March 27, 2025 • 43 mins
Episode Highlights:
✅ Why starting with the end in mind is key to building a life and business you love
✅ How to break big dreams into actionable steps that align with your vision
✅ Common themes of a dream life—financial freedom, time flexibility, and purpose-driven work
✅ How social media and comparison can pull us off track and how to refocus
✅ Practical exercises to reconnect with what truly matters
✅ The power of strategic planning with flexibility—how to pivot when needed
✅ Managing overwhelm with brain dumps, prioritization, and planning
✅ The importance of setting non-negotiable commitments for yourself
✅ How to identify and lean into your strengths to build a business that feels aligned
✅ Why taking action is just as important as planning
Resources & Next Steps:
More about Josephine:
Check out Josephine's previous episodes:
- Powerful Q4 Strategies for Life and Biz
- Master Your Capacity to Realize Your Goals
- CEO Time: Level up Your Business
- Build a Business AND a Life
💡 If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend who needs clarity in their business and life! Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review—it helps us reach more people.
#StrategicPlanning #DreamLife #Entrepreneurship #LiveDifferently #ProductivityTips
Learn more about Carla:
Website: https:/www.carlareeves.com/
Connect on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reevescarla/
Connect on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@differentlythepodcast
Go to https://carlareeves.com/freeclass to get The Class schedule, sign up, and/or pass it on to a friend. Each month is a new topic. Come hang out and learn with us for FREE!
Get your copy of 5 Ways to Manage Your Mind
Go to https://www.carlareeves.com/getunstuck.com to download Carla's on demand journaling workshop + exercise to help you stop spinning and start moving forward.
Explore Coaching with Carla: https://bookme.name/carlareeves/lite/explore-coaching
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
I'm Carla Reeves, and this is Differently.
Whether you feel stuck insurvival, navigating a change,
or seeking more for your life,may this podcast be your weekly
nudge to take a risk to build alife that is uniquely bold,
authentic and in alignment withyour deepest values.
What if you worried less aboutthe bumps in the road and
(00:23):
instead got equipped for thejourney?
Get ready to rethink what'spossible.
Welcome back to Differently.
I can't believe we're here.
If you're listening live.
It's the end of the firstquarter already and the perfect
moment to pause, reflect andrevisit your goals you set out
with this year, to ensure thatyou're staying on track and
(00:47):
making to-do lists that willactually build the life and
business you're working tocreate.
Today I'm sharing a replay of atimeless conversation with my
dear friend and brilliantbusiness strategist, josephine
Owusu.
Josephine shares her beautifulperspective on building your
dream life and business throughstrategic planning.
She talks about starting withthe end in mind, and it's going
(01:10):
to help us break down big dreamsinto actionable steps.
She's going to get youre-inspired with your goals and
help you stay aligned, focusedon what matters most, because,
let's face it, as entrepreneursand leaders, it's easy to get
distracted or caught up in theweeds of busyness.
This is a perfect time to checkin, realign our focus and
(01:32):
ensure that your daily plans aretruly feeding the larger goals
and purpose you are here tofulfill.
Enjoy, hey, differentlylisteners, I'm so excited to
have josephine with me heretoday.
Josephine and I met gosh likeover a year ago in the.
(01:54):
Excuse me, I'm gonna start overa little horse frog in my
throat no worries.
No worries, hey, differentlylisteners, I'm so excited to
have Josephine here with metoday.
She and I met over a year agoin the BizChicks Mastermind and
(02:17):
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 (02:28):
Thank you so much, carla, I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Yeah, so give everybody a little sense of
where you are in the world andwho you are.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
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, which has beenabsolutely amazing, and I'm a
(03:04):
business strategist who workswith purpose-driven coaches,
content creators and creativeentrepreneurs with a team.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
I could just listen to your voice all day and your
accent.
Everyone's going to lovelistening to you accent.
Everyone's gonna love listeningto 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
(03:38):
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 (03:47):
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,
(04:08):
what is the kind of life that Iwant to build, and how can I
build a business that alignswith that life?
And then you kind of reverseengineer it, you kind of move
you, you start with the end inmind and then you work backwards
.
It it's like okay, what do Ineed to do to be able to achieve
that goal?
So, for example, if you knowthat, okay, in five years time I
(04:32):
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 um,
(04:53):
so that every year you have adifferent focus, but each one of
those goals is feeding in tothat bigger purpose that you
have.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
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 (05:16):
Yes, it is.
What has come up a lot, though,which is quite similar.
Similar is having financialfreedom, having freedom of time
um, for some of my clients, ithas been being able to work
anywhere in the world and stillhave the life that they have, so
(05:37):
not be limited to, um, ageographic, geographical area.
For some clients, um, 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,
(06:00):
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's different for everyone, but
what comes up a lot is thatfreedom of time and being able
to do what they want wheneverthey want.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
You're speaking my language and I think this whole
idea of beginning with the endin mind and really deciding what
does that mean for you, right,it doesn't have to look like
everybody else, and I know forme and the clients I've worked
with.
Then we wake up and realizelike whoa, I built something
that doesn't really feel like myown or aligned with who I am.
(06:41):
So I love that you start withthe end in mind and I love that
you said the word alignment,because that's just like near
and dear to my heart and all thework that I do, because if it's
(07:02):
not aligned then it doesn'tfeel right, right.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
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
(07:30):
their life is just falling apart.
And one of the things that Ilove doing with my clients at
the beginning of if they'redoing an intensive, a strategic
planning intensive, one of thethings that we do is we do a
visualization exercise, and it'sit amazes me time and time
again the things that come up.
Um, for a lot of the clients,things bubble up where they're
(07:54):
like, oh, I forgot about thatdream.
It's like they, I forgot aboutthat dream, and then they're
literally like, oh my gosh, yes,this is what I want to do.
I had a client where she reallyrealized a dream that had just
kind of been pushed aside andbecause of that exercise she
ended up pivoting her businessand it's just changed the way
(08:19):
her, her business is and the wayshe's.
She's just killing it.
It's, it's amazing and, um,it's because she's building a
business that aligns with herfamily life that aligns with
what she wants and her goals andeverything, and she's not just
chasing after okay, this is whatmy competitor is doing.
She's chasing after her owndesires, so yeah, how do we, how
(08:41):
, like I?
Speaker 1 (08:42):
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,
how do we recognize that?
Speaker 2 (08:55):
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
(09:18):
example, instagram, and peopleare posting their highlight
reels and just thinking, oh mygosh, I think that's what I want
and that looks amazing.
But instead of actually lookingwithin and thinking, what do I
actually want?
What does success look like tome?
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
(09:40):
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 and kind of
getting shiny object syndrome.
You know, whenever there'sanything new, okay, maybe I
should do that.
So just you end up kind ofbeing pulled apart in different
(10:01):
places.
So, yeah, I think that's one ofthe key things losing focus and
just focusing on other people'sdreams instead of actually
taking the time to sit down and,you know, think about okay,
what do I actually want Like forme because of my faith.
I literally will spend timewith God and I'll pray and ask,
(10:25):
okay, you know, Lord, what doyou have for me, kind of thing,
and I'll dream, and it's aboutkind of connecting with that.
So that's one of the reasons.
And your second question, sorryI forgot.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
I forgot too.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Oh, actually you said how do we get back?
How do we get back?
Ok, 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 an amazing practice, andso take that time out and ask
(11:08):
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?
What kind of business do I wantto build?
(11:30):
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
annual basis?
What does it look like in how Ispend my time, the clients that
(11:53):
I work with, how much time do Ispend with my 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?
What are the simple things thatit would include?
(12:14):
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 it just lights me up,and that's a simple thing.
I also love to go on spa daysand spa weekends, and so it's
(12:36):
really thinking about what is it?
The things that I really enjoyfrom life really enjoy from life
.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
I think that is so poignant what you're saying,
because I think when we don'ttake time to actually get quiet
and ask those importantquestions, we can get lost in
this fairy tale idea of what ourlife should be like.
But when we actually get realabout it, the things we deeply
want are far more simple thanoften our mind or the world
wants to tell us.
They're really simple thingsand I think so many things could
(13:12):
be solved in our own lives ifwe just spent a little more time
getting quiet.
You know our world is so noisyand I love what you're saying
here and I love what you'resaying 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
(13:36):
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
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
(13:59):
yet and those have led me.
I mean, those have led all thedifferent parts of my life, and
I think this is so, so,incredibly powerful.
So, once we have this, what is?
What is the next piece of this?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
once we have our, our vision and mission idea, so the
next thing I would say is um,you can do almost like a loose
plan.
Um, and remember that when itcomes to goal setting, it's um,
you can always adjust things.
It doesn't mean that justbecause you set a goal, that's
(14:39):
it.
We're rigid, we're not moving.
I'm just thinking of um, thememe with Ross from friends,
when it's like pivot, sometimeswe have to pivot yes, I love
that, and sometimes goals don'twork for people for that reason
they feel too confining.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
And so, yes, loose, loose plans and loose goals.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
And that's how it is with strategy as well.
Even if you have created astrategy, we should have that
openness to be able to pivot andadjust depending on what
happens, because life is notstraightforward and even though
we have a plan, we all know thatthings always come in and it's
like, okay, that was not in theplan, that things always come in
(15:26):
and it's like, okay, that wasnot in the plan.
And so we have to always beopen to pivot.
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 where would I
(15:48):
like to be?
What's the goalpost for each ofthose 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.
(16:12):
So I always like to break downthings.
So, for example, give me a goal.
I'm going to.
Let you give me a goal.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
So say, there's a goal that you have for this year
, and I can give you an examplewell, I think one of the goals
for this year for our life wasto be more mobile and create
more adventure in our lives andmore living love that okay, so I
love that, I love that, I lovethat.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
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.
Do you know how many weeks?
Or you want to travel in theyear?
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Yeah, haven't actually defined that, but I
think we've just want to haveyou know kind of adventure and
trips kind of plotted throughoutthe rest of the year, which we
kind of have done a little bitof.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
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.
(17:31):
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
(17:53):
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
(18:19):
three months, you might go awayfor a week.
So you will kind of plot thatout, you, um, it's all about
planning, looking at each monthand being like okay, so most of
these months, so two months.
For example, for q1, the firsttwo months I'm going away for
the weekend, we're going foraway for the weekend, and then
we decide where we're going.
(18:40):
Month three we're going awayfor a week, month or maybe for
three days or something.
And then month four, we'regoing away for um a week, and
then month six, we're going awayfor a month.
So you can kind of plot thingsout.
Now you need to look at yourbusiness and figure out okay,
(19:00):
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 (19:16):
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 (19:30):
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
(19:50):
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
(20:12):
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,
(20:35):
it's literally only a few whereit's not draining.
And the same thing withDecember as well.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
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
(21:07):
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,
(21:30):
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 with the people I
work for too.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
So let's, let's talk about that for a minute.
Yeah, so, in terms of overwhelm, I think a lot of us, sometimes
we just see that there's justtoo much to do.
Too many things, I always toomany 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
(22:03):
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
(22:25):
calendar.
So we need to.
It's really important.
The key is in the plan and thekey is writing things down.
I think when people areoverwhelmed, the first thing
that you need to start with isliterally do a brain dump, and I
would encourage you to do thateven so.
(22:46):
For example, when you'replanning your month, you have a
brain dump of what you want toachieve for that month, the same
as if you were planning foryour week were planning for your
week um.
You can either.
Some people plan on the fridayjust before they finish their
their day and close up for theweekend.
Some people plan on a sundaywhen they chilled and it's part
(23:07):
of their self-care and you knowthey're kind of winding down, um
on a sunday.
But I think the key is yeah,the key is actually making a
note of what are the things thatare all in my head.
If it's in your head, you'regonna you're gonna stay
overwhelmed.
So I would start with writeeverything down.
(23:28):
Just do a brain dump, braindump of everything that's in
your head which is like I needto do this, and then look at,
okay, which ones of these thingsis actually time sensitive, for
example.
So which ones are actually likeI need to get this done by a
(23:50):
certain time, a certain day?
There's a hard deadline on itand then look at the things
where it's important.
But you could actually scheduleit in.
You can plot it in um.
I'll give an example if youwere planning to travel in
(24:11):
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, forexample, you were I don't know
launching a program or you had adeliverable that you needed to
give or a strategy that youneeded to provide, you would
(24:32):
make sure you'd almost kind oflook as your your 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 to not be stressedout and working a hundred
(24:52):
percent, but actually be able totake some time off and really
enjoy that time and not bestressed?
What needs to be put in place?
Yeah, so it's kind of treatingit as an actual project and
mapping things out.
So I always encourage timeblocking.
So if you've got an ongoingproject where it's something
(25:15):
that it takes a bit longer, youcan schedule time in on a
particular day every week sothat you're getting a bit done
every time.
So you could have a project todo with.
For example, you want torebrand your website.
You need to write the copy youneed to provide.
You know all these differentthings.
(25:37):
You can map that out.
You can decide that a Wednesdayis your website day and um, you
map out four hours every weekto make sure you do that.
And the key thing is, when youare time blocking, um, don't
just put do website, attach.
So true, in the in the right,because that's what we do
(26:00):
sometimes, but in thedescription put specific tasks,
specific actions that you needto achieve for that particular
date, so you can kind of planfrom week to week and then do
that.
Another thing that I wouldrecommend is theming your days
as well.
So, for example, if you have apodcast, a great thing a lot of
(26:26):
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
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.
(26:46):
That's what's going to allowyou to be more productive.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
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
(27:12):
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.
(27:35):
I think that's incredible.
Of that for overwhelm, I thinkthat'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
(27:56):
on what we don't want, and thatcreates overwhelm too.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
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?
(28:22):
So true, I'm so guilty of that.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
Sometimes things just end up on my to-do list that
aren't even relevant with thegoals I have right now.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Right, can I, can I park it?
And so it's really, once you'vedropped that down, it's like
you, you have to be ruthless.
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
(28:53):
line up with my goal for thismonth, which should line up with
my goal for this month, whichshould line up with my goal for
this quarter, which should lineup for my goal for this year,
which feeds into my ultimate bigdream goal.
And so, if you're always askingyourself that question, you're
being intentional abouteverything that you are doing
(29:14):
and you're not just being pulledin so many different directions
.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
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
(29:38):
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.
(29:58):
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 (30:17):
so I would say, um, whenever you do your brain dump.
So 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, ifyou're planning planning your
day, if you're planning yourweek, for example um, yeah, I
would say specifically in thoseareas when you're planning your
(30:38):
week, for example, yeah, I wouldsay specifically in those areas
when you're planning your month.
That's more loose and you canalways adjust to it, but when
you're planning your day andyour week, I think you should
actually ask yourself thosequestions what do I need to be
doing?
This and another thing that youneed to be thinking about is is
(30:58):
this 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?
(31:19):
Another thing to think about isis it going to bring revenue in
my business?
Is it going to bring moreclients?
Is it something I enjoy and I'mpassionate about?
Does it align with what myvision and my mission is for my
business.
Does it line up with my values?
Because sometimes we haveprojects.
(31:43):
For example, as you said, theyhad 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 (32:02):
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 (32:21):
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 some people
out there who are like, oh, Idon't know.
You know, I don't know what I'mgreat at, but there is
something that peoplecontinuously come to you for,
(32:45):
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
(33:06):
would recommend and I have donethis exercise and it is an
eye-opener I would recommendthat you send a message to maybe
five to ten of your closestpeople and closest friends,
family, and ask them what do youthink my strengths are?
What do you think my weaknessesare?
(33:28):
Yeah, what do you think I'mgreat at?
Kind of thing?
Um, yeah, what do you think I'mgreat?
Great at kind of thing.
And you will be surprised atthe things that they will come
back with and the similaritiesthat you will hear.
The same thing will come up.
That is an indicator of whatyou are great at.
(33:48):
Also, what are you good at?
Naturally, but to other peopleis difficult.
What are you?
Speaker 1 (33:56):
good at, naturally, but to other people is difficult
.
Love that question yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
What are you good at, naturally?
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Yeah, such good questions.
Okay, what else do you wantpeople 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
(34:23):
a life and business that reallyaligns and brings us joy, that
you want people to know that wedidn't touch on?
Speaker 2 (34:31):
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.
Just some of us can get stuckin the planning, and it's really
(34:56):
important, yep.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
I'm guilty of that.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Because we're strategic.
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.
He pushes me out of my comfortzone, and so the key thing is um
, yes, strategy withoutimplementation is, to be honest,
(35:22):
you're still gonna just have adream, and so true the key is
when you create the strategy toactually implement, and so
that's why we create the plan,and it's all about sticking to
that plan.
And, in the same way that if youmade a plan with someone else
or you had an agreement, youwould stick to it because you
(35:44):
want to be seen as reliable,stick to those plans that you
make for yourself.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
You know it's yeah, that's, that's, that's a key
thing, yeah, that's, that's,that's a key thing, and so, yes,
I have a question about that,because I struggle with that
part and, like just at thebeginning of this year, I'm like
, okay, I'm going to implementthese power hours again, which
to me, are kind of these focusedblocks of time on my calendar
(36:11):
where I'm going to focus on, youknow, two hours on one activity
, whether it's, you know,increasing awareness around my
podcast or it's writing content,or, and I plot them on my
calendar, and then I just end upmoving them around.
I'm not doing them, and so isthat in like a problem of me
(36:33):
just being in 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 (36:45):
So what you need to do is, 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
(37:07):
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 unnegotiable.
So it's a mindset, it's amindset shift.
When you book that time in, itneeds to be a non-negotiable.
(37:27):
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 goto the gym, this you know every
(37:49):
morning and then, when it comes,oh, I'm tired, we make our
excuses.
He says so the reason why a lotof people have imposter
syndrome is because they don'teven trust themselves, because
they break promises tothemselves, and so we need to
shift our mindset where, when Iblock in that time, even though
(38:10):
it's not with a client, I amalso just as important 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 it, where wehave been full to capacity with
client work and we have notfactored in any time for our own
(38:32):
businesses or personaldevelopment or things that we
need to do behind the scenes.
That will stifle your business,and so it's really important.
It's almost like having a mind,mindset 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,
(38:55):
obviously, something has come upand so it's.
It's a, it's a.
It's not easy, but it's amindset 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 (39:07):
I think that's so interesting.
I think what you help me see isthat I do.
I have these non-negotiables inmy life, like all over my life,
when it comes to well-being 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
(39:29):
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 toJosephine?
What are you excited about andhow can people work with you and
what does that look like?
Speaker 2 (39:51):
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 them and so
I'm currently working excuse me, I'm currently working on
behind the scenes and I'm goingto be launching a YouTube
(40:12):
channel which will where we'llbe going behind the scenes of me
as an entrepreneur, and I amvery, very excited about that.
I've been wanting to launchthis for a long time and now
it's like this is the time.
So we'll be talking all thingsentrepreneurship, lifestyle
(40:33):
strategy, networking'm very,very excited and also self-care
as well.
Um, so, yeah, that's somethingthat I'm working on.
Um, I am also.
What else am I doing?
Congratulations, just aboutbeing visible.
Thank you, thank you.
Yeah, I literally was just likeOK, we are doing this.
(40:56):
So I'm really, really excitedabout that and, in terms of
working with me, you can checkout my website,
wwwtheawusucollectivecom.
And also I'd love to hear fromsome of the listeners, and so I
(41:16):
will share with Carla a linkwhere you can book in a call
just to, if you have anychallenges, a 15 minute call,
and we can kind of just hop on acall and discuss the challenges
that you have and see how I canhelp you.
But I'm just really, reallyexcited.
(41:36):
I'm excited to continue doingstrategic planning with my
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 (41:59):
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.
(42:22):
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 (42:33):
Oh, thank you so much , carla.
I've really enjoyed this, andthank you everyone for listening
.
Speaker 1 (42:42):
Thank you for tuning in to this episode of
differently.
It's been an honor to sharethis conversation with you.
You know, one of the keys toliving fully is to take action
when you're inspired to do so.
I hope you found that spark ofinspiration today and would you
help us spread the word.
Did someone you know come tomind while you were listening?
(43:03):
If this episode could impactsomeone you know, please share
it and pass it along.
New episodes drop weekly, sotap that subscribe button and
join us next time as we continueto challenge the status quo and
get equipped to live lifedifferently.
I'm Carla Reeves, and this is Differently.
Whether you feel stuck insurvival, navigating a change,
or seeking more for your life,may this podcast be your weekly
nudge to take a risk to build alife that is uniquely bold,
authentic and in alignment withyour deepest values.
What if you worried less aboutthe bumps in the road and
(00:23):
instead got equipped for thejourney?
Get ready to rethink what'spossible.
Welcome back to Differently.
I can't believe we're here.
If you're listening live.
It's the end of the firstquarter already and the perfect
moment to pause, reflect andrevisit your goals you set out
with this year, to ensure thatyou're staying on track and
(00:47):
making to-do lists that willactually build the life and
business you're working tocreate.
Today I'm sharing a replay of atimeless conversation with my
dear friend and brilliantbusiness strategist, josephine
Owusu.
Josephine shares her beautifulperspective on building your
dream life and business throughstrategic planning.
She talks about starting withthe end in mind, and it's going
(01:10):
to help us break down big dreamsinto actionable steps.
She's going to get youre-inspired with your goals and
help you stay aligned, focusedon what matters most, because,
let's face it, as entrepreneursand leaders, it's easy to get
distracted or caught up in theweeds of busyness.
This is a perfect time to checkin, realign our focus and
(01:32):
ensure that your daily plans aretruly feeding the larger goals
and purpose you are here tofulfill.
Enjoy, hey, differentlylisteners, I'm so excited to
have josephine with me heretoday.
Josephine and I met gosh likeover a year ago in the.
(01:54):
Excuse me, I'm gonna start overa little horse frog in my
throat no worries.
No worries, hey, differentlylisteners, I'm so excited to
have Josephine here with metoday.
She and I met over a year agoin the BizChicks Mastermind and
(02:17):
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 (02:28):
Thank you so much, carla, I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Yeah, so give everybody a little sense of
where you are in the world andwho you are.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
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, which has beenabsolutely amazing, and I'm a
(03:04):
business strategist who workswith purpose-driven coaches,
content creators and creativeentrepreneurs with a team.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
I could just listen to your voice all day and your
accent.
Everyone's going to lovelistening to you accent.
Everyone's gonna love listeningto 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
(03:38):
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 (03:47):
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,
(04:08):
what is the kind of life that Iwant to build, and how can I
build a business that alignswith that life?
And then you kind of reverseengineer it, you kind of move
you, you start with the end inmind and then you work backwards
.
It it's like okay, what do Ineed to do to be able to achieve
that goal?
So, for example, if you knowthat, okay, in five years time I
(04:32):
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 um,
(04:53):
so that every year you have adifferent focus, but each one of
those goals is feeding in tothat bigger purpose that you
have.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
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 (05:16):
Yes, it is.
What has come up a lot, though,which is quite similar.
Similar is having financialfreedom, having freedom of time
um, for some of my clients, ithas been being able to work
anywhere in the world and stillhave the life that they have, so
(05:37):
not be limited to, um, ageographic, geographical area.
For some clients, um, 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,
(06:00):
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's different for everyone, but
what comes up a lot is thatfreedom of time and being able
to do what they want wheneverthey want.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
You're speaking my language and I think this whole
idea of beginning with the endin mind and really deciding what
does that mean for you, right,it doesn't have to look like
everybody else, and I know forme and the clients I've worked
with.
Then we wake up and realizelike whoa, I built something
that doesn't really feel like myown or aligned with who I am.
(06:41):
So I love that you start withthe end in mind and I love that
you said the word alignment,because that's just like near
and dear to my heart and all thework that I do, because if it's
(07:02):
not aligned then it doesn'tfeel right, right.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
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
(07:30):
their life is just falling apart.
And one of the things that Ilove doing with my clients at
the beginning of if they'redoing an intensive, a strategic
planning intensive, one of thethings that we do is we do a
visualization exercise, and it'sit amazes me time and time
again the things that come up.
Um, for a lot of the clients,things bubble up where they're
(07:54):
like, oh, I forgot about thatdream.
It's like they, I forgot aboutthat dream, and then they're
literally like, oh my gosh, yes,this is what I want to do.
I had a client where she reallyrealized a dream that had just
kind of been pushed aside andbecause of that exercise she
ended up pivoting her businessand it's just changed the way
(08:19):
her, her business is and the wayshe's.
She's just killing it.
It's, it's amazing and, um,it's because she's building a
business that aligns with herfamily life that aligns with
what she wants and her goals andeverything, and she's not just
chasing after okay, this is whatmy competitor is doing.
She's chasing after her owndesires, so yeah, how do we, how
(08:41):
, like I?
Speaker 1 (08:42):
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,
how do we recognize that?
Speaker 2 (08:55):
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
(09:18):
example, instagram, and peopleare posting their highlight
reels and just thinking, oh mygosh, I think that's what I want
and that looks amazing.
But instead of actually lookingwithin and thinking, what do I
actually want?
What does success look like tome?
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
(09:40):
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 and kind of
getting shiny object syndrome.
You know, whenever there'sanything new, okay, maybe I
should do that.
So just you end up kind ofbeing pulled apart in different
(10:01):
places.
So, yeah, I think that's one ofthe key things losing focus and
just focusing on other people'sdreams instead of actually
taking the time to sit down and,you know, think about okay,
what do I actually want Like forme because of my faith.
I literally will spend timewith God and I'll pray and ask,
(10:25):
okay, you know, Lord, what doyou have for me, kind of thing,
and I'll dream, and it's aboutkind of connecting with that.
So that's one of the reasons.
And your second question, sorryI forgot.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
I forgot too.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Oh, actually you said how do we get back?
How do we get back?
Ok, 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 an amazing practice, andso take that time out and ask
(11:08):
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?
What kind of business do I wantto build?
(11:30):
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
annual basis?
What does it look like in how Ispend my time, the clients that
(11:53):
I work with, how much time do Ispend with my 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?
What are the simple things thatit would include?
(12:14):
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 it just lights me up,and that's a simple thing.
I also love to go on spa daysand spa weekends, and so it's
(12:36):
really thinking about what is it?
The things that I really enjoyfrom life really enjoy from life
.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
I think that is so poignant what you're saying,
because I think when we don'ttake time to actually get quiet
and ask those importantquestions, we can get lost in
this fairy tale idea of what ourlife should be like.
But when we actually get realabout it, the things we deeply
want are far more simple thanoften our mind or the world
wants to tell us.
They're really simple thingsand I think so many things could
(13:12):
be solved in our own lives ifwe just spent a little more time
getting quiet.
You know our world is so noisyand I love what you're saying
here and I love what you'resaying 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
(13:36):
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
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
(13:59):
yet and those have led me.
I mean, those have led all thedifferent parts of my life, and
I think this is so, so,incredibly powerful.
So, once we have this, what is?
What is the next piece of this?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
once we have our, our vision and mission idea, so the
next thing I would say is um,you can do almost like a loose
plan.
Um, and remember that when itcomes to goal setting, it's um,
you can always adjust things.
It doesn't mean that justbecause you set a goal, that's
(14:39):
it.
We're rigid, we're not moving.
I'm just thinking of um, thememe with Ross from friends,
when it's like pivot, sometimeswe have to pivot yes, I love
that, and sometimes goals don'twork for people for that reason
they feel too confining.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
And so, yes, loose, loose plans and loose goals.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
And that's how it is with strategy as well.
Even if you have created astrategy, we should have that
openness to be able to pivot andadjust depending on what
happens, because life is notstraightforward and even though
we have a plan, we all know thatthings always come in and it's
like, okay, that was not in theplan, that things always come in
(15:26):
and it's like, okay, that wasnot in the plan.
And so we have to always beopen to pivot.
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 where would I
(15:48):
like to be?
What's the goalpost for each ofthose 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.
(16:12):
So I always like to break downthings.
So, for example, give me a goal.
I'm going to.
Let you give me a goal.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
So say, there's a goal that you have for this year
, and I can give you an examplewell, I think one of the goals
for this year for our life wasto be more mobile and create
more adventure in our lives andmore living love that okay, so I
love that, I love that, I lovethat.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
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.
Do you know how many weeks?
Or you want to travel in theyear?
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Yeah, haven't actually defined that, but I
think we've just want to haveyou know kind of adventure and
trips kind of plotted throughoutthe rest of the year, which we
kind of have done a little bitof.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
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.
(17:31):
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
(17:53):
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
(18:19):
three months, you might go awayfor a week.
So you will kind of plot thatout, you, um, it's all about
planning, looking at each monthand being like okay, so most of
these months, so two months.
For example, for q1, the firsttwo months I'm going away for
the weekend, we're going foraway for the weekend, and then
we decide where we're going.
(18:40):
Month three we're going awayfor a week, month or maybe for
three days or something.
And then month four, we'regoing away for um a week, and
then month six, we're going awayfor a month.
So you can kind of plot thingsout.
Now you need to look at yourbusiness and figure out okay,
(19:00):
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 (19:16):
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 (19:30):
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
(19:50):
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
(20:12):
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,
(20:35):
it's literally only a few whereit's not draining.
And the same thing withDecember as well.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
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
(21:07):
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,
(21:30):
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 with the people I
work for too.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
So let's, let's talk about that for a minute.
Yeah, so, in terms of overwhelm, I think a lot of us, sometimes
we just see that there's justtoo much to do.
Too many things, I always toomany 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
(22:03):
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
(22:25):
calendar.
So we need to.
It's really important.
The key is in the plan and thekey is writing things down.
I think when people areoverwhelmed, the first thing
that you need to start with isliterally do a brain dump, and I
would encourage you to do thateven so.
(22:46):
For example, when you'replanning your month, you have a
brain dump of what you want toachieve for that month, the same
as if you were planning foryour week were planning for your
week um.
You can either.
Some people plan on the fridayjust before they finish their
their day and close up for theweekend.
Some people plan on a sundaywhen they chilled and it's part
(23:07):
of their self-care and you knowthey're kind of winding down, um
on a sunday.
But I think the key is yeah,the key is actually making a
note of what are the things thatare all in my head.
If it's in your head, you'regonna you're gonna stay
overwhelmed.
So I would start with writeeverything down.
(23:28):
Just do a brain dump, braindump of everything that's in
your head which is like I needto do this, and then look at,
okay, which ones of these thingsis actually time sensitive, for
example.
So which ones are actually likeI need to get this done by a
(23:50):
certain time, a certain day?
There's a hard deadline on itand then look at the things
where it's important.
But you could actually scheduleit in.
You can plot it in um.
I'll give an example if youwere planning to travel in
(24:11):
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, forexample, you were I don't know
launching a program or you had adeliverable that you needed to
give or a strategy that youneeded to provide, you would
(24:32):
make sure you'd almost kind oflook as your your 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 to not be stressedout and working a hundred
(24:52):
percent, but actually be able totake some time off and really
enjoy that time and not bestressed?
What needs to be put in place?
Yeah, so it's kind of treatingit as an actual project and
mapping things out.
So I always encourage timeblocking.
So if you've got an ongoingproject where it's something
(25:15):
that it takes a bit longer, youcan schedule time in on a
particular day every week sothat you're getting a bit done
every time.
So you could have a project todo with.
For example, you want torebrand your website.
You need to write the copy youneed to provide.
You know all these differentthings.
(25:37):
You can map that out.
You can decide that a Wednesdayis your website day and um, you
map out four hours every weekto make sure you do that.
And the key thing is, when youare time blocking, um, don't
just put do website, attach.
So true, in the in the right,because that's what we do
(26:00):
sometimes, but in thedescription put specific tasks,
specific actions that you needto achieve for that particular
date, so you can kind of planfrom week to week and then do
that.
Another thing that I wouldrecommend is theming your days
as well.
So, for example, if you have apodcast, a great thing a lot of
(26:26):
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
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.
(26:46):
That's what's going to allowyou to be more productive.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
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
(27:12):
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.
(27:35):
I think that's incredible.
Of that for overwhelm, I thinkthat'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
(27:56):
on what we don't want, and thatcreates overwhelm too.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
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?
(28:22):
So true, I'm so guilty of that.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
Sometimes things just end up on my to-do list that
aren't even relevant with thegoals I have right now.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Right, can I, can I park it?
And so it's really, once you'vedropped that down, it's like
you, you have to be ruthless.
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
(28:53):
line up with my goal for thismonth, which should line up with
my goal for this month, whichshould line up with my goal for
this quarter, which should lineup for my goal for this year,
which feeds into my ultimate bigdream goal.
And so, if you're always askingyourself that question, you're
being intentional abouteverything that you are doing
(29:14):
and you're not just being pulledin so many different directions
.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
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
(29:38):
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.
(29:58):
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 (30:17):
so I would say, um, whenever you do your brain dump.
So 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, ifyou're planning planning your
day, if you're planning yourweek, for example um, yeah, I
would say specifically in thoseareas when you're planning your
(30:38):
week, for example, yeah, I wouldsay specifically in those areas
when you're planning your month.
That's more loose and you canalways adjust to it, but when
you're planning your day andyour week, I think you should
actually ask yourself thosequestions what do I need to be
doing?
This and another thing that youneed to be thinking about is is
(30:58):
this 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?
(31:19):
Another thing to think about isis it going to bring revenue in
my business?
Is it going to bring moreclients?
Is it something I enjoy and I'mpassionate about?
Does it align with what myvision and my mission is for my
business.
Does it line up with my values?
Because sometimes we haveprojects.
(31:43):
For example, as you said, theyhad 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 (32:02):
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 (32:21):
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 some people
out there who are like, oh, Idon't know.
You know, I don't know what I'mgreat at, but there is
something that peoplecontinuously come to you for,
(32:45):
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
(33:06):
would recommend and I have donethis exercise and it is an
eye-opener I would recommendthat you send a message to maybe
five to ten of your closestpeople and closest friends,
family, and ask them what do youthink my strengths are?
What do you think my weaknessesare?
(33:28):
Yeah, what do you think I'mgreat at?
Kind of thing?
Um, yeah, what do you think I'mgreat?
Great at kind of thing.
And you will be surprised atthe things that they will come
back with and the similaritiesthat you will hear.
The same thing will come up.
That is an indicator of whatyou are great at.
(33:48):
Also, what are you good at?
Naturally, but to other peopleis difficult.
What are you?
Speaker 1 (33:56):
good at, naturally, but to other people is difficult
.
Love that question yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
What are you good at, naturally?
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Yeah, such good questions.
Okay, what else do you wantpeople 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
(34:23):
a life and business that reallyaligns and brings us joy, that
you want people to know that wedidn't touch on?
Speaker 2 (34:31):
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.
Just some of us can get stuckin the planning, and it's really
(34:56):
important, yep.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
I'm guilty of that.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Because we're strategic.
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.
He pushes me out of my comfortzone, and so the key thing is um
, yes, strategy withoutimplementation is, to be honest,
(35:22):
you're still gonna just have adream, and so true the key is
when you create the strategy toactually implement, and so
that's why we create the plan,and it's all about sticking to
that plan.
And, in the same way that if youmade a plan with someone else
or you had an agreement, youwould stick to it because you
(35:44):
want to be seen as reliable,stick to those plans that you
make for yourself.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
You know it's yeah, that's, that's, that's a key
thing, yeah, that's, that's,that's a key thing, and so, yes,
I have a question about that,because I struggle with that
part and, like just at thebeginning of this year, I'm like
, okay, I'm going to implementthese power hours again, which
to me, are kind of these focusedblocks of time on my calendar
(36:11):
where I'm going to focus on, youknow, two hours on one activity
, whether it's, you know,increasing awareness around my
podcast or it's writing content,or, and I plot them on my
calendar, and then I just end upmoving them around.
I'm not doing them, and so isthat in like a problem of me
(36:33):
just being in 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 (36:45):
So what you need to do is, 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
(37:07):
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 unnegotiable.
So it's a mindset, it's amindset shift.
When you book that time in, itneeds to be a non-negotiable.
(37:27):
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 goto the gym, this you know every
(37:49):
morning and then, when it comes,oh, I'm tired, we make our
excuses.
He says so the reason why a lotof people have imposter
syndrome is because they don'teven trust themselves, because
they break promises tothemselves, and so we need to
shift our mindset where, when Iblock in that time, even though
(38:10):
it's not with a client, I amalso just as important 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 it, where wehave been full to capacity with
client work and we have notfactored in any time for our own
(38:32):
businesses or personaldevelopment or things that we
need to do behind the scenes.
That will stifle your business,and so it's really important.
It's almost like having a mind,mindset 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,
(38:55):
obviously, something has come upand so it's.
It's a, it's a.
It's not easy, but it's amindset 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 (39:07):
I think that's so interesting.
I think what you help me see isthat I do.
I have these non-negotiables inmy life, like all over my life,
when it comes to well-being 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
(39:29):
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 toJosephine?
What are you excited about andhow can people work with you and
what does that look like?
Speaker 2 (39:51):
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 them and so
I'm currently working excuse me, I'm currently working on
behind the scenes and I'm goingto be launching a YouTube
(40:12):
channel which will where we'llbe going behind the scenes of me
as an entrepreneur, and I amvery, very excited about that.
I've been wanting to launchthis for a long time and now
it's like this is the time.
So we'll be talking all thingsentrepreneurship, lifestyle
(40:33):
strategy, networking'm very,very excited and also self-care
as well.
Um, so, yeah, that's somethingthat I'm working on.
Um, I am also.
What else am I doing?
Congratulations, just aboutbeing visible.
Thank you, thank you.
Yeah, I literally was just likeOK, we are doing this.
(40:56):
So I'm really, really excitedabout that and, in terms of
working with me, you can checkout my website,
wwwtheawusucollectivecom.
And also I'd love to hear fromsome of the listeners, and so I
(41:16):
will share with Carla a linkwhere you can book in a call
just to, if you have anychallenges, a 15 minute call,
and we can kind of just hop on acall and discuss the challenges
that you have and see how I canhelp you.
But I'm just really, reallyexcited.
(41:36):
I'm excited to continue doingstrategic planning with my
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 (41:59):
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.
(42:22):
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 (42:33):
Oh, thank you so much , carla.
I've really enjoyed this, andthank you everyone for listening
.
Speaker 1 (42:42):
Thank you for tuning in to this episode of
differently.
It's been an honor to sharethis conversation with you.
You know, one of the keys toliving fully is to take action
when you're inspired to do so.
I hope you found that spark ofinspiration today and would you
help us spread the word.
Did someone you know come tomind while you were listening?
(43:03):
If this episode could impactsomeone you know, please share
it and pass it along.
New episodes drop weekly, sotap that subscribe button and
join us next time as we continueto challenge the status quo and
get equipped to live lifedifferently.
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