“In the workplace, when we start to micromanage other people, nobody gets anything done. It’s just another example of how control gets us farther from our desired goals.” - Dr. Brooke Smith 

Welcome to Brave and Boss! I’m Kristi Soomer. Today’s episode is our season finale! I have Dr. Brooke Smith to discuss entrepreneurs’ biggest challenges and how to overcome them. From being unable to let go of control, to not having enough time, to overcoming the mental challenges of entrepreneurship such as fear and anxiety. We talk about all this and more!   

Brooke Smith, Ph.D. is a productivity coach and mindfulness expert. She helps women entrepreneurs create a system of support and a sustainable structure for their businesses. Brooke transforms personal and professional productivity through mindfulness with a focus on where entrepreneurs apply their energy. Women come to her feeling overwhelmed and unfulfilled with too much to do and not enough support. She works with them in designing a life and workspace that allows for ease and spaciousness while scaling their business and reintroducing enjoyment. In her prior career, she managed the operational excellence program at a $1B/year company and trained hundreds of people to create streamlined, customer-delighting business processes.

She has been featured in over a dozen media outlets including Forbes, Fast Company, InStyle Magazine, Thrive Global, and Parade Magazine. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, and certifications in yoga instruction, therapeutic yoga, life coaching, wellness coaching, NLP, hypnotherapy, lean six sigma, and project management. She has finished three trail ultramarathons, including one of the toughest 100k races on the east coast.

Brooke lives with her artist husband and two cats in Rochester, NY, where you can find them mountain biking on the local trails, playing board games, and eating curry tempeh tacos.

[00:01]  Our Season Finale!   

• We’ll be taking a break and coming back in October to prep you for the Holiday season
  • Look out for new courses and workshops
  • Stay in touch! If you’re an eCommerce brand owner and you’re feeling stressed out, join our FREE Facebook group where we talk about all sorts of eCommerce strategy
  • We have a huge back catalog of episodes!
  • Reach out if you’re interested in 1-on-1 coaching

[04:54] Introducing Dr. Brooke Smith

• Brooke got started down this path due to her eating disorder recovery. Dr. Brooke had Bulimia for a huge portion of her life. After relapsing in her early 30’s, she started experimenting with intuitive eating. She learned how to let go of any attachment to the desired outcome, helping her live the best year of her life. She decided to apply this principle to every area of her life.
  • Control gets us further from our desired goals

[11:20] Common Challenges of Entrepreneurs and How to Overcome Them

• There's too much to do, and there's not enough time
  • At the onset, this may seem like a legitimate external issue, but this is usually due to owners being unable to loosen up control
  • We make things a lot harder than we need to, because of our own fears, self-doubt, and perfectionist tendencies.
• Two fears that are tied to the mentality of “No one else can do this”
  • The fear that no one is good enough to do a certain job
  • We fear that someone might be as good as we are in doing that job because our self worth is tied up with being at the heart of our business
• Tools or mental shifts that we need to make happen to get out of this
  • Adopt the idea that everyone is worthy, valuable, and whole
  • Allow other people to be worthy of having a bad day
  • the more we practice seeing it in other people, the easier it becomes to believe it about ourselves
• How to overcome not having enough time in the day
  • Simplify: Eliminate or keep things by evaluating through the lens of your business processes and moving the needle of your business
  • If it doesn't meet a core function, eliminate it
  • If it does meet a core function, ask yourself if this is the best way to meet that core function
  • Eliminate the internal mental resistance that causes delays
• Create a process that supports the business at the stage it’s in and then expand or make it more complex as the business grows

[24:25] Overcoming Procrastination   

• Sometimes when you have too much on your plate, it can lead to paralysis
• How we can get over procrastination and get moving!
  • Always write it down
  • Divide the list into 2 categories:
    • Simple, quick, mindless tasks that are annoying but easy to do. This can even be delegated
    • Important tasks like big projects need to be prioritized

[27:40] Self Doubt

• Self-doubt is always about fear
  • The experience of self-doubt as an entrepreneur is so common
• How to deal with self-doubt
  • practice any sort of mindfulness or embodiment to turn down the volume on all racing thoughts
  • Build up the habit of following through. Choose one task and get it done. Overcommitting and then failing to follow through erodes our self-confidence
  • Let go of fear and uncertainty. We can only control the things that we can control
• Tool or techniques to overcome the fear of uncertainty
  • Tie mindfulness and meditation into things that you do every day

[44:19] The Hot Seat!

• Connect with Dr. Brooke via the links below. Follow her Instagram or get on her emailing list to stay up to date on courses and group programs she’ll be launching!
• What is one non-negotiable step in your morning routine?
  • Going to bed early
• What’s your favorite business book?
  • Your Body is Your Brain by Amanda Blake
• What’s your favorite podcast you’re listening to right now?
  • The Lively Show
  • Spiritual Boss Shit
• If you could wear only one outfit what would it be?
  • A summer dress and a big sweater
• Final words

Key Quotes:

“As entrepreneurs, we get super stressed about what other people think of us, hoping that we can control other people's reactions. And we end up spinning in indecision, worry, and perfection, instead of just doing the thing, taking action, and accepting that we actually can't control other people's reactions. We can't control the outcome.” - Dr. Brooke Smith

“[We can’t let go of control because] we're afraid that someone else actually will do it as well as us. And that's every bit as scary. Because our self-worth is tied up with being at the heart of our business.”  - Dr. Brooke Smith

Resources Mentioned

• Spirit Junkie: A Radical Road to Self-Love and Miracles by Gabrielle Bernstein
• Your Body is Your Brain by Amanda Blake
• The Lively Show
• Spiritual Boss Shit Podcast

Connect with Dr. Brooke 
Visit www.drbrookesmith.com and follow her on Instagram

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