117 | Unlocking the Secret to Success: Dreams, Missions, and Transformations

Have you ever struggled to pinpoint your deepest dreams and the ultimate mission behind your business? You're not alone -- in this episode, I'm here to help you uncover your core purpose, which can make chasing your goals feel so much easier and bring about so much more clarity!

I'm also sharing an eye-opening experience from a recent retreat that I attended. When we allow ourselves to dream into our biggest goals, we open up space for really big transformations.  I can't wait for you to dive in and share your takeaways!

0:04 Accessing Your Biggest Dreams
7:13 Finding Your Deeper Why
14:46 Discovering Your Deeper Mission

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:32

Hey there and welcome to the She Calls Her Shots podcast. Every week, we chat through different business building topics that will help you gain clarity around your goals, find inspiration in your journey and also help you create a life and a business that you love. My name is Krista and I'm a wedding and brand photographer and you're a go-to no fluff business coach. In these episodes, we talk through both the tactical strategies, habits and the mindset work that will help you take those really big leaves, and we always focus on the real talk and the behind the scenes of what it takes to create a sustainable and a thriving business, because, let's be honest, the work isn't always glamorous, but it's always worth it. So, girlfriend, let's make some moves and start calling our own shots. Hello, hello, friend, and welcome back to this episode of the She Calls Her Shots podcast. I am sitting here with my mic and my computer and just thinking about how grateful I am that we get to spend this time together And as I continue to grow listeners every single month, it's amazing to me because I see hundreds of people that are listening in and if that's you today, if you're listening in, i would love to connect with you. If we haven't connected on Instagram, connect with me at HeyKristaMarie. I would love to just say hello, to get to know you, get to know your goals and your dreams, and that's what we're talking about today is we're going to dive deep into your bigger dreams what those are, how we can access them, what they mean to you and why they're so important for you to chase them. But if we haven't connected one to one, i would just love for you to pop over on Instagram and say hello. You can also just share a screenshot of this episode, tag me in it, let me know that you were listening. I would love to reshare that on my feed. So pop over and say hello, share, tag me in on Instagram story. I would just love to connect with you about our dreams today, because that's what we're going to be talking about, and I had this experience recently when I went on this weekend retreat at the end of March and I have a whole podcast episode which I'll link below kind of talking about some of my biggest takeaways and the importance of getting in the room was really that's the episode title and that's really kind of what we talked about the importance of going to these events. But I had an experience that happened during that retreat that I wanted to dig into today, because this is a common thing that I find that I talk about often with my coaching clients, whether I'm working with them one-on-one or whether they're coming to me just in a discovery call to see if working with a coach would be a good fit for them.

Speaker 1: 4:09

There's this kind of common theme of in our business. We tend to be really good about knowing what our short-term goals are. We know what we don't want our life to look like right now. We're very aware of the things that we want to change and the things that we want to improve. But when it comes to thinking about that longer-term vision, where we really want to see ourselves and how we can pull ourselves out of the weeds of the day-to-day work, a lot of us tend to struggle with that, and I think it's hard for creatives because we feel like we should know what we want that to look like. We should know what we want the bigger dream and the bigger vision to look like, but sometimes we struggle with that.

Speaker 1: 4:50

So I had this experience at this retreat, where the host of the retreat asked us to write down our biggest goals, what we really want our business, our vision, our mission. What do we want that to look like? And it was really interesting to me because I felt like I knew what that was for me until I had to sit down and write it out. And it wasn't that I was too scared to write it out, because I think that's something that we run into. We know what those biggest dreams are, but we're too afraid to say it out loud, we're too afraid to speak it into existence and actually write it out for someone to see. That wasn't really what was happening for me. I actually sat there looking at my blank note card asking myself what is that Like really, what is that biggest dream? Right? Not like the thing I want to do next year, two years, three years, like really, to rephrase the question, it's like what's the purpose behind this business? Like, really, at the end of the day, what is the biggest reason why I want this to succeed? And it kind of took me for like I had to take a step back because I was like, oh wow, i don't know. Like, yes, i think about my big goals, yes, i think about my visions. I knew a handful of things that I wanted, but it wasn't until I paused to ask myself but is this the real? why Is this the real drive and the purpose and the mission behind what it is that I do? And so I want to talk about that today, because I think that, like most things that we talk about on the podcast, when it comes to this mindset deeper in our work, this isn't talked about very often And I think, as creatives, we tend to be in our own corners, thinking that everyone else has this figured out, because everyone has this persona and this brand that we see on Instagram or online or on YouTube or in podcasts, wherever it is, and we just feel like we must be the only ones who don't really know what we're doing.

Speaker 1: 6:53

And I wanted to clarify that and say you are not alone. We all go through this. It doesn't matter I say this all the time It doesn't matter how many years you've been in business, it doesn't matter how far along you are. You're going to run into these mental, physical, emotional kind of caps, right? You're going to hit these peaks and you're going to hit these blocks all throughout your journey. And it doesn't matter how long you've been in business. You're never going to get rid of these blocks and you're always going to have to figure out how to move past them.

Speaker 1: 7:23

So that's what I want to talk a little bit about today is really, how do we access that biggest dream, how do we get to that big juicy like this is the real purpose and why behind our business. Because here's the thing A lot of times on the podcast we talk a lot about how to attract clients. I feel like that's a big one that I work with clients, right? How do I get more clients? How do I make more money? How do I make this business successful? How do I get myself out there more? How do I make myself more visible? How do I write? it's all about this idea of how do I grow this business into something that's bigger. And here's an honest truth If you don't have that bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger vision, purpose and why behind your business, it's going to feel a lot harder to grow, because all the things that you're going to be chasing after are going to be things that aren't really that important. They might feel important, they might feel significant, but it's when you can tap into that bigger why, like that biggest true vision, into why you want this business to succeed. That's when everything else is going to feel easier, because you're going to have that driving force that's going to help support you along the way when things feel challenging.

Speaker 1: 8:41

And so, coming back to this topic, i wanted to just start off today and encourage you and ask you just honestly, just ask yourself when was the last time that you really wrote down your bigger vision? And I mean, like I think some of us, we do an exercise every once, you know, maybe once every couple of years where we write down our mission, and I think writing down your mission is great, but I think the question is but have you gotten down to the core mission, right? So, for example, the thing that I wrote I can't remember it exactly what I wrote on my note card, but it was something along the lines of you know, i want to be a top podcaster who is helping women to live, you know, fulfilling lives, and you know, whatever it was, it all sounded right, it all sounded very much in alignment with the things that I want to do. But then I want to ask, i want you to ask yourself when you look at your mission is that the deepest reason, though? Because what you can do and this is what I love to do and this is what I did after this.

Speaker 1: 9:45

After I did this initial thing at the retreat is keep asking yourself why? Why does that matter? Why does it matter to be a top podcaster? Well, if I'm a top podcaster, i can help more women because they can more easily find my show. Well, why does it matter that I affect more women? Well, if I can help more women, then there are going to be more women business owners who have financial freedom and who can support themselves and who can grow fulfilling businesses.

Speaker 1: 10:11

Right, like, keep asking yourself why? Because that surface layer. Right, if I just said, oh, i want to become a top podcaster, if that's my, if that's my core driving force behind building my business when things feel hard, you can guarantee that I'll be like, well, maybe I don't have to be a top podcaster. Like, maybe I can just get you know in the top whatever, like 500 podcasters. Right, like, i'm going to start minimizing my goal, because the deeper why doesn't mean as much to be.

Speaker 1: 10:42

But if I tell myself I want to help 1000 women a month to build fulfilling businesses, right, if I really get clear on what that number looks like. Well, now, all of a sudden, that reason and that mission is so much bigger than me. It's so much bigger than me hitting some ranking or some number as a podcaster. It's about the lives and the women that I will be directly speaking to and affecting, to help them grow in a way that they otherwise may not be able to. And so, really, just getting clear on, do I really understand what that bigger, deeper driving force is behind my why? Because here's the thing When you know what that bigger source is, that bigger why you can then start to bridge the gap between who you are now and where you want to go Right. So, if you know that you want to help 1000 women every single month right Through a podcast, through videos and your number could be different, it could be 10 women, through a coaching program, it could be, you know, five clients through portrait sessions, like you can customize this to fit whatever it is that is your niche.

Speaker 1: 11:52

But once you know what that number is, you can start asking yourself, okay, well, who do I need to be in order to show up in that way? Because here's the truth is that work is going to feel a lot harder if we feel like we're just chasing money right. Chasing money, chasing success, chasing numbers, chasing likes, chasing engagement, chasing a certain you know people viewing our Instagram posts, when we're just focusing on those types of metrics, it's going to feel really frickin' hard to build a business Like. I'm just being honest with you, after coaching women creatives and after building a business myself, i can tell you firsthand the amount of conversations I've had with other women creative business owners who burn out comes really frequently when we're building a business in that way, when we're chasing those types of things.

Speaker 1: 12:43

But when you can get really clear on that deeper mission and that deeper why it does a couple of things, it helps you. One reframe like your timeline right If your goal is to drastically improve and help You know all of these women are help, all these couples are help. Whoever your ideal client is, you're likely gonna understand that having a, you know, a hundred likes on instagram post is not gonna be the thing that gets you there. So it automatically starts to reframe that timeline of success for you, so you start to actually celebrate the wins In a sustainable way and not expect overnight growth. But it also helps you Really step into, okay, the person who does that right, the person who fulfills this mission of helping this amount of people.

Speaker 1: 13:29

They probably show up a little bit differently than I do right now. And what do I mean by that will, for example? I can guarantee you they're probably not, you know, sitting and Over complicating their business, right? this person that wants to help this amount of people and make this kind of impact in the world is not Sitting here trying to create the perfect game plan of how they're gonna do it. They're probably gonna take inspired action and just start Doing it like they're not gonna see here and try and figure out the perfect way of doing that. No, they're not gonna do that because they don't have time for that, because their mission is so much bigger. Then them.

Speaker 1: 14:07

And so it just helps you start to get out of our own heads, because a lot of the times these conversations that I have with with creatives when we feel stuck, when we feel like we don't know what our bigger goals are, when we feel like we can't move forward, when we feel like we don't know what the next step is that we're gonna take, it's not because we actually are stuck or don't know that next step. We're overthinking it, we're over complicating it. We're in our heads so much because we're trying to figure out the best way to move forward. But the best way to move forward is to Just start. But again, i feel like we need to have that conversation of but do you understand the deeper why, like, why is this so important to you? Because if you haven't gotten to that level of your mission, it's going to be really easy to over complicate these steps and it's going to be really easy to overthink and try to over analyze The best way for you to move forward.

Speaker 1: 15:06

And I want to share another thing with you. So I don't know how many of you have taken the any a gram. I'm done the any a gram test. I am in love with the any a gram and I'm actually I'm really excited. I'm kind of in the works of looking How to become certified in the any a gram so that I can start using it with clients and And using it as a tool to help us further understand who we are, because I think as business owners, that's, that's a core thing. Right, i have to understand the things that work for me and my growth as a business owner are not going to be the same things that work for someone else but the. I love the any gram because it helps you Learn well, what does work for me, what does feel really good, how do I grow? so anyway, i'm a big fan. I'm really excited. I'm excited to continue to work that into my coaching And just also for myself as a business owner, but as an any a gram nine, we are the peacemakers, and one of the kind of core things that we tend to struggle with as nines Are, we struggle to identify exactly who we are as a person.

Speaker 1: 16:14

We're the type of friend that we kind of mold ourselves into the people that were around. We tend to not speak up, we tend to not share our opinion, we don't want to rock the boat, we don't want to upset anybody And we also kind of are a chameleon because, depending on the people that we are around, we can kind of adapt and mold ourselves to fit so that we don't rock the boat right. And this is kind of this core theme of us trying to keep the peace and just be really likable and not upset anybody and all of that. So, as an Enneagram 9, and I didn't know this this became so much more clear once I understood this about myself. This is why I always struggled to really really identify my bigger mission, because I have a tendency to look around at the people around me and kind of pull things from their life right, pull things from their business of oh, i think I want to do this. This looks really good. I think I want to do this right, but I don't really. As a 9, i need support to help me figure out. Well, who do I actually want to be Me, krista, what feels good to me? So and I want to share that example, because anyone who has done the Enneagram if you are a 9, this could be if you're like raising your hand, you're like Krista this topic feels very relevant. I want you to know that.

Speaker 1: 17:44

That's because we tend to struggle with really identifying who we are as people, what's important to us, what matters to us, like what are our core values and how, you know, can we live by those, as opposed to trying to kind of mold to fit everybody else's ideals. And so the more self-aware that I got of the things that I struggle with, what works for me, what tools I need, how I can be supported in these ways, the more education and understanding I got around that, the easier it's become for me to understand. Oh okay, this maybe doesn't feel as easy or natural for me, and that's okay, but I have these tools and the support that I can lean on to then help me figure out who do I want to be, what do I want that mission to be And how can I make this business into something that really fits for me as an individual. And so I'm going to wrap this up. I wanted to keep this a shorter episode today, but I really I want to encourage you to do a couple of things. One if you haven't done this exercise, where you've really dug into your vision, your why, your deeper purpose, the why this matters, i want to encourage you to take a step back right, and even if this means removing yourself from your day-to-day life, because sometimes, when we sit down in our day-to-day to-dos and tasks to do this, our brain still is in to-do work mode. So sometimes it's helpful to actually physically and mentally and emotionally remove yourself from your business for the day, for the hour, whatever you need, and figure out what is this deeper mission and why does this business matter? Why does it matter that this is successful? Like, really, what is that bigger reason? And then also figuring out. What does that mean? who do I want to be as I'm growing into this person, as I'm making this type of a difference in people's lives? What does that mean for me and how I show up and who I want to be as I'm doing those things?

Speaker 1: 19:49

I heard this quote and, of course, i didn't write this down. I'm thinking of it on the spot, so I may not be able to say it correctly And of course, i don't remember who said it, but it was something along the lines of when it comes to you doing something, the way that you do it matters more than what it is that you're doing. So let's say, for example, if you have a job that maybe you don't love, you have something that you have to do. Accomplishing the task is good and it's important, but the thing that actually matters more than accomplishing the task is who you are being while you're accomplishing the task. What are the things you're telling yourself, what's the energy you're bringing to that task, what are the thoughts and the mindsets you're bringing to that task? That actually arguably matters more than you actually crossing the to-do off your list.

Speaker 1: 20:40

So I want to encourage you to ask yourself that, when it comes to this bigger mission, why does it matter that you show up in a way that is impactful, right?

Speaker 1: 20:50

How can we make it that you are showing up in a way that matters more than actually just checking something off your list or checking off a to-do? And so I just want to encourage you with that today. And if you are looking for extra support, if you're looking for a community or one-to-one support, i have both one-on-one and group coaching options open right now as I'm airing this episode, so if this is something that you're interested in, i would absolutely love to schedule a conversation. I have different coaching packages for creatives at different levels in their business, so not everyone will be ready for one-on-one coaching. Some people need more support than group coaching. So if this is something that you are interested in, please head over to heychristamarriecom forward slash services And you'll be able to see I'll link that in the show notes below. You'll be able to see the different types of ways that we can work together, but at the end of the day, i'd love to just schedule a call and figure out what your goals are, where it is that you want to go and what might be the best fit and the best support to help you get there.

Speaker 1: 21:54

So, all of that said, thank you so so much for joining us today for this episode, and I can't wait to hear from you. I'd love for you to share with me what are those bigger goals, what is that bigger vision? Remember, feel free to tag me on Instagram, share a story of you listening in, connect with me. I would love to celebrate you and these bigger goals that you're having and you're accomplishing along the way. So thank you so much, and I will talk to you in the next episode. One last thing before you go I'd absolutely love it if you left a review on Apple Podcasts, or if you've already left a review, i'd love for you to share this episode with your business bestie. I love getting to shout out my listeners on the show, and the more listeners that we have, the more that I can help others create a thriving and sustainable business too. Thank you so much again for being a part of this community, and I can't wait to hear your takeaways from today's episode.