I interviewed one of my newest friends and transformational business and branding strategist, Amber Lilyestrom and I am so excited to share it all with you! We are going to dive into how to find the deeper purpose living beneath our work. I know so many of us are building these businesses building these empires and we're forgetting to remember what was the real reason we started. Or maybe we don't even know what that purpose is yet and are looking to discover it.
A lot of you are moms, caretakers or nurturers and I bet most of the time you are the ones who end up taking on more than you should. That was Amber’s path and she became an entrepreneur because it was always her passion. She was always afraid to start, did not know how or where to start and realized she was extremely successful in her corporate career but she was missing out on the most important part of life. Living.
How to keep pushing through
As you're starting to take on all of these things and some things you may love, some things you might not love, how do we keep pushing through when we maybe think, I'm doing this but it's not my purpose. It’s about being observant paying attention and figuring out where you need to head next.
- Amber said, “I think it's like when you're cooking a meal and you have different parts of the meal that have to happen and you have to watch one part of this and one part of that. It's like you have to keep that one simmering while you're starting to boil over here for the noodles.”
- Have the ability to see that vision, have awareness and the courage to just try!
- Sometimes it might not work out the way you hoped, but you can always go back, but as Amber says, “And it's not going to be perfect. And you mix all up and you've got a microwave if you need it to reheat it.”
- If you are not excited about something anymore it may be time to shift gears. Start slowly stepping away from one thing and move over to what your true passion is.
Do you know what your deeper purpose is?
It all goes back to why you started. If you can remember why you started and why you’re doing what you do, you will be able to push through and start making those breakthroughs. Your passion will uncover itself.
- Pay attention to your body, know what it is telling you and how you feel about certain things. (Do you feel sick? Stressed? Frustrated?)
- Amber recommends checking in with what you are feeling on a daily basis and then asking the question why until you get more clarity, until you find what feels good to you, what feels authentic to you.
Now I can relate to this because my reference point is if I am getting really excited for the weekend. I don't ever want to be excited for the weekend because it means I'm working too hard during the week. And there have been times in my business where I'm like wait…what day is it? It feels like Friday and it's Tuesday. You want to make sure that if you're getting really excited for the weekend or it's Sunday and you start to get that pain in your stomach that anxiety is coming up. These aren't good signs so you've got to make sure you're paying attention.
There is nothing to lose
If you have big life changes happening and you are starting to question yourself, just turn to people in your life, people who believe in you that know you can do it. If you have deadlines set that you are hoping to reach and maybe you have to push them back, know that that is okay!
- Amber made a great point in saying, “I remember now that I have enough patterns on my journey of taking leaps. It's like let's connect the dots on the leaps that we've made in our life. So yeah you might not have a lot of those yet on your journey but you have them in your life…like that time that you tried out for the school play and you got the part. Or the time that you said yes to something that felt kind of crazy and all the synchronistic things that happened as a result of it.”
- If the timing is right things will work in your favor and possibly beyond what you could have imagined!!
- Your dreams will not come true without making that first leap and getting things started.
- Be open to things that may come unexpectedly. You might not have it on your calendar until the end of the year or maybe not at all, but don’t let opportunities pass you by just because it is not how you envisioned it.
Figure out what works for you
Amber said, “I believe branding is our sacred opportunity to be who we really are in the world and in our life and to take all parts of our life and put them together into moving a forward momentum way.”
- You have to figure out what works for you, your schedule and your family because you're not all in the same season of life.
- “Before that I built my business during nap time. So I really want to be specific about that like that's the season that you're in. And I built a six figure business in my first year with my child during her nap time. I really didn't want to miss those moments and those milestones. And I wasn't willing to build a business that was going to keep me away from the sacred moment that I couldn't get back.” If Amber can do it during nap time, so can you!
This was such an amazing interview with Amber and I hope you got a few takeaways like I did. Amber left us with some advice, “So my advice for her would be to stop looking outside for your answers and start listening to what's within you and to acknowledge that everything you need literally is within you right now and the strategy is the easiest thing to acquire…just take a big global step back and create space that you can take a different perspective, a different look at it because you being all stressed out and uptight in your business is not helping your clients at all. It's keeping you from your flow and being of true service.” You can connect with amber on social media at, @amberlilyestrom!
Looking for more strategy and motivation to build your empire? If you haven’t already registered for She's Building Her Empire Live, make sure to get signed up! If you want to connect with other female entrepreneurs looking to build their relationships, guess where they will be? SBHE Live! Join us in Milwaukee, April 24-26, https://shesbuildingherempire.com/live
Join the after party in my free Facebook group to keep the conversation going –https://www.facebook.com/groups/shesbuildingherempire
