40 Lessons From My 40 Revolutions Around the Sun

40 years of age - a momentous milestone, a time for reflection and a fantastic opportunity to share some of the insights gathered from my trips around the sun.

Fellow Star Wars fans, prepare for an interstellar journey where life wisdom meets nuggets from the galaxy far, far away...

(Side note about how these lessons have evolved): I should say, that over the last 40 years I’ve gone from a super self-conscious youth just trying to make it through life as optimistically as I could to a mother and leader who knows my value, who believes in herself and the impact she can make (with a side of woo). 

Business Lessons from a Galaxy Not So Far Away

1. Foundations of Hard Work: Much like Jedi training, a successful business starts with discipline and dedication. As the legendary football player Jerry Rice once said, "Today, do what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't."
2. Work Smarter, Not Harder: Those initial efforts above may require blood, sweat, and tears. However, hard work can only be sustained for so long - and that when working ‘smart’ comes in. This is realising your strengths, your weakness, hiring help, and focusing on the value adding/money making tasks. 
3. Trust Your Instincts: I often had good instincts but didn’t listen to them because I began to doubt myself somewhere in the middle of my biz journey. So, I once asked a biz group, how do you know if what you’re feeling is fear or intuition and I got a great response. Intuition is quiet, fear is loud.  Intuition is that voice or gut feeling that says yes. Fear then pipes up yelling ‘OH BUT WHAT IF”. Like the 'force' in Star Wars, intuition subtly guides your actions, while fear clouds your judgments with 'what ifs'.
4. Embrace Failure: The key is to fail forward, quickly, and often, accelerating your journey towards success.
5. Prioritize and Execute: To paraphrase Qui-Gon Jinn, "Your focus determines your reality". Business success hinges on prioritising those money-making or high-level activities. Get stuck in the weeds of just doing and that’s all you’ll see around you - weeds. This planner has really helped me master this skill
6. Adapting to Change: As Shmi Skywalker in The Phantom Menace reminds us, "You can’t stop change any more than you can stop the suns from setting." The capacity to pivot and adapt to change is an invaluable asset.
7. Comparison is the Thief of Joy: Your entrepreneurial journey is as unique as your DNA. Comparing it to others' paths only breeds feelings of inadequacy and steals your joy.
8. Action Fuels Clarity:  I didn’t have the full picture of what I wanted more my business when I started. It was only through taking action (and sometimes failing) that I figured out what I wanted and how to get it.
9. Prioritizing People Over Profit: True business fulfillment comes from witnessing the transformative impact you make on people's lives, much like the joy of seeing a Padawan become a Jedi.
10. Selling is Serving: When you start a business everyone usually thinks of selling as the icky part (I was no different). We think of sleazy car salesmen and want to avoid that label put on us). But the thing is if you’re prioritising people as above, then selling is actually SERVING. You're serving your audience by offering a transformation for them. So they can live the life they desire and deserve.
11. Celebrate Small Wins: From your first sale to your first fully-attended webinar, every victory, regardless of its magnitude, deserves recognition.
12. For god’s sake hire a team/VA: I avoided this for years (see not everything black and white below), and when I did it I was so glad but it took some re-shuffling of my beliefs. You see, I was hiring a VA to do something in a number of hours that I could do in 30mins to an hour - why would I do that (that was the old Frankie). And while it took some time for me to come to terms with this sure I could do it in 30mins or so but that was 30 mins I could be spending on something else. And if all those tasks that took me 30 mins added up it would be 8 or more hours I could be spending as the Leader/CEO or my business.
13. Always Move the Ceiling: With each milestone reached, raise your goals. From hitting your first $100,000 to reaching the million-dollar mark, the sky is the limit.  

Interstellar Lessons for Business and Life

1. The Balancing Act: Work-Life Harmony: Achieving work-life harmony is like balancing the force. It requires a careful equilibrium between personal freedom and business growth.
2. Money Isn’t Everything: Yes we all want to earn money. But money is just a manifestation of abundance. True wealth can be found in love, joy, peace, and other intangible blessings.
3. The Power of Continuous Learning: Whether you realise it or not you are constantly learning as you experience the world around you. But the thing is to also be conscious/present to the learning. And remember learning is never a waste of money. Even if you didn’t think you got what you were expecting out of an experience - I guarantee you learned something. Active learning lights our way in the darkest of times, as Yoda reminds us in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith “In a dark place we find ourselves and a little more knowledge lights our way.”
4. The Art of Resilience: Like Jedi knights in the face of adversity, resilience enables us to weather the storms of business and life (see notes on self-care to build resilience).
5. Patience: The Silent Reward: Learning to prioritize and exercise patience, even with ourselves, is a Jedi-like trait that can greatly enhance our life and business.
6. Embrace Your Uniqueness: Not everyone will like you, and that's perfectly fine. As the Jedi Code suggests, serenity lies in acceptance.
7. Ask for Help When Needed: Ever heard the African proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”. When we work together, whether that’s with a mentor, a biz community, or in life maybe it’s a coach, doctor etc… ask for help so you can achieve more.
8. Change your Beliefs, Change Your Life: Our perspectives shape our truths, much like the words of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Return Of The Jedi. “Many of the truths that we cling to depend on our viewpoint.
9. You’re always Selling: Whether you realise it or not you are selling EVERYDAY (you’re selling your friends on the best show to watch, you’re selling your kids on eating their veggies) so stop seeing selling as this sleazy thing. When it's something you believe in it’s easy.
10. Shades of Grey: Life and business decisions are not always black or white. It's all about finding the right balance that suits your needs. A perfect example of this is when my Biz Mastermind called me out for being black and white because I wanted to hire my VA local to support my community but my business wasn't at the stage where I could afford $25 an hour. So it had to be one or the other in my mind - but no it doesn’t I could hire someone cheaper and further away so I could build the business to then afford the local VA.
11. Plan but Stay Flexible: Like navigating through asteroid fields, be prepared to adapt your course based on new circumstances.
12. Take Care of Your Health: You can't build a business or life if you're unwell.

Life Lessons from the Galaxy

1. Live a Conscious Life: Embrace each moment of life, being fully present and open to new opportunities.
2. Do or Do Not, There is No Try: Ah the infamous word of Yoda. Pretty much the same sentiment as Henry Ford “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right”. Instead of saying “I’ll try”, say “ok I’ll do it”
3. Optimism in Everyday: Optimism acts like the lightsaber that cuts through life's darkest moments. Try starting a gratitude journal.
4. Spend Time in Nature: It refreshes and rejuvenates your mind.
5. Practice Mindfulness: Focusing on the present moment can help reduce stress and increase productivity. “I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.” —Chirrut, Rogue One
6. Prioritize Self-care: You can't pour from an empty cup. Self-care is NOT selfish.
7. Your Attitude Determines Your Direction: Positive thinking can change your life. "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” —Yoda, The Phantom Menace
8. People Don’t Change Until They Want to: People only change when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.
9. Family is Precious: Cherish your family and make time to create lasting memories with them.
10. Give and Forget, Receive and Remember: Like a Jedi, practice benevolence and gratitude in every aspect of your life.
11. Be True to Yourself: Authenticity brings joy and fulfillment, allowing you to live your best life.
12. Ask for Help When Needed: Don't shy away from seeking help. In life, like in business, it can open doors to new possibilities.
13. You are Enough: Just like a Jedi, you are unique and valuable, and you have the power to make a difference.
14. Get a gratitude journal: This has really helped me focus in on what I'm grateful and what I learn everyday! Here's the one I use.

And finally, Number 40, let's not forget the immortal words of Master Yoda: "The force is with you…..always!" 

So, be it in your life journey or business ventures, remember to trust the force within you. 

These 40 lessons are not only a testament to my 40 trips around the sun, but a testament to all of us who continue to learn, grow, and evolve.

In honour of turning 40 I have a special gift for you! CLICK HERE!

KEYWORDS:

Life Lessons, Entrepreneurship, Business Tips, Star Wars Wisdom, Personal Growth, Self Improvement, Authentic Living, Continuous Learning, Trusting Intuition, Embracing Failure, Work-Life Harmony, Prioritizing People, Selling as Serving, Mindfulness, Self-care, Attitude Shift, Personal Fulfillment, 40 Life Lessons, Lessons from Star Wars.