Turn Your Passion into Profit with A Proven Framework

Welcome to the first episode of Inhale, Exhale, Success!

We’re so excited to kick off this journey with you. This podcast is all about helping busy women entrepreneurs conquer stress and achieve success in their business and personal lives. 

Today we’ll delve into the practicality of the SMART goals framework and how you can confidently apply this goal-achievement method to your life and business. 

It’s not enough to mindlessly pursue your goal; you must keep the overall life benefit in mind. Once you’ve set a goal, develop a system to achieve it.

In this episode, we’ll be covering:

What are SMART goals

How to incorporate SMART goals into your life’s plan

Why use SMART goals 

How to identify and reach your goals

If you enjoyed this episode leave a review. Your support helps us reach more entrepreneurs looking to thrive in both business and life.

Dee understands how running a business can be super stressful, especially for moms. Her 1:1 coaching helps you juggle it all without sacrificing yourself or the things you love. Clients have reduced their stress by 50% and doubled their revenue after working with Dee. Schedule your call here to see how Dee can help you reclaim your time easily!

Grab a copy of her book [here].

Connect with Dee:

Instagram: [@deep_dives_withdee]

Join the Conversation: Share your thoughts or leave a review!

**Disclaimer:** This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for any mental health concerns.

Transcript

Welcome to the Inhale Exhale Success Podcast, where we help women entrepreneurs create a life they love, feel confident in their body and build a business without burning out by equipping them with the best tools, strategies, and my proven formula every business woman must have. My name is DeeMedina.

Let's get started and be successful together.

Hola, hola, welcome to the very first episode of the Inhale Exhale Success Podcast. I am beyond excited about this podcast, which is all about helping you build the habits, the system, and the mindsets to reduce your stress so you can achieve the success you desire in life, in business, and in weight loss.

My goal here is to share with you everything that I know and all the tools that I use so  that you can create the freedom to live the life you love and in the body you love as well. And let me just be real with you. It did take me a while to finally give in to the request to launch this podcast. And the reason is because a couple of years ago, I just didn't have the capacity.

I was navigating the aftermath of ending my second marriage of eight years, becoming a single mom of five, and three of my kiddos have special needs. I also left corporate to be with my children and started my own business. So we can all agree that I had a shit ton on my plate. Okay. And if you know me, you know, I'm not a fan of burning out.

So if I had started a podcast back when I was asked, it would have been a recipe for burnout. And not only that, I wasn't clear on the name or what I even wanted to talk about. And as a CEO of Deep Dives with Dee, it's natural that people suggested that I launched the podcast under the name. Because I am known for going deep in my conversations and coaching sessions that bring people the best results.

It's what I love, teaching people how to have incredible relationships with themselves and their bodies, how to lose weight permanently without gyms or diets, and how to create high ticket offers that their ideal clients pay for in full. And doing all of those things with as little stress as possible.

What I wanted this podcast to be more than just an extension of Deep Dives with Dee, I wanted it to be something different. Because I really believe that women entrepreneurs are constantly evolving and expanding. It's no longer just about having a successful life in business and weight loss and measuring that success by the numbers in your bank account or on the scale, but by achieving that success with the least amount of stress.

Stress that can be reduced by remembering to pause. Taking a deep breath, finding your balance, and believing in yourself. That's why I named it Inhale Exhale Success. We're going to be focusing on making life, business, and weight loss easy. Because I like to believe that entrepreneurship and weight loss fall into two extremes.

The first extreme is where you find people who overeat. Overwork, and then believe that that's a great work ethic, by working 14, 16, 18 hour days and taking pride in how they push themselves while ignoring their body's signals for rest and nutrition. Which I understand, because it's a belief that many of us were raised with.

It's been ingrained by our cultures, our education, our career paths, but often, all three. And unfortunately, there's little teaching on what it means to live a fulfilling life for the importance of our bodies. And as a result, many people find their identities solely in how hard they work, or the money they make, what the number on their scale says, or what size their jeans are.

And then there's a second extreme, where people barely work and also neglect their bodies. Somehow still expecting results in their bank account and their dress sizes. And sometimes I think that that's what people imagine a stress free life to be like. It's just waking up, not doing anything most days of the week, but expecting returns on investments for time and health, which they never made for themselves to begin with.

That's why I'm excited about this podcast, because there needs to be a middle ground of serenity where people can balance working hard and living healthy. Because when I think about living a stress free life, I have a vision. Health, I envision being in alignment in my purpose and what truly matters to me, which is a life overflowing with fulfillment.

One of my goals and something that I've prioritized over the past few years working with clients is helping them achieve their goals, whether that's spending more time with their loved ones while they're on their way to hitting multiple five, six figure months, or losing 20, 30, 50 pounds without ever stepping foot in the gym.

I want to ensure that they reach the goals that have them feeling fulfilled and loving themselves from head to toe like never before because I've seen so many people make a lot of money while still struggling with the effects of the two extremes that I mentioned. And those effects include a lot of stress, anxiety, depression, and weight gain.

Because imagine being so focused on a financial goal that when you finally achieve it, you're left feeling confused because your mind and body are not in shape to celebrate. And I don't just mean physically, but mentally and emotionally too. And I've experienced this firsthand. During my highest income year, I also experienced my highest levels of stress, anxiety, depression, And wait, I was carrying an extra 150 pounds on my 5 foot body.

Surprisingly, it wasn't due to overworking, because there's a common misconception that burnout, it's solely caused by working too hard, but in reality, it's often because we are spending too much time on the wrong things that only move us further away from the right direction. And some people work eight hour days and feel fulfilled and excited because they're doing what they love and it's bringing them closer to their goals.

But on the other hand, there are those who work maybe a five hour week and still feel miserable because they're not passionate about what they're doing. So if you find yourself not excited about your life, business, or weight loss journey, or if you're feeling confused or anxious about what you're doing, It means you need to pause, take a deep breath, and find your balance by evaluating what you truly want to do with your life and then believe you can achieve it without all the extra stress.

And you can achieve that simply by taking the time. To plan a life of fulfillment, because as entrepreneurs, we often get caught up in spending a lot of time and planning for a successful business, but not enough time planning for a successful life that includes a healthy body. So I want you to remember this.

When you're not feeling happy or fulfilled, it's likely because you haven't prioritized the life you want to live or the body you want to have. This often happens because you're prioritizing making money, serving other people, and expanding your business over your own well being and happiness. Now I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with having ambitious goals because I love having big goals.

In both my life and business, and I love hitting them quickly, but I don't want you to build a life for business at the expense of your health and your body. And especially not at the expense of your joy and happiness. So lately I've been thinking about this philosophy. How can I help my clients hit their life and weight loss goals while still having the most profitable year ever?

And it's with my Sustainable Success Masterclass that's launching next quarter in September. And it's going to show you how to plan so good that you can't help but hit your money and weight loss goals before the end of the  year without burning out. However, what I want to start emphasizing now is measuring success beyond just the numbers in your bank account or on your scale.

Do I want my clients to lose weight and make a shit ton of money? Of course. Do I believe that health is important? Hell yeah. But alongside that, how do we make sure that we're successful in our time, in our impact, in our freedom, in our joy, in our overall fulfillment? And in this class, I will talk about when you set life, money, weight loss goals, you need to ensure that you have the capacity to achieve them.

What amount of effort is required for you to reach your first 100, 200K in business while shedding those extra 20 to 50 pounds? You must decide at what cost are you willing to make that effort. So if it costs you 65 hours a week to make 250k, and then another 10 hours at the gym to lose one pound, I'd say that cost is way too much.

You need to find a way to shift your business and weight loss model so your goals can actually make sense and align with the level of financial freedom and body that you desire with as little stress as possible. Now, achieving a fulfilling life and a business while losing weight and doing this by reducing your stress does involve different levels.

Just like there are different levels to growing your business and getting into certain dress sizes. For And I don't know if you'd believe this, but I worked way more hours and days when I was in corporate than I do now in my own business. And I also would spend seven days a week in a gym and not lose a single pound.

But now, I go three times a week if I'm lucky and still lose one to two pounds a week. And during my time in corporate, I gained over a hundred pounds in less than a couple years and it was all due to stress. Which is what caused a ripple effect of anxiety and depression, which ultimately led to burnout.

And from that experience, I learned the importance of minimizing stress and finding the path of least resistance, because what's worked for me has been focusing on strategy and stress management. Those are the skills that have continued to support me in achieving my life's goals, because I realized that planning, strategy, and stress management, not only saved me from burnout before I started my business.

But have also helped me stay and grow in my business over the years. And the cherry on top, it's also what's helped me naturally keep off over a hundred pounds. And as a single mom who has experienced burnout, my motto has always been work smarter, not harder. What I teach my family, my friends, my clients is to use the SMART framework for their goals and plans because it really is the key to having the success in all areas of your life.

SMART stands for Specific. Measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. And for those of you who want to start achieving some success in your life right now, I'm going to quickly share the five rules for setting the goals using this framework. The first rule is specific. You should include details of what you want to accomplish.

For example, I want to take my kids on vacation. I want to hit multiple six figures. I want to go down a pant size. And then the second rule is measurable. You should be able to measure your progress and determine accurately whether you've accomplished your goal. Third rule is attainable. Your goal should require some effort when you commit to them because when you have big goals and you've never thought about it before, it's going to feel a little uncomfortable.

You're going to feel a little discomfort, maybe even a little disbelief. But just know that that's the opening, that's the right path for you, and it's going to require you to get a little bit uncomfortable and put in a little bit of effort when it comes to making and achieving that goal. Fourth goal is relevant.

Your actions should be relevant to your goals. For example, if I want to take my kids on vacation, then the action we need to take is have a family meeting so we can agree. On where we'd like to go. If I want to hit multiple six figures, I let my current and ideal clients know about my offers, my program add ons and masterclasses.

And if I want to go down to patent size, I just start with the weight loss basics and do some intermittent fasting and then walk an extra 30 minutes a day. Every day. And the fifth and final rule is time bound. Your goals should have a time frame of when you are going to achieve them. For example, I want to hit my life, business, and body goals by the end of this year.

And the principles of this framework will ensure that the goals that you are setting are clear, achievable, and aligned with the vision that you have for a fulfilling life and a fulfilling business. And I remember learning about the SMART framework a couple years ago from my former employer. At the time, she was a 60 year old female attorney who lived a very purposeful, successful, and healthy life.

And she did not look a day over 45. And on top of that, she was caring for her husband who had been diagnosed with cancer.  Every day, she managed to Show a perfect balance of being a boss, a mom, a wife, and a woman. And one day I jokingly mentioned how I was half her age, but twice her weight, and always stressed, and What I realized was that she prioritized herself and her needs.

She had smart goals for her law firm and she achieved them by taking time for herself. She stuck to her schedule. She delegated tasks to her team, which I was on. Outsourcing any extra work. She also maintained her boundaries by not taking on too many cases. So she could focus on the cases that needed her attention.

And I saw that those practices allowed her to live a life with ease while running a successful million dollar business and maintaining healthy habits that many of us strive for. And she never tried to do everything herself, which tends to be a struggle for many women, especially across various levels of entrepreneurship.

So when you're considering what's necessary to achieve your big business and body goals, I encourage you to create a plan using the SMART framework, I want you to establish a realistic timeline and also clear expectations for the effort needed to achieve your goals. Remember to ask for help, delegate those tasks, outsource and hire when necessary and maintain your boundaries.

Success is not about overworking and burning yourself out by spending endless hours doing all of the tasks. It's about ensuring that the work you're doing aligns with your life. Your business and your health goals. So when you're considering to invest in your efforts. It's really important that you distinguish between what you can do and what you should be doing.

Because as women, we often take on too much, juggling all the tasks in our lives that may necessarily not be the best use of our time. For instance, in my business, I can handle many tasks, creating a website, social media posts, writing copy, managing customer support, engaging the community, coaching calls.

You name it. I can do it. But if I truly desire a balanced life, and I  advocate for a healthy body, I must ask myself, how can I truly benefit my business? What am I best at? What tasks do I need to handle that can't be easily passed off to someone else? So then I prioritize those things. I focus my energy where it matters the most.

I'm best at defining my business's voice and messaging, my coaching, and my sales, spending time on tasks like Website designs or building landing pages simply doesn't align with where I make the greatest impact. Those tasks can be easily delegated. And that allows me to concentrate on where I truly shine and add the most value to the people I care about the most.

My friends, my family, my clients. And it doesn't make sense for me to take away from the most important parts of my business. And my life and my body, just because I can do all of the others. I remember first hiring help for myself in 2021, before I even imagined owning and being in business. My first hire was a housekeeper and I paid her 75 an hour for two to three hours.

But I hired her because I was a single mom working 50 to 60 hour weeks and I wanted to spend the little time I had with my kids and focusing on myself and losing weight. And although 75 an hour might seem like a lot for many people, it wasn't for me. Because the return of the investment of having my house cleaned for weeks allowed my kids and I to heal ourselves and our bodies from the effects of living through two decades between two unhealthy marriages and divorces.

And getting my house cleaned by someone allowed me to be available to go through my healing process and be there for my kids as they went through theirs. And one of the results was that my daughters and I lost over 250 pounds between the three of us. And we didn't even lose that weight by going on diets or spending hours at the gym, but because I simply decided that I did not need to do everything, and I did not need to do everything on my own.

And hiring a person to do a job that gave me more time with my kids, for me, is priceless. For Which is why I'm so grateful that I adopted the mindset of being okay of hiring help years ago, because it has also prevented the burnout that many entrepreneurs experience after committing to starting a business.

Even before I made anything close to 100k in my business, I hired coaches, editors, mentors, and many more people because I'd rather spend time doing the things I enjoy and matter most to me, like raising my kids, staying healthy, coaching clients, and having restful days. Then thinking I need to set up landing pages and automations.

And many entrepreneurs wait until they're nearly in the damn hospital before they finally ask for help. And a big part of living a successful and healthy and fulfilling life is being okay with asking for help. So one of my mindset shifts that I had back then was I'd rather pay somebody 75 an hour so I could either have more time to myself and my kids or spend time working on a 75 or a hundred dollar hour task on my business.

So you have to ask yourself, am I using my time to the best of my ability? I asked myself. Am I willing to pay 75 an hour to have more freedom? If I want five hours to myself, am I willing to pay 375 for those five hours? If I need to make more money in my business, if I want to spend more time with my loved ones, if I want to learn how to lose weight, but setting up landing pages is taken away from that.

Am I willing to pay a web designer 75 an hour so I can make an extra thousand for that week? Those are the kinds of questions I want you to ask yourself when you're putting lots of effort into something that's not giving you the results you desire. Because it becomes concerning to me when I see people who are working hard at something that takes away from what's most important in their lives and their businesses and their health.

So, I want you to ask yourself, what do I truly value? How can I add the most value to my business to ensure success? How can I ensure that the time I'm spending in my life adds to the bottom line of my overall fulfillment and relationship and body goals? Every action we take is an investment towards adding more into our lives or taking away from it.

And as you're taking action in your life, your business, or your weight loss journey, ask yourself, am I adding or am I subtracting? Because finding the serenity in the middle ground of working hard and living healthy is what's important to build something successful and profitable so you can really live a life that you ultimately desire.

And to do that, you have to define what life do I want to live? What do I want outside of work? Yes, I'm a hardworking mom with great work ethic. Yes, I am willing to put in the effort, but to what end? For what reason? For what purpose? For me, I like to measure my purpose, my effort, my impact, my reasoning for.

My work behind, is this the path of least resistance? Is this going to make financial sense? Will this keep me on track to building generational wealth? Will this support my health and body goals? Will this impact and help others? And will this bring me  joy? So if you're working hard, but you rather work smarter, and you want to make sure that you're not hitting burnout, you need to ask yourself those questions.

Is it making money? Is it keeping me away from burnout? Is it making impact? Is this the least stressful way I can do it? And is it creating joy? Let me know in the review if these were helpful for you or tell me, are you excited about putting effort into creating the life, the business and body you want?

Do you feel like you have a clear vision of the life that you want to live? And are you measuring fulfillment in your life and business right now? I hope you enjoyed today's episode. I am so excited for future episodes and how to build the life, business and body you love with ease. They're going to be so delicious and juicy.

So make sure that you're subscribed so you don't miss it. Until next time, my friend. Well, that does it for today's episode. Thank you so much for joining us on the Inhale Exhale Success Podcast. If you enjoyed today's topic, I'd love for you to subscribe so you don't miss out on other valuable discussions, along with answering questions directly from busy women like you who are looking for ways to make life, business, and weight loss easy.I look forward to having you here with us again next time. And remember my friend, success begins when you take a moment to breathe, find your balance, and believe in yourse