How to Be Authentic and Live Confidently as Yourself   1:19 How to Be Authentic 17:03 Being Authentic with Sarah Dubbeldam 41:10 Encouragement: God Did Not Create You to Berate You Resources 2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner Get going on your goals and make 2020 your best year yet! Order the new Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and use the code BBPLANNER to receive Christy's Setting Goals video that you can watch right now! If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at podcast@businessboutique.com. New podcast episodes are available every other week. Be confident in your authenticity, even when life and other people try to push you around or tell you to be someone you're not. A couple of years ago, I was asked to write an article for a very professional publication. Their readers are intellectuals, academics, and probably more conservative and elite. So, you can imagine my surprise that they wanted me-someone who prefers to be more casual and down to earth-to write an article for them about starting a business. I submitted the article and was a little surprised when they came back with feedback that the tone of my writing was "too chatty." I was like, Really? You're surprised by that? Have you not heard me speak, read my blogs, or listened to one of my podcasts? Because that tone is actually my entire brand! I remember thinking, If you don't want chatty, then you probably don't want me. Related: Ep 86: Be More Confident by Believing in Yourself I felt like this publication wanted me to be someone I wasn't. They wanted me to write like an academic with big fancy words, and that's just not how I write, talk or connect with people. Thankfully, we ended up getting to a good place where they felt like the article met their standards and could be published while staying true to my voice. But it was really eye-opening for me to realize how important it is to not only be authentic, but to be confident in that authenticity, even when life and other people try to push you around or tell you to be someone you're not. That's why today I want to walk you through how to be authentic in your daily life. This is going to help you not only be authentic, but also remain authentic no matter who tries to push you around. Let's jump right in . . . How to Be Authentic 1. Be vulnerable. Let me go ahead and start by saying this is not my idea. Brené Brown introduced this idea of vulnerability years ago with her book Daring Greatly and her TED Talk "The Power of Vulnerability." It's a brilliant concept that says, as we step out in vulnerability-as we open ourselves up, not just to pain but also to love-we're able to have deeper connections and a deeper sense of confidence in who we really are. As an Enneagram eight, vulnerability is really hard for me. So often I want to put up a tough exterior like I've got it all together. But the truth this: Authenticity is about trueness, and you can't live your truest self without being vulnerable. If you're always holding back a piece of yourself or hiding behind a tough exterior, how can you become who God created you to be? That's why vulnerability is so important when it comes to being authentic. 2. Tell the truth. There are two extremes when it comes to telling the truth: There are those who never share the truth, and those who refuse to accept the truth. Those who never want to share the truth lack the ability to be vulnerable. They want to act like everything is always great, so when someone asks how they're doing-even if they're going through a hard time or their kids are driving them crazy-their response is always, "Oh, I'm fine. I'm doing great." The other extreme are those who downplay or don't acknowledge when things are going well in their lives. You know, this person: You give them a compliment about a beautiful...

How to Set New Year's Goals That Will Transform Your Year   1:29 The Difference Between New Year's Resolutions and New Year's Goals 8:48 The 3 Qualities You Need to Set Smart New Year's Goals 17:13 New Year Goal Setting with Rachel Hollis 28:31 Challenge: How to Love the Enthusiasts in Your Life Resources 2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner Get going on your goals and make 2020 your best year yet! Order the new Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and use the code BBPLANNER to receive Christy's Setting Goals video that you can watch right now! If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at podcast@businessboutique.com. New podcast episodes are available every other week. Forget about New Year's resolutions this year. They're a waste of time. Instead, set smart New Year's goals you'll actually accomplish. Believe it or not, they're not the same thing! The Difference Between New Year's Resolutions and New Year's Goals Resolutions might as well be considered a wish. It's an idea of something you want to try that year. Sure, it's fun and inspiring. But the truth is: We fall off the wagon by February. It's the reason why you can't find an empty treadmill at the gym in January. But by February, you can walk right into the gym and start running. Goals are different from resolutions because goals are action oriented. Zig Ziglar made goal setting popular with something he called the Wheel of Life. We talked about this in a recent podcast episode so if you haven't listened to that already, go back and hear me deep dive into the Wheel of Life in episode 88. To give you a quick recap, there are seven areas in your life you should prioritize and set goals in (especially New Year's goals!): Career (or business) Finances Spiritual growth Physical health Intellectual growth Family Social Today, I want to help you start 2020 on the right foot by setting New Year's goals in each of these areas. Because your ability to set goals will completely affect not just how you start the year, but also how you end it. The 3 Qualities You Need to Set Smart New Year's Goals Every goal you set should have these three qualities: 1. Specific A New Year's resolution like, "I want to run more," doesn't work because it's not specific. And when you're not specific, you can't track your progress or even know if you've accomplished it or not. For example, if you told me you wanted to run more, I'd ask you, "Well, how? Do you want to do long-distance running? Sprints? Do you want to run on the treadmill or outside? Do you want to do trail runs on your own or join a running group?" There's a lot of different ways for you to run more, so get specific. 2. Measurable Then, I'd tell you to make the goal measurable by asking, "How much more?" Maybe you can run one mile right now without stopping and you'd like to work your way up to running five miles. Or maybe you want to sign up for a race and run a 5K or a half marathon. What is the measurable distance you want to be able to run in order to know that you've actually achieved this goal? 3. Have a time limit Finally, I'd tell you to give your goal a time limit by asking, "By when?" If your goal doesn't have a time limit, you won't be able to measure whether you actually reached it or not. Related: How to Write Smart Goals Incorporating those three qualities into your New Year's goal of running more would turn it into something like: I want to do more long-distance running and complete a half marathon by March 30th. Now, that's a goal! You'll know exactly what you're working on and working toward. And of course, because you have these different ways to measure your progress, you'll know if you achieved it or not, which is great accountability. Set Even Stronger New Year's Goals Let's take this one step further. If you really want to...

Reflect on God's Faithfulness with This Christmas Tradition   0:53 My Favorite Christmas Tradition Resources 2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner Get going on your goals and make 2020 your best year yet! Order the new Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and use the code BBPLANNER to receive Christy's Setting Goals video that you can watch right now! If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at podcast@businessboutique.com. New podcast episodes are available every other week. Merry Christmas, y'all! A million years ago, before I was married and had kids, and before life got so busy, my mother encouraged me to try a new Christmas tradition-one she'd been doing most of her life. Even before she had me, every year my mom would sit down and write a letter when she was packing up her ornaments after Christmas. In the letter, she would write about all the major things that happened in her life that year. She'd write about the highs, the lows, and everything in between. When she was done, she'd fold up the letter, pack it up in her box of ornaments, and put it away in the attic, not to be seen again until the following year. Related: What People Want the Most From You This Christmas A year later, when it was time to bring out all her Christmas decorations from the attic, she would open that letter and read it. She loved this tradition because it amazed her to see how much could happen in just a single year. Well, I loved this idea so much that I also started doing it in 2006. Now, I'll tell you, it wasn't very sophisticated. I would sit down with a couple pieces of printer paper and just write down all my thoughts-in true Christy fashion, I rambled on and on and was very honest. For example, in my letter from 2006, there's a line that says, "Dear God, please let me go on at least one date next year." Well, bless my heart. Apparently, that was a tough year in the love department . . . But you know what's so amazing? Year after year, as I've written these letters and then faithfully put them away to open the following year, I've always been blown away at not only how much can happen in a single year, but also how faithful God continues to be. I start every letter by talking about what happened that year, and I end every letter by writing out prayers, dreams and hopes for the next year. When I read the letter from the year before, I feel like I'm living in the fulfillment of God's promises that I had prayed for (and forgotten about). I remember, in December of 2014, sitting on my couch, reading my Christmas letter from 2013. One of my prayers that year was that Matt and I could start a family. And y'all, I was holding that letter over a giant belly-my son Carter was due the very next month! Of course, every year isn't like this. My letter from 2016 had prayers that Matt's grandfather, grandmother, and our 11-year-old dog Jackson would get better. But all three of those loved ones passed away that year. Tears streamed down my face as I read those heartfelt prayers. That was hard to read. Related: Ep 70: How to Be Content in Every Situation But you know what? Even in the despair, even in the grief, and even when it seemed like God didn't fulfill that promise or answer those prayers, I was still able to see God's faithfulness in how those events played out. Writing this letter has looked differently since marrying Matt because-I'll be honest-he writes them reluctantly. But we've gotten into a rhythm. Here's how we do it: Every single Christmas, I'll sit down with our notebook (we upgraded from printer paper!) and write my Christmas letter for the year. And then I'll give the notebook to Matt so that he can write his letter. And the following year, I read my letter aloud to Matt, and Matt reads his letter aloud to me. I'd like to point out that my...

How to Be a Successful Woman and Live a Balanced Life   1:26 How You Can be Successful in Many Areas of Your Life 4:39 Seven Areas of Your Life to Find Balance 11:30 Making Time for Both Your Family and Career with Sarah Sloyan 31:04 Leading with Grace and Strength with Jen Sievertsen 43:51 Focusing on Goals to Be Successful with Suzanne Simms 54:53 Challenge: The Best Way to Have What You Want Resources 2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner Get going on your goals and make 2020 your best year yet! Order the new Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and use the code BBPLANNER to receive Christy's Setting Goals video that you can watch right now! If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at podcast@businessboutique.com. New podcast episodes are available every other week. You can be successful in many areas of your life. Work, Sleep, Family, Fitness, or Friends: Pick 3. I recently stumbled upon an article online with that title. And I have to tell you guys, I disagree with it. The idea that you can't work, get enough sleep, and have time for family, friends and fitness is crazy. I'm tired of hearing the message that if you're winning at work, you're failing at home. Or if you're winning at home, you're failing at work. What's interesting is, not only is this message common in media, but it's also reinforced by the narratives in our heads. So many of us have this broken record on repeat in our heads telling us we're always failing. It's not if we're failing. It's which thing are we failing at today. But you know what? It's simply not true. Now, I know you can't do everything in the world (of course you can't). But you can do the most important things. You can't take advantage of every single opportunity, but you can do the right things, and you can do more than three things. The truth is: You can be successful in many areas of your life. Related: Ep 84: Cultivating Good Habits in Every Season of Life 7 Areas of Your Life to Find Balance I love Zig Ziglar's Wheel of Life. It paints a great picture of the most important areas of a person's life. If you're not sure where you should be prioritizing your time, these seven areas are a great place to start. The Wheel of Life isn't a prescription for every single person, but it does hold true for most of us. Just like a bicycle, when one wheel isn't working, the entire bicycle will have trouble moving forward. That's why it's important to find as much harmony and balance as possible in each area. Let's go through each of the different spokes of the Wheel of Life and what they each represent. This list is not in order of priority. You should prioritize these different areas based on your season of life, and then set appropriate goals in each. 1. Career (and Business) You spend a lot of hours of your life at work or in your business. So this should be an area of your life that brings you joy and fills you up. 2. Finances Your money affects everything. It impacts almost everything you want to do in life. That's why you need to be intentional about how you manage your finances and set goals in this area of your life. 3. Spiritual growth Growing in your faith is not going to happen accidentally. Your relationship with God is like any relationship. It will grow in proportion to the amount of time you invest in it. 4. Physical health I'm not talking about being skinny here. I'm talking about how you feel. How's your energy? Are you sleeping enough? How are you taking care of yourself? We only get one body, so taking care of it should be a priority. 5. Intellectual growth Are you investing in your personal development? What books are you reading? What conferences are you attending? What podcasts are you listening to? What are you putting into your mind that will change the actions you take and the decisions...

How to Enjoy Thanksgiving Even More   1:02 How to Enjoy Thanksgiving Even More 1:24 Write a Thoughtful Note 2:58 Be Hospitable 3:40 Disconnect Completely 6:12 Plan to Be Generous 7:55 Rest Resources 2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner Get going on your goals and make 2020 your best year yet! Order the new Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and use the code BBPLANNER to receive Christy's Setting Goals video that you can watch right now! If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at podcast@businessboutique.com. New podcast episodes are available every other week. Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! I'm keeping this week's podcast episode short and sweet because I want to get back to spending quality time with my family-and, of course, I want you to do the same. I really love this holiday. Not only does it feel like the official kickoff to the holiday season, but it's also such a sweet time to remember all that God has blessed us with. Whether you have plans to spend this week in a crowded house with tons of extended family members or you plan to keep things low-key, I want to encourage you to be fully present. This holiday will be what you make it, and you can make it great. Before I let you go today, I want to share five simple things you can do this week to make your holiday a lot more special: 1. Write a thoughtful note. I think nice things about people all the time, but I always forget to tell them! Do you do that? I once heard someone say that thinking something nice about someone and not telling the person is like wrapping a gift and not giving it to them. That is so true! I actually save every handwritten note I'm given. No matter what anyone says, handwritten notes are not outdated-they're gifts people treasure. So, this week, spend a little bit of time writing notes to people who come to mind. You can give them a word of encouragement, say thank you for something, or give them a compliment that will make their day. Receiving a handwritten note is rare in our digital age, so brighten someone else's day with a sweet and unexpected note. 2. Be hospitable. 'Tis the season to show love to the people God has placed in your life by inviting them into your home. But the truth is, the holidays are a difficult time for many people. Maybe there's someone in your life who doesn't have a place to go during the holidays. Maybe there's a neighbor or a coworker who doesn't have family in town. This is the perfect opportunity to build new relationships by sharing your home, a meal, or even a simple cup of coffee with someone new. 3. Disconnect completely. I'm not just encouraging you to silence your phone or put it in airplane mode. This Thanksgiving, I want you to put it out of reach and out of sight completely-at the very least, for one full day. I often pick up my phone out of habit if I can see it. So if I'm sitting at the dinner table and I can see my phone close by, I'll pick it up and check it-even if there's been no ring or notification. But that doesn't happen when I can't see it. That's why I want you to put your phone in a different room, where it will be out of sight and out of mind. When you do this, you're giving the people around you an incredible gift: your undivided attention. And if you want to take photos, why not do something crazy, like buy a disposable camera that you can pass around? How fun would it be to see what kind of photos you get out of it? 4. Plan to be generous. This is the time of year when we're all acutely aware of how much we have to be grateful for, and it puts us in a generous spirit. But you know what? You've got to plan for that in your budget and even put it on your calendar. Believe it or not, a lot of nonprofit organizations have cut-off dates for their Christmas giving-some cutoffs are as early as the first week...

Be More Confident By Believing in Yourself   1:22 Choosing to Believe in Myself 5:59 How to Believe in Yourself 17:51 Faith and Belief with Mignon Francois 51:57 Challenge: The Right Time to Play Small Resources 2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner Get going on your goals and make 2020 your best year yet! Order the new Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and use the code BBPLANNER to receive Christy's Setting Goals video that you can watch right now! If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at podcast@businessboutique.com. New podcast episodes are available every other week. At our company, we get to go to church every single Wednesday. That's right, every Wednesday morning at Ramsey Solutions, our entire team of more than 850 people gets together to hear from amazing speakers, authors and pastors, like Max Lucado, Christine Caine, Donald Miller, Dr. Henry Cloud and Bob Goff-the best of the best. For years, our leadership team has asked Ramsey Personalities, like me, Ken Coleman, Rachel Cruze, Chris Hogan and Anthony ONeal, to prepare one of these devotionals for our company. And to be totally honest, we don't love the idea . . . like, at all. I'll give you four reasons why: It's a lot harder to speak to close friends than it is to speak to complete strangers. When you see the kind of speakers we normally have, it's easy to feel unqualified. We're supposed to teach Scripture, which is intimidating. Committing means writing a talk, practicing and preparing, which is a lot of extra work. All of this together was enough to make me never want to do it. Related: Ep 60: How to Face Your Fears and Do It Scared But you know what they say: Never say never. Choosing to Believe in Myself A couple of years ago, I felt like God was taking me through a season of growth where He was teaching me many different things and stripping me of my pride. One morning over Christmas break, I was sitting on my couch reading my Bible and journaling when, out of nowhere, I did the weirdest thing. I picked up my phone and texted my leader, "Hey, God's been taking me through a season of growth. So, if you ever want me to do a devotional, just let me know." I dropped the phone and couldn't believe that I'd just sent that text. I thought to myself, Why did I do that? I don't want to do a devotional! I don't have any confidence in doing a devotional. My leader texted back almost immediately saying, "Love it. Let's do January 2."-which was one week away! I spent the following week pouring over Scripture, praying, preparing and practicing. It was one of the most exciting and life-giving experiences I've ever been through. Related: Ep 68: Inviting Faith Into Your Business And you know what? I wasn't even nervous. In fact, I felt this deep sense of responsibility to deliver this message that God had so clearly given me. I share this story with you to show you that I still experience imposter syndrome. There are still situations that put me outside of my comfort zone and make me feel unqualified. But if we let these feelings drive our decisions, we'll never step into what God has called us to do. That's why I want to spend some time today talking about believing in yourself and having confidence even when you're scared. Let's get right to it. How to Believe in Yourself There are four things you need to "get" in order to believe in yourself and grow in confidence. 1. Get secure. If we're honest, 99% of our fears, doubts, insecurities and anxieties come from worrying about what other people think about us. But what if you didn't care? If you're secure in who you are and whose you are, then when someone says something hateful on Facebook, or your crazy aunt makes a passive-aggressive comment about a decision you made, it doesn't fluster you. It doesn't rattle you. It doesn't...

LIVE From the Business Boutique Conference 2019!   3:09 I have so many passions and dreams. How do I combine them enough to feel fulfilled, but narrow them down enough to create a focus that creates more success? 12:10 I know I need to set goals, but I don't know how or where to start. How do I learn how to create goals for my business? 16:00 What do you do when you feel like you are spinning your wheels and not moving forward? 20:31 If I launch before my journey is complete, do I risk failing from the start? Or is this simply a case of imposter syndrome? 24:13 What is the best way to handle copycats in your business? 28:24 Where is the first place newbies should start to attract ideal customers? 30:52 How do you create an email marketing plan? 35:27 How do I get my husband to realize, with owning my own business, I have to bring work home? 41:16 I have come from a 7 to 4 job. Now I have a blessing of working my own hours and enjoying my family. I don't want my hours of work to take away from my family. How do I balance my work and family? Resources   2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner Get going on your goals and make 2020 your best year yet! Order the new Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and use the code BBPLANNER to receive Christy's Setting Goals video that you can watch right now! If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at podcast@businessboutique.com. New podcast episodes are available every other week. This episode is just like having lunch with some of Christy's best friends! Get to know photographer, business strategist, and host of The Jasmine Star Show, Jasmine Star; coach, consultant, and host of the Marketing Your Business podcast, Stu McLeran; comedian, musician, speaker, and host of The Kelsey Show, Kelsey Humphreys; and founder and CEO of The Cupcake Collection, Mignon Francois. They'll answer your questions, and more! This podcast was recorded during our Business Boutique Conference 2019 VIP Lunch in Nashville, TN.

Develop Self-Awareness and Turn Your Weaknesses Into Strengths   1:21 The Difference Between Goals and Habits 6:24 Five Good Habits to Cultivate in Your Life 20:05 Building Good Habits with Anthony ONeal 42:31 Challenge: A New Habit for the Decision-Making Process Resources Business Boutique Conference The Business Boutique Conference is coming back to Nashville Oct. 24-26. If you want to learn how to grow your business and chase your dream, you don't want to miss this event. To save $10 on any Business Boutique Conference ticket, use the code BBWRIGHT. Business Boutique Academy Waitlist We are opening enrollment for the Business Boutique Academy on October 25! Text the code ACADEMYWAITLIST to 33444 to sign up for the Business Boutique Academy Waitlist and be notified the moment enrollment opens! 2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner Get going on your goals and make 2020 your best year yet! Order the new Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and use the code BBPLANNER to receive Christy's Setting Goals video that you can watch right now! If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at podcast@businessboutique.com. New podcast episodes are available every other week. There was a season in my life when I'd get up every single morning at 4 a.m. to work out. There was a season in my life when I'd get up every single morning at 4 a.m. to work out with my friend Rachel Cruze at our local YMCA. Yes, you read that correctly-4 a.m.! We got up day after day, week after week, and month after month at that crazy, early hour. Honestly, we didn't have any lofty goals. We didn't even necessarily want to lose weight. We simply wanted to be healthier-and, I'm telling you, it paid off. I was in the best shape of my life. Do you know why I saw such improvement in that season? It wasn't because I exerted high, intense effort over a short amount of time. It was the result of being consistent with a new habit over a long period of time. The result was looking better and feeling better-and y'all, I even had biceps! Related: Ep 82: Succeed at Anything By Understanding the Importance of Discipline You know, when I look back at the last 10 or 15 years of my adult life, it's easy to pinpoint the reasons why some years were really good and others were not so good. I can almost always trace the good or bad of any particular season to the habits I was cultivating (or not cultivating) that year. Believe it or not, getting up at 4 a.m. to work out with my friend wasn't super difficult. Sure, getting started that first week was hard. But after that, it got easier and easier because it became a habit. It became something I did without thinking. The Difference Between Goals and Habits We talk about goals all the time-y'all know what a major role they play in my life. But goals are different from habits. Goals tend to have a starting point and an ending point. They're an intentional action where you take initiative to do something new, big and impressive. Related: Ep 38: Hitting Big Goals By Winning Small Habits aren't exactly like that. Habits are a recurring action you commit to doing day in and day out. They're often not new, big or impressive. They're small changes and tiny tweaks you make to your daily routine. When you first start to cultivate a good habit, it feels insignificant and like you're not making much of a difference. But over time, you begin to see the dramatic impact they can have on your life. For example, cultivating a good habit might look like: Choosing water over Coke every time you eat out at a restaurant Reading Scripture first thing in the morning rather than scrolling through Instagram Those are tiny, unimpressive habits. But over time, as you continue choosing water over Coke and Scripture over Instagram, you'll notice a change in your life. And it...

Develop Self-Awareness and Turn Your Weaknesses Into Strengths   1:22 What Is Self-Awareness? 6:32 Three Ways to Become More Self-Aware 18:53 Becoming Self-Aware Through the Enneagram with Ian Cron 40:56 It's Not the Thought That Counts Resources Business Boutique Conference The Business Boutique Conference is coming back to Nashville Oct. 24-26. If you want to learn how to grow your business and chase your dream, you don't want to miss this event. To save $10 on any Business Boutique Conference ticket, use the code BBWRIGHT. Business Boutique Academy Waitlist We are opening enrollment for the Business Boutique Academy on October 25! Text the code ACADEMYWAITLIST to 33444 to sign up for the Business Boutique Academy Waitlist and be notified the moment enrollment opens! 2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner Get going on your goals and make 2020 your best year yet! Order the new Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and use the code BBPLANNER to receive Christy's Setting Goals video that you can watch right now! If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at podcast@businessboutique.com. New podcast episodes are available every other week. I've always been a huge fan of personality assessments. DISC, Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinder-they all fascinate me. I love reading the results of these different assessments because they're usually pretty positive. You get an entire report that focuses on your strengths-who wouldn't have fun reading that? Well, earlier this year, my friend Rachel Cruze convinced me to take a different kind of personality assessment: the Enneagram. I took the test, not expecting to learn anything new about myself. But y'all, I was so wrong. This assessment was so different from any other I'd ever taken. Rather than telling me what I was good at, this assessment revealed all of my weaknesses (Some I didn't even know I had!), and the deeper motivations and fears associated with those weaknesses. Related: Ep 79: Take Control of Your Life With the Power of Personal Responsibility Not only did I feel like there was finally a personality assessment that truly understood me, but I also felt like it helped me understand myself better. Learning about the Enneagram has been transformational for me. It's made me so much more self-aware. And you know what? Knowing your weaknesses and being self-aware is one of the best gifts you can give to both yourself and those around you. What Is Self-Awareness? Being self-aware is about knowing your strengths and your weaknesses. For example, self-awareness is about knowing how you come across to others-not just your intentions, but how you actually come across. I've noticed a pattern in my life where people describe me as being intense and aggressive. But here's the thing: I don't intend to be aggressive, and I don't think I'm intense. I describe myself as enthusiastic and passionate. I'd never use the words intense or aggressive. But you know what? After hearing enough people use those words to describe me, I started to pay attention. It turns out, intense and aggressive is how I come across to other people. Do you know what paying attention to those patterns did for me? It gave me a better understanding of how I actually come across to people so I could learn to adjust my tone, behavior or volume level based on who I'm talking to. It's pretty easy to be self-aware when it comes to our strengths, isn't it? And it's important to know what your strengths are so you can leverage them in your life and your business. But I want to spend this episode talking about the other side of the coin: what we should do with the not-so-good stuff. Three Ways to Become More Self-Aware We all have blind spots. You know what a blind spot is, right? Think about when you're driving in the car and want to change lanes. You...

Succeed at Anything By Understanding the Importance of Discipline   1:21 What Is Discipline? 5:05 What Does Daily Discipline Look Like? 14:14 How to Become More Disciplined 20:42 Maximizing Social Media for Your Business With Jasmine Star 40:56 Challenge to Just Be You Resources Business Boutique Conference The Business Boutique Conference is coming back to Nashville Oct. 24-26. If you want to learn how to grow your business and chase your dream, you don't want to miss this event. To save $10 on any Business Boutique Conference ticket, use the code BBWRIGHT. Business Boutique Academy Waitlist We are opening enrollment for the Business Boutique Academy on October 25! Text the code ACADEMYWAITLIST to 33444 to sign up for the Business Boutique Academy Waitlist and be notified the moment enrollment opens! 2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner Get going on your goals and make 2020 your best year yet! Order the new Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and use the code BBPLANNER to receive Christy's Setting Goals video that you can watch right now! If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at podcast@businessboutique.com. New podcast episodes are available every other week. I have a lot of feelings-even my feelings have feelings. The worst part is, my feelings can easily drive my actions. But you know what I've learned? If you build your business, your life, your dreams, or your goals based on feelings, you're going to be on one heck of a roller-coaster ride. One day you'll be up (excited, motivated and charging forward) and another day you'll be down (tired, disappointed and on the brink of quitting). That's why I think it's so important to talk about a skill that will help you create stability (something feelings don't have) as you reach for your goals and chase your dream. What's that skill? Discipline. I know, discipline is not an exciting topic. In fact, the word itself can have a negative connotation. You might think of the word in terms of disciplining your children or being disciplined in school or at work. But that's not the kind of discipline we're talking about. We're talking about being a disciplined person. Why is discipline important? Because discipline will help you be successful no matter what dream you're chasing-it's that simple. Related: Ep 58: Perseverance in Your Business: How to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up What Is Discipline? Like so many qualities I teach about, discipline is not a gene only some people are born with. Discipline is a choice and a skill you can learn. You can actually cultivate discipline in your own life, even if you don't feel like it comes naturally to you. The author Stephen King is a great example of this. He's written countless bestselling books- many of which have become box office hits. He says there is one reason behind his success. You guessed it: discipline. In fact, he doesn't even believe in writer's block. He says it's just an excuse writers use when they don't have any motivation to write. Talk about some tough love. Stephen King writes 10 pages a day, even on birthdays and holidays. While you definitely won't find me working on Thanksgiving or Christmas, I love the emphasis he places on the importance of discipline in making your dream a reality. I believe your success is not dependent upon your situation, your feelings, or how nice the weather is. It's dependent upon your level of discipline. I love how my friend Christine Caine puts it: Vision will inspire you, but discipline will get you there. What Does Daily Discipline Look Like? When you break it down, discipline in your day-to-day life is pretty straightforward. It looks like: Following through on what you said you were going to do, even when you don't want to Holding yourself accountable, even when no one is watching Honoring...