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Today’s episode idea came to me last month, with everything happening here in the states with Covid, injustices and people’s behavior overall. During some of my personal work, I found myself reflecting on some of mentors/heroes/people I hold in high regard. Soooo I figured why not share some of that with you humans.

These are strong attributes, practices, and constants that I see in the humans I guess you could say I aspire to be like – in literally every aspect of my life:

1.) Stay true to themselves

Go figure, right? The first step of this is to obviously have a deep and growing understanding of self. We can’t stay to true to something we are not yet aware of.

You can tell they are on their own team. They make self discovery a priority, and then they stay true to that. Well, to the parts they want to cultivate. Obviously part of self discovery is finding less than desirable things out about ourselves. Or that’s been my journey anyway. They own all the parts, stay true to their true self, while being aware of the ugly parts too.

2.) Stay true to their values

Hiiiiiii obviously this is a huge one for me. And it was one of the biggest and best pieces advice I received early in business. I actually shared this in an IG post a week or so ago.

Our values permeate everything right? They drive our beliefs and therefore our actions. Their values are clear to me. Not in that they state them, but that they live them out. I see them in their life. In the way they use their voice, or lead, or coach, or run their company. How they process things.

It’s no secret that I think knowing your core values is one of the most important things we can get clear on as human beings.

Know them, and then stand firm in them.

3.) Have a firm philosophy & speak their truth without apology 

My heroes, they’re just so grounded, you know? Like they just feel so freaking grounded. Like they are standing on firm ground. I guess they speak their truth without reservation. Not because they believe it and won’t hear anything else. But because they’ve done the work. They’ve taken in A LOT of information over years and have landed where they are. I am not articulating this well. But I hope you get it. They speak clearly and firmly. 

4.) Life long learners.

There’s not much to elaborate on this one. They are not stagnant and they are open to learning. While they are firm in their values and philosophies, they are open to conversations and learning from new perspectives.

I think this comes natural to VERY FEW human beings if we’re being honest. It’s extremely dangerous to think you have no more to learn about a topic. ANY topic. I’ll leave it at that.

5.) They dream big

I do think that some people are dreamers. That some people have an easier time dreaming big. As a highly analytical, realistic and practical personality type, dreaming does not come easily to me. It’s very scary actually.

And you might be like, but Annie, you traveled the world for a year and a half, and are now six weeks later, closing on 5 acres and land want to build your dream house. I GET IT. You might be confused as I am aware my life can look like that of a dreamer.

FACTS: I married a dreamer. And he married an action taker.

So we do the things. His dreams scare me, but also, have helped me to be open to dreaming big. And he gets to see those dreams come true because if you give me a task, I will stop at almost nothing to complete that task.

On this note, I’ll say that my mentors/heroes are dreamers in large part because they are not afraid of failing. Not that they don’t acknowledge that they can fail. But they welcome challenges within the dream and are willing to adjust where needed during the process. They simply believe the dream can happen, and they are deserving of it. Which is where I get caught up most of the time. Maybe you relate.

6.) They act big – they do the things

When I say act big I am really saying the take action. Not like the act larger than life. Action is a habit in their life. Like breathing, or brushing their teeth. They don’t hesitate to act.

This is one that I have gained much experience in. I mean, this might apply to all of these, but the more I take action, the more natural it becomes. I’ve come to see the magic that happens from just doing it. And the reward typically outweighs the risk in the end. That’s a very broad statement. Obviously there is always context to consider. But people I look up to tend not to hesitate. They act, and they act in alignment. They’re willing to figure out the details as they go. That’s not to say they don’t have a plan, but they are aware that they don’t need every detail before they START.

7.) They don’t give energy to what non-vital people think

Okay, I actually nail this one. Like, I kind of consider myself the queen of giving the least amount of shits about what people think. Not all people. But like I said – people who are not vital to whatever the topic at hand is. If a family member has thoughts about my training programs, my philosophy or my business and they literally have NO POWER or SAY in that arena, I will happily, openly, and completely dismiss it.

Where most of these things do not come easily to me, this one, is like a gift. And I do attribute my “success,” whatever that means, to my ability to shut out voices that truly do not matter. And let me make clear that those voices may be the MOST important in another area of my life. But not this one. Hope that makes sense.

8.) They take responsibility

I think it’s important to be real with ourselves on this one. How are we at taking responsibility when we screw up? When we receive criticism?

I was just discussing with someone the other day that entrepreneurship has tested this more than any other area of life. More than marriage, more than sports, more than being an employee. Quite frankly, for me anyway, entrepreneurship forced me to take responsibility and criticism or stay small. That was the option. Own it, learn and do better, or be a turd and remain stagnant.

There are very few people in my life experience who I have been willing to take criticism from. And it’s not easy even coming from them. I truly do tend to think that my way is the best way. Which is obviously NOT the case. Not always anyway.

9.) They’re leaders

When I say leader – I mean they are people who allow the people they guide to refine them. My heroes look in the mirror constantly. They’re emotionally aware and working to improve on learning about humans. That’s who I see as a leader anyway. I was chosen as a leader in a lot of my life and I would not at all consider myself a natural born leader. I don’t “get” people. And leaders get people. They’re compassionate and caring. Perhaps I had the other pieces of a leader. I lead strongly by example for sure. But I shit the bed when it came to verbally leading. When it came to understanding my teammates or people I was leading.

10.) They have mad boundaries

Oh my goodness this one is HUGE. I first learned about boundaries when I determined I needed them with regard to some family stuff. Who doesn’t need family boundaries?

I was about 18 or 19 when that happened. And ever since then, I have seen the result of people who do and do not have boundaries and let me tell you, I want to be on team boundaries. Not only having them, but also knowing how to communicate those boundaries to the people affected by those boundaries. That’s where I think a lot of people get held up. Being scared of how the needed boundaries will be received by parties involved.

But man, when it comes to time and mental health, and managing emotional health, I just think establishing clear boundaries can be a serious game changer. And I by no means have my boundaries clear or finalized. With time I do try to look for areas that boundaries might be effective, however.

That’s it friend! The 10 things that I see or have seen over my years of mentors, coaches, heroes and peers who I admire.

Review of the week comes from kls611 and says,

“I love Annie’s tips on helping coaches. Her podcasts are to the point and provide such valuable information for all business professionals. She has given me so much insight and even sparked my interest for starting an online business. I got my idea from listening to a podcast. She is legit and loves to help the fitness space without selling our bodies!! The BEST podcast and business coach out there. ”

Remember you need to check the show notes (here) to see if you were review-er of the week, and then keep an eye out to see if you were listener of the month as well. That will be in the show notes and Annie’s Weekly Wrap. You can subscribe to Annie’s Weekly Wrap here!

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