Make Your Dreams Come True!

Good morning. Happy Friday. I want to see if anybody is able to jump in. Weirdly, I'm seeing comments from the last live stream that I watched, so I hope that this is working. We'll see if somebody jumps in. Cheers, you guys. I cannot believe that it's like December 15, I think. Crazy got all the dog friends here. Well, I'm not seeing anybody, but hopefully this is working. So I want to talk to you today about being an expander. And of course, that doesn't come without a little anecdote and a little story about what happened to me when I first launched my business as a wardrobe stylist.

So when I decided to launch, I was here in Scottsdale, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona. And I had no business being a stylist. I had no real experience dressing people. And I mean, I had obviously, like, done work in the industry before, learned everything that there was to know, head to toe, look, all the things. But I had no, like, proper stylist experience. I didn't go to styling school. I didn't go to college for fashion. So when I say I had no business, I'm using air quotes because I think the most beautiful thing about becoming an entrepreneur is just using your talents for good without you don't need formal training.

So there's no rules when it comes to that. But when I launched, I was really cautious and careful about doing research to see who else did what I do wanted to do, how their websites were set up, what they offered, how they structured their pricing. I was really very aware of that because when I launched, I didn't want to step on anyone's toes. I was new to the community. Nobody knew who I I was. And I just wanted to make sure that I didn't upset anybody. So I did the research. I made sure that the website that I was building myself on, WordPress, I was coding and everything.

Alec Dewitts would be so proud. And, you know, I made sure that, like, it was unique to me. Okay, so if nobody else was showing their prices, I wanted to show my prices. I wanted full transparency. I just wanted to set myself a price. And no sooner after I launched, did a stylist here in Phoenix, Scottsdale, literally copy my website. Copy paste, copy paste, word for word, including like, my privacy policy, my rewards program that I was uniquely offering. She literally copied every single word, changed a couple of words to be like her.

And I mean, it was a clear copy paste job. I mean, and her website looked nothing like mine. And I felt like I had no leg to stand on and I consulted a lawyer, and, you know, he said, you can definitely do a cease and desist, but do you want to make waves in your community like that? Just so early on starting, and I just realized that, oh, good morning, newfie lover Sue. I just realized that it wasn't going to be worth the hassle to do that. So the way that I launched my styling career and the experience that I had when I first started out as an entrepreneur, like, not way back when, when I was 21, starting my hair and makeup business, but, like, in the business that I'm in now, ten years ago, it was very disheartening, to say the least.

And the experience that I had with other people who were doing what I did put me fully on guard. And I lost all trust in any girl code or collaboration or anything like that. Good morning, junk food junkie. Oh, my goodness. Okay. I can just keep on trucking. All the people are here. So I lost all faith and trust in maybe potentially collaborating with somebody or wanting to help other people. And I sort of started to build up a hard shell because I felt like, well, if this is what's going to happen in the industry, like, I'm nervous to even befriend anybody or have any experiences with any other stylists in town.

So cut to now. Ten years later, I've built my styling career. I've tried to stay one step ahead of everybody along the way, and I have since done the personal work to realize that the people who are doing those awful things, who are copying your website or jacking your content are not out to get you. They have their own issues that they need to deal with. Sorry. Squeaking toys, dogs. And it's a them problem, right? It's not a me problem. Does it become an inconvenience for me while I'm trying to rule the world and make my big dreams come true?

Yeah. Do I maybe have to rewrite some content? Yes. But guess what? I've got it all up in my brain, so I can easily do that. And if they want to keep copying me, it's going to be pretty evident. You know, the Internet is pretty savvy now, so they know, like, when somebody is a fraud. Right? So anyway, cut to now. Ten years later, I've done the personal work. I've done the deep work. I understand that it's a them problem, not a me problem. And, you know, you have this advent of social media, which now, ten years later, is a lot more in your face than it was before, but it can also be a really beautiful thing.

So this is what I want to tell you. I got this message from a stylist in LA, and I'm based here in Phoenix. And she voice noted me, telling me that she just had to tell me that she has been stalking me since 2020, since she first launched her business. She considers me an expander in the business. And for her, she looks up to me. She loves my style, she loves my dogs, which, God love them, but she just had all these beautiful, wonderful things to say to me. And guys, I would have looked at her Instagram profile and said, man, that girl is crushing it.

I want to be like that. She's hanging out with famous other stylists at store openings and celebrities, and she's on this great styling platform. And wow, she has this incredible career. She's so good at doing reels. I was looking at her like she was maybe an expander for me, not even realizing that she only launched her business a few years ago. But it doesn't matter. You can have overnight success or you can grow really fast. But what I realized was that after all of these years, like, I don't know that I saw it ten years ago, even though I had no experience when that girl completely copied my website, that people are looking to me as an expander for them, as somebody who is giving them a goal as to who they want to be, what they want to achieve, how they want to operate in business, maybe how much they want to share vulnerably.

She complimented my company, the rescue kit company, and my styling business. But she was like, the businesses that you have built, the brands that you have built are so admirable and never in a million years did I think that I was an experience for anyone. Right? But, like, all of a sudden, like, the memories came flooding back of how there was, like, a way that that girl did it ten years ago, which didn't feel good, and then there's a way that this girl did it today that put it in perspective for me and made me feel so good.

And I messaged her back immediately because I don't sit on messages like that and was like, oh, my gosh, I'm crying over here. Thank you so much. I feel the same way about you. It doesn't matter that you launched three years ago and I've been in business for ten years. Doesn't matter. I still see you as somebody that I look up to and you're incredibly inspiring to me. So just so you know, I feel the same way. Like, let's have a zoom and get to know each other more and see if we can't help each other out.

What a difference ten years makes, right? But, like, also what a difference. Perspective and doing the inner work on yourself makes to realize that, like, whatever is going on with other people and however they push that onto you or reflect that onto you, it's not your problem. And there are people out there that look at you as having something or doing something that they want to have or do in their life, and you are inspiring. Even just one person. Just one. Could be 20, could be a thousand, could be 8 million, could be 7 billion.

But sometimes it's just one who's looking at you and who maybe has to build up the courage and the bravery to say to you, like, you're an expander for me. So my. Yes. Doing the inner work. Speak, wonder. Yes. Thank you, guys. The puppy and the old man. Oh, my gosh. They're currently wrestling. Thank you. Yeah. So, you guys, I just. It really hit home when she said I was an expander. I was like, nobody's ever used that word about me before that I've heard. And I felt so much pride. But I also just felt this, like, full circle moment of, like, I can fully accept that.

And, like, ten years ago, that girl didn't go about it. I don't think the right way. But I ask you, are you living a life of expansion and are you setting examples for people? And I'm not saying you have to be somebody that somebody wants to be. Right? But I don't know. Are you proud of this, like, person that you are? And are you paying attention to the people who might be looking at you to set an example or that, you know, to be inspiring? Like, I just. I don't know. I'm starting to realize it.

And Luke has always told me and other people in this group that that's the kind of individual that I am. But, man, when somebody like that you don't know that you think is out there doing great things that you look up to tells you that it's enlightening. So. Sorry. The dogs. Oh, my gosh. So I ask you think about. To think about who you might be inspiring and are you leading a life that you're proud of and that, you know, I don't know. That people look at and say, wow, that's admirable. I don't know.

I just want you to do some deep thinking about that because it really hit home. I couldn't wait to talk to you guys about it. So, anyway. Hi, Marissa. Okay, well, you know what? You're gonna have to go back and watch from the beginning if you missed it, because it was an important one. And I'm so glad you guys showed up. Okay, Dempsey, the bell is ringing, you guys, the bell is ringing. So I'm gonna leave you with a ringing bell. A small, tiny dog. Say, hi, buddy. And just the thought that you might be changing somebody's life.

Okay, and what are you gonna do about that? What are you gonna do about that? So it's always satisfying to know you inspire someone to go after their dreams. Yes. It's just like, I want to be an inspiration for people, and I want it to just be authentic. Right? Like, I don't. Like, I don't go out there every day and say, you know, I'm doing this for everybody else. No, but, like, I'm really proud of the life that I'm leading right now and the work that I'm doing, both professionally and the inner work.

So I ask you, like, be proud of the inner work and what you're putting out there in the professional world. Is it something that people could look up to? Think about that. So happy holidays, everybody. And we'll be back here next week. And I can't believe we're ten days out to Christmas. So it'll be the last to make your big dreams come true, you guys, before the Christmas holiday, if you celebrate that, and if you don't, that's fine, too. But we'll have one more before the big new year. So I would love to hear what you guys want to talk about.

Otherwise, I'm just going to prepare a banger for you. Cause why not? And I love you guys. Thank you for tuning in. And no, I didn't go to Harvard, but this is vintage and it's awesome. So you know what? It's a conversation starter. Okay. Love you guys. All the dogs say hi. The chaos of our lives is continuing on. The baby dinosaurs are all here, and they're just long necking their way through life. Okay, you guys have an amazing weekend. Talk to you soon.