Turning Your Inner Critic Into An Inner Champion With Guest Expert Whitney Alexandra

Lauren: Welcome to the Biz Doctor Podcast. My love letter to business owners the world over. I’m your host, Lauren Goldstein, award-winning business consultant and advisor whose fondly nicknamed the business doctor by my clients. My clients call me the business doctor because I help business owners who are burning the candle at both ends, diagnose what is actually keeping them stuck in and buried under the day-to-day of their business, and then formulate a business treatment plan to help them adjust their business and team to fit.

And most importantly, support them in having what I call true entrepreneurial freedom. If you’re ready to look at your business in a different lens and elevate yourself out of the business operator in the trenches 24 7. To visionary business owner and leader who can take a breath vacation and have more fun making an impact with your business, then grab your favorite beverage and your earbuds, and let’s dive into our latest episode.

Have you ever looked at your goals, dreams, maybe even your bank account, and wondered why you just can’t quite get where you wanna? Like there’s an invisible door you don’t have the right key to, to truly unlock your life. Well, that very key is what we’re gonna talk about today. Welcome back to The Biz Doctor Podcast.

I’m your host, Lauren Goldstein, and I am beyond excited about today’s show because I have special guest, Whitney Alexandra joining us here in the studio to talk about one of the most powerful, yet most understood Keith to success mindset. It’s gonna be an episode you do not wanna miss, especially if you’re even the teeniest bit aware that the thing stopping you from having everything you want might just be that three pound mass between your.

Whitney and I are gonna discuss the mindset necessary to be successful business owners. Building a resilient mindset, removing limited beliefs, you can grow your business with ease and my favorite, the mindset needed for your next level of growth. Even though my degree is in cognitive neuroscience and I’m a Boris certified N L P practitioner mindset is something which I personally have struggled with and I see a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs struggle with too.

So my hope is that today’s episode will give you some valuable tools to help your brain start working with you instead of against you, so you can have everything you want. Before diving into today’s juice, let me do that one again. Hold on. Before diving into today’s juicy episode, let me properly introduce you to my guest here in studio Whitney Alexandra is a performance coach for top female founders and C-suite executives. That are ready for limitless success. She spent the last 20 years helping some of the world’s most trusted brands and leaders transform to show up powerfully and ready to receive what they desire. Using a mix of performance, coaching, mindset, techniques, and tailored strategy, she will unlock your next level.

Bottom line, Whitney is going to help us demystify mindset so that we can bust through the glass ceiling our minds created. Welcome to the show, Whitney. 

Whitney: Yay. I’m so happy to be here. And what a wonderful, wonderful introduction. Thank you, Lauren.  Thank you.

Lauren:  Yes, I am. I am so jazzed to have you as well, because you know, we go back several years and I, I’ve seen the powerful work you do for entrepreneurs, which is so helpful because so much of what entrepreneurs create is needed in the world.

And before we dive into the three topics I talked about before, what I would love for you to do is share more about. Story, how you got into this work and the impactful work you do with business owners so our listeners can get to know you a little bit better. 

Whitney: Awesome. So, um, as you mentioned, I’ve got about 20 years of experience working directly with executives, working with teams.

Um, and about 10 years ago I was in what I would define as my dream job at that time. Mm-hmm. , um, things very quickly fell apart and. You know, the company was up for sale and I found myself in a spot where I thought, what is next for me? And I think that is the moment in time that I really discovered my love of entrepreneurialship. 

Um, I’m, I was definitely an entrepreneur at heart and just didn’t know it until about 10 years ago. Um, and started to discover like, what is it like to actually coach an entrepreneur versus. When you’re in an organization with, uh, more corporate executives, what’s the difference there? Um, and so mindset, like you said, plays a huge, huge role in the success of an entrepreneur and their ability to scale.

And so that’s like a little bit about the path that has led me here. And since then, it’s just been diving deeper and deeper into the mindset required to help people unlock their next level, which is what I’m personally obsessed about right now. I’ve seen the results firsthand. I see them for myself, um, and so many clients.

And so I’m excited. We’re gonna spend some time talking about this today. 

Lauren: Yeah, I love that. I especially love the idea of, you know, really understanding. Stopping you from getting to the next level. Cuz I think, you know, from what I’ve seen personally and working with my clients, so it’s kind of like a twofold thing where it’s like, what, what is the next level?

Like, really figuring out what that is and then also getting outta your own way. So I, I’d love to hear more about this and, and how, how we get to that next level and set ourself up for. 

Whitney: Yeah, absolutely. Well, I think what you just touched on, clarity. It’s so interesting how unclear, um, many entrepreneurs can be.

We’re sort of with the wind, okay, you know, maybe I wanna get to this 10 k, these 10 k months, and I wanna do, you know, I wanna focus my business on this particular area, and then next month you’ve got a brand new idea to. Totally transform your business, but it’s gonna require a pivot and all of a sudden, like, clarity goes out the window.

Hmm. And so, and so the first thing that I’m typically doing, working with a client or, um, when we start our engagement together, it is to get clear on what is the goal and to be really specific, breaking it down into, you know, smaller. Maybe not milestones, but smaller, um, smaller indications that we would be on the right track.

Mm-hmm. , I think we get so used to saying as a society, like let’s pick this big goal to go after. And meanwhile, your mind. Thinks about it and processes goals in a very different way. Right? And you are wired to perform differently for short-term goals versus long-term goals. So, you know, we bring a mix of all of this stuff, but the first step really is getting to a place of, of clarity and then locking in on what that vision is.

There’s still movement, still some flexibility there, but you have to know generally the direction that you’re. 

Lauren: Yeah. Yeah. That, that would kind of be the equivalent of just getting on a plane and being like, boy, I hope this is going to the destination. I want to be going to.

Whitney: Yes. Yeah, absolutely. 

Lauren: Um, I love that.

I love the clarity and you know, that’s something that, that I really work on with my clients. In fact, it’s one of the first CS to a high performing team. But you said something really interesting that I wanna know more about. You said, um, the way that your brain. Thinks about long-term goals and short-term goals and interacts with that is different.

Mm-hmm. . So tell me a little bit more about that. Mm-hmm. . 

Whitney: So this one I see, this one I see happen a lot when you get, um, entrepreneurs or founders that are saying, I want a million dollar business. I want a million dollar business by. I don’t know. Let’s pick a date. December, 2024. And so, you know, when we’re going through and actually looking at goals like that, I think it’s wonderful.

If you’ve got a goal, even if you have no idea how you’re going to get there today, that’s okay. The how we can figure out. Um, but typically what happens is you say, I have this big goal and. , what you see happening is little bits, little bits, little bits, and you never quite ramp up to the level that maybe you need to get to, to have the million dollar business.

Mm-hmm. . Um, and so what I see happen is, you know, or I guess the question I pose back to, to you and to others is to say, okay, well would you be happy if 900. Thousand dollars came in on December 31st of next year, and you had a hundred K to last before  then, or is it something where we want to try and like boost revenue throughout, so we’re maybe we’re saying the goal is a hundred thousand dollars every month.

Right. That is a lot easier for your mind to say, okay, I have a goal. It’s maybe manageable, maybe not, but we can. The how out. Um, and that feels like a much easier goal to accomplish and to learn from than saying in a year from now, I will have learned something. Right? So I think this is one of the sort of core pieces of high performance is that we’re able to move a lot faster and we’re able to, um, learn a lot faster as well in just having those little bite size, um, bite size goals.

Lauren: I love. I love that. And I think, I think it also brings up a really, a really interesting point about cognitive dissonance. If you set a goal and you somehow, like subconsciously, or within your mindset, don’t believe it’s attainable. Like you want it Yes. But you’re like, oh, I don’t actually know how to get there or if I can get there.

So can you talk a little bit about that? 

Whitney: Yeah. I. I’m probably not the best person to speak on some of these topics because I have this, I have this view that the bigger the goal, the more creative you have to be in reaching it. Mm-hmm. . So for example, I will set wild goals in my business. I. I ask clients to set wild goals in theirs.

Um, so because I feel like to get the energy behind it, the excitement behind it, to drive the team towards something, it really takes having, um, you know, that mentality of like, let’s do it together. Mm-hmm. and figuring something, figuring out a new way of working. Like if I think about it today, if I said, okay Lauren, you’ve gotta go create $10,000, um, for your business in the next.

you would probably have, you know, some referrals you’d probably have, you know, maybe other engagements you could go back to. And that would be, probably pretty easy to figure out. Mm-hmm. . Yeah. If we said, Hey, Lauren, let’s add an extra million in the next year. . That might be like a what? Love it. And, and would take a lot more creative thinking, okay.

Mm-hmm. , how might we do that? And it’s all of a sudden we’re, we’re disrupting the pattern in your mind and disrupting kind of the usual way of doing things. Um, and. Simply asking what’s possible. So I love big goals for that reason, and even if I don’t hit them, what’s awesome about it is most people underestimate the amount that they’re able to achieve earn due, and we.

And we overestimate the amount of time that it, that will require to do it. Mm-hmm. . And so what some of this short term planning actually does is we have a compressed, a compressed timeline. And we’re also saying like, , let’s shoot for 10 times what we had and see where we land. Because even if we’re not hitting the goal, I’m willing to bet, I’m willing to bet everything that we’re gonna get a whole lot closer than if I gave you what would be in your mind a really achievable goal.

Lauren: Hmm. So wild goals. Mm-hmm. Wild. That is so interesting. And you’re right, that is, that is a little. You know, against the grain of what you hear sometimes, but what I’m hearing and, and what I’m really. Really enjoying about this is, I’m hearing two things. Curiosity, being curious about like, how can we make this happen?

Mm-hmm. . Um, but then also I’m hearing a detachment from the outcome of, so it’s, it’s, it’s almost like there is this how, but there’s also this, I just, I know it’s gonna happen in some way and maybe it doesn’t happen. Exactly how we want it to. Yes, but like having this belief, 

Whitney: that’s exactly it, Lauren, because think about it.

When you’re so focused, you’ve got your like mental blind blinders on and you’re thinking, okay, I want this one client. I wanna work with this client. I wanna charge them this much, or whatever the, you know, product offering I wanna sell. Meanwhile, if you just like stuck your head up once in a while, you’d find there are other people.

Wanna work with you or want a different service offering, or maybe that’s the mo, not the most profitable product or service that you have, but you know, you haven’t spent the time to sort of think, okay, what would we do if we needed to, you know, explore something else. So I feel like the blinders get removed and anything is possible.

Mm. Which is such a cool feeling. Like that’s, that I think is the spirit of the entrepreneur that sometimes gets lost when we’re in the hustle and grind of, you know, doing, doing, doing. 

Lauren: Yes, yes. I also fondly refer to this, uh, As the how Hell Hole.

Whitney: Yeah

Lauren: Um, which I’ll be doing a podcast on in, in coming weeks.

But I, I think when you come from this, this mindset of possibility and how can we make this happen? How is this possible? Instead of, to your point, you know, being hyperly focused on this one thing, then. Then I, this is gonna sound a little woo, but then you allow the universe to actually make it even easier and more simple.

Absolutely. 

Whitney: Like you would be, I mean, you wouldn’t be surprised cuz you’ve got an amazing background and you, you’ve worked with COOs and teams forever. Um, but you’d. Most people would be, would be surprised at how many roadblocks we put up ahead of ourselves that we simply don’t need, right? We think, oh, it needs to look a certain way, and I’m just as guilty.

I remember 10 years ago I started my business and I had mapped out. I mean, this is gonna sound sweet. I had mapped out my five year strategy and . This was like . This is like, you know, and all of a sudden I’m six months in and I’m like, I’ve actually achieved all of the goals that I set out in year one and two and five in six months.

And so this is really when I started to see. Oh, okay. There is no defined time to anything. There is no defined path. And so, you know, think of this and this way of thinking as a permission slip to do whatever, um, do whatever and follow kind of your own path. Create your own path. 

Lauren: Mm-hmm. . It’s really, it’s really magical when we, when we can ship that perspective.

And I know, um, one of my friends. Jenna Phillips Ballard is. She talks about how a lot of times entrepreneurs have this vision, but then we get this moment where we think it’s not possible. And so instead of collapsing the timeline, we collapse the vision. Mm-hmm. and change the vision to what we perceive to be the timeline of what is possible.

And so I know something that you really work a lot with business owners on is the c e O mindset. So I’d love for you to tell us a little bit more about what that actually. 

Whitney: So for me, the CEO mindset  is like you are locked into the vision for your organization. And again, you still have a lot of flexibility.

But you know, one of the things I like to talk about is switching from, you know, having this inner critic who controls the narrative to being an inner champion. And I think every CEO needs to have the mindset of. You know, showing up with a clear vision, showing up as a leader, showing up, looking at new opportunities, surveying the team, um, really coming with like the mindset of a champion.

And you know, what I see happen many times is you ha you have a great. Business. A great business owner, really bright, has ambitions to scale and doesn’t have the mindset of A CEO has the mindset of a small business owner and you can even even hear the energy and the difference in energy that you’re going to bring to your role saying, Okay.

Yeah. I operate a small business versus, no, I’m CEO of mm-hmm. X company. And I think even just in some of those small shifts, we, we sort of look at how do you step into that higher level of leadership as CEO of your organization, even if it is that you have a small team with contractors or maybe a, you know, three person.

That’s okay. We can work with that. But it’s, it’s the mindset of showing up and, um, locking into the vision and being unapologetic about how, you know, we, what you ask for, what you desire, and how you go about making it happen. 

Lauren: Mm-hmm. Oh, there’s so much juice in there, . Um, so, you know, there’s, there’s this really, there’s this really interesting phenomenon that, that I’ve been seeing over the past year is called title inflation, where you’re, where you’re creating titles that you don’t really have, which then creates this, this really interesting Eddie of imposter syndrome and.

and then there’s this whole fake to you make it sort of thing. And so all of those, those things create this really interesting recipe. But what I’m hearing you say is that there is a certain level of ownership of where you want to be in the next level, even if it’s not 100%, should we say true in this moment, that’s actually going to make it happen faster?

Do I have that right? Yeah. 

Whitney: So the way that I think about it is you step into the life that you want, you step into the business that you want and, and you. You start to exhibit behaviors and other things that align with that person. So if today I was like, I wanna make a shift. I, I really wanna scale my business.

I want to become a CEO, you know? How would a, it could be things as simple as just asking yourself better questions. How might a c e o show up in this example? How might a CEO plan their, um, their next level of growth? How might a CEO show up and present to their team? How does a CEO dress or like how do I choose to dress as CEO?

Um, you know, cuz there isn’t one size fits all, but I think. It’s, I would encourage people to think about, you’re not faking it till you make it. You are making it true. Hmm. And I think there’s a big difference in that because you’re going about things building, you know, building your new identity and building up the things that support you.

You know, it’s like for me, I’m, I’m a big runner. I got addicted to the Peloton app. I’m on the streets of Toronto all the time. Um, but I think about, I think about the people who go for a first run and think, I’m not a runner. I can’t run, you know, I, it was more of a walk or something like that. And so, and so, you watch them build up their confidence because they go out and keep taking an action.

They, they are willing to see themselves as a runner, just like I’m encouraging people to think of themselves and see themselves as CEO. So I think a lot of those things, um, you know, where we, we have. Culture. We don’t wanna talk about faking things. We wanna be authentic and transparent, but you are also evolving as a business owner, as a founder, as a person.

And so your identity evolves just right, right there with your business as well. Mm-hmm. . 

Lauren: Mm-hmm. . You actually brought two things to mind just now. Uh, one is, I believe it was Wayne Dyer who said, we. That we need to see something to believe it, but actually you need to believe it first to see it. Which again, is, is, is very counter to what.

um, I mean, I’m speaking as an American here, as Americans are taught in this hustle culture. And then the other thing, which I thought was so fascinating, I don’t know, have you seen Brene Brown’s Atlas of the Heart Show on HBO? Mm-hmm. Great show. Such a great show. If you’ve not watched it, a shameless plug, go watch it.

It’s fascinating. Um, but she talks about how when we are experiencing, so, an emotion, like how that emotion actually plays out is how we label it. And so what I think I want everybody to really hear is what you’re saying is the way that you label something and the words that you speak to label, that really is almost the equivalent to having a magic wand to either work in your favor as a blessing, or should I say curse yourself and get, keep you stuck where you are. 

Whitney: Absolutely. It’s, um, I think everything is a choice. And you can have two, you could have the same experience and choose to see that same experience in two totally different ways. You could probably see it in a hundred different ways, but let’s say, let’s be simple and say, you know, we’ve got one way that’s workable and another way that works against you.

Or, um, you know, To repeat a pattern that isn’t helping you move forward. So what I think is really productive about conversations like this is thinking through, you know, what are the right words and the right mindset to have that’s going to support you in getting to that next level. So when. When we’re choosing, it’s being mindful of that.

And that’s, um, it’s an exercise in, in new level of awareness. 

Lauren: Yeah. Yeah. And emotional intelligence. And another really interesting thing that, that you, that you touched on is within choice, I think there is this really interesting thing that. When you take choice to the next level and you actually decide, uh, so I don’t know, I’m sure you know this, but for those listing decide actually comes from a Latin term that means to sever.

And so the difference between a choice and a decision is that. A decision, you’ve actually all severed all other possibilities, and you’re, you’re just fully committed. And I think as an entrepreneur, when you choose or decide to be fully committed to your vision, not committed until you, you know, feel a certain way or something happens, but being fully committed, that’s when your mindset, Really starts to kick in the high gear.

Would that be fair to say? 

Whitney: Absolutely. Cuz imagine it when you’re still in that place of choice. And like you said, you haven’t severed, you haven’t made a decision. Um, you continue to go back and forth and that’s, you know, sort of puts you in that languishing period. Mm-hmm. . Um, so your mind, your mind, Well, I’m not sure does she want this or not?

I, cuz I’m hearing this, but I’m also hearing that . And so, you know, part of what the work is is like we, we kicked off on, it’s talking about clarity. It’s getting really focused. It’s ha giving your mind one thing to do. And so part of this is sort of harnessing the power of, you know, all parts of your mind to be working together in one direction.

So making decisions. A key part of this, of this equation here. And you know, the thing I I like to talk about is like there are very few decisions that are final. Hmm. There are many things that can change. Will change. And we have this abstract feeling that we have real control over it or that it will be permanent.

It’s not . Most things are not. And so if we don’t like the decision, it’s permission to say, you know, if I don’t like the decision I’ve made, I make a new decision. And that’s okay. That’s, that. Is being a CEO in your life and in your business, make a new one. . 

Lauren: Oh boy. That is, that is such a potent lesson right there, because I think, I mean, speaking personally and also with some of the, the work that I’ve seen with clients, the analysis paralysis of if this, if I make this choice or this decision and it doesn’t work out like then what, or, you know, I, I actually see, saw this personally when we.

in the early days and, and nicheing down my business. There was this moment of where I was like, but what if other people wanna work with me? And they were like, well, just because you’ve, you know, you’ve limited, it doesn’t mean somebody else can’t work with you. Yeah. And so I think that’s such a good point that you make.

Just because you made the choice of the decision doesn’t mean you can’t change direction or your mind later. Yeah. 

Whitney: Well, and like you said, so you have a great client that comes. Of course you’re gonna work with them if you choose to. It doesn’t mean, like for me, I love supporting women entrepreneurs.

That’s who I love to work with. It doesn’t mean I don’t have any male clients that I also like.  You know, it’s so, it’s, it’s one of those things where I wanna spend, I want to spend my time with clients that really light me up. And sometimes it’s male. Sometimes that’s female, sometimes it’s a team. Mm-hmm.

That’s okay. 

Lauren: Yeah. Yeah. It’s really interesting. I just to go back to this, when you were talking about your mind not knowing which direction you’re going. Yeah. The, the analogy, or rather the scene that plays out in my mind when I’m languishing in, like, which way do I wanna go, is, have you ever seen the movie The Emperors New Groove?

No. Oh my gosh. It’s so funny. Those of you that that know me, know that I spent the majority of my early years in pediatrics and pediatric neurology, so there’s literally not a kids maybe I haven’t seen. But anyway, , there’s this scene where, um, The, the, the chef is, um, is cooking and two people keep walking in and out of the kitchen.

And one’s like, with this, with that, no, I don’t want this. Oh yes, I want this. And so the chef’s just like, what on earth? Yes. And um, and somebody once told me that, and the reason I bring up this analogy is like when you’re, when you’re choosing something, when you’re choosing into your vision, it’s like you’ve put your order into the universal restaurant.

Mm-hmm. Now you gotta sit at your table and like do your stuff and, and let them work on it. Because if you keep going in the kitchen, you’re like, actually I want to change it to like tomato soup instead of a cheeseburger or something. Or you’re like, Nope, actually I want lasagna. Like your order’s never gonna come out.

Whitney: yes, be hungry a long time. 

Lauren: Right? So like, let it come out, eat it, see if that’s what you really want, and if not, order something else. Send it back, whatever. But like, I love what you say about,  you know, getting clear. Like it really all starts with clarity. And I think that that’s like a really good segue into talking about how to shift your inner critic to your inner champion.

Whitney: Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . Um, so one of the questions that I love to ask, it’s. I ask people to think about the meanest thing that they say to themselves. Mm-hmm. , because we all have them, we’re like the worst. Mm-hmm. And it’s, it’s awful because we are so kind to everyone else around us. Mm-hmm. and often the meanest things like happen right up here.

And so a lot of what I do, um, is we actually dive into the. You know, what are the, what are the mean things that you say to yourself right now, either about a particular topic, um, or just generally? And then we flip those around and, and part of it, part of the exercise is about making sure that we’re not supporting a negative narrative.

So, for example, if you were someone who says, um, you know, I am, I’m always. , you’re always broke. You’re always broke. You’re always broke. Then the positive of that is not, I’m never broke . Right. Cause, cause your mind just hears broke, broke, broke, broke, broke. Okay. She wants to be broke. It doesn’t, it can’t differentiate between positive and negative.

Mm-hmm. . And so a lot of what we do when we’re sort of framing this up is to say, Let’s look at the thoughts that are coming to you naturally, the inner critic, and what would the champion say or what would your best friend say? Um, what would you like the story to be? And then we build up those beliefs because like you had touched on earlier, you know, once you believe it, then you will see it.

Mm-hmm. . And part of, and part of what happens is that you believe it, you see it, and then you believe it a little bit more, and then you see it a little bit more, and then you believe it more, and then you see it more and things start to happen a lot quicker. Um, and all of a sudden, if one thing is true that you thought that’s out of the realm of what’s possible or available to me.

Pretty soon other doors also start to open. And if they felt out of reach before, maybe you’re a little bit closer now. Mm-hmm. , maybe it’s not so wild of an idea anymore. Um, and so it’s, I think it’s such an interesting exercise because you’re not only. Deciphering like, what’s going on upstairs, but what about, what would I like the conversation to be?

How would I like to speak to myself or feel about these topics? 

Lauren: Mm-hmm. , what I love about your approach and, and what you just shared is, is a couple of things, but most importantly, you’re recognizing that we have the power and like reminding us that we have the power over. What’s actually being said in something that is in that same vein is the more aware you are of what’s actually being  said, the more power you have, the more control you have.

I mean, there’s so many things we can control except the stories that are going on and our reactions, but I, I really, I love. Like that shift is, is starting with that clarity around what you’re actually saying day in, day out, hour after hour, um, to really interrupt that. 

Whitney: Absolutely. Because that, that is what it is.

It’s pattern interruption, right? So we wanna interrupt that pattern and bring it to a new level of awareness. So when, when the next time you have a thought like that, you’re think. Wait a minute, this isn’t my belief. It’s not my thought. I choose, I choose to think better thoughts. I choose this instead.

That’s, you know, and some of the things might still not feel true. Like for example, I told myself for years I have the body of a supermodel some days a little closer than others, . But it’s like I would rather have a narrative where I. Confident. I feel happy with my body. I feel that way than be think. Mm.

You know, whatever the, whatever the reverse of that is. And so these are really strategies people can use in all parts of their life that, that are going to help boost business, even if they don’t look like they’re involved. They’re related. Mm-hmm. . 

Lauren: Yeah. Um, I love that. And for the record, you guys can’t see her, but, but she pretty much does look like a supermodel, so thank you.

Something’s working. You’re welcome, . Um, I think, I think what I just, I appreciate so much about this and you know, the more I do work with mindset and, and also I’ve had the pleasure of working with you that, you know, when. , you’re spending 24 hours a day with yourself. Mm-hmm. . And like your mind can either be creating stories that serve you or they can be creating stories that keep you as a slave.

And so just having that, that clarity of like, this is where I constantly wanna go in reinforcing that. Um, there’s a really great book I read years ago called The Slight Edge, but essentially, The premise is every single day you’re either getting closer to your goal or farther away. And it, it’s like, it’s not like one big thing.

It’s like these tiny moments in time. And so what I love about your approach is, is that it really focuses on, from going way back to the very beginning of this conversation, the tiny moments mm-hmm. that are reinforcing the story and the vision that you wanna. Absolutely. 

Whitney: It is all about tiny moments.

Consistency, clarity. Um, you know, I think we, we are in a special time right now where people want quick results. They wanna do something extreme and you know, it’s my 90 day plan and then on day 91, it’s like the wheels fall off. And so part of it is, you know, again, like looking. Getting really clear looking at activities or behaviors that really support the version of yourself that you’re creating, um, and showing up consistently.

It’s, you know, I, I used to be more of an adrenaline junkie, so I was on the 90 day plan. Get things done. Um, and, and I still have a little bit of that left in me, but what I have seen is total transformation happening with what you’ve described. Mm-hmm. , slight changes, getting one habit underway, adding a new habit, and not adding like dumb things that don’t actually matter, but like.

Really looking at the big rocks. Like I know for me, exercise is a big thing. I know that I am my best and strongest CEO self when I have and have the strongest mindset when I have a workout. That’s just something that works for me. I know that the best timing is first thing in the morning, so I, I can set myself up for success because I know those things.

Lauren: Hmm.  Yeah. The key is, is knowing yourself. Like me, for example, I, I thrive in the afternoons. That’s just mm-hmm. , that’s when I have most of my calls or whatnot. So the mornings are for myself as well. And I think that, that, that’s also a really interesting reminder of. Slowing down cuz I, I’m just gonna just speak into something that I’ve struggled with as a business owner for years was this, especially as a female business owner, this hustle culture or this like mm-hmm.

Ooh, I really gotta be in my masculine and like just get it done and forcing stuff and like it’s gonna happen. Hell or high water. And, and really how that doesn’t work. Like, yes, that I think, I think that does work to an extent for, if that’s your natural state, a k a if you’re a, a male business owner, I think that, that, that flows a little better.

But for us, you know, female entrepreneurs and business owners, like really something that has been a beautiful journey for me is relaxing and surrendering into the flow of. This is my vision, and it might not happen on day 90. It might be 87, it might be 95, but just because it doesn’t happen on my timeline doesn’t mean that it’s not happening.

Mm-hmm. . Do you wanna talk into that a little? Yeah, absolutely. 

Whitney: It’s, um, it is really interesting because I think, I think what I take away from what you’ve said is that you’ve gotta find your own rhythm and flow. Mm-hmm. and having your vision and not. Not being so distracted by what everyone else is doing.

I think like eyes forward on your own paper, , you know, like that is the moment to put the blinders on. Yeah. Um, and to really be thinking about what serves you, what serves your business, because. You know, you and I, for all of our similarities, we could run totally different operations work at totally different times of day, have different teams of support.

So like what works for one person isn’t gonna work for the other one. And I think we’ve gotten to a place sometimes where that like hustle culture has been rewarded and I’m all for this year. Like bringing back the diva . Like let’s bring her back, let’s bring her back. And, you know, and, and maybe for any of your, um, male listeners, it’s not about the diva, but like, what is that like higher, higher self mm-hmm.

that is in control and calling the shots, um, and really making it be a business and a life and um, and a lifestyle that you love. That is sustainable business. It’s not sustainable when people are burning out before they can share all of their gifts. 

Lauren: Preach, sister preach . Yeah, I mean that’s really why we use wealth dynamics as mm-hmm.

one of the foundations for how I work with business owners is cuz there’s eight different CEO profiles and how, how you show up as CEO is gonna be different with the team that we build around you, the operations we put around you, how you lead, how you run your business, et cetera. So I love that and I, I think it’s also.

A a really good segue into, you know, our last topic about money, mindset, and financials and how all of this plays into that. Cuz money is, is a big trigger for a lot of, a lot of people. So let’s, let’s dive in there. 

Whitney: Let’s, man, that’s a big topic.

Yeah. Well, I think, I think [00:39:30] we started with, um, you know, we started with one area that I think. You know, is a, is a great place to start with, um, you know, thinking about goals, being in a position to break them down, being consistent. So, you know, there are, um, founders and, and CEOs that think, okay, this is gonna be a 50 K month and a.

250 K month or you know, it’s a million dollar a year. And so really trying to get granular, but also like bringing your mindset along so that we’re not saying like, okay, 50 K, 50 K, 50 K, 50 k, and then we’re going to million dollars, million dollars, million dollars because that is just gonna turn, you know?

Mm-hmm. turn people around. And so how do we get to a place where even if your goal, you know, it’s gonna fluctuate a little bit month over month. Picking a number that’s somewhere in the middle. And so you can have some, you can have some um, months where you’re above. You might have some months where you’re a little bit lower, but all of that is still averaging out where you’d like to be.

Um, and so I think some of those small practices are great. And maybe you’ll find out that. You can actually do a hundred K month a lot easier than you thought was possible. Um, mm-hmm. , which I also love about setting a bigger goal. You know.

Lauren: I do know. I do know. And I think to your point about bigger goals, something, I mean, it’s such a cl cliche, uh, quote, but it’s like, shoot for the moon.

Cuz even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars, like mm-hmm. . If you have that big goal, then chances are, , even if you don’t hit it, you’ve hit, you know that second one. And we, we set goals with, um, good, better, best, sometimes. Awesome. And so, you know, I think, I think that that’s just a really, a good reminder of Yeah, just cuz it’s a moonshot doesn’t mean it’s not possible.

Whitney: Oh, correct. Correct. Like, how many things do you. Right now, I’m sure we’ve got opportunities that we’ve never considered, aren’t available to yet, because we’ve got some blinder on right now. Um, so anything is possible like, just, just before we hopped on here, I had a LinkedIn message. I’d like to hire you.

Okay. It wasn’t even in amazing , it wasn’t even in the realm of, of what I thought was gonna happen this month or, or that, and so you just don’t know the  opportunities that are coming for you, the name that you’re, or the circles that your name is being spoken in. So all of that, mm-hmm.

 Lauren:  so cool. Yeah, and I think that that follow.

You know, well, maybe I should say money follows the mindset. Yeah. Is, is PR is probably where, where I would say that that has the biggest impact is cuz when you look at your bank account, and let’s say it’s not where you want it, it’s easy to like reinforce that story and live in scarcity versus living in possibility and abundance.

That even if in this moment of time it’s not where you want it to be. That, that could change literally overnight. Um, like I, I’m sure this has happened to you, but I’ve gotten on calls that I thought were just coffee calls and then all of a sudden it’s a $12,000 hour . Yes. Right. Where they’re like, Hey, I need to, I wanna hire you about this thing.

And then I’m like, well, that was unexpected. Yes. And, and so it, like, it can change from moment to moment to. and I think that’s where mindset and money intersect. 

Whitney: Absolutely. And you know, there’s such a, there is such a connection between how worthy you feel of the money that you’re asking for, how worthy you feel about accepting.

Um, and so there is a lot of. You know, healing and trauma, that, that comes from some of these old money stories, right? If you’re someone who’s maybe had a failed [00:43:30] business in the past or financially it didn’t do as well as you expected, there is some money trauma to, to heal there. And so it’s, um, but it is one of those things that if, if you don’t go through the process of fixing your mindset, you know, the levels of wealth and levels of opportunity.

don’t come to you in the same way. Mm-hmm. . 

Lauren: Mm-hmm. . Oh, so much, so much juicy. Goodness. Um, and  as much as I could jam on the subject with you for hours, , um, I’m gonna start wrapping us up and I know that we’ve covered a lot. So tell me, are there any less nuggets that you want to give our listeners that we didn’t cover?

Sitting here thinking, shoot, I really wanna say this or leave you with this. 

Whitney: Um, you know, one of the things that, that I have been really hot about this year is mm-hmm. is thinking about the energy that you bring to your business, the energy that you  as CEO bring to your business and operating from a place of knowing when you’re in.

The highest of your vibration. And so I guess I would encourage, um, encourage listeners to be thinking about when they feel their best and their brightest, whether it’s a time of day, you know, for me, I love jewelry, so I’ll put on some jewelry, some nice lipstick, and that makes me feel like I’m operating.

At a higher level, operating at a higher energy and vibration. And when you’re there, that’s when those amazing opportunities and connections happen and where we really start to see the money flow. And so I would love for people to be thinking about, you know, how do we tap into that energy for them and, um, make things, make big things happen.

Lauren: Oh, that’s, that’s such a good reminder. Such a good reminder. Yeah. Cuz I mean, if you think about it, if you wake up and  you’re like, oh, this is gonna be such a bad day, like it inevitably is a bad day, versus if you’re like, this is gonna be a great day, universe always universe delivers . Um, okay, so last question I’ve started asking guests, what is a book that you think every entrepreneur or business owner should read and why?

Whitney: Oh, have, has someone already said the big. No. Oh my goodness. I love the Big Leap. I think 10 years ago, this was the first, you know, book in the sort of performance arena, self-help arena that I, I listened to. Um, this one, you will absolutely love it. It’s gay Hendrix called The Big Leap. And um, I just love the way they break down your zone of genius and being in a place of just operating from your highest and.

Use so that I have like a obsession with that book . 

Lauren: I do too. It’s actually literally right next to me on my Yep. I love it. I love it. Yep. Yep. You guys can’t see it, but we’re pointing to it. Um, it’s got a goldfish chi out of it’s bowl on the front. And you know, I, I think that the thing that I love most about this book is it really.

gets you focused on where you’re stopping yourself and what it’s gonna take to like break through that glass ceiling that you have. Maybe accidentally created for yourself, . Um, so great recommendation. I’m here for it. A hundred percent. We’ll put that in the show notes. Uh, so wrap, to wrap us up, tell our listeners how they can connect with you and soak in more of your mindset.

Magic. Wonderful. 

Whitney: Yep. They can find me online. I’m Whitney alexandra.co. On there, I’ve got a free audio and, and a link if you’d like to chat. 

Lauren: Yeah, she’s got her free audio is called Limitless Wealth. And, um, it’s gonna help listeners change their mindset about money and attract more of what they desire.

And, um, you also do a free breakthrough strategy call where you identify. what blocks they’re holding them back from their next level of success. Yes, absolutely. 

Whitney: Yeah. I love those sessions. A breakthrough strategy session we go through, we identify the blocks and, uh, and put a plan in place to remove them.

Lauren: Amazing. Yes. And as somebody who has known you for a while and done one of those sessions, I can tell you life, business changing. Um, if you, if you have a mindset, Block or you feel like you are the one that’s holding yourself back. I encourage you to get in touch with Whitney. You will, you will not regret it.

It will be great. . Thank you. Um, of course. So that is it for this week’s episode. Thanks so much for listening in. It’s because of listeners like you that we create these episodes. I’d love to hear from you and your biggest takeaways, so make sure you’re falling along. Tag me on Instagram at it’s Lauren Goldstein or LinkedIn or wherever you hang out on the interwebs.

Thanks so much for. And we’ll see you next time. Thanks again, Whitney. 

Whitney: It was a pleasure. Thank you.

Lauren: Thank you for listening to The Biz Doctor Podcast. Now, I like to say that friends, don’t let friends WebMD your business. So if you’re wondering what your next steps could be, here are some options for you no matter what. Head to the show notes or to my website, goldenkeypartnership.com for some impactful resources to support you getting out from under your.

That’s also where you’ll find the links to learn more about our services and how we support business owners just like you, who are ready to make the successful jump from business operator in the trenches to visionary business owner with more freedom and flexibility. All that info is on our website, so pop on over to learn more or get in touch at goldenkeypartnership.com. Finally, if you love The Biz Doctor podcast, I’d be so grateful if you would share it with your friends and network and give us a five star rating or review wherever you listen to your podcast.

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