Welcome to the Rich Coach Club, the podcast that teaches you how to build your dream coaching practice and how to significantly increase your income. If you're a coach and you're determined to start making more money, this show is for you. I'm master certified life coach Susan Hyatt, and I'm psyched for you to join me on this journey.

Oh hey coaches. I hope everybody’s doing amazing as you’re listening to this episode. So are you feeling a little stressed out? I have so many colleagues, clients, viewers, listeners, readers who are crying uncle here at the end of 2020, amidst COVID-19 surges, of the election, you name it.

And so this episode is all about how to make more money, create more joy, experience more delight through self-love, even during times like this. So later, I’m going to be interviewing one of my mastermind clients and colleague and she’s also going to be part of the University for Life Coach Training faculty, Ana Verzone.

She has such amazing insight where this comes into play, but many of you have reached out and said like, hey Susan, do you ever get stressed out? Do life coaches ever get stressed out? Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself, and I can tell you that the answer is yes.

I get stressed out; coaches definitely get stressed out. We’re human beings. We get discouraged, just like anybody else. We have high energy days and low energy days, and yeah coaches, we can get burnt out too.

Coaches can get sick. I mean, many of you may be experiencing COVID. Coaches don’t always feel 200% happy and positive and courageous. Even the top life coaches in the world go through slumps sometimes. I’ve trained lots of coaches over the years and I’ve helped lots of coaches design and grow their businesses.

And I’ve seen all the behind the scenes moments that don’t get posted on Instagram, mine included. Listen y’all, I have so much I would love to share because I am pretty much an open book. But there are certain members of my family and life that don’t want every detail posted everywhere.

And so I promise, a lot of stuff that would show much of my real life struggler doesn’t make it to the internet streets. I’ve seen businesses flop, I’ve seen launches flop, I’ve heard tears on the phone, I’ve seen the anxiety on Zoom. I know a coach who had to speak on stage even though just minutes before she’d been dealing with a super stressful situation with her event planning team.

And she had to just get on that stage and wow the audience, even though she was boiling over with stress inside. So yeah for sure, coaches get stressed out, just like everybody else. However, the top coaches in the industry know there are certain things they have to do to get themselves out of a slump quickly.

They don’t wallow. They take action. They take the tools that they teach to their clients and they use those tools on themselves. They shift their inner dialogue, they shift their mindset, they shift their attitudes. Good coaches practice what they preach.

Doesn’t mean we’re perfect. Just means we practice what we preach. And also, top coaches make self-care a priority. The coaches who are totally rocking it, these are the people that have a consistent morning routine, a consistent movement routine, a consistent nighttime, bedtime routine. They treat their body like a musical instrument and keep it finely tuned.

And they know they need a strong body and a clear mind in order to serve their clients. And yet, even with excellent self-care, sometimes coaches get burnout just like anybody else. So a few years ago, I was totally physically and emotionally fried. I had been working too hard for too long, traveling too much, although I have to tell you, after 2020, I kind of miss all that traveling.

But I got totally rattled by an unexpected death in the family and at the last minute, I had to cancel a retreat that I had already sold out because I needed to rest and be home with my family. And it was such a hard decision, but fortunately, my clients were amazingly understanding and supportive.

It was a big learning moment for me. A moment that taught me a lot about resilience and managing intense life experiences. And I’ve written about it on my blog and that’s one of the things I love most about being a coach is that when you’re a coach, you can take the tough stuff that’s happened to you and the mistakes you’ve made and you can turn those into teachable moments that you can share with your clients.

A story about burnout can become a book chapter. An embarrassing mistake can become a fascinating podcast. The best coaches take their slumps and setbacks and turn these into gold. They use their personal experiences to inspire others.

Now I mentioned before, there’s a lot I can’t share because it’s not primarily my story, even though I’m part of it. So when I say the best coaches take their missteps and turn them into gold and use their personal experiences to inspire others, I’m talking about the ones that you have permission to share.

So if you work as a coach and you’re going through a rough time right now, it’s okay. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad coach or that you’re a hypocrite or anything like that. It means you are human. And it means you’ve got an opportunity to do some work on yourself.

And then at some point in the future, you can take that experience and share it with others. You can write about it, you can talk about it, you can explain what happened and what you learned, and how you brought yourself out of the slump.

People will be so inspired by it. Now, I want to help you take care of yourself as best you can, as often as you can, and allow yourself to be human. You don’t need to be superhuman and invincible. You don’t need to be a perfect robot. You don’t need to pretend that you’re 200% happy every single moment of every day. It’s okay to just be you.

The real you. Including the stressful days and the grief and the sniffles and all the parts that make up your life. Remember that. So later in today’s episode, I’m going to help break it down into simple quick and realistic things that you can do right now. But first, let’s dive into our interview with self-love queen, Ana Verzone. I can’t wait for you to hear her story and her symbol of self-love and how that actually helped her earn the most money she’s ever earned as a coach.

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Susan: Welcome to the show, Ana Verzone.

Ana: Hey. I’m so psyched to be here.

Susan: So listen to me. I am obsessed with how much you are creating in your life by becoming devoted to self-love and prioritizing yourself and prioritizing joy. And so let’s dive in and talk about that. So you just announced in our On the 6 group, you currently live in Alaska, you recognize that one of the challenges of living where you live is vitamin D in the winter, needing more, needing more sunshine.

And because of COVID, the ways that you’ve coped in the past aren’t available, like potlucks, what else do you typically do in the winter to make winter alright for you in Alaska?

Ana: Yeah, well usually - last year this time I was in Italy. So usually we do leave for big chunks of it. But when I’m here, I also just interact a lot with friends. This is the time when people are actually around and they’re not in the mountains for weeks at a time adventuring. So we have potlucks, we have - I do a bad poetry night at my house. I just have people over and interact, and that’s not going to happen, and I just realized I was getting in a funk.

Susan: And so you noticed you were getting in a funk and what did you decide to do about it?

Ana: I decided to do the complete opposite of Alaska and move to Hawaii for the winter.

Susan: I mean, I showed my husband that post because I’m like, look at what Ana is doing. She is making a huge bold investment in herself and in her mental health by taking her daughter and herself to Hawaii for - is it six months?

Ana: Through the school year because one of the big reasons I didn’t leave for longer period of times in the past was because of her school. And since it’s online now, I’m like, we are outie, man. I was like, wait a second, why am I here? I’ve managed to create this location independent lifestyle, I’ve always wanted to winter over in the islands, so now is the time.

Susan: And for those of you listening to this and saying, “That must be nice,” let’s back up and talk about what you’ve done to make this a reality for yourself.

Ana: Right, well for a long time I had a story that - well, I came from an immigrant family. So it was like, working hard is how you create success. Work hard to get an education, work hard to save money, work hard to get the right job, work hard to have security, et cetera, et cetera.

So I did all that. This girl here knows how to work hard. And I was realizing really, you had a huge role in this shift. I realized wait a minute, I’ve created freedom in so many parts of my life. This is one facet where I don’t feel free yet. Why do I feel like it has to be so hard?

And I really had this mindset that - because that’s how it is. That is a fact. And you were like, no Ana, the more fun I have, the more money I make. And I was like, oh, well that’s nice for you to say. I was totally like, I don’t think so, that just works for Susan Hyatt because you got awesome eyes or something like that.

And I was just like, well okay, she’s my coach for a reason, let me try this on. So I committed On the 6 for my word of the quarter to be self-love. And I just started making decisions from that place. I was like, originally, I’m just going to take all my profits and put it back into my business.

And during the self-love, I was like, you know what, I’m going to get myself a self-love ring. And I bought myself this gorgeous heirloom very Alaskan salt and pepper diamond with golden nuggets on it. Just this classic heirloom, which I never do for myself.

And lo and behold, $15,000 month. And I was like, oh, it’s because I worked so hard. And you were like, maybe. Maybe it’s because there’s a relationship between that self-love ring. And I was like, maybe.

Susan: You’re like, I don’t know if I’m buying it yet but maybe.

Ana: Right. So I kept trying to trust in that. Because so much of growth is just trusting. And so I just really - let’s keep playing with this. Then I went into a launch in September. I exceeded my goals. And I did the launch in a way that was way more relaxing than I had before. And I was convinced that I had to have sleepless nights and have all this suffering in order to have a successful launch, and I almost fell into that pattern again but I checked myself, took care of myself, and it was still really successful.

So Hawaii comes after many, many years of making excuses, well, I couldn’t do something like that. And paying a lot of dues in terms of proving to myself that I knew how to work hard and how to build abundance from scarcity. And it really for me is an example of that having to become that sense of freedom and that person who is free in order to create it. I wouldn’t have been able to make the decision to go live in Hawaii if I hadn’t already felt free, if I hadn’t already felt my happiness is worth it.

Susan: Right. And I want everybody to hear that you didn’t go to Hawaii to feel free. You felt free first and then were able to make a decision that you could in fact, given the current circumstances, absolutely go to Hawaii.

Ana: Yes. And I think that’s something - I’ve heard that so many times. You have to be that person in order to manifest that stuff. You have to be it first. And it’s so easy to say it, but to actually experience that, that’s one of the things I really want to get across today. It’s like, I really experienced that.

I first prioritized - I deserve to be happy. I deserve building my business to be fun and joyful. And from that place, I was able to make the decision. If I hadn’t already accepted that, I wouldn’t have made that decision. It’s so crazy.

Susan: I mean, just listening to you talk about this, it’s been such a rapid shift for you, a rapid turnaround for you because you have been successful doing it the hard way, and I think many of you listening may really identify with that.

For those of you who hustle and have benefited from the hustle in some ways, learning how to get those same benefits and more benefits without the hustle seems so weird and it seems like, like you were saying, it’s just a fact that hard work is hard and the harder I work the more I make. And it’s like well, what if it’s not?

And that ring, I remember when you were talking about how you had that successful sales and you had a really big month, and I’m like, of course you did, the two are linked. The self-love ring kicked open the door to all of this new business.

And another reason why you’re so attractive to your clients and people really gravitate towards what you do is that you are this interesting mix of mindfulness and badassery. So let’s talk about that a little bit.

Ana: Yeah. So what I really focus on with my clients is helping them to free their minds so they can free their lives. That’s what I say a lot. Because so many of my clients are into freedom on the outside. I have clients who live out of their trucks. I myself lived out of a Volvo station wagon for seven years by choice, while I was climbing all over the country.

Susan: Wait just a minute.

Ana: Yes, I was a climbing guide for 10 years and as a climbing guide, you move around a lot. You don’t have a lot of attachments. And I tell you, I didn’t make much during those years. I think my biggest year was $15,000 or something. But I had no rent, I had no cellphone at the time, I had no expenses. I just lived out of my car.

I drove to gorgeous places with my amazing friends and hot dudes and rock climbed and mountain climbed and it was just fantastic. And I learned to live simply and not need a lot. So my clients are into their version of freedom. Whatever that looks like.

For some people, what I just described sounds miserable, except for maybe the hot guy part. But I also tell them, look, we can definitely strive for what that freedom looks like on the outside. But ultimately, freedom is a feeling.

So I teach them to train their brains to work for them instead of against them. And how to apply mindfulness off the cushion in a really active way. So not just meditating and having this quiet practice, but it’s like - my podcast is Rebel Buddhist. How do we take this and get out there and be rebels in life?

How do we be spiritual and apply mindfulness to these situations that don’t seem very spiritual? Like how we party or with overdrinking, what does that mean and how does it apply to that? When we get into arguments with our partners, with social justice movements, where does that all fit in?

And so the other side of that is that adventure piece that we were talking about. And for me, adventure is so important. My retreats, we go surfing, we go rock climbing, we go sea kayaking. But to me, adventure is the whole package because it helps you have that freedom on the outside with whatever awesome activity you’re doing, but it really challenges you to create that inner freedom.

Because when you are on a rock, you are learning how to do hard things, you’re learning how to be uncomfortable, you’re learning how to feel any emotion because you realize panic and freaking out is not going to help you in that moment. You have to get your shit together.

So for me, it’s this whole package. So it’s this combination of being able to take mindfulness and apply it to the messy parts of life and taking adventure and using that as a catalyst.

Susan: Yeah, and I’m so drawn. One of my - probably my top value is freedom. And what helps me feel free or my version of freedom looks really different than other people’s. But there’s nothing like feeling freer, and I think that adventure and particularly for women, prioritizing both freedom and adventure is such a big deal because that’s not what we’re raised to do at all.

Our programming is about creating safety and security for others, and really holding up the fabric of the community in everyone else’s lives and not prioritizing our own.

Ana: Right. My mom thought it was hilarious when I became a climbing guide because she grew up dirt floor in the Philippines in a village, and she’s like, wow, I worked so hard so that you got a good education and then you went to college, and now you’re going to take a job that pays $55 a day and sleep on the ground on purpose and live out of your car. But I’m grateful that with all of our challenges as a mother and daughter, she never held that over me. She just constantly was in wonder of it.

Susan: Wonder is a good…

Ana: Yeah. And I was like, I know this doesn’t make sense to you but for me - and she was like, wow, that is not what freedom looked like for her. For her, it was having security and not having to worry, not having to do all these things. And so, freedom, and adventure can be also defined on your terms.

I always tell people, I try to have adventure every day. I mean, that’s part of the reason - because people are like, why the fuck are you in Alaska? I tell you, adventure every day here, y’all. I got for a morning run and there’s a freaking moose and a mama moose and a baby moose. And I’m just like, okay, adventure every day.

But there’s a great study that was done that they had people kind of shift something up every day. Like if you read a liberal magazine every day, you’re supposed to try to read a conservative one. Or if you ordered the same thing at this restaurant, you’re supposed to order something different, or eat at a completely different restaurant.

So they did this with folks for a couple of weeks, just giving them something out of their comfort zone to do, something small. And what’s interesting is at the end of this study, what a common denominator was that was unexpected was the average weight lost was 11 pounds. And I was like, what?

But what they found was it was like a form of mindfulness almost. When people were making different choices, which to me is adventure every day, that’s how you can have an adventure every day is doing something differently every day.

They had realized everything was a choice. The way they drove to work was a choice, what they chose to read was a choice, and what they chose to eat was a choice. And that awareness alone kind of had this cumulative effect for this group of people.

And so it’s taking that learning from adventure and not just waiting for the big trip, not just waiting for the vacation to have an adventure, but it’s like what can I do every day to create that in my life? That freedom and that adventure on the daily.

Susan: This is a side note, but totally relates to what we’re talking about. So whether or not you or those of you listening are a Mariah Carey fan, I totally love me some Mariah Carey. And I don’t care which Mariah Carey. I don’t care if it’s All I Want for Christmas Mariah Carey, I don’t care if it’s like, bombing at Times Square Mariah Carey.

She makes me laugh. But basically, she’s written an autobiography - a memoir about a lot of trauma and tragedy in her life, starting in her childhood and then her marriage to Tommy Mottola. And I just found out about this this morning, Oprah’s doing this new thing by the way called Conversations with Oprah on Apple Podcasts I think.

So there was a clip on Oprah’s Instagram of her and Mariah Carey. I’m like, wait, what, she has a book? And one of the questions Oprah asked her was - it was something like what do you think the biggest benefit of spilling the tea basically, not coming clean, but sharing with the public about your sexual trauma and marriage trauma and family issues and all these things.

And she was like, I feel freer. And Oprah said, “Then it was worth it.” And I couldn’t agree more. Whatever it is, and it could be being vulnerable is your adventure every day. Feeling freer isn’t always, like you said, like a trip. And I know that I used to in my business, one of my biggest streams of income was retreats.

And one of the things that would happen, the anticipation of the trip for so many was almost better than the trip. But there were so many women that would say things like this was a trip of a lifetime. And I’m like, no, it’s not. Don’t let this just be the trip of a lifetime. Carry this with you and continue to do things like this for yourself and continue to go to different places. But bring it home into your regular life. Let this just be your new normal.

Ana: Exactly. When we travel, people will say like, oh, you take so many vacations. And I’m like, it’s not vacation. This is how I live my life. And I designed it that way. That was intentional. Absolutely.

Susan: Which is why I think a lot of people listening will be like, wow, she’s going to be in Hawaii for six months, but it’s that attitude, that spirit of adventure, that spirit of feeling free, that spirit of being willing to say why not, and also listening to you talk about Alaska. You probably hear this out of mainlanders a lot, but I freaking loved that show, Northern Exposure. Do you remember that show?

Ana: Oh yes.

Susan: And I’m like, Ana is living her Northern Exposure life. I totally can get down with - even I know the inconveniences and the things that aren’t ideal or convenient about living there, I do think it does sound like such an amazing place to choose to live. And the combo with Hawaii, I mean, come on.

Ana: Yeah. I mean for me, if it was not as dark during the winter, it wouldn’t be as hard. Because it’s true, you kind of weed out the people that always want things to be easy. And so that’s something Alaskans have a lot of pride, it’s like when people choose to be here, they know what they’re getting into usually.

And it’s like, okay, we are in this together and we are not going to complain about these small things, we’re just going to make it happen and have a great time. And this is how we make winter fun, and we’re going to ski to everybody’s houses and have little potlucks and stuff like that, like a progressive potluck on skis or something.

Those are the things that we do, and it really is bringing adventure every day because it’s not boring. And a lot of people think like, do you want life to be hard? And I think some people do, who grew up with a very comfortable lifestyle find the challenges of living in Alaska romantic.

Well, that’s not me. I am like, oh no, this girl is not going to freeze her butt - I find nothing romantic in struggle. We had our challenges already. I don’t find romanticism in that. But I find value in adventure, which is stretching out of your comfort zone. So it’s not so much struggle.

It’s going beyond your comfort zone so that - the reason that we suffer in this world is when we wish things were different than they already are. So when you are constantly open to oh, well, this isn’t what I expected, or this isn’t that convenient, and you learn to roll with that, life is so much better.

Susan: You said it. I so agree with that. I think that it’s - I have been extra, extra cranky lately and I can attribute it to a lot of things. I can attribute it to COVID, I can attribute to the election, I can contribute it to this house being under renovation and constant interruptions.

But by and large, the biggest piece of it that I have control over is my attitude about what’s a big deal and what isn’t. And not to say that oh, it’s totally fabulous that the tiler is grounding down tile in my foyer while I’m trying to record a podcast or whatever it might be.

But it’s more acknowledging it and not creating suffering, like you’re saying, around it, where it’s like, there’s a choice to be made. Yes, you can acknowledge that something’s inconvenient, like living in Alaska has its inconveniences. Or you can choose to suffer, or you can choose to say, I value adventure, therefore I live here, I value how this house is going to look, therefore I’m dealing with that.

Or I value growing my company or scaling my offer or reaching new audiences, therefore I’m willing to learn Facebook ads or things that make you want to bang your head against a wall.

Ana: Yeah, there’s a Buddhist analogy called the second arrow. And it’s like, life’s challenges are the first arrow. It hurts. But we create second arrows and third arrows and fourth arrows with wishing that the arrow never happened, or wondering why the arrow happened to be, or why did it happen now. And those are all multiple arrows that we keep throwing at ourselves versus just that happened, okay, so how am I going to choose this?

Susan: I love that Ana. And it reminds me of years ago, I mean, it had to be 2007. It was before I had a lot of perspective about parenting Ryan. And I remember I was on this coaching call with this coach and I was doing the whole but why do I have to be the parent who has a kid, a contrarian kid? My brother and my sister were the hell raisers of the family, why do they have passive kids and I got the kid - and I remember he said to me, is it helpful to really question why? Is there any benefit to ruminating on why me?

And I was like, oh, no, that’s not, it just creates suffering. So I was creating in my parenting journey, and let me tell you something, I hit the fucking jackpot with my kids. It’s really an interesting journey in they weren’t how I thought they should be because I just wanted little cute passive nerds. I wanted these little rule-followers who would just do what I say.

Can you imagine? Like how ridiculous of me? But this is what I imagined. I would have these perfect little children that did everything they were supposed to do and instead, I got my biggest teachers who are just the most amazing human beings. And it was just my second, third, fourth, 100th arrows that were creating the pain in my parenting journey. Not that there weren’t difficult times.

Ana: Right. And it makes me think again about building the business. And what I don’t want people to think is like, building a business is never hard. There are times you got to go and do the work. But I was making it so much harder. And I was talking to a fellow coach and I said, “Hey, you’re Black, what do you think of this? Do you think that this is just a white thing of believing that you can build a business and have it be easy?”

Because I said, is it just Susan Hyatt? And she said no, there are definitely struggles when you are BIPOC, trying to start a business, that other people don’t have. But we make it harder than it has to be.

And I sort of took that too like, yeah, it doesn’t mean that I don’t have to work hard sometimes and stuff, but I am making this way harder than it has to be. I’m adding so many arrows to this. And so it’s just a huge realization for me.

Susan: Is this just a Susan Hyatt thing. I’m going to smack you next coaching session. Well, you have proven, you have definitely proven that it’s not just a Susan Hyatt thing that you’re having more fun, you’re making more money, you have more signups that you anticipated. It does work.

So if you were going to challenge our listeners here to do one thing to create more adventure, everyday adventure or freedom for them, what would you tell them to do?

Ana: It’s funny because I’ve joked with my clients that I’m not really a life coach, I’m a death coach. Because one of the things I really teach is we really need to be aware that this life, this day that we’re here on this planet is precious. We can say tomorrow I’m going to wake up and this is my plan and I’ve got it all calendared out. We don’t know that that’s going to happen.

We don’t know that the people in our lives are going to be around. We have no idea. And a lot of people can shut down when they think that or get really scared. But what I have found is when I really sit with what it means to recognize that today really is a gift, really is a miracle, is it actually opens you up to living more freely and to prioritizing that joy and how you want to show up in the world.

We make decisions more in alignment with who we are, with our values, how we want to live right now, instead of waiting for something to happen before we can feel happy. So that lesson that you taught me, I got it out of my head. It wasn’t just you. That I can build a business and have it be in alignment with my values, which included family time and self-care and self-love. That came out of also knowing I don’t know if I’m going to be around six months from now for that next launch.

So what would I do today? What decision would I make today knowing that? And it has just really helped me. It’s a part of that mindset. This building your business from a place of joy and fun and love is also part of honoring that you’re alive today.

So that’s what I would say is challenge yourself to say what would make today a good day to die? What decision would feel so in alignment with me? What do I need to do? Who do I need to call? How do I need to show up in my business? Because this is all I’ve got is right now.

Susan: That’s so beautiful. So I have one final thing that I ask lots of my guests and that is what’s something that’s free or almost free that makes you feel rich?

Ana: Oh my gosh, being in the mountains. 100%. I was talking about living out of my car for those seven years. 100% freedom because I was always in the mountains somehow. And same thing goes now. Even though now I can afford to go live in Hawaii for a while and stuff like that, what makes me feel most free is being in the wilderness and fully experiencing nature, running around naked, skinny dipping, howling at the moon with my girlfriends, all that stuff.

Susan: So if people want to howl at the moon virtually with you, where do you like to hang out? Where should people go?

Ana: Oh yeah, I have got an awesome training kit that talks about how to build this resilience that I’ve been talking about. You can go to rebelbuddhist.com. Rebel Buddhist is my podcast. So rebelbuddhist.com. You can download that whole training kit. It’s got a bunch of goodies in it, and my main site is anaverzone.com.

Susan: Verzone with an E at the end. Anyway, I so appreciate - thank you for being on the podcast today. You are a delight.

Ana: Thank you. You are a queen.

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Alright, so Ana Verzone, wasn’t she a delight? So many gems, so many nuggets in that interview. So let’s talk about you and let’s talk about how to keep things simple, quick, and realistic.

So I know you’re crazy busy. I know 2020’s done a number on you. I realize now everybody has time for a three-hour hike in the woods or an elaborate juicing ritual where you have to wash five pounds of kale and carrots every morning, unless you love it. I really used to.

Or maybe you don’t have time to make a vat of homemade soup that takes eight hours to simmer with constant stirring and supervision. Okay, that’s not going to happen, right? At least not in my world. Maybe not in yours either.

So how do you take really good care of yourself in a way that’s simple, quick, and realistic? I have about 1000 different ideas and tips that I’d love to share, but for today’s episode, let’s just start with three.

Tip number one, remember the five-minute rule. Okay, so what’s the five-minute rule? I’ve been teaching this for a little bit. Think of it this way. If you’ve got five minutes to eat a meal, you can spend five minutes eating a bag of potato chips, or you can spend five minutes eating a nourishing salad or some sushi or a chicken and rice bowl or a yummy wrap with hummus and veggies and avocado, or something else that energizes you and feels good for your body. It’s five minutes either way.

Sometimes I’ll catch myself thinking like, oh my gosh, I’m so busy today, I don’t have time to eat a proper meal. But remember that that’s not actually true. It’s five minutes to eat a greasy breakfast sandwich from Wendy’s or it’s five minutes to eat a pre-made salad from the grocery store. It’s still five minutes.

You can spend five minutes eating mindlessly in front of your computer screen, or you can take five minutes to sit down with a real plate and a nice napkin and actually savor your food and enjoy the moment. Again, it’s five minutes either way.

I actually years ago recorded an episode on this topic. It’s an old Go! Podcast episode called It’s Five Minutes Either Way. So we’re going to embed the link in the show notes so you can learn more about that. It’s a good one.

Okay, tip number two. Set up your environment for success. So whatever kind of habit you’re trying to build into your life, set yourself up for success. Now, this might sound obvious like, no duh Susan. But it’s one of those things that many of us forget to do.

So for example, if you want to become a woman who works out in the mornings before she starts her day, then right before you go to sleep, set out your workout clothes right by your bed so they’re ready for the next morning. Get your yoga pants, your socks, your sports bra, the whole dealio, and put it right by the foot of your bed so that when you wake up, boom, everything’s right there.

You don’t have to rummage around in your dark closet searching for your sports bra when it’s dark and cold and you’re barely awake. Now listen, this is such a simple thing but it makes such a big difference. Because I’m telling you right now, if my clothes aren’t laid out and I know they’re not laid out, when my eyes pop open in the morning, I will use that as an excuse.

Such a simple thing that makes a big difference. It makes your life way more efficient, makes it way more likely that you’ll stay committed to the habits that you want. Now listen, I’m a pretty motivated person. But I’m telling you, if I had to rummage around looking for my socks at 5am every morning, I don’t think I’d ever make it out for my morning run.

I’d probably just flop back into bed. So set out your clothes, make it easier for yourself and stay committed, and maybe you’ve got a different goal or habit that you want to create. Maybe it’s not workout related at all. Whatever it is, think ahead and set yourself up for success. This saves time, it cuts frantic searching and stress out of your life and it feels great so do it.

Alright, tip number three. You’ve heard me talk about this before and I can’t not mention it. Create a hygge corner in your home. It’s spelled hygge. I was pronouncing it hygge, my Southern self, until I figured out and learned it was hygge. It’s a Danish word that means cozy, peaceful, happy time.

The Danes are some of the happiest, healthiest people in the entire world and a big part of it is because they’re obsessed with hygge. Their homes are beautiful, simple, uncluttered, full of candles, soft, snuggly textures, perfect for hygge experiences.

So if you’re super busy and stressed out, even if you’re not, I highly recommend hygge-fying your home and making your environment as stress-free and cozy as possible. It has a direct impact on your mental and physical health.

So if nothing else, start by creating one little hygge corner in your home. A cozy nook by a window where you can read, meditate, stretch, journal, sip tea, or just chill out. Make this your special place to unwind. Even if it’s just a two-minute break to read an inspiring poem or sip a glass of water.

I love my hygge corner and I swear, visiting my little corner for even just two, three, four minutes has an immediate impact on my mood. My stress levels drop, I can exhale more deeply. It just feels so good. This kind of relaxation helps your body to function optimally. It helps your metabolism, it helps your hormones.

Seriously, get some hygge in your life. You’ll feel the difference. Mine is right by my fireplace. I have books, I have candles, I have a cashmere blanket. I usually sit my coffee and hot tea there. There’s usually one or more pets on my lap. Do it.

Now, I hope you enjoyed these little quick self-care tips for busy, busy coaches. Taking excellent care of yourself is a choice that creates such a ripple effect in your life. More energy, more confidence, less stress, better sex, oh hell yeah, I said it. And so much more. So give yourself some love today, make it a priority today and every day.

Oh hey, listen, I just want to give a shout-out to glitzyfitchick. She left me a five-star iTunes review and she said, “Absolutely love Susan,” and she left me a heart emoji. She said, “I recently found and love all things Susan. How did I not know her before? She’s a motivator, driver, encourager, real, lovable, smart, beautiful, kind, and relatable.”

Oh my gosh, thank you. “I’m super excited to continue binge-listening to her podcasts and dive deeper into Rich Coach Club. Love you Susan.” Listen glitzyfitchick. I’m sending you a crown in the mail for that amazing review.

Now, for all of y’all listening, I know it takes effort to go to Apple Podcasts or Stitcher and leave a review, but if you do it and you email us a screenshot of it to support@susanhyatt.co, we will send you an actual crown in the mail. I’m not talking about a paper crown. I’m talking about a crown crown. So I love giving shout-outs to all y’all in my community, I love you right back.

Okay okay okay, I have an announcement to make and my announcement is I just did a free class on giving yourself a report card review of 2020 and planning your 2021. I want to invite you all, I’m putting the link in the show notes. I’m going to invite you all to watch it. There’s a downloadable worksheet that is gold.

Please download this report card and give yourself - I want to help you move beyond just focusing on how much money you made in 2020 and look at the impact you had, grade yourself on joy, grade yourself on confidence. It’s an amazing class, amazing content, amazing worksheet. Check it out and then let me know how you graded yourself. Ciao.

One last thing, are you trying to grow your coaching practice? Do you want more clients, more enrollments, a lot more money coming in the door? Well if that’s what you want, there are six crucial steps that you need to complete. Want to learn those six steps? It’s all inside a new program called Quickstart.

This is a program where my team guides you through these six steps and helps you implement each one. Hey, I’m around too. With Quickstart, there’s no big-time commitment, you don’t need to commit to working with us for six months or a whole year. It’s a quickie. Quick but potent.

So if you want to learn more about Quickstart, the link’s in the show notes. Go ahead and sign up.