Valentine’s Day can run the gamut from rough and turbulent to joyful and celebratory.

But did you know it can ultimately impact your success, growth, and profitability as a business owner? This week in Episode 75 of the Feed U Podcast, I give you the low down on “real” love. And the difference it has made in my life to focus on love’s counterpart, gratitude. I share with you the real scoop on why gratitude can propel your success faster than any tactic, measurement or social post.

We get all twitterpated about V-Day, but why not enjoy the Valentine’s Day love fest all year long?

In this week’s episode, I introduce you to some of my gratitude practices so that you can have your very own love fest any time you want.  You don’t even have to send flowers (unless you want to). If you’re ready to deep dive into some love and gratitude practices that won’t cost you a cent, listen to the entire episode here.

As any proud mom does, I speak a bit about the love of my boys and family. I realize not everyone has a typical “family”. But all of those people that pick you up when you’re feeling down, answer the phone when you call at 3 am or even drive to get you Baskin Robbins because they know you are in a bad way – those people ARE your family. When was the last time you sent up a little prayer of gratitude for them? Or better yet, sent them a note, text or picked up the phone and told them how blessed you are to have them in your life?

The other perspective I talk about is the people who are cheering for you to succeed that you aren’t even aware of.  Did you know there are lurkers watching your every move, waiting for you to WIN big, just so they can follow your example? Mind-blowing, right? 🤯 🤯 🤯

You never know who you are impacting for the better – you literally have the ability to change people’s lives every minute of every day.  How cool is that?

The next gratitude I cover for myself is having a home.

I delve into my experience working with the homeless community in San Francisco and the little things we take for granted every day.  Simple things like we don’t have to think about where we are going to go to the bathroom.  If you want a whole slew of reasons to be grateful that are surrounding you as you read this, tune in here. You don’t have to worry about being safe when you go to sleep. You likely don’t have to worry about your next meal, or whether or not you will survive the night because it’s 9 degrees in Colorado. SO MUCH to be grateful for.

Next, I cover how lucky I feel to be living the entrepreneurial dream.

If you’ve ever worked in a job with a boss from H-E-Double Hockey sticks, this one will hit home with you. If you ever think of giving up on your dream, think back to the boss that never listened to your ideas, promoted someone else who was quieter and was a behind kisser (let’s face it most entrepreneurs are not) or just plain made you miserable because their energy was toilet water. When you think about giving up on this dream of having your own business – just realize all of that is still waiting out there for you and you can go back anytime. (Why would you want to do that is beyond me.) Want to hear more about this, listen to the episode here.

Sometimes being your own boss, means trusting the plan

I delve into my search for a new puppy story here and how the process is forcing me to learn the lesson of trust. Sometimes we have a plan, a goal and a desire that we THINK should look a certain way. But, what we don’t see is that if we got what we wished for in the way we HAVE to have it, it wouldn’t be for our best good or highest learning potential.  I use the example of trying to adopt a new pupkin to drive my point home.  You can hear the whole story here.

Last but not least, I end the episode with a Tweet that Bishop Karen Oliveto shared that was originally posted by Pope Francis.  You can read the original quote and her response here.  In an effort to create unity, it was shocking to me how many people had to comment about how “bad” someone else’s opinion was. How their thoughts and beliefs are “right” and that they didn’t believe that Pope Francis had even tweeted the information.  I was stunned.  Since when did stating an opinion become that of one-upmanship? Are we really that far gone that we can’t sit, listen and be open to letting someone of differing opinions share their point of view? I’m not saying you have to agree. I am saying, that it is a human right to express and share your opinion and have others support you simply because you are a fellow human being. The divisiveness and hatred in this country are astounding.  I may not agree with you, but I will hear you out.

I beckon you to listen to others with an open heart. Even if the only outcome is to just let them be heard. You don’t have to change your opinion, you don’t have to agree, but because you love the human race – just listen. There is so much disconnection in our world and so many people who just want to be seen – how hard is it to let them be seen and heard?

I leave you with something stolen from Stand By Me that I refer to as the “spit handshake”. You’re allowed to argue, back then we were even allowed to wrestle it out. But in the end, we spit and shake hands as an act of solidarity that no matter what we can still get along.  This week of Valentine’s Day – I encourage you to swap more spit handshakes. (You can even leave the spit part out if you want!)

I mention this article by Leila Janah. She spoke about how building your own business is like Growing Your Own Garden.  It is a beautiful and true interpretation of the emotional experience of starting, building and growing a dream. As I went to find the article, I found she passed away this month from cancer. I am honored to share her beautiful article and hope it inspires you to do the same.  Rest in peace Leila. Thank you for leaving the world a little more beautiful. 

I’ll be back next week with more marketing tips.  In the meantime, if this episode resonates with you, come and share your thoughts over in the Facebook Group.

What did you think about this episode?  

How will you practice love, gratitude, and connection during Valentine’s Day and beyond? Come on over to the Facebook Page and share your journey.

Listen to the entire episode here:

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