jam-packed with practical info but was told in the form of a parable. Now that the book was super simple to swallow, I actually couldn't put it down. What's the last book that's been like that for you? Probably a fictional book, right? Combining these methods is pretty genius! The book ran through 5 keys to having Stratospheric Success, which were the Laws of Value, Compensation, Influence, Authenticity, and Receptivity. Alone, these words sound pretty boring and typical, but what's interesting is the way they can be used that you might not think of. But before we get into that, let's talk giving. I like giving, it's fun. Probably you do too. The part I don't like, buying...spending my money. Unfortunately, these two things go hand in hand, for the most part. If you aren't spending your time, resources, money, maybe you should re-examine if you're really giving anything haha! I find it especially hard to give when money isn't just freely sitting around for me to spend on others, charitable causes, even church tithes.It's just not the easiest thing to watch your money go to something besides your personal benefit. I actually heard a quote recently and it said something like, If you don't give when you have little, you will find it much harder (and probably won't give) when you have much. Take a 10% tithe for example. If you won't give $1 out of $10 that you have, do you think you'll be prepared to give $1000 out of $10,000 that you make? Tough right? So, knowing and hearing the importance of giving, this brought me to the question: How do I produce a giving heart, and is it even worth it? To expand on the Laws I mentioned above, let me dive a little deeper. My biggest takeaway from this book is that giving isn't always just about handing money over, there are many other ways that we often overlook which may be more important. So let's explore these. By Value, I mean you give more value than you take in payment. This means that if someone is paying you to do something, you freely go above and beyond. Every day you have the opportunity to do more than you're paid to do in your workplace. Look for ways to jump in and help with a giving heart. By Compensation, I mean your income is determined by how many people you serve. No, it's not how good of job you do. Of course, doing good work is important for anything, but how much you can get paid has no limit. The more people you serve, the more you can get paid. Think about ways you can expand the realm of people you serve - this usually means you have to get creative! By Influence, I mean how much you place other people's interests before your own. I must say, I'm quite guilty of this. If I do something, it's usually for my benefit, and even if I do it for someone else, I still want the majority of the benefit. This book dives into the importance of letting others win and helping others achieve what they want. By placing others interests before your own, you develop a unique type of respect that isn't given very often. By Authenticity, I mean offering your personality, offering you. Many people think that they are limited when it comes to having specific skills, but we all know that more often than not, people get jobs or clients because of knowing someone and that someone liking them. By simply being a good person and maintaining confidence in yourself, you already have a ton to offer. By Receptivity, I mean that you have to be willing to receive. I always find it funny when people feel awkward r...

Yooooolo! That's right, I'm bringing back that obnoxious cliche phrase that went viral a year or two ago. But to be honest, I wish it hadn't been simply a fad. If you weren't in the YOLO loop, it stands for You Only Live Once, and people used it mainly to describe silly things like having a huge piece of cake or staying up all night in Vegas. But I wanna get down to the real, serious - and fun - meaning. Do you think about it very often? I know I forget a lot. I get wrapped up in day to day things and almost forget what it's all for. We surely weren't created just to make enough to pay our bills and then retire and die, were we? I DON'T THINK SO! And that's one of the MAIN reasons I created this podcast. I don't want that for you and I'm sure, when you think about it, you don't want a life even close to that either! I hope that the podcasts I broadcasts are getting you closer to discovering and living out your passions. Therefore, this phrase really hits home for me. When you realize that you only have this ONE life, and you're probably a fourth or a third of the way through it already - eek sorry, just being real! - you gotta stop and check yourself. What are you living for right now? Let's explore a few things that aren't very healthy to be living for: Only being able to pay the next bill that comes by. Yes! It's smart to pay your bills, but not smart to let your bills control your life. If they are, first, figure out where you can cut down. It's almost always possible. And then begin to save. A few episodes back I talked about a Money Makeover, listen to that. Before long, you will be focusing on what you like instead of what you don't like. To make sure your kids are successful. Everyone wants successful kids and wants others to see that they are a top-notch parent, but using your kids as a scapegoat to get out of facing your own dreams is a tactic of fear. And since I don't have kids, I believe this allows me to see it clearer, because I see people with kids doing both sides. Think about it this way: actions speak louder than words, right? If your kids see you striving to live out your dreams, they will be motivated to do the same! To be as good as that person you see on Instagram. Oh, the dreaded comparison. I think we can all say we're familiar with death by comparison. We finally get started on a project we're passionate about and then start following someone who is three steps ahead of us and boom, lose our drive. What Instagram doesn't show is how long that person has been working, or what they are doing behind the scenes. Have patience and allow people who are further ahead to drive you and show you what's possible! To always give off a good image. Another one that is often exploited online, always trying to maintain a perfect image can be an exhausting way to live, especially if you are pushing it on others around you as well. There's a quote that goes something like "people are impressed with strengths, but connect through weaknesses." Remember that the next time you try to put on a perfect act, and instead think about letting others connect with you. Retirement. Though I DO think saving for retirement is vital, I do NOT think living for retirement is. I'm the biggest advocate for crunching your goals into smaller timeframes and living the life you want right now. And to be honest, there's no reason not to. If others, who started from nothing, have, then you can too. Reframe your thoughts to think about this year and even how you can condense your goals to make what you most want to happen in, say, the next 5 years. There's no reason to wait 30 years. By changing up the way we are looking at life and going super strong after what we really want right now, one life really is enough. I encourage you to remind yourself once a week that YOLO! Have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...

Do any of you have an Alexa Echo? I got one for Christmas and even though I thought I wouldn't use it that much, I'm constantly talking to her. She tells me the weather, gives me morning inspiration, helps me study Arabic, and reads me free Audible books, which brings me to this topic! My current one is How to Win Friends and Influence People. Now, I've heard of this book a million times, I think I even have an ancient copy sitting around. But for me, I always think reading current books are more relevant. I should, however, recognize that if a book is still popular 80 years later, it probably has some EXTREMELY good wisdom. As suspected, this book is quite enlightening. I would boil it down to treating others - not just as you want to be treated but - better than you want to be treated. The book discusses over and over again how the author used this tactic to achieve almost every one of his business deals. I wanted to talk about this subject today because I've already tested it and succeeded. First off, how do you generally treat people? Be completely honest. Do you prefer to talk about them or yourself? Most likely, it's yourself, and don't feel bad about that, we all like talking about ourselves! If you said others, I would actually question if you're being serious. EVEN if we like to get to know others, there's something exciting about talking about ourselves and something even more exciting when the listener is eager to hear about it. I'm passionate about business and everything I discuss on this podcast and get super excited when people tell me they are enjoying listening. I could discuss this stuff all day and if I get an engaged audience, it feels good! So now that we've established that, let's turn that around. Being that excited listener. You know what it feels like to be heard and have an audience that is engaging and excited about your topic, so why not be that audience to other people? In a past podcast, I talked about personality traits and said one of mine was that I thoroughly enjoy debating for fun. Well, if it isn't already obvious, that trait doesn't exactly win friends and influence people the way I would like it to. Since reading this book, I've taken a good look at the times when I would prefer to say something I think is smarter, and simply let the other person win. To be a pushover? No. Mainly because in the long run, it's more beneficial to be friendly than be constantly right about the little things. Can you think of times in your life when you could improve to become an excited listener? This could mean putting down your phone when talking with someone. It could mean listening to a story you've already heard before. It could also mean pointing out the good qualities of a person instead of the bad. I've been putting that last point to work and have had tremendous success. In Carnegie's fabulous wording, he repeats over and over, "be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise." In today's words, that means, easily show approval and pile on the praise. If you think that just sounds like you're trying to get something from the other person, give it a try and see that you'll probably have a much livelier conversation and it's not a trick, but just a great way to operate. Because what's your alternative? Be critical of people and stingy in telling them what they do well. Unfortunately, this seems to be more acceptable by today's standards and isn't that wild! So, if you haven't read the book, I would urge you to, but even if you don't, give these tactics a try this week and let me know how it goes! Have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com

Oooooh! This is a fun one! So I recently helped launch a church campus and as part of Fresh Life Church's Crash Course, you go through a series of personality tests, one of which is 16personalities.com. I'm sure most of you have done personality tests sometime in your past. I always found them somewhat hard to understand - they describe you in letters and give a little generic description and, whatever. But not this one. This one is dead on. For real though. Once you finish, it gives you one of 16 personalities, and details exactly how you act in about 10 pages. Nothing short of incredible. Of course, most of us are not just one because that would mean we'd have tons of identical people like us in the world, but I'd venture to say it gets the majority of your personality correct, and it's incredibly enlightening. Over Christmas, I had my entire family take it and it was so perfect and so funny. But the best part was that it made me understand everyone SO MUCH MORE. For example, I always wondered why my boyfriend always wanted to be in groups instead of just us two. Turns out a big part of his personality as a Consul is that they see friendship as extremely important, fun, and almost a responsibility. Or why my mom never wanted to participate in an energetic argument, because in her Mediator mind she only seeks harmony. It was truly fun to explore this about everyone, but then there was mine. Debater. I couldn't believe it. I actually thought it was wrong. Thought I should be an Adventurer or Entrepreneur! But no, I got stuck with Debater. Worse was reading the description and recognizing myself and even worse yet was my boyfriend reading it and saying "I've never read a truer description." Or maybe it was the pastor emailing me back and saying he hadn't met a Debater before. Of course, you have to embrace your personality right? Obviously, you enjoy yourself - or I should hope you do! So here's my motto and it says, "Smart and curious thinkers who cannot resist an intellectual challenge." To be honest, I never before had thought of myself as debating person. Yes I like to speak my side and have a jolly ol conversation around things, but now I realize I actually often push my ideas for the fun of it. What I failed to realize all this time is that not everyone likes to play this, let's banter back and forth for the fun of it, game. It made me realize that times I think I'm sharing smart information, I might actually come off as too much. This was incredible for me to hear. Apparently, we Debaters only make up about 3% of the population, which is probably a good thing so we aren't all endlessly debating ideas, but also a good thing because it's unique. Because along with everything else, there are some cool tendencies I found to be true, too. We enjoy reworking systems creatively, we live to become more knowledgeable about subjects just for the fun of it, we think logically in emotional situations, and best of all we're known to be charismatic and energetic. So now what? I believe the trick becomes harnessing the good qualities while approaching the less than ideal qualities day by day. No, I'm not saying attempt to change your personality, I'm suggesting borrowing some good qualities from others. As a purely logical thinker, it's next to impossible for me to make judgments emotionally. But a lot of people are very emotional decision makers, and so it would do good for me to allow emotions to enter conversations along with logic, and not just dismiss emotionally charged conversations as nonsense. And as for arguments that arise, I could add a bit of compassion to my lively debates. Allowing ideas from another view never hurt anyone and would probably help my case in the long run. But how do we change when these things are so ingrained in us? Well first, by knowing yourself. You must be able to recognize your faults and strengths. And then by reigning them in.

All of last year I was in a rush. A rush to make things happen. A rush to make money. A rush to stand out in the world. A rush to look successful. That rush not only broke me totally down emotionally but didn't leave me conquering much of anything. It was disheartening and annoying. And I was most mad at myself. Mad that I couldn't just make everything happen the moment I wanted it all to happen. Mad that my investments weren't panning out the way I'd planned. I'd hired a business coach back at the end of 2016 because that's when my initial impatient breakdown happened. Irritated and upset that I wasn't getting anywhere (later to realize I hadn't even offered anything for people to buy), I invested heavily in an online coach to guide me to the next level in entrepreneurship online. I felt that this was my path to financial freedom, my road to incredible success. I was a diligent student in that six-month course, ready to make anything happen. Until half-way through I started paying more attention to what the other students were saying. It was a resounding message of impatience. "How do I get thousands more followers this week?" "How do I get my first high paying client for this stuff that I just learned last month?" "I need to hire the most high-end services that make me look professional because then people will buy." "Nothing is happening for me yet and I've had my website up for a month." Honestly, it was crazy talk but became normal. It was normal to hear the coach talk though peoples' impatience by telling them to up their prices and find a client somewhere, anywhere, even if they just learned what they should tell clients. In my opinion, a lot of the people in this program needed time to figure out what they really wanted to do and discover where they were meant to be, and work through their emotions, before coaching others! I don't say that in a bad way, I say it because we all should be doing that, as it's an important step to self-discovery before telling others what to do. Is it so crazy for me to say that people who aren't even sure what they want to do with life shouldn't be life coaching? Just like people in a relationship where all they do is fight, shouldn't give relationship advice. Very simple. So there I was, in the middle of my heavy investment, battling with what I was even doing now! It was about that time that GaryVee reentered my life; a guy I'd heard once before and thought he wasn't my style, suddenly he was speaking right to me. "Hustle and have patience" he would say repeatedly. I wasn't interested in the phrase at first, but the more and more I listened to him say it, yell it, yell it in people's faces ha, I started listening. I started to realize that if I'd had patience all along, I wouldn't have needed any of this coaching. Sidenote: I did enjoy the mindset portion of the coaching which was a concept I was unaware of, but I'm speaking of the rest. I'd love to say that poof! Patience entered my life and I became smarter, but for some reason, that didn't happen. Mainly contributed to the people I was now surrounding myself with (the people in the coaching program, all of the coaching ads on Facebook, the millions of biz people I was told to follow, etc.) Everyone was telling me that they could grow my e-mail list, make me Instagram famous, get me 10 clients next week. Honestly, it was EXHAUSTING. I tried to attend every seminar I saw. Tried to use all the tactics when I would remember them. I needed things to HAPPEN yesterday. By the end of the year, I was burnt out on online coaches and people who said they would help, mad that I felt like I'd wasted a ton of money, and unhappy with the way things were progressing (or more like weren't.) I broke down. Don't ask my boyfriend. He will be obligated to be nice about how I acted, but I was a mess. I was also on a cleanse, and someone told me recently that those mess with your emotions,

Do you ever find yourself in situations where all of the people around you are totally bringing you down? Like, you walked into a place filled with energy but left completely drained...in a bad way? It's a real thing. There are energy-suckers out there. They are alive and well and much to my dismay, I occasionally feel myself being one. Not that I intentionally do it. Maybe something bothers me and I decide I "need" to debate it. Maybe someone achieves something but I don't feel like they really deserve it. Maybe I'm just tired and don't want to be super energetic around people. Anyone feel me? Hopefully, you recognize times you are being a downer, but if you don't, it's time to check yoself! I'll say something bold now. You should ALWAYS bring positive energy when interacting with others. No matter WHAT, you should always try to leave a person better off. I don't care if they hurt you or you think they're useless, or if it's a bad situation. The reality is, leaving a person better off makes you a better person. It's that simple. Maybe you're saying, Haley, I'm in a funk, I'm tired, and I have no extra energy to give to others. Okay. I hear you. Let's explore that. THE SPACE AROUND YOU: What's your work area or home look like? Is it cluttered? Dirty? Overwhelming? Fix that first. WHO IS GETTING YOUR ENERGY: Are you saying yes to events when you should be saying no? Are you doing things because you "should?" Are you constantly fighting with someone? Tidy up your friend life! WHAT ARE YOU FUELING YOUR BODY WITH: What snacks are currently in your cupboard? Do you bring healthy snacks to work so you don't have to eat fast food? Are you fueling with the right foods and not just caffeine? Exercising? Eliminate one bad food habit! Okay, so those are 3 things to explore first, before even attempting to bring positive energy to a space. Remember: you have to take care of YOU before you can successfully take care of others! So here are some REALLY SIMPLE ways to add energy to the spaces around you, always! ENTER CONVERSATIONS WITH A SMILE: Do you timidly approach conversations?  Maybe you frown without knowing it. By focusing on a smile, you instantly add energy and automatically put others at ease. Also, Laugh if something is funny! DECIDE YOU ARE AWESOME: If you are confident that you are a positive addition to conversations and you know you have something to add to this world, then it will be easy to exude positive energy. You will want to celebrate with others and give off that confidence you have! TALK ABOUT POSITIVES NOT PEOPLE: Conversations that are about people, unfortunately, are usually not the most positive - unless you're celebrating everyone else! However, if you find you are always tending toward gossip, stop and speak about positives. Speak about events, activities, world events, fun things. And ask questions! It's that easy! I know it's hard to sometimes fathom doing this when we've had a bad day, but believe me, there's nothing better than some positive energy after a crappy day, and if you are able to start it, that's powerful! So remember, whenever you are showing your face in the world, you are either adding energy or subtracting it. Which one will you choose? Have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

I love setting goals for myself when a New Year rolls around. I've been doing them in the same journal for about the past 6 years and it's so fun to look back and see that because even when I don't accomplish the goal in the year I wrote it, I usually do sometime in the next few years. This is great, especially for people like me who never think I'm doing enough...turns out, I'm doing exactly what I want if I would just be a little more patient! If you're a goal setter, awesome! These questions will be a great supplement to that. If you prefer not to set goals (even though I'd really encourage you to write a couple each year) these questions will be a great head start or just interesting for you, regardless. The new year has recently become more and more cliche, with people making fun of those lofty goals people set to only eat kale and get a 6 pack in 10 days. You know. However, goals can actually happen if you set a plan. So I want to help you along and insert a little dose of patience. If you have a 2 pack by next December, that's pretty darn good! I'm gonna give you a list to mull over as I talk. Feel free to jot down answers or just press pause and think about them. Pick out one of two that you will definitely work on this month, or longer, and go from there! Happy 2018! When was I the happiest last year? Get specific. Who were you around, what were you doing, why did you feel that way? Now, can you recreate that feeling or work towards creating more of that happiness this year? When were you at your lowest during the year? What caused this feeling? Are you past it or is it reoccurring? Now, how can you prevent this feeling from coming back (or at least minimize it?) If it is a big problem that seems daunting, cut it up into smaller steps. A bad relationship...say no to going out. A money issue...find the source of the biggest problem, which is usually either spending too much or not enough coming in. Make a change. Why do you do what you do? According to Simon Sinek's book, this is perhaps the most important questions to ask yourself. Here is the link to watch the TED talk about this. If you don't have a great reason why you are doing something, your motivation will just plain not be there and no further goals will likely happen. Figure out the core of why you want something and then work from there. What part of your work do you love? Pinpoint your favorite part of your work and figure out how you can slowly but surely do more and more of that. I believe that if you are bold enough to do so, you can always get more of what you want. If you can't think of one single thing, did you know that this month there are 5.6 million jobs available in the USA?! No excuses for not getting something closer to what you love. Who is pushing you to be a better version of yourself? Without people around us who encourage and challenge us to do and be more, we either get caught in contentment or develop bad habits. If you don't have positive people around you, join some encouraging groups online. No excuses. What are you the most grateful for during this year? There's ALWAYS something to be grateful for. Once you decide on it, how can you keep that a priority this year? Have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

On Instagram recently I encouraged everyone to take a few minutes to jot down notes about their year. I think it's extremely important to look over your past year in order to recognize everything you accomplished, and what you can do better. Some of my favorite accomplishments were: Finished visiting all 50 states Took 87 flights Put myself through an online business course for 6 months Celebrated my 30th birthday in London Sold a lot more art and put on classes Went to Morocco twice by myself Painted a mural for Pat Flynn Went skiing in Japan, Canada, and all over the States Dated my boyfriend for year 5 of long distance Finished my first year of podcasting weekly Obviously, this was a pretty extreme year. I tried to do it all and make "living the dream" a reality for me. While from the outside it looked pretty spectacular, I really struggled with feeling like I wasn't getting to where I wanted to be, professionally. This was in part due to two major things: 1. I traveled more than I should've while trying to start a personal business and 2. I didn't recognize and be happy with all the small things that I actually did accomplish. Maybe what I did sounds like a lot, but unfortunately, my goals at the beginning of the year were more business related, and since my accomplishments are more lifestyle-related, it left me feeling pretty crappy about where I wanted to be at this moment. Though I've been pretty hard on myself for not accomplishing more business-wise, I have to recognize the good and what I learned with everything I did, because truth-be-told, it was all pretty darn awesome and fun. Being quite a dreamer and person that looks at possibilities instead of practicality, this past year has kind of slapped me around a bit and made me think about possibly having a happy medium work-wise. This brings me to my list of what I'll do more and less of in 2018. I had to ask myself if stressing with the beginnings of solo entrepreneurship is actually better than side-hustling entrepreneurship. Kind of surprising myself, I had to eat a little slice of humble pie, and look at working a job in addition to just being an entrepreneur, and not feel bad about things not happening fast enough. So next year, I may have a job alongside my art business and podcasting. For me, this means I can actually be more creative while not freaking out about paychecks. So LESS stress is on the agenda; a roundabout win in my book. As the year went on, I definitely developed MORE patience. And I plan to continue this until I get to the point where I'm not beating myself up if I'm not making everything perfect in 2 seconds. Patience is freaking hard in the social media world, when every time you jump on, someone you follow is doing exactly what you want to be, so on that note, let's go to... LESS social media. This is hard because my business is online for the most part. But I'm determined to check out this Freedom app I keep hearing about, and do less watching of people I admire, and just put in my own work! MORE money managing. I've always been interested in investments and such, but never in the whole money/watch your bank account game. In 2018 I'm changing this, mainly because of a couple books I've read recently, Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover (which I talked about in my previous podcast) and The Automatic Millionaire. I recommend both, and they got me really excited to manage my money more efficiently. Talk MORE about everything with my boyfriend. Since my bf and I have been together for 5 years and long-distance, this is a pretty big deal for us. We spent most of the last 5 years on more surface level stuff, and yes, planning vacations. So we had some pretty serious sit-downs and decided this year is the year of goals and focus. LESS people pleasing. As I was recently thinking over things I wasn't pleased with in my life, I realized a good deal of it is stress related to tryi...

This is kind of a weird podcast for me because if you've listened to any, you know that I'm all about positive thinking, an optimistic mindset, and just going for things. I can't even tell you how hard it is for me to sit down and look at spreadsheets and budgets, even calendars, because, I just don't operate that way. So there's this guy...maybe you've heard of him. Dave Ramsey. If you haven't, you might be hiding under a money rock, seeing that he's written tons of stuff on finances, but it's okay and you'll know him after this podcast! Do you guys actively manage and budget your money? I'm the type that wants everything to work out and just assumes it is. I titled this "The Money Makeover that I Avoided" because that's exactly what I did. For years, I thought reading that book was for people who didn't know how to manage money, and I was too smart for that book.I was too smart for Dave in general, he seemed so old-school. Until recently, my boyfriend who works in finance told me I really have to start budgeting and watching my cash flow. Those words were worse than eating a gluten-free pizza. I had once recently because I was on a cleanse and it was truly terrible. I discovered Hoopla, an app to check out library books about this same time, and lo and behold, Dave's book topped the list. In the midst of all my denial and opposition, I decided I would finally let my guard down with Dave and give him a chance. Tens of thousands of people who attribute their success to him might have something, right? Spoiler alert: WOW! The short book was nothing short of amazing and profound and most likely, life-changing. In short, he's all about getting out of debt and staying there - aka not borrowing any more money - forever. A very odd suggestion in this day and age, right? But as I listened to the book (it was under 4 hours), everything he said made perfect sense. The way we are trained to think debt is necessary, the way most of what we have is us trying to look good before we actually have the money, and the reality that actually having money and no debt is an incredible feeling. Duh! Right?! In the book, he goes through a series of steps that work for absolutely everyone. I want to take you through them quickly so you can see if you are on track or maybe should listen to the book.Even if you think you are a master (or better than most) at money, that's not saying a lot since most everything is pretty terrible. Do you know anything without debt - I'm talking mortgage too? Isn't that crazy to think about? So, I hope you'll actually take these steps to heart and think about them, talk about them, and hopefully implement them! As a note, some things don't pertain to my beliefs. For example, I probably wouldn't start a college fund for my kids because I don't believe college will be as important in 20 years, and if it is, they can learn to pay for it themselves, as I did for the most part. Also, I have particular investments I like to invest in from what I've studied. Before we start, I also want to mention mindset. Obviously, I think mindset is huge on the route to wealth, but what I learned when I gave into practical steps as well, is that having a plan and working towards a goal helps maintain the mindset. Personally, I was having a really hard time being positive when everything was out of line, but continuing to tell myself that I had to be positive or else. It was incredibly frustrating. Literally, the moment I read this book, and began and implemented his plan, I was able to easy maintain my positive and optimistic outlook on future finances. Hopefully that helps explain my method a bit more! Baby Step 1: $1,000 cash in a beginner emergency fund Baby Step 2: Use the debt snowball to pay off all your debt but the house Baby Step 3: A fully funded emergency fund of 3 to 6 months of expenses (Depending on your work) Baby Step 4: Invest 15% of your household income into retirement (I use Better...

Greg is back on the podcast again today, to talk about his experiences this year with the Indigo ExoSkeleton, a device that allows him, as a paraplegic, to walk on his own. It's really cool science and I got him on here to explain it to us and talk about his experience with it. In this episode he touches on: What it's like to have something taken away and then given back 10 years later. How do you even go about re-learning something like walking Tricks to getting out of bed if you're feeling depressed or down How goals play a role in maintaining a positive attitude Going about each day energetically and lot's more Have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

In Morocco, I found myself wondering what was underneath the headscarves some women wear; who was that person really. In general, I find myself wondering that about people as I watch how they interact and go about their day. Look around you. What layers do you see? For me, I see a painting sitting on my floor. It may just look like a ski painting, but when I think about the layers that it took to create it, I'm reminded that I painted it because I lived in Aspen, I learned to ski there, I was inspired by old ski posters and created it, it inspired a whole collection of paintings that I created a future art show around. This painting looks quite simple from the outside, but the layers of it tell a story and help me remember how I got to where I am. So what layers do you see? Maybe nothing stands out immediately but choose something; there's always more to see. And like mine, often not just one layer appears, but multiple. From doorways to people, to books, layers unfold stories that lie unseen if you only give, hurried quick glances. Now it's nice to look at the layers of things, but the layers of people are what I want to look at. They are often the part that can connect you the most. And we know that connection is one of the most important tools in life and business. To bring out what is inside people or yourself is where the real magic lies. That's why social media has become a tough place to find real friends. You see the exterior good things but rarely are shown the layers that accompany a person. How do we discover what's inside others and connect? I'm fairly certain it all starts with ourselves. Do you ever pause to remember who you really are, what your real purpose is? Do you first know the layers of your own self? I think sometimes we get in groves where we walk through life  not even knowing who we are following or why we do certain things. Take some quiet time to explore your own layers. Who are you today and why? Then, ask if you are living for the BIG picture stuff (love, relationships, moments of happiness). Or are you allowing the smaller things to act macho (moods, negative thoughts, irritations, to-do lists)? What are the layers of you exposing? Once you realize why you're doing things and if you are staying true to your big picture goals, you'll find it easier and more comfortable to expose your own layers to others. In turn, you'll discover people with similar layers will be drawn to you, and natural connections occur. In other words, vulnerability occurs, which is a whole subject in itself. So today, don't be afraid to explore more of yourself and share a bit more with others. Have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

A few weeks ago I spent a couple weeks in Morocco. One night at the beginning of my trip, I woke up frantic and unsettles, knowing I was jet-lagged but stressed that everything was possibly not going perfectly. I almost walked outside my room at midnight to try and get some wifi and external comfort but knew if I was going to grow and make this a good trip I needed to train myself to beat the stress from within. I had been reading some books about getting stronger mentally and knew this was an opportunity just waiting for me. If you've got any serious things stressing you out right now, I want to give you an extremely easy process that you can do this instant to take away and relieve the stress. Most importantly you have to realize that this is possible, and you stressing isn't helping yourself or anyone else (everyone will probably thank you!) Here's the process: Think of 5 people who have it worse off than you, though 2 is usually sufficient. Naturally, #1 helps you remember what you do have going for you in that moment (since you aren't in those peoples' positions), so now expand on that to think of all the current things you're grateful for. With a more grounded, logical mind, think back to the original problem. Why is it happening? Is it a fear you have, a bad thought you're creating, a reoccurring feeling, etc.? The next step. What's something you can do tomorrow (or right now) to conquer or get rid of this fear/problem? Usually, we've made our problem really huge, when actually 1 small thing can turn it in a positive direction. When this works for you, please let me know! I TOTALLY know and feel you about getting stressed and thinking whatever is happening is the worst. thing. ever. But believe me, if I can turn a problem around instantly alone in Morocco, you can do it yourself too! Have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

Over the summer I went to an absolutely incredible conference put on by the email service ConvertKit. It was my first time in Boise, a place I'd wanted to visit and a very convenient spot as it's just the state next door. I wanted to share some notes with you all, to provide a bit of inspiration and motivation in short doses of notes that I took. PART II Add my personality to everything. Don't be a copy. Love what you're doing, but put an invoice behind it. Automate systems, not relationships. If you aren't the best yet, have the best work ethic. Take initiative, do what I say I will, and do the things most people only talk about. Engagement is KING. Make Time + Make Friends = Make $$ If people ask you questions, think about how you can monetize answers. Research brands and tell them a way you can work together (so they don't have to figure it out themselves) The secret is telling people what you know. People engage in the STORY. Tell a story, always. Target the smallest possible audience. Niche down! Remember: If someone else decides your info is worth talking about, then it's REMARKABLE. Artists view the world through abundance & see opportunity. We do not need more copiers. It's not too late. Have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

Over the summer I went to an absolutely incredible conference put on by the email service ConvertKit. It was my first time in Boise, a place I'd wanted to visit and a very convenient spot as it's just the state next door. I wanted to share some notes with you all, to provide a bit of inspiration and motivation in short doses of notes that I took. When I do something awesome, don't automatically look at who's doing it better. Keep the joy! -Ask yourself: Can I feel the joy now? (Because you won't later if you don't enjoy the moment now) Look for opportunity in spaces outside of what you do. So much opportunity is available if you leave your bubble. Ask yourself: How can I be the first to enter this space? Worries take up space in your head that you need for creating. Also, they take up space that you could be looking for opportunities, money, etc. Make good habits easy (less steps). Add more steps to get to bad habits. At first: just put in the work Make things INTERESTING. Are you doing things, just to do them? Ask Questions. In the words of Tim Ferriss "become a good question-asker" Am I fulfilling a very specific need? How could I? STOP comparing and judging myself Unsubscribe to all distraction! Eliminate possible interruptions. Doing the same thing (aka not growing) means getting the same results and the same income. Be courageous enough to make changes. Find partnerships. Add my personality to everything. Don't be a copy. Love what you're doing, but put an invoice behind it. Automate systems, not relationships. If you aren't the best yet, have the best work ethic. Take initiative, do what I say I will, and do the things most people only talk about. Engagement is KING. Make Time + Make Friends = Make $$ If people ask you questions, think about how you can monetize answers. Research brands and tell them a way you can work together (so they don't have to figure it out themselves) The secret is telling people what you know. People engage in the STORY. Tell a story, always. Target the smallest possible audience. Niche down! Remember: If someone else decides your info is worth talking about, then it's REMARKABLE. Artists view the world through abundance & see opportunity. We do not need more copiers. It's not too late. Have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

"Excellence creates comfort. We never, ever compromise on quality. The message deserves nothing less."  -Crash Course, Fresh Life Church I've been a Christian my entire life. Growing up in a conservative, and slightly boring, Lutheran church, and then branching out to contemporary megachurches once I got in college. From college on, I moved around a lot at that point and found it fun to attend many different churches, which also made me notice differences and similarities that made churches thrive. I'm a bit hesitant to say this because the point of church is really to develop a relationship with God and be in community with others. But, like everything these days, some people/brands/businesses/churches stand out, while others don't. And I don't think that's a bad thing. It's just like in business, you can't continue doing the same thing year after year and expect people to be interested or excited. Sure you can offer the same exact thing (in this case, faith itself,) but to reach more people (which is the point), you have to continually work and be better. Which is what brings me back to my original quote I mentioned. Two years about I was up in Bozeman visiting a friend and staying in a cabin in the mountains. Since I was there over the weekend, and since Bozeman is bigger than Jackson, I thought there might be a chance that there would be a contemporary church in town. I prefer contemporary services because the worship is more engaging, the preaching is very relatable to today, and to be honest, they are often more welcoming and less awkward. I came across a cool website, a church called Fresh Life, and decided I'd go, and talk my friend I'd driven up with into going. The funniest part was when we walked in and the band was playing and he turns to me, looking confused, and says "I think we're in the wrong place." That really made me laugh because if you're only familiar with old-school churches this will seem a bit strange. So I loved it, I came back to Jackson and wrote them an email that they should start a site in Jackson, and began watching online occasionally. Fast-forward 2 years, and next month, they are launching their Jackson location. I really couldn't be more excited! Which brings me to the topic of excellence. How? Because a few of us who are helping launch the church are going through Crash Course, their intro course to the church and this piece happened to be what stood out to me the most. I actually am really enjoying the course, as it is enlightening for me to look at it in a business sense and hear how they have been successful while sticking to their morals first and foremost...something quite a few businesses fail at. So what does excellence have to do with anything? When they said we do nothing half-way, it made me think of myself. I've always prided myself on a relaxed approach to business, making things happen but not taking anything too seriously. I try hard, but if it doesn't work out, oh well. I work with a lot of people on projects, but if I'm being honest, I put my time before theirs. So when this excellence point came up, and they talked about how they would never do anything halfway, never compromise on quality, because what they are creating deserves that, it hit home with me. It also made me think of Jo on Fixer Upper. When shes renovating a house and maybe the color she just had them paint it is one tiny shade off, but she has them repaint it. In my head, I'm always thinking, "Gosh that seems like unnecessary work" and I don't think I'd redo it, but after this talk, it's all making more sense. She's not willing to give just enough to get by, and that is probably a key part of why she is where she is today. Excellence allows people to understand quickly and easily, while also creating a comfortable environment. Whether that's talking over a project that looks extremely professional and can be talked about with ease or entering a home that makes you feel amaz...

For this episode, I decided I would go through the questions Tim Ferriss has been asking on his new Podcast. I think questions are an art form and having the right questions can be really exciting for listeners. Since he has developed this skill very well, I'm going to share them. I think sometimes we go through life not even knowing exactly what we stand for, and I know I found a few of these hard to answer, specifically #3. It's always good to take some time to know where you stand so you know how good you're doing and/or if you want to change something. I had my boyfriend go through them all with me a couple weeks ago and it was enlightening to hear, so I thought this would be great 1. if you don't listen to Tim and haven't heard these yet and 2. get a little insight on me in hopes that something I might say is interesting to you. Here are the questions, and my answers will be on the recorded version What is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift, and why? Or what are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life? What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)? My readers love specifics like brand and model, where you found it, etc. How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a “favorite failure” of yours? If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it — metaphorically speaking, getting a message out to millions or billions — what would it say and why? It could be a few words or a paragraph. (If helpful, it can be someone else’s quote: Are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by?) What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made? (Could be an investment of money, time, energy, etc.) What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love? In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life? What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore? What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise? In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to (distractions, invitations, etc.)? What new realizations and/or approaches helped? Any other tips? When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do? (If helpful: What questions do you ask yourself?) Have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

If you haven't listened to episode 65 prior to this, that's a good intro, but if you just want to dive right into Wealthy Affirmations, here they are. There are 30 and I will say each one twice, so that you can repeat it with me the 2nd time. Do this every day and watch your mindset around money change right before your eyes! I have a positive money mindset I deserve wealth and prosperity I see abundance all around me I choose to feel good about money I have confidence in my ability to make money I know that money is a tool to be used I deserve success and wealth I make more than enough money to meet my needs I have a millionaire mind Being wealthy enables me to help others I love spending money on things that bring me joy I choose to have financial freedom I welcome money into my life I am becoming wealthier each day My bank account is always growing I find it easy to attract money Financial opportunities are always coming my way I am becoming rich I have a positive attitude about money The more I give, the more I receive My money allows me to have a life I love. People love giving me money. I naturally attract money. I have fun earning money. It is smart to be wealthy. I love how easily I manifest money. I am happy, healthy and wealthy. I can easily afford anything I want. I am a good money manager. I trust that more money is coming to me. Have the best day ever!!! Thanks so much for listening!! I would love if you'd leave a review & subscribe on iTunes...HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" Find out more on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com Join me on Facebook at Passion Design Project & Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

Do you use affirmations?? I've been back and forth about them, but recently have decided to go ALL IN. Because really, what's the point in only going half into things? That's like saying you want a chocolate cookie but are only going to use half the ingredients or half the heat. Probably not going to get your desired outcome, right? If you aren't familiar with affirmations, they are basically sentences that you repeat to yourself or listen to, that ingrain certain thoughts into your subconscious. Actually, I already did an Affirmation Episode back on Episode 13 to be used as a guide for saying affirmations, but this is important enough that, 50 episodes later, it's time to revisit the subject. Affirmations can be used for just about anything. Actually, you probably use them right now whether you know about it or not. And you know what's scary? You might actually be using them in the WRONG way. What?! Think about your day, and I'm going from personal experience here. Being an entrepreneur is tough, and there are a lot of times when you just can't really see the light at the end of the tunnel. Or the light is like a little pinprick because it seems 10 bajilliion miles away. It's at those times when I usually find myself thinking, "how am I going to actually make money on this project" or one of my personal faves "they can't afford this so I will devalue it." And the thing is, it's SO easy to justify these thoughts/affirmations we tell ourselves. You wanna help others afford you so you dumb down your prices. It seems nice and easy. But you know what isn't very nice or easy? Paying your bills at the end of the month and not having any spare change left over. But guess who does? Your customers that you basically gave your things or time to. Okay so that's drastic, but I want to make this pretty clear because so many of us justify not having money and then continue living out this truth for years and years and maybe our lifetime. My point is, this is the way NOT to use affirmations. I really want you to take into account what you are thinking about during the day. When I did this, I realized I was basically thinking about dead ends all day long. Maybe I would have a good hour and get really inspired, but as soon as I jumped on social media and saw people doing what I wanted I went back to my old thought patterns, which could be summed up as, "how will my finances ever change?" Enter Positive Affirmations. So I started listening to every YouTube video on Money mindset that I could find. Now, I know all about money mindset and how it's something you have to continually work on and develop, but I'd gotten lax, at a time when I definitely shouldn't have. If you're maybe a little lax in the area of a positive money mindset, and not in the financial position you really want to be in, I URGE you to jump 1,000% into these. If it seems too woo-woo for you like it did for me in the past, just do a google search of Celebs that use Affirmations and literally a ton of them pop up. Stating what you WANT every day instead of what you're sick of or what you fear or what you worry about is soooooo powerful. Will Smith, Oprah, Jim Carrey, etc. are doing quite alright and if they credit affirmations as one of the main components to being where they are, there's got to be something to it, right? I'm focusing on Money Affirmations because I think it's an area that a lot of people stay away from. Who wants to be heard saying "I have a millionaire mind!" out loud? I'm still working on getting past the embarrassment. But if you break it down, money is just an exchange of value. I mean really we could just be exchanging pizzas all day, but dollars are easier. So don't think of money as some holier than thou paper. It's just how we show and prove value. So in that case, do you think you're valuable? If you aren't bringing value, then hey, bring more so that you deserve to get more value in the form of money.

A few months back I started really focusing on doing more art. It's always been a side-passion of mine, but as I had more and more people requesting my services, I realized it would be really easy to make money with art. Becoming a full-time artist meant I had to think about creative ways to bring in money, not only for surviving but because I was interested in seeing which methods could bring me the most consistent income. Today I'm telling you about one of my favorite sources of income this summer: Watercolor class events! Don't worry if you aren't an artist because events can be applied to a lot of industries to attract new customers and get current clients more engaged! On this episode I cover: How I started these events all by myself in 2 days. How you can make sure you profit before even hosting an event. The way I've gotten up to 40 people at one event (that meant almost a $1000! profit in one night) The best way to contact a venue to collaborate. How to keep in contact with people who come to the event for future projects. The exact Facebook Ad strategy I use. (on my last 9 events I've spent approx $280 altogether and made $1000. About a $700 profit!) I think events are one of the best ways to get to know your customers, plus since we do so much online it's nice to actually do things in person! I'd love to hear if you host events or you plan to after this! Thanks so much for listening, it means the world to me!! I would love if you'd leave a review on iTunes and tell me what you're up to in life!  HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" As always, you can find more episodes like this on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com or subscribe on iTunes to get them delivered to your app. If you know of a perfect guest for the podcast you can reach me at Haley@PassionDesignProject.com or by finding me on Facebook at Passion Design Project. Have the best day ever today!!! Subscription links: Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

Recently, my boyfriend and I were throwing around beach vacation ideas. We wanted somewhere neither of us had been, and definitely somewhere exotic, preferably in Asia. After Palawan in the Philippines was knocked off our list because of sketchy activity there, we gave Sri Lanka some thought. I didn't know anything about Sri Lanka going into our trip research. I mean, our top requirement was that we wanted to stay in a beach bungalow. So, once we ran across Dreamtime Cabanas on Airbnb and saw the photos, we knew we HAD to stay there. Actually, we booked the place before booking any travel pieces for our trip! And let me tell you: best decision EVER! Our stay at Dreamtime was seriously dreamy. Not in a resorty, 5 star way, but an authentic, welcoming, Sri Lankan way. Our hosts, Supun and Mel, stayed on property and were the most wonderful and accommodating people. Aged 30 and 27, respectively, I HAD to know how they built this place from scratch in the last 2 years. Not to mention the fact that Mel is originally from Australia. On this episode, I dive into these questions with them to see how they both left their jobs and built this jungle oasis from scratch! If you find yourself in Sri Lanka, definitely stay at Dreamtime...or plan a trip just so you can! LINKS: Dreamtime Cabanas Instagram: @dreamtime_srilanka Thanks so much for listening, it means the world to me!! I would love if you'd leave a review on iTunes and tell me what you're up to in life!  HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" As always, you can find more episodes like this on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com or subscribe on iTunes to get them delivered to your app. If you know of a perfect guest for the podcast you can reach me at Haley@PassionDesignProject.com or by finding me on Facebook at Passion Design Project. Have the best day ever today!!! Subscription links: Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

I'm a huge fan of Gary Vee. He was a gamechanger for me after I started listening to his podcast and he talked all about working hard while also being patient. At the time I started listening, I was searching for every way to make it big as fast as a could...and it wasn't really working out! Super discouraged and disappointed in myself that I wasn't "killing it" in 2 seconds, his method was a sigh of relief AND made me realize I could be doing tons more to further myself along. Technically, I didn't deserve to be doing amazing because I definitely wasn't putting in all the time that requires! Each week, Gary has a guest on his show and they take a few callers questions. Hundreds of people send questions in and on this particular day I decided to write one. By some miracle, about 5 minutes later my phone rang with a New York number. I moderately freaked. I hope you enjoy our conversation about art and entrepreneurship! If you want to hear the rest of his interview that day, here is the link. **audio credit: #askGaryVee Thanks so much for listening, it means the world to me!! I would love if you'd leave a review on iTunes and tell me what you're up to in life!  HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" As always, you can find more episodes like this on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com or subscribe on iTunes to get them delivered to your app. If you know of a perfect guest for the podcast you can reach me at Haley@PassionDesignProject.com or by finding me on Facebook at Passion Design Project. We also have a really rad group on Facebook called The Passion Designers and would LOVE to have you join!! Have the best day ever today!!! Subscription links: Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

Ellen Gallant got a chocolate cake for her 51st birthday, which just so happened to be during her 3rd attempt of Mount Everest. After her previous two trips were stricken by tragedy, where instead of reaching the summit she found herself utilizing her medical skills on the injured, she was more determined than ever to stand atop Mount Everest this time around. I interviewed Ellen only two weeks after she returned from Nepal and she tells her story in stunning and intriguing detail. Ellen brings so much wisdom around the idea of looking at the bigger picture vs. personal victories, and it was an absolute pleasure to talk about the experience with her. I've never had any desire to climb Mount Everest, so hearing about what it meant to Ellen gave me a whole new view on the process, and I think it will for you too! Enjoy some photos from her excursion: Thanks so much for listening, it means the world to me!! I would love if you'd leave a review on iTunes and tell me what you're up to in life!  HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" As always, you can find more episodes like this on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com or subscribe on iTunes to get them delivered to your app. If you know of a perfect guest for the podcast you can reach me at Haley@PassionDesignProject.com or by finding me on Facebook at Passion Design Project. We also have a really rad group on Facebook called The Passion Designers and would LOVE to have you join!! Have the best day ever today!!! Subscription links: Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!

I don't talk about my process of becoming an Artist very much or very in depth.  I think the process of entrepreneurship is so messy and all over the place, that it's hard to make sense of it in the moment, and doesn't feel very inspiring enough to share. I suppose most things are like that. Learning to ski, or the process of becoming a mom, or learning to cook better. They're all tough processes and it's more fun to show the finished product and make it look really good. However, I think a lot of the interesting stuff lies in the middle. In the hustle, and the grind. I knew I wanted to be an artist since I was young. It always came easy to me and I really enjoyed it. But I don't think I fully thought that "Artist" could be a career. And to be entirely honest, I still have some lingering doubts occasionally. So, condensing the last 10 years, I mostly worked in Fashion Design, and dabbled with doing art here and there. It wasn't until I moved here in Jackson Hole and didn't have a job yet that I decided I would spend my free time creating an art show for a local cafe. I had my first real art sale there. I sold an acrylic on wood for, I think, $150. From then on, my art supplies stayed out and I continued exploring acrylics and some watercolors that I found packed in a box I brought. It was around that time that all my friends in Ohio were getting married and so I decided to watercolor some of their wedding photos for fun. Word got around that I was doing that and I started getting some orders by email and social media. At the beginning, when your hobby brings in some cash occasionally, it's incredibly exciting. You almost feel like you're cheating the system because it's so fun. And at that point, it's good to remind yourself that talent is something that's paid for in this world. With that, I would add that I think that doing free projects are beneficial in certain circumstances. However, there should always be some type of tradeoff, because the energy exchange is more powerful that way. Something simple like a trade or that they'll post on social media about it. Or, if you're literally just starting and hardly know what you're doing, free is okay for a while, until you get that first order. Continuing on, I had two more art shows in Jackson and did commissions occasionally when people would ask me to while working at a Fashion Design job. Six months ago, I decided that I wanted to step away from Fashion and put all of my energy into furthering this podcast and doing art. But it wasn't just super simple. From there it took me a few months to realize that I actually wanted to make Art the first priority and that kind of turned my plans around in my head. What made me realize this was very simple; clients kept coming to me asking me to do work, even when I wasn't offering anything. Sometimes we try to take a harder road that isn't for us when what we're meant to do is sitting right in front of us. I have a really good time doing art. I painting and drawing fairly easy and love trying to methods. But having fun doing art and running a business with art are two very different things. I soon realized that enough money wasn't just coming in by itself to cover my expenses. I'm not a very big fan of the money aspect, so ignoring this worked for a while until I distinctly remember a night I was driving and being really upset that my talent I was putting out wasn't matching up with the funds coming in. I felt really sorry for myself. Anyone with me here? When we think we've worked hard enough to deserve more than what's coming to us? Well, I stayed in that place for about 20 minutes, And then changed my mindset around to I think one of the most beneficial things we can do for ourselves. First, I officially recognized that no one owes me anything and paired with that, I realized I need to go grab what I want. So right then, I made a list of every person I could contact the next day that would help me get ...

On this day in Marrakech, I stopped by a co-operative and caught up with Nikki, who is a student doing a short stint abroad to teach English in Morocco. Nikki gives some practical advice on how easy it can be to travel the world and make an impact. My favorite quote: "All you gotta do is pursue what you wanna do, it's that simple." Take a listen if you've ever wanted to add a new experience in your life. Enjoy!! Thanks so much for listening, it means the world to me!! I would love if you'd leave a review on iTunes and tell me what you're up to in life!  HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" As always, you can find more episodes like this on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com or subscribe on iTunes to get them delivered to your app. If you know of a perfect guest for the podcast you can reach me at Haley@PassionDesignProject.com or by finding me on Facebook at Passion Design Project. We also have a really rad group on Facebook called The Passion Designers and would LOVE to have you join!! Have the best day of your life today!!! Subscription links: Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates! Outro Music by Tobu 

I find that when I come home after a long trip, I have mixed feelings. Coming home almost feels like coming back to a past life.. [In short, I find this is because when you allow for new experiences in your life you almost inevitably see the way you live in a new, fresh way.] I've been thinking on this for the last few days as I've returned after business events in London, a solo birthday trip to Morocco & Portugal, an exciting art project in California, and a fun Memorial Day in NY with my bf. All of these things are moving me in the direction that I want it to go, but at the same time, there's that weird moment when you come down from the travel high...to...what was. Which might be perfectly fine, but also I think we tend to overlook that we usually create a life based on what our family and friends have always done. Nothing bad in that, but there's so much diversity out there to take into account as well. Like, I love bringing back some little thing from my trips to begin implementing in my life. One of my new ones is a new type of bathing from Morocco! The things I want you to remember is that we can always create the reality we want or change it into something we desire. Which, for me, means remembering the feelings, ideas, and visions of my future life I had during my time away. During trips away from our busy day-to-day happenings, it's so much easier to think that anything is possible. I'm sure you've experienced that: being on vacation and thinking "I bet we could live here" only to come back home and never give it one more thought. A lot of people attribute that to "coming back to reality" but remember what I said, we create the reality we want. You truly can. If you want to do something, you can. You break it up into smaller steps and do the first step within the next 5 minutes. It could be as small as creating a to-do list, or one of my favorite action steps: contacting one person who could be some type of connection to get you a step further. After coming back from trips to my old habits too many times, I'm finding that it's actually important to remember those new thoughts I had and begin to put them into play. Most often it's not major things but instead, it's simple things, like lighting a candle that smells like the beach or having deeper conversations with everyone or sitting in gratitude each day for 5 minutes. Things that make you feel genuinely happy at the end of the day. The biggest idea from my past few weeks I'm putting into play is thinking on a bigger scale. There's a lot of awesome people and so much opportunity out there and it's really fun to be in the midst of it all. I'm also playing music while I work and getting more outdoors time. What are you doing to feel more alive? Thanks so much for listening, it means the world to me!! I would love if you'd leave a review on iTunes and tell me what you're up to in life!  HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" As always, you can find more episodes like this on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com or subscribe on iTunes to get them delivered to your app. If you know of a perfect guest for the podcast you can reach me at Haley@PassionDesignProject.com or by finding me on Facebook at Passion Design Project. We also have a really rad group on Facebook called The Passion Designers and would LOVE to have you join!! Have the best day of your life today!!! Subscription links: Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates! Outro Music by Tobu 

I spent my 30th birthday in London. 6 months prior I had decided that I was going to be successful by 30, which at that point only meant that I wanted my bank account overflowing with extra funds by then.  Not exactly the best foundation for success, by the way. However, It seemed serendipitous that the graduation of the event was on the turn of decades for me, and I thought everything would pull together because it was so perfect. I've never had a huge desire to go to London, it's mainly due to the lackluster weather and cuisine they're known for. For that reason, I should've realized my plan was flawed already, but we are good at talking ourselves into things that seem perfect, aren't we? It's like seeing the best shirt ever in a store, only to try it on and realize it really doesn't suit you, yet it's so hard to walk away from that perfect (but actually not perfect at all) shirt. London as a city ended up being nicer than I thought, besides the exchange rate obviously. If I was a Brit, I would travel 90% of my time and get everything for 90% off. I stayed with 2 different new-ish friends in London. If there's any advice I'd give to people starting as early as possible, it's to befriend people who have that travel itch, or who are from different countries. There's nothing better than having a familiar face and a comfy homey bed in a foreign place. Back to my birthday, I spent it at the Ritz, at the business event with 15 chicks. Old world glam, besides being impressive in itself, doesn't interest me too much. Having all the tiny details attended to is fun, but I really just want to tell everyone to go up a bit on the relaxing and true smiles. Getting everything you want should be a happy experience filled with lots of laughs. I did, however, get a delicious birthday cake brought out by the staff, which was crazy yum. So their cake bakers get an A+. What the business event that day taught me about most of all is that everything is connections. Life is about relationships. What really matters is the people you interact with. I don't get very emotional but the people who did, I noticed that all of their emotions traced back to people. It was never: "that $1000 didn't make me happy" or "my Facebook ads have ruined my life;" it was "I was abandoned when I was younger and it's affecting me. It was "my mom said something to me and it's shaped my life negatively" or "my husband doesn't quite agree with me and I need to please him first" or "I don't want to outshine my sister" or "I don't want others to not trust me because someone broke my trust and I don't want people to feel the way I did." If we can realize that it's actually our "people pleasing" that is holding us back in almost every scenario (test it for yourself), we could go crazy crazy further than we ever knew was possible.  It's actually insane. Please give some time to think about who you're unnecessarily trying to please in your life. This can include your kids too. I recently reminded my mom that it's more exciting for us kids to see her passionately pursuing her dreams rather than trying to please us by being there at every beckoning. What's this require? Boundaries. Knowing you deserve more. Making it non-negotiable. Quitting using old stories as a crutch. Moving past the fear. Giving way more time to yourself. Taking action immediately. And most importantly recognizing all of your excuses and stopping all complaining. You'll find it really empowering to hear all the "buts" you're using and having to turn them into immediate possibilities. My latest "but" sentence was simply in my head. Those are some of the worst, by the way, because they are the stories you tell yourself on repeat without realizing. Things like "I want to start posting on social media regularly but It's a busy time right now and I don't want to be inconsistent." With one sentence, you've successfully rationalized an excuse to yourself.

Yes, as weird as this title sounds, this is actually something I've been pondering a lot lately. As the internet speeds things up, I've realized that a lot of people feel like their success needs to happen ASAP! Today, or at the very latest, tomorrow. I'll be honest, I was part of this group of people for a long time, and I'm still working on transitioning my mindset around it. Maybe you're similar and think that nothing happens fast enough, too? For instance, are you constantly feeling like you're behind because you see a lot of people having your dream life already on Instagram? Even though a lot of that is fake, ya still want it right, ha, I hear ya. Or are you always reading those ads and articles that pop up that tell you a list of things that are holding you back and how you can get past them to live your dream life? Back in November, I joined a high-end course with a coach teaching business and coaching strategies. Looking back, I didn't really know what I was getting into, but I did know that I wanted everything I was doing to take off way faster than it was. I thought I deserved to have things come together perfectly for me. And when I read about this course, it seemed like it was my recipe for 6 months to success. Spoiler alert, it didn't. Yes, I now know more than I did, but I think more-so I actually learned the opposite of what I went into it for. I learned that a lot of people on the internet right now are starting things there because the entry is so easy. I noticed that people who think they want to be entrepreneurs don't exactly know how difficult it is or maybe more so, the stamina it takes, to start, run, maintain, grow, and be profitable. I saw that people think they deserve the world after they've only worked for a few months. Yes, I now know more than I did, but I think more-so I actually learned the opposite of what I went into it for. I learned that a lot of people on the internet right now are starting things there because the entry is so easy. I noticed that people who think they want to be entrepreneurs don't exactly know how difficult it is or maybe more so, the stamina it takes, to start, run, maintain, grow, and be profitable. I saw that people think they deserve the world after they've only worked for a few months. And you know what, I get it. Because some people we see are overnight successes, but 99% of those overnight successes were working behind the scenes for years and years and years. One of the most common themes to the impatience I've noticed seems to be complaining. People who feel entitled that just because they built a website and put out an offer, they deserve to have buyers, and a lot of them. I often wonder where this stems from and how someone comes to the conclusion that they deserve to be successful just for putting something out there whether it's good or bad, whether they're an expert or not, etc.. I can tell you one thing, if it was that easy, everyone would do it. But that's the catch. It is that easy to put something out now AND everyone is doing it. EXCEPT, that's where the knowledge ends. As hard as you may have thought the starting was, the start is the easy part! The everyday grind is where the real winners start to appear. And that hustle is what's hard because results don't come like magic or at the speed of Superman. Results come from taking crazy action every single day while also being really patient. And listen, some impatience is fine with me because I get it. I want to grow my lists quickly (ps. go join my Instagram @haleybhop:), I want to be on top Podcasts lists, I want my art to be sold out, but no matter how many coaches or magic fairies I get, I'm the one who has to make things happen, step by step by setback by step. And I truly think that the victory is finding enjoyment in that process. Because if you're really passionate about something, you should be okay with and excited about working and grinding and hustling your ...

If you have ever had the longing or heart to help out people around the world who could use a hand, this is the episode for you! Earlier this year, Kelsey oversaw her school design being built in Cameroon, Africa. In our conversation, she teaches us how to go ALL-IN after a dream, brings us total grassroots fundraising strategies, and talks how taking action on things you believe in is what's important. I hope this episode helps you realize that when it comes to making your goals happen and going after things that seem crazy, there is no perfect time. Go for it! Find Kelsey on her website HERE and check out her charity HERE. Thanks so much for listening, it means the world to me!! I would love if you'd leave a review on iTunes and tell me what you're up to in life!  HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" As always, you can find more episodes like this on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com or subscribe on iTunes to get them delivered to your app. If you know of a perfect guest for the podcast you can reach me at Haley@PassionDesignProject.com or by finding me on Facebook at Passion Design Project. We also have a really rad group on Facebook called The Passion Designers and would LOVE to have you join!! Have the best day of your life today!!! Subscription links: Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates! Outro Music by Tobu 

Today I have Greg Durso with me on the Podcast. I wanted to bring him on to do a short interview about 3 areas I think he is totally better at than me. They are: Positivity Always Eliminating Complaining Being more Open-minded Listen in as Greg talks about how he implements each of these into his everyday life and how you can do a better job of it too! *If you want to hear more from Greg, he is on my first interview, episode #2 on the podcast! Thanks so much for listening, it means the world to me!! I would love if you'd leave a review on iTunes and tell me what you're up to in life!  HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW FROM YOUR IPHONE: 1. Open podcast app   2. Search for "Passion Design Project"   3. Click on my Podcast   4. Tap Reviews & tap "Write review" As always, you can find more episodes like this on my website at www.PassionDesignProject.com or subscribe on iTunes to get them delivered to your app. If you know of a perfect guest for the podcast you can reach me at Haley@PassionDesignProject.com or by finding me on Facebook at Passion Design Project. We also have a really rad group on Facebook called The Passion Designers and would LOVE to have you join!! Have the best day of your life today!!! Subscription links: Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates! Outro Music by Tobu