Successful(ish)

Are you afraid of success? Whether it's a fear of failing, or a fear of succeeding, there's a lot of anxieties that can prevent us from pursuing success. We can self-sabotage our own efforts. On this episode, Sarah shares her top 5 success fears, and some ways to face it 'till we make it. 

Everything you wanted to know about Season 8 is recapped right here. 

Ballet Instructor and Play Ambassador Ramona Schmid is sharing how she turned her passion for ballet into her full time profession. She also shares the importance of play, and the difference between having a hobby and having a life passion. You won't leave this conversation the same. 

When is the best time to go for a new goal? NOW! Miss Tammy shares how she began training in martial arts in her 50s and has since received multiple black belts and accolades in Karate and JiuJitsu. There are no age parameters when it comes to success. 

"I don't have time".... Each episode, our guests share what they have failed at. Almost always, it is some variation of time management. Why is it so hard for us to have time for the things we need time for? On this episode, Sarah shares why she hates the phrase "I don't have time" and how to think about time management as priority management. If you struggle with managing your time, with taking on more than you can do, or with having to say no to things you want to do... this one is for you. 

Have you ever said "I hates sales" or "I suck at sales"... we have some sad news for you. Everyone is in sales. Salesforce pros John Patton and Billy Draper are sharing their sales expertise- everything you need to know to step up your sales game. They are sharing their best practices, their best stories, and their opinions on whether cold-calling actually works. Check it out, then sell some stuff. 

Wallets are a little tight these days. While it may feel right to avoid that pesky b-word, budgets are actually for the wealthy. On this episode, Sarah shares how she manages her budget, and how she managed to pay off school loans on an entry level salary within 2 years of graduating, how she successfully lived (and thrived) on a 20k salary, and how she prioritizes her spending and saving to live her best life. If you struggle with knowing where to start when it comes to your bank accounts, this episode is for you.  

What does it take to be a successful writer? Writer and owner of Hustle Pretty Co. and Ghost Girl, Christi Pratte is sharing all of her tips on how to find inspiration for your writing, how to effectively pitch your writing, and how to generally live a life worth writing about. 

Judy V shares how we can become empowered. She shares her story of being locked up as a slave for the first 20 years of her life, and how that experience shaped her understanding of freedom, forgiveness, and abundance.

Today she is an international best selling author, award winning entrepreneur, speaker, co founder of Tribe of Traders and creator of Trilogy of Transformation and the Attune to Prosperity brand.

Over the past 20+ years she has built and sold numerous multi million dollar businesses in many categories including starting the first ever online coaching business in 2000 .

She has studied and researched human potential for over 20 years - it's been her understanding of human behaviour and potential that has not only allowed her to create massively successful pioneering businesses but overcome the most extraordinary challenge - of being locked up throughout her childhood until she escaped in her early 20's.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/attunetowealth

Is success constrained to an age range? Nah.

We're talking to Dennis Selke who after marrying the love of his life, building a successful career, and retiring, went back to school 30 years after starting so that he can land his dream role as an architect.
And Laura DiBenedetto about her early success as a TEDx Speaker, #1 Bestselling author of The Six Habits and Life Mastery Coach. Laura teaches how to create the life of our dreams without sacrificing what we love. As Founder and CEO of Vision Advertising, a company that she built aged 19, she has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs build and grow profitable enterprises entirely on their terms. You can grab her book here: https://www.thesixhabits.com/

Personal branding has become a big buzzword. But what does that actually mean? Do we really need to think about this if we don't want to be famous? Can we build a public reputation without losing all privacy? The reality is that every single one of us has a personal brand. But you get to be in the driver's seat.

What happens if you find all the success you ever wanted... but then want to change your mind? This week Sarah Michelle is talking to Josh Harris about what it was like to change his mind about his best selling books and to unpublish them.

Recapping an amazing season 5! Talking about rest with host Sarah Michelle, getting sh*t done with Rachel Kelly, CEO of Make Lemonade, talking about school with Sara Torpey, brought back our old friend Mark Male to talk pest control, wandering aimfully with Hip Maps founder Rachel LeRoy, Makeup with Christen Gundersen, Bitcoin with Shawn Cagle, and our first ever Encore! series with Angela Nummy dropping some bookkeeping wisdom, messy marketing with Scott Miller, Real Estate with Shalmai Rivera, fitness with Coach Matt Persell, and how to have 'the talk' with Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers. Also intro-ing season 6. 

HOST EPISODE! Host Sarah Michelle is talking about one of her favorite activities: REST. What does it mean to rest? Howcome when we 'rest', we still don't feel rested? Why are we tired all the time? How can we rest? What do we do about rest-guilt? It's time to rest the hustle muscle, and chill with this fun episode. 

Do you need to get some shit done? Rachel Kelly, founder of the Get Sh*t Done Club is sharing her experience of entrepreneurship, swapping stories with Sarah, and we're talking about how to hunker down and get sh*t done, and how to make lemonade when life throws us a giant lemon.

Make Lemonade started in 2017 when founder Rachel Kelly was feeling extra lonely freelancing and had zero coworkers to connect with. So, she opened a Toronto coworking office and before she knew it, a community was born.

Then, 2020 happened. The team pivoted quickly and took the IRL community virtual; opening up the Get Sh*t Done Club to anyone around the world. @makelemonadeco

Is getting a big red F really a bad thing? How do we retrain ourselves to think of this as something worth celebrating? Teacher and Business Coach Sara Torpey is in the studio taking us back to school, and challenging some of the ways we have previously viewed academic success.

Sara Torpey is a business coach and teacher with 20 years of experience working with both business owners and educators.

At Torpey Coaching, she works 1:1 with business owners to create thriving, profitable businesses through simplicity, smart systems, and leveraging everything that is already working to create even more growth.

Sara is a multiple business owner, a teacher, a mom, and a wife. She knows what it’s like to wear all the hats AND build an amazing business you LOVE at the same time.

Sara is fueled by learning, sunshine, teaching, ice cream, and helping clients to create their DREAMS.

With the changing of seasons can come an influx of unwanted house guests. And we don't just mean your relatives. Our former host Mark Male is stopping by to share all his tips and tricks on successful pest control. {Spoiler Alert: Sarah finally got rid of her mouse family}

Mark has owned and operated Barefoot Pest Control for several years and is an expert in the space of pest removal in both residential and industrial environments. 

Do you ever hear a conversation that is so good, you have to hear more? We got you babe. In our first Encore series, 5 fan favorite guests are coming back. In this episode, Scott Miller is back to talk about the biggest mistakes and misconceptions we make when it comes to marketing, and what it means to have a healthy brand. 

Capping a 25-year career where he served as a chief marketing officer and executive vice president of business development, Scott Jeffrey Miller currently serves as FranklinCovey’s senior advisor on thought leadership, leading the strategy and development of the firm’s speaker’s bureau, as well as the publication of podcasts, webcasts, and bestselling books. Catch him online @scottmillerj1

Do you ever hear a conversation that is so good, you have to hear more? We got you babe. In our first Encore series, 5 fan favorite guests are coming back. In this episode, Matt Persell is back to talk about how to make fitness more fun, and how to love ourselves in the process.

Matt Persell is an elementary PE teacher as well as an adult fitness coach who is passionate about making fitness fun.

Do you ever hear a conversation that is so good, you have to hear more? We got you babe. In our first Encore series, 5 fan favorite guests are coming back. On today's chat, Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers is back to talk about how we can talk to our kids (or even re-parent ourselves) to enjoy shame free sex. We discuss where shame comes from, how it can look differently in both purity and hookup culture, how to talk to our kids about sex in age appropriate ways, and why other countries have more positive sexual relationships.

Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers is a sex and gender feminist psychotherapist, professor emerita, and author of the acclaimed book, Sex, God and the Conservative Church – Erasing Shame from Sexual Intimacy. She is a preeminent voice on the impact of sexual shame on sexual health and attachment. In her latest book, Shameless Parenting – Everything You Need to Raise Shame-free, Confident Kids, and Heal Your Shame Too!, Dr. Sellers highlights the trickiest parts of each stage of parenting (birth to 18) that tend to trigger shame-based reactivity. It is the hardest part of parenting. It is from our own places of shame that we over-react, repeating patterns from our parent’s that we might otherwise have resisted.This is the 21st century book parents have been waiting for.

Dr. Tina is also the founder and medical director of the Northwest Institute on Intimacy which provides training and supervision for therapists, medical providers and clergy in sexual health and confronting sexual bias.

Dr. Tina is frequently featured on podcasts, TV, documentaries, articles and radio. Pre-COVID Tina travelled across the country as a keynote speaker for organizations, parents and professionals helping them become competent teaching shame-free relational and sexual health.

As the world begins to open back up, hopefully she will get to travel and speak again soon! In the meantime,she has enjoyed shifting these conversations online and connects with people across the world through instagram/facebook/youtube lives, Clubhouse conversations & will be launching a new online community for parents along with her new book release! Stay tuned:)

Can you wander without being 'lost'? Hip Maps founder Rachel LeRoy shares how she created her innovative company, and why wandering aimfully is so critical to our success.

Rachel LeRoy, founder of HipMaps, is a custom map designer who uses a fresh approach to bring joy through personalized maps for any occasion. Rachel specializes in maps where hosts share their favorite places to eat, drink, and play and Rachel creates their personal map in their style. Hosts share their custom map with guests via HipMaps’ free smartphone app, where guests see their location right on the custom map. These personal and informative maps are great for weddings, reunions, vacation rental homes, business events, & more. Rachel is based in Sonoma, California and makes maps all over the world. Fun visuals can be found at HipMaps.com

What's the deal with makeup? Why is it that when we follow a YouTube tutorial exactly, we don't look like the model? CG herself from Makeup by CG joins to talk about things like how to do makeup, how and when to clean our makeup, why looking natural is always better but sometimes harder, why dudes may need to wear some coverup, and more.

Christen developed a love for makeup and an obsession for wearing purple eyeliner in high school. She tried many different career options, retail, insurance, admin assistant, salon coordinator, nanny and even sandwich artist (in high school) but she finally found her niche and became a professional makeup artist. She moved to Southeastern, CT 10 years ago where the Navy brought her family.

She specializes in Photography makeup but can accommodate all makeup needs such as styled shoots, proms, formals, headshots, commercial, advertising, film, lessons, and even underwater.

In her free time, she loves to spend time with my family, shop and come up with creative set ideas. Oh yeah and she's a lover of Halloween, comfy clothes, and 80’s music!

Wondering what exactly BitCoin is, and how to get started? Shawn Cagle is stopping by to drop some deets on how we can introduce cryptocurrency into our portfolios.

Shawn made his first bitcoin purchase in 2015 when the price was below $300 and had traded on Coinbase less than 300 days. After dabbling in trading and exploring the macroeconomic landscape for years he now shares his industry expertise.

He is motivated to share how the bitcoin network fits into the broader economy. Bitcoin has the power to connect people across the globe into a more efficient economic society.

He focuses on teaching the fundamental use cases for why bitcoin is a revolutionary invention and how to participate in the global shift. Of course massive financial returns aren't so bad either.

We are wrapping up FOUR seasons of Successful(ish). Are you having as much fun as we are? On this episode, Sarah recaps all of our season 4 conversations, including: Color and Closets with Shirley Zaccheo; Insurance with Tanya Ballestrini; Entrepreneurship and the American Dream with Ralph Küpper; Difficult Conversations vs Difficult People with Debra Woog; The Art of Relationships with Dr. Kelly Campbell; Real Estate Investing with Veronica Lutzen; The Top 5 Excuses We Make That Keep Us From Being Successful {Host Episode}; How To Give Gifts To Someone Grieving With Heidi and Michael Jakoby; How To Preserve and Digitize Photos with Caren Osborne; What Is The Enneagram with Kelly Tibbits; and Self Defense Parts 1&2 {Avoiding the Fight, Winning the Fight} with Cynthia Jolicoeur Rood and Renshi Rob Warner. She also introduces our season 5 line-up.

Did you know that most attacks come from people the victim knew? We all need to learn self-defense, but what if we don't have time or money to pursue martial arts? Cynthia. Jolicoeur Rood teaches self defense through using what we already have available to us. On this episode, we talk about how to avoid ever having a fight to begin with. What signs should we look for? How can we trust our gut? How can we become more comfortable being 'the bad guy'? 

What if you could find someone else to pay your mortgage? Real Estate Investor, Veronica Lutzen shares how investing in real estate can be easier than we think, and a game changer for you and your family.

Veronica has been a real estate investor since age 21 but didn't know it when she started. Buying a duplex was the only way she could afford a house for her family in the town she wanted to be in. Years later, she read the book " Rich Dad, Poor Dad " and realized she was already playing the game and that real estate investing was her retirement plan. Find her on Facebook, @VeronicaLutzen

Do you avoid difficult conversations? Confrontation is very uncomfortable. But it doesn't have to be. Today on the podcast, we're talking about how to win-win difficult conversations, and how to know when a difficult conversation is just a difficult person, and not worth having.

Debra A. Woog (pronounced like “Vogue” magazine) is a Crisis Navigation Partner™ with 30+ years of experience as a leadership researcher, executive and advisor. Her career path has included conducting research at Harvard Business School, advising tech start-ups on People Strategy, and directing admissions and career development for the MIT dual-degree MBA program Leaders for Global Operations. She earned a B.A. in Psychology and American Studies from Wellesley College and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. She is a trained mediator and ombudsman. Hangout with her on Facebook, Instagram, Clubhouse, Twitter, and LinkedIn @ConnectTwo

Are you supposed to have hair? Even down there? When did we start yanking hair out of our bodies? Is there a difference between waxing or shaving or plucking? Do we have to go to a professional or can we DIY? Nicole Giansanti shares tips, tricks, and expertise on successful body hair removal. All the questions you never knew you wanted to ask- answered here. 

How can we successfully buy a home? What are the differences in looking for a first home vs. a forever home? What key players need to be invited into our team? Realtor Shalmai Rivera answers all the questions we may have never even known to ask about home ownership. 

What happens to your stuff after you die? Where would your kids live? How should your adult kids handle your affairs? Do these questions make you uncomfortable? Every day you are creating a legacy- not only through the wealth and assets that you accumulate, but in the life that you are building. And your legacy should be protected. Estate Lawyer, Carmen Rosas, shares how and where we can get started in creating and legalizing our legacy. From the specifics of what documentation we need to have in place, to the open-ended thought process of what legacy we're leaving behind, Carmen is passionate about making sure every successful(ish) story lives on. 

Sometimes it feels like everyone has an opinion on how we should engage in relationships. Much of how we engage with others physically, roots back to what we were taught about sex in our formative years. And if you were raised in the abstinence era, you weren't taught much. Or at least much that is accurate. 

On this episode, Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers shares what led her to research abstinence and sexuality, how misinformation has fueled shame and fear in sexuality, and what we can do to begin to repair our own sexuality, and pass forward sex positivity so that our kids won't face this same fear and shame. 

Sarah shares her personal experience in navigating purity culture and hookup culture, and we jump into questions like 'is there a right time to have sex?' 'Is it better to have one or multiple partners?' 'What is the truth about waiting?' 'What does the Bible really say about sex?' 'How has Christianity impacted our secular education system and sexual understanding?' 'How can we enjoy shame-free sex?' 

Dr. Tina is a vibrant thought leader around issues of sexuality, intimacy, and spirituality. Her life’s work is centered around rooting out the causes of sexual shame and providing tools that disarm and demystify all the negative messages that we receive in American culture and so often in religious circles. She regularly speaks at events, conferences, intimacy retreats, churches, and universities around the country.

Dr. Tina is a sex therapist, former professor of Marriage and Family Therapy at Seattle Pacific University, founder of the Northwest Institute on Intimacy, AASECT-certified supervisor, mother, wife, and author. She is currently doing work on her next book, which is intended to help parents raise their children free of sexual shame and appropriately teach them about healthy sexuality over each stage of their development.

Learn more at http://www.tinaschermersellers.com/

What comes to mind when you think about 'relationships'? Do you immediately think of others? A romantic partner? Family? Friends? How many relationships do you think about before thinking about the relationship you have with yourself?

Relationship Coach and LMFT Hana Dunham shares insights on what it means to have a relationship with ourself, how we can move from loss into love, and how to enjoy more vibrant, healthy relationships all around. 

Yum

Stuff and Things

Do you really know yourself? Does your mess make you a good leader? Or just a mess?

Scott Miller shares his tips on being a more successful manager, leader, and human being.
Scott Miller is a leadership expert who authors, coaches and speaks to the subject and has been with Franklin Covey Co. for over two decades, and currently serves as the Special Advisor of Thought Leadership. Whew. If that wasn't enough, he is the host of the FranklinCovey sponsored On Leadership With Scott Miller, a weekly leadership webcast, podcast, and newsletter that features interviews with renowned business titans, authors, and thought leaders. And, Miller writes a weekly leadership column for Inc. magazine and is the bestselling author of two books,  'Management Mess to Leadership Success' and 'Everyone Deserves a Great Manager'. Plus a couple dozen other things because his super power is saying 'Yes.'

When he's not interviewing amazing success stories like Rachel Hollis, Marie Forleo, Ed Mylett, Brendan Burchard, Matthew McConaughey, Stephen M.R. Covey, Donald Miller, and our very own Sarah Michelle (to name a few), he enjoys interviewing kitchen appliances and hanging out with his wife and three boys.

Follow him on social media @scottmillerj1 or online at https://managementmess.com/

What even is a trademark? Can you own an idea? How do trademarks work? Why is it important to protect your brand? Is brand protection worth it at the expense of PR/decent human reputation?

Joey C. Vitale is a lawyer, speaker, and business coach for online entrepreneurs and thought leaders. With his law firm and his courses, Joey helps online business owners call legal dibs on their brand name and signature methods so they never have to worry about losing their brand overnight. He hosts the Owning It podcast and educates nationally on trademarks and brand protection.

You can hangout with him online at https://indielaw.com/ , https://www.joeycvitale.com/podcast,  or Instagram @JoeyCVitale

Happy Holidays! Or... maybe a little bah-humbug holidays? Did you know that 45% of Americans would rather bypass the holidays? Is it possible to take some and leave some? Have the holidays been overtaken by consumerism and expectation? Sarah and Mark chat about their most and least successful holidays. In-laws trying to merge traditions, kids riding new bikes through living room walls, Black Friday panic, and celebrating Christmas in sweatpants at a Waffle House.... good times.

Get a glimpse into how Sarah and Mark celebrate (or avoid celebrating), and tips on how to make the holidays a little more successful. 

Special guest Tayo Rockson tells us of his travels across the world and how living with different groups shaped his perspective. 
TAYO ROCKSON is a cross-cultural communications expert and published author of 'Use Your Difference to Make a Difference.'
He is the the CEO of UYD Management--a strategic leadership and consulting firm that helps corporations improve their bottom line by incorporating diversity, inclusion and social justice strategies.-- and an authority on cross-cultural competencies and international branding strategy.

Hangout with him online at https://tayorockson.com/ or @tayorockson on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Is it hot in here, or is it just Sarah and Joyce getting riled up about saving themselves and getting shit done?  Join the conversation about creating success in bed, body, and bankroll.

Meet Joyce
Joyce Rojas has over 19 years of banking and investment experience. She's worked for Fortune 500 companies as a financial advisor and in various leadership roles. She is now a public speaker and Money Mindset Mentor helping people clean up their finances, dramatically grow their business and career, and tap into their true potential. She intuitively taps into what’s holding you back, gives you the knowledge, concrete process of habits, and the mindset shift you need to help you succeed faster and further than what you thought possible. Keep an eye out for her first book, coming to a bookshelf near you! 

Hangout with Joyce
www.joycerojas.com https://www.youtube.com/c/joycerojas https://www.facebook.com/TheJoyceRojas https://www.instagram.com/thejoycerojas/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyce-rojas-speaks/

How does the dictionary define success? Can we define success for ourselves? Where is the line between objective and subjective? Join the conversation about defining and redefining success. 

Season One Recap with some reflection and looking forward. You could say we're definitely excited about it. 

Does success need to be fun? If we're having fun, is it automatically a success? Is it ok to live for fun? When does a hobby become work? Talking about success and fun and where the two intersect. 

Is money the primary metric for success? Can you have a lot of money but still be failing? What is money mindset? Are the sayings true? Chatting all about success and money and whether it can buy happiness or grow on trees. 

The one that started it all. Why do we so often equate our success to what we do professionally? What if we are really good at what we do but we hate it? What if we are really terrible at what we do but we love it? How does work impact our success? 

What does it mean to be healthy? Why do we need to look at health physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually? Does our healthy impact our success? 

What exactly is culture? How does our environment (our family, religion, geography, etc) impact our ability to succeed? Does culture pre-determine success? What if we are successful in one environment, but then move over to another?

How do we answer the question 'Who are you?' If we fail at what we do, do we fail at who we are? How does success impact our identity, or vice versa? Do successes and failures make us who we are? 

Get to know Mark

Let's get to know Sarah and a little bit about the origins of Successfulish.

Just a quick hello from Successfulish

Watch this space! Successfulish is coming soon!