Emily: I am so ready to ignite.

Interviewer: Yes.

Emily: I am thrilled to be here.

Interviewer: Emily is the founder of I Heart My Life. A success quotient author with a seven-figure business who, at one point, couldn’t even get a job at Starbucks. Emily, take a minute, fill in some gaps from that intro, and give us a little glimpse of your personal life.

Emily: Amazing – I love hearing that. So, that wasn’t always my reality. I always say, I’m just a girl from Ohio with really big dreams. And that’s the truth. And I think everyone has that moment where their life changes course, and for me, that moment brought me to where I am now. I was literally on a drive to Chicago when I was 22. I had decided to get a master’s in counseling psychology from Northwestern, and I literally had spent a whole year applying to 12 schools around the U.S. and flying around and visiting all of them.

And I was on the drive from Ohio to Chicago and felt like this wasn’t the right decision for me. And I literally turned the car around, went back to Ohio and fell into a major quarter-life crisis where I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life and had to move back in with my parents and felt like a complete failure.

And it was then where I decided I was gonna try and get a job at Starbucks. And I applied three times; finally, on the third try they let me in.

Interviewer: Yay!

Emily: And I was there at 5:00 in the morning. I remember my dad used to drive through the drive-through. He didn’t even like coffee, but he would come to visit me. And I really just felt like this big failure because I graduated at the top of my class in college and thought I had this plan set out, and everything changed in that moment. And that led me to really tune in and figure out what is it that I want to do. And the only thing I could figure out was that I wanted to move to London.

And so, I packed up my bags and moved to London. I didn’t know anyone. And we’re talking about London, England, not London, Ohio. And I moved there and became a nanny and again was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. And around 2103, my friend sent me Marie Forleo’s website, who’s big in the coaching industry.

And that was the second moment my whole life changed course because I realized that coaching was that something big that I knew I was meant for. So, fast forward – started my business, started working with other women who were in quarter-life crises, as a life coach. It morphed into me working with entrepreneurs and helping people build their own business.

And I grew my business from $442.00 in July 2014 all the way up to seven figures in my first 18 months. And that was a few years ago, and now we’re still growing. I now work with my husband, who I met here in London, and things are literally better than my dreams.

Interviewer: Fire Nation, when are we gonna stop spending so much time, energy, and efforts trying to apply to someplace that’s just gonna take our money and put us into just mountains of debt and is literally gonna teach us next to nothing – and literally nothing of any value in today’s world. And yes, I’m talking secondary education. I really, really hope we get a clue in that area sooner than later.

But what I want to know right now, Emily, is what’s your current area of expertise? What do you specialize in?

Emily: So, I work with female entrepreneurs to help them grow their business. And, to be honest with you, before this call, I actually asked my clients what they feel has impacted them the most in terms of our work together. And someone wrote the most beautiful answer. She said, “You’ve taught me and shown me that anything is really possible. The inspiration, resources, and tools that you provide empowered me to take charge and go after my wildest dreams, and even ones beyond that. These changes have a multi-generational impact. I know I’ll raise more confident children who have no doubts they can do anything.”

And that just like oh, it brought tears to my eyes because that’s really my expertise, is to help women figure out what it is that they want and do that and to also dream even bigger and believe that anything is possible for them.

Interviewer: Fire Nation, I love what Emily did. She went to her audience, to her clients, to her customers, and she asked for direct feedback. And there’s no better way to actually get a finger on your pulse of what you do and what’s working than doing just that. Now, Emily, it’s not always easy to talk about your worst entrepreneurial moment, but let’s be honest, it’s a lot easier when you’re currently living your dream life. So, it’s not gonna be that hard for you to talk about what you consider your worst entrepreneurial moment to date. Take us there. Tell us that story.

Emily: Yeah, I love how you asked this question, because I’m actually really vulnerable with my audience, and I think that vulnerability is important, and it builds connection. And for me, my worst moment was actually when I realized I didn’t heart my life, which wasn’t that long ago.

Last December, I was sitting at the Titan Summit, which is run by someone named Robin Sharma in Zurich. And he was asking us to go through this exercise. We were planning 2017 and what we wanted from that year. And he literally just in passing was giving us prompts, and said, “And consider if you’re really happy.” And the first thought that came into my mind was like, no, I’m not happy.

And for someone who runs a business called I Heart My Life to realize that happiness wasn’t part of her current reality, I felt ridiculous for feeling that way. I had a successful business. I had incredible clients, but I had been working 80 to 100 hours a week, and my husband had come into the business at that point. And we were struggling to figure out how that works because it was never part of our plan.

We didn’t plan on working together. He wasn’t an entrepreneur. And so, there were a lot of things that I just didn’t feel were contributing to me being happy. And I wasn’t kind to myself. I wasn’t taking care of my health. I wasn’t putting my happiness first. I was putting everything in the business and our clients first. And that was when I realized something major had to change if I was gonna be the face of this brand and really support women in living their best life, that started with me.

Interviewer: All of that was obviously a learning experience for you, but what is the one thing that you want our listeners today, Fire Nation, to really take away from that moment?

Emily: It showed me that all the success in the world is amazing but there are certain things that you really need to have in place in order to create that true happiness. And for me, the thing that really helped me was getting support from different mentors and realizing that I wasn’t alone. And I didn’t have all the answers. I had never run a business before.

And so, reaching out and getting help and really working with people who had been there and understood where I was at the time and could help me move through it, that was key for me. And we so often want to be independent and try and move through difficult challenges on our own, but we don’t have to.

Interviewer: Fire Nation, you’re not alone. Build your foundation, surround yourself with other people. That’s why I end every show with, “You’re the average of those five people you spend the most time with”, because it’s so true. And Emily, let’s shift to another story. This is gonna be one of the greatest ideas that you’ve had to date. So, take us to that AH-HA moment. Tell us that story.

Emily: So, there was a call that I did at the end of one of my programs. We also start with a welcome to the program call, and then we have kind of a graduation call where we celebrate our successes. And literally throughout our programs, every single Friday we do Success Friday. And so, I really encourage my clients to brag about what’s going on in their lives.

And I remember when I was first starting my business, I’ve always been a fan of Oprah, like everyone else. And my father-in-law, he bought me a ticket to go to her Live Your Best Life World Tour and her U.S. tour. And so, I went to the event, and I remember her telling the story about when she was a little girl and her grandmother used to tell her, you need to learn how to sweep the front steps, and you need to learn how to bake the bread because that’s what you’re gonna be doing in your life.

And she didn’t say anything. She didn’t talk back, but she just said, unh-unh, like that. She felt like in her gut that wasn’t her path. And she said that she was so hard on herself and felt like she wasn’t good enough for most of her life. But when she started to get into her career, she really encouraged herself to basically brag about herself.

And that was a really powerful moment for me because I think, especially women, we are so hard on ourselves, and I realized really quickly, especially working with entrepreneurs, that we are particularly hard on ourselves and we expect so much. And we expect perfection. And we really need to celebrate every step of the journey because that makes it so much more meaningful and powerful, and we also achieve more. And we attract some amazing things. And so, for me, that’s one of the biggest AH-HA moments, is just to really encourage bragging and encourage celebration with all of my clients and also in my own life.

Interviewer: Fire Nation, life is short. If we’re not celebrating the wins, if we’re not enjoying the good times, then what are we doing? If we’re gonna be looking back at our life and saying, man, I had so many times I could have celebrated but instead I just chose to worry or complain or moan instead. No, that’s not what you want to be looking back upon. Celebrate those wins. Now, Emily, today, right now, what are you most fired up about?

Emily: Well, something personal, my husband and I booked this amazing chalet to go and spend a weekend. It’s the James Bond of the ski chalet world apparently. So, we’re gonna go and we’re gonna create and prepare for one of our upcoming launches. So, that feels really exciting. And, to be honest, I’m excited about scaling our business and growing our team.

I had a coach tell me the other day that my job is to literally wake up and ask myself how I can do the least and be the most profitable. And that’s a new way of thinking because I’ve been doing so much in the business and you know a lot of entrepreneurs in the business can relate to that. So, I’m just excited to grow our team.

Interviewer: Well, Fire Nation, if you think Emily’s been dropping value bombs, you’re right. “And more are coming up in the Lightning Rounds when we get back from thanking our sponsors.

Emily, are you ready to rock the Lightning Rounds?

Emily: I’m ready.

Interviewer: What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur?

Emily: Not having clarity. I felt like I was meant for something big but didn’t know what that was.

Interviewer: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Emily: Definitely Marie Forleo saying start before you’re ready.
Interviewer: What’s a personal habit that contributes to your success?

Emily: Taking action despite fear and realizing that no one feels 100 percent ready to do anything. You just have to go for it.

Interviewer: Fire Nation, I hope you’re sensing a theme here. Just taking that first step – the next step will be revealed. Recommend one Internet resource.

Emily: So, one of the people that was such a big contributor in me moving past that period of not loving my life was this amazing man called Dr. James Rouse. And he films a video every single day from his treehouse, literally, in Colorado. And they are the most inspirational videos in the world. And so, they are on his YouTube page and also on his Facebook page.

Interviewer: Recommend one book and share why.

Emily: How Rich People Think by Steve Siebold. And I recommend that to all of my clients. I have a lot of money mindset programs. And it really helps you transform your way of thinking about money and drop all the blocks that you might have around money and really create that wealth and financial transformation.

Interviewer: Well, Fire Nation, if you’re not currently an Audible member, you can get a book like that for free on Audible over at eofirebook.com. Now, Emily, let’s end today on fire with you giving us a parting piece of guidance, sharing the best way that we can connect with you, and then we’ll say goodbye.

Emily: Beautiful, thank you. So, my guidance would just be that anything is possible. I think we put so many limits on ourselves and I really believe that we can create a life that’s better than our dreams. Our imagination can only take us so far. And so, just stop putting limits on yourself. Go for it. Follow your instincts and you will be completely surprised about what you’re able to achieve.

And for everyone listening, I do have a free gift on my website. You can go to iheartmylife.com/fire, and I have my scared or rich seven practical biz tips to move past fear and hit your mega money goals guide for anyone who opts in. And you can find me and all of my programs at iheartmylife.com.

Interviewer: Fire Nation, you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with, and you have been hanging out with Emily and JLD today. So, keep up the heat and head over to eofire.com. Just type Emily in the search bar and her show notes page will pop up with everything that we’ve been talking about today. These are the best show notes in the biz – timestamps, links galore. And of course, head directly to iheartmylife.com/fire for that killer free gift.

Emily, thank you for sharing your journey with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you. And we’ll catch you on the flip side.

Emily: Thank you.