Charting a Course for the New Year

Thank you for tuning in to the True Grit and Grace podcast. I'm Amberly Lago, and I'll be sharing inspirational stories of resilience and empowering ideas to elevate your business and your life, ignite your passion, and fuel your purpose. Thank you for tuning in to True Grit and Grace. I'm Amberly Lago, and oh, my goodness, we just had the biggest storm here in Texas. We had tornado warnings. I've never seen winds so high. I was training a client. We had hail hitting the windows, and it was pitch black and raining, and it just came to mind, you know, how to trust God's favor through the storm. And now the sun's coming out. And I thought, you know what? I'm gonna hop on and share what has really helped me and the difference I had from this past year versus the years I usually have. Because I don't know about y', all, but this. This last year definitely had some challenges, big and small. And I really thought about what the difference was and what I usually do. And the difference is I usually, you know, chart a course for the new year. And last year we were moving from California to Texas, and I really didn't take the time to chart the course corth or kind of set my intentions or really focus on really where my actions and my big goals were aligned with my heart and my intentions. So I wanted to share with you six questions that I ask myself every year. I didn't do it last year, and boy, did I. I could tell the difference because I did feel. I started to feel a little burnout, actually. I was feeling a little overwhelmed. I feel like I was all over the place saying yes to things that maybe I shouldn't have been saying yes to. There was a lot throwing spaghetti against the wall and just kind of seeing what would stick. And so I thought, I don't want to do that this year. I want to have sustainable success, unstoppable success. And I want that for you, too. So here are six questions to ask yourself to have the most amazing 2023, and I want that for you. So at first, ask yourself, are your goals and your plans and your actions specific and aligned with each other and your heart? And I think it's so important sometimes to get out of our head and stop thinking about, oh, well, we should do that and we should do this and say yes to everything and we got to hustle and we have to grind and stop and think what is aligned with your heart, what really makes your heart sing, what brings you joy for Me, I know when I stop to ask myself that question, when what I'm most passionate about right now is my mastermind, my unstoppable life mastermind. To get to be with these women and see the transformations being made, to see all these goals that they're doing. I mean, they're launching their podcast, they're writing their books, they're getting on stage in March. I'll have to tell you all about the March event, but I thought, I want to do more of that. And so when you know what your goals are and what your plans are, when anything comes your way, because there's going to be a lot of invitations, a lot of distractions, a lot of shiny objects that come your way. But if you know what is really aligned with your heart and where you're going, it's going to be easier for you to say yes or no. So I would make a list of what is your, what are your top priorities? And also start your year with I, I do. I make a list of three things. What did I do in the past year that brought me joy? What did I do in the past year that really moved the needle on my business? And what did I do that was a complete waste of time? And you will be surprised at some of the things that you did that were like, oh, that really did nothing for me other than teach me a lesson that I don't want to do that again. So really know what your goals are. Write them down every day. But not only write them down, but visualize it. And you know what? It's good. If it scares you, that is good, because it should. It means you're doing something that you, that's really important. Like, for me, thinking about my March event in Raleigh, North Carolina, I'm like, oh, my goodness, I'm flying in all these speakers. It's going to be, I, I switched it from it's going to be scary to it's going to be exciting. But everything that I'm doing is in alignment toward my mastermind and that March event. So really get clear and specific on what those things are. Number two, do you have the knowledge and the resources you need to propel yourself forward? I love learning. I love growing. I don't want to, to ever have everything figured out. I don't think I ever will. I, I, I want to always continue learning and growing. And so really ask yourself, do you have the knowledge? Do you have those resources? For me, there are things that I do not know how to do. And so I go to the experts who do know how to do them. And I either hire them or I ask them if we can hop on a call so I can learn. But I think it's so important to have those resources. And if you can't hire somebody, Google it. Watch YouTube videos, listen to podcasts. I think it's really important. There's something that I do every day. I start with 20 minutes in the morning of either reading or listening, and I end my day with 20 minutes, at least with learning something or watching something. But. And that doesn't mean scrolling on Instagram. That means, like, actually listening to an educational podcast or maybe it's, you know, something spiritual. I just listened to a podcast this morning with Joel Olsteen, which was incredible. And it was actually about trusting God's favor through the storm. And so learning every day, acquiring the knowledge, acquiring the skills, and get in the rooms of the conferences so you can learn, so you can connect with others and learn from them. Get in the masterminds, hire a coach. Which leads me to the next thing, number three. Who are the people you can go to for counsel and guidance to help you succeed? So right before I jumped on to record this, I checked in with one of my mentors. I don't even know if he knows he's a mentor, but he's my mentor. He's my secret mentor. Greg Reed, who has been there for me through so much. He's helped me with my career so much. And whenever I have a big decision to make about business, I always go to him. So I had an interview with a company this morning who wants. Who wants me to hire them to do some work that would help out with the event. And. And I messaged Greg Reed and said, hey, have. I think you've worked with this company. What. What did you think about it? Because you need to have that counsel go to somebody who's doing the things that you want to do that they. Or maybe do they. They've already done things that you want to do, but somebody who has been successful at the things that you're aspiring to do. And, you know, Greg Reed actually says, make sure you have. Go and have counsel and not opinion. Counsel is someone who is successful at what they're doing. They have achieved it. Opinion is just going to somebody who's. Let's say a family member who is not an entrepreneur, who's, you know, you want to write a book. If you go ask somebody who's never written a book and say, I want to write a book, they're going to go, oh, good. Luck. How are you going to do that? But if you go to somebody who has written or been in, published in hundreds of books, like Greg Reed, over a hundred books, he's gonna go, oh, yeah, I've got an editor for you, I have an illustrator for you, I have a publisher for you. So it's so important to seek counsel and not opinion. Also this past year, I really thought about who are the people that you're. That you are hanging out with? You know, And Jim Rohn has a very famous quote about, you are. What is it equivalent to the five people that you surround yourself with. And that is such a well known quote, because it's true. So who are you surrounding yourself with? I think, you know, I just did an interview with my friend Justin Shank, and he was telling me that he really got intentional about the people that he hangs around with. And he was talking about how he has a cheerleader, a bruiser, a softy, a mentor and a coach. And I love that. So think about your cheerleader. Who is the person in your life when you're feeling down? For me, when I am, like, feeling a little nervous, I try to switch that to excited. But before I get on stage and I might have a little imposter syndrome or whatever the thought may be, um, I have a God squad of cheerleaders. Well, actually, I call them the legendary ladies. And I will send a group text and they are my cheerleaders. And they will be like, you are gonna crush it. Go bring the thunder. So those are your cheerleaders, Bruiser. I'd actually like to call that the challenger. So that's somebody that when you are trying to make a big decision, you can go to them and go, okay, do you think this is the right decision to me? Should I hire this coach? That is $50,000 for six months of coaching. But who is the person who's going to challenge you to do bigger things or maybe say, hmm, is that the right decision for you? Then the softy, who is basically the shoulder that you can cry on? Who is that person that when you are frustrated or down, you know that they have been through something similar, and you can reach out to them and just be vulnerable and just cry if you need to. So you need someone that can be there so you can have a shoulder, someone you can lean on, someone who can hold your hand, who is the mentor, who is that person that can guide you because they've been in the industry for longer than you have, or they have so much wisdom and experience. So I have A few mentors like Dan Clark is a really good friend of mine and he's an incredible hall of fame speaker. So there are times when I reach out and I, I just reached out to him recently and I had someone that wanted me to join their mastermind and I reached out to him and I was like, I don't know, this seems like a lot of money. Do you think it's worth the investment? I can also reach out to my mentor and say, what would you do in this case? Or how much do you think I should charge? Or do you think I should say yes to this invitation to be on this stage? Do think I should have an agent? All these things. So it's so important to have a mentor and then a coach. So this past year I invested in a business coach. I'd never had a business coach before and I thought it's time to take my business to the next level. So it was scary. My husband was like, are you crazy? Like all the money that you basically are, you know, all the profit that I made from this one business I had, I was crazy taking it and investing it and giving it to this coach. And I thought, yes, because if we don't invest in ourselves, who's going to invest in us? And again, always be willing to learn. But before you make a decision on spending a lot of money on a coach, I would highly, highly advise you to do your research. To go ask people who have worked with that coach what your, what were their results were, what would their experience was. Like, don't just go hire somebody on the Internet who says I'm a coach and look how successful I am. Really do your research. But it's so important to surround yourself with people who are going to lift you up, who are going to cheer you on, who are going to challenge you and so really get intentional about the people that you're surround yourself. And that goes for the people who you are going to set boundaries with too. So setting boundaries, maybe even even like eliminating some of your friends. I know that sounds harsh, but, but energy is contagious and people are either gonna, you're gonna exchange high quality energy and leave feeling more energized or you're gonna be around people who are complete energy vampires and they are gonna suck the life out of you. So be very intentional about the people that you're hanging out with. And that's even for like the, the ladies who are in my mastermind. I prayed for faith filled, passionate women who were, you know, leaders who were striving to Make a bigger impact who had a heart for service. And that's exactly what I got because I want, we're. We're family and I want to be around these people who I feel I am excited to be around. So really get intentional about who you're seeking counsel and guidance from and who you're surrounding yourself with now. Number four, are you consciously taking care of your physical health every day? I'm going to admit that I was letting that slip big time. Like I was getting. Life was getting so lifey eventful. We moved here and I basically unpacked and was on the road traveling for events which I'm so grateful for. And it has been just non stop. And there's a lot of you listening that might be an entrepreneur or maybe you have a 9 to 5 or and you're a mom and, or you're a wife and you're a husband or you're a partner or you're taking care of a loved one or a mom or dad. There's a lot going on and what I have learned is you cannot let your physical health slip. The things that you have to have non negotiables that you know are going to help your physical health. I was starting to let mine go. I was starting and my husband called me out on it. He was like that. He was like, you're not fun. I hope he's well. Maybe he is going to hear this. I'm just giving it to y' all straight. He was like, you're not fun. Like you used to go work out. You haven't worked out in like a month. And when I don't work out, I'm not as nice of a mom or, or friend or wife. I become a little bit cranky. And luckily I have a husband who cares about me enough to call me out on that. And so, and it took that actually for me to have kind of a wake up to go, you know what? I am feeling kind of blue. When we move our body, it moves our mood. It gets those endorphins going. And so, you know, I would work out maybe twice a week doing a little bit. But I usually work out every day, move my body every day. And I realized that it was not serving me to not start my day out with movement. And I can't serve others if I don't have my glass full. So what you have in your cup is for you and what is the overflow is for others. So you have to do things that are filling your cup up so you have plenty of overflow for others. And for me, that means going to the gym. I can go to the gym and start to work out, and I immediately start to feel better. And I'm not saying I lie. I'm motivated to go to the gym. There are days and I don't know. Tell me. I. I don't know if any of you can relate to this. Anybody listening can relate, but there are days I actually will drive to the gym and I will sit in the parking lot and I'll start scrolling through Instagram. And I have learned to talk to myself instead of listening to myself. Because when I listen to myself, I'm like, oh, yeah, you're tired. Your leg hurts a little today. You could skip the gym. And I have to talk to myself, say, amberly, you got to get your butt in the gym because, you know, you need that workout. You need to get your legs stronger. You need to be able to walk. You need to be able to have that cardio strong. You need to be able to feel good. And so that gets me in the gym. I don't rely on motivation. I rely on healthy habits. And how I do that is I focus on how it's going to make me feel, and then I just do it. I set those goals, I make those promises to myself, and then I keep those promises. And I promise you, if you do that over and over, you build your confidence up, and then you just have smart feet and you don't even think about it. And then you're just like, of course you're going to the gym. Of course you're starting your. Your day with movement and you're moving throughout the day. So what are you doing to take care of physical body? There's something else I do that has been a life changer for me, and that is about. Actually, it's two years ago this month, I started taking a Gut health supplement, which I love. I will link it in the show notes. I didn't know that much about this, but a friend of mine, Brooke Hemingway, had sent me a nice little gift box, and it had some Gut Health products. And I'm like, this lady's amazing. She's got six kids. She's got the energy of like a. A teenager. And she's got. Runs like six businesses, I think. I don't know. She's amazing. I was like, and she's a former nurse and fitness trainer. I was like, if this is what she takes, then I. I don't even need to question it. I'm just going to take it. And I started Taking it, and I instantly felt more energy. My brain's fog started to feel better. I've got comp. I was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome, which if the pain gets pretty high, it will cause brain fog. And let me tell you, I'm 50 years old, so that could be the case too. But I noticed I immediately started feeling better. More energetic, less bloated. And so every morning since I started these supplements, that's the first thing I do. I wake up and I drink. It's one drink. I drink it. I take a few pills, three capsules, prebiotic, and some cleansing that helps eliminate the bad bacteria. And I don't know, I can't tell you all the details. I can. I can share it all the information that you can check out their website in the show notes. And I also take one more product which helps with inflammation. So I do that. So besides moving my body, I really focus on gut health. And I just started seeing a new doctor. And they just came to the house about two weeks ago. I'm like, I am getting serious about this. I am. They took about 15 vials of blood I had. I have never spit in so many test tubes in my life. But I'm still having hope that there is some sort of cure or treatment for complex regional pain syndrome. So I'm. I'm trying it with this new doctor who's going to see if he can help me in some way. But I think it's important to know where you are in your health. So once a year to do some blood work, to go to your doctor. I have not been to the dentist in a year. I usually go three times a year. So yesterday I made a dentist appointment with my favorite dentist here in Dallas, Texas, from Thrive Dentistry. I love Nate and Christine from Thrive Dentistry. Big shout out to them. So I'm gonna go get my teeth cleaned. I'm gonna go get them whitened. So it's so important when you feel good about your smile, it just gives you more confidence. So moving my body, taking my supplements, I'm seeing a new doctor. I'm going to the dentist. And one other thing is I have made. Yes, it's important to move. That's grit. But it's also important to give yourself grace. And I am making rest a part of my business strategy. I even wear. I'm not, you know, sponsored by Aura ring or anything. Although I think if anybody knows the owners or anything, that you can tell them that I should be. The True Grit and Grace podcast should be sponsored by Aura. It's a ring that measures your readiness level basically based on your sleep, your REM sleep, your deep sleep checks your body temperature. It will predict when your cycle is going to start. For all the ladies out there, I mean, and it's always, it's been right on. Tells you when you go to bed, it shows throughout the night, your movement, your heart rate, your oxygen levels. So I love it. I wanted to get my husband. He got this for me last year for Christmas. I wanted to get him one. I just think it's good to, to know what your sleep levels are. And the reason I wanted to make sleep a part of my business strategy is because when we're more rested, we can think more clearly, we can be more productive. And I was like, I want to know how much deep sleep I'm getting. Because that's where we heal our subconscious, our body heals. What we've done in the gym to move our body and, and throughout the day and the stress levels, all that heals. And I can tell you that there are times when I have been a little more stressed. It shows up, shows up in my heart rate, it will show up in my body temperature. So really get conscious, like consciously take care of your physical health every single day and see how you're doing that. Now, I know that all that might seem like a lot, but if you want to really perform, have peak performance, I think it's important if you want to be really successful and have sustainable, sustainable success and unstoppable success, taking care of your body mentally, physically and spiritually is important. Which leads me to number five is how often do you pray and how often do you meditate and practice gratitude for your mental and spiritual health? I mean, I was starting to let that go a little bit too. And if I let that go, I'm for sure screwed. Because if I let that go, I don't get to stay sober. My important, I mean, the importance for me is to stay connected to God is what helps me get through trusting God's favor, through the challenging times. You know, I'll tell you a story. I just was talking to my dad and I said, yeah, Dad. I was like, my car's in the shop, My computer is in the shop, My laptop's now in the shop. Like, my service just stopped. Thank gosh. You know, we have a backup Internet. We've got two fiber optic Internets. I was like, my cell service stopped. I went to get out the garage and the garage door wouldn't open today. He goes, oh, I think you're under Attack. I think the. I think the devil's after you. You better pray around your business and this and that. And I was just like, no, I trust God's favor. Like, my God is so much bigger. And when you've got God on your side, you. You are unstoppable. But it is trusting God's favor through. Through the storm and knowing that you're going to come out, that you are being protected in every way. There's some. For some reason, God only knows why those things were happening. But when you can just let go and let God, it gets you through those moments. And so how I said earlier how I spend 20 minutes in the morning and then 20 minutes at night. Well, 20 minutes in the morning. I do it right. I do read, and it's mostly out of some spiritual books or out of my recovery books. And it could be a short passage out of a few books, but it really helps me get grounded. When you're reading, it helps you learn about the world and other things. And then when you're writing and journaling, it helps you learn about you. So I think it's important to also journal so you can learn about you. But I start every day with prayer and I end every day with prayer. And sometimes my only prayer is thank you, thank you, thank you, God. Thank you for keeping me sober today. Because I know when I. I can stay sober, that I can get through anything, that all things are possible when I trust and have faith in you. And so gratitude is something I practice every day as well. And I say practice because sometimes I'm not good at it. Sometimes it's a little harder, especially if I'm struggling or I'm. But it always puts me in the right mindset. So if you're struggling to do a gratitud gratitude practice, I'm going to put a link in the Show Notes where I have a downloadable gratitude journal that you can just tap on it, download your gratitude journal and that will help you with a little prompt to help you get started with your gratitude practice. Also, I'll share an app that I like that it's actually a recovery app. It's called My Spiritual. What is it? My Spiritual Toolkit is what I believe it's called. And I'll have to put the link for that in. In the bio too. But it. You don't have to be sober to use this. But what I love about it is if you are sober, you're going to love it because it'll tell you how long you've been sober. It Counts down your days and even the hours, basically. But what I love about it is I have group of, of my sober sisters who we have a gratitude practice together. And under this app, and again, I'm not sponsored by this app or anything, but I think, I think it's like $11 a year or something. It's not much, but it has a toolbox and under that toolbox you can go. And I think it's free. If you're a premium member, then it's like $11 or something. I don't remember the exact price, so don't get upset if I'm a couple dollars off on that. But it has a gratitude list under the premium tools and you can go in and you can write 10 things you're grateful for. And it's got a, it'll save your gratitudes for each day and then it's got a little arrow and you can send it. And so every day, my God squad, my sober sisters, we text each other 10 things that we're grateful for. It's also got a spot check inventory where you can kind of check yourself to see have, you know, what did you do through the day that you need to maybe make amends for. Nightly inventory. It's also got a journal and it also has upon awakening, it will have something for you to read. And it's got the serenity prayer, the third step prayer, seventh step. And if, if you're not in a 12 step program, you probably won't know what that is, but they're really awesome prayers. The Serenity prayer being my favorite, which is God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. And so I really love that gratitude practice and it's something that I was doing with my daughter a lot, but she's become full blown teenager now and she's not really been having the whole gratitude practice with me. But I'm going to keep at it. I'm going to keep at it. And I know that she's grateful because of just the person that she is and, and I love that she has manners and tells people, thank you. But also the very last thing that I think is so important, and it could be the most important thing for you to start your year off with is connection. And connection is the opposite of, of addiction. Connection for me was the opposite of isolation, which led me to depression. So how can you connect with others? And that could be by adding value to their lives. That could be, it doesn't just have to be entrepreneurs. It does. It could be a group of moms, it could be a group of sober friends. It could be a group of church members. It could be a group of, you know, I have a friend who just started playing pickleball and now she's got a group of pickleball friends. I've got a friend who just started hiking with a group of. Of hikers. And so whatever it may be, connect, reach out. Pain has a way. And we all go through pain. I'm not talking about just physical pain, but it could be emotional. Pain has a way of, for me anyway, isolating me. And I don't. And so I have to take contrary action of what I want to do, which is just hide under the covers. And I have to actually reach out to somebody. But I make it a point every day to reach out to at least one person, usually three people, and tell them hello, that I'm thinking about them, why I'm grateful for them. And sometimes it's even hopping on a call and checking in on them and just telling or. Or a voice memo. But make sure you're connecting with others because my goodness, it will. It. It just makes such a big difference. It is. It's. I've been depressed in the past and I don't want to be there again, but it has taught me the importance of connection. So take that inventory. I'll leave you this. Like, really focus on what has brought you joy, what has moved the needle on your business, and what's been a waste of time. And when I say waste of time, I'm saying, like, less time to wasted with worry and more time to like, focus on what brings you joy, what you're grateful for. And I was talking about Greg Reed earlier, but he has one of my favorite quotes. And this quote, you have probably already heard it. You probably read it already, but I'm going to just say it again. A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dream a reality. So I want you to really focus on your big dreams. And if you want to have unstoppable success together, then for all the ladies out there, sorry, fellas, this is just for the ladies. I would love for you to join the unstoppable life mastermind and be in a community of people who are going to be your cheerleaders, your challenger, your shoulder to cry on, your mentor, your coach who are going to hold you accountable, who are going to spur you along and cheer you along. So I would love for you to join the Mastermind. I'm going to put the link for that in the show notes too. You can also just check it out at True grit and grace.com and put it on your calendar. March 10th and 11th y'. All. Big event in Raleigh, North Carolina. Stephen Scoggins has a beautiful stage and I am taking the most incredible speakers. Katherine Gordon, Ken Joslin, Rebecca Zung, Justin Shank, Brooke Hemingway, Rachel Shear, just to name a few of the speakers. Plus all the Mastermind attendees are going to give a 10 minute TED style talk on stage. It's going to be such an amazing event with a VIP experience, an amazing afterparty. So that's March 10th and 11th. If you want to be the first to know about that, you should text me because there's only a hundred seats available. That's it. I'm not just saying that to put urgency on it, but those are going to go quick because it isn't a more intimate group. You can text me. Just text me Unstoppable and I will get you the info. Text me at 218-18214-7378. Again, just text me the word unstoppable 818-214-7378. Now if you're out driving or out for a walk, don't worry that that information is in the show notes too. I believe in you. You are so worthy of blessings, healing and exciting opportunities. And I am wishing you the most amazing 2023. I'm saying that now because this is the first time since I've had the show that we're actually taking a two week break. And I'm doing this because I want to encourage you to take some time to do the same and I want to encourage you to think about the six things that we just went over and so you can have unstoppable success in 2023. Sustainable success in 2023. I'm making connection part of my business strategy. I'm making love part of my business strategy. I'm making rest part of my business strategy and getting really strategic with it. And I think if you want to be resilient, sometimes we have to really teach you. Plan times for rest and recovery. So that's why I'm taking this two weeks off and I encourage you to take some time off for you and your family or your loved ones as well. Anyway, I love you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for listening. I'm so grateful for this community and that you tune in and for the messages that you give me, there's any part of this that really resonated with you, please take a screenshot and share it. And if you tag me when I see that, it just makes my heart sing. And I if I see it in time, I always share it in my story because it means so much. Much. You can tag me @amberly lagomotivation on Instagram or True Grit and Grace if you want to tag the podcast. But thank you so much for tuning in. Thank you for making this podcast a top 1% podcast and share it with a friend. Let's spread the joy and happiness. Let's spread these six ways of really making 2023 an amazing year. So thanks for tuning in. I'll see you in 2020 23.