SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to What Would Amber Do with your host, Amber Howard, your weekly dose of guidance, inspiration, and strategies to have your small business and whole life thrive. We bring you incredible guests who share their real life experiences of being an entrepreneur so you can have your whole life work. Now, here's your host, Amber Howard.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Welcome back, everyone, to What Would Amber Do? This morning, I'm very excited to have my guest Grant Hill here with me. Grant Hill is the founder of Global Impact Life, a social entrepreneur and an NLP certified coach. Grant started his career in the financial services sector working for companies like Merrill Lynch and Morgan Keegan. In 2009, Grant transitioned from the corporate world. And a big part of the conversation we're gonna have this morning is gonna be about that transition and the the why of it. And just thank you so much, Grant, for choosing to be here this morning and having this conversation with me.

SPEAKER_03 1:06

Yeah, I I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Yeah. So I guess the first question I have for you is what had you transition out of a successful career in the financial services sector to this like crazy journey of being an entrepreneur and in multiple different companies?

SPEAKER_03 1:28

That's a great question. I so I started in the securities industry in 02. Um and the thing, and then I ended up moving to Houston in 05 with Merrill Lynch. And the thing that I was there in 08 when the markets crashed. Um and the thing that I didn't like about the securities industry is the lack of transparency. And when 08 happened, Bake Up America ended up buying up Merrill Lynch. Uh, there's a lot of things that had happened all over. Lehman Brothers went out of business. I mean, there's so many things that were happening, and no one really had questions to why is all this happening. Everybody was kind of putting it under the table. Even to this day in that industry, this is what happens. Um, at the same time in 05, when I came to Houston, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet my mentor, the late Dadi Rhodes Carroll, who uh was a woman entrepreneur. Uh she was a triple, her business was a triple bottom line business before I ever knew what triple bottom line business was. She just embodied what I think a social impact entrepreneur is. And her work was about uplifting people. And we were the third oldest NLP center in the world here in Houston. And so I she gave me the opportunity. I met with her one-on-one for four years every week for about an hour and a half. I took every class she would uh allow me to take. And through that process, her work to me was about upliftment and about empowerment. And the securities industry was not about that at all. And so I remember standing in my living room asking myself, how can I be an integrity in the securities industry? And I didn't know how to do that. And so I always wanted to leave there as fast as possible. However, my mentor wouldn't let me do that. Uh, she kept me in there and she kept me staying, and to and today, years later, I understand why. Um, and that actually, through that whole process, really has actually helped shape the process that I now help entrepreneurs with of implementing our skill sets, the things we're passionate about, and really directing it in a purpose-driven way.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

I love that. For those people who may not know, what is a triple bottom line business?

SPEAKER_03 3:38

A triple bottom line business is not just focused on the financial outcome, right? It's focused on the people, it's focused on the environment, and it's focused on the profit, people place in the profit. Uh, so it it to me, it just makes sense that that our business is what we don't have to call it triple bottom line business. This is just the way it makes sense to me. Why wouldn't we care about the people? Why wouldn't we care about the environment? When we do that, we will make as much money uh as we need. Um, so that is what triple bottom line is.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Yeah, it's interesting that you you say like, because I I I wholeheartedly agree with you. And I think historically, a lot of the definition of success of companies has been to create as much profit as possible. And it's all been on top of, you know, not caring for their people, not caring for the environment, not, you know, not respecting kind of the laws of the universe, the laws of nature, not being balanced, and um kind of like a lot from a spirit of competition versus a spirit of creation.

SPEAKER_03 4:42

I I agree. And they're there what happens is that we, if we work in that way, we're chasing money instead of money being a resource. So, right, our computers, this podcast, all of these things are resources for us to be able to implement our business. Money is that. So if I'm chasing money, or if I'm chasing power, or if I'm chasing greed for a quote unquote business, I'm stepping, I'm getting outside of uh balance and outside of health. And then I start going down a different path altogether.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Yeah. I was uh listening to this old recording of a Bob Pro buff from Bob Proctor, how to like magnetize yourself to money. And and he talks about all of these like, you know, famous like books on success, you know, Napoleon Tills thinking grow rich, all of this. And he says, nowhere in any of the titles do they actually say the word money, even though they're about how to create abundance. He goes, but and money is a great servant. All money will ever do is make you more effective and make you more comfortable. And you should want to be as effective as possible and as comfortable as possible. But that's not like that's not why we get at it. Like I know, I know you, you know, we're recently, you're recent to it, but I I mean, the minute we talked for the first time, it was like, you know, souls connecting on a level. Like, I know that you and I don't get out of bed every morning to make money. And one of my breakthroughs as a business owner, and something you help me with, is like really getting, I can, I can ask for and want lots of money because the more money I have as a tool enables me to have an even bigger impact, right? So yeah, I 100% agree. It's not about chasing, it's not about chasing money. And I think the more we put people first in our in our interactions and what we do, it's you know, it's about building those relationships and being of service. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:34

Agreed.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Yeah. Talk to me about so you know, the foundation of your new company and the work that you do is a methodology that you call awaken, align, and act.

SPEAKER_03 6:45

Yeah, sure. So in 20, 2010, uh, I took over my mentor's business. My mentor had cancer and asked me to take over her business. And it just so happened all of her client, most of all of her clients in America, my mentor is from Guatemala, so most of her clients in America were non-US expats. And which a non-US expat is a typically a professional in another country that comes to America and one of the spouses is working, and the other spouse either creates a business or finds a job, and it's quite hard because they're on a visa, they have a work permit, but it's kind of hard because they're only in America for three to five years typically, on people that I've worked with. Um, so that was those were my co-students in my mentor's business. So when I took over, I now became uh business owner in 2010 to all of these non-US expat spouses. So I have a very kind of eclectic uh expertise in this. Um, 2010 to uh about two years ago was really tough for me, going through the death of my mentor, um, really you know, taking over her business, really searching what am I here to do as an entrepreneur, going through anger, going through grief, going through all of these things that have happened. It was kind of like I was the universe put me in a fire and really like really burnt me down, uh, really refined all of these practices now that I actually help entrepreneurs with. About two years ago, I went to New Zealand and I went to this wonderful conference in New Zealand that was an impact investor conference that had wonderful impact entrepreneurs and all of this. And when I was there, I um I was disheartened because I saw there what I saw at Merrill Lynch. It was no different, except it was cloaked in going green. Um, the people there, sadly, and a lot of it was coming from Silicon Valley, a lot of it was coming from the West, was this mind, this mindset of we're gonna go build and we're gonna build as big as we can, not caring about the people, not caring about the land. And so I was really disheartened when I came back. Uh I was really soul searching. And I remember one day I sat down and I meditated and I asked, I said, I want to do what mine is here to do on this planet. What is that? And as I was sitting there, the awaken, the align, and act kind of bubbled up. And so that was about two years ago. I didn't know all of the work that it would require once the kind of the insight happened. Um, but it's been an incredible journey. I've had incredible mentors, uh, incredible support, but it has been this incredible journey of learning the path of awakening to our principal purpose, which is the DNA of our brand. And then bringing the tools to implement at the highest level possible. So I'm really focused on the street smarts, no matter where we're implementing in any country in the world, uh, because I have intercultural experience of 68 countries. I love working with people from all over the world. Um, so no matter what country we're in, what are the street smarts of implementing our purpose? And so that's kind of how the global impact life, the methodology of awaken, align, and act, awakening to our principal purpose. Um, and we can dive into that because I think that that's so important. Our principal purpose is our blueprint of what we're doing. Um, it guides me as a coach or as a consultant, it guides me how I build the processes and the systems based on the entrepreneur. Um, because the entrepreneur, if someone's in Chad Africa or Europe, they know best how to implement their vision. I don't, but I do have processes that help them understand their vision to implement where they're at. And I think that's a huge thing is that the entrepreneurs are implementing their purpose uh in their community because they know best of what to do. Um, the align is aligning our resources, which include our personal well-being and include our business. So both are important. And then acting is this these rolling 90-day strategies that I implement. Um, so they awaken, the align, and the act.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

There's so much that you just said that I could pick apart and you know, so much gold and what you, you know, just who you are and when you stand for a grant. And but really what's like right there to talk about is that 90-day planning. Because, you know, when we first, when you and I first started talking, you know, and I've worked in business for a long time, but I think because up until recently, up until a few years ago, I was working for other people's corporations that were more mature and more uh established. And the strategic work I was doing for my clients was like long-term planning, it was like five-year, 10-year, whatever strategies, annual planning cycles. Um I hadn't like found a way for myself, like really gotten clear on how to do that as an entrepreneur who's starting up, who's like in the beginning parts. And so, you know, really like I've double and tripled my income in the last three months since meeting you. And it started with me sitting down and getting really clear about what I wanted to earn, not what I needed to earn, but what I wanted to earn in the next 90 days. And then like starting to get intentional and focused, and I'm like expanding that even more, you know, and starting next week, I'm gonna be segmenting and tending my days into different periods of time. But like that was so uh vital in me being able to shift because it's like, okay, these are, you know, this is what I want to earn in the next 90. And then these are the actions that I see to take. This is the plan, and it flows, and you know, it's but okay, well, when someone comes to me with another request or says, can you take this on? It's like, okay, well, where, you know, does it work to put it in this night, this 30, this 60, this 90? But it was such um a game changer for me. And, you know, maybe you can share from your experience with some of your other clients about, you know, why acting inside of 90 day plans as a as an entrepreneur, because it's kind of counterintuitive to the to the the logic or the thinking of strategy, right? Where it's like you should be, you know, and I have a very long-term vision. I mean, I've shared it with you, you know, my purpose and why I'm here on this planet. But like, talk to me about why the power of that 90 days.

SPEAKER_03 13:06

You know, I think that that's actually evolved, which I'm so as I'm so happy to hear your the success that you've had through it. Um, see if I can put the words to it. So, one of the things that I've realized through the process is that when we're uh let's call it awakening to our principal purpose, the thing that really drives us, we will we will never see the next 50 steps, but we do see the next few. And the greats, you know, the ancient wisdom teachings of our wonderful elders have talked about this in so many different ways. Um, that and it's been a quite a huge frustration for me. I went through so much anger because I like to know the next, you know, the next five years would be great to know, right? We don't know that as an entrepreneur. Um, so we we only know the next step. So that's kind of step one. But step two, there was a TED talk uh called the marshmallow challenge. I don't know if you have you saw this TED Talk.

SPEAKER_01 14:02

No.

SPEAKER_03 14:03

The marshmallow challenge is about uh is a team building exercise to where each team had like uh they had yarn, they had tape, they had 10 uh sticks of hard spaghetti and a marshmallow. And the goal was that you have, I think it was 18 minutes to build the tallest structure possible, and you put the marshmallow on top. And what the research showed is that CEOs, uh, MBAs, they would wait until about the 18th minute because they wanted their plan perfect to put the marshmallow on top. But when they put the marshmallow on top, invariably it'd fall down because they didn't try they didn't try it enough times. But kindergartners and really young kids, they would have an idea, they would implement the idea, and it would fall down and on uh on the marshmallow challenge, they do it again. So by the third time, by the 18th minute, many times their structure was taller because they had they were able to do multiple iterations instead of the CEOs could only do one. And so that so step one, if I could put this all in summary, step one is that when we're awakening to our principal purpose, we only see the next few steps. Step two is if that we're implementing things that align with those next steps, we're getting really good feedback. And then I think step three, which is really important at this time, um, is because the times are moving far quicker than they did before. Uh, Tom Friedman wrote, uh, who writes for the New York Times, wrote a great book called Thanks for Being Late. And he wrote, uh he talked about Moore's Law, and Moore's Law has to deal with uh uh the computer industry, I think it's microprocessors, that are that he predicted in 1965 that the productivity of a microchip would double every year for 10 years. I think that was his predic prediction. It surpassed his prediction. It's crazy of how fast the productivity in the computer age has actually happened. So, what does that mean? What that means is that any decision that we make today, whether it be quote, good or bad, or in alignment with our vision or out of alignment with our vision, takes us further than it did before. So things are happening so quick. So, because of that, and because of the chaos that's happening in the world globally, to be able to implement something in a 90-day period, to come back, reassess, and then to go back at again because things have changed. I think that this is what I'm learning actually through this whole process well uh as I'm implementing.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

Yeah, I'm present to like purpose over perfection, right? Because I think some of us, you know, I can only speak for myself, but some of us really get hung up on like having to get it right, like those CEOs, uh, and you know, all of the stuff that human beings have around like looking bad and what if we fail? And so it's like you spend so much time in that space of trying to get it perfect versus like, you know, something that really moves me is there is someone today who has prayed for or has, you know, manifested what only I can contribute. And so my lives don't have to be perfect. Even starting this podcast, you know, I went through a little bit of that. And then I went, okay, I got I'm gonna give that up, right? Because there are people today who need to hear what you have to say and what my other guests have to say and what I have to say about, you know, life and their businesses and to think there's a real opportunity. And I like what you're saying because it's really, you know, three months ago, I started a journey into like really mastering my mindset and and and through a program that I've that I'm thinking into results through through Bob Proctor. And as I've stepped into that more and more, like learning to trust my intuition. And and like I I remember the first one of the first conversations we had, you were like, I want you to go into the forest and do nothing for an hour and be in nature. And I was like, why? And I really got how like through this last few months, how driven I had been by that paradigm of not being bored. Like I constructed my whole life that I wouldn't be bored. And it's as I've you know confronted that, it's like not, I mean, I say slowing down, but it's more being intentional about my time. And it's in those moments of quiet where I'm being still that the best ideas come to me. And at the same time, also really getting that the more I grow and expand, that paradigm's not going anywhere. You know, recently I just got for myself. It's like when I when I created the goal of 10xing my income by the end of January, all of a sudden it's like, oh, you've got to work harder. Because like that's that old thinking, right? And now I'm like, well, hold on, what if? And someone wise said the quality of our life is given by the quality of our questions. You may hear me say this on every show, because I think I have said it on every show. Because it's it's so, you know, it's at the core of like my background in philosophy, Socrates, you know, what he defined as wisdom. But it's like, what if I could 10x my income and work less? Less. Yeah, and like being in the inquiry of that, you know.

SPEAKER_03 19:12

I like that.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

Yeah. So starting on Monday from 5 to 9 p.m., I won't be working. And I don't know what I'm gonna do from five to nine years.

SPEAKER_03 19:24

I like that because I think that's important too, is that we put boundaries around our work. Because as an entrepreneur, and I'm sure you're you and your the listeners can understand this, we could work 24 hours a day, right? We there's so much work, you could never get it done in enough time. And this is actually something I just very just as of this week, I'm doing exactly what you're talking about. It's just like stop. I'm not gonna do it past a certain time. Just stop. And it's interesting to see that things unfold when we're putting that boundary around for our own health, uh, which is good.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

Yeah, and I think it's like again, it's that being intentional, right? So I've like defined eight to 12 in the morning as business development time. Well, up until yesterday, I would have, if someone wanted to book a client call with me, I would have booked it whenever. Yeah. Right. Or like I would find myself, oh, like, you know, oh, I've worked so hard. Let me just watch an episode of Castle, because I'm a big fan of crunchers, you know, and now I'm like, no, like that kind of you know, lack of structure to my day, where it's like, well, what if from 8 to 12 every day, Monday to Friday, because I'm not working weekends anymore, because I've done enough of that too. Nice. Because especially when you love what you do, like we do, it's not even work anymore, and it can just become all-encompassing, right? And then the self-care goes out and the exercise goes out and the sleep goes out, and then it's like, you know, that for me anyway, that martyr shows up, right?

SPEAKER_03 20:58

Well, that's so this is such an amazing thing that I've been with this past week. Because I just says you, right? We're constant students, things are constantly working. So, in the in the awakening piece, I think is such an important piece of exactly what you're saying. What are the things that we really actually enjoy? And that's what I the question, what if? I enjoy like I love like so. Yesterday in Houston, it's amazing weather, and I love running on the trails. And I did have a call, and I did do what, like, but I was I saw how I got angry that I wasn't allowing myself to do something. And so I think that's the most important thing that we start really tuning into what do we enjoy about this life? And our business our business is a resource, is a container to us implementing what we're passionate about. Um, but I but talking about when we get out of balance. So, what happens when we don't sleep? Then we start eating differently. We may be drinking more coffee, which I drink, but like overly doing it if I'm you know, if I'm 18 hours in on a day. What happens? We start moving from habit and we start going off track of our vision. Because we start moving from fear, we start moving from cultural rules, family rules, all of these things that uh really shift us from the power of our purpose. And I think that is so important. Um, and I really realized this week, I really realized the importance of in the morning for me, but it could be anytime. There's three things that I think are so vitally important. Number one is breathing, and some of the greats have talked about that without thinking. So breathing first, number two is getting into our body, because we, I think, as entrepreneurs, not all of us as entrepreneurs, but many of us, we um move from our brain more than our body. And so what happens if I'm in my if I'm in my brain, in my head, I am I have I'm prone to more habitual ways of acting, which aren't necessarily in alignment with my purpose. So if I breathe first and I get into my body, then I can use my brain to implement what I really feel powerful to go do today. And I saw when I didn't sleep and when I did these other things, it threw that. But when I did do it, I was very powerful for that day. And so this is something I'm adding into my work, into that awakening kind of sleeve of breathe, body, brain. And in brain is the concentration and focus, which is so important at this time. But I do that after I'm really in my body and my head is silent. Yeah. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 23:40

Well, you know, and what what I've been learning is like 95% of manifest like manifesting starts in the mind, right? And and you can't do tomorrow's growth without like today's. And for me to even get to the conversation about manifesting, because you know, uh it was woo-woo for me. I was like, what are you talking about? The only way I make money is if I work hard. And it didn't matter how hard I worked because I never had, you know, because I wasn't willing to first ask for what I really wanted, because I was so caught up in the how. And it, and and what I got, the how is none of my business. All I have to do is ask for what I want and keep showing up every day. And, you know, yeah, have definite plans, you know, have an idea, look at those multiple streams of income. Where is the money coming from? But it like actually getting that the there are these laws of the universe that exist and they're they're operating whether I want to believe them or not, right? Gravity works, whether you know about it or not. You know, and so like to well, if those these laws are operating anyway, why not live in in harmony with them? And then see what's possible. And I think a big part of it is knowing yourself. Like I got that in my studies this morning. One of the people I I study every morning with a group of amazing human beings. And one of them said, like, it's really about knowing yourself, because I think as an entrepreneur, for some of us, you know, being more effective actually looks like doing less. For those of us, you know, it's about like back to your point about the mind. Are you being driven by those paradigms from the past, like those default, you know, ways of being and doing? Or are you are you actually being creative? Now, for other people, you know, it's more action. But it's like you gotta actually take the time and get to know yourself. How how do I operate like in my default so that you can start to build like a register for it? It's like, oh, hold on a second. This is feeling really familiar.

SPEAKER_03 25:38

Yeah, and to follow up on that is the what when a question is we're getting to know ourselves, is this mine? When I say I want something, is this mine? Or is it something in my subconscious that is in my family line that I'm chasing something? So I put this thing of chasing other people's dreams. Um, and so our minds are so powerful that if I could chase another person's dream and I could achieve it. For example, when I was in sixth grade, I really wanted to play American football. My body's not, I'm not a football player for my body. God didn't make me as a football player, but I pushed it and I pushed it and I pushed it and I pushed it. So from sixth grade to 11th grade, five years, I would get up early, I would train, I would work hard, people made fun of me, I kept pushing. And I achieved what I set out to achieve in five years. I was absolutely exhausted and it wasn't fulfilling and it wasn't mine to do. And one of the biggest lessons I learned from that is that when we're implementing this business, because it takes so much work, it takes so much energy. When we find our lane, that's our lane in life, that's empowerment. And when I ask for things in that lane, I will ask things that keep me in balance and that keep me, you know, Steve Jobs talked about the vision pulling you. The thing that I'm realizing, it does pull us when it's our lane. It will pull us, but we're not chasing something. So in the financial world, in the securities industry, they're chasing returns. And in 08, they didn't care if people were uh over-leveraging themselves. So they didn't care now that those people can't pay in their incredible debt. They don't care about that. They cared about the bottom line of what they wanted to do because that was a different paradigm. What we're saying here is what's my lane to implement? And when I understand my lane, the monies that I need to support me do that will be there. And I don't even question that. We have to work, we have to implement best practices, all of those things are true. However, it's more empowering when we're doing it in that way. So that one question, is this mine? Is this mine? Uh, or am I chasing another person's dream? And then how would I know if I'm chasing someone's dream?

SPEAKER_01 28:02

So good. I I attended a free masterclass by Vision from Mind Valley on reconstructing reality, which was really fascinating. And one of the things he talked about is like different levels of awareness and how we're born into like most people in the world are in what he calls living in the culture scape, like just like not aware, not awakened to their their abilities, not you know, living at the effect of life, you know, there are these circumstances, there's a way life is, and like living according to tradition, right? You know, that like in in in the book I'm writing Yardsticks, like, you know, are you living a creative life? You know, or are you living according to someone else's standard, someone else's purpose, someone else's wants and drinks from you? And he defines tradition, Grant, as peer pressure from dead people.

SPEAKER_03 28:50

That's a good definition.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

I was like, wow, right? How many of us, or you know, and whether it's like living according to tradition or what society tells us we should be doing, or what our parents or our peers versus what do I want? And then this last six months for me since COVID hit, and I really like I said, no to a path that I thought I should be doing because I said I would, and yes to me. The more I have engaged in what does Amber want and like for my life, for my and and like getting as a human being, like I get to create not just the results, but I get to create my experience of getting the results.

SPEAKER_03 29:32

Which is more empowering. I know. You're a you so it's much more I have energy to do it, right? You have energy, more energy to do those things, which is nice.

SPEAKER_01 29:42

Yeah, it's really good.

SPEAKER_03 29:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:44

So you share a quote in you know, in the outline for your uh for your company by Tesman Tutu. And it says, There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in. Why um why is why that quote? Why is that so why does that sound like that? Well, so how did I find that?

SPEAKER_03 30:11

I give a shout out to uh a really popular book right now called Untamed. I don't know if you've read it, but it's an amazing book. Um uh so why that quote? What I'm about is systemic change. And what is systemic change? To me, systemic change is when when we when you're living uh in a way where you're really doing what you want, to me, that is, sorry about that, that is impact. Um when we live in ways where we're not bound by the past dead people, and we're really choosing, when we choose in a way, I believe we're choosing in the best way for not only for us, but for the community. And in the world we live, especially in America right now, um, with the with the with a presidential debate coming or the presidential election coming up, the sad thing is that both Republican and Democrat, both of them do similar things. They just do it in a different way. And the I think that what we're seeing with all these movements around the world is that the systems of the past, the the systems of the past are rooted in ways that are not helpful for the community, they're helpful for some in the community, they're not helpful for the glob the all of the community. And so for me, what's really important about that, so you know, in in Untamed, she talks about um I can go, I if I see someone who's homeless, I can go and give them money. That's pulling someone from the river. But the question is, why are they hungry? Um, I was on a call in California. If there's a minority, uh if there's minority business owners who have an amazing, um amazing business, why can't they get money from white VCs? Why can't why is this happening? Because a white entrepreneur could get it easier. What's going on here? There's something underneath it all. And that's my lane in life is that that I'm here to work with entrepreneurs around the world who are called in a way to implement uh their purpose at the highest of level. Because to me, it's kind of we're planting seeds over time. When there's enough of us doing this, then the systems themselves have to change. It's no longer should we do this or not? It just doesn't hold us anymore. Like that system doesn't hold us. That's why I love that quote by uh Desmond Tutu about, yeah, we we we definitely want to help people, um, and we want to solve the problem, the root of the problem. And the thing that a wonderful friend of mine, who was a client of mine um from Brazil, she talked about the importance of policy. And I forgot that, but that's so true, is that in the impact space, sometimes we stay kind of in this uh a feel-good space of uh of idealism of what it could be. The reality is that as an impact entrepreneur, as a social impact entrepreneur, the work is tough. And we have to go and enact policy as well. So it's not just about bringing the business and the idea, it's literally where is my calling, what is my lane of life, and let's implement that at the fullest possible way. I believe when we do that, then that's where the systems start to change.

SPEAKER_01 33:37

I think you know, that that analogy of staying in your lane, you know, it's difficult for people, I think often because of so much conversations about the past and you know what we should do. So many of us are brought up with like what we should do, you know, what other people's expectations are. Uh it I think it can be challenging sometimes for people to even own, like our desire muscle is not strong, you know, to actually say what I want.

SPEAKER_03 34:07

And not, you know, and I I completely agree with that. And it depends on family, it also depends on culture. Um and um right, those those in and of itself are the systems of the things that actually need to change. Is that you know, the where I got the actual term, like the awaken, the principal purpose is something I've always been with. But I heard um, it's probably about a month ago, uh, the late Kobe Bryant talked about um at 13 years old, he knew his lane was basketball. And what he said, which I completely agree with, that he at that point he used everything in the world as a library to be a better basketball player. And so what I truly believe is that it's not like I have to go and lead like some clean water revolution to be an impact entrepreneur. We we provide impact for the world when we do what our what our lane is. So if I'm a basketball player, if I'm an artist, if I'm a baker, if I'm whatever, it doesn't matter. But when we do that, that's impact. So this thing I think where people sometimes get kind of, and I did too, where we kind of like, well, I don't know what to do because we're like trying to chase what we think impact is. Instead of saying, What do I like? I love nature. I love, I do, it's interestingly enough, as this kind of come full circle, is that my calling isn't money and in finance. It's just to do it in a different way. So when when we're looking at what is mine to do, I don't have to throw away all of these experiences that I had in life. And that's the biggest thing that I've learned. It's not a this or that. It's like, what are all of my life experiences? And then what's the hub? What's the connection that I can make a change today in my current environment where I'm at? I don't have to run off to far-off country. I do it today in the thing that I love. To me, that's impact.

SPEAKER_01 36:06

Yeah, and you know, the clearer we get, you know, I'm clear that I exist to create a world where people have profound connection and belonging. And I love what you just said because I spent 20 years in business. And as I awoke into my, you know, and a good lot of that time I spent in the corporate world was about providing for my children. Yeah. It was like, you know, like making something of myself so I could kind of like it came from a negative space if I was a teenage mom and I had to fix like all of that world, right? And I spent 20 years doing that, or you know, 15 years doing that. And as I awoke into my real purpose, you know, something that empowers me and and you know, getting clear about why I exist on this planet, I looked, you know, I didn't want, there were still conversations, impacts that I wanted to make in the business world. So when I looked at like the brand I'm creating, like who is Amber Howard for the world? I you don't have to throw out 15 years in business and be like, no, like that's why I created Amber Howard and Associates as you know, as the one of the parts of my corporate, my the corporate part of my brand, because there's so much of it. I want my experience over the last 15 years to have to make a difference for other business owners. I come for other entrepreneurs.

SPEAKER_03 37:19

That I can so this is something I've learned that I fully am all I agree with, and all of the hardships that we all go through, like the things that you had mentioned, things that I've gone through in life, the things that your listeners have gone through, all of those things shape us. And right, the great wisdom teaching our elders have talked about this time and time and time again is that the acceptance of what's going on doesn't mean I like it, doesn't mean I stand, I have to stop, but I accept and I'm learning the lesson through it because that will benefit, just as your experience all these years is now benefiting the people that you work with. And you know, you have that the business mind. Another person might have a therapist's mind, another person might have whatever it might be. But the thing I truly believe when we implement what we're skilled at, what we're passionate about, what we love to learn about, when we implement that, that's in the betterment not only of ourselves, but of the community. And that's powerful.

SPEAKER_01 38:17

Yeah, and then you just got to keep evolving the conversation, right? Because out of those experience in business, becoming someone who likes loves business processes and looking at solutions and gap analysis and like understanding, like being, you know, now that that's what created the vision for you know the not-for-profit next year and global, global convergence and the work that I want to do with the United Nations around the sustainable sustainable development goals, right? So it's like uh you said we can have it all. And we don't have to like be like, okay, well, I've awakened to my purpose now. Okay, there goes a career of 15 years or 10 years or whatever. It's like getting clear, why was I doing that? Do I still want to leverage that information, that knowledge? Do I want to have that be part? Or, you know, do I want to create something completely new? And uh I think it's it that's that's really powerful.

SPEAKER_03 39:09

Yeah, kind of to just to say just a little bit on that um one piece too. I do believe that so the the challenge of life is it's a constant growth, right? It's a constant growth. There the work is hard, like it's not easy. I think that the one of the biggest lessons I've learned this summer um is when we, and I don't think a lot of people talk about it in kind of the entrepreneurship world, we say that personal development and we say life transformation kind of like these things are quite fluffy when they're incredibly brutal. Um, you know, that I think it's overused this the metaphor of the caterpillar to a butterfly. But the thing that I studied this summer were uh death cycles. So I was going through the grief of my mentor who died 10 years ago, and I really started opening up to understanding death. And I realized to understand death, we have to understand life. And the thing that I started seeing through the journey of entrepreneurship, when we truly are seeking and we truly are saying, I'm taking that step in full courage and faith to go this direction. When we do that, we're going through a death cycle. And the death cycle is leaving who we thought we were, and we're beginning to embrace who we are. When we do that, it's not fun. It gets incredibly foggy. We need mentors around us, we need people to support us. Um, the worst of us comes up at that moment. The habits we didn't know we had, like all of this stuff starts bubbling to the surface because we're taking, we in courage and boldness, we're taking a step forward. But I think such a really important thing is that as we go through this as entrepreneurs, that if we, and this is something in my work that I really want to help people just understand, is kind of the lay of the land. If I know as an entrepreneur, I'm gonna go through a death cycle, multiple death cycles in this lifetime. I need to be prepared. I need to have my my support system around me. I need to understand my default. If I'm gonna go into a habit, how can I like get into like a safe zone as I'm thinking this thing through? So, this whole thing of when we're stepping in transformation, it's brutal, we're broken down, and the other side of it is amazing. But the reality is so real that I don't think in the entrepreneurship circles we talk about it as much as I think would be helpful. Because if we knew it was gonna come, we were prepared for it. So knowing this, I am prepared for it. I know that I'm gonna question, I know there's gonna be doubt, I know all of these things are gonna happen, but we have our support system there that we're leaning on when we can't see. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_01 41:55

It does. I like the uh I like the analogy of the seed, right? Like it becomes like it completely cracks apart to become a tree or a plant. You it's like I'm like it's completely breaks, right? And you know, in that training on Sunday, I got the notion of beautiful destruction. Right. That as you're moving through different levels of awareness, like those death cycles that you talk about, like the universe, God, whatever's sourceful for you, is coming along. And and and he said with a gentle hand, I don't know if it always feels gentle for it, like sometimes it doesn't feel so gentle that it's gonna strip away everything that doesn't serve us as we move through those levels of awareness and start moving towards, you know, why we exist, why we're here, what we really want in life. And and look, over a lifetime we collect things that don't serve us, points of view, limiting beliefs, people, um, you know, places, experiences, and and yeah, that that journey of shredding shedding, releasing those things can be can be difficult at times. So I and I like what you said. It's a it's about the preparation. I could talk to you forever, and one of the things I know I'm one of the things I wanted to talk to you about was the new program. So you're launching the social impact incubator in November. Tell me about that.

SPEAKER_03 43:11

Yeah, I'm super excited about that. So my company, I'm launching Global Impact Life November 7th. Um, and so the main focus that I'm focused in the very beginning is a social impact incubator. And it's going to be a uh a weekly, kind of like what we're doing here, live via Zoom. Um, but we're gonna talk about everything kind of under the sun of Awaken, align, and act. And my one of my really big goals of the incubator is to every week's gonna be kind of like a workshop teaching on best practices that I know, things I'm implementing, things my clients are implementing, um, as well as fielding questions for what people have when they're implementing. A big thing for me, um, and I I use the term street smarts, that we have the street smarts no matter what country we're living in, how to understand ourselves, how to understand the business cycle, how do we build a very uh impactful business that's the best that we can make it? And then how do we tell the truth in any interaction ourselves and others? And I so in that whole sphere, uh, the social impact incubator, that's what I'm wanting to bring weekly. Um, and then every quarter we will have uh doing on the 90-day kind of role of what we're talking about, every quarter we'll have a strategy session. And I'm a constant student, I constantly am studying and learning. So we're wanting to bring really we're wanting to bring kind of cutting edge things every single week to everybody we're talking to. Plus, here their experience and how can we support. Amazing.

SPEAKER_01 44:52

Well, for anyone listening who's interested, you can check out on the the website for the podcast. So we have all of the information about Grant and his program. Grant, I get like literally, as I said, I could dance in conversation with you all day, but you know, just thank you so much. I really enjoyed this conversation this morning. And you know, you have so much to offer and and to contribute to people, and anyone who works with you is really blessed. So thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03 45:16

I appreciate your opportunity. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 45:18

All right, everyone have a wonderful day. Thank you so much for joining us for this week's episode. For show info, visit what wouldamberdo.com. And for information about Amber Howard and Associates' offerings and services, visit amberhowdenc.com.