April 18, 2025 • 16 mins
In this solo episode of The Vicki Kotris Podcast, Vicki drops a motivational truth bomb that every aspiring entrepreneur, dreamer, or side-hustler needs to hear: dreams don’t work unless you do.
Fresh off the Savvy & Sovereign Sales Workshop, Vicki reflects on a powerful exercise that challenged attendees to cut their timelines in half—and then match that energy with effort. She opens up about her own journey from corporate sales to building multiple six-figure businesses, and how her bulldog-level determination in year one was the difference-maker.
You’ll hear:
- Why hope without action = stagnation
- What small, consistent effort actually looks like
- How to find your own authentic rhythm for connection, lead generation, or creation
- Why you should stop trying to copy other people's playbooks
- A mini visualization to help you unlock your next bold move
This episode is your wake-up call and your warm hug. If you’ve been stuck in "someday" thinking, this one’s going to shake you (lovingly) into action.
🎧 Why Listen?
- You’ve got a big goal but feel stuck in the “waiting phase”
- You want to build something bold but aren’t sure where to start
- You’ve been hoping for momentum but not seeing results
- You need a dose of real talk and encouragement from someone who’s done it
- You’re tired of comparison culture and want to carve your own path
This episode will light a fire under you and help you remember: the results are in the reps. Let’s move.
Thank you again for tuning into another episode of the Vicki Kotris Podcast! I want to support you, cheer you on a HYPE you up!! If you're celebrating anything (and I mean ANYTHING), send me a DM and let me highlight you on a recent episode.
If you're looking for support in building a social media content strategy, I'm your girl! Send me an email to vkkotris@gmail.com and we can set up a FREE account audit.
Please subscribe and leave a review HERE:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-confetti-filled-life-podcast/id1391196589
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/00cehOlAGd5HbUpAZ4wuYY?si=4c7353dd4c1e4312
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:50):
Hello.
Welcome back to the Vicki CORIspodcast.
This is a solo episode that I amrecording this week, and it's
something that has been on mymind, which is how many of my
episodes start.
And something that I hear a lotwhen I talk to either, um,
(01:11):
entrepreneurs or want to wantentrepreneurs, those who have
ideas and just kind of don'tknow how to take action.
And so what inspired thisepisode today was that last
week.
If you follow me on socialmedia, if you don't, you can
follow me on ig.
It's Vicki CORIs and.
(01:32):
I posted about event that, anevent that I was a part of and
um, it was called The Savvy andSovereign Sales Workshop, and it
was hosted by one of my friendsand one of my previous guests,
Jenna Leer, and Jenna talked alot about.
Mindset work with the goal ofworking it into sales.
(01:56):
And I, it, it's something thatis funny because I have been in
sales my whole life and I have,I think about it differently all
the time as I've run my ownbusiness and I, I thought this,
it's a mutually beneficial.
Experience of running your ownbusiness and working in a
(02:16):
corporate environment andselling, because both of them
made me better.
And, and I, I even though I talkabout how my time in the
corporate world, I felt a lot ofangst.
I was ready to get out.
I was ready to build a moreflexible lifestyle for myself by
building my own business.
It, there were truly so manygifts that I got from learning.
(02:40):
Uh, learning a structure,learning a hierarchy, how people
work together, but also gettingthe skills to have very real
conversations with folks whowere, you know, CEOs of their
businesses or, I worked with alot of like chief HR officers,
which at that level there arepeople who are extremely
experienced and have a lot ofeducation.
(03:02):
And so anyway, I had that as agreat takeaway and that's what
made me better in running my ownbusiness because I had that
confidence to help get methrough some of the points in
running a small business thatyou just need to level up, be a
damn boss and get things done.
And so as a part of the salesconference, what Jenna had us
do.
(03:23):
Is write out what we really wantto experience in our business
and what are the goals that wehave related to our business in
a short period of time, in alonger period of time.
And so a lot of people gave outanswers like, I want to have
consistent 10 K months, or Iwant my business to bring in
(03:44):
over six figures this year, andI wanna do it within.
Six months, I wanna do it within12 months.
And then Jenna posed thequestion and she said, what if
we were to just cut that inhalf?
Whatever it is that you'rethinking.
So you have a six month plan.
What if we cut that to threemonths?
(04:04):
How does that change your gameplan?
And what she said.
It made me think a lot moreabout what I have done, what I
am doing, and hopefully it willhelp you clear, clarify some
things in your own game plan,whether you're running a
business, whether you're doingsomething personal or you have a
(04:25):
personal goal that you'reworking towards.
And that is what level of effortare you prepared to give to make
those things happen?
And so this episode.
Is a love letter to theDreamers, but also a wake up
call to all of us becausedreaming alone just won't get us
there.
(04:46):
If you have been and I have beenthere, but if you have been
hoping for a breakthrough, aclient, a big moment, a hundred
thousand dollars a 10 K month,but you haven't gotten there
yet, effort might be thatmissing piece that could get you
there.
And I think there's a lot oftalk in building a business of
(05:07):
like waiting for the right timeor when I feel ready or when I
gain more clarity and.
The truth bomb of this all isthat hope without action is
actually stagnation.
And if you'll listen to myearlier episode with Jen Jones
Donatelli, she said she doesn'tbelieve in just.
(05:29):
The law of attraction, likesitting there thinking really
clearly about what you want andimagining yourself drinking a
pina colada on the beach, itain't enough sister.
It's active manifestation.
It's getting an idea that'splanted in your heart, that's
planted in your mind, that youare so inspired to take action
(05:53):
that will lead you.
To whatever that end result is,and that always changes.
It's like what we think is theend result might just be a
stepping stone on where we'remeant to go.
So you really can't manifestsomething that you're not moving
(06:15):
towards.
You can't find that.
That gusto of inspiration unlessyou are actively doing things
that align with whatever thatgoal is.
So I I, from a personalstandpoint, when Jenna posed
this question, I started tothink about really what effort
it takes to.
(06:36):
Grow my podcast to grow mydigital marketing business, to
grow my catering business that Istill very much manage.
And I'm telling my husband aboutthis and he reminds me.
Of seven years ago when westarted our first business, the
amount of effort that it tookjust to take an idea from paper
(07:00):
into the physical world wasimmense.
It was, it was backbreaking, itwas exhausting.
It was exhilarating.
It was a lot of fun.
It was a lot of faith.
It was a lot of, a lot to dothat, and I, I'm really.
Open now to knowing that, thatthat is not the exception to the
rule.
That is the freaking rule.
(07:22):
The rule to bringing somethinginto existence is taking so much
action and putting in so mucheffort to drive the car forward
that not even a Mac truck couldstop you and I, I tell, I have
told this story many times whenI talk to other entrepreneurs
(07:43):
or.
Just when I talk about ouroverall journey, the first year
that we started, I was abulldog.
I, I was so aggressive aboutmaking plans, about creating
partnerships, about getting intomarkets, anything that was
related to the business.
I was just on it.
I just made it my priority, andthat's something that has to be
(08:06):
taken into effect for anythingthat we're building.
So if you don't feel that levelof energy, it's not that you're
wrong, it's not that there issomething wrong with what you've
chosen.
It might just be that you'rehaving kind of a lazy girl
moment and just choosing to nottake action, because I truly
(08:27):
believe that if you did, youwould move into that next.
Level and you would find outwhat's behind door number two.
So even small, consistent actionreally builds momentum.
And I think about that with achallenge that came from the
Savvy and Sovereign workshoplast week, which was we, the
(08:49):
whole group took 10 minutes tosend out five emails or text
messages or dms to anyone whocould potentially utilize our
service and.
At the end of it, it was whatcould come from this if we do
this every single day, if we dolead generation every single
day, or just creating andbuilding our network.
(09:11):
So for me, a lot of this lookslike personal connection because
that's where I tend to thrive.
So I like to invite people outfor coffee dates.
I like to do check-ins and senda text to let someone know I'm
thinking of them.
I like to see whose birthday itis so I can send them some well
wishes and create a connectionpoint for myself.
That feels really authentic.
That feels really genuine to whoI am as a person.
(09:34):
And I think why it's served meso well is because that's who I
am.
If you are not that person, youneed to find how you best
connect with people.
Um, it could be.
In live events.
It could be educationalopportunities, it could be, um,
small groups, one-on-ones.
I mean, like, however you canfind yourself in moving and
(09:57):
advancing.
It might not be lead gen foryou.
It could be something else.
It could be product development.
It could be, um, you know,financial growth where like
you're, look, you're trying topitch for money for your
business.
I mean, there's all differentkinds of levels.
So you need to find what worksfor you.
Um, if you have not read thebook Atomic Habits or the Subtle
(10:22):
Art of Not Giving a Fuck, Ihighly, highly recommend that
you do.
Why is because the author, Ibelieve, James Clear, don't
quote me, I can't remember offthe top of my head, who wrote
Atomic Habits, talks about howit is not these massive.
Events of inspiration thatstrike you and you're, and you
(10:45):
take action and your world iscompletely different.
It is small daily habits thatredirect you on the path to
becoming the person that youhave always wanted to become.
You can do this and see this inpractice with things that we
hear about all the time, likelosing weight.
(11:05):
Saving money.
Those are the most obvious.
We hear those the most often.
What's the quickest way to lose10 pounds?
Well, that's not the quickestway or best way to then lose 20
and keep it off forever.
They all have these smallactions that we can take every
day.
Based upon, again, what worksfor us.
(11:28):
And that's why I think it issuch bullshit that we as a
society buy into the idea thatsomeone can write us a
prescription and someone, I'mnot talking about doctors, I'm
talking about people out therethat are saying this is your get
skinny quick, this is your getrich quick.
This is your build a businesstomorrow.
This is your fill in the blank.
(11:50):
And this can all change for youbecause really what works for us
is not gonna work for somebodyelse.
I love suggestions.
I love inspiration.
I love hearing of things thatwork for other people, but I
want to take that, create a newkind of thread for myself and
use that for however I can embedit into my own life.
(12:12):
So don't get caught up on that.
Idea that you have to mirrorwhatever someone else did to net
the same result because you'renot the same person.
And I really love following thatbecause it gives me a lot more.
It takes the pressure off tosay, I have my own agency and I
(12:34):
get to decide what small actionsI take every day that will
propel my business forward, myself growth forward, my
expansion as a human being, andI don't have to take anyone
else's playbook into account.
I can just take what resourceswork for me and design a whole
(12:54):
path forward on my own.
So I, I really think taking thatkind of action and putting in
effort will certainly help.
And you can do that today bytaking five minutes and deciding
how you're gonna use that fiveminutes.
(13:29):
And now if we need a kind ofactive meditation on this and
how this could work, if you pickthe one thing that you've wanted
to do that you have wanted tofocus on, but you haven't yet
done it, again, it doesn't haveto be a business.
It could be a personal goal, itcould be a part of your
business, it could be a part ofyour personal goal.
(13:51):
Just pick one thing.
And then if you close your eyesand you give yourself a couple
minutes and just time to imagineand time to explore, and we fast
forward to six months from now,what would you be most proud of
in starting today?
(14:13):
What feels hard today that youknow?
You can stretch that muscle andit will get easier over time
because you are capable and youare worth doing the work,
putting in the effort to seewhat's on the other side.
(14:34):
And what I like to ask myselfwithout, which helps take off
that pressure is if.
I take, let's take money,success, the glittery stuff on
the outside.
What if we take that off thetable and we say, just today I
want to achieve this one goal,and I'm in six months.
(14:58):
I am no richer monetarily wise.
I am no thinner.
I am no X, Y, or Z.
Fill in the blank.
What are the things that I wouldwant to do that would still make
me feel so accomplished and likeso good about myself?
(15:24):
And let that be the driver.
Let the journey of the effort bethe driver to get to the other
side.
I can't wait to hear what it isthat you're exploring.
I love feedback.
I love hearing how I can supportyou.
Shoot me a message.
Send me a dm.
It's Vicki Riss on Instagram.
(15:45):
You can also send a messagethrough my website.
You can send it whereverpodcasts are, wherever you are
listening to this podcast at.
But don't let that great ideathat keeps.
I kind of reminding you in theback of your mind, go away, lean
into it, put in just a littlebit of effort, and I can't wait
(16:08):
to see how you transform.
Hello.
Welcome back to the Vicki CORIspodcast.
This is a solo episode that I amrecording this week, and it's
something that has been on mymind, which is how many of my
episodes start.
And something that I hear a lotwhen I talk to either, um,
(01:11):
entrepreneurs or want to wantentrepreneurs, those who have
ideas and just kind of don'tknow how to take action.
And so what inspired thisepisode today was that last
week.
If you follow me on socialmedia, if you don't, you can
follow me on ig.
It's Vicki CORIs and.
(01:32):
I posted about event that, anevent that I was a part of and
um, it was called The Savvy andSovereign Sales Workshop, and it
was hosted by one of my friendsand one of my previous guests,
Jenna Leer, and Jenna talked alot about.
Mindset work with the goal ofworking it into sales.
(01:56):
And I, it, it's something thatis funny because I have been in
sales my whole life and I have,I think about it differently all
the time as I've run my ownbusiness and I, I thought this,
it's a mutually beneficial.
Experience of running your ownbusiness and working in a
(02:16):
corporate environment andselling, because both of them
made me better.
And, and I, I even though I talkabout how my time in the
corporate world, I felt a lot ofangst.
I was ready to get out.
I was ready to build a moreflexible lifestyle for myself by
building my own business.
It, there were truly so manygifts that I got from learning.
(02:40):
Uh, learning a structure,learning a hierarchy, how people
work together, but also gettingthe skills to have very real
conversations with folks whowere, you know, CEOs of their
businesses or, I worked with alot of like chief HR officers,
which at that level there arepeople who are extremely
experienced and have a lot ofeducation.
(03:02):
And so anyway, I had that as agreat takeaway and that's what
made me better in running my ownbusiness because I had that
confidence to help get methrough some of the points in
running a small business thatyou just need to level up, be a
damn boss and get things done.
And so as a part of the salesconference, what Jenna had us
do.
(03:23):
Is write out what we really wantto experience in our business
and what are the goals that wehave related to our business in
a short period of time, in alonger period of time.
And so a lot of people gave outanswers like, I want to have
consistent 10 K months, or Iwant my business to bring in
(03:44):
over six figures this year, andI wanna do it within.
Six months, I wanna do it within12 months.
And then Jenna posed thequestion and she said, what if
we were to just cut that inhalf?
Whatever it is that you'rethinking.
So you have a six month plan.
What if we cut that to threemonths?
(04:04):
How does that change your gameplan?
And what she said.
It made me think a lot moreabout what I have done, what I
am doing, and hopefully it willhelp you clear, clarify some
things in your own game plan,whether you're running a
business, whether you're doingsomething personal or you have a
(04:25):
personal goal that you'reworking towards.
And that is what level of effortare you prepared to give to make
those things happen?
And so this episode.
Is a love letter to theDreamers, but also a wake up
call to all of us becausedreaming alone just won't get us
there.
(04:46):
If you have been and I have beenthere, but if you have been
hoping for a breakthrough, aclient, a big moment, a hundred
thousand dollars a 10 K month,but you haven't gotten there
yet, effort might be thatmissing piece that could get you
there.
And I think there's a lot oftalk in building a business of
(05:07):
like waiting for the right timeor when I feel ready or when I
gain more clarity and.
The truth bomb of this all isthat hope without action is
actually stagnation.
And if you'll listen to myearlier episode with Jen Jones
Donatelli, she said she doesn'tbelieve in just.
(05:29):
The law of attraction, likesitting there thinking really
clearly about what you want andimagining yourself drinking a
pina colada on the beach, itain't enough sister.
It's active manifestation.
It's getting an idea that'splanted in your heart, that's
planted in your mind, that youare so inspired to take action
(05:53):
that will lead you.
To whatever that end result is,and that always changes.
It's like what we think is theend result might just be a
stepping stone on where we'remeant to go.
So you really can't manifestsomething that you're not moving
(06:15):
towards.
You can't find that.
That gusto of inspiration unlessyou are actively doing things
that align with whatever thatgoal is.
So I I, from a personalstandpoint, when Jenna posed
this question, I started tothink about really what effort
it takes to.
(06:36):
Grow my podcast to grow mydigital marketing business, to
grow my catering business that Istill very much manage.
And I'm telling my husband aboutthis and he reminds me.
Of seven years ago when westarted our first business, the
amount of effort that it tookjust to take an idea from paper
(07:00):
into the physical world wasimmense.
It was, it was backbreaking, itwas exhausting.
It was exhilarating.
It was a lot of fun.
It was a lot of faith.
It was a lot of, a lot to dothat, and I, I'm really.
Open now to knowing that, thatthat is not the exception to the
rule.
That is the freaking rule.
(07:22):
The rule to bringing somethinginto existence is taking so much
action and putting in so mucheffort to drive the car forward
that not even a Mac truck couldstop you and I, I tell, I have
told this story many times whenI talk to other entrepreneurs
(07:43):
or.
Just when I talk about ouroverall journey, the first year
that we started, I was abulldog.
I, I was so aggressive aboutmaking plans, about creating
partnerships, about getting intomarkets, anything that was
related to the business.
I was just on it.
I just made it my priority, andthat's something that has to be
(08:06):
taken into effect for anythingthat we're building.
So if you don't feel that levelof energy, it's not that you're
wrong, it's not that there issomething wrong with what you've
chosen.
It might just be that you'rehaving kind of a lazy girl
moment and just choosing to nottake action, because I truly
(08:27):
believe that if you did, youwould move into that next.
Level and you would find outwhat's behind door number two.
So even small, consistent actionreally builds momentum.
And I think about that with achallenge that came from the
Savvy and Sovereign workshoplast week, which was we, the
(08:49):
whole group took 10 minutes tosend out five emails or text
messages or dms to anyone whocould potentially utilize our
service and.
At the end of it, it was whatcould come from this if we do
this every single day, if we dolead generation every single
day, or just creating andbuilding our network.
(09:11):
So for me, a lot of this lookslike personal connection because
that's where I tend to thrive.
So I like to invite people outfor coffee dates.
I like to do check-ins and senda text to let someone know I'm
thinking of them.
I like to see whose birthday itis so I can send them some well
wishes and create a connectionpoint for myself.
That feels really authentic.
That feels really genuine to whoI am as a person.
(09:34):
And I think why it's served meso well is because that's who I
am.
If you are not that person, youneed to find how you best
connect with people.
Um, it could be.
In live events.
It could be educationalopportunities, it could be, um,
small groups, one-on-ones.
I mean, like, however you canfind yourself in moving and
(09:57):
advancing.
It might not be lead gen foryou.
It could be something else.
It could be product development.
It could be, um, you know,financial growth where like
you're, look, you're trying topitch for money for your
business.
I mean, there's all differentkinds of levels.
So you need to find what worksfor you.
Um, if you have not read thebook Atomic Habits or the Subtle
(10:22):
Art of Not Giving a Fuck, Ihighly, highly recommend that
you do.
Why is because the author, Ibelieve, James Clear, don't
quote me, I can't remember offthe top of my head, who wrote
Atomic Habits, talks about howit is not these massive.
Events of inspiration thatstrike you and you're, and you
(10:45):
take action and your world iscompletely different.
It is small daily habits thatredirect you on the path to
becoming the person that youhave always wanted to become.
You can do this and see this inpractice with things that we
hear about all the time, likelosing weight.
(11:05):
Saving money.
Those are the most obvious.
We hear those the most often.
What's the quickest way to lose10 pounds?
Well, that's not the quickestway or best way to then lose 20
and keep it off forever.
They all have these smallactions that we can take every
day.
Based upon, again, what worksfor us.
(11:28):
And that's why I think it issuch bullshit that we as a
society buy into the idea thatsomeone can write us a
prescription and someone, I'mnot talking about doctors, I'm
talking about people out therethat are saying this is your get
skinny quick, this is your getrich quick.
This is your build a businesstomorrow.
This is your fill in the blank.
(11:50):
And this can all change for youbecause really what works for us
is not gonna work for somebodyelse.
I love suggestions.
I love inspiration.
I love hearing of things thatwork for other people, but I
want to take that, create a newkind of thread for myself and
use that for however I can embedit into my own life.
(12:12):
So don't get caught up on that.
Idea that you have to mirrorwhatever someone else did to net
the same result because you'renot the same person.
And I really love following thatbecause it gives me a lot more.
It takes the pressure off tosay, I have my own agency and I
(12:34):
get to decide what small actionsI take every day that will
propel my business forward, myself growth forward, my
expansion as a human being, andI don't have to take anyone
else's playbook into account.
I can just take what resourceswork for me and design a whole
(12:54):
path forward on my own.
So I, I really think taking thatkind of action and putting in
effort will certainly help.
And you can do that today bytaking five minutes and deciding
how you're gonna use that fiveminutes.
(13:29):
And now if we need a kind ofactive meditation on this and
how this could work, if you pickthe one thing that you've wanted
to do that you have wanted tofocus on, but you haven't yet
done it, again, it doesn't haveto be a business.
It could be a personal goal, itcould be a part of your
business, it could be a part ofyour personal goal.
(13:51):
Just pick one thing.
And then if you close your eyesand you give yourself a couple
minutes and just time to imagineand time to explore, and we fast
forward to six months from now,what would you be most proud of
in starting today?
(14:13):
What feels hard today that youknow?
You can stretch that muscle andit will get easier over time
because you are capable and youare worth doing the work,
putting in the effort to seewhat's on the other side.
(14:34):
And what I like to ask myselfwithout, which helps take off
that pressure is if.
I take, let's take money,success, the glittery stuff on
the outside.
What if we take that off thetable and we say, just today I
want to achieve this one goal,and I'm in six months.
(14:58):
I am no richer monetarily wise.
I am no thinner.
I am no X, Y, or Z.
Fill in the blank.
What are the things that I wouldwant to do that would still make
me feel so accomplished and likeso good about myself?
(15:24):
And let that be the driver.
Let the journey of the effort bethe driver to get to the other
side.
I can't wait to hear what it isthat you're exploring.
I love feedback.
I love hearing how I can supportyou.
Shoot me a message.
Send me a dm.
It's Vicki Riss on Instagram.
(15:45):
You can also send a messagethrough my website.
You can send it whereverpodcasts are, wherever you are
listening to this podcast at.
But don't let that great ideathat keeps.
I kind of reminding you in theback of your mind, go away, lean
into it, put in just a littlebit of effort, and I can't wait
(16:08):
to see how you transform.
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