December 17, 2024 • 25 mins
In this cozy, heartfelt episode, recorded straight from my bed, we’re diving into a topic we all need: reflecting on our wins and giving ourselves credit where it’s due. The year-end season is the perfect time to pause, acknowledge your accomplishments, and use that energy to propel yourself forward into the new year. I’m sharing personal wins, mindset shifts, and actionable strategies to help you reframe self-doubt, celebrate your achievements, and step into 2025 with clarity and confidence.
✨ What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why year-end reflections are crucial for growth and abundance
- How to shift from focusing on what you didn’t do to celebrating what you did
- A practice to anchor your wins and carry them into the new year
- My personal wins, challenges, and lessons from 2024
- How my Elevate program can support your growth in business and mindset
💡 Resources & Links Mentioned:
- Elevate Coaching Program: Join my Elevate program for group and one-on-one coaching to help you reprogram your mindset, grow your business, and live a more abundant life.
- Content Fuel Prompts: Over 250+ prompts to help you use ChatGPT like a pro for content creation.
- Watch My YouTube with White House Custom Color: Learn about mindset, clarity, abundance, and sales with my lab partner Matt.
- Podcast Episode Blog Post: Dive deeper into this topic with my blog post, including additional resources and insights.
🔥 Your Challenge:
Take 10 minutes today to reflect on your wins. Write them down, say them aloud, or share them with me on Instagram (@reneebowen). When you’re ready to take this work deeper and make 2025 your most abundant year yet, join me in Elevate.
Love this episode? Leave a review, share it with a friend, and tag me on social media. Let’s spread those good vibes together! ❤️
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Tried and True with the Dash of Woo, where
we blend rock solid tips with alittle bit of magic.
I'm Renee Bowen, your host,life and business coach and
professional photographer atyour service.
We are all about gettingcreative, diving into your
business and playing withmanifestation over here.
So are you ready to getinspired and have some fun?
Let's dive in.
Hey, hey, welcome back to Triedand True with the Dash of Woo.
(00:27):
I am literally recording thisepisode from my bed.
That is very, very warm,because I have just had a crazy
few weeks and, honestly, this isthe only time that I have to do
it and I'm recording it on myphone.
So let's hope the soundactually works really well and
if it does, I think I might justdo this all the time, because
(00:47):
this is a great life hack Recordyour podcast from your bed.
I mean, you got to do what yougot to do and, hey, it works.
So I hope you guys are having areally awesome end of the year
and, leading up to your holidays, I hope that you are actually
finding some time you know toenjoy yourself, because if
(01:08):
you're a photographer, like I am, it's kind of a crazy time of
year and we tend to workourselves to death in fall,
which I love to try and helpphotographers figure out a way
to not do that, because, yes, Iget it, this is when a lot of us
make most of our money.
I mean, it's when a lot ofbusinesses do as well Q4, but I
(01:31):
would love it if you planned alittle bit better and maybe
raised your prices so that youdidn't have to squeeze in all of
these low ticket mini sessionsand things like that.
Mini sessions actually can beprofitable, by the way, but I
find that a lot of photographersjust don't do that.
(01:53):
They tend to throw themselvesunder the bus and shoot for a
really low amount and then bythe time you get to this time of
year, you're just exhausted andthere's a better way.
So if you are looking forsupport, I'd love to support you
inside of Elevate.
I've got two levels to it and Ionly enroll one level of it,
the VIP level, twice a year, andenrollment is currently open
(02:17):
for that.
It is a small group.
I'm only taking two to threemore people, so if that
interests you, you need to headover to reneebowencom slash
elevate.
You'll read all about it andthen, when you scroll down for
the pricing, you'll see that youcan either pay in full or you
can do a monthly payment andthere's an application for the
(02:37):
VIP level.
So go ahead and do that ifyou're interested.
This is not for beginningphotographers.
This is definitely for moreseasoned photographers, people
who have been in business for aminute, but you still don't have
to have all your ducks in a row, right Like.
The whole reason that you wouldjoin is to figure that out.
Like a lot of my members cometo me needing to raise their
(03:00):
prices, needing to make moremoney, you know, needing to
market better.
It's a lot of marketing andit's a lot of mindset and it's a
lot of pricing.
So you definitely don't need tohave it all figured out.
That's why you would want tojoin us so that you could get
that support, and the supportfrom me through coaching is
(03:20):
super valuable.
Obviously, you get some of mycourses as well, but the support
from the group is reallyawesome because most of these
members have been with me foryears and they are awesome.
So I love this group and I'dlove to support you there.
If that feels aligned, so youcan find that link in the show
notes as well and if you haveany questions, please hit me up
(03:41):
over on Instagram at Renee Bowen.
I'd love to chat with you.
Okay, so today's episode youguys is very timely.
Obviously, I'm really excited toshare all of this with you,
because it's really a reflectionthat I think many of us
creatives and photographers andentrepreneurs can deeply
resonate with, as all of thosethings we're looking forward,
(04:04):
right, we're constantly tryingto set new goals, chasing the
next new thing, building thedream, but how often are we
stopping to reflect on how farwe've come?
And when we do that, we'reoften shocked by how much we've
actually accomplished.
So there's a trend right now.
It started on TikTok, aseverything does, and it's
(04:27):
showing up on Instagram aseverything does.
But it started on TikTok and itis two photos, basically.
The first photo something tothe effect of thinking about
2024 and how I didn't reallyaccomplish much, and then the
next slide is the same photowith a different caption over it
that says but here's all that Iactually accomplished this year
(04:49):
, and that's actually a reallycool thing.
So I wanted to take it a stepfurther and make a whole podcast
out of it.
I am going to post my ownversion of that trend as well,
and I think you should too.
I think it's a really greatlittle exercise for us to do,
but the reason is is because,like so many of us do not stop
and notice the things that we'redoing In my Elevate groups both
(05:12):
levels, the foundation and VIPthis whole month we're doing a
worthiness challenge.
It's a 30 day worthy challengeand that's a lot of what we're
talking about is okay.
Yes, we're reaching for moreand there's a lot of different
things we're doing as far as,like, that challenge goes, but a
lot of the prompts and a lot ofthe exercises that I'm having
(05:32):
them do relates to reallynoticing the things that you
already have and that you'realready doing, because that's a
big part of your manifestationside note, but it's also so
awesome for your unconsciousmind.
It's how you really wire inthat neuroplasticity, how you
(05:54):
create these new synapses andhow you make changes.
And I just want to remind youthat, even when it doesn't feel
like it, you've done so muchmore than you give yourself
credit for I guarantee, becausewe are definitely our own worst
critics.
So today we're going to diveinto why that's important to
(06:14):
pause and reflect, and I'm goingto share some of my own wins,
the big ones and the small onesbecause, trust me, I have had my
moments this year of feelinglike I am not doing enough and
spoiler alert, I was wrong.
So I'm going to talk about themindset shifts and some NLP
techniques and some claritypractices that can help you
(06:36):
start acknowledging your ownwins and use that energy to
propel yourself forward.
Okay, so, first of all, raiseyour hand.
If you've ever thought I shouldbe further along by now, I know
I do that as well.
Trust me, it's like we're wiredto focus on the gap between
where we are and where we wantto be, instead of celebrating
how far we've already come.
(06:58):
It's that little voice that saysyou're not doing enough or
you're falling behind, and whilethat voice may think it's
motivating you, it's actuallykeeping you stuck.
It's that inner saboteur,basically, and it's really your
unconscious mind just pullingyou back to safety.
Truly, that's really all thatis, and you guys hear me talk
(07:19):
about that a lot, but that'swhat it is.
Okay.
So some of us just have louderones than others.
But if you're constantlytelling yourself that you're not
is okay.
So some of us just have louderones than others, but if you're
constantly telling yourself thatyou're not enough.
Guess what your brain is goingto believe that and act
accordingly, because you aregoing to find proof of whatever
you're looking for.
But the flip side is that whenyou start recognizing your own
(07:39):
wins, you're not just boostingyour own confidence, you're
rewiring your brain to focus onabundance, or anything else that
you actually want in life, andabundance creates momentum.
So that's why reflection isn'tjust a nice thing to do.
I really believe it's essential.
You have to start looking forthe things you want, as opposed
(08:03):
to the things you don't want,because, whether you know it or
not, consciously you are sendingout a signal to the universe
which is just going to mirror itright back to you.
So I want you to be intentionalwith what you are sending out.
All right, so I want to talk toyou guys for a minute about what
2024 actually looked like forme, because there was a lot of
(08:28):
ups and downs.
I'm not going to lie, this wasa really challenging year for me
, like really challenging in alot of different ways, but
mainly because I had to work awhole lot harder than I wanted
to.
A lot of you guys know that Iam married to an actor and a
writer and that wholeentertainment industry has just
(08:52):
not been great since thepandemic.
But last year, specifically,was pretty gnarly because of the
strikes and Andrew's a memberof both unions, so there was a
long period of time of notworking for him and it still
hasn't come back the way that itneeds to.
So, thankfully, I have twobusinesses that both do really
(09:16):
well, but I've had to cut backon a lot of my expenses to run
those businesses this year.
So, while both businesses stilldid really well and I'm so
grateful that they have, I'm so,so grateful for the work that
has come in this year on bothsides of that business but I've
had to cut back on the expenses,meaning like a lot of the help,
(09:40):
a lot of the tools, a lot ofthe people that I need to help
these businesses run.
So I've had to work harder,basically because I just needed
to cut some corners to makethings work on the personal side
.
You're really not supposed todo that, you're not supposed to
really take from the business tofund your personal life, but
(10:00):
I've had to this year andluckily, because of the way I
have my businesses structured, Ican do that.
It just means that I am workinga little harder than I'd like
to, and that is definitely goingto change in 2025.
So it's like I said it's goodthat I was able to do it, but
it's not a long-term solution.
(10:24):
So if you find yourself wearingall the hats 24-7 and you're
running yourself into the groundlong-term, that's not
sustainable.
It's just not.
I've done it for a full yearand I'm exhausted and I'm a very
productive person.
Look, I get a lot done.
I love both sides of mybusiness.
I'm a human design generator,which means when I'm doing what
I love, I'm just lit up, but I'malso really tired, right, I
(10:50):
mean, I'm not a spring chickenanymore either.
So something has to give and ifyou are in that boat, I feel
you, I get it.
There's definitely a pathforward and I am in the process
of finalizing my path forward.
I've been working on that for awhile now.
So if you need help with that,just reach out.
But I'm just here to like remindyou that you're not alone in
(11:12):
this, okay, and because you'reso busy and you know working in
the business too much, it's veryeasy to look back on the year
and be like oh, you know, Ididn't really.
I don't feel like I reallyaccomplished as much as I wanted
to, but that's just becauseyou're freaking tired, so let's
(11:33):
go through my list because it'skind of ridiculous.
So I served over 50 coachingstudents this year, in both
groups and one-on-one.
That's 50 lives impacted,businesses transformed,
transformed and dreams broughtcloser to reality.
At least that is my hope andwish, and I love, love, love,
(11:58):
love my coaching business.
I love my group coaching.
I love working one-on-one.
It's just super fulfilling forme to see people thrive, make
more money, be more efficientand live happier lives.
I also produced another fullyear of this podcast by myself.
Yes, I had to let go of all thehelp that was helping me
(12:22):
produce this podcast.
So ChatGPT, just as a side note, has basically become my BFF,
my assistant.
I mean my ride or die,basically.
At this point, chatgpt issaving my butt this year.
So if you're not using ChatGPTto its fullest extent, I highly
(12:44):
recommend spending that 20 buckson the plus version because it
makes such a huge difference.
And if you're having troubleknowing how to use ChatGPT or
prompt it, I have something foryou called Content Fuel.
I'll link it in the show notes.
It's basically over 250 andgrowing prompts so that you can
(13:05):
start using it super efficiently, like I am and, honestly,
because I can't have someonehelping me with the podcast I
needed ChatGPT to do a lot ofthe heavy lifting for me, and it
really has.
So I have a master prompt thatI use that helps me do all the
things from blog to social posts, captions, everything with
(13:28):
respect to the podcast, and it'sjust been amazing.
It also helps me come up withcontent, ideas, scripts, all the
things.
So, anyway, just a little sidenote for you.
But, yes, I produced anotheryear of this podcast and I
absolutely love doing thispodcast for you guys, so I'd
love to hear from you too.
I mean, I definitely have someamazing ideas coming for you
(13:49):
guys, but I would love to knowwhat you guys would love to hear
from you too.
I mean, I definitely have someamazing ideas coming for you
guys, but I would love to knowwhat you guys would like to hear
about too.
So let me know over onInstagram.
Another accomplishment for methis year is in terms of revenue
.
I pulled in over $220,000 inrevenue between both my coaching
and my photography businesses.
Both are full-time.
My coaching and my photographybusinesses both are full time,
(14:14):
and that's basically what I makenormally, so that's right on
target for me.
I had hopes of making more thanthat this year, but I am just
grateful that it stayed the sameand that I had all the work
that I had Again, super, supergrateful.
This was a year that I actuallyreally needed both sides of the
business to do that.
So that's obviously notcounting expenses and things
(14:36):
like that, that's straightrevenue.
But I purposely cut back onsome of my photography over the
last couple of years to makemore room for coaching.
And last year I was really ontarget to have the coaching pull
forward and then the strikeshappened and then I had to
(14:57):
readjust my sales.
But that's the beauty ofrunning your own business you
can readjust, but you reallyneed to be paying attention to
your numbers in order to do that.
So I mean, I can't tell you howmany potential coaching clients
I get on the phone with to talkabout whether they're a good
fit for coaching, and a lot ofyou guys do not know your
numbers.
I'll ask you what did you makelast month?
(15:18):
What did you make last year?
What are you projected to makethis year?
And a lot of you guys do notknow at all.
You think you might make this,or?
I mean, I understand that it'sa range, but, like you need to
know, you need to know thosehard numbers.
Numbers don't lie.
So in order to be able toadjust and readjust on a dime,
(15:41):
you got to know.
So if you haven't done that,please go look at your numbers
for 2024.
I ended up photographing over 45sessions and you know that's
basically a combination that'smostly seniors, some headshots,
some branding, things like that.
I also created monthly content,obviously for my elevate groups
(16:01):
, content that's helping otherphotographers grow and thrive in
a myriad of ways.
I also made an extra $17,000 inaffiliate sales, which is
really, really awesome.
I love affiliates, I loveworking with brands.
That's been super fun.
So that's a combination of allkinds of different stuff,
(16:24):
between TikTok shop affiliate toworking with brands, to selling
other people's courses, evenall kinds of stuff, yeah, so
really really cool.
And all of that really meansthat I was able to keep my
family afloat, like I said, asthe breadwinner, which is a win
(16:44):
that words can't even capturefor me.
If you would have told the 2005version of me that I would one
day be able to consistentlybring in this amount of money
every year and support my familylike this.
I would have like dropped to myknees Like, oh my God, yes.
So if you are struggling andyou can't even seem to fathom
(17:10):
making that amount, I'm here totell you that it is 100% a
possibility.
100% you can do anything youput your mind to, as long as
you've got a plan and you've gotthe right mindset and you've
got the support.
One of my coaching students Ijust had her one-on-one the
other day.
She's an Elevate VIP and shehit 80K this year for the first
time ever.
So she's on target to make sixfigures next year and it's just
(17:35):
so exciting to see this happenin real time.
I also created and delivered a90 minute keynote on clarity and
that felt like such a milestonefor me as a coach and as a
speaker, because you know Italked to you guys a lot here.
I do a lot of Zooms, butspeaking in person is a whole
different thing, and speakingfor 90 minutes with a structured
(17:56):
presentation is another thing.
Entirely right To a room offellow photographers, I was just
at the TCPPA up in Minnesotaand they had me come out and
speak to their members at theirChristmas party.
I also did a YouTube with mylab partner, white House Custom
(18:17):
Color.
I had a really goodconversation with Matt, all
about mindset, clarity,abundance, sales.
I actually added the video thatwe did to my blog post for this
podcast so that you can justwatch it there.
I will put the link to that inthe show notes for you.
But I really think that,especially if you're a
(18:39):
photographer, you will get a lotout of that.
But speaking at the TCPPA wasreally amazing and I created a
whole workbook that we hadprinted for them.
It's a big deal.
It was a really big deal for me, so I'm proud of myself for
getting that done.
I also ran an incredibleretreat earlier this year for my
(19:00):
Elevate VIP group and we hadsuch a great time.
I got to see a few of them whenI was up in Minnesota.
But I am planning anotherretreat, hopefully in like
May-ish of next year, in 2025.
And I want this one to bereally, really focused on mainly
business mindset marketing, notnecessarily shooting.
(19:21):
I feel like we need some moreof the other stuff, but we'll
see how this develops and if youguys are interested in joining
us, just shoot me a DM and letme know.
In some non-related businessaccomplishments.
I am still prioritizing myhealth and I have kept the
weight off that I lost in 2023.
And I'm doing great and I feelgreat, so that's a huge win for
(19:45):
me.
I prioritize my nervous systemregulation, which is a really
big reason why I'm able to keepthat weight off, and it's the
only reason I haven't lost myshit this year like that.
I'm not in a loony bin becausethis was a lot for anybody, but
I have created some reallyawesome habits and exercises for
myself and some non-negotiables, and it's paying off.
(20:09):
I also was able to visit myfamily in Louisiana and I helped
two of my kids move.
Neither of those were easymoves, but it was so great to be
able to do that for my kids Oneof them, you know I flew across
the country to do so anotherreason why running your own
(20:29):
business is awesome.
I'm able to pad that in andmake it happen.
I survived having $13,000 worthof gear stolen as well.
That was a really rough moment.
Having $13,000 worth of gearstolen as well, that was a
really rough moment, but hey,thankfully for PPA, I have
insurance and all is well onthat front, so I was able to
(20:50):
replace my gear and I booked acommercial this year, which was
not on my bingo card, but it wasreally fun.
So I don't know, maybe I'll dosome more.
I'm sure there's other thingsthat I missed, but those are the
main things that came up when Iwas thinking about what I
actually did this year.
So let's talk about how you canstart reflecting and celebrating
your own wins.
Here's a practice that I usewith my coaching students and
(21:12):
obviously I do as well.
Start with gratitude.
Okay, take five minutes.
Write down three things thatyou're really grateful for in
your business or your creativejourney in general.
Gratitude shifts your braininto a state of abundance,
almost like immediately.
Make a did it list.
Okay, instead of a to-do list,write down all the things you've
already accomplished this year,big or small, it all counts.
(21:36):
What helps me is opening mycalendar.
Okay, especially if you areorganized and you use a CRM,
which I hope you do.
I'm able to look at my CRM andgo month by month and just
looking at the jobs I had, thethings that I had on the
calendar that month, reallyhelps me go.
Oh, yes, that's right, I didthis.
It helps bring me back to theawareness of what I actually was
(22:00):
doing, you know, months andmonths ago.
It feels like a lifetime.
Another thing you can do isidentify your patterns.
What did your wins tell youabout your strengths?
What can you build on for nextyear?
Because, again, we're going tobe projecting.
It's not just about reflecting,but you want to project as well
.
And then you want to reallyanchor these in.
(22:22):
Like you can use a techniquethat I use in NLP, like
visualization anchoring.
Close your eyes and reallypicture your biggest win from
this year, like what youconsider the most amazing thing
that happened, and now amplifythat feeling and imagine
carrying it with you into thenext goal.
Like, really take it in, allowit to integrate into your
(22:46):
nervous system, really feel thefeelings on how amazing it is to
have accomplished that, so thatyou can get more of it.
And then, really, you need tojust be celebrating it Seriously
.
Take some time to celebrate it.
You need to just be celebratingit Seriously.
Take some time to celebrate it,all your wins, really, whether
it's treating yourself tosomething special or simply
(23:06):
saying to yourself like I'm soproud of myself in the mirror,
looking at yourself in themirror and saying it, those
things really matter, but youreally need to set aside some
time to celebrate what youaccomplished.
You deserve it.
You're worthy of that, really,you are All right.
So I'm going to wrap thisepisode up because I am getting
(23:27):
really sleepy, because it's niceand cozy and warm in my bed, so
I'm going to continueprioritizing my nervous system
and allow myself to rest, but Ihope that you got some value
from this.
I hope that you really are ableto sit down and reflect on your
own wins, your ownaccomplishments, so that you can
project forward.
This is a lot of what I'm doingwith my groups right now, on
(23:50):
our calls.
This week, with Elevate, I'mwalking them through a really
specific exercise focused onabundance as well as projection
into 2025, so that we can startto truly integrate these
feelings in a deeper way.
Imagine having somebody in yourcorner who helps you see the
wins you're too close to notice,who helps you reprogram those
(24:12):
limiting beliefs and who guidesyou to create a business that
you love, one that's profitableand sustainable.
That's what coaching with melooks like.
So, if you're ready to go deeper, to reflect on your wins and
build on them in ways that younever imagined, I'd love to work
with you, whether it's joiningme inside of either of my
Elevate programs VIP orfoundation or working with me
(24:35):
one-on-one.
There's space for you to thrive.
So here's your challenge Take10 minutes today to reflect on
your wins.
It really shouldn't take youthat long.
And here's your challenge Take10 minutes today to reflect on
your wins.
It really shouldn't take youthat long, and I know you have
10 minutes.
Write them down, say them outloud, celebrate them, hit me up
on Instagram and let me know youdid it.
If you need accountability, andwhen you're ready to take this
work deeper, let's connect Untilnext time, and remember you're
(24:58):
doing better than you think.
Keep shining, keep creating andkeep celebrating you.
Okay, talk to you guys soon.
Love you, bye.
Welcome to Tried and True with the Dash of Woo, where
we blend rock solid tips with alittle bit of magic.
I'm Renee Bowen, your host,life and business coach and
professional photographer atyour service.
We are all about gettingcreative, diving into your
business and playing withmanifestation over here.
So are you ready to getinspired and have some fun?
Let's dive in.
Hey, hey, welcome back to Triedand True with the Dash of Woo.
(00:27):
I am literally recording thisepisode from my bed.
That is very, very warm,because I have just had a crazy
few weeks and, honestly, this isthe only time that I have to do
it and I'm recording it on myphone.
So let's hope the soundactually works really well and
if it does, I think I might justdo this all the time, because
(00:47):
this is a great life hack Recordyour podcast from your bed.
I mean, you got to do what yougot to do and, hey, it works.
So I hope you guys are having areally awesome end of the year
and, leading up to your holidays, I hope that you are actually
finding some time you know toenjoy yourself, because if
(01:08):
you're a photographer, like I am, it's kind of a crazy time of
year and we tend to workourselves to death in fall,
which I love to try and helpphotographers figure out a way
to not do that, because, yes, Iget it, this is when a lot of us
make most of our money.
I mean, it's when a lot ofbusinesses do as well Q4, but I
(01:31):
would love it if you planned alittle bit better and maybe
raised your prices so that youdidn't have to squeeze in all of
these low ticket mini sessionsand things like that.
Mini sessions actually can beprofitable, by the way, but I
find that a lot of photographersjust don't do that.
(01:53):
They tend to throw themselvesunder the bus and shoot for a
really low amount and then bythe time you get to this time of
year, you're just exhausted andthere's a better way.
So if you are looking forsupport, I'd love to support you
inside of Elevate.
I've got two levels to it and Ionly enroll one level of it,
the VIP level, twice a year, andenrollment is currently open
(02:17):
for that.
It is a small group.
I'm only taking two to threemore people, so if that
interests you, you need to headover to reneebowencom slash
elevate.
You'll read all about it andthen, when you scroll down for
the pricing, you'll see that youcan either pay in full or you
can do a monthly payment andthere's an application for the
(02:37):
VIP level.
So go ahead and do that ifyou're interested.
This is not for beginningphotographers.
This is definitely for moreseasoned photographers, people
who have been in business for aminute, but you still don't have
to have all your ducks in a row, right Like.
The whole reason that you wouldjoin is to figure that out.
Like a lot of my members cometo me needing to raise their
(03:00):
prices, needing to make moremoney, you know, needing to
market better.
It's a lot of marketing andit's a lot of mindset and it's a
lot of pricing.
So you definitely don't need tohave it all figured out.
That's why you would want tojoin us so that you could get
that support, and the supportfrom me through coaching is
(03:20):
super valuable.
Obviously, you get some of mycourses as well, but the support
from the group is reallyawesome because most of these
members have been with me foryears and they are awesome.
So I love this group and I'dlove to support you there.
If that feels aligned, so youcan find that link in the show
notes as well and if you haveany questions, please hit me up
(03:41):
over on Instagram at Renee Bowen.
I'd love to chat with you.
Okay, so today's episode youguys is very timely.
Obviously, I'm really excited toshare all of this with you,
because it's really a reflectionthat I think many of us
creatives and photographers andentrepreneurs can deeply
resonate with, as all of thosethings we're looking forward,
(04:04):
right, we're constantly tryingto set new goals, chasing the
next new thing, building thedream, but how often are we
stopping to reflect on how farwe've come?
And when we do that, we'reoften shocked by how much we've
actually accomplished.
So there's a trend right now.
It started on TikTok, aseverything does, and it's
(04:27):
showing up on Instagram aseverything does.
But it started on TikTok and itis two photos, basically.
The first photo something tothe effect of thinking about
2024 and how I didn't reallyaccomplish much, and then the
next slide is the same photowith a different caption over it
that says but here's all that Iactually accomplished this year
(04:49):
, and that's actually a reallycool thing.
So I wanted to take it a stepfurther and make a whole podcast
out of it.
I am going to post my ownversion of that trend as well,
and I think you should too.
I think it's a really greatlittle exercise for us to do,
but the reason is is because,like so many of us do not stop
and notice the things that we'redoing In my Elevate groups both
(05:12):
levels, the foundation and VIPthis whole month we're doing a
worthiness challenge.
It's a 30 day worthy challengeand that's a lot of what we're
talking about is okay.
Yes, we're reaching for moreand there's a lot of different
things we're doing as far as,like, that challenge goes, but a
lot of the prompts and a lot ofthe exercises that I'm having
(05:32):
them do relates to reallynoticing the things that you
already have and that you'realready doing, because that's a
big part of your manifestationside note, but it's also so
awesome for your unconsciousmind.
It's how you really wire inthat neuroplasticity, how you
(05:54):
create these new synapses andhow you make changes.
And I just want to remind youthat, even when it doesn't feel
like it, you've done so muchmore than you give yourself
credit for I guarantee, becausewe are definitely our own worst
critics.
So today we're going to diveinto why that's important to
(06:14):
pause and reflect, and I'm goingto share some of my own wins,
the big ones and the small onesbecause, trust me, I have had my
moments this year of feelinglike I am not doing enough and
spoiler alert, I was wrong.
So I'm going to talk about themindset shifts and some NLP
techniques and some claritypractices that can help you
(06:36):
start acknowledging your ownwins and use that energy to
propel yourself forward.
Okay, so, first of all, raiseyour hand.
If you've ever thought I shouldbe further along by now, I know
I do that as well.
Trust me, it's like we're wiredto focus on the gap between
where we are and where we wantto be, instead of celebrating
how far we've already come.
(06:58):
It's that little voice that saysyou're not doing enough or
you're falling behind, and whilethat voice may think it's
motivating you, it's actuallykeeping you stuck.
It's that inner saboteur,basically, and it's really your
unconscious mind just pullingyou back to safety.
Truly, that's really all thatis, and you guys hear me talk
(07:19):
about that a lot, but that'swhat it is.
Okay.
So some of us just have louderones than others.
But if you're constantlytelling yourself that you're not
is okay.
So some of us just have louderones than others, but if you're
constantly telling yourself thatyou're not enough.
Guess what your brain is goingto believe that and act
accordingly, because you aregoing to find proof of whatever
you're looking for.
But the flip side is that whenyou start recognizing your own
(07:39):
wins, you're not just boostingyour own confidence, you're
rewiring your brain to focus onabundance, or anything else that
you actually want in life, andabundance creates momentum.
So that's why reflection isn'tjust a nice thing to do.
I really believe it's essential.
You have to start looking forthe things you want, as opposed
(08:03):
to the things you don't want,because, whether you know it or
not, consciously you are sendingout a signal to the universe
which is just going to mirror itright back to you.
So I want you to be intentionalwith what you are sending out.
All right, so I want to talk toyou guys for a minute about what
2024 actually looked like forme, because there was a lot of
(08:28):
ups and downs.
I'm not going to lie, this wasa really challenging year for me
, like really challenging in alot of different ways, but
mainly because I had to work awhole lot harder than I wanted
to.
A lot of you guys know that Iam married to an actor and a
writer and that wholeentertainment industry has just
(08:52):
not been great since thepandemic.
But last year, specifically,was pretty gnarly because of the
strikes and Andrew's a memberof both unions, so there was a
long period of time of notworking for him and it still
hasn't come back the way that itneeds to.
So, thankfully, I have twobusinesses that both do really
(09:16):
well, but I've had to cut backon a lot of my expenses to run
those businesses this year.
So, while both businesses stilldid really well and I'm so
grateful that they have, I'm so,so grateful for the work that
has come in this year on bothsides of that business but I've
had to cut back on the expenses,meaning like a lot of the help,
(09:40):
a lot of the tools, a lot ofthe people that I need to help
these businesses run.
So I've had to work harder,basically because I just needed
to cut some corners to makethings work on the personal side
.
You're really not supposed todo that, you're not supposed to
really take from the business tofund your personal life, but
(10:00):
I've had to this year andluckily, because of the way I
have my businesses structured, Ican do that.
It just means that I am workinga little harder than I'd like
to, and that is definitely goingto change in 2025.
So it's like I said it's goodthat I was able to do it, but
it's not a long-term solution.
(10:24):
So if you find yourself wearingall the hats 24-7 and you're
running yourself into the groundlong-term, that's not
sustainable.
It's just not.
I've done it for a full yearand I'm exhausted and I'm a very
productive person.
Look, I get a lot done.
I love both sides of mybusiness.
I'm a human design generator,which means when I'm doing what
I love, I'm just lit up, but I'malso really tired, right, I
(10:50):
mean, I'm not a spring chickenanymore either.
So something has to give and ifyou are in that boat, I feel
you, I get it.
There's definitely a pathforward and I am in the process
of finalizing my path forward.
I've been working on that for awhile now.
So if you need help with that,just reach out.
But I'm just here to like remindyou that you're not alone in
(11:12):
this, okay, and because you'reso busy and you know working in
the business too much, it's veryeasy to look back on the year
and be like oh, you know, Ididn't really.
I don't feel like I reallyaccomplished as much as I wanted
to, but that's just becauseyou're freaking tired, so let's
(11:33):
go through my list because it'skind of ridiculous.
So I served over 50 coachingstudents this year, in both
groups and one-on-one.
That's 50 lives impacted,businesses transformed,
transformed and dreams broughtcloser to reality.
At least that is my hope andwish, and I love, love, love,
(11:58):
love my coaching business.
I love my group coaching.
I love working one-on-one.
It's just super fulfilling forme to see people thrive, make
more money, be more efficientand live happier lives.
I also produced another fullyear of this podcast by myself.
Yes, I had to let go of all thehelp that was helping me
(12:22):
produce this podcast.
So ChatGPT, just as a side note, has basically become my BFF,
my assistant.
I mean my ride or die,basically.
At this point, chatgpt issaving my butt this year.
So if you're not using ChatGPTto its fullest extent, I highly
(12:44):
recommend spending that 20 buckson the plus version because it
makes such a huge difference.
And if you're having troubleknowing how to use ChatGPT or
prompt it, I have something foryou called Content Fuel.
I'll link it in the show notes.
It's basically over 250 andgrowing prompts so that you can
(13:05):
start using it super efficiently, like I am and, honestly,
because I can't have someonehelping me with the podcast I
needed ChatGPT to do a lot ofthe heavy lifting for me, and it
really has.
So I have a master prompt thatI use that helps me do all the
things from blog to social posts, captions, everything with
(13:28):
respect to the podcast, and it'sjust been amazing.
It also helps me come up withcontent, ideas, scripts, all the
things.
So, anyway, just a little sidenote for you.
But, yes, I produced anotheryear of this podcast and I
absolutely love doing thispodcast for you guys, so I'd
love to hear from you too.
I mean, I definitely have someamazing ideas coming for you
(13:49):
guys, but I would love to knowwhat you guys would love to hear
from you too.
I mean, I definitely have someamazing ideas coming for you
guys, but I would love to knowwhat you guys would like to hear
about too.
So let me know over onInstagram.
Another accomplishment for methis year is in terms of revenue
.
I pulled in over $220,000 inrevenue between both my coaching
and my photography businesses.
Both are full-time.
My coaching and my photographybusinesses both are full time,
(14:14):
and that's basically what I makenormally, so that's right on
target for me.
I had hopes of making more thanthat this year, but I am just
grateful that it stayed the sameand that I had all the work
that I had Again, super, supergrateful.
This was a year that I actuallyreally needed both sides of the
business to do that.
So that's obviously notcounting expenses and things
(14:36):
like that, that's straightrevenue.
But I purposely cut back onsome of my photography over the
last couple of years to makemore room for coaching.
And last year I was really ontarget to have the coaching pull
forward and then the strikeshappened and then I had to
(14:57):
readjust my sales.
But that's the beauty ofrunning your own business you
can readjust, but you reallyneed to be paying attention to
your numbers in order to do that.
So I mean, I can't tell you howmany potential coaching clients
I get on the phone with to talkabout whether they're a good
fit for coaching, and a lot ofyou guys do not know your
numbers.
I'll ask you what did you makelast month?
(15:18):
What did you make last year?
What are you projected to makethis year?
And a lot of you guys do notknow at all.
You think you might make this,or?
I mean, I understand that it'sa range, but, like you need to
know, you need to know thosehard numbers.
Numbers don't lie.
So in order to be able toadjust and readjust on a dime,
(15:41):
you got to know.
So if you haven't done that,please go look at your numbers
for 2024.
I ended up photographing over 45sessions and you know that's
basically a combination that'smostly seniors, some headshots,
some branding, things like that.
I also created monthly content,obviously for my elevate groups
(16:01):
, content that's helping otherphotographers grow and thrive in
a myriad of ways.
I also made an extra $17,000 inaffiliate sales, which is
really, really awesome.
I love affiliates, I loveworking with brands.
That's been super fun.
So that's a combination of allkinds of different stuff,
(16:24):
between TikTok shop affiliate toworking with brands, to selling
other people's courses, evenall kinds of stuff, yeah, so
really really cool.
And all of that really meansthat I was able to keep my
family afloat, like I said, asthe breadwinner, which is a win
(16:44):
that words can't even capturefor me.
If you would have told the 2005version of me that I would one
day be able to consistentlybring in this amount of money
every year and support my familylike this.
I would have like dropped to myknees Like, oh my God, yes.
So if you are struggling andyou can't even seem to fathom
(17:10):
making that amount, I'm here totell you that it is 100% a
possibility.
100% you can do anything youput your mind to, as long as
you've got a plan and you've gotthe right mindset and you've
got the support.
One of my coaching students Ijust had her one-on-one the
other day.
She's an Elevate VIP and shehit 80K this year for the first
time ever.
So she's on target to make sixfigures next year and it's just
(17:35):
so exciting to see this happenin real time.
I also created and delivered a90 minute keynote on clarity and
that felt like such a milestonefor me as a coach and as a
speaker, because you know Italked to you guys a lot here.
I do a lot of Zooms, butspeaking in person is a whole
different thing, and speakingfor 90 minutes with a structured
(17:56):
presentation is another thing.
Entirely right To a room offellow photographers, I was just
at the TCPPA up in Minnesotaand they had me come out and
speak to their members at theirChristmas party.
I also did a YouTube with mylab partner, white House Custom
(18:17):
Color.
I had a really goodconversation with Matt, all
about mindset, clarity,abundance, sales.
I actually added the video thatwe did to my blog post for this
podcast so that you can justwatch it there.
I will put the link to that inthe show notes for you.
But I really think that,especially if you're a
(18:39):
photographer, you will get a lotout of that.
But speaking at the TCPPA wasreally amazing and I created a
whole workbook that we hadprinted for them.
It's a big deal.
It was a really big deal for me, so I'm proud of myself for
getting that done.
I also ran an incredibleretreat earlier this year for my
(19:00):
Elevate VIP group and we hadsuch a great time.
I got to see a few of them whenI was up in Minnesota.
But I am planning anotherretreat, hopefully in like
May-ish of next year, in 2025.
And I want this one to bereally, really focused on mainly
business mindset marketing, notnecessarily shooting.
(19:21):
I feel like we need some moreof the other stuff, but we'll
see how this develops and if youguys are interested in joining
us, just shoot me a DM and letme know.
In some non-related businessaccomplishments.
I am still prioritizing myhealth and I have kept the
weight off that I lost in 2023.
And I'm doing great and I feelgreat, so that's a huge win for
(19:45):
me.
I prioritize my nervous systemregulation, which is a really
big reason why I'm able to keepthat weight off, and it's the
only reason I haven't lost myshit this year like that.
I'm not in a loony bin becausethis was a lot for anybody, but
I have created some reallyawesome habits and exercises for
myself and some non-negotiables, and it's paying off.
(20:09):
I also was able to visit myfamily in Louisiana and I helped
two of my kids move.
Neither of those were easymoves, but it was so great to be
able to do that for my kids Oneof them, you know I flew across
the country to do so anotherreason why running your own
(20:29):
business is awesome.
I'm able to pad that in andmake it happen.
I survived having $13,000 worthof gear stolen as well.
That was a really rough moment.
Having $13,000 worth of gearstolen as well, that was a
really rough moment, but hey,thankfully for PPA, I have
insurance and all is well onthat front, so I was able to
(20:50):
replace my gear and I booked acommercial this year, which was
not on my bingo card, but it wasreally fun.
So I don't know, maybe I'll dosome more.
I'm sure there's other thingsthat I missed, but those are the
main things that came up when Iwas thinking about what I
actually did this year.
So let's talk about how you canstart reflecting and celebrating
your own wins.
Here's a practice that I usewith my coaching students and
(21:12):
obviously I do as well.
Start with gratitude.
Okay, take five minutes.
Write down three things thatyou're really grateful for in
your business or your creativejourney in general.
Gratitude shifts your braininto a state of abundance,
almost like immediately.
Make a did it list.
Okay, instead of a to-do list,write down all the things you've
already accomplished this year,big or small, it all counts.
(21:36):
What helps me is opening mycalendar.
Okay, especially if you areorganized and you use a CRM,
which I hope you do.
I'm able to look at my CRM andgo month by month and just
looking at the jobs I had, thethings that I had on the
calendar that month, reallyhelps me go.
Oh, yes, that's right, I didthis.
It helps bring me back to theawareness of what I actually was
(22:00):
doing, you know, months andmonths ago.
It feels like a lifetime.
Another thing you can do isidentify your patterns.
What did your wins tell youabout your strengths?
What can you build on for nextyear?
Because, again, we're going tobe projecting.
It's not just about reflecting,but you want to project as well
.
And then you want to reallyanchor these in.
(22:22):
Like you can use a techniquethat I use in NLP, like
visualization anchoring.
Close your eyes and reallypicture your biggest win from
this year, like what youconsider the most amazing thing
that happened, and now amplifythat feeling and imagine
carrying it with you into thenext goal.
Like, really take it in, allowit to integrate into your
(22:46):
nervous system, really feel thefeelings on how amazing it is to
have accomplished that, so thatyou can get more of it.
And then, really, you need tojust be celebrating it Seriously
.
Take some time to celebrate it.
You need to just be celebratingit Seriously.
Take some time to celebrate it,all your wins, really, whether
it's treating yourself tosomething special or simply
(23:06):
saying to yourself like I'm soproud of myself in the mirror,
looking at yourself in themirror and saying it, those
things really matter, but youreally need to set aside some
time to celebrate what youaccomplished.
You deserve it.
You're worthy of that, really,you are All right.
So I'm going to wrap thisepisode up because I am getting
(23:27):
really sleepy, because it's niceand cozy and warm in my bed, so
I'm going to continueprioritizing my nervous system
and allow myself to rest, but Ihope that you got some value
from this.
I hope that you really are ableto sit down and reflect on your
own wins, your ownaccomplishments, so that you can
project forward.
This is a lot of what I'm doingwith my groups right now, on
(23:50):
our calls.
This week, with Elevate, I'mwalking them through a really
specific exercise focused onabundance as well as projection
into 2025, so that we can startto truly integrate these
feelings in a deeper way.
Imagine having somebody in yourcorner who helps you see the
wins you're too close to notice,who helps you reprogram those
(24:12):
limiting beliefs and who guidesyou to create a business that
you love, one that's profitableand sustainable.
That's what coaching with melooks like.
So, if you're ready to go deeper, to reflect on your wins and
build on them in ways that younever imagined, I'd love to work
with you, whether it's joiningme inside of either of my
Elevate programs VIP orfoundation or working with me
(24:35):
one-on-one.
There's space for you to thrive.
So here's your challenge Take10 minutes today to reflect on
your wins.
It really shouldn't take youthat long.
And here's your challenge Take10 minutes today to reflect on
your wins.
It really shouldn't take youthat long, and I know you have
10 minutes.
Write them down, say them outloud, celebrate them, hit me up
on Instagram and let me know youdid it.
If you need accountability, andwhen you're ready to take this
work deeper, let's connect Untilnext time, and remember you're
(24:58):
doing better than you think.
Keep shining, keep creating andkeep celebrating you.
Okay, talk to you guys soon.
Love you, bye.
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