Freedom Focus Photography

The Road to Confidence

• Nicole Begley, Heather Lahtinen • Episode 316

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316 - What if the secret to unstoppable confidence wasn’t about never failing but being willing to feel embarrassed along the way? In this week’s conversation, Heather and Susie unpack what it really takes to believe in yourself, even when the road gets rocky. Literally.

What to Listen For

  • The powerful mindset shift that helped Susie finally believe in herself
  • Why confidence comes after action, not before it
  • How a muddy 4x4 adventure turned into the ultimate business metaphor
  • The question Heather asks every struggling photographer
  • Why being willing to feel embarrassed can make you unstoppable
  • How “I didn’t really try” thinking secretly sabotages your progress
  • The difference between disappointment and failure (and why it matters)
  • The real reason your confidence plateaus and how to fix it

Confidence isn’t a one-and-done achievement. It’s a practice. And sometimes, the biggest leaps forward come from the moments that feel the most uncomfortable. If you’ve been waiting to “feel ready” before raising your prices, booking higher-end clients, or finally going full-time—this episode is your permission slip to do it anyway.

Listen now, take messy action, and see what happens when you stop letting fear drive.

Coach week starts TODAY!  Join us here: https://www.freedomfocusformula.com/coachweek

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Nicole Begley (00:00)
In today's episode, Heather is sitting down to chat with one of our amazing Elevate students, Suzy, and they're going to chat about how Suzy turned fear and self-doubt into confidence and momentum. Now this isn't just a feel-good story. It's a roadmap for any of you that are tired of second-guessing every decision you're making in your business, and you're ready to finally move forward. We're going to be sharing how one small mindset shift helped Suzy stop playing small, helped her start taking bold action, and it completely changed her results. If you've ever thought, I know what to do,

but I just can't seem to do it, you're gonna wanna stay tuned. Enjoy.

Nicole Begley (00:34)
I'm Nicole Begley, a zoological animal trainer turned pet and family photographer. Back in 2010, I embarked on my own adventure in photography, transforming a bootstrapping startup into a thriving six-figure business by 2012. Since then, my mission has been to empower photographers like you, sharing the knowledge and strategies that have helped me help thousands of photographers build their own profitable businesses. I believe that achieving $2,000 $3,000 sales is your fastest route to six-figure businesses.

that any technically proficient photographer can consistently hit four figure sales. And no matter if you want photography to be your full-time passion or a part-time pursuit, profitability is possible. If you're a portrait photographer aspiring to craft a business that aligns perfectly with the life you envision, then you're in exactly the right place. With over 350,000 downloads, welcome to the Freedom Focus Photography Podcast.

Nicole Begley (01:33)
Thank you so much for joining me today, Susie. Can you tell everyone a little bit about you and what you do?

Yes, I am a photographer just outside Denver, Colorado in Lakewood. And that is what I do. How long have you been a photographer? You had a job previously. When did you leave all of those things? Yeah, great. So I've been a photographer since high school. learned on my grandpa's film camera. So that was fun. And I've just been in the photography industry ever since then working for if it's not a photo lab, was

professionally hired by, I worked on the CTA in Chicago as a photographer for like seven years. and then we moved here and I, it was right at COVID. So I had to switch things up to kind of adapt. And so I got a job working for a real estate photography company, ⁓ but not as a photographer. So I was at a desk all day, which was different. And I was like, I needed, I need what, how do I like ramp this

photography back up now. And I hired a coach and she got it out of me that I wanted to be a pet photographer, that that was like my real passion. And so I started doing that in 2022 in the beginning of that year. At the end of 2024, I quit my other job. I had gone.

part-time at that job in January of 2024 and outright quit September 30th, 2024 was my last day on that job. Okay. So it's been a year. We just passed your year anniversary. Congratulations. First of all, how, how are you feeling now that it's been a year? Like, what are your thoughts? Where are you at? My thoughts are, um, there's no way like Nicole says she's on hireable now. I feel the same way. I'm like, there is no way.

I ever would be able to have another quote unquote real job now that I have been doing this. It has, there's been days of struggle, but for the most part, I want to say like 95 % of it has been like a dream come true. Like I walk into my studio and I look around and I'm like, holy wow, look at what I have. It's amazing, right? That you created this from nothing and now you have this thing that

makes you money and it's like super, super fun. Yeah, it is super fun. Okay. When did we meet? was, was it 22 or three, 23? I want to say it was probably, Ooh, I think it was 23. It was like summer of 2022 that I joined hair of the dog and then started seeing videos with you. And I was like, I need to get in on this.

because I realized that I had had business coaches before who were just, well, here's how you should create your package and here's how you should market yourself and here's what you should sell, here's how much you should mark up. And there was no one, ⁓ like I can't say no one, but the amount of mindset work that I really needed, once I started listening to you, I was like,

⁓ that's the big piece that's missing. That's what's missing. Yes. I did not believe that I could accomplish this. Even with all of the strategies and the actions in the house, you recognized, okay, we need to talk about this because how does one get to that point where they can see their own limitations? Like, how did you get there? Yeah, I don't know. I think it was like, I was starting to recognize that

I was having the nothing is working thoughts. And because I was like, well, I followed this program to a T and I still have no clients. Right. Yeah. So how is this possible? And I would hear you coach other people and I'd be like, I don't believe that for myself. Like, I don't, I don't believe in myself. There is something missing and it is the belief in myself.

and other, she's coaching this out of other people. How does, I need to get it out of myself too. Cause like people say, believe in yourself. And I go, I believe in myself. Right. I don't really, you know. Like just hit yourself upside of the head and say, Hey, it's time to believe in yourself. It should magically happen. Yeah. So, um, and then I'd like you and I had our first coaching call together and I was just blown away. My mind was blown.

I love that. Do you remember, do you happen to remember what we talked about or how went? Yeah, was a while ago. Yeah. It's in a video somewhere. Yeah, somewhere. I felt like I grew so much in that moment that I was just like, this just paid for itself. Yeah. Like 20 minutes, right? Yeah. It was like, and then some of the coaching calls, the first, well, then there was the, first month, make a goal for yourself for your first month. And I was like,

I'm going to make a goal to sell 10 gift certificates this month. And I sold seven at a pet event. And I was like, that's good enough. I feel like I hit my goal. Like I didn't even expect to sell seven. And then I sold three more to just people that I knew. And there, and I was like, no, that's the goal. The goal has been reached for real now. Yeah, I really did.

my belief in myself actually did go up because I had never actually set a goal before, you know, like I set goals quote unquote, but they were like, I'm going to set a goal to do this. And then I wouldn't actually put any effort into it. Right. And then I wouldn't accomplish the goal. And I'd be like, I can't do anything. Yes. Nothing ever works out for me. This is just my life. But hitting that actual goal was

a game changer and I think there was, it was because there was, there was my investment in Elevate Riding on it. And there was also like, if I don't do this, what is there for me? Like if this is not ⁓ my...

the word I'm thinking of. If this is not like, if this is my dream and I can't accomplish it to be a full-time pet photographer and that's, this has been my, you know, idea that I've had in my head for 10 years or more, that this is where I wanted to be. And I don't get there in my life. What kind of life is that? That's so interesting. So it's kind of like this realization of

what else am I going to do? Yeah. So I might as well just like get over myself and work to figure it out because I don't like the alternative. I'm not, I'm actually not even willing to entertain the alternative. Exactly. It's very much like there was, there's that tipping point where you're like, there is nothing, there is, I do not want to go back to the other way. There is just no, absolutely no way that I would ever

go like you grow to a certain point and then you, you know, as a person and then you're like, that's not for me anymore. And it could be a relationship. I've been there with relationships where I get what I wake up one morning and I'm like, this is not for me anymore. And there's no looking back. Yeah. You can't look back. Like it's not even possible. And I never have. No.

And then you see my magic. It's available when you believe in yourself and you started to open that window of like, okay, wait, I was like, I can't believe in myself. And it's just a little bit. And then you do something else. You sell something else. You hit a revenue goal and you're like, okay. And it starts to compound and you get really excited about, about who you're becoming and what you're going to create.

And you recognize, have to recognize, think in order to get to the next level, you have to recognize that it is not the strategy.

Yeah. gosh. Because everybody, if we'd all be successful, if it were the strategy. Yeah. Because we have the checklist. Yeah. There's exactly. That's what I had in other programs was there's a checklist, do all these things and you will make a million dollars. Right. You'll be so rich. You don't have to worry about clients ever again. Right. Funny the way you phrased it a minute ago, because you said, I had everything. I had, you know, the checklist and the strategy.

but it still wasn't working. And so I had to, I had to look at something else. You know, that's actually kind of my tagline on the elevate landing page. says, we know what to do when the strategies don't work. We know how to help you because I I've been in that place in both of my careers, which photography and now in teaching and coaching is like, I have all the strategies. have the list. Well, if it's not working,

then there has to be another reason. And I'm guessing it's inside of my brain. Yeah, yeah. And it was definitely like my confidence. And it's one of those things where I have felt my confidence jump in my life. There've been spots in my life that I can go back and look at where my confidence took a big step. And it was never about business. I was always just like, I'm an artist. not, I'm not a

business owner, I'm an artist. don't, know, and as long as your brain is telling you that you're not doing it for the money, you're doing it because you're an artist, then you're not going to make any money. Isn't that funny how that works out? Yeah. Okay. That is the perfect segue, the confidence piece. So a couple of weeks ago, you have, you sent me an email and it was this beautiful, amazing, inspiring story.

And I read it and you had said to me, know, I have a story, feel free to share it. And I was like, actually, I think it would be even more impactful if you shared the story. So I asked you if you would like to join me because this is, I would say if I were to boil it all down, this is why I do what I do to help photographers is exactly what you described and what transformed for you. So.

Tell me about your recent camping trip. ⁓ Yeah. So I'm, I play bass in an old lady cover band and we do a camping trip every year together. And so we were out at steamboats, steamboat Lake state park, and it was absolutely beautiful. And ⁓ we somehow I had an extra night on my reservation. So they all left. had the day to myself and a night.

myself and I was like, okay, there is a four wheel drive road that goes up to Hans Peak. I'm going to take the Subaru and see how far I can get up there before I need to turn around and come back. Cause it's, it's not a Jeep. I have a Jeep and I know what Jeeps can do. ⁓ and this is not also it's a lease. I was like, yeah, okay. I'm just going to see how far I can get. Cause sometimes you can, you know, who knows.

Wait a second because I've seen commercials for this, but I've never actually been on one of these forest roads. They're like super gnarly, right? Describe that. It's basically a dirt road. ⁓ It's got two tracks for your tires. There's either grass or bushes in between those tracks and it's very narrow. It's one lane. It's wide enough for one car and you're going uphill.

Sometimes there's rocks, sometimes there's obstacles that you either have to go over or go around or maneuver through. And in a four by four Jeep or four runner or something like that, that's got like a specific height. That's the thing I was worried about was the height of this card. Like your ground clearance is really what is most important. And even in my 1999 Jeep Wrangler, which is tough as nails, it's a tank.

I have been sweating and white-knuckling some of these roads. my gosh, this actually sounds very scary to me. So I would not be taking my Subaru Impreza on these What Subaru are you talking about here? It's an Outback. Okay. Okay. So it's got a little more ground clearance than most, you know, little station wagons and stuff, but it's powerful and we just got new tires.

And you know, I know it's it's in really good shape. The twenty three. ⁓ And the other thing about this specific road, like a lot of a lot of Colorado four by four roads, they call them shelf roads where it's on the edge of a mountain. ⁓ my God. And the one side or the other is a cliff where if you try to turn around on that, you could be in severe trouble. Yeah, you're dead. Not.

that. Okay. Oh my gosh. simply a forest road because yeah, same. I, that would have been possibly dangerous, but this wasn't really like dangerous. Per se. Necessarily. Right. Sounds dangerous to me and, and a little bit scary, but I'm a little timid that way. Well, I just don't have any experience with something like this, but it does take a certain type of person, a shall we say courageous person.

to even think, okay, I'm assuming people know of these roads or they're marked somehow or something. Yeah. They're marked and they have numbers and stuff and people travel on them. There's like clubs of cars that, clubs of people with specific cars like Jeeps and they go up these roads and stuff. Okay. But it was like a Monday or a Tuesday or something. So it's not the weekend. It's not going to be crowded up there or anything like that. ⁓

I was camping in a tent, had all my food in my car. So had food and water with me. Good. And ⁓ so in order get to the road, you have to go through this little town, very, very, I should say village. more like a, it's, you know, very small. And then you go, you start going down this little forest road and the very first, like, I mean, I wasn't 600 feet in it and I hit a mud puddle and I was like, okay.

And my first thought was, Susie, do you really want to do this? Yeah, that's right. Already hit a little patch where you could have gotten stuck. ⁓ Yeah, I've done this before. I grew up in Chicago. I learned how to drive in Chicago. can, I can, I can do that. I can do the slippery stuff. So like I backed up and I turned the wheels a little bit and I got through it. No problem. And then I was like, okay, you're going to keep going. Yes, I'm going to keep going.

Because now it's fine. It's dry, it's good, it's beautiful. Okay, come to another little obstacle and I'm like, ooh, maybe this is where I turn around. ⁓ And I get out and I look at it and I'm like, no, I can clear this. This is fine. And I get over it. And then that happens like three or four times and I realize this is not a dangerous road. The worst thing that could happen, I'm not even a mile up. The worst thing that could happen if I get stuck.

is that I have to walk back down to the town and tell a local, hi, I got stuck halfway up the mountain trying something stupid. Can you come, can, is there somebody who can come and tow me out? And I look like an idiot. Right. So it would be embarrassing. Well, it probably costs money too, right? Like you'd have to pay for that. Right. Yeah. Probably cost maybe, maybe a hundred bucks, you know, it depends. I don't know. I wasn't really worried too much about that.

It was more like, God, that would be really embarrassing. well, I'll try the next one. Let's see how far I can get. I just kept going. And I got up high enough to where there were some absolutely beautiful fall colors. The Aspens were just completely exploding in their golden glory. The sky was beautiful and blue and the views of the surrounding like valleys and mountain tops.

were so magnificent. And I thought to myself, I would not have gotten here if I had not been willing to possibly be embarrassed. And that's what made me think of you. ⁓ yeah. Is that I got, and I did finally get to a spot where I got out of the car and I looked at it and I was like, nope, my car is too short to get over this rock, to get around this rock, to get through this mud. Time to turn around and go back.

Yes. No, I, did, I did a 12 point turn like Austin. And I got some really gnarly like scratches along the side that I think we're, I'll be able to buff out from trees and stuff. But I was like, I just did that. Like I just drove halfway, almost to the top. I was like a 10th of a mile from the top of the trail. And I was like,

I just did that because of my willingness to be embarrassed. And I was like, that's little Heather on my shoulder telling me the worst that could happen is you'll be embarrassed. And if you're willing to be embarrassed, you can do anything. That was my favorite line of that email where you said, as long as I'm willing to feel embarrassment, I can do anything. I'm actually unstoppable.

I mean, mean, and you did all of this alone through, like you said, obstacles, challenges, probably some anxiety. There was a little sweaty moment here and there. Yeah, right. And what I loved about this is it's just the perfect, perfect. There could not be a more perfect illustration for business, which is like climbing this hill.

and seeing coming across all of these challenges and then just deciding to do it anyway, because the worst thing that can happen is you feel embarrassed. Yeah. I mean, isn't it kind of like funny, not kind of silly, but not not in a judgmental way, just kind of funny to think, well, wait, if that's the worst that can happen, and I'm willing to feel it, then nothing can stop me. I'm just going to keep going.

and imagine the best that can happen. that. view. I came out of it with a new sense of accomplishment and a new sense of, ⁓ gosh, what's the word? Just not needing anyone else. Dependent, reliance, reliance on yourself. Self-reliance. Self-reliance. Self-reliance. I got to

experience some really beautiful moments in the beautiful state where I live. And I didn't get embarrassed. I came out it with a muddy car. Right. few scratches. So it's like, imagine the best that could happen is I could be a full-time photographer if I wanted to be. And make over $100,000 or more, six figures in revenue or more.

by just creating something that I love and having fun photographing puppies. Like, I think that the challenges, our brain always goes to the worst case scenario and then we stop, we get stuck, like I'm not doing that. We feel frustrated, defeated ahead of time because we won't even take the action where if you just for a second entertain the best possible case scenario, like what is it worth to feel self-reliant?

or to be able to know that you can have any emotion, any negative emotion and do things anyway. Would you not agree that that is absolutely priceless? Yeah. It's a life-changing moment to have that stuff. And to realize it. And you put all of this together. Were you thinking all of this when you were doing it or did this sort of come together afterwards or what? It kind of came together as I was on the way down. Yeah.

Because there was also feeling a thought that came in that was like, well, if I made it up, I can make it down because there are some, there was a little bit of like, you you're, you're, you're in an angle. Some from some of this and you're like, gosh, I'm gonna, better, I better slow down here and know there's that big obstacle. I'm coming at it from the other direction and it looks different. and if I made it over on the way up, I can make it over on the way down. Okay. I love that same obstacle. Like,

pricing or visibility or marketing, same obstacle, but it's going to show up differently. It's going to look different. But if you were able to figure out something here, then you can figure out, just looks different, but it's the same thing. And by the way, it's all the same thing. It's all the same thing. It's like, and it all comes down to, I willing to feel stupid or like, I don't know something or feel like I'm failing or whatever, whatever all of the negative emotions are. I'm willing to, my coach always said the reason she's so

crazy, crazy successful, like many tens of millions of dollars a year is because she's willing to feel anything. And she just does it anyway, because she's like, okay, so what would happen if I felt embarrassed? Like, what actually happens? Have you ever thought about this? What actually happens if you feel embarrassed? You feel embarrassed? That's all that happens. First of all, it's like, ⁓

Like when I was a kid and I felt embarrassed, was because of what the other kids were thinking. Yes. That's where like the embarrassment even lies is that your brain is telling you that other people are laughing at you. Judgment. And do you see them physically laughing at you? No. No. Maybe they're laughing at you in their heads, but so what? Right. How do you even know? You can't prove that.

And even if they are, it's like, well, that's that's that's in their head. That's not in. It doesn't have to be in my head. OK, I can't even tell you how brilliant this is. I'm so glad you're here sharing this because it's like if if nobody knew or saw you, it's like, do you remember? So let's go back to elementary school, junior high, and you fell. You tripped on something like I tend to trip on my own feet or maybe the air. I trip over the air and you fall.

The only reason you're embarrassed is when and if somebody saw it. Because if you did that and nobody was around, it wouldn't even matter. what if embarrassment? Like what if you could imagine nobody nobody's watching you? First of all, nobody cares because they care about themselves. But if you if you just had this thought like, nobody's looking, this is me. If I do something whatever wrong quote and nobody's looking.

And there's no reason to feel embarrassed. Yeah. Can I share an example? Yes. I might have a couple. ⁓ One is taking a course in Instagram posting and getting more views and stuff like that. And the instructor is like, if you get six views on a post, no one's going to know. Because no one, the reason you're getting six views is that people aren't seeing it.

Think about it. So no one's going to know so there's no reason to be embarrassed and there's really no reason to take it down. Right. Of course not. So that's one example. Another example is my freaking fall mini sessions. Okay. I did not plan any kind of marketing for the fall mini sessions. Therefore I got zero bookings. Got it.

No one knows that I had zero bookings for my mini sessions because I didn't market them properly. So nobody knew that they even existed. And even if they did know they existed, they wouldn't know how many you booked ever. Right. I'm not telling. Right. mean, until now nobody would have known. Yeah. Two years ago, if I booked many sessions and nobody showed up, I would have been mortified. Why? Because I was like, well, that failed.

Right. That failed?

And I don't think it was more of a people are going to, maybe it was a people are going to know that I failed. This is interesting, worth exploring, right? I would be mortified because I failed, but what does failure mean? Something didn't work. Okay. But who knows that besides you? Right. So then you get to work on your self-concept around what you make it mean about you if something doesn't work.

I just, I've gotten to the point with my experiments where if something doesn't go the way I thought, which is often by the way, I just shrug my shoulders and I'm like, well, I guess that didn't work, no, no, you wouldn't know that was I told you. Right. Yeah. So who cares? So I'm not telling anyone. I just told everybody. Yeah, me either. It's own fault because I didn't plan marketing. Right. And so I was like, well, I'll try it again. I have Sunday free. I'll try again.

And then I was like, I'll plan to do like some posts, a couple emails. No, I've done one email. One. And I'm like, I just am not, I don't have the bandwidth this week to do the marketing that I should have planned out last month. There's, I'm not ready to, so, so I'm like, okay, maybe I will, during this week or maybe during next week, I will.

figure out a November or early December mini session date. I'll start marketing it now and I will like plan a whole month of marketing it. Okay. Will you do that? Can you do that? Of course you can, duh. But will you? Because I have a feeling, well, let me tell you how this plays out for me. If I announce something and nobody books,

⁓ I shrugged my shoulders. like, well, I didn't even try. Yeah, that could be what I'm doing right now. Is that what you're getting at? Because I because I was not, I didn't realize this, Susie, this was so subconscious level. I promise you, I did not know I was doing this and most people wouldn't either because I would never do it on purpose. But what I was doing was giving myself an out.

because I wasn't willing to face my own judgment that I would have of me if I actually tried and then it didn't work. Yeah, I think you've just made me aware of the same exact thing that I might be doing right now. Yeah, listen, don't be a Heather. I did that for, I mean, I've

been doing that for years, even with like marketing elevate. It's like, I'll, I'll put something out there. I'm thinking of something I did last year where I was like, you know, a couple of people signed up for elevate with this, whatever I had put out. And I was like, well, yeah, but I didn't really try because I didn't put the emails out or I didn't do this. I didn't give it the attention it needed, you know? And that's why, because I wanted to take the, the

judgment, the burden of that judgment off of myself and just say, yeah, I didn't try versus if I did everything quote, right, or everything I needed to do to market and then it, it failed. Well, then I'd have to look internally. And at that point I was not willing to do so.

Yikes. Yes. ⁓ Yeah. You guys, I know you can't see the video here, but Susie's making a face. She is making a face.

Yeah, I'm going to have to explore that a little bit more. Maybe you and I can dig deeper into that in our. Yeah, we have a lifeline coming up in Elevate. Yeah, I'll get to that in just one second. But ⁓ I had to do this with my coach recently where what I did was work through the future possibility that I did everything right and actually put real effort in, know, so that two things so that I couldn't say.

I didn't even try. Like I can't say that. Yeah. And I will then be forced to look at what maybe needs to be fixed or things I don't want to look at internally or thoughts or self-concepts. and, and I have to be willing to feel really, really deeply disappointed because if I put in all the effort and it doesn't work, then that has to mean there's something I don't know.

which then I feel stupid and what am I missing? And I should know that by now. And it literally takes this like huge downward spiral in my brain. And again, I was not willing to do that previously. So I would avoid it by not putting an effort saying, well, I didn't even try. now, so this was earlier this year, I had put something together and I said to her, like, I am trying, I am actually going to do this. I.

I'm taking that excuse off of the table. And it did not perform like I had hoped. By the way, now that I say that, I'm like, often that's the case. Like, it's very rare that something goes so well and that there's nothing to look at. Interesting. I'm trying to think if that's ever happened. It's like, there's always, well, it's a moving goalpost, but there's always something where like, well,

That went okay, but I didn't hit the numbers or the revenue goal or whatever. It's just, I've never had it happen where I've exceeded it and blown it out of the water in a given like launch or something like ever. okay, so earlier this year, was like, I'm going to go, I'm going to put all of my effort into this truly, you like, you know, in your gut, in your heart, if you're doing it. And I did it and the numbers were not what I thought.

So I had to work with her. I needed help from someone to manage my mind because I wanted to shut down and spiral. And she gave me valuable strategic, you know, like things to look at and things that you can do all whilst managing the disappointment and the fear, you know, what if I never figure this out or I'm an idiot or I should know this, whatever it is. And my gosh, it was like life changing. was, was.

Like you said, that first call we had, was just, it was such a life-changing conversation because I was like, wait a minute, I'm feeling disappointed right now and I'm not dying. I did not go off of a cliff and it's okay. I can handle sitting here and feeling disappointed. Like what is actually going to happen if you feel disappointed? Nothing. You're going to sit there and feel disappointed.

Does that not seem like the most simple basic thing? I'm going to feel disappointed. And so what? What's next? But again, she encouraged me to just look at things differently because she wanted me to get into a head space where I was inspired, compelled to keep trying, to keep experimenting and going. And you know how you said like that conversation was worth the price alone. That's how I felt about my coaching with her. And I had spent $25,000.

Mm hmm. That conversation was one of many that helped that I was like, that was worth it, because if you're willing to feel disappointed or embarrassed and you just like, OK, but I'm not going to die. And it's just a weird feeling. And by the way, emotions are very fleeting. So they come and go like weather. You know, it's like. Right. Side note, I visited Denver for the first time earlier. Sorry.

Was it earlier this? No, last year. was last year. Last year. Yeah. And we landed in Denver and it was a very lovely evening. This was in March. And what we learned is that Vale Pass has its own weather system and it is not like normal. No, it's crazy what happens on the high, the high elevation. We were just talking about it the other day because Ella was like, I thought we were going to die. So this, started snowing.

And what we didn't realize was there was an actual blizzard brewing. And we went through the Eisenhower tunnel, which I guess is just like famous for this type of like craziness. And we come out on the other side and it's just mayhem. It was just like trucks everywhere, sliding. It's this blizzard. It's crazy. We have no idea where we're at. We've never been there. We finally pull into Vale and like we all want to die. Like I thought we were in.

And shortly after we found out that they closed interstate 70, they have these gates, they put them and I'm like, where on earth do they close interstates? That just doesn't happen. Right. That is such a Colorado thing. Those gates everywhere. Oh my gosh. They're everywhere. Oh my gosh. So, That was just a side note, but anyway, so, okay. You had, what did you say? Oh, lifeline, lifeline. So we have a lifeline coming up. You and I are one-on-one. This is with Elevate. So we can talk through some more of this.

you know, Oh, am I avoiding something by not trying, you know, giving myself that out. But you had, you were in elevate, you came to progress lab, which was amazing by the way. it. Another life changing thing for me. Yeah. Everybody should do that in person is just like next level. And then you took a little break and you recently came back to elevate. What was happening there? Tell me that. Um, so I took a break. Let's see.

I it was maybe March and it was one of those where it was like, okay, I didn't have the funds. I wanted to do a little something different, take a little pivot, learn something else. So like, I'm going to put my, I have a line item, professional development funds into another basket to see what's going on there. And also I felt like I had kind of plateaued. I was like,

on the, on the calls and stuff. was like, I'm not getting as many aha moments. And I feel like I could give these like some of the newer folks, some of their aha moments that I had learned kind of stuff like that. ⁓ so the summer comes and goes, and then I joined into the four clients in four weeks. Yes. And I was like, man, I really miss Heather. I really missed you.

Even though I have a little Heather in my brain, it's not the same. And so I was like, you know what, I've got a little extra money in the professional development category. And I think I could really use it, especially like the other day I spiraled and I was like, the next morning I was like, Susie, 2.3 seconds.

That was a long 2.3 seconds. You like really took the whole day. You gave yourself that whole day to just feel like crap. And you didn't need to do that. And I was like, man, I need a refresher. So I was like, this is, and it's a good time of year to have it because we're coming into like the shorter days and the darker months. And January is like famously slow.

photographers and I want to make sure that I'm well equipped in my brain to handle that. Yes. Um, and so was kind of like, yeah, I think it's time to, to, come back for a little refresher. And I'm already so glad that I did because I was like, Oh my God, I didn't realize when I scheduled my lifeline with you, I probably have a list of 10 things that were, I'm going to want to talk about. Isn't that funny? Yeah. You don't realize you just don't.

When we hit that plateau, we're like, okay, I'm just going to, I'm going to take a minute. Actually. I did the exact same thing with my business coach almost at the exact same time. I took a break and I, and then I really plateaued. my gosh. I was like, no, I need to be in the proximity of that energy and that belief and, those subtle mindset shifts like, my gosh, Susie, it's the exact same thing. When I first started working with her huge aha moments. And now.

They're not as big, but they're micro and they're happening all of the time because guess what? Your brain is always going to be with you and the work never ever ends. So I actually have a fund that a savings account, business savings account dedicated to her. She's really expensive. And I just put money in it all the time because I know that I need that work on my brain or the 10 things are going to add up.

They're going to multiply in my brain somehow to cause more trouble. And then at the end of the day, I'm left with like, ⁓ I wonder why my revenue's down, you know? And it's because I haven't been managing my mind. So something interesting happened with four clients in four weeks at challenge, which was so fun is that several people came back to elevate that had, you were not the only one. Several had taken a break and they were like, no, I'm back because I've missed this. And I need it.

And so I had said to you specifically when you came back in, don't know if you've had time to do it. It's totally fine. I said, I want you to listen to that last strategy call. And I can't even remember the reason I had told you that it was a money thing. You were like, you need to listen to this if you want to. Cause I had said, yeah, I had said something about my money mindset and you were like, you should watch, you should listen back on this one. Yeah.

Yeah, definitely check it out because you will love it. There were actually a few calls. I need to make a note. There were a few things I wanted to send to you specifically, but I was like, man, Susie would love this. And you would get these aha moments just by listening and watching other people get coached. I mean, it is so transformational and we have ⁓ several really exciting things coming up in Elevate. So of course I want to encourage people to join. would, what would be

Like you're, how would you encourage people who are maybe on the fence or, you know, have thoughts like, is this worth it or will it work for me? Or what about the time? Like how would you just encourage someone? well, first of all, it's one of those where you don't know what you don't know yet. And then you have a lifeline with

any of the people that are available to help you out and all of a sudden you realize that you're like, this is what has been missing in my business. And that this is going to help me be successful. And is that worth it? Is that worth 200? You make your money right back. You make your money right back. And I kept on reminding myself of that too, because I was just like, ⁓ so

The summer went really well, my income was good, my sales were good. I'm paying all my bills, I'm making a little money for myself. I was like, ⁓ October's kind of slow. October's a little on the low side and I wonder why that is. And then, you know, one thing after another and I kind of like, I'm spiraling and I wasn't doing this before. was, I had more control over my thoughts before.

What has changed?

wonder what has changed. yeah, so the just learning how to

Talk to your brain in itself. It's not just helped my business. It has helped my relationships with my friends. It has helped my relationship with my husband. It has helped my self-esteem and my self-confidence. All these things when my brain says to me, that was not a good session, Susie. And I say, you know what?

that the dog was a little unruly. was a little hard to kind of have control of that pup, but I did my best. And I know that these clients are going to love this stuff. And even if me a professional photographer of 20 something years, I'm going to be way more judgmental of my work than these clients who just want beautiful photos of their pup. here they are. So you were able to.

catch it back to my brain. That's it. That's it. You catch it and you talk back to your brain and that's mind management. But without help, it really does spiral. It gets out of control. You need someone you need to be around people who are doing it and taking action and failing and challenged and feeling like, know, nothing is working or it's me. then watching other people succeed struggle. It's like

let me support you. Like I just want to support you. And I want you to invest $299 a month in you, in your brain and investment, not, not to like spend your money, but to invest so that you make 299 a month more and then 500 and then a thousand and then 10,000 and then whatever you want.

and that compounds over time, you will always make your money back in elevate and everything else is bonus. It's like basically free. And then you're just, and my coach always says this to us too. She's like, you know what you learn in these transformations you have, you know that you get to keep them for life. Right. And they impact other areas of your life because I'm the same way I've been, my marriage has been impacted. My relationship with my parents and my children and friends, all of those things.

have been impacted. Like what if your life could get significantly better because you found the right photography business coach? Right. mean, yeah, that's true. Like life is better. Life is better. Like my outlook on everything is brighter.

There's a lot more gratitude in my being for everything that I do have because it's like I hear all the time, well, I created this. I made this happen. This is all because of me. I got this beautiful studio. have adorable clients. Priceless. ⁓ Yep.

Okay. Thank you so much for being here, for sharing your story. Where can people find out more about you, but more importantly, where can they see your beautiful photos? Ooh, before I get to that, can I add something that I wanted to share with you also? When I was writing that email to you, I was sitting at my campsite, typing it into my phone and I typed it all out. Cause I was like, I gotta get these thoughts out before I lose them. Typed them out. And I was like, she's not going to want to hear this. ⁓

Your brain said that to My brain was like, don't bother her with What a jerk. I was like, excuse me brain, but think about who Heather is. Think about what would Heather say to that? Oh my gosh. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Heather loved that. That email made my week. Yeah. So I was like, just send it. And then I was like, even if it does annoy her, which come on, won't. Never. So what?

So what? Yeah. So I sent it and here I am like on your podcast because of that. And not only that, we have this great conversation. How many people has this impacted hundreds of thousands by the end of the day? know, that's an awesome thought. Yes. All because you were brave enough. Two ways. One is to go up the road. OK, you were brave enough to take the road less traveled. You were brave enough to do that.

and then you were brave enough to hit send on the email and you created this. You did and you should be so proud of that. Yay. I am. Like yay, Susie. Yeah. Okay. Where can people find you? Okay. So my website, my studio is called Crimson Cat Studios Pet Photography. You can find me at crimsoncatstudios.com. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook is all at Crimson Cat Studios and I'm in Lakewood, Colorado. So if you're

nearby, me a note and say hello and maybe we can have coffee or something. my gosh, I would love that. I hope you get a bazillion clients and I hope you make a bazillion dollars. Thank you. Me too. Okay. I look forward to talking to you soon. Thank you so much for being here. Thanks, Heather.