Leading H.E.R. Way Podcast
What if I told you that building a successful business doesn’t have to mean running yourself into the ground?
Welcome to Leading HER Way, the podcast that challenges the outdated belief that success has to come with burnout.
I’m Nikisha, your disruptive coach, and after 15 years of growing multiple businesses, I’ve learned that working harder isn’t the answer—building smarter is.
Every week, I sit down with powerhouse women entrepreneurs and wedding pros who’ve cracked the code to scaling their businesses while reclaiming their time.
You’ll hear raw, unfiltered conversations, client transformations, and behind-the-scenes success stories proving that your business can thrive without you constantly putting out fires.
Here’s what you’ll take away:
✔️ How to build 7-figure systems that scale—so you’re not stuck in the weeds of your business.
✔️ How to stop being the bottleneck and design a business that runs smoothly without you.
✔️ Social proof from industry leaders who have mastered this shift—and are here to show you how.
So, if you’re ready to work less while earning more, hit play, and let’s create a business that ignites your freedom. 🔥
Leading H.E.R. Way Podcast
25: Redefining Failure: The Power of the Growth Mindset
Have you ever felt like your talents and intelligence are set in stone, unable to grow further? You're not alone. In this thought-provoking episode, Nikisha dives deep into the concept of a growth mindset and how it can transform your life.
Here's a glimpse of what's in store:
- Understanding Fixed and Growth Mindset Shifts: Discover the critical distinctions between fixed and growth mindsets. Learn how these mindsets influence our responses to failure and challenges, and how they can either hold us back or propel us forward.
- Embracing Personal Growth: Nikisha shared her personal journey of embracing a growth mindset in her business. She opens up about her challenges, how she tackled failure, and the invaluable lessons she learned along the way. Get ready to be inspired by real-life experiences of resilience and persistence.
- Practical Applications: We don't just stop at theory; we explore actionable steps to cultivate a growth mindset in your own life. Discover strategies to help you shift your perspective, unlock your potential, and see obstacles as stepping stones to success.
Don't let a fixed mindset limit your potential any longer. Tune in to this enlightening episode and unlock the power of a growth mindset.
Embrace the possibilities, confidently face challenges, and watch your abilities soar to new heights. Your journey to personal growth starts here!
Want more juicy tips like this to grow your income with less stress?
Follow @nkbizguru on IG for real talk, confidence-boosting sales strategies, and behind-the-scenes shifts that helped Nikisha go from $1K bookings to consistent $15K sales.
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You're listening to Nikisha King Podcast leading her way, episode 25. Do you have a dream or a mission or a fire that has ignited inside of you to create an amazing business that can grow and scale, but at the same time, you don't want to sacrifice your life, your family relationships or values in building this dream? If this is you, welcome to the Nikisha King Podcast leading her way. Hello, gorgeous, and welcome to leading H. E. R. way podcast. I'm your host, Nikisha, and today we are going to be speaking about a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. Now, what is this and what does this mean? So in a prior episode, we define what mindset is and, just to remind you, mindset is the collection of beliefs, attitudes and perceptions that shape how we think and act in various situations. So in today's episode, we're speaking about a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. So what is that? A fixed mindset? Pretty much is a mindset where people tend to believe that their abilities, intelligence and talents are fixed traits. They can't change it. So, for example, let's see what I would believe is a fixed trait of mine Sarcasm. I have a skill of sarcasm and it was really bad before I had to shift it, but when I was doing it before. I considered it a fixed trait. That's a fixed mindset. I can't change that. That's just me. That's how I show up in the world. If you ever hear yourself saying that about something you do, that's a fixed mindset. That's a fixed trait because you are literally stuck with that. I've done that many times before, where I'm just like that's just me, this is how I handle things, this is how I do things. See, that whole head movement. That is a fixed mindset, a fixed trait or ability, or where I think I'm not able to do anything because this is all I know. It's a fixed mindset. Now, growth mindset let's define that. The growth mindset is all about beliefs and abilities and intelligence that can be developed with effort, learning and perseverance. Growth mindset is all about shifting, creating, making a new, and it helps in so many ways. And if you're not open to growth mindset, your fixed mindset is just what it is. It's fixed. There is no movement.
Nikisha King:Usually you hear this when people go I'm too old for that. I'm too old to learn how to use AI. I'm too old to learn how to use the internet. A fixed mindset. And in all honesty, this is their truth, this is their belief system, aka their BS. And a growth mindset doesn't say I'm too old, it goes. How can I learn AI? How can I learn about the internet? How can I take simple, small steps and persevere in this new journey? That is a growth mindset, and that is one of my favorite things to do and no, it wasn't always my favorite thing to do.
Nikisha King:So we're going to speak about the three differences between a fixed and a growth mindset, and I want you to see if any of these apply to you. I want you to be able to take anything from this podcast and apply it to your life. So if you have any go nuggets, any aha moments, please write it down and do whatever you choose to do with it. Ok, so let's talk about this. So one of the things we're going to speak about is the response to challenges. Right, how do you respond to challenges, aka aha man moments in your life where you go man, tag it, those challenges that arise in different hues, different ways, and a fixed mindset often shy away from challenges. They fear failure, they might expose their limitations and that's why they shy away.
Nikisha King:So, for example, when I was practicing a fixed mindset and a challenge would arise, for example, there was a moment where I was working with a client. I did the save the dates. There was no issue. We did the invites. We had wax sales. The wax sales I did was from its natural form, so I would use a stamp and it wasn't a nice clean circle and this person had the idea of a clean circle.
Nikisha King:So for them we were on two different levels. That upset them because they didn't get what they want, although everything was fine. But understand that they were going through life changes. They were going through planning this to your mom. They were going through Lyme disease. They had just gotten a tick bite. They were going through that, the antibiotics. A lot was happening for them. So their annoyance and upset was so much more and I did understand that.
Nikisha King:But in that moment the way I responded to that challenge is I closed down. That was my way. So when I have a challenge that was that big and it felt big but it wasn't, I can say that now I closed down. I withdrew from everyone my family, I just want to be in my bed. I would read books and that was one way. I would read books, romance novels and that was my way of managing that when I had my fixed challenge.
Nikisha King:Now, with my growth mindset, where I see challenges as opportunities for growth and learning. Oh my god. So different Now, when there's a challenge, if any, because I usually work on them and I'm really good at learning how to be better. I'm always, always striving for better. When a client has an issue, I look at it, I apologize for it and I go how can we make it better? And I make sure that that doesn't reoccur with any other client, because now I have put things in place to minimize that.
Nikisha King:Very clear, if I have my agreement right, we all have agreements as business owners, contracts and agreements. Before I used to let my client read those and when they read it, they never read it, they just skim through it, sign right, and that's why issues happen. Now I take 10 of the most important bullet points from my contract. The thing is I need them to know and I go through it with them on a proposal call so that they know what they're signing. Therefore, when that problem comes up, I go remember that time when we did this and my calls are recorded and they go oh yeah, remember. Oh, my God, you're right. I'm sorry, this was on me, it's because I took the time to do that. I have grown from my experiences.
Nikisha King:So a fixed mindset is where, if you come up a challenge and you're like, no, it's not me, it's them, or you withdraw or you don't really even try to learn from it because you're in the processing mode. But your processing mode could be like 10 years. My processing mode at that moment may have been a week, but it was slow that I had to just come out of it. And when that happened, I had to do better and my growth mindset started to play a part in my life. And doing better meant that there was no just sitting in my feelings, but figuring out what can I do to make sure this doesn't happen again?
Nikisha King:Being a business owner it's one of the most important things that we require. Let me tell you, to be a nine to five or to be a parent, it's still something we require. We want to be better. As human beings, we would like to evolve, and evolving is growth. When you have a fixed mindset, you don't have room for growth because you've literally got stuck in this idea that this is just what it is. You are so much more than that and I want you to know that you are more than that. You are more than a fixed mindset. You are capable of learning anything. You are capable of increasing your abilities, your intelligence. You are a machine that have created AI to do it. If we're humans creating AI, then we have so much more abilities. But we have to see it in ourselves, we have to believe it, and that's where your growth mindset comes in.
Nikisha King:Now, number two handling failure. How is that for you? And be careful. I want to say the word failure. I wanted to find this because failure for me isn't the end of the world. It's the beginning of an experience and getting better. But in this moment, I'm going to share that, because a lot of people definitely understand failure and I want to differentiate how a fixed mindset and a growth mindset affects the way you handle failure. So failure is inevitable. In life. We have 50-50. 50 meaning we're going to be great at something, 50% we're not great at something. This is life. It's the law of physics. Every action has a reaction. It's just 50-50. It's just what it is. So failure is inevitable and it's a part of our development. It's what we need to learn lessons. But how do you perceive it? How do you perceive it and how do you handle it makes all the difference.
Nikisha King:People would have fixed mindset often interpret failure as proof of inadequacy. Did you guys hear that all the way in the back? People would have fixed mindset usually interpret failure as a proof of inadequacy. It isn't, and this can be a big blow to their self-esteem. It can be the thing that makes you feel like you're not worthy. It can make you feel invaluable, like ugh, I can't, I'm not really a value. Listen, fixed growth, fixed mindset literally can harm you Because when you feel really not feeling, when you feel at something, you feel like you're a big mess up, you're a big hole in the wall, you just totally blew it. There's no other possibility, there's nothing. When you have a fixed mindset, it limits the possibilities, it limits your growth. You cannot see anything else because you're in this narrow tunnel. And it's not true, because your way of handling failure can be a whole different way, and that way is a growth mindset way where you see the possibilities.
Nikisha King:So individuals with a growth mindset view failure as a stepping stone to success and not an inadequacy. Failure is a stepping stone. Let's do this so you can see it. Stepping stone, keep going up. That's what failure is. It gives you an opportunity for something to go away or go awry. It gives you an opportunity for something to go wrong and then you go. How can I make this better for the next time? That is a growth mindset. You're always thinking when something happens, how can I make it better? How can I make sure it doesn't happen this way again? And failure needs to happen so you can learn how to be better, how to improve, how to become the amazing human being you are. That is what it does.
Nikisha King:Growth mindset is all about seeing the success and developing it, and that's how the handling of failure differs for someone with a fixed mindset, who sees inadequacies, who sees less than who sees oh, I am so crappy at this when growth mindset handle failure by it being a stepping stone to success. How amazing is that? That perception is everything, and that's why failure really isn't failure, because it's an actual tool that you get to experience, that you get to go. If you have a fixed mindset, you're just always beating on yourself, but if you have a growth mindset, it's a possibility to do better, to do more, to create better, to actually give good and create something that someone requires a need from you as a business owner. This is why I love mindset. When you're aware of what's happening now, you have the power to do whatever is necessary, and that's one of the ways handling failure.
Nikisha King:Now let's talk about effort and persistence. Okay, so the difference between growth and fixed mindset is individuals, approach and effort. This is the energy that's behind you, pushing you forward or keeping you in place or pushing you back I don't know if you can go back, but keep you in place, stuck and pushing you forward. So people with a fixed mindset they tend to avoid putting an extra effort because they believe talent alone should be sufficient. Let's see how that applies to your business.
Nikisha King:So, as a business owner say, you are an artist and you believe that you are amazing at drawing something. You are amazing at that. However, you're a business owner. So in your mind, in your wonderful fixed growth mindset, I'm an artist. I don't know how to do business. Therefore, I don't want to do business. But it's only you.
Nikisha King:In order for you to sell your art, you have to do business. You have to learn sales. You have to learn what kind of offering are you offering. You have to learn how to manage your money. What's your plan for the money you generate? How are you going to use it? How are you going to actually generate it? So when people say I'm an artist, I don't do business, well, if you don't do it, where are you getting the money to hire someone to do it for you? When you abdicate such power to someone and you can, what happens when they steal something and you feel like, oh my God, I failed and you get stuck. You see how it all works out.
Nikisha King:Fixed mindset does that to you. It doesn't give you the understanding that you are a creative, you are an artist, but you can do business. Do it the way you need to do it, but be open to the growth process. Be open to applying the basics and then creating it into what you need to do so it can run like a business, so that you can financially gain and earn revenue for the value you give through your art. So that's fixed mindset. In regards to effort and persistence, that's how it shows up. All those things you say you can't do, while, in contrast, individuals with a growth mindset, they understand that effort is the path to mastery. They understand that when they have a dilemma as an entrepreneur or a business owner. When you see a dilemma coming into play, you know it's not only your skill but your effort and how you manage that that's going to make you better and become a master at your craft.
Nikisha King:All right, let me tell you my story when I started out. I started out as invitations and stationery. I started out with an affiliate program. Affiliate means there was a company that did designs and I sold those designs and it was a 50-50,. You know, I sell them, I just pay the cost at 50% and at other 50% I gain as revenue. And in doing that that was my beginning path. That was what I was doing.
Nikisha King:But something happened where, as I was working, people would ask for something custom and with these designs you couldn't customize it other than color and wording. The design was the design, it was set. And that was an opportunity where I saw there was a demand for something and I was like okay, I only know how to sell stuff, hardly selling because I'm new. I think I can't do anything at that moment in time. I still made the effort to go to custom. So what did I have to do? I had to take my no skill self from never designing an Adobe InDesign or Illustrator to now practicing that.
Nikisha King:And I started off with Photoshop. I didn't start off with Illustrator, I started off with Photoshop and I would open that and start working in it. And no, I didn't take courses because, remember, I'm new to my business. You know that fixed mindset, I have no money, that money limiting mindset, have no money to learn this, so I'm going to learn on my own. I'm going to take years to learn this program and I could have done it in maybe a month if I took something and even got more because I invested in a program that would have taught me every little thing that would have made me better in four weeks compared to three or four months.
Nikisha King:And as I was doing that custom design, I was learning how to create custom artwork, custom stuff. Then I realized Photoshop was limiting because of the pexillation and Photoshop is just a photo shop like change and edit photos is not for you to create eight designs. Illustrator became my second, where I had to create artwork I'm sorry, create artwork and create graphics. Once again, I had to learn but didn't invest. But the effort and the persistence I didn't give up. I decided I wanted to do more. I kept doing it and kept doing it.
Nikisha King:That was my growth mindset. I did it so much or I did it so well that now I've decided that I use a team of designers to do my designs, take my ideas and create it for me. But I have the language because I learned it. So when I speak to them on editing and creating and shifting and moving and embossing and printing and all this stuff, my language is well. How can I say I've learned the language of printing world so well through my persistence, through my effort, through my failures, that now, when I ask someone to do it for me, I know how to speak to them where they can do it, and we are getting it out like no tomorrow. So, with my growth mindset, I kept flying and doing the work to build my skills.
Nikisha King:My mastery and that is something that is amazing for you, especially for you to be here is part of your growth mindset. So if you don't think you have it, let me just make you know that you're listening to this podcast. The reason is because I'm all about abundance and growth. You're listening to this consistently and you're here. You're here because you want something more. You desiring something more allows you to open up yourself to a growth mindset so you can actually achieve your growth, your mastery, your effort, your perseverance. That's why you show up Now. You may be listening to other podcasts and not me. You're still on your growth journey. I am not the only way for you, but I am a way. So if you have other podcasts, other audiobooks, you're always reading a physical book, anything. You are on your growth journey. You're opening up yourself to something amazing and I think that is what makes the difference the action that you're doing to grow.
Nikisha King:So growth mindset individuals are always willing to put up time and hard work required in achieving their goals. They are always doing the actions, even if it's small, simple steps. They are taking action. Are you taking action? Are you deciding to go from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset? Are you exhibiting this right now and you're like this is what's happening to me. You are deciding to let go of those beliefs and abilities, those limiting beliefs, and you are deciding to see things differently, to grow, to see the possibilities. That is amazing. You are embracing who you want to become Amazing. I love it. So this is so important as a business owner, entrepreneur, as a mom, as a human being, non-binary, as a person.
Nikisha King:Growing is evolution. Evolution is key to our success of being here. We are here to help one another, but if you have a fixed mindset, I don't know how good you are to anyone or any other human being. Your limitations limit others. Why would you want to limit anyone, especially young minds? So understand, when you're a limited or fixed mindset, you limit the people around you with your fixed mindset, especially people you are responsible for. However, a growth mindset allows yourself and the people you love to expand in ways that you can't even fathom. Choose, make a decision, decide for yourself how do you want to show up in the lives of others and yourself. You have so much to offer, but with a fixed mindset, there is nothing you can offer, nothing you can offer anyone. So one understanding, a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.
Nikisha King:A fixed mindset tends to believe their abilities, intelligence and talents are fixed traits, cannot move, cannot do anything different, they avoid challenges and they fear failure and see efforts as fruitless. That is, a fixed mindset and growth mindset are for individuals who embraces challenges, learn from their failures and see effort as a path to mastery. Decide which one you are and if you're okay with a fixed mindset, hey, I might not be the right person for you because I'm all about growth mindset. I'm going to let you know that right now I'm not here to try to con you. I'm about growth mindset. So if you're into a fixed trait and you cannot see the possibilities, this is not the right place for you. But if you're interested in growing and becoming better and becoming the person you know you can be through your effort, hard work and showing up, you're in the right place. I just wanted to let you know that Two Responses to challenges Fixed mindset people or individuals.
Nikisha King:They see challenges and they're just like limited, there is no growth. They kind of shy away from challenges. They don't even want to handle it because their fear or failure might expose their limitations. So for business owners who are thinking of a business but constantly decide not to do it because they're scared, you are in a fixed mindset, you are limiting yourself. Yes, you're shying away from starting something because you're scared you're gonna fail. You're limiting yourself. You don't feeling is not a thing. But you're gonna recognize that In this podcast. It's not a thing. You're gonna recognize that, while a growth mindset, they see challenges as opportunities for growth and learning. So that's how they respond to challenges? Handling failure. Number two what's the difference? Handling failure?
Nikisha King:When it comes to a fixed mindset, they often interpret failure as a proof of their inadequacy. That's what a fixed mindset does, however. A growth mindset they see failure as a stepping stone to success. Yes, how amazing.
Nikisha King:And the third difference between fixed and growth mindset is effort and persistence. A fixed mindset they tend to avoid putting in extra effort because they believe talent alone should be sufficient. They just believe on talent. They don't put anything extra and they can't do anything more. This is all I can do. This is all I can be.
Nikisha King:A growth mindset individual understand that effort is the path to mastery. They understand this is how I become better when I put effort in, when I use my skills, when I use my intelligence. All of these things, my abilities, all of these things help them become better at what they do, and that's what they're here for. So understanding the differences between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset is transformative. It is the thing that's going to help you grow in life personal and business. As a business owner, please know personal and business are very much aligned. We'll talk about that.
Nikisha King:But it's not about categorizing ourselves into one or the other. It's about recognizing where we can make shifts in our world, in our thoughts, to embrace a more growth oriented mindset. You are capable of making a shift. A shift is not bad nor good, it's just a shift. A shift allows you to grow, to expand, to be better in yourself, and when you are good, everyone around you is good. When I say the word good, don't mean it in a good and bad way. I mean it when you're loved within you, love yourself. You can love everyone around you, no matter who they are, no matter how they show up. You are okay, letting them be Fixed. And growth mindset is such a place where awareness should be and understanding, and that's it. It's not bad nor good. Fix good whatever you are you are, if you desire to see things differently and have a different perspective. That's where the work is. That's where the effort is.
Nikisha King:I truly hope you received something amazing from this podcast today and if you did one, hit that follow button and two, share it with someone you know who's gonna benefit. I love giving, so if you have the opportunity to give easily, freely give. Someone else might be looking for this word right now, in their moment, in their time, and you sharing this with them might help them create that step in ladder to their success In life. Personal or business doesn't matter. So, to conclude, I will love for you, if you are a business owner and you are feeling really stuck fix mindset in your sales process.
Nikisha King:Join me on the red carpet experience challenge. The link is in the show note. It is something where I work with you five days and I share with you steps on increasing sales, and this is something that I truly truly love giving, because I know you are capable of getting unstuck in your sales process if you're stuck and this helps you. Thank you so much for coming and joining me today on this podcast. Have an amazing week. Thanks for spending time with me today and if you received an aha moment in today's episode, hit the follow button and share a review. But, more importantly, if you have a friend who will truly benefit from today's episode, click the three dots and share this link via text. You never know how this small action can help someone tremendously. See you next Tuesday and have an amazing day.
