How to Define Success to Fit Your Unique Journey as an Entrepreneur

Are you ready to break free from the conventional definitions of success and go for what you want?
I challenge you to design a life where work meets passion, and success is measured by more than just financial gain. In today's episode, we explore the importance of aligning your business ambitions with your values, crafting a vision of success that's as unique as each of our fingerprints.
Tune in and learn how you can join me in this quest to challenge the status quo, design a  life of fulfillment, and most importantly, be the architect of your own story.

3:42 Why it's important to define what success means to you
4:29  Where do you start to define your own success
6:09 The Importance of an Owner's Statement
6:49 Why you need SMART goals and how to set them
9:07 A valuable resource to help you set your SMART goals
10:12 Why you need to invest in yourself
11:48 The importance of work-life integration
12:29 Why and how to stop letting fear of failure hold you back
13:24 How to reframe your mindset when things don't go as planned

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

EP 156 - Achieving Work-Life Integration for a Happier, Healthier You
EP 157 - Startup Strategy Series: Setting SMART Goals for Success
How to Create Your Owner's Statement - The Bold Money Revolution
Check Out The MY-T Society Membership
Leave a Rating and Review
Follow Me On Instagram: @the_shannonbaker

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Success. It's a word that means something different to each of us. Sure, we all walk in control of our schedules, more time with our loved ones and the freedom to pursue our passions, but what about the big goals that we're told to set? Well, they're unique to each of us, and that's okay. So today we're going to talk about how we can define our own success and achieve it by setting our own rules, without getting caught up in society's definition.

Speaker 1: 0:31

Welcome to the Mind, your Time Podcast. I'm Shannon Baker, your host and coffee aficionado. Whether your goal is to increase your side gig income or scale to six figures, you're in the right place. You will learn about the tools, actionable strategies and tactics you can use to take back control of your time and life. I specialize in helping purpose driven women like yourself work smarter and tap into the growth potential their business holds. So if you're ready to make a bigger impact and achieve business growth without being tied to it 24 seven, then stick around. Let's dive into today's topic. Well, first of all, I'd like to say welcome back If you've been tuning into the podcast for a while. Thank you and hello if you're a new listener.

Speaker 1: 1:20

This episode is the first one of the new year and I'm really excited about the possibilities that this year holds for me. I'm really happy that I achieved my priority goal last year, which was to build my business income to the point that I could actually leave my part time job, so I am officially a full time entrepreneur. Yes, and I must say it's a bit scary, but I'm doing it scared I made a pivot in my life almost four years ago and basically started over in my business, which is why I went back to work part time. I'm one who has never had a problem with working, so that my husband didn't have to shoulder the responsibility of caring for the family on his own and, honestly, I'm not the type of person who can maintain their sanity without having something to work on. Now, over many years, I've had several different businesses, but I've only gotten comfortable with doing business wide my way and ignoring the naysayers, and I'll say the past five years or so.

Speaker 1: 2:21

So the idea for today's episode came to me as I actually reflected on the things I was able to accomplish last year. Some things I tried went well and other things didn't. Some others went better than I even imagined, but the truth of the matter is that's just the way life goes in general, and it definitely works that way when you're an entrepreneur. But let me tell you, my friend, if you're a perfectionist in recovery like me, then I encourage you to Keep doing scary things. I found out that those are the things that seem to work out the best, and the best part is, I set the bar for myself, and you can too.

Speaker 1: 3:06

Before I made the decision to leave my job, my husband and I sat down and we crunched the numbers, and that number is just the starting point for my business. It's not the final number that I want or the final number that I'm making plans to reach, but guess what? I didn't let social media or anyone else convince me that my number needed to be 6 figures. Spoiler alert to hit that number, I would have to be working way too hard right now and missing out on way too much in life, and that's not my goal, and I don't want you to live that way either. That's why I want to talk about this concept of defining success on your own terms. It's a journey that requires self-reflection, confidence, being intentional, and it definitely requires a shift in your mindset, thanks to social media and the advancement of technology when it comes to marketing, success is often defined by your ability to acquire certain material possessions, but in my personal opinion, true success goes beyond external measurements. It's about finding fulfillment, balance and alignment with your core values, and I have a feeling that you agree with that, or you wouldn't be tuning into this podcast. So let's go beyond societal expectations and talk about defining what success means to you. Then you might be wondering how do I even start to define my own success? Well, the first step is to reflect on your personal values and priorities. What truly matters to you that's what you need to know. Is it making a positive impact, building meaningful relationships or having a flexible lifestyle that allows for personal growth and enjoyment? Take the time to identify your core values and then let them guide your definition of success and how you're going to achieve it.

Speaker 1: 5:01

About a year ago, I was listening to an episode of the Boat Money Revolution by Tara Newman, and she was talking about creating an owner statement. That's a statement that identifies the purpose that you are really in business, your why, and it helps you put up the right boundaries that help you make the right decisions. I'm going to put a link to that in the show notes so you can check it out. But I'm going to share my owner statement with you and, let's be clear, this does not replace your mission statement or your vision statement, because you need to combine all three to really be clear on what you should and should not be doing in your business. So here's my owner statement. It's to build a business that's in service to my spirituality, while creating wealth for myself and others. And I'm not talking about material wealth only. I mean mental health, emotional wealth, physical wealth. And, yeah, material wealth is great because, let's be honest, money is a tool that helps us to focus on the other areas. But the point is, this owner statement aligns with my core values and allows me to stick to my priorities, which are faith, self and family, in that order.

Speaker 1: 6:19

Once you have a clear understanding of your values and your priorities, you can start to set goals that align with that. Remember, success is not a one size fits all concept. It's unique to each and every one of us, so don't compare your goals or your progress to anyone else's. Focus on your journey and what brings you true happiness and fulfillment. For example, if you want a flexible lifestyle, your goal should be to create a schedule that allows for regular self-care and quality time with family and friends. So you need to set a smart goal and create a plan to make it happen.

Speaker 1: 6:54

But here's the catch my definition of a smart goal is a little different than what you're used to hearing. The S still stands for be specific, but you need to decide what you want to achieve and be specific in determining what that means. And then I suggest you pick one or two positive affirmations that will help you stay motivated and focused, because your mindset matters. The M stands for mind your business. Don't worry about what everybody else is doing. They only post the good stuff on social media. Their lives could be in shambles behind the scenes. So, again, focus on the goal that you picked and what you need to do every day to reach it. A is for appropriate. Is this the right time for that business goal? That is determined by what's going on in your personal life, and we'll talk about that a little bit more later.

Speaker 1: 7:49

R goes hand in hand. You need to be realistic. Be realistic in your expectations based on the season your life is in. Give yourself some grace, because things happen. So it may take you more than 90 days to reach your goal and that's okay. Just keep working on it. And then T treat yourself as you make progress, because small steps matter. I have a wall of wins in my office, but the point is to recognize and celebrate your victory, small to big. So start by writing small victories on a sticky note and put them where you can see them. If you journal, write it in your journal. Just make sure you track your progress and celebrate all the wins so that you stay motivated and keep moving forward.

Speaker 1: 8:36

Now I actually recently did an episode on setting smart goals for success and in that episode I share three questions that you have to answer, because they will help you pick the right goals that you need to create a strategic plan, and you need a strategic plan to achieve success on your own terms no more winging it. So make sure you're gonna check that episode out after you finish this one. Of course, I'll put a link to it in the show notes, but this is very important, so important that I actually created a resource for every woman inside of the mighty society membership To help them not just with setting their goals, but creating a detailed action plan that will help you achieve your goals. The 90-day goal setting worksheets will help you align your personal and your business goals so that you can identify the offers that actually go with your goal and Visualize what life will be like when you achieve it. There are also a month, one month, two month, three marketing action plans that you can use to create your strategy. So, basically, the goal setting worksheets are like the secret sauce for achieving the greatness you want. They're created to guide, motivate and support you every step of the way on your journey, and they're just one of the many resources inside of the mighty society, membership Not to mention. I'm building a community of purpose driven women like you and would love to have you inside, so go to the Shannon Baker comm for slash membership to find out more Now.

Speaker 1: 10:13

Another vital aspect of defining your own success is embracing the power of learning and Professional growth, because success is an ongoing process, it's not a destination. So you need to maintain an open attitude in all ways. Increase your knowledge. Instead of seeing challenges as roadblocks, view them as opportunities for growth and self-improvement. Trust me, this mindset is going to open doors for you that you never knew existed. To help you with this, I really encourage you to attend workshops, conferences, take courses, join professional organizations and again connect to a supportive community. But word of caution Only choose things that support the goals that you set and, if possible, find a mentor, accountability partner or a coach who can guide you along the way. Remember, it's not just about professional growth, but it's also about your personal growth. Now, when you're learning, you're gaining more confidence and more than likely, you're going to discover new passions and with that confidence, you tap into the power you have within you to overcome any obstacle. That goes Well, that comes your way. I know you've got this, but remember there's no finish line when it comes to investing in yourself. Take time for self-care, self-reflection, set goals and keep pushing yourself, and don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and embrace new Experiences. They're actually the secret ingredients to a journey of success.

Speaker 1: 11:48

Now let's talk a little bit about work life integration. Society pushes the idea that success requires you to sacrifice other aspects of your life, like spending quality time with your family and friends or just taking care of yourself. But remember you have the power to define what success means to you without compromising Work life integration, work life balance or your quality of life. The goal is actually to create a synergy between your business, your day job if you have one and your personal life, and if you want some tips to help you achieve this work life integration, I did an entire episode on it to help you get started. A link to that will also be in the show notes.

Speaker 1: 12:29

Now the last thing I want to talk about is the fear of failure, because it can hold you back. We live in a world that is fixated on the need to broadcast our success really everything that you do so none of us are immune from getting caught up in the window view of the success that someone else posts online. I've had this happen to me as well. The catch is we don't know what's really happening in their lives behind the scenes. So always remember everything that glitters is not gold, and because of this societal pressure, it's really easy to view failure as a setback. But, my friend, let's change your mindset.

Speaker 1: 13:10

Failure is not the opposite of success. It's actually a stepping stone towards it. So, instead of playing it safe to avoid failure, look at failure as an opportunity for growth, learning and course correction. Look at those mistakes as valuable lessons that bring you closer to the desired version of the success that you want. I mean. Think about it. We're always getting updates to the software on our Our devices or different apps. Why? Because the updates either fix something that's wrong or give us a new feature to make it better. So when you try something and it doesn't work out, assess what went wrong and try again Now. If the results that you get after that never improve, though, then maybe whatever that idea is, or whatever you're trying to do, isn't a good idea and you just need to move on. But whatever the case may be, learn from each attempt and celebrate what goes right. So let's do a recap of what we've talked about today so you can achieve success on your own terms.

Speaker 1: 14:15

The concept of success and how it's a personal journey is unique to each and every one of us. I've talked about my own experience of making the transition from working part-time and building my business on the side to becoming a full-time entrepreneur, and hopefully, my experience emphasizes the importance of doing things scary, especially if you are recovering perfectionist like me, and we also talked about the societal pressure to conform to external measurements of success, like getting more material possessions. My challenge for you is to look beyond that. I talked about the idea of creating an owner's statement, which will guide your decisions and help you set boundaries that are in alignment with your personal values. Then we talked about the importance of setting goals that align with your values and priorities and the fact that success, again, is not a one-size-fits-all concept. So I talked about my view of SMART goals and talked about a resource that's available inside of the Mighty Society membership to help you set that SMART goal and also create the plan to achieve it, and that's the 90-day goal setting worksheets.

Speaker 1: 15:25

Then I started to wrap up by talking about the importance of work-life integration, and I challenged the traditional notion of work-life balance, because I want you to focus on the finding success without sacrificing your quality of life. And, last but not least, talked about the fear failure. We need to reframe it as a stepping stone towards your success, an opportunity for you to grow and learn. So, in essence, success is about defining your own version, aligning it with your values, setting meaningful goals, embracing continuous growth, integrating work and life harmoniously and viewing failure as a catalyst for improvement. Remember, your journey is unique, so focus on what truly brings you happiness and fulfillment. Keep pushing yourself, celebrate your victories, big and small, and don't forget to embrace new experiences along the way, I want to thank you for allowing me to kick off the new year with you.

Speaker 1: 16:24

If you have questions about anything that I talked about today, please feel free to reach out to me and get them answered. Links to the other episodes that I mentioned are in the show notes for you. If you found this episode valuable, I would love to hear from you. Please go to RaidThisPodcastcom forward, slash mind your time and leave me a rating and review, because social proof matters and that will allow me to reach more women entrepreneurs like you. And don't forget, share this episode with those in your community. Take a screenshot, post it on Instagram stories and tag me at the underscore Shannon Baker. Now again, thank you for starting off the new year with me and I look forward to you joining me back here next week, but until then, keep calm and streamlined.