Artwork for podcast Gift Biz Unwrapped
Tips & Talk 94 – Ignore the “What If’s”
21st December 2022 • Gift Biz Unwrapped • Sue Monhait
00:00:00 00:09:03

Share Episode

Shownotes

I have a story for you about a friend I met years ago through the Chamber of Commerce. You’ll be as surprised as I was when I tell you. After this event I'm going to share with you, Alan could have kept looking back and wondering what his life would have been like if he’d made a different choice. Did he? Nope! Alan demonstrates 3 solid life lessons based on his experience and where he is today. Good things for us all to reflect on and learning to take into our futures.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

Inspired! Daily Planner CONNECT with me here: WebsiteFacebookInstagram SUBSCRIBE to the podcast: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify PAY IT FORWARD by leaving a rating and review. I'd love to hear your comments. Tell me how the show has helped you or a specific guest or point that had an impact. You can do that right here. Thanks for listening!

Resources for Growth of Your Handmade Biz

5 Rookie Mistakes Webinar (FREE) Start with Confidence Networking Ninja Content for Makers Inspired! Daily Planner Makers MBA

Check out the Merch Shop

Gifts for you or your biz friends that will make the days brighter and add a touch of inspiration and happiness. Enter the shop here.

Join our community of handmade product makers

Gift Biz Breeze is an active and inspiring group of creators at all levels of business development. Ask questions, see what others are working on, and learn new things - it's all there and we're waiting for you to join us!

Finally, would you please leave a review? Thanks!

It helps other makers like you find the show and build their businesses too. You can do so right here: Rate This Podcast  

Transcripts

Speaker:

Hi there,

Speaker:

it's Sue and thanks for joining me for Tips and Talk

Speaker:

Day. These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions

Speaker:

and things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small

Speaker:

business. If you'd like to submit a topic,

Speaker:

DM e over on Instagram at Gift Biz Unwrapped.

Speaker:

Before we get started,

Speaker:

I'm gonna share a secret with you.

Speaker:

One of my superpowers is the ability to get an enormous

Speaker:

number of tasks and projects done each and every week.

Speaker:

I easily meet deadlines,

Speaker:

rarely forget to do something,

Speaker:

and know at the start of each day what needs priority,

Speaker:

attention and action type A personality.

Speaker:

Yes, and a follow through on the Kobe assessment,

Speaker:

which should have given me the clue,

Speaker:

but it wasn't until people started commenting to me that I

Speaker:

realized not everyone naturally knows how to do this.

Speaker:

It's the biggest single contributor to the growth I always see

Speaker:

in my businesses without spending hours and hours working either.

Speaker:

It's about focus and doing the right things efficiently.

Speaker:

Prompted by all the questions on how I do this,

Speaker:

I went about finding a way to help you perform at

Speaker:

a higher level too.

Speaker:

I analyzed my methods and formalized my process,

Speaker:

which is one many of my coaching clients.

Speaker:

Now, also follow.

Speaker:

You can use it too.

Speaker:

It's all part of a tool called the Inspired Daily Planner,

Speaker:

made specifically for gifters,

Speaker:

bakers, crafters,

Speaker:

and makers.

Speaker:

Make no mistake,

Speaker:

this is not your ordinary planner.

Speaker:

First off,

Speaker:

it comes with a video explaining my productivity strategy and the

Speaker:

physical planner isn't dated,

Speaker:

so you can start using it the second it arrives at

Speaker:

your doorstep,

Speaker:

and that's not all included for each day is a motivational

Speaker:

or business building tip and plenty of space to capture and

Speaker:

book in time for to-dos scheduled appointments and all those ideas

Speaker:

that are now getting lost.

Speaker:

You can watch the video for free and then get your

Speaker:

inspired daily planner@giftbizunwrapped.com

Speaker:

slash inspired.

Speaker:

It's story time.

Speaker:

I wanna introduce you to a friend of mine who I

Speaker:

met through my local Chamber of Commerce.

Speaker:

We've known each other for years now and have shared many

Speaker:

personal and business stories throughout this time.

Speaker:

To me,

Speaker:

it's always so fascinating how interesting people's pasts can be,

Speaker:

but these stories only come out when you get to a

Speaker:

certain level of friendship and are in the right environment.

Speaker:

At one of our chamber,

Speaker:

after our events whine in hand,

Speaker:

one conversation led to another with my friend Alan and his

Speaker:

late wife Jeanie.

Speaker:

We got into reminiscing about surprising stories from our past.

Speaker:

All three of us were trying to one up each other

Speaker:

by sharing things you'd never expect based on who we are

Speaker:

today. It was such a fun conversation and full of amazing

Speaker:

revelations. I talked about being known as the Sunday Night prankster

Speaker:

in college,

Speaker:

my venture into cow tipping and being an NFL cheerleader.

Speaker:

You can hear all about this last one back in tips

Speaker:

and talk episode 78 if you're curious.

Speaker:

But Alan,

Speaker:

hands down had the best story of the night.

Speaker:

He shared how when he was younger,

Speaker:

he was a full on hippie and played in a rock

Speaker:

band. He even pulled out his phone and showed me a

Speaker:

picture as confirmation.

Speaker:

Oh my gosh,

Speaker:

my friend Alan,

Speaker:

this buttoned down,

Speaker:

highly professional guy,

Speaker:

transformed from what I saw in this photo.

Speaker:

Unbelievable and worth more than a few laughs and teasing,

Speaker:

of course.

Speaker:

Anyway, the best part of this story is yet to come.

Speaker:

Obviously, I wanna know more about the band and what happened

Speaker:

to him from there,

Speaker:

and this is the really crazy part.

Speaker:

We talked about his life in the band.

Speaker:

I've forgotten now what it was called at that time,

Speaker:

but as you can imagine,

Speaker:

there were dynamics with the band members investing a lot of

Speaker:

time without making much money,

Speaker:

and he was losing interest and questioning whether he wanted to

Speaker:

continue down this path.

Speaker:

The breaking point was when the lead band member told them

Speaker:

about the next song that they were going to add to

Speaker:

their playlist.

Speaker:

It was called,

Speaker:

does anybody really Know what Time it is?

Speaker:

Yes, this song,

Speaker:

does anybody really know what time it is?

Speaker:

Alan was like,

Speaker:

this is the stupidest sounding title I ever heard,

Speaker:

and that was the last straw for him.

Speaker:

He left the group.

Speaker:

Now, for those of you where this doesn't ring a bell,

Speaker:

the song,

Speaker:

does anybody really know what time it is,

Speaker:

was the song that put the band Chicago in the spotlight

Speaker:

and on the map of stardom,

Speaker:

record deals,

Speaker:

tours, the whole works,

Speaker:

but not including Alan.

Speaker:

He had already left the band and went on to have

Speaker:

a very successful law career,

Speaker:

so I asked,

Speaker:

do you ever reflect back on what could have been if

Speaker:

you didn't leave the band?

Speaker:

Honestly, I've forgotten now what his answer was to that question,

Speaker:

but I do remember his follow up.

Speaker:

He said,

Speaker:

if I had stayed in that band,

Speaker:

I may not have ever married Genie the love of my

Speaker:

life or had a family or a stable life here in

Speaker:

the suburbs or built my legal career.

Speaker:

I have no regrets,

Speaker:

and I know this to be true.

Speaker:

To know Alan is to see his passion for the life

Speaker:

he leads and all the good and joy he extends to

Speaker:

those around him.

Speaker:

Now, why did I take this whole podcast episode to tell

Speaker:

you this story?

Speaker:

Because there are some valuable lessons to take away.

Speaker:

First, if you're questioning your current situation because it's not fulfilling

Speaker:

anymore, it's okay and you should make a change.

Speaker:

Maybe it's making adjustments or completely switching it up.

Speaker:

Making a decision is always better than in decision,

Speaker:

even if your decision is to revisit the issue in a

Speaker:

few months.

Speaker:

Second, once a decision is made,

Speaker:

an action taken,

Speaker:

keep your eyes moving forward.

Speaker:

Looking back is great for learning and being wiser as you

Speaker:

continue on,

Speaker:

but looking back and wishing things could have been different is

Speaker:

defeatist. We can't change the past.

Speaker:

Focusing unproductive energy on what could have been isn't helpful,

Speaker:

and as I see it is a waste of time when

Speaker:

you could be creating an even more beautiful future and finally

Speaker:

live without regrets.

Speaker:

Just like Alan says,

Speaker:

if we're lucky we get many days on this earth,

Speaker:

of course we're going to make choices during this time that

Speaker:

hindsight were mistakes or a different choice might have led to

Speaker:

a really great outcome.

Speaker:

Don't you wish you had the wisdom you have today when

Speaker:

you were in your early twenties?

Speaker:

I know I do,

Speaker:

but that's not how life works.

Speaker:

And now when it comes to business,

Speaker:

I've observed in myself and others that it has a way

Speaker:

of taking over our lives.

Speaker:

We all need to remember that our business doesn't define who

Speaker:

we are and is only one part of our life.

Speaker:

We tend to stay in unfulfilling spaces too long.

Speaker:

We often fear the risk of change.

Speaker:

Sometimes the known is more comfortable,

Speaker:

even if it's not making us happy because change is too

Speaker:

scary. As a new year approaches and it naturally feels like

Speaker:

a time for analysis and adjustment,

Speaker:

I urge you to reflect on where you are and be

Speaker:

bold in moving forward in a new way.

Speaker:

You already intuitively know if there's an area of your life

Speaker:

that calls for improvement,

Speaker:

no regrets and no more waiting.

Speaker:

It's time to make the change.

Speaker:

That's a wrap.

Speaker:

I'm a get to the point kind of girl,

Speaker:

and this is what you can expect from these quick midweek

Speaker:

sessions. Now it's your turn.

Speaker:

Go out and fulfill that dream of yours.

Speaker:

Share your handmade products with us.

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube