Differently

Strategic Quarterly Planning with Josephine Owusu

• Carla Reeves | Creator of The Differently Coaching Experience

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Episode Highlights:

✅ Why starting with the end in mind is key to building a life and business you love
✅ How to break big dreams into actionable steps that align with your vision
✅ Common themes of a dream life—financial freedom, time flexibility, and purpose-driven work
✅ How social media and comparison can pull us off track and how to refocus
✅ Practical exercises to reconnect with what truly matters
✅ The power of strategic planning with flexibility—how to pivot when needed
✅ Managing overwhelm with brain dumps, prioritization, and planning
✅ The importance of setting non-negotiable commitments for yourself
✅ How to identify and lean into your strengths to build a business that feels aligned
✅ Why taking action is just as important as planning

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Website: https:/www.carlareeves.com/
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Speaker 1:

I'm Carla Reeves, and this is Differently. Whether you feel stuck in survival, navigating a change, or seeking more for your life, may this podcast be your weekly nudge to take a risk to build a life that is uniquely bold, authentic and in alignment with your deepest values. What if you worried less about the bumps in the road and instead got equipped for the journey? Get ready to rethink what's possible. Welcome back to Differently. I can't believe we're here. If you're listening live.

Speaker 1:

It's the end of the first quarter already and the perfect moment to pause, reflect and revisit your goals you set out with this year, to ensure that you're staying on track and making to-do lists that will actually build the life and business you're working to create. Today I'm sharing a replay of a timeless conversation with my dear friend and brilliant business strategist, josephine Owusu. Josephine shares her beautiful perspective on building your dream life and business through strategic planning. She talks about starting with the end in mind, and it's going to help us break down big dreams into actionable steps. She's going to get you re-inspired with your goals and help you stay aligned, focused on what matters most, because, let's face it, as entrepreneurs and leaders, it's easy to get distracted or caught up in the weeds of busyness. This is a perfect time to check in, realign our focus and ensure that your daily plans are truly feeding the larger goals and purpose you are here to fulfill.

Speaker 1:

Enjoy, hey, differently listeners, I'm so excited to have josephine with me here today. Josephine and I met gosh like over a year ago in the. Excuse me, I'm gonna start over a little horse frog in my throat no worries.

Speaker 1:

No worries, hey, differently listeners, I'm so excited to have Josephine here with me today. She and I met over a year ago in the BizChicks Mastermind and we've connected gosh numerous times since then and we are going to dive into strategic planning and I can't wait. So welcome Josephine.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much, carla, I'm so happy to be here.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so give everybody a little sense of where you are in the world and who you are.

Speaker 2:

So hello everyone. I live in the UK, so I live in the countryside. I actually moved. I was born and raised in London, but 11 months ago, me and my husband we decided to move about an hour outside of London into the countryside, which has been absolutely amazing, and I'm a business strategist who works with purpose-driven coaches, content creators and creative entrepreneurs with a team.

Speaker 1:

I could just listen to your voice all day and your accent. Everyone's going to love listening to you accent. Everyone's gonna love listening to you. Okay, so we're talking about this idea of building your dream life and business through strategic planning, which I just love all things planning so I'm really excited, but that also can feel a little bit lofty, right? This idea of building our dream life and business. So I want to know what does that mean to you?

Speaker 2:

Okay. So the key thing and this is what I do with all of my clients is it's always about starting with the end in mind. What is the end goal? So, even though it may seem overwhelming, it's really important to just know, okay, what do I want to achieve at the end, what is the kind of business that I want to build, what is the kind of life that I want to build, and how can I build a business that aligns with that life? And then you kind of reverse engineer it, you kind of move you, you start with the end in mind and then you work backwards.

Speaker 2:

It it's like okay, what do I need to do to be able to achieve that goal? So, for example, if you know that, okay, in five years time I want to I'm trying to think of an example in five years time I want to expand to a business. I want to have a business that expands to New York, for example. What does that look like? From year one, year two, year three, year four, year five? So you can kind of break it into smaller goals and then um, so that every year you have a different focus, but each one of those goals is feeding in to that bigger purpose that you have.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and as you work with people, what are some of the things that really describe a dream life in business? Because that's different for everybody, right?

Speaker 2:

Yes, it is. What has come up a lot, though, which is quite similar. Similar is having financial freedom, having freedom of time um, for some of my clients, it has been being able to work anywhere in the world and still have the life that they have, so not be limited to, um, a geographic, geographical area. For some clients, um, who are parents, it's being able to have this amazing business that they have, maybe work part-time in it, but also bring in a lot of revenue, and then also for it to be able to fund the lifestyle and provide for their families, and also for them to have time to look after their kids and spend time with their kids and their spouses. So it's, yeah, as you said, it's different for everyone, but what comes up a lot is that freedom of time and being able to do what they want whenever they want.

Speaker 1:

You're speaking my language and I think this whole idea of beginning with the end in mind and really deciding what does that mean for you, right, it doesn't have to look like everybody else, and I know for me and the clients I've worked with. Then we wake up and realize like whoa, I built something that doesn't really feel like my own or aligned with who I am. So I love that you start with the end in mind and I love that you said the word alignment, because that's just like near and dear to my heart and all the work that I do, because if it's not aligned then it doesn't feel right, right.

Speaker 2:

Exactly, and I agree with that, because there are lots of people who, when you look out in the world, they look successful, but behind the scenes they are burnt out, they are tired, they are stressed, their relationships are falling apart, and so they may have built a successful business in the world standard, but they don't feel successful because their life is just falling apart. And one of the things that I love doing with my clients at the beginning of if they're doing an intensive, a strategic planning intensive, one of the things that we do is we do a visualization exercise, and it's it amazes me time and time again the things that come up. Um, for a lot of the clients, things bubble up where they're like, oh, I forgot about that dream. It's like they, I forgot about that dream, and then they're literally like, oh my gosh, yes, this is what I want to do.

Speaker 2:

I had a client where she really realized a dream that had just kind of been pushed aside and because of that exercise she ended up pivoting her business and it's just changed the way her, her business is and the way she's. She's just killing it. It's, it's amazing and, um, it's because she's building a business that aligns with her family life that aligns with what she wants and her goals and everything, and she's not just chasing after okay, this is what my competitor is doing. She's chasing after her own desires, so yeah, how do we, how, like I?

Speaker 1:

two questions. One is kind of why do we get swept away in that right like chasing something that doesn't really align, and and how do we, how do we recognize that?

Speaker 2:

so the first thing is, um, we're losing our focus. So we're looking too much at what other people are doing. You know, we all know that it's very easy to look at, for example, instagram, and people are posting their highlight reels and just thinking, oh my gosh, I think that's what I want and that looks amazing. But instead of actually looking within and thinking, what do I actually want? What does success look like to me? Sometimes we look at what success looks like to other people instead of actually taking the time to review.

Speaker 2:

I think that a lot of people I don't think a lot of people spend enough time reviewing their lives and kind of just really taking the time to dream and think about what is it that I love doing and where do I want my life to go? So I think it's definitely to do with losing focus and kind of getting shiny object syndrome. You know, whenever there's anything new, okay, maybe I should do that. So just you end up kind of being pulled apart in different places. So, yeah, I think that's one of the key things losing focus and just focusing on other people's dreams instead of actually taking the time to sit down and, you know, think about okay, what do I actually want Like for me because of my faith. I literally will spend time with God and I'll pray and ask, okay, you know, Lord, what do you have for me, kind of thing, and I'll dream, and it's about kind of connecting with that. So that's one of the reasons. And your second question, sorry I forgot.

Speaker 1:

I forgot too.

Speaker 2:

Oh, actually you said how do we get back? How do we get back? Ok, so the way to get back is, as I said, is taking that time to, literally, even if it's. I know not everyone loves to journal, but I think journaling is such an amazing practice, and so take that time out and ask yourself those questions. Like you know, find your, find a lovely comfy, quiet corner in your house and, even if it's just half an hour, and sit there and just think about, or go for a walk, and then you can write it down after and just think about where do I want to be in a few years? What kind of business do I want to build? What things light me up in my business? When was the last time I really enjoyed what I was doing in my business and what was it?

Speaker 2:

And then, what kind of life do I want to have? What does that look like? What does it look like on a daily basis, a monthly basis, an annual basis? What does it look like in how I spend my time, the clients that I work with, how much time do I spend with my family? How many holidays do I have? It's really sitting down and thinking about the big picture. Like really dreaming and not putting any limits on it. Like if I could live my dream life. What would that look like? What are the simple things that it would include? Like, for me, I love to walk, and especially since we moved out to the countryside, I go, I've got a walking buddy and we go on early morning walks around the beautiful countryside and that just it just lights me up, and that's a simple thing. I also love to go on spa days and spa weekends, and so it's really thinking about what is it? The things that I really enjoy from life really enjoy from life.

Speaker 1:

I think that is so poignant what you're saying, because I think when we don't take time to actually get quiet and ask those important questions, we can get lost in this fairy tale idea of what our life should be like. But when we actually get real about it, the things we deeply want are far more simple than often our mind or the world wants to tell us. They're really simple things and I think so many things could be solved in our own lives if we just spent a little more time getting quiet. You know our world is so noisy and I love what you're saying here and I love what you're saying here. Okay, so back to this idea of the end in mind.

Speaker 1:

I know in my own life the importance of that. Like I've always had kind of a mission in front of me, whether it was like who do I want to be as a mom, or what kind of marriage are we creating, or what kind of business am I building. And sometimes those visions have been like five-year, 10-year, 15-year, 20-year visions that I just can almost like repeat in my mind, that I carry in front of me, even when there's no evidence showing that it's happening or you know real yet and those have led me. I mean, those have led all the different parts of my life, and I think this is so, so, incredibly powerful. So, once we have this, what is? What is the next piece of this?

Speaker 2:

once we have our, our vision and mission idea, so the next thing I would say is um, you can do almost like a loose plan. Um, and remember that when it comes to goal setting, it's um, you can always adjust things. It doesn't mean that just because you set a goal, that's it. We're rigid, we're not moving. I'm just thinking of um, the meme with Ross from friends, when it's like pivot, sometimes we have to pivot yes, I love that, and sometimes goals don't work for people for that reason they feel too confining.

Speaker 1:

And so, yes, loose, loose plans and loose goals.

Speaker 2:

And that's how it is with strategy as well. Even if you have created a strategy, we should have that openness to be able to pivot and adjust depending on what happens, because life is not straightforward and even though we have a plan, we all know that things always come in and it's like, okay, that was not in the plan, that things always come in and it's like, okay, that was not in the plan. And so we have to always be open to pivot. But what I would suggest is, as I mentioned earlier, creating a loose plan in terms of okay, if this is, for example, what I want to achieve in five years, so then what does that look like in year four, year three, year two, year one, so where would I like to be?

Speaker 2:

What's the goalpost for each of those years for me to be able to achieve that plan? And then you would come back to year one, which is the current year that you were in, so the next 12 months, and you would look at that big goal and break it down. So I always like to break down things. So, for example, give me a goal. I'm going to. Let you give me a goal.

Speaker 1:

So say, there's a goal that you have for this year, and I can give you an example well, I think one of the goals for this year for our life was to be more mobile and create more adventure in our lives and more living love that okay, so I love that, I love that, I love that.

Speaker 2:

so what you would do is, um, in terms of so you don't want to be limited to a place, you want to be able to travel. Do you know how many weeks? Or you want to travel in the year?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, haven't actually defined that, but I think we've just want to have you know kind of adventure and trips kind of plotted throughout the rest of the year, which we kind of have done a little bit of. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so I love that. That's a great example. So what I would do for the next 12 months if I know that, okay, I want to be more mobile, moving around, having trips here and there is. I will look at the 12 months and then I will decide. We'll decide, okay, maybe we want to, we want to do a trip every month. Maybe we want to do a trip every month.

Speaker 2:

You might decide that you want to do two big trips a year, so you might have um two, whether it's um yeah, for example, you might have two trips where it's one month each, right, and you decide that, okay, I'm going to, we're going to go away in August and that's going to be our first month trip, and then our second month trip is going to be in December, because it's around Christmas time, so we can actually spend time with family, but then we can also still have some time for ourselves as well, right? So you would put that in your calendar, that we're going to be doing that, and then you might decide that all the other months you are going to go away once a weekend, and then maybe every three months, you might go away for a week. So you will kind of plot that out, you, um, it's all about planning, looking at each month and being like okay, so most of these months, so two months. For example, for q1, the first two months I'm going away for the weekend, we're going for away for the weekend, and then we decide where we're going. Month three we're going away for a week, month or maybe for three days or something. And then month four, we're going away for um a week, and then month six, we're going away for a month.

Speaker 2:

So you can kind of plot things out. Now you need to look at your business and figure out okay, what does that look like? So, because you don't want to be work, okay, question If you were going away for a month in August and December, would that be? Would part of it be a working holiday or would it be you want to completely switch off?

Speaker 1:

Yes, so these are mostly working like being mobile and working, so on the road, doing a little blend of both. So, yes, it definitely includes working yeah.

Speaker 2:

Okay, perfect.

Speaker 2:

So what you would do is you would look at kind of your packages and the way that you work with your clients and you would schedule it in a way where in the months of August and the months of December your workload is much less.

Speaker 2:

So you're still working behind the scenes or you might not even be doing client work in those particular months, but you are doing, you're working behind the scenes on your business. So they're like the quieter months, usually August, people on holiday, so it's a great time to work on your business. December people are, to be honest, a lot of people switch off from the beginning of December, so you can also kind of slowly be working behind the scenes on your business again. And so maybe you would set up your business in a way where, in terms of the way that you work with clients, if you are on a retainer, you would make sure that by August, for example, you are winding down and if you've even got a few client calls, it's literally only a few where it's not draining. And the same thing with December as well.

Speaker 1:

I love what you're saying. So it's like, regardless of what our goal is, it's kind of like plotting these big rocks, right? Because what I know when I plot the big rocks, you know, just like kind of casting your vision or mission. It's like you do start to, your life starts to line up around those things, right? The problem is, when we don't have big rocks clear in our life or plotted in our life, then life just fills up everything and we're left feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, consumed by everything else but but our big rocks, and that leaves us feeling powerless and frustrated, right? So let's talk about that for a little bit, because I know you, you help people with overwhelm and that's a big topic, I know with the people I work for too. So let's, let's talk about that for a minute with the people I work for too.

Speaker 2:

So let's, let's talk about that for a minute. Yeah, so, in terms of overwhelm, I think a lot of us, sometimes we just see that there's just too much to do. Too many things, I always too many things. So one of this is why a theme that you will keep on hearing is about writing things down, about planning. If you don't plan, I have a saying if it's not in the calendar, it's not happening. So you could have a dream that, oh yes, I want to be mobile this year and we're traveling, but if you don't actually look at the calendar and schedule it in, it is not happening. If we didn't schedule this podcast interview, it would not have happened, and I always say that some day is not in the calendar. So we need to. It's really important.

Speaker 2:

The key is in the plan and the key is writing things down. I think when people are overwhelmed, the first thing that you need to start with is literally do a brain dump, and I would encourage you to do that even so. For example, when you're planning your month, you have a brain dump of what you want to achieve for that month, the same as if you were planning for your week were planning for your week um. You can either. Some people plan on the friday just before they finish their their day and close up for the weekend. Some people plan on a sunday when they chilled and it's part of their self-care and you know they're kind of winding down, um on a sunday. But I think the key is yeah, the key is actually making a note of what are the things that are all in my head. If it's in your head, you're gonna you're gonna stay overwhelmed. So I would start with write everything down. Just do a brain dump, brain dump of everything that's in your head which is like I need to do this, and then look at, okay, which ones of these things is actually time sensitive, for example. So which ones are actually like I need to get this done by a certain time, a certain day? There's a hard deadline on it and then look at the things where it's important.

Speaker 2:

But you could actually schedule it in. You can plot it in um. I'll give an example if you were planning to travel in August and you know that you had certain things that needed to be done for clients and wrapped up, you would make sure that you would schedule it in. So if you knew that, for example, you were I don't know launching a program or you had a deliverable that you needed to give or a strategy that you needed to provide, you would make sure you'd almost kind of look as your your vacation time or that, that downtime as a project. It's like operation project. What do I need to do to be able to for that month to be a success for me? To be able to not be stressed out and working a hundred percent, but actually be able to take some time off and really enjoy that time and not be stressed? What needs to be put in place? Yeah, so it's kind of treating it as an actual project and mapping things out.

Speaker 2:

So I always encourage time blocking. So if you've got an ongoing project where it's something that it takes a bit longer, you can schedule time in on a particular day every week so that you're getting a bit done every time. So you could have a project to do with. For example, you want to rebrand your website. You need to write the copy you need to provide. You know all these different things. You can map that out. You can decide that a Wednesday is your website day and um, you map out four hours every week to make sure you do that.

Speaker 2:

And the key thing is, when you are time blocking, um, don't just put do website, attach. So true, in the in the right, because that's what we do sometimes, but in the description put specific tasks, specific actions that you need to achieve for that particular date, so you can kind of plan from week to week and then do that. Another thing that I would recommend is theming your days as well. So, for example, if you have a podcast, a great thing a lot of podcasters do, and I'm sure you do as well is they have a specific day that they record their podcast. Because you're not getting distracted. Overwhelm comes when you're literally you feel like you're being pulled in different directions for different tasks. So it's like you're focusing on that one task, you're focusing on recording. It's the same kind of task. That's what's going to allow you to be more productive.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I love that, I love these ideas. So I want to highlight a few things you've said. One is the power of a brain dump. When you're feeling overwhelmed, I know for myself like it's all just stirring in your head and you've got things for this week, next week, next month, the whole year like stirring, swirling in your head and just sitting down to like empty it right, to actually see like what is today, what is this week, what is next month, and you can kind of spread it out. Then you feel a little more sense of control and power over actually what's here and now.

Speaker 1:

So powerful you guys listening, just emptying your mind on a regular basis, of that for overwhelm. I think that's incredible. Of that for overwhelm, I think that's incredible. And the second thing I want to highlight is this idea of what I just hear you kind of talking about focus, and I love that you're always focused on what is it that you want? And then how can you line things up to that? Because I think a pitfall for us as humans is to get focused on what we don't want, and that creates overwhelm too.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, and even when you look at your, when you do your brain dump and you look at your list of things, ask yourself the question do I actually need to do this thing so you can go through that exercise? Is this going to move my business forward? Does this align with the goal that I have for this month? So true, I'm so guilty of that.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes things just end up on my to-do list that aren't even relevant with the goals I have right now. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Right, can I, can I park it? And so it's really, once you've dropped that down, it's like you, you have to be ruthless. It's like, if you're doing a clear out of your wardrobe, of your clothes, and it's like I have not worn this in a year, I have to be ruthless, chuck you out. You really need to sit down and think, okay, does this actually line up with my goal for this month, which should line up with my goal for this month, which should line up with my goal for this quarter, which should line up for my goal for this year, which feeds into my ultimate big dream goal. And so, if you're always asking yourself that question, you're being intentional about everything that you are doing and you're not just being pulled in so many different directions.

Speaker 1:

And you're not just being pulled in so many different directions. Okay, so how often should we do this? And this is really important because you're talking about kind of making hard decisions. Like I was talking to a client last week and she does a lot of project management inside of her business and she was leading this group through an exercise and they were getting so frustrated because they're planning all the projects for the year but they can't figure out how to fit them all in. And she's like okay, hold on. Basically, you guys have 36 eggs. You have one carton that has 12 spots. You've got to figure out how you're trying to fit 36 eggs in 12 spots and it doesn't work. And so she was saying these are the hard decisions you've got to make to, you know, to push some of those out. And so how often should we be asking ourselves this question? And is there anything you would recommend around, like making those hard decisions?

Speaker 2:

so I would say, um, whenever you do your brain dump. So you might not do your brain dump every day, um, you might do it weekly, but whenever you are doing that and you're whenever you're planning, for example, if you're planning planning your day, if you're planning your week, for example um, yeah, I would say specifically in those areas when you're planning your week, for example, yeah, I would say specifically in those areas when you're planning your month. That's more loose and you can always adjust to it, but when you're planning your day and your week, I think you should actually ask yourself those questions what do I need to be doing? This and another thing that you need to be thinking about is is this moving my business forward? Am I working in my business and doing all these little tasks that need to be done but shouldn't necessarily be done by me and are not necessarily my genius zone? Or should I be, or am I doing tasks that are working on my business?

Speaker 2:

Another thing to think about is is it going to bring revenue in my business? Is it going to bring more clients? Is it something I enjoy and I'm passionate about? Does it align with what my vision and my mission is for my business. Does it line up with my values? Because sometimes we have projects. For example, as you said, they had like 36 projects and 12 spots. Some of those projects, um, they're doing and they've probably not thought about it, but it's not really. It's very time consuming, but the reward in terms of financial is not much. Should you be doing that?

Speaker 1:

so true, so true. So how do we stay focused on the things that we're good at um? I know that's something that is important to you and that you help people do. How do we recognize that and how do we recognize when we're out of alignment there?

Speaker 2:

okay. So the first thing that I would say is what are the things that people always come to you for? There's something, at least one thing, and there's some people out there who are like, oh, I don't know. You know, I don't know what I'm great at, but there is something that people continuously come to you for, whether it's advice, whether there's something, whether it's you know something creative. What is it that people continuously come and ask you for? Because that is an indicator of something that is your gift, that is your genius zone.

Speaker 2:

Another thing is, if you are struggling to figure that out, I would recommend and I have done this exercise and it is an eye-opener I would recommend that you send a message to maybe five to ten of your closest people and closest friends, family, and ask them what do you think my strengths are? What do you think my weaknesses are? Yeah, what do you think I'm great at? Kind of thing? Um, yeah, what do you think I'm great? Great at kind of thing. And you will be surprised at the things that they will come back with and the similarities that you will hear. The same thing will come up. That is an indicator of what you are great at. Also, what are you good at? Naturally, but to other people is difficult. What are you?

Speaker 1:

good at, naturally, but to other people is difficult. Love that question yeah.

Speaker 2:

What are you good at, naturally?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, such good questions. Okay, what else do you want people to know? And then I want you to share about how you work with people and what you're most excited about inside of your business today. But is there anything else in the realm of building our really a life and business that really aligns and brings us joy, that you want people to know that we didn't touch on?

Speaker 2:

Yes, the key thing. So, when you're building your dream life and business through strategic planning, the key thing is, as I've mentioned before, is being flexible, but also being ready to implement. Just some of us can get stuck in the planning, and it's really important, yep.

Speaker 1:

I'm guilty of that.

Speaker 2:

Because we're strategic. It's so fun, we can really get stuck in the planning, and so thank God for my husband, because he is such an action taker. He pushes me out of my comfort zone, and so the key thing is um, yes, strategy without implementation is, to be honest, you're still gonna just have a dream, and so true the key is when you create the strategy to actually implement, and so that's why we create the plan, and it's all about sticking to that plan.

Speaker 2:

And, in the same way that if you made a plan with someone else or you had an agreement, you would stick to it because you want to be seen as reliable, stick to those plans that you make for yourself.

Speaker 1:

You know it's yeah, that's, that's, that's a key thing, yeah, that's, that's, that's a key thing, and so, yes, I have a question about that, because I struggle with that part and, like just at the beginning of this year, I'm like, okay, I'm going to implement these power hours again, which to me, are kind of these focused blocks of time on my calendar where I'm going to focus on, you know, two hours on one activity, whether it's, you know, increasing awareness around my podcast or it's writing content, or, and I plot them on my calendar, and then I just end up moving them around. I'm not doing them, and so is that in like a problem of me just being in integrity with what I say I'm going to do, or is it like this isn't working for me and I should reinvent something different?

Speaker 2:

So what you need to do is, when you put so, when you're scheduling those power hours, you need to make sure, first of all, that you're scheduling it in a time where it's like it's a non-negotiable, because I've done that before as well. It's like, okay, I could just move that, and you, and before you realize you've moved it for a whole quarter and you're literally like I have not done anything, but you wouldn't do that with a client. With a client, we will go above and beyond, and so it's you really have to. It has to be an unnegotiable. So it's a mindset, it's a mindset shift. When you book that time in, it needs to be a non-negotiable.

Speaker 2:

I was listening to Ed Milet and he was talking about how, a lot of the time, the reason why a lot of people suffer with imposter syndrome is because they break promises to themselves. We all do it oh, I'm gonna go to the gym, this you know every morning and then, when it comes, oh, I'm tired, we make our excuses. He says so the reason why a lot of people have imposter syndrome is because they don't even trust themselves, because they break promises to themselves, and so we need to shift our mindset where, when I block in that time, even though it's not with a client, I am also just as important as my client. It's just as important that I do these things for my business, so that my business thrives. How many of us? We've all done it, where we have been full to capacity with client work and we have not factored in any time for our own businesses or personal development or things that we need to do behind the scenes.

Speaker 2:

That will stifle your business, and so it's really important. It's almost like having a mind, mindset shift that, when I put this in, this is a non-negotiable, whether I like it or not, I am not breaking my promise to myself unless, obviously, something has come up and so it's. It's a, it's a. It's not easy, but it's a mindset shift that we have to do that. I'm not going to break this promise to myself and just take it day by day.

Speaker 1:

I think that's so interesting. I think what you help me see is that I do. I have these non-negotiables in my life, like all over my life, when it comes to well-being or my marriage or my family or my kid, like having quiet time. But what you helped me realize is I think that what I've plotted on my calendar isn't a non-negotiable and I need to reassess what I'm putting on there to actually make it align with that. That's really powerful. I love that. Okay, what are you up to Josephine? What are you excited about and how can people work with you and what does that look like?

Speaker 2:

Okay, so I'm excited about a lot of things this year, so 2023 is my year of visibility. That's one of my words. I've got three words, but visibility is one of them and so I'm currently working excuse me, I'm currently working on behind the scenes and I'm going to be launching a YouTube channel which will where we'll be going behind the scenes of me as an entrepreneur, and I am very, very excited about that. I've been wanting to launch this for a long time and now it's like this is the time. So we'll be talking all things entrepreneurship, lifestyle strategy, networking'm very, very excited and also self-care as well.

Speaker 2:

Um, so, yeah, that's something that I'm working on. Um, I am also. What else am I doing? Congratulations, just about being visible. Thank you, thank you. Yeah, I literally was just like OK, we are doing this. So I'm really, really excited about that and, in terms of working with me, you can check out my website, wwwtheawusucollectivecom. And also I'd love to hear from some of the listeners, and so I will share with Carla a link where you can book in a call just to, if you have any challenges, a 15 minute call, and we can kind of just hop on a call and discuss the challenges that you have and see how I can help you. But I'm just really, really excited. I'm excited to continue doing strategic planning with my clients. I just, I just love it. I love to see the transformation and to see, yeah, people actually building a business that lights them up and aligns with the life that they want to build.

Speaker 1:

You guys can't see her smile, but she's definitely lit up and you just have so much joy. I love spending time with you and I'm so grateful that our paths have crossed, and I would love to have you come back and kind of go another layer of this planning and strategy, because I know my listeners love this as much as I do. So let's talk about that, thank you, and thank you everybody for being here and just thank you for your time today. I appreciate you so much.

Speaker 2:

Oh, thank you so much, carla. I've really enjoyed this, and thank you everyone for listening.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of differently. It's been an honor to share this conversation with you. You know, one of the keys to living fully is to take action when you're inspired to do so. I hope you found that spark of inspiration today and would you help us spread the word. Did someone you know come to mind while you were listening? If this episode could impact someone you know, please share it and pass it along. New episodes drop weekly, so tap that subscribe button and join us next time as we continue to challenge the status quo and get equipped to live life differently.