DO GOOD X Podcast
Welcome to the DO GOOD X Podcast – where purpose meets business, and the journey is just as important as the destination. Hosted by advocates for impactful entrepreneurship, Kimberly Daniel and Stephen Lewis, this podcast creates a space for Black and Brown folk, especially Black women, navigating the intricate path of purposeful business.
In this sanctuary, the hosts understand the challenges of entrepreneurship, and their mission is to help listeners transform doubt into confidence, fostering the growth of their dreams without sacrificing well-being.
Embark on a transformative journey, discovering inspiration to fuel your passion for business. Shared experiences and stories act as beacons, nurturing you for the entrepreneurial road ahead.
Navigate the challenges of being an under-resourced entrepreneur with practical strategies and resources in the Tools & Tips segment. Overcome obstacles and thrive in the purpose-driven business world.
In the Mentorship segment, hear from seasoned guides who have successfully built businesses with a focus on social impact. Gain insights not only from the guests but also from hosts who intimately understand the unique journey of overlooked entrepreneurs.
This podcast is more than a productivity machine; it's about slowing down to go further. Each episode invites listeners to exhale, reconnect with inner wisdom, and rediscover the power of community. Embrace the impact your business can make without compromising well-being.
Leave feeling lighter, shedding stress, embracing self-compassion, and finding joy in the entrepreneurial journey. Gain actionable insights, learn from diverse perspectives, and expand your knowledge with tools for success, guided by hosts Kimberly and Stephen.
Feel empowered, recognizing yourself as your greatest asset. Build confidence to develop and grow a viable, impactful business aligned with the needs of the community.
About the Hosts
Kimberly R. Daniel catalyzes entrepreneurs and organizations to do good. She is
co-founder and project director of DO GOOD X, a community that provides programs
and support for faith-driven social entrepreneurs whose businesses focus on positive
Change.
Kimberly also helps purpose-driven organizations clarify and design compelling brand and communication strategies. With over 15 years of experience developing and leading communications efforts, it is her commitment to produce effective processes and create authentic, “sticky” brands that are community-centered.
In any aspect of her work, she is deeply passionate about purpose, meaning, and the
common good.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-r-daniel/
Stephen Lewis is the president of the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) and creator and co-founder of DO GOOD X, a community that provides programs and support for faith-driven social entrepreneurs whose businesses focus on positive change.
He is an organizational change strategist and a leadership development specialist,
focused on inspiring the next generation of faith-inspired leaders and entrepreneurs to live and work on purpose. Stephen is the co-author of Another Way: Living and Leading Change on Purpose (2020) and A Way Out of No Way: An Approach to Christian Innovation (2021).
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-lewis-8b1b941/
DO GOOD X Podcast
Ep. 37 Gratitude, Goals, and Growth: A Fresh Start for 2025
Welcome to the first episode of the DO GOOD X podcast in 2025, hosted by Kimberly Daniel and Stephen Lewis. In this episode, we're kicking off the New Year by diving into three key topics to set you up for a successful year: setting business intentions, finding that work-life rhythm, and leveraging technology to support your goals. We’ll discuss how to start the year with gratitude, make time for yourself, and stay accountable to your dreams while using tools to help maintain balance and focus. So together, let’s continue to do good and be better. Until next time, be well, do good, and have a happy new year!
IN THIS EPISODE:
(00:00) Introduction
(02:39) Embracing Gratitude Over Resolutions for 2025
(4:59) Deepak Chopra’s Wisdom on Intentions and Accountability
(7:02) Prioritizing Yourself: Finding Time and Defining What Matters
(11:34) Focusing on Your Intentions and Harnessing the Power of AI
(17:20) The Power of Working Smarter, Not Harder
(19:17) Finding Strength and Encouragement in the DO GOOD X Community
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Start the new year with gratitude by reflecting on what you're grateful for from the past year, celebrating wins and setbacks alike. This creates a solid foundation for envisioning your goals and setting clear intentions for the year ahead. To ensure progress, share your dreams and intentions with an accountability partner who can help track your growth and hold you accountable, keeping you on track as you work towards your goals over the coming months and quarters.
- As Deepak Chopra says, intention is the starting point of a dream, fueling our desires in both business and personal life. Clear intentions are key to achieving goals, and accountability ensures progress. Whether through self-created systems or an accountability partner, staying committed is crucial. Additionally, balancing the demands of business, family, and self-care is essential for nurturing personal and professional growth.
- In a world full of distractions, prioritize where you give your attention. AI assistants like Google, Siri, and Alexa can help manage tasks and self-care. Setting digital boundaries with "Do Not Disturb," focus modes or apps like Flipd can cut through the noise. Taking time away from the digital grid allows you to reset and refocus on your intentions, bringing clarity and purpose for the year ahead.
RESOURCES:
DGX Episode 37 - Transcript
Narrator: [00:00:00] Welcome to the do good X podcast, a sanctuary from the entrepreneur grind host Kimberly, Danielle, and Steven Lewis advocates for impactful entrepreneurship, guide you on the path where purpose meets business. Join us to slow down, reconnect, and explore the challenges of under resourced entrepreneurs, uncovering the unique journey of building businesses that make a difference.
Now you're hosts.
Stephen Lewis: Welcome to the do good X podcast. My name is Stephen Lewis, and I am a catalyst for positive change in communities and businesses. For over two decades, I have been inspiring leaders, entrepreneurs to live and work for good, with intention, with purpose, with faith, and a commitment to their well being. And I'm [00:01:00] delighted and joined here today with my colleague, Kimberly.
It's good to see you.
Kimberly R. Daniel: Good to see you too. And happy new year to you and happy new year to you all who are listening in. I am Kimberly Danielle, and I am a communication strategist, a coach and a community builder who comes from generations of faith driven leaders and entrepreneurs who believe that our purpose should drive us to contribute to the common good.
And I am excited about it being our first episode back, Steven, in the new year. And today, you know, I know that this month is typically full of, you know, looking at new year's resolutions and what you're going to accomplish or over the year or what your goals are. But I think that conversation is still important because I want you to consider how are you starting off this new year for yourself?
And for your business. So for you to not just be thinking about your business, [00:02:00] but also think about yourself today, we're going to just briefly chat about three particular topics to set you up well for this year. And that includes. Setting business intentions, work life balance, or as a previous guest said, that rhythm that you create for your work and your life, your personal life.
And then lastly, how you leverage technology to support your intentions. And that balance, that rhythm, that harmony of your work life and your personal life.
Stephen Lewis: Well, that sounds good. So let's start with this idea. Kimberly, I've been thinking about this for a moment. Um, oftentimes we start the new years with resolutions, things that we want to change, things that we want to do that we didn't do in a previous year, et cetera.
But what if we start the [00:03:00] new year thinking about gratitude? Which is to say, what are one or two things that we are grateful for concerning your business or what you did in the previous year? And I think, you know, starting there then places us in this wonderful position about celebrating our wins and what we learn from the setbacks or areas of growth.
Uh, that took place in the past, uh, year. So, and then I would say, um, from there, we can start again to begin to imagine and to dream and to define clear intentions for the new year, based on our reflections of those dreams and imaginings that we want to create. And we can do all the things to help us think about, well, what might we do in a month or a quarter And what might be specific goals, uh, for those [00:04:00] dreams or those imaginations that we have, um, in towards meeting those very clear intentions that we want to set, but then finally, what I would say is that once you've done all that.
It may be helpful to think about how will I be accountable to myself? And oftentimes it's good to have someone outside of ourself that we can share those dreams, those imagining possibilities, intentions that we're holding and what we're grateful for. Because if we share it with them, then they can turn around and be our accountability partner for ways that we will hold ourselves accountable to, are we making progress to things that we set out to do, uh, Over the next month, over the next quarter, over the next six months.
And we can track our progress, um, that we're making towards that end. What do you think about that? What would you, what would you offer?
Kimberly R. Daniel: Yeah, so it makes me, it makes [00:05:00] me think of two things, um, before I move on to kind of the next point. It makes me think about when you talk about intention and dreams, this quote from Deepak Chopra came to mind.
Which is intention is the starting point of a dream. It is the creative power that fulfills all of our needs, whether for money, relationships, spiritual awakening, or love. And so your intentions It is the starting point of those dreams. And so it is very important to have those clear intentions to, to bring to life what it is that you desire to happen.
And I would say your personal life and also for your business as well. I also think about the accountability piece, uh, something I did last year just on my personal, my personal social media, my personal Instagram, I just threw out there to all my friends, [00:06:00] because I have a small following of people that I know personally on there, but a few hundred people, I asked folks, you know, do you want accountability for your intentions?
If so, I'm here. And it's so interesting because a lot of people sent me messages and they said, Oh, I'm scared to be held accountable. Some people took me up on the offer. Cause I just wanted to be support because not everybody has that. I say all that to say. Make sure you have something in place to to hold yourself accountable, even if you're kind of resistant to that because you don't want to be accountable to anything.
That's really the way that you're going to get to those intentions. Get to that dream, get to what it is that you desire. And so it's so important to think about intentions and so important to think about accountability, whether that's, uh, By you creating some kind of system or practice to hold yourself accountable, or whether that's a community or a person [00:07:00] who holds you accountable.
So once you have those clear intentions for your business, we also often talk about on this podcast, the, how it's necessary to really attend to your own wellbeing. And so it's important to establish how you will manage those demands of your business. The demands of your family and your own self care.
You can go back to episode five, where we do share some tips on this. And of course, we've talked to many people on our podcast who have shared kind of their practices for caring for themselves and this type of rhythm and harmony with all these aspects of life. Uh, but what I'll highlight specifically today in this new year are three things.
One, identify your priorities. And manage your time based on that, those priorities, you won't be able to do everything. So if you think about, you know, some people like they [00:08:00] like to create lists for their days. I do that. Now, some people can create a very, very long list that is not manageable. I have been that person, I raised my hand, I've been that person, uh, but I decided to shift that and really approach my days with what are the top four priorities that I will focus on in my work life and my professional life, I mean, in my personal life, I'm sorry, my work life and my personal life.
And it just really, it, what it makes me think about is like, what's most important and then how do I manage, manage my time around that, because that supports where my energy should go. It helps me have that better rhythm for my life. The second thing is to develop practices and habits to really care for yourself.
One of our previous, uh, guests, Elaine, she talked [00:09:00] about the importance of sleep for herself, that that is a practice that she has to get sleep. It sounds so simple, but many entrepreneurs, many founders don't get enough of it. So looking at your sleep and, and how you, you really make it a habit to, to get quality sleep, how you eat well, uh, there've been entrepreneurs who say that they put on their calendar lunch because they forget to eat lunch.
Because they're so wrapped up in what they're doing. So are you prepping your food and having that available at your fingertips to make it easier and remind you to eat? What are your spiritual practices? Many people that we've talked to on this podcast wake up to, to pray, uh, or meditation, uh, journaling, different, getting outside of nature.
So what are you doing? Uh, what are you doing for yourself on a consistent basis? What To really, uh, take care of yourself well for this [00:10:00] year and it takes a little while to create a habit. So this may not, this may be tough for you, especially if you're, you know, consistently working in one area or one area of your life.
But I encourage you to set up that habit now and give yourself at least, at least. Really 60 days, but you know, I'll say 30 days, cut you some slack to, to really get accustomed to this. And then the last thing I'll say is establish boundaries for your business and for your personal life. And this will really support you.
One of our guests, Justin McLeod, the founder of Square, Square One Startup School and Sir Thrive. He talked about how he ends his day at three 30 and he spends time with his kids. So, you know, just giving you some ideas, he says no to work there after, or another guest talked about how they, they have Saturday as a Sabbath.
Um, we, there's also someone that I [00:11:00] know who's a founder who takes a, a, a trip for themselves. Even though they have a family, they take a trip for themselves. Once a year and they always around on their birthday, and they always say no to work during that time because that time is for them to reset. So really be thinking about what are your boundaries so that you can really put your intention, put your, um, uh, your energy in the spaces and places that you want to be in.
So I know, you know, that was quite a bit there, but Steve, what you got to say?
Stephen Lewis: No, those are all good points. One of the things that you made me think about as you were talking is, It may be helpful to think about where you are, where or what or who are you giving your attention to,
and how much of your attention is being consumed by those [00:12:00] things. And to what extent do you carve out, uh, in your 24 hour day, giving attention to your intentions? Because to me, I think, you know, to do all these things that you're talking about, to develop a habit, you have to actually create space. And what you give your attention to.
And it's difficult when you have so many things that are vying for your attention. And so in this new year, before it gets crowded with all the calendar invites and, you know, resolutions and people who like, how do you take this little short window of time to give attention to your intentions about how you want to spend your time this year [00:13:00] over the next six months.
Over the next quarter, over the next month, the next week. How do you do that? We live in a digital age where there's so many tools that are available to us. And at the same time, so many things that are actually coming to us on our devices that divert our attention here and there and everywhere. So tools that help us save time, our energy, and even our money, in addition to creating space to just breathe and give attention to our breath and what it is that we need to be focusing on or how we might take that time to reset.
And think about, now wait a minute, what was my intention? What am I supposed to be focusing on? By finding tools in this digital age that can help you do [00:14:00] that, I think can help create a reset and really allow you to kind of move in this year differently, perhaps, in the ways that you have moved maybe in previous years.
I think the other thing too is that when you're trying to set intentions and determine how you want to manage the demands of your business, your family, self care, consider one or two technology apps that can support you around project management. Um, two of those would be Motion or even Asana. Maybe you need to think about how you Organize your life so that you can give more attention to the things that you need to focus on this year.
Well, you know what AI has plenty of AI assistants. So you got, Oh, hi, Google assistant, Siri, [00:15:00] Alexia, that can help you in how you create, um, a to do list reminders. Add something to your calendar. Maybe it's remembering a birthday. Making sure you got that special gift. Maybe it's just simply just a breeze.
Or maybe it's a little, you know, self care for you in that regards. But think about tools that can actually help you and use those kind of AI assistants that can actually be an extra set of hands. Or ears, um, with regards to what all the things that you're managing. And then also think about digital limits.
Um, do not disturb functions, um, on your apps, focus time on your apps, or think about other apps, like flipped that's L I that's F L I P with a D at the end [00:16:00] or digital detox, like all those things are important because I think at the end of the day, Kimberley talked about priorities. To be able to do those things, you got to be able to kind of cut through all the noise that actually will constantly bombard you and maybe even overwhelm you.
So think about how you can just get off the grid, the digital grid, um, sometimes to just be able to just breathe and just be and to experience the world beyond the reach of technology where you can just focus. And reset and allow yourself to give attention to those deep wonderings, your curiosity, your vivid dreams.
And imagine the possibilities for your business and the future that you're trying to create. What do you say, Kimberley?
Kimberly R. Daniel: It made me think about a couple of things, just listening to you. [00:17:00] So if you are tuning in and you're hearing these, these tips and tools, and you might be getting overwhelmed and, you know, as you think about this year and all that may be coming your way.
I would say overall. I want to lean into what they say in working smarter and not harder. That's what we encourage you to do. That's what I encourage you to do. Start with your intention and explore. Ultimately, all of these things are to explore how you can simplify your life, streamline things in your life so that you can reach.
Those intentions and those dreams that Steven started us off with in this conversation. That's, that's really it. The, the AI tools [00:18:00] are an avenue, a tool in which to support you to get to that intention. It's going to help you work smarter and not harder. To leverage what you have access to at your fingertips.
Having boundaries. Helps you work smarter and not harder because you're shutting one thing down so that you can actually focus on another thing because Humans are not great at multitasking and trying to be in multiple places at one time I'm not gonna get into it, you know every point that we've made today But I just want to encourage you to not get overwhelmed I'm going to encourage you to not get overwhelmed in this new year.
And as you're thinking about what's ahead for you, but to really think about how you simplify your life so that you can meet your goals this year, this quarter, maybe even just this day. [00:19:00] So if you are ready to turn your intentions into action, and You want some accountability. We can connect you with a community of entrepreneurs and change makers here.
And we also have resources to support you in your journey. You can go to do good x. org and there you can explore those resources. And if you've enjoyed listening to this podcast episode, please do write us a review and share it with somebody who might find it helpful as they start off the new year, because we are all trying to start off.
A new and better year, at least everybody that I talk to in the new year, they're always trying to start it off better. Even if life brings a lot of challenge, we're trying to do better and we're trying to be better. So together, let's continue to do good together. Let's [00:20:00] continue to do and be better. And until next time, be well, do good and happy new year.
Narrator: Thank you for listening to the do good X podcast to continue the conversation or access our resources, visit www. dogoodx. org. Join us again for conversations that will nourish your soul, ignite your dreams. And empower you to build an impactful business, one intentional step at a time. Until then, keep striving, thriving, and doing good.