Now more than ever we must learn how to work smart!
We all have 24 hours in a day whether we have reached our goals or not.
Why not learn from those who have mastered how to use their time wisely and see the success they desired?
I was reminded of the power of priorities this past week as I recorded over a dozen episodes for my new TV show on Apple TV, prepared for an upcoming hurricane, and somehow was planning for upcoming international travel as well.
If you’re like me and you like to learn from the success of others, this How She Did It series is for you.
The purpose of this series is to give you access and insights to female entrepreneurs who in 8 brief answers will let you learn from their businesses and mindset.
Life can get pretty hectic, pretty quickly!
That is why today’s guest is my friend Samantha Wyatt. I met her through a friend in the Dominican Republic this past summer. We all had such good laughs at the beach over brunch!
Isn’t it such a blessing to spend time with like-minded entrepreneurs?
She is phenomenal at helping busy female entrepreneurs at making positive and healthy changes in their lives!
She has a ton of knowledge and a big heart. So I’m proud to share with you today how she did it!
How Samantha Wyatt Did It:
Please share with us what you do and who your business helps.
I am a Clean Eating Lifestyle Transformation Coach and I help female entrepreneurs to effortlessly lose toxic fat, clear brain fog, and skyrocket their energy so they can get more done in their business – and life – by turning the foods they and their families already eat everyday, deliciously clean.
How did you go from “idea” to an online business?
I had my passion and I had a clear vision. I visualised what I wanted my life to look like – the kind of lifestyle I wanted to enjoy, who I wanted to serve and how I wanted to serve them.
I knew I had to build my online business around what was important to me. And my vision was the driving force helping me bring my “idea” to life (online).
Just as I did on my healing and lifestyle transformation journey, I learnt, researched and read a lot. I invested in my education. I did online courses.
I knew that to create and offer the best I had to learn from the best and work with the best – which I did and still do.
I joined online business community groups. I knew that I needed to immerse myself in the world I wanted to be a part of.
I also always push myself to take action even when it’s scary or I’m unsure of myself. Action is always rewarded – we win or we learn, we never lose.
Passion and vision are key to keeping you going through all the ups and downs that come with building any business. It is absolutely what has helped me get to where I am.
In your opinion, what is a hard-to-spot pitfall that is critical to avoid in entrepreneurship?
Perfectionism. I always joke that I am a ‘recovering perfectionist’ and I certainly am still recovering.
Our efforts and our ability to take action are crippled when we try to get everything ‘just right’. Just as I follow and teach the 80/20 principle with living a Clean Eating Lifestyle, I find that the best results come from focusing on 80% quality and not worrying too much about the rest.
Feedback tells us how to serve our ideal customers/clients best. Which converts into financial success. So we need to get ourselves out there, listen to the feedback and improve as we go along.
The other big mistake entrepreneurs make, and I see it all the time with my clients (I myself have been guilty of this in the past) is not taking care of ourselves on our entrepreneurial journey.
So many incredible people, women especially, sacrifice their health and wellbeing for their business. I understand we want to serve others in business and in life, but you cannot serve from an empty vessel! Or a broken or sick for that matter.
The more love and self care you give yourself, the more energy and vitality you have to serve and to reach next levels in your business. And most importantly, so you can actually physically enjoy the success you create for yourself – body, mind and soul.
In your opinion, what was the #1 thing that helped you experience a breakthrough in business?
Investing in good coaching and education.
In the first few years of business I was struggling in more ways than one, and it was only when I invested in coaching – in numerous ares of my life and business – that I really started to move forward in leaps and bounds.
Great training, and a great coach can help you narrow your focus and achieve specific goals with greater time efficiency.
After all, you have the expertise of someone who has their own experience and success, in your corner, which exponentially increases your abilities and outcomes.
What is one thing you’ve told yourself that kept you going during your darkest hour?
We can learn from and turn any situation around. Everything happens for a reason. Everything is a lesson. We always gain something from every situation, good or bad. If we choose to see it that way.
Back in 2012 I was desperately determined to lose weight and get healthy when I sustained a pretty bad hip and back injury while working with a personal trainer in a gym. Initially, – and while in a lot of pain – I worried about how I was going to recover. But I told myself there was something to learn. That the experience would reveal it’s lesson to me. I decided I would not be a victim. All I needed to do was to figure out what my body needed to heal.
I am now so grateful for that injury. Even though it took me a whole year to rehabilitate, it was the catalyst for my complete lifestyle transformation. And it was the start of my journey to become the passionate coach I am today.
It forced me to take responsibility for my body. Which taught me I that I needed to love myself enough to take care of myself. And that love and self care turned my life around. In more ways than one.
I healed my hip and back, lost 26 pounds of excess unhealthy weight, and the brain fog, lack of energy and all the other symptoms I had been suffering from for so long all disappeared.
It was an incredibly empowering year for me. I discovered a new way of living and nourishing myself and my body. And a flame was ignited inside of me – passionate to share my experience, insights, and all that I had learnt with others. My darkest hour became the reason I do what I do!
What’s your best advice for entrepreneurs who are frustrated and overwhelmed?
A scene from the movie, Vanilla Sky comes to mind. When the main character David Aames (Tom Cruise) realises his life is the making of his own lucid dreaming – which are induced by a ‘dreaming’ company, and monitored by his own personal ‘dream tech’.
The penny drops that his mind is the creator of all his problems. It is at this moment that he yells out (over and over again) “TECH SUPPORRRRT!!!” Can’t we all relate!
When I feel overwhelmed or frustrated I first deal with my mind – the creator of my suffering.
I will usually take a 10 minute break and focus on my breathing with my eyes closed to calm my mind. Or I will go for a walk. Any kind of activity that takes me away from my laptop for a small period of time.
Then I take a note pad and pen and write down the top 3 most important things I need to focus on at the present moment. Then I break that important task up into smaller, more manageable tasks if necessary. Choose 1-3 of each, depending on size of tasks, and just focus on getting those things done.
One baby-step at a time really works. I’ll also ‘check them off’ on my list which helps to give me a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.
I also reach out for support from my coaches, online biz communities and those friends who understand the ‘trials’ of being an entrepreneur. I’ve been blessed to have found some really great ones in the online communities I am apart of.
What are your favorite tools and resources that make your life easier and keep your business running smoothly?
I love using Basecamp for managing all my projects/websites/teams – I even have a couple with my fiancé, Jay! Funny? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely. For both our sanity – we live together and run another business together.
Having separate projects helps me to add tasks and to dos for myself as well as everyone else I work with, specifically to do with that project – which is extremely helpful for the mind!
This kind of organisation helps to reduce overwhelm because you can switch completely from one project and set of tasks to another.
Evernote I use for everything. I love how easy it is to jot down thoughts, notes and those all important to do lists and task breakdowns. The search function in this app is the best – you simply have to type in a word and it will bring up ALL notes that contain the search word, and will highlight where that word shows up in the notes. Very handy when you are juggling some 800+ work, life, everything notes.
I love my kindle app on my phone. I am always reading 4-5 books at once! I believe in having a ‘Love Your Self’, self care ritual early in the morning before everyone wakes up and the day and the demands begin. Reading for 30-40min every morning is part of my ritual.
Right now I’m reading: Biology of Belief – Dr Bruce Lipton (mind blowing awesome); Surviving Toxic Mold – Dr Ritchie Shoemaker (I am a toxic mold illness survivor); I know How She Does It – Laura Vanderkam (2nd time reading this one); Start With Why – Simon Sinek (check out his Ted talk with the same title); and historical fiction book Conqueror – Conn Iggulden (Genghis Khan series).
To conclude, what is one thing you would like to share with my audience to inspire them to go for new goals?
There is one great truth in this life and that is that this life is yours and yours alone. No one can tell you how to live it. And no one can live it for you.
If you are not the one out there taking action and making your dreams happen, there is no one in this world who is going to do it for you.
After all is said and done, if there is a vision inside you that you don’t try whole-heartedly to make into reality, it will only be you who you’ll have to face.
So absolutely don’t pay any attention to anyone who doesn’t understand or believe in and support your dreams. At the end of the day, they won’t actually care whether you went after your dreams or not. But you will.
