September 4, 2025 • 41 mins
Let's reconnect with your goals for this year. This episode with business strategist Josephine Owusu dives into the concept of "CEO time" – the vital moments when you step back from daily operations to ensure your business is aligned with your goals AND with the life you want to be living.
You'll discover practical systems for brain dumping, prioritizing for alignment with your goals, and creating themed days that make the most of your genius zone while minimizing decision fatigue.
Whether you're feeling misaligned within your current business or simply need a mid-year reset, this episode is full of inspiration and tactical steps to ensure your business becomes the vehicle for the life you want to be living.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
A deep change in the way that we live requires a deep
change in the way that we think.
I'm Carla Reeves, and this isDifferently.
As summer fades and routineskick back in, this is your
reminder to pause and getintentional about the goals you
set for this year.
Whether you kicked off the yearwith big dreams, or maybe it
(00:24):
was a powerful word, now's theperfect time to reflect and
recalibrate.
Today, I'm bringing back afavorite episode with Josephine
Owusu, a business strategy coachand founder of the Owusu
Collective.
We're going to dive deep intothe concept of CEO time, which
is that critical time forstepping back, evaluating your
(00:46):
progress and ensuring that everymove you make is aligning with
the life and business you're outto build.
Without further ado, sit backand enjoy.
Hey, differently listeners, I'mso excited to have Josephine
here with me today.
She and I met over a year agoin the BizChicks Mastermind and
(01:11):
we've connected gosh numeroustimes since then, and we are
going to dive into strategicplanning and I can't wait.
So welcome, josephine.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Thank you so much, carla, I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah, so give everybody a little sense of
where you are in the world andwho you are.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
So hello everyone.
I live in the UK, so I live inthe countryside.
I actually moved.
I was born and raised in London, but 11 months ago, me and my
husband we decided to move aboutan hour outside of London into
the countryside, and which hasbeen absolutely amazing.
(01:57):
And I'm a business strategistwho works with purpose-driven
coaches, content creators andcreative entrepreneurs with a
team.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
I could just listen to your voice all day and your
accent.
Everyone's going to lovelistening to you.
Okay, so we're talking aboutthis idea of building your dream
life and business throughstrategic planning, which I just
love all things planning so I'mreally excited, but that also
(02:32):
can feel a little bit lofty,right?
This idea of building our dreamlife and business.
So I want to know what doesthat mean to you?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Okay.
So the key thing and this iswhat I do with all of my clients
is it's always about startingwith the end in mind.
What is the end goal?
So, even though it may seemoverwhelming, it's really
important to just know, okay,what do I want to achieve at the
end, what is the kind ofbusiness that I want to build,
(03:02):
what is the kind of life that Iwant to build, what is the kind
of life that I want to build andhow can I build a business that
aligns with that life?
And then you kind of reverseengineer it.
You kind of move, you startwith the end in mind and then
you work backwards.
It's like what do I need to doto be able to achieve that goal?
So, for example, if you knowthat, okay, in five years time I
(03:26):
want to I'm trying to think ofan example In five years time I
want to expand to a business.
I want to have a business thatexpands to New York, for example
.
What does that look like?
From year one, year two, yearthree, year four, year five?
So you can kind of break itinto smaller goals and then so
(03:47):
that every year you have adifferent focus, but each one of
those goals is feeding in tothat bigger purpose that you
have.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, and as you work with people, what are some of
the things that really describea dream life in business?
Because that's different foreverybody, right?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yes, it is.
What has come up a lot, though,which is quite similar, is
having financial freedom, havingfreedom of time, having freedom
of time.
For some of my clients, it hasbeen being able to work anywhere
(04:32):
in the world and still have thelife that they have, so not be
limited to a geographical area.
For some clients who areparents, it's being able to have
this amazing business that theyhave, maybe work part-time in
it, but also bring in a lot ofrevenue, and then also for it to
be able to fund the lifestyleand provide for their families,
(04:54):
and also for them to have timeto look after their kids and
spend time with their kids andtheir spouses.
So it's yeah, as you said, it'sdifferent for everyone, but I
what comes up a lot is thatfreedom of time and being able
to do what they want wheneverthey want.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
You're speaking my language and I think this this
whole idea of beginning with theend in mind and and really
deciding what does that mean foryou, right, it doesn't have to
look like everybody else, and Iknow for me and the clients I've
worked with sometimes we getcaught up in that right, like
chasing something that the worldor our culture, other people
(05:36):
are chasing, and then we wake upand realize like whoa, I built
something that doesn't reallyfeel like my own or aligned with
who I am.
So I love that you start withthe end I am.
So I love that you start withthe end in mind.
And I love that you said theword alignment, because that's
just like near and dear to myheart and all the work that I do
, because if, if it's notaligned, then it doesn't feel
(05:59):
right, right.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Exactly, and I agree with that, because there are
lots of people who, when youlook out in the world, they look
successful, but behind thescenes they are burnt out, they
are tired, they are stressed,their relationships are falling
apart, and so they may havebuilt a successful business in
the world standard, but theydon't feel successful because
(06:24):
their their life is just fallingapart.
And, um, one of the things thatI love doing with my clients at
the beginning of um we do, ifthey're doing an intensive, a
strategic planning intensive,one of the things that we do is
we do a visualization exerciseand it's it amazes me time and
time again the things that comeup for a lot of the clients.
(06:46):
Things bubble up where they'relike oh, I forgot about that
dream.
It's like I forgot about thatdream, and then they're
literally like, oh my gosh, yes,this is what I want to do.
I had a client where she reallyrealised a dream that had just
kind of been pushed aside andbecause of that exercise she
(07:08):
ended up pivoting her businessand it's just changed the way
her business is and the wayshe's just killing it.
It's amazing and it's becauseshe's building a business that
aligns with her family life,that aligns with what she wants
and her goals and everything,and she's not just chasing after
.
Okay, this is what mycompetitor is doing.
(07:29):
She's chasing after her owndesires, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
How do we like two questions.
One is kind of why do we getswept away in that right Like
chasing something that doesn'treally align, and and how do we
we, how do we recognize that?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
so the first thing is , um, we're losing our focus.
So we're looking too much atwhat other people are doing.
You know, we all know that it'svery easy to look at, for
example, instagram, and peopleare posting their highlight
reels and just thinking, oh mygosh, I think that's what I want
(08:11):
and that looks amazing.
But instead of actually lookingwithin and thinking, what do I
actually want?
What success looked like to me?
Sometimes we look at whatsuccess looks like to other
people instead of actuallytaking the time to review.
I think that a lot of people Idon't think a lot of people
spend enough time reviewingtheir lives and kind of just
(08:34):
really taking the time to dreamand think about what is it that
I love doing and where do I wantmy life to go?
So I think it's definitely todo with losing focus, um, and
kind of getting shiny objectsyndrome.
You know, whenever there'sanything new, okay, maybe I
should do that.
So just you end up kind ofbeing pulled apart in different
(08:55):
places, um, so, yeah, I thinkthat's one of the key things
losing focus and just focusingon other people's dreams instead
of actually taking the time tosit down and, you know, think
about okay, what do I actuallywant like for me?
Um, because of my faith, Iliterally will spend time with
(09:17):
God and I'll pray and ask, okay,you know Lord, what, what do
you have for me, kind of thing,and I'll dream and it's about
kind of connecting with that.
So, um, that's one of thereasons.
And your second question, sorry, I forgot.
I forgot too oh, actually, yousaid how do we get back?
(09:41):
How do we get back?
Okay, so the way to get back is, as I said, is taking that time
to, literally, even if it's.
I know not everyone loves tojournal, but I think journaling
is such a an amazing practiceand so, um, take that time out
(10:01):
and ask yourself those questions.
Like you know, find your, finda lovely comfy, quiet corner in
your house and, even if it'sjust half an hour, and sit there
and just think about, or go fora walk, and then you can write
it down after and just thinkabout where do I want to be in a
few years?
(10:22):
What kind of business do I wantto build?
What a few years?
What kind of business do I wantto build?
What things light me up in mybusiness?
When was the last time I reallyenjoyed what I was doing in my
business and what was it?
And then, what kind of life do Iwant to have?
What does that look like?
What does it look like on adaily basis, a monthly basis, an
(10:42):
annual basis?
What does it look like in how Ispend my time, the clients that
I work with?
How much time do I spend withmy family?
How many holidays do I have?
It's really sitting down andthinking about the big picture,
like really dreaming and notputting any limits on it.
Like if I could live my dreamlife, what would that look like?
(11:05):
What are the simple things thatit would include?
Like, for me, I love to walk,and, especially since we moved
out to the countryside, I go,I've got a walking buddy and we
go on early morning walks aroundthe beautiful countryside and
that just, oh, it just lights meup and that's a simple thing.
I also love to go on spa daysand spa weekends, and so it's
(11:31):
really thinking about what is it?
Speaker 1 (11:33):
the things that I really enjoy from life because I
think when we don't take timeto actually get quiet and ask
those important questions, wecan get lost in this fairy tale
idea of what our life should belike.
But when we actually get realabout it, the things we deeply
(11:56):
want are far more simple thanoften our mind or the world
wants to tell us.
They're really simple things,or the world wants to tell us
they're really simple things.
And I think so many thingscould be solved in our own lives
if we just spent a little moretime getting quiet.
You know our world is so noisyand I love what you're saying
(12:17):
here.
Okay, so back to this idea ofthe end in mind.
I know in my own life theimportance of that.
Like I've always had kind of amission in front of me, whether
it was like who do I want to beas a mom, or what kind of
marriage are we creating, orwhat kind of business am I
(12:37):
building.
And sometimes those visionshave been like five-year,
10-year, 15 year, 20 yearvisions that I just can almost
like repeat in my mind, that Icarry in front of me, even when
there's no evidence showing thatit's happening or you know,
real yet and those have led me.
I mean, those have led all thedifferent parts of my life and I
(13:00):
think this is so, so,incredibly powerful.
So, once we have this, what isthe next piece of this?
Once we have our vision andmission idea?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
you can do almost like a loose plan, and remember
that when it comes to goalsetting, you can always adjust
things.
It doesn't mean that justbecause you set a goal, that's
it.
We're rigid, we're not moving.
I'm just thinking of the memewith Ross from Friends when it's
like pivot Sometimes we have topivot.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
I love that, and sometimes goals don't work for
people for that reason.
They feel too confining, and so, yes, loose, loose plans and
loose goals and that's how it iswith strategy as well.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Um, even if you um have created a strategy, we
should have that openness to beable to pivot and adjust
depending on what happens,because life is not
straightforward and even thoughwe have a plan, we all know that
things always come in and it'slike, okay, that was not in the
plan, and so we have to alwaysbe open to pivot.
(14:21):
But what I would suggest is, asI mentioned earlier, creating a
loose plan in terms of okay, ifthis is, for example, what I
want to achieve in five years,so then what does that look like
in year four, year three, yeartwo, year one, so what?
(14:42):
Where would I like to be?
What?
What's the goal post for eachof those years for me to be able
to achieve that plan?
And then you would come back toyear one, which is the current
year that you were in, so thenext 12 months, and you would
look at that big goal and breakit down.
(15:06):
So I always like to break downthings.
So, for example, give me a goal.
I'm going to let you give me agoal.
So say, there's a goal that youhave for this year, and I can
give you an example.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Well, I think one of the goals for this year for our
life was to be more mobile andcreate more adventure in our
lives and more living love thatokay, so I love that, I love
that, I love that.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
So what you would do is um, in terms of so you don't
want to be limited to a place,you want to be able to travel.
Um, do you know how many weeks?
Or you want to travel in theyear?
Speaker 1 (15:49):
haven't actually defined that, but I think we've
just want to have you know kindof adventure and trips kind of
plotted throughout the rest ofthe year, which we kind of have
done a little bit of.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Okay, so I love that.
That's a great example.
So what I would do for the next12 months if I know that, okay,
I want to be more mobile,moving around, having trips here
and there is.
I will look at the 12 monthsand then I will decide.
We'll decide okay, maybe wewant to, we want to do a trip
every month.
Maybe we want to do a tripevery month.
(16:25):
You might decide that you wantto do two big trips a year, so
you might have um two, whetherit's um yeah, for example, you
might have two trips where it'sone month each, right, and you
decide that, okay, I'm going to,we're going to go away in
August and that's going to beour first month trip, and then
(16:48):
our second month trip is goingto be in December, because it's
around christmas time, so we canactually spend time with family
, but then we can also stillhave some time for ourselves as
well, right?
So you would put that in yourcalendar, that we're going to be
doing that, and then you mightdecide that all the other months
you are going to go away once aweekend, and then maybe every
(17:14):
three months you might go awayfor a week.
So you will kind of plot thatout.
It's all about planning,looking at each month and be
like okay, so most of thesemonths, so two months, for
example, for Q1, the first twomonths I'm going away for the
weekend, we're going away forthe weekend, and then we decide
where we're going away for theweekend.
We're going for away for theweekend, and then we decide
(17:34):
where we're going.
Month three we're going away fora week, month or maybe for
three days or something, andthen month four, we're going
away for um a week, and thenmonth six, we're going away for
a month.
So you can kind of plot thingsout.
Now you need to look at yourbusiness and figure out okay,
(17:54):
what does that look like?
So, because you don't want tobe work, okay, question If you
were going away for a month inAugust and December, would that
be?
Would part of it be a workingholiday or would it be you want
to completely switch off?
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Yes, so these are mostly working like being mobile
and working, so on the road,doing a little blend of both.
So, yes, it definitely includesworking yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Okay, perfect.
So what you would do is youwould look at kind of your
packages and the way that youwork with your clients and you
would schedule it in a way wherein the months of August and the
months of December yourworkload is much less.
So you're still working behindthe scenes or you might not even
(18:45):
be doing client work in thoseparticular months, but you are
doing, you're working behind thescenes on your business.
So they're like the quietermonths, usually August, people
on holiday, so it's a great timeto work on your business.
December people are, to behonest, a lot of people switch
off from the beginning ofDecember, so you can also kind
(19:06):
of slowly be working behind thescenes on your business again.
And so maybe you would set upyour business in a way where, in
terms of the way that you workwith clients, if you are on a
retainer, you would make surethat by August, for example, you
are winding down and if you'veeven got a few client calls,
(19:29):
it's literally only a few whereit's not draining.
And the same thing withDecember as well.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
I love what you're saying.
So it's like, regardless ofwhat our goal is, it's kind of
like plotting these big rocks,right?
Because what I know when I plotthe big rocks, you know, just
like kind of casting your visionor mission.
It's like you do start to, yourlife starts to line up around
those things, right?
The problem is, when we don'thave big rocks clear in our life
(20:01):
or plotted in our life, thenlife just fills up everything
and we're left feelingoverwhelmed, frustrated,
consumed by everything else butbut our big rocks, and that
leaves us feeling powerless andfrustrated, right?
So let's talk about that for alittle bit, because I know you,
(20:24):
you help people with overwhelmand that's a big topic, I know
with the people I work for too.
So let's, let's talk about thatfor a minute, know with the
people I work for too.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
So let's, let's talk about that for a minute, yeah,
so in terms of overwhelm, Ithink a lot of us sometimes we
just see that there's just toomuch to do, too many things I
always too many things.
So one of this is why a themethat you will keep on hearing is
about writing things down,about planning.
If you don't plan, I have asaying if it's not in the
(20:57):
calendar, it's not happening.
So you could have a dream that,oh yes, I want to be mobile
this year and we're traveling,but if you don't actually look
at the calendar and schedule itin, it is not happening.
If we didn't schedule thispodcast interview, it would not
have happened, and I always saythat some day is not in the
(21:19):
calendar, so we need to.
It's.
It's really important.
The key is in the plan and thekey is writing things down.
Um, I think when people areoverwhelmed, they.
The first thing that you needto start with is literally do a
brain dump, um, and I wouldencourage you to do that even so
(21:40):
.
For example, when you'replanning your month, you have a
brain dump of what you want toachieve for that month.
Um, the same as if you wereplanning for your week.
Um, you can either.
Some people plan on the Fridayjust before they finish their
day and close up for the weekend.
Some people plan on a Sundaywhen they chilled and it's part
(22:01):
of their self-care and you knowthey're kind of winding down on
a Sunday, but I think the key isyeah, the key is actually
making a note of what are thethings that are all in my head.
If it's in your head, you'regonna, you're gonna stay
overwhelmed.
So I would start with writeeverything down, just do a brain
(22:23):
dump.
Brain dump it's of everythingthat's in your head which is
like I need to do this.
And then look at, okay, whichones of these things is actually
time sensitive, for example?
So which ones are actually likeI need to get this done by a
(22:45):
certain time, a certain day andthere's a, there's a hard
deadline on it.
And then look at the thingswhere it's important but you
could actually schedule it in.
You can plot it in.
I'll give an example If youwere planning to travel in
(23:05):
August and you know that you hadcertain things that needed to
be done for clients and wrappedup, you would make sure that you
would schedule it in.
So if you knew that, for example, you were I don't know
launching a program, or you hada deliverable that you needed to
give or a strategy that youneeded to provide, you would
(23:26):
make sure you'd almost kind oflook at your vacation, vacation
time or that that downtime as aproject.
It's like operation project.
What do I need to do to be ableto for that month to be a
success for me, to be able tonot be stressed out and working
a hundred percent, but actuallybe able to take some time off
(23:50):
and really enjoy that time andnot be stressed?
What needs to be put in place?
Um, yeah, so it's kind oftreating it as as an actual
project and um mapping thingsout.
So I always encourage timeblocking.
So if you've got an ongoingproject where it's something
that it takes a bit longer, youcan schedule time in um on a
(24:15):
particular day every week sothat you're getting a bit done
every time.
So you could have a project todo with um.
For example, you want torebrand your website.
You need to write the copy youneed to provide, you know all
these different things.
You can map that out.
You can decide that a Wednesdayis your website day and you map
(24:47):
out four hours every week tomake sure you do that.
And the key thing is, when youare time blocking, don't just
put do website Attach.
So true, right, because that'swhat we do sometimes.
But in the description put umspecific tasks, specific actions
that you need to achieve forthat particular date, so you can
kind of plan from week to weekand then do that.
(25:09):
Another thing that I wouldrecommend is theming your days
as well.
So, for example, if you have apodcast a great thing a lot of
podcasters do, and I'm sure youdo as well is they have a
specific day that they recordtheir podcast.
Because you're not gettingdistracted.
Overwhelm comes when you'reliterally you feel like you're
(25:31):
being pulled in differentdirections for different tasks.
So it's like you're focusing onthat one task, you're focusing
on recording.
It's the same kind of task.
That's what's going to allowyou to be more productive.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Oh, I love that, I love these ideas.
So I want to highlight a fewthings you've said.
One is the power of a braindump.
When you're feeling overwhelmed, I know for myself like it's
all just stirring in your headand you've got things for this
week, next week, next month, thewhole year like stirring,
swirling in your head and justsitting down to like empty it
(26:07):
right, to actually see like whatis today, what is this week,
what is next month, and you cankind of spread it out.
Then you feel a little moresense of control and power over
actually what's here and now.
So powerful you guys listening,just emptying your mind on a
regular basis of that foroverwhelm.
(26:29):
I think that's incredible.
And the second thing I want tohighlight is this idea of what I
just hear you kind of talkingabout focus, and I love that
you're always focused on what isit that you want?
And then how can you linethings up to that?
Because I think a pitfall forus as humans is to get focused
(26:51):
on what we don't want, and thatcreates overwhelm too.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Yeah, yeah, and even when you look at your, when you
do your brain dump and you lookat your list of things, ask
yourself the question do Iactually need to do this thing
so you can go through thatexercise?
Is this going to move mybusiness forward?
Does this align with the goalthat I have for this month?
Speaker 1 (27:17):
So true, I'm so guilty of that.
Sometimes things just end up onmy to do list that aren't even
relevant with the goals I haveright now I park it.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
And so it's really, once you've dropped that down,
it's like you have to beruthless.
It's like, if you're doing aclear out of your wardrobe, of
your clothes, and it's like Ihave not worn this in a year, I
have to be ruthless, chuck youout.
You really need to sit down andthink, okay, does this actually
line up with my goal for thismonth, which should line up with
(27:53):
my goal for this quarter, whichshould line up for my goal for
this year, which feeds into myultimate big dream goal.
And so, if you're always askingyourself that question, you're
being intentional abouteverything that you are doing
and you're not just being pulledin so many different directions
.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
and you're not just being pulled in so many
different directions.
Okay, so how often should we dothis?
And this is really importantbecause you're talking about
kind of making hard decisions.
Like I was talking to a clientlast week and she does a lot of
project management inside of herbusiness and she was leading
this group through an exerciseand they were getting so
(28:32):
frustrated because they'replanning all the projects for
the year but they can't figureout how to fit them all in.
And she's like okay, hold on.
Basically, you guys have 36eggs.
You have one carton that has 12spots.
You've got to figure out howyou're trying to fit 36 eggs in
12 spots and it doesn't work.
(28:52):
And so she was saying these arethe hard decisions you've got
to make to, you know, to pushsome of those out.
And so how often should we beasking ourselves this question?
And is there anything you wouldrecommend around, like making
those hard decisions?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
so I would say um, whenever you do your brain dumps
you might not do your braindump every day, um, you might do
it weekly, but whenever you aredoing that and you're, whenever
you're planning, for example,if you're planning planning your
day, if you're planning yourweek, for example um, yeah, I
(29:33):
would say specifically in thoseareas.
When you're planning your month, that's more loose and you can
always adjust to it, but whenyou're planning your day and
your week, I think you shouldactually ask yourself those
questions um, what do I need tobe doing this, you?
And another thing that you needto be thinking about is is this
(29:53):
moving my business forward?
Am I working in my business anddoing all these little tasks
that need to be done butshouldn't necessarily be done by
me and are not necessarily mygenius zone?
Or should I be, or am I doingtasks that are working on my
business?
(30:13):
Another thing to think about isis it going to bring revenue in
my business?
Is it going to bring moreclients?
Um, is it something I enjoy andI'm passionate about?
Does it align with what myvision and my mission is for my
business?
Does it line up with my values,because sometimes we have
(30:35):
projects, for example, as yousaid, they had like 36 projects
and 12 spots.
Some of those projects, um,they're doing and they've
probably not thought about it,but it's not really.
It's very time consuming, butthe reward in terms of financial
is not much.
Should you be doing that?
Speaker 1 (30:56):
so true, so true.
So how do we stay focused onthe things that we're good at um
?
I know that's something that isimportant to you and that you
help people do.
How do we recognize that andhow do we recognize when we're
out of alignment there?
Speaker 2 (31:16):
okay.
So the first thing that I wouldsay is what are the things that
people always come to you for?
There's something, at least onething, and there's.
There's some people out therewho are like oh, I don't know.
You know, I don't know what I'mgreat at, but there is
something that peoplecontinuously come to you for,
(31:39):
whether it's advice, whetherthere's something, whether it's
you know something creative.
What is it that peoplecontinuously come and ask you
for?
Because that is an indicator ofsomething that is your gift,
that is your genius zone.
Another thing is, if you arestruggling to figure that out, I
(32:00):
would recommend and I have donethis exercise and it is an eye
opener.
I would recommend that you senda message to maybe five to ten
of your closest people andclosest friends, family, and ask
them what do you think mystrengths are?
What do you think my weaknessesare?
(32:22):
Um, yeah, what do you think I'mgreat?
Great at?
Kind of thing, and you will besurprised the things that they
will come back with and thesimilarities that you'll hear.
The same thing will come up.
That is an indicator of whatyou are great at.
(32:43):
Also, what are you good at?
naturally, but to other peopleit's difficult love that
question yeah, yeah, what areyou good at, naturally, yeah
such good questions.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Okay, what else do you want people to know?
And then I want you to shareabout how you work with people
and what you're most excitedabout inside of your business
today.
But is there anything else inthe realm of building our really
a life and business that reallyaligns and brings us joy, that
(33:21):
you want people to know that wedidn't touch on?
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Yes, the key thing.
So, when you're building yourdream life and business through
strategic planning, the keything is, as I've mentioned
before, is being flexible, butalso being ready to implement.
It's not just some of us canget stuck in the planning, and
(33:50):
it's really important, yep.
I'm guilty of that because,because we're strategic you know
, it's so fun we can really getstuck in the planning, and so
thank god for my husband,because he is such an action
taker, so he pushes me out of mycomfort zone, and so the key
(34:10):
thing is um, yes, strategywithout implementation is, to be
honest, you still going to justhave a dream.
And so the key is when youcreate the strategy to actually
implement, and so that's why wecreate the plan, and it's all
about sticking to that plan.
And, in the same way that ifyou made a plan with someone
(34:34):
else or you had an agreement,you would stick to it because
you want to be seen as reliable,stick to those plans that you
make for yourself.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
You know that's a key thing and so, yes, I have a
question about that, because I,too, struggle with that part and
, like just at the beginning ofthis year, I'm like, okay, I'm
going to implement these powerhours again, which to me, are
kind of these focused blocks oftime on my calendar where I'm
(35:05):
going to focus on, you know, twohours on one activity, whether
it's, you know, increasingawareness around my podcast, or
it's writing content, or, and Iplot them on my calendar, and
then I just end up moving themaround.
I'm not doing them, and so isthat in like a problem of me
(35:27):
just being an integrity withwhat I say I'm going to do, or
is it like this isn't workingfor me and I should reinvent
something different?
Speaker 2 (35:39):
so what you need to do is, um, when you put so, when
you're scheduling those powerhours, you need to make sure,
first of all, that you'rescheduling it in a time where
it's like it's a non-negotiable,because I've done that before
as well.
It's like, okay, I could justmove that, and you, and before
you realize you've moved it fora whole quarter and you're
(36:01):
literally like I have not doneanything, but you wouldn't do
that with a client.
With a client, we will go aboveand beyond, and so it's you
really have to.
It has to be an non-negotiable.
So it's a mindset, it's amindset shift when you book that
time in.
It needs to be a non-negotiable.
(36:21):
I was listening to Ed Milet andhe was talking about how, a lot
of the time, the reason why alot of people suffer with
imposter syndrome is becausethey break promises to
themselves.
We all do it.
Oh, I'm gonna go to the gym,this you know, every morning and
(36:44):
then, when it comes, oh, I'mtired, I'm we, we make our
excuses.
He says.
So the reason why a lot ofpeople have imposter syndrome is
because they don't even trustthemselves, because they break
promises to themselves, and sowe need to shift our mindset
where, when I block in that time, even though it's not with a
(37:05):
client, I am also just asimportant as my client.
It's just as important that Ido these things for my business,
so that my business thrives.
How many of us we've all done itwhere we have been full to
capacity with client work and wehave not factored in any time
(37:26):
for our own businesses orpersonal development or things
that we need to do behind thescenes?
That will stifle your business,and so it's really important.
It's almost like having a mindmindset shift that, when I put
this in, this is anon-negotiable, whether I like
it or not, I am not breaking mypromise to myself unless,
(37:49):
obviously, something has come upand so it's.
It's, it's a it's not easy, butit's a mindset shift that we
have to do that.
I'm not going to break thispromise to myself and just take
it day by day.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
I think that's so interesting.
I think what you helped me seeis that I do.
I have these non-negotiables inmy life, like all over my life,
when it comes to wellbeing ormy marriage or my family or my
kid, like having quiet time.
But what you helped me realizeis I think that what I've
plotted on my calendar isn't anon-negotiable and I need to
(38:24):
reassess what I'm putting onthere to actually make it align
with that.
That's really powerful.
I love that.
Okay, what are you up to,josephine?
What are you excited about?
And how can people, yeah, workwith you and what does that look
like?
Speaker 2 (38:45):
Okay, so I'm excited about a lot of things this year.
So 2023 is my year ofvisibility that's one of my
words.
I've got three words, butvisibility is one of visibility.
That's one of my words.
I've got three words, butvisibility is one of them.
And so I'm currently workingexcuse me, I'm currently working
on behind the scenes and I'mgoing to be launching a YouTube
(39:06):
channel which will where we'llbe going behind the scenes of me
as an entrepreneur, and I amvery, very, very excited about
that.
I've been wanting to launch thisfor a long time and now it's
like this is the time.
So we'll be talking all thingsentrepreneurship, lifestyle, um,
(39:27):
strategy, um networking I'mvery, very excited and also
self-care as well.
So, yeah, that's something thatI'm working on.
I am also what else am I doing?
Congratulations.
It's just about being visible.
That sounds exciting, thank you,thank you.
Yeah, I literally was just likeOK, we are doing this.
(39:50):
So I'm really, really excitedabout that and, in terms of
working with me, um, you can umcheck out my website.
Um wwwtheawusucollectivecom andum also, you I'd love to hear
from some of the listeners, andso I will share with Carla a
(40:12):
link where you can book in acall just to, if you have any
challenges, a 15 minute call andwe can kind of just hop on a
call and discuss the challengesthat you have and see how I can
help you.
But I'm just really, reallyexcited.
I'm excited to continue doingstrategic planning with my
(40:36):
clients.
I just I just love it.
I love to see thetransformation and to see, yeah,
people actually building abusiness that lights them up and
aligns with the life that theywant to build.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
You guys can't see her smile, but she's definitely
lit up and you just have so muchjoy.
I love spending time with youand I'm so grateful that our
paths have crossed, and I wouldlove to have you come back and
kind of go another layer of thisplanning and strategy, because
I know my listeners love this asmuch as I do.
(41:16):
So let's talk about that, thankyou, and thank you everybody
for being here and just thankyou for your time today.
I appreciate you so much.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
Oh thank you so much, carla.
I've really enjoyed this, andthank you everyone for listening
.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
Thank you for making it all the way to the end and
thank you for listening toDifferently.
If you enjoyed this episode,will you please go leave a
five-star review and share itwith someone you love.
Goodbye for now.
I'll see you next week.
A deep change in the way that we live requires a deep
change in the way that we think.
I'm Carla Reeves, and this isDifferently.
As summer fades and routineskick back in, this is your
reminder to pause and getintentional about the goals you
set for this year.
Whether you kicked off the yearwith big dreams, or maybe it
(00:24):
was a powerful word, now's theperfect time to reflect and
recalibrate.
Today, I'm bringing back afavorite episode with Josephine
Owusu, a business strategy coachand founder of the Owusu
Collective.
We're going to dive deep intothe concept of CEO time, which
is that critical time forstepping back, evaluating your
(00:46):
progress and ensuring that everymove you make is aligning with
the life and business you're outto build.
Without further ado, sit backand enjoy.
Hey, differently listeners, I'mso excited to have Josephine
here with me today.
She and I met over a year agoin the BizChicks Mastermind and
(01:11):
we've connected gosh numeroustimes since then, and we are
going to dive into strategicplanning and I can't wait.
So welcome, josephine.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Thank you so much, carla, I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah, so give everybody a little sense of
where you are in the world andwho you are.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
So hello everyone.
I live in the UK, so I live inthe countryside.
I actually moved.
I was born and raised in London, but 11 months ago, me and my
husband we decided to move aboutan hour outside of London into
the countryside, and which hasbeen absolutely amazing.
(01:57):
And I'm a business strategistwho works with purpose-driven
coaches, content creators andcreative entrepreneurs with a
team.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
I could just listen to your voice all day and your
accent.
Everyone's going to lovelistening to you.
Okay, so we're talking aboutthis idea of building your dream
life and business throughstrategic planning, which I just
love all things planning so I'mreally excited, but that also
(02:32):
can feel a little bit lofty,right?
This idea of building our dreamlife and business.
So I want to know what doesthat mean to you?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Okay.
So the key thing and this iswhat I do with all of my clients
is it's always about startingwith the end in mind.
What is the end goal?
So, even though it may seemoverwhelming, it's really
important to just know, okay,what do I want to achieve at the
end, what is the kind ofbusiness that I want to build,
(03:02):
what is the kind of life that Iwant to build, what is the kind
of life that I want to build andhow can I build a business that
aligns with that life?
And then you kind of reverseengineer it.
You kind of move, you startwith the end in mind and then
you work backwards.
It's like what do I need to doto be able to achieve that goal?
So, for example, if you knowthat, okay, in five years time I
(03:26):
want to I'm trying to think ofan example In five years time I
want to expand to a business.
I want to have a business thatexpands to New York, for example
.
What does that look like?
From year one, year two, yearthree, year four, year five?
So you can kind of break itinto smaller goals and then so
(03:47):
that every year you have adifferent focus, but each one of
those goals is feeding in tothat bigger purpose that you
have.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, and as you work with people, what are some of
the things that really describea dream life in business?
Because that's different foreverybody, right?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yes, it is.
What has come up a lot, though,which is quite similar, is
having financial freedom, havingfreedom of time, having freedom
of time.
For some of my clients, it hasbeen being able to work anywhere
(04:32):
in the world and still have thelife that they have, so not be
limited to a geographical area.
For some clients who areparents, it's being able to have
this amazing business that theyhave, maybe work part-time in
it, but also bring in a lot ofrevenue, and then also for it to
be able to fund the lifestyleand provide for their families,
(04:54):
and also for them to have timeto look after their kids and
spend time with their kids andtheir spouses.
So it's yeah, as you said, it'sdifferent for everyone, but I
what comes up a lot is thatfreedom of time and being able
to do what they want wheneverthey want.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
You're speaking my language and I think this this
whole idea of beginning with theend in mind and and really
deciding what does that mean foryou, right, it doesn't have to
look like everybody else, and Iknow for me and the clients I've
worked with sometimes we getcaught up in that right, like
chasing something that the worldor our culture, other people
(05:36):
are chasing, and then we wake upand realize like whoa, I built
something that doesn't reallyfeel like my own or aligned with
who I am.
So I love that you start withthe end I am.
So I love that you start withthe end in mind.
And I love that you said theword alignment, because that's
just like near and dear to myheart and all the work that I do
, because if, if it's notaligned, then it doesn't feel
(05:59):
right, right.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Exactly, and I agree with that, because there are
lots of people who, when youlook out in the world, they look
successful, but behind thescenes they are burnt out, they
are tired, they are stressed,their relationships are falling
apart, and so they may havebuilt a successful business in
the world standard, but theydon't feel successful because
(06:24):
their their life is just fallingapart.
And, um, one of the things thatI love doing with my clients at
the beginning of um we do, ifthey're doing an intensive, a
strategic planning intensive,one of the things that we do is
we do a visualization exerciseand it's it amazes me time and
time again the things that comeup for a lot of the clients.
(06:46):
Things bubble up where they'relike oh, I forgot about that
dream.
It's like I forgot about thatdream, and then they're
literally like, oh my gosh, yes,this is what I want to do.
I had a client where she reallyrealised a dream that had just
kind of been pushed aside andbecause of that exercise she
(07:08):
ended up pivoting her businessand it's just changed the way
her business is and the wayshe's just killing it.
It's amazing and it's becauseshe's building a business that
aligns with her family life,that aligns with what she wants
and her goals and everything,and she's not just chasing after
.
Okay, this is what mycompetitor is doing.
(07:29):
She's chasing after her owndesires, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
How do we like two questions.
One is kind of why do we getswept away in that right Like
chasing something that doesn'treally align, and and how do we
we, how do we recognize that?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
so the first thing is , um, we're losing our focus.
So we're looking too much atwhat other people are doing.
You know, we all know that it'svery easy to look at, for
example, instagram, and peopleare posting their highlight
reels and just thinking, oh mygosh, I think that's what I want
(08:11):
and that looks amazing.
But instead of actually lookingwithin and thinking, what do I
actually want?
What success looked like to me?
Sometimes we look at whatsuccess looks like to other
people instead of actuallytaking the time to review.
I think that a lot of people Idon't think a lot of people
spend enough time reviewingtheir lives and kind of just
(08:34):
really taking the time to dreamand think about what is it that
I love doing and where do I wantmy life to go?
So I think it's definitely todo with losing focus, um, and
kind of getting shiny objectsyndrome.
You know, whenever there'sanything new, okay, maybe I
should do that.
So just you end up kind ofbeing pulled apart in different
(08:55):
places, um, so, yeah, I thinkthat's one of the key things
losing focus and just focusingon other people's dreams instead
of actually taking the time tosit down and, you know, think
about okay, what do I actuallywant like for me?
Um, because of my faith, Iliterally will spend time with
(09:17):
God and I'll pray and ask, okay,you know Lord, what, what do
you have for me, kind of thing,and I'll dream and it's about
kind of connecting with that.
So, um, that's one of thereasons.
And your second question, sorry, I forgot.
I forgot too oh, actually, yousaid how do we get back?
(09:41):
How do we get back?
Okay, so the way to get back is, as I said, is taking that time
to, literally, even if it's.
I know not everyone loves tojournal, but I think journaling
is such a an amazing practiceand so, um, take that time out
(10:01):
and ask yourself those questions.
Like you know, find your, finda lovely comfy, quiet corner in
your house and, even if it'sjust half an hour, and sit there
and just think about, or go fora walk, and then you can write
it down after and just thinkabout where do I want to be in a
few years?
(10:22):
What kind of business do I wantto build?
What a few years?
What kind of business do I wantto build?
What things light me up in mybusiness?
When was the last time I reallyenjoyed what I was doing in my
business and what was it?
And then, what kind of life do Iwant to have?
What does that look like?
What does it look like on adaily basis, a monthly basis, an
(10:42):
annual basis?
What does it look like in how Ispend my time, the clients that
I work with?
How much time do I spend withmy family?
How many holidays do I have?
It's really sitting down andthinking about the big picture,
like really dreaming and notputting any limits on it.
Like if I could live my dreamlife, what would that look like?
(11:05):
What are the simple things thatit would include?
Like, for me, I love to walk,and, especially since we moved
out to the countryside, I go,I've got a walking buddy and we
go on early morning walks aroundthe beautiful countryside and
that just, oh, it just lights meup and that's a simple thing.
I also love to go on spa daysand spa weekends, and so it's
(11:31):
really thinking about what is it?
Speaker 1 (11:33):
the things that I really enjoy from life because I
think when we don't take timeto actually get quiet and ask
those important questions, wecan get lost in this fairy tale
idea of what our life should belike.
But when we actually get realabout it, the things we deeply
(11:56):
want are far more simple thanoften our mind or the world
wants to tell us.
They're really simple things,or the world wants to tell us
they're really simple things.
And I think so many thingscould be solved in our own lives
if we just spent a little moretime getting quiet.
You know our world is so noisyand I love what you're saying
(12:17):
here.
Okay, so back to this idea ofthe end in mind.
I know in my own life theimportance of that.
Like I've always had kind of amission in front of me, whether
it was like who do I want to beas a mom, or what kind of
marriage are we creating, orwhat kind of business am I
(12:37):
building.
And sometimes those visionshave been like five-year,
10-year, 15 year, 20 yearvisions that I just can almost
like repeat in my mind, that Icarry in front of me, even when
there's no evidence showing thatit's happening or you know,
real yet and those have led me.
I mean, those have led all thedifferent parts of my life and I
(13:00):
think this is so, so,incredibly powerful.
So, once we have this, what isthe next piece of this?
Once we have our vision andmission idea?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
you can do almost like a loose plan, and remember
that when it comes to goalsetting, you can always adjust
things.
It doesn't mean that justbecause you set a goal, that's
it.
We're rigid, we're not moving.
I'm just thinking of the memewith Ross from Friends when it's
like pivot Sometimes we have topivot.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
I love that, and sometimes goals don't work for
people for that reason.
They feel too confining, and so, yes, loose, loose plans and
loose goals and that's how it iswith strategy as well.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Um, even if you um have created a strategy, we
should have that openness to beable to pivot and adjust
depending on what happens,because life is not
straightforward and even thoughwe have a plan, we all know that
things always come in and it'slike, okay, that was not in the
plan, and so we have to alwaysbe open to pivot.
(14:21):
But what I would suggest is, asI mentioned earlier, creating a
loose plan in terms of okay, ifthis is, for example, what I
want to achieve in five years,so then what does that look like
in year four, year three, yeartwo, year one, so what?
(14:42):
Where would I like to be?
What?
What's the goal post for eachof those years for me to be able
to achieve that plan?
And then you would come back toyear one, which is the current
year that you were in, so thenext 12 months, and you would
look at that big goal and breakit down.
(15:06):
So I always like to break downthings.
So, for example, give me a goal.
I'm going to let you give me agoal.
So say, there's a goal that youhave for this year, and I can
give you an example.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Well, I think one of the goals for this year for our
life was to be more mobile andcreate more adventure in our
lives and more living love thatokay, so I love that, I love
that, I love that.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
So what you would do is um, in terms of so you don't
want to be limited to a place,you want to be able to travel.
Um, do you know how many weeks?
Or you want to travel in theyear?
Speaker 1 (15:49):
haven't actually defined that, but I think we've
just want to have you know kindof adventure and trips kind of
plotted throughout the rest ofthe year, which we kind of have
done a little bit of.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Okay, so I love that.
That's a great example.
So what I would do for the next12 months if I know that, okay,
I want to be more mobile,moving around, having trips here
and there is.
I will look at the 12 monthsand then I will decide.
We'll decide okay, maybe wewant to, we want to do a trip
every month.
Maybe we want to do a tripevery month.
(16:25):
You might decide that you wantto do two big trips a year, so
you might have um two, whetherit's um yeah, for example, you
might have two trips where it'sone month each, right, and you
decide that, okay, I'm going to,we're going to go away in
August and that's going to beour first month trip, and then
(16:48):
our second month trip is goingto be in December, because it's
around christmas time, so we canactually spend time with family
, but then we can also stillhave some time for ourselves as
well, right?
So you would put that in yourcalendar, that we're going to be
doing that, and then you mightdecide that all the other months
you are going to go away once aweekend, and then maybe every
(17:14):
three months you might go awayfor a week.
So you will kind of plot thatout.
It's all about planning,looking at each month and be
like okay, so most of thesemonths, so two months, for
example, for Q1, the first twomonths I'm going away for the
weekend, we're going away forthe weekend, and then we decide
where we're going away for theweekend.
We're going for away for theweekend, and then we decide
(17:34):
where we're going.
Month three we're going away fora week, month or maybe for
three days or something, andthen month four, we're going
away for um a week, and thenmonth six, we're going away for
a month.
So you can kind of plot thingsout.
Now you need to look at yourbusiness and figure out okay,
(17:54):
what does that look like?
So, because you don't want tobe work, okay, question If you
were going away for a month inAugust and December, would that
be?
Would part of it be a workingholiday or would it be you want
to completely switch off?
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Yes, so these are mostly working like being mobile
and working, so on the road,doing a little blend of both.
So, yes, it definitely includesworking yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Okay, perfect.
So what you would do is youwould look at kind of your
packages and the way that youwork with your clients and you
would schedule it in a way wherein the months of August and the
months of December yourworkload is much less.
So you're still working behindthe scenes or you might not even
(18:45):
be doing client work in thoseparticular months, but you are
doing, you're working behind thescenes on your business.
So they're like the quietermonths, usually August, people
on holiday, so it's a great timeto work on your business.
December people are, to behonest, a lot of people switch
off from the beginning ofDecember, so you can also kind
(19:06):
of slowly be working behind thescenes on your business again.
And so maybe you would set upyour business in a way where, in
terms of the way that you workwith clients, if you are on a
retainer, you would make surethat by August, for example, you
are winding down and if you'veeven got a few client calls,
(19:29):
it's literally only a few whereit's not draining.
And the same thing withDecember as well.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
I love what you're saying.
So it's like, regardless ofwhat our goal is, it's kind of
like plotting these big rocks,right?
Because what I know when I plotthe big rocks, you know, just
like kind of casting your visionor mission.
It's like you do start to, yourlife starts to line up around
those things, right?
The problem is, when we don'thave big rocks clear in our life
(20:01):
or plotted in our life, thenlife just fills up everything
and we're left feelingoverwhelmed, frustrated,
consumed by everything else butbut our big rocks, and that
leaves us feeling powerless andfrustrated, right?
So let's talk about that for alittle bit, because I know you,
(20:24):
you help people with overwhelmand that's a big topic, I know
with the people I work for too.
So let's, let's talk about thatfor a minute, know with the
people I work for too.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
So let's, let's talk about that for a minute, yeah,
so in terms of overwhelm, Ithink a lot of us sometimes we
just see that there's just toomuch to do, too many things I
always too many things.
So one of this is why a themethat you will keep on hearing is
about writing things down,about planning.
If you don't plan, I have asaying if it's not in the
(20:57):
calendar, it's not happening.
So you could have a dream that,oh yes, I want to be mobile
this year and we're traveling,but if you don't actually look
at the calendar and schedule itin, it is not happening.
If we didn't schedule thispodcast interview, it would not
have happened, and I always saythat some day is not in the
(21:19):
calendar, so we need to.
It's.
It's really important.
The key is in the plan and thekey is writing things down.
Um, I think when people areoverwhelmed, they.
The first thing that you needto start with is literally do a
brain dump, um, and I wouldencourage you to do that even so
(21:40):
.
For example, when you'replanning your month, you have a
brain dump of what you want toachieve for that month.
Um, the same as if you wereplanning for your week.
Um, you can either.
Some people plan on the Fridayjust before they finish their
day and close up for the weekend.
Some people plan on a Sundaywhen they chilled and it's part
(22:01):
of their self-care and you knowthey're kind of winding down on
a Sunday, but I think the key isyeah, the key is actually
making a note of what are thethings that are all in my head.
If it's in your head, you'regonna, you're gonna stay
overwhelmed.
So I would start with writeeverything down, just do a brain
(22:23):
dump.
Brain dump it's of everythingthat's in your head which is
like I need to do this.
And then look at, okay, whichones of these things is actually
time sensitive, for example?
So which ones are actually likeI need to get this done by a
(22:45):
certain time, a certain day andthere's a, there's a hard
deadline on it.
And then look at the thingswhere it's important but you
could actually schedule it in.
You can plot it in.
I'll give an example If youwere planning to travel in
(23:05):
August and you know that you hadcertain things that needed to
be done for clients and wrappedup, you would make sure that you
would schedule it in.
So if you knew that, for example, you were I don't know
launching a program, or you hada deliverable that you needed to
give or a strategy that youneeded to provide, you would
(23:26):
make sure you'd almost kind oflook at your vacation, vacation
time or that that downtime as aproject.
It's like operation project.
What do I need to do to be ableto for that month to be a
success for me, to be able tonot be stressed out and working
a hundred percent, but actuallybe able to take some time off
(23:50):
and really enjoy that time andnot be stressed?
What needs to be put in place?
Um, yeah, so it's kind oftreating it as as an actual
project and um mapping thingsout.
So I always encourage timeblocking.
So if you've got an ongoingproject where it's something
that it takes a bit longer, youcan schedule time in um on a
(24:15):
particular day every week sothat you're getting a bit done
every time.
So you could have a project todo with um.
For example, you want torebrand your website.
You need to write the copy youneed to provide, you know all
these different things.
You can map that out.
You can decide that a Wednesdayis your website day and you map
(24:47):
out four hours every week tomake sure you do that.
And the key thing is, when youare time blocking, don't just
put do website Attach.
So true, right, because that'swhat we do sometimes.
But in the description put umspecific tasks, specific actions
that you need to achieve forthat particular date, so you can
kind of plan from week to weekand then do that.
(25:09):
Another thing that I wouldrecommend is theming your days
as well.
So, for example, if you have apodcast a great thing a lot of
podcasters do, and I'm sure youdo as well is they have a
specific day that they recordtheir podcast.
Because you're not gettingdistracted.
Overwhelm comes when you'reliterally you feel like you're
(25:31):
being pulled in differentdirections for different tasks.
So it's like you're focusing onthat one task, you're focusing
on recording.
It's the same kind of task.
That's what's going to allowyou to be more productive.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Oh, I love that, I love these ideas.
So I want to highlight a fewthings you've said.
One is the power of a braindump.
When you're feeling overwhelmed, I know for myself like it's
all just stirring in your headand you've got things for this
week, next week, next month, thewhole year like stirring,
swirling in your head and justsitting down to like empty it
(26:07):
right, to actually see like whatis today, what is this week,
what is next month, and you cankind of spread it out.
Then you feel a little moresense of control and power over
actually what's here and now.
So powerful you guys listening,just emptying your mind on a
regular basis of that foroverwhelm.
(26:29):
I think that's incredible.
And the second thing I want tohighlight is this idea of what I
just hear you kind of talkingabout focus, and I love that
you're always focused on what isit that you want?
And then how can you linethings up to that?
Because I think a pitfall forus as humans is to get focused
(26:51):
on what we don't want, and thatcreates overwhelm too.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Yeah, yeah, and even when you look at your, when you
do your brain dump and you lookat your list of things, ask
yourself the question do Iactually need to do this thing
so you can go through thatexercise?
Is this going to move mybusiness forward?
Does this align with the goalthat I have for this month?
Speaker 1 (27:17):
So true, I'm so guilty of that.
Sometimes things just end up onmy to do list that aren't even
relevant with the goals I haveright now I park it.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
And so it's really, once you've dropped that down,
it's like you have to beruthless.
It's like, if you're doing aclear out of your wardrobe, of
your clothes, and it's like Ihave not worn this in a year, I
have to be ruthless, chuck youout.
You really need to sit down andthink, okay, does this actually
line up with my goal for thismonth, which should line up with
(27:53):
my goal for this quarter, whichshould line up for my goal for
this year, which feeds into myultimate big dream goal.
And so, if you're always askingyourself that question, you're
being intentional abouteverything that you are doing
and you're not just being pulledin so many different directions
.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
and you're not just being pulled in so many
different directions.
Okay, so how often should we dothis?
And this is really importantbecause you're talking about
kind of making hard decisions.
Like I was talking to a clientlast week and she does a lot of
project management inside of herbusiness and she was leading
this group through an exerciseand they were getting so
(28:32):
frustrated because they'replanning all the projects for
the year but they can't figureout how to fit them all in.
And she's like okay, hold on.
Basically, you guys have 36eggs.
You have one carton that has 12spots.
You've got to figure out howyou're trying to fit 36 eggs in
12 spots and it doesn't work.
(28:52):
And so she was saying these arethe hard decisions you've got
to make to, you know, to pushsome of those out.
And so how often should we beasking ourselves this question?
And is there anything you wouldrecommend around, like making
those hard decisions?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
so I would say um, whenever you do your brain dumps
you might not do your braindump every day, um, you might do
it weekly, but whenever you aredoing that and you're, whenever
you're planning, for example,if you're planning planning your
day, if you're planning yourweek, for example um, yeah, I
(29:33):
would say specifically in thoseareas.
When you're planning your month, that's more loose and you can
always adjust to it, but whenyou're planning your day and
your week, I think you shouldactually ask yourself those
questions um, what do I need tobe doing this, you?
And another thing that you needto be thinking about is is this
(29:53):
moving my business forward?
Am I working in my business anddoing all these little tasks
that need to be done butshouldn't necessarily be done by
me and are not necessarily mygenius zone?
Or should I be, or am I doingtasks that are working on my
business?
(30:13):
Another thing to think about isis it going to bring revenue in
my business?
Is it going to bring moreclients?
Um, is it something I enjoy andI'm passionate about?
Does it align with what myvision and my mission is for my
business?
Does it line up with my values,because sometimes we have
(30:35):
projects, for example, as yousaid, they had like 36 projects
and 12 spots.
Some of those projects, um,they're doing and they've
probably not thought about it,but it's not really.
It's very time consuming, butthe reward in terms of financial
is not much.
Should you be doing that?
Speaker 1 (30:56):
so true, so true.
So how do we stay focused onthe things that we're good at um
?
I know that's something that isimportant to you and that you
help people do.
How do we recognize that andhow do we recognize when we're
out of alignment there?
Speaker 2 (31:16):
okay.
So the first thing that I wouldsay is what are the things that
people always come to you for?
There's something, at least onething, and there's.
There's some people out therewho are like oh, I don't know.
You know, I don't know what I'mgreat at, but there is
something that peoplecontinuously come to you for,
(31:39):
whether it's advice, whetherthere's something, whether it's
you know something creative.
What is it that peoplecontinuously come and ask you
for?
Because that is an indicator ofsomething that is your gift,
that is your genius zone.
Another thing is, if you arestruggling to figure that out, I
(32:00):
would recommend and I have donethis exercise and it is an eye
opener.
I would recommend that you senda message to maybe five to ten
of your closest people andclosest friends, family, and ask
them what do you think mystrengths are?
What do you think my weaknessesare?
(32:22):
Um, yeah, what do you think I'mgreat?
Great at?
Kind of thing, and you will besurprised the things that they
will come back with and thesimilarities that you'll hear.
The same thing will come up.
That is an indicator of whatyou are great at.
(32:43):
Also, what are you good at?
naturally, but to other peopleit's difficult love that
question yeah, yeah, what areyou good at, naturally, yeah
such good questions.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Okay, what else do you want people to know?
And then I want you to shareabout how you work with people
and what you're most excitedabout inside of your business
today.
But is there anything else inthe realm of building our really
a life and business that reallyaligns and brings us joy, that
(33:21):
you want people to know that wedidn't touch on?
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Yes, the key thing.
So, when you're building yourdream life and business through
strategic planning, the keything is, as I've mentioned
before, is being flexible, butalso being ready to implement.
It's not just some of us canget stuck in the planning, and
(33:50):
it's really important, yep.
I'm guilty of that because,because we're strategic you know
, it's so fun we can really getstuck in the planning, and so
thank god for my husband,because he is such an action
taker, so he pushes me out of mycomfort zone, and so the key
(34:10):
thing is um, yes, strategywithout implementation is, to be
honest, you still going to justhave a dream.
And so the key is when youcreate the strategy to actually
implement, and so that's why wecreate the plan, and it's all
about sticking to that plan.
And, in the same way that ifyou made a plan with someone
(34:34):
else or you had an agreement,you would stick to it because
you want to be seen as reliable,stick to those plans that you
make for yourself.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
You know that's a key thing and so, yes, I have a
question about that, because I,too, struggle with that part and
, like just at the beginning ofthis year, I'm like, okay, I'm
going to implement these powerhours again, which to me, are
kind of these focused blocks oftime on my calendar where I'm
(35:05):
going to focus on, you know, twohours on one activity, whether
it's, you know, increasingawareness around my podcast, or
it's writing content, or, and Iplot them on my calendar, and
then I just end up moving themaround.
I'm not doing them, and so isthat in like a problem of me
(35:27):
just being an integrity withwhat I say I'm going to do, or
is it like this isn't workingfor me and I should reinvent
something different?
Speaker 2 (35:39):
so what you need to do is, um, when you put so, when
you're scheduling those powerhours, you need to make sure,
first of all, that you'rescheduling it in a time where
it's like it's a non-negotiable,because I've done that before
as well.
It's like, okay, I could justmove that, and you, and before
you realize you've moved it fora whole quarter and you're
(36:01):
literally like I have not doneanything, but you wouldn't do
that with a client.
With a client, we will go aboveand beyond, and so it's you
really have to.
It has to be an non-negotiable.
So it's a mindset, it's amindset shift when you book that
time in.
It needs to be a non-negotiable.
(36:21):
I was listening to Ed Milet andhe was talking about how, a lot
of the time, the reason why alot of people suffer with
imposter syndrome is becausethey break promises to
themselves.
We all do it.
Oh, I'm gonna go to the gym,this you know, every morning and
(36:44):
then, when it comes, oh, I'mtired, I'm we, we make our
excuses.
He says.
So the reason why a lot ofpeople have imposter syndrome is
because they don't even trustthemselves, because they break
promises to themselves, and sowe need to shift our mindset
where, when I block in that time, even though it's not with a
(37:05):
client, I am also just asimportant as my client.
It's just as important that Ido these things for my business,
so that my business thrives.
How many of us we've all done itwhere we have been full to
capacity with client work and wehave not factored in any time
(37:26):
for our own businesses orpersonal development or things
that we need to do behind thescenes?
That will stifle your business,and so it's really important.
It's almost like having a mindmindset shift that, when I put
this in, this is anon-negotiable, whether I like
it or not, I am not breaking mypromise to myself unless,
(37:49):
obviously, something has come upand so it's.
It's, it's a it's not easy, butit's a mindset shift that we
have to do that.
I'm not going to break thispromise to myself and just take
it day by day.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
I think that's so interesting.
I think what you helped me seeis that I do.
I have these non-negotiables inmy life, like all over my life,
when it comes to wellbeing ormy marriage or my family or my
kid, like having quiet time.
But what you helped me realizeis I think that what I've
plotted on my calendar isn't anon-negotiable and I need to
(38:24):
reassess what I'm putting onthere to actually make it align
with that.
That's really powerful.
I love that.
Okay, what are you up to,josephine?
What are you excited about?
And how can people, yeah, workwith you and what does that look
like?
Speaker 2 (38:45):
Okay, so I'm excited about a lot of things this year.
So 2023 is my year ofvisibility that's one of my
words.
I've got three words, butvisibility is one of visibility.
That's one of my words.
I've got three words, butvisibility is one of them.
And so I'm currently workingexcuse me, I'm currently working
on behind the scenes and I'mgoing to be launching a YouTube
(39:06):
channel which will where we'llbe going behind the scenes of me
as an entrepreneur, and I amvery, very, very excited about
that.
I've been wanting to launch thisfor a long time and now it's
like this is the time.
So we'll be talking all thingsentrepreneurship, lifestyle, um,
(39:27):
strategy, um networking I'mvery, very excited and also
self-care as well.
So, yeah, that's something thatI'm working on.
I am also what else am I doing?
Congratulations.
It's just about being visible.
That sounds exciting, thank you,thank you.
Yeah, I literally was just likeOK, we are doing this.
(39:50):
So I'm really, really excitedabout that and, in terms of
working with me, um, you can umcheck out my website.
Um wwwtheawusucollectivecom andum also, you I'd love to hear
from some of the listeners, andso I will share with Carla a
(40:12):
link where you can book in acall just to, if you have any
challenges, a 15 minute call andwe can kind of just hop on a
call and discuss the challengesthat you have and see how I can
help you.
But I'm just really, reallyexcited.
I'm excited to continue doingstrategic planning with my
(40:36):
clients.
I just I just love it.
I love to see thetransformation and to see, yeah,
people actually building abusiness that lights them up and
aligns with the life that theywant to build.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
You guys can't see her smile, but she's definitely
lit up and you just have so muchjoy.
I love spending time with youand I'm so grateful that our
paths have crossed, and I wouldlove to have you come back and
kind of go another layer of thisplanning and strategy, because
I know my listeners love this asmuch as I do.
(41:16):
So let's talk about that, thankyou, and thank you everybody
for being here and just thankyou for your time today.
I appreciate you so much.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
Oh thank you so much, carla.
I've really enjoyed this, andthank you everyone for listening
.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
Thank you for making it all the way to the end and
thank you for listening toDifferently.
If you enjoyed this episode,will you please go leave a
five-star review and share itwith someone you love.
Goodbye for now.
I'll see you next week.
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