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Welcome back to another leadership episode on the Ambitious Bookkeeper Podcast. I'm your host today, Mariah Ayer leadership coach and director of operations inside the Ambitious Bookkeeper brand. Thank you for joining me today. I do value your time and appreciate you spending it with me. If you gain value from our podcast, please feel free to share.
Leave us a review and reach out to us and let us know. What you would like to hear more of or any feedback you have. We really do love hearing from our [00:01:00] listeners and we really value the feedback that you bring us. All right, let's dive into another sneak peak topic that I cover inside the leadership blueprint.
This topic today is successful, CEO strategy now, although I line out many steps and go into great depth inside the leadership blueprint about strategizing your success as a CEO, truly your success as a CEO can be summed up in one word. Are you ready for the word? Great. The word is growth. I am sure that you can agree.
Simple is not the same thing as easy. There really is no easy button for being a CEO. However, there is simplicity as always. If you have a notebook or journal handy, which I highly recommend, write down the word. If you're a person who uses [00:02:00] sticky notes, write the word growth and place them on your bathroom mirror, your computer screen, and any other location that you're gonna see frequently.
time is constantly going by and you have no control over time itself, but you do have control over how you spend it. You can choose to move forward, stand still, or move backwards. Taking intentional steps to move forward is equivalent to growth. Growth takes you out of your comfort zone. In order to accomplish the dreams, goals, vis visions and mission you have for your life and for your firm, it's gonna require a different version of who you are right now.
let me repeat that, because that is very, very key. In order to accomplish the dreams, goals, visions, and mission you have for your life and for your firm, it is going to require a different version of who you [00:03:00] are right now. You are gonna need to level up in order to get there. How do you do that? Well, by constantly growing.
Imagine this with me for a moment. If you had a desire to run a marathon and you're currently not a runner, is your attempt to run a marathon gonna be successful? If you make a attempt tomorrow, mm, likely not successfully. Running a marathon is gonna take a different version of who you are today. It will require training strategies and growth.
Similarly, you can be a ceo. But in order to be a successful CEO, you need to implement strategies and growth.
So I'm gonna share with you several tips for being a successful CEO. You must [00:04:00] grow and expand your comfort zone. Step two, grow your mind. Step three, grow your skills. Step four, grow and step into your value. Step five, grow and nurture your boundaries. Step six, grow your momentum.
I am sure that you can agree. if growth or change is difficult for you to embrace, this is gonna require a mindset shift for you to actively step into embracing growth. So let's take a little deeper dive there first into the mindset.
Tips for shifting your mindset Step one ensure you are very clear on your why for starting your firm and becoming a CEO. You can refer back to this whenever things get tough or you are scared, overwhelmed, or feel like giving up. Step two, surround yourself with [00:05:00] support for your choices and your why. You can ask yourself, do you have cheerleaders in your corner or destroyers?
Maybe you need to change who's in your world. Set boundaries for who and what you let influence you. Step three, practice gratitude daily. This can take seconds to focus on what you are grateful for every day, but it creates a powerful shift in your mind where you wanna go. , the tools and people who can help you get there, get connected with those people, get connected with the people who are where you want to be and invest in yourself.
The very best investments you can ever make are when you invest in yourself and your growth. Step four. Reframe your failures. They are pivotal to your growth and where you are now and where you are going. Your failures are simply stairs [00:06:00] in your journey, and sometimes if you're human, you are gonna stumble on the stair, but it is still a necessary step to get to where you're going.
Step five. And then I have quite a few substeps in this one. But reframe your, view of growth. Growth is an essential part of life and an integral part of being a successful CEO. So you can think of one thing you've learned to how to do that was tough for you to learn something maybe you were scared to do, but you pushed through and you learned anyways.
Where would you be now if you hadn't grown? How would your life be different if you hadn't grown? List out three ways your life would be different. list out three reasons you are grateful that you moved forward, scared. Now, just a side note here, I'm [00:07:00] not talking about doing something that is genuinely dangerous, that your gut is screaming at you don't do.
That's an entirely different subject and conversation. Altogether, I'm talking about being afraid of hopping on a discovery call, speaking at your lo local chamber event, things of that nature. So for example, if you are scared of those things, list out one fear of growth you currently have and one action step you will take this week to move towards overcoming your fear.
An example of this is, let's say you have a fear of hopping on a discovery call. An action step might be write out your script, practice your script in front of your mirror. Record your conversation on voice notes on your phone. Get a friend or spouse, colleague, or one of your kids to be your potential client and role play with you.
So the recording, on your phone is if you record kind of your script and what you'd like to say, then you can go back and [00:08:00] listen to it and think, oh, I. You know, change this up a little bit.
The sixth step for shifting your mindset is to dance , turn up the tunes and dance away your fear and get empowered before you take steps to overcome music and movement is gonna put you in a completely different state of mind. All right, so those are your tips to overcome the mindset blocks that you might have about growth. Let's go back to growth and add some actionable steps for you to take there if you haven't noticed yet. I place a lot of value on action because action brings clarity and that brings you confidence. All right.
Step one, grow and expand your comfort zone. There are so many ways that pushing the envelope takes you to a different place. Create habits in your life that push you to continue to. Push yourself and your limits out of your comfort zone. [00:09:00] Get outside of your comfort zone. If you are ready to experience growth, you gotta think bigger and be bigger.
Grow your mind. Step two. , build mind growth into your daily routine so that it becomes habit. For example, you can listen to a podcast while you get ready in the morning, during your commute, while you do the dishes. Find those pockets of time. You can even read a book for five minutes or more before you go to sleep instead of Josie off on your phone.
Step three, grow your skills. List three skills that you would like to grow this. and list out your strategy for accomplishing learning those skills. Some ideas. Get certified in your chosen software. Set aside time on your calendar to spend 20 minutes going through a course you've purchased. Take a course at your local college or find YouTube videos that teach the skill you're desiring to learn.
Step four, [00:10:00] grow and step into your. Now take inventory for this one. Are you placing the correct value on your time as a ceo, or are you still placing your time valued as an employee? What tasks are you focusing your time and energy on? Are they moving your business forward? Are you taking care of yourself or running yourself ragged?
List out one way you can support yourself. This. Step five, grow and nurture your boundaries. Boundaries. Protect your mind, your time, your energy, your emotions, your firm and your expertise. Step six, grow your momentum. Action brings momentum. Momentum brings growth, and growing develops the next level. Gina Remedy said, growth and comfort do not coexist, so [00:11:00] you've gotta get outta your comfort zone.
All right. I know this was a lot of information kind of fast, but I hope that you gain value. If you have any questions about any of the content, feel free to shoot us an email. We are always happy to hear from you and support you in any way we can. A brief recap is how you embrace growth will determine your success as a ceo.
Your actions compound and you gotta remember, inaction also has its effects. consistent positive habits. They perpetuate growth and intentionally look for ways you can grow every day. Brian McGill says, whatever makes you uncomfortable is your biggest opportunity for growth, so I encourage you to get uncomfortable today.
Until next time, continue to embrace ambition.
Thank you [00:12:00] to everyone who helps make this podcast possible. Content and interviews are produced by me, Serena Shup. Our intro and outro music is written and performed by my brother Ian Gilliam. Editing is also by Ian using his awesome sound engineering skills, along with descript software. Hosting and publishing is by buzz.
And you can check out the show notes for links to all of these amazing resources and resources mentioned in the episode.