Ep 47 Transcript: Dream Big Without Sacrificing Yourself

This transcript was auto-generated and may contain errors in spelling or inaccuracies in the spoken words.

Hello and welcome to the Real Women Real Business podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon, and thank you so much for joining me today. Today I want to talk about dreaming big. You know, when did we stop dreaming big and what caused us to stop dreaming big? I think, you know, when you're a child, you're often thinking of these wild things just beyond the conceivable imagination. And we, you know, I'm always in awe of

how children can just get these immense ideas and there's no limitations in their mind. So at what point did we start putting limitations on ourselves? At what point did we stop believing that we could do bigger things? And at what point do we stop dreaming big? Over the years, I have certainly found myself dreaming a little too small. And there's other times where I have definitely had some big dreams and I've pursued some things even when they seemed extraordinary or unachievable.

And have I achieved everything that I've set out to do all over the years? Have I been successful at everything that I've tried? No, of course not. But if I didn't dream big, I wouldn't have even tried and I wouldn't have seen the success that I have seen. So a few examples of times over the years where I dreamt a little bit bigger than what I think sort of the average person would dream or where I would have probably felt more

comfortable dream and that's probably better way of putting it. This is I stepped outside of where my comfortable dream was. So I would say, know, with my home staging business, this was definitely a big step for me. I became an entrepreneur back in 2008 when I decided to open a home staging business. And sure, that sounds OK. I'm just another average entrepreneur launching my own business. And in 2008.

Entrepreneurship wasn't quite celebrated the same way that it is today. It was definitely, you there was a lot of value to it. There was a lot of support for it overall, but it wasn't really celebrated the same way it is today. But I didn't just want a home staging business. I envisioned revolutionizing how real estate agents sold homes in my area because home staging just wasn't something that existed here at the time. initially, I also considered.

franchising the business, to be able to service other areas that were further away. So maybe it was an hour and a half to two hours away and more, and setting up various franchisees to be able to essentially replicate the things that I had done. I'm very systems and processes oriented. I had structured my business to be very systematized, and I wanted to share that with others, teach them exactly how I did things, teach them how I did consultations, how I...

brought in that human factor into home staging and to the services that we offered and how I restructured some of the standard home staging principles. And so I wanted to show others how to do that and give them the opportunity to replicate that. So at first I saw this as potentially a franchising opportunity. I later pivoted this idea to create an online certification program to be able to train home stagers globally.

And I really embraced the digital shift to online training before it became mainstream. At this time, most home staging training providers were, and all training providers for that matter in other industries, were mostly doing things in person. There wasn't that much to be found online at the time that I did this. A few years go by as I've gotten into this, and there's an opportunity for myself and some of my colleagues to do a retreat.

in Florida. And so we got together and we hosted this incredible in-person retreat. So that was a huge thing to do. That was not a small undertaking for anyone who's not aware. I actually live in Canada, so I'm not even in the United States. So, you know, this was an immersive experience and it was it really allowed me to be able to share and a community and knowledge and expertise with so many aspiring entrepreneurs.

I have also seen myself on international stages over the years. And that was a huge thing to, you know, I started speaking locally and that grew into something where I realized, you I have this ability. I don't see why I can't travel the world doing this. And so I have been speaking internationally on stages, which I think is fantastic as well. Something I've always really enjoyed doing and the more of it that I do, the more that I want to do too, for that matter.

So I'm always happy to step onto a bigger stage, into a bigger arena, in front of a bigger audience, challenging myself with the things that I'm bringing to these audiences as well. So I will admit that the first few talks that I did might have been a little bit lackluster, but I continued to build on that and I continued to create these engaging experiences on stage. I have gone on to co-author a book, launched this podcast.

And I've got future dreams as well of hosting global live events that are centered on business and wellness. And I also would love to open up a cat sanctuary, bed and breakfast. And so I've got some big dreams still. I'm definitely not done dreaming yet. So I want you to think about some dreams maybe that you've had over the years and could they have been bigger? Could you have done a little bit more? We're gonna get further into that in just a moment. So hang tight onto that. But I wanna talk first of all about the

hour of dreaming big. Dreaming big helps to fuel innovation and progress. It helps to push the boundaries and open up new possibilities. Helps you to envision a future beyond where you currently are. And so this is something that even if you're dreaming big and maybe that's not actually what you end up doing, you don't pursue that specific dream, it will help you to innovate other things. So maybe you create this

Absolutely extraordinary massive dream. And maybe you don't quite reach that, but how close did you get? Because doesn't that matter as well? Imagine how much bigger and how much further we can go if we just allow our minds to go there. But unfortunately, societal norms and sometimes our own personal experiences get in the way of allowing us to think that big. And they kind of let us to think smaller. So I want you to reflect on

Who or what in your life has made you believe that you needed to limit your dreams? Can you reflect on was there a specific time that someone said something to you? Was it an ongoing thing? Was it a matter of you dreamt big once and you didn't achieve that goal and so you're a little bit shy to do it again? Who or what made you challenge the idea of dreaming bigger?

Dreaming big isn't just about the grand visions. It's about setting that powerful intention to create a meaningful impact in your own life, in your community, in other people's lives. So I want you to tap into that childlike wonder and curiosity that is just so pure that I spoke about earlier that, you know, remember what it was like to be a child and to think beyond your imagination, beyond what the world currently has.

And what will that help you to envision? Today's greatest inventions and innovations come from people who are not afraid to dream big. Dreaming big leads to massive breakthroughs and transformational change, not just in yourself, but in those around you as well. Sometimes we are our own biggest barriers when it comes to these limiting beliefs, and they often stem from past experiences or that societal conditioning.

So they can create that mental barrier that just almost prevents you from pursuing your true potential because you'll allow your mind to go to a certain point. And then all of sudden you're like, no, no, I got to pull back on that. Don't get too big. Don't go too far. Let's keep this within the quote unquote reasonable boundaries. And I want to tell you, let's give up those reasonable boundaries. Let's get irresponsible about this. Let's just blow it all up.

and just see where our mind takes us. We can scale it back as we need to, but start big. And if you feel like it's not big enough, go bigger. Keep going bigger until you feel like you've got something massive. I want you to identify those beliefs that are holding you back by remembering where they came from. And then I want you to throw them away. So ask yourself, where do you find yourself saying, I can't?

So some ways that you can overcome this is, of course, affirmations are always a powerful thing. Just reminding yourself that you can do things and saying it out loud. There is proof that actually saying something out loud will train your brain to be able to take it in. And using the term you as opposed to I can also sometimes help to trigger things. So looking in the mirror and saying, are whatever you are fantastic, you are smart, you are

talented, you are going to do this as opposed to saying I am because sometimes we get a little uncomfortable when we're talking about ourselves. So saying you, you have no problem giving someone else a compliment, right? So if you can give someone else a compliment, look in the mirror and give yourself that compliment. Use the term you. This was actually a lovely tool that was taught to me recently by a mindset coach, Rusty Osborne. I'm going to leave a link for him in the podcast show notes because he did a fantastic job.

neuro-linguistic program in that he deals with and he does a fantastic job with helping you to move beyond those mindset blocks. So I'll leave a great link for him in the show notes. So another way to help yourself beyond those affirmations is visualizing it. Just think about what it is that you want to do and that dream that you have and really put yourself in the future and in that time where you've achieved that dream. What does it look like? What does it feel like? What does it smell like? What does it taste like?

What are all the different senses telling you in that moment as you're in that big big dream and then surround yourself with the community that's going to support you in that dream that's not gonna say no no come back a little bit no I don't don't go too far they're not going to be holding you down or tying you down anyway they're going to be encouraging you not only to to pursue that dream but to again go further what's the next step that you can do what else can you be doing that'll help you to

dismantle some of these barriers and some of these limiting beliefs. Now, I'm going to share a story about someone that I think is a great example of overcoming limiting beliefs to achieve a massive dream. And it's not my first time talking about her, but Sarah Blakely, the founder of Spanx, her story continues to inspire me because I think it's just such a true testament of the power of persistence and the belief in oneself despite so many barriers against her.

Despite so many people telling her she couldn't do what she wanted to do, despite so many obstacles, she continued to believe. So if you're not familiar, Sarah Blakely, again, she founded Spanx and she started with this simple idea to create a more comfortable and flattering undergarment. For those who don't know the full story, essentially she took a pair of pantyhose that had the control top and chopped off the nylons for and was using that.

to kind of smooth out some things and realize that this could actually be a product. But she didn't have a background in fashion. She didn't have a background in business. She had no idea what she was doing. She faced so much rejection from so many different manufacturers that just didn't believe in her concept. But despite that, she did not give up. She was so determined. She knew she had something powerful and she knew that women were going to love it and men for that matter. So she believed in her product.

and its potential to revolutionize the industry. And I don't even know if she truly dreamt how big this could be, but she taught herself about the garment industry. She learned how to draft a patent and eventually she found a manufacturer who was willing to take a chance on her idea and help her to produce it. And I'd love to say that it was all rainbows and butterflies when she got this produced. It still wasn't that simple.

She hit barrier after barrier in trying to get it into stores, get them to understand the concept of it and then get it in front of her audience, get in front of her market and the people that she knew could benefit from it. And so there was a ton of work that went into this and all on the way she hit barrier after barrier, but she never gave up. Well, I think you can probably agree that Spanx has become a massive success and has transformed the shapewear industry. In fact, it created.

the shapewear industry. And it made Sarah Blakely one of the youngest self-made billionaires. So overcoming doubt, overcoming that external skepticism can lead to absolutely groundbreaking success. And that's what I want to see you doing. So I'm going to give you a few steps that you can take to help you to dream bigger. The first thing I want you to do is get that clarity on what it is that you are doing. Why are you here? What are you building?

It's so important that you understand what you're building and why, because this clarity is going to help you to set some boundaries on what you are and are not willing to do in order to achieve your dreams. It's also going to allow you to help to set some goals and milestones along the way towards achieving your big dream. It will also help you to say no to those things that don't align with where you're going. So if it doesn't align with your short term goals,

your medium term goals, and if it certainly doesn't align with your big dream, then you're going to say no to it because it's just going to take away your focus and it will hold you back from achieving that dream. But it's not just about dreaming because of course we can have these wild imaginations, but at the end of the day, if there's no market to support it, if there's no one who's willing to buy it, if there's no one who's interested in it, we're not going to be able to sell it. Now don't get me wrong, there's a lot of products that have been innovated.

and released to the world over the last several years that so many people were still skeptical about. I I just told the story of Sarah Blakely. So sometimes you might do your market research and your market research tells you there isn't a market for this, but sometimes you do have to go beyond that. But most of the time, I am a very data-driven kind of person and I like data-driven decisions. So I don't just want you chasing the shiny object. I do want you to do the research, collect the data that's available there, put together some focus groups.

whatever it takes and then review what that data is telling you. It might just be a matter of you've got a great idea, but it needs some modification to be accepted and to be able to be implemented. So can you do what you want to do for the price you want to do it? Whether you're investing in expansion and growth in your business or selling a service, it all comes back to the same data. How many of X do you need to achieve? Why?

Right? So in terms of how much do I need in terms of resources? How much do I need in terms of money? And then with all of this, can I achieve the dream that I'm looking to achieve? And will that dream be profitable as well? And then I want you to take that big dream and I want you to write it down and then imagine what it would look like if you aimed to 10x'd it. So if you were to do something 10 times bigger than the big dream that you wrote down, what would that look like?

So maybe it's something as simple as you're thinking about opening up a business locally and instead, what about taking it internationally? Is that possible for that business? Dream beyond your biggest dreams. Maybe your dream is to become a developer of commercial space. And if you were to 10X that, what would that look like? Well, maybe you are a developer in a foreign country now and you're building

massive skyscrapers, maybe you are revolutionizing how affordable housing looks, maybe you're coming up with the next greatest type of building material. What does that look like? So keep dreaming bigger. What does it look like if you take your current dream, your current big dream, and you 10x'd it? So some steps for you to achieve some of these dreams is I want you to start working on these dreams towards

today. So set clear, actionable goals for achieving that dream. Like I said, you want those short-term goals, those medium-term goals, all taking you towards that big dream. That big dream could be 10 years down the road. It could be five years down the road. It might just be a year down the road. Whatever that looks like, break down what some of the smaller goals are in between that you want to achieve. And then celebrate the small wins away. And then focus on adaptability.

in your journey. So understand that the market's going to change, the world is going to change, there are going to be unforeseen things. How does that impact your dream as you're working towards it? Keep revisiting it. Don't abandon it necessarily, but keep revisiting it to see, do you need to change any of your goals along the way? Do you need to change any of those landmarks, those milestones along the way? And be resilient.

ask yourself what it will take for you to be able to stay in that game and working towards that goal. And maybe it's a matter of you have to have something that is currently fueling you and fueling that passion while you work towards that in order to keep you on track. But what is it that you need to be resilient? Find that community of support. Find those people who are going to help you in your journey and be your cheerleaders. But not only that, because it doesn't just take some rah-rahs to get you somewhere.

Where are the resources that you can find to give you what you need, to give you the tools, to build that foundation, to create a sustainable business, to achieve that dream that you're looking to achieve? So find your community, find your people, find your supports, and practice working with them and leaning on them. Because that's the other thing too, is that you can find that community, but if you are not showing up as your true authentic self and letting them in behind the scenes, let

getting yourself a little bit vulnerable and letting them see what is it you're working towards, you're not going to be able to get the true data that you need to get in order to make the decisions you need to make to be able to achieve those big dreams. So I'm gonna encourage you today to take one small step towards that big dream. So the exercise I want you to do is I want you to identify what is that big dream? First of all, what is that big thing that you can work towards? And...

If you can't think of anything, then I want you to identify what those limiting beliefs are, where they're coming from and work to overcome them. Then come back to this exercise, get that big dream and then I want you to 10 exit. And then you're going to set up some goals along the way, some smaller goals and set some milestones so you can celebrate some wins. And then what is that one first step? Just identify that first step and start taking it.

If you think that you're ready to take your dreams to the next level and maybe you want some personalized guidance, you want some support, you want to find that community to work with, I've got you for that as well. I invite you to set up a call with me. We'll work to overcome any barriers that are in your path, give you that personalized guidance that you need. So let's do a coaching assessment call. We'll craft a plan that's tailored to your unique vision, your goals. We're dream big. We're going to achieve big.

And we're to do it all without sacrificing what matters the most to you, your health, your well-being, and the way that you want your life to be structured. We want to make sure that you're not giving up who you are and losing yourself in order to achieve this big dream. So let's do it strategically. Let's do it intentionally. But if you want to explore what this can look like, let's book a call. Simply go to Aboutshaunalynn.com/coachme

and we can review what it would look like to work together to achieve those incredibly big dreams. So on that note, I'm gonna head off and I am going to go and work on some of my dreams today and I hope you will do the same. And listen, as always, if what I'm saying here today is resonating with you, I really hope you'll tune in again next week and allow me to continue to be on this journey with you. But don't forget to subscribe to us on your favorite podcast platform, leave us a review and the best way...

that you can show your support not only for us, but for your community, for our fellow female entrepreneurs. Share this episode with someone that you think needs to hear it today. I'd love it if you could do that for someone else in your community. Until next time, keep thriving.